October 26, 2152
As daylight broke through the faux window in Emory's cabin, she yawned and tried to pull the covers over her head. It didn't work though because she couldn't fall back asleep, so she sat up and lazily stretched. An alert from Jask reminded her that Shepherd would arrive in three hours. With that in mind, she hopped out of bed and took a long shower. Instead of just putting her hair up in a messy bun like usual, she took her time brushing it out to display its full glory. Then she put on her normal battle suit and even her armor over the top. Though she didn't plan on fighting anyone today, she wanted to dress in a commanding manner. If she accomplished nothing else today, she was going to remind Shepherd that she and her friends were in control of these outposts, not him.
Once she was ready for the day, she went to find the others to join her for breakfast. It didn't take long to find the group who were all dressed up as well. Emory was pleased they had taken the initiative to do so without her asking them; in truth, they all looked better than the rest of the camp to the point that they stuck out like a sore thumb. They got some breakfast and sat among the rest of the army. Though it wasn't anything fancy, it certainly beat the food pills they usually ate. After they ate, Emory was interested in seeing Gatrie, Innes, and Tana's new spheres, so she led them to stone tablet where she often trained.
Gatrie's Entropy sphere looked quite handy because it drained magik from successful hits. Innes's Radiant sphere seemed to be quite similar to the Flame sphere he had before with the added effect of slightly blinding the target as well, which meant he should progress through it quickly. Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, Tana's Metallurgy sphere resembled the Frost sphere as she used both the spheres to create small needles when she wasn't coating her blade in it. Though they had all only reached the first level, Emory was confident they would continue to move forward quickly, especially since they used the new spheres like they had their previous spheres. Out of the rest of them, Gwen, Nephenee, and Sam were the closest in sphere level to Emory as they were level three in both their spheres. Tethys was just a little behind with her Creation sphere barely at level three and her Void sphere just reached level three. After they finished showing off a little bit, Emory wanted to see all their true forms, just long enough to get an understanding of how much different it was than Meta Form.
Sam went first since she had two spheres for the longest. At first, a strangely shaped cloak enveloped her body that shined so brightly that they all had to look away. When the light dimmed, they hardly recognized the form she had taken. Two eagle wings had spouted from her back, but each wing was roughly six feet long. Her torso remained the same while her legs looked more like a wolf's. Finally, a scaled tail with a spiked tip jutted out from her back. She reminded Emory of a mythical chimera, an amalgam of different animals.
Nephenee went second, and although she too glowed brightly at first, it was much less intense than Sam. Incredibly, her body structure and size was exactly the same as her normal form. In fact, the only major difference was her skin which was now a shiny metallic gold. This color did do a good job of accenting her natural physique, which looked especially toned and fit in this new form.
Gwen followed, and instead of a blinding light, her glow was deep crimson like blood. When the glow vanished, the first thing everyone noticed was the small bat-like wings protruding from her shoulder blades. Her skin had become even paler, almost translucent, except for the wings which were jet black. Normal fingernails were now longer and sharp like little claws on her hands, and her teeth had also sharpened into rows of fangs. She reminded everyone of a vampire of sorts, especially with the Blood sphere swirling around her hands.
After that, Tethys transformed, and much like Gwen, her glow was also a dark color. Unlike everyone else that had either grown or stayed the same size, Tethys was smaller in this form at only three feet tall. She too grew wings the size of her body, though these looked like moth wings with one white and the other black. Moreover, the white and black striped her entire body like spirals on a candy cane.
Next was Tana whose glow returned to the bright colors again. Like Nephenee, her physical form was largely the same except her skin was metallic silver with light blue spots scattered across her body. The tips of her fingers were especially blue, and a chill could be felt coming off them. Even after she transformed back, a light frost covered the area she stood in.
When Innes transformed, the temperature in the area jumped up a few degrees, instantly melting the frost left behind by Tana. He grew to nearly eight feet tall before he stopped, and his skin had turned to a bright red. His torso and arms also grew more muscled to the point that his veins looked like they were popping out from under his skin. Fire also danced on his head like hair in the wind.
Finally, Gatrie transformed and also didn't change much in size or body shape. His body composition, however, appeared to be made of yellow plasma like he was a lightning bolt made human. Everyone's hair stood on end due to the static electricity coming off his body. Despite being made of plasma, his body was still solid and affected by physical objects.
Emory was pleased all of them transformed into their new forms without incident, though she could sense the lack of magik surrounding them since the new forms had consumed it all. Still, the cosmic magik soon returned and put her at ease. Suddenly, a massive shadow swept across the area, causing everyone to look up and stare at the massive ark ship. Since that signaled Shepherd's arrival, Emory snapped her fingers to teleport the group back to the base instead of walking back. As they appeared, they could see the first of the transport ships leaving the ark ship. Everyone except Emory tensed up or got fidgety, but she stayed resolute as the ship landed a few hundred feet away. As expected, Shepherd in his blinding silver and blue armor was the first off the ship. He looked inquisitive as he approached the group.
Shepherd boomed, "Hello, Clan Aurelias! It's good to see all of you in person again!" Everyone except Emory bowed slightly while Emory stood straight and extended a hand towards Shepherd. This caused a moment of frustration to sweep across Shepherd's face.
"Glad you could make it, Commander Shepherd," Emory greeted him firmly, "It will be good for you to see what's going on at the outposts."
"Indeed. It's remarkable to see what you've accomplished in such a short time. I was admiring the work you've done as I walked up," Shepherd mentioned as he begrudgingly shook Emory's hand.
"Let's start with a tour of the base," Emory suggested, "Then we can get down to business."
Shepherd nodded, "That sounds perfect. Show me everything." Emory and her group turned and led Shepherd into the outpost. They showed him the barracks they had constructed so far as well as the plans to build more for the incoming troops. Afterwards, they showed him the important buildings: the crafting building, the RRS, and the Command Center. Once they entered the Command Center, they made their way to an empty conference room, the same one Emory used the night before with the others. Shepherd stopped and looked at the door set next to the opposing room. "What happened here?" Shepherd questioned, "I don't remember reading any reports that talked about creatures getting onto the base."
"I did that. We'll talk about it in the conference room," Emory shrugged. Shepherd's eyes widened as he inspected the door and imagined the raw strength it would take to do such a feat.
"Commander Shepherd, is that you I hear?" Greg called from inside his room before coming to the opening, "Welcome, Commander. It's good to see you again." Greg bowed low when he met Shepherd's gaze.
Shepherd grunted, "Greg, it's good to see you as well. We're having a meeting across the hall; why don't you join us?" Greg gulped as he nodded and followed the rest of the group into the conference room. They all sat around the large metal table with Emory at the head of the table while Shepherd sat opposite of her. "I've come today as a fulfillment of a promise to move twenty percent of the Collective army to each of the outposts we sent you all out to. As you're well aware, it will be a few days before all the ships reach their destined outpost," Shepherd began, "I have also come to tell you all in person the news we received on the long-range scans. Apleem ships have been skirting the limits of our radar for a few days now which means we should prepare for conflict any day."
"Jask, do you have an estimate of the size of their army this time?" Emory called out instead of asking Shepherd directly.
"Based on the input I have, I can safely extrapolate that the force is at least twice the size of the force they sent last time," Jask replied over the speaker system, "However, that number grows by the day, Miss Reiss."
Shepherd clenched his jaw, "As I was saying, the incoming army is much more numerous than last time, but that's okay. The ark ships should arrive at Temia and Vostea tomorrow. Based on Greg's most current analysis, even if we detected them today, it would still take two days to reach us. More importantly, our troops have been training for several weeks."
"As I'm sure you know, Commander, the fight will most likely not take place here," Emory interrupted again, "Do you plan to join Temia or Vostea or will you stay here?"
"I came to join one of active sites. I figured I would go to the site you aren't at," Shepherd replied, slightly rattled by Emory's directness.
"As each of us are stronger than you, I would prefer you stay with me, to keep you safe of course," Emory smugly replied, "We already have many strong people in Vostea, so I will be going to Temia."
Shepherd gritted his teeth, "Are you sure? I have also grown since we last spoke, though I will defer to your judgement as the commander on the ground." The tension had grown so thick it made the air heavy.
Emory snapped her fingers which caused them to disappear instantly. When they all reappeared, they were standing back on the stone tablet they had practiced on earlier. "I've assessed all of my leaders this morning and am certain any one of them could beat you in single combat. Pick one of us as your opponent; if you can defeat us, you can go to Vostea. If not, you will come with me to Temia," Emory slyly grinned.
Shepherd clenched his fists as he sized up all of Emory's friends, but he already knew who he was going to choose. "If it's fine with you, I'd like to fight you, Emory," Shepherd pointed at her, "It would be best to remind you personally why I am the Supreme Commander." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief except Emory who smiled a devilish smirk as she stepped forward. Everyone else backed away a hundred feet to give them plenty of space.