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Verin stood anxiously in the laboratory half of the building. On the table before her was a tablet she used to scrutinize every contract and schedule to ensure everything was prepared for their upcoming plans. The others were each trying to make themselves somehow useful, too.
Trevor was at his workbench, where he had spent the past few days crafting some new machinery. Verin never got a good look at what he was making, but whatever it was, he kept the place loud with clanking and grinding noises at all hours.
Junichiro was running through specs on a computer he and Kaila chose to install to monitor everything from there. He ensured the aircraft they managed to salvage from Base A were still in working condition. Thankfully, Tymon and Damien hadn't thought to destroy the hangar bay on the island when they faced Claeg. According to Claeg, many aircraft were unserviceable after Damien's strike that destroyed the base itself, but there were enough intact to avoid having Trevor rebuild completely.
Wren was up above, positioned on the roof. She spent most of the time generating storms and heavy weather around the area that kept the unwanted humans away. Ever since the string of explosions done to their bases, the humans had become even more of a nuisance, scampering at the chance to speak to Avarice or herself about the matter. Even the influential investors of TekTra were on edge enough to use their resources to figure out where their laboratory was located. Then, they would repeatedly schedule expeditions there. Luckily, Wren's storms constantly forced their flights to be rescheduled. As far as humans were concerned, freak tornadoes were frequenting the area.
Kaila was sitting at the table in the center of the judgment half of the building. Before her, there were several holographic screens displaying data she used to accomplish her task of overseeing the assets of the Watchers' businesses that had been assimilated into TekTra. To Verin's pleasant surprise, Kaila proved to be very astute and focused when she wanted to. She could see past her thirst for blood, past the hunt she constantly lived for, to see the issue at hand.
Meanwhile, her brother, Claeg, was stretched across multiple seats on the opposite side of Kaila's table. Despite searching, Verin couldn't find any use within him outside of battle. Even then, his appetite for violence prevented him from seeing objectives with clarity. He was messy. Clumsy with tactics. Oafish. Everything about him repulsed her. Repeatedly, she found herself having half a mind to crush him until he was a smear on the ground. At least then, she'd be rid of him. Then his stupidity would no longer risk jeopardizing them—she would no longer have to clean up after him. Like making sure no humans found his filthy warehouse, he thinks he kept hidden, for example. She looked over at him with disdain. He'd spent most of the time lazing around annoying Kaila—and Verin, if she was being honest—with his groaning about being bored.
Then there was Avarice. He sat on his throne, overseeing everything and devising countermeasures to the human complaints.
Verin felt her heart quicken with anxiety as she observed him. It was a new sensation she'd never felt before, but in the last few days...something had changed between them—something that had never happened in over seven millennia. She'd noticed that Avarice had been withdrawn from her lately and that he didn't confide in her anymore. How he kept his thoughts to himself now....
It made her uncomfortable. It...hurt. Admittedly, she shouldn't have deceived the others into defying him, but he must at least see that her intentions were in the right place. She always had his best interests at heart—that's never changed. He just needed time. In a few years, maybe a few dozen, they'll be surrounded by new scenery on a new world... that'll all be behind them.
Trying to get her mind off it, she tried to think of something else. She wondered what Alissia and the others had been up to. They hadn't heard anything from them in a while. A few days prior, Verin could've sworn she had sensed a brief simultaneous spike in the Primordials' energies. He and the others said they hadn't sensed anything when she told Avarice about it. Then, when she asked what they were up to, he told her not to concern herself with it; his tone practically spoke for itself as if to say, "You're irrelevant now."
But then Trevor reported having sensed Tymon just before that. He claimed Tymon was significantly more powerful than when they last sensed him, but no one else was able to get a beat on his energy despite trying. Still, if Tymon and Za'Fia chose to resurface, they would undoubtedly be back with the others at Michael's manor, so there was no need to panic about where they could be.
Since then, Avarice had been trying to keep tabs on them periodically, but he expressed frustration, saying there was weird interference. He had described the experience almost like encountering a wall of...sounds—whatever that meant. Regardless, it was clear they had discovered a way to shut him out, which Verin found extremely vexing. They were getting too comfortable opposing him.
"Still trying to find a way to spy on them?" Claeg asked Kaila as he stood and started his irritating habit of lifting objects around the lab, searching for something heavy enough to use as a weight.
"There must be some other way we can monitor them. I figured since Avarice can't listen in, we could use their tech, but according to Cerebral Tech's database, each of the c-chips and holo-bracelets in that area has lost connection. Except for one, but I can't get any feedback from it. I don't think anyone is wearing it," Kaila replied, her eyes still glued to the screens before her.
"They're undoubtedly up to something," Avarice said from his throne.
"Want us to go check it out?" Claeg asked as he lifted Avarice's collection of osmium—a crate full of bluish-white metal pieces that weighed well over 100 tons—to test its heft, but he placed it down with a disappointed look. Even Verin couldn't budge that thing, at least not in her normal form.
"Be careful not to break anything," Avarice warned him. He seemed a little more worn out than usual. "But, no, there's no need. Regardless of what they're scheming, it won't amount to anything. Besides Tymon, none of the others are a real threat. If they still refuse to submit in two months, they know what'll happen to them—not that it won't happen anyhow. For now, we will continue to prepare for the JANUS shipments scheduled in January. I'll set up a private meeting with the client representatives in a few weeks to iron out the details."
Verin looked at the load of JANUS containments stocked against the far-right wall. It was a good thing they had some sent to the lab along with Avarice's nanite machine a while back.
"Fortunately, the aircraft are in working condition," Junichiro announced as he approached Avarice with a duplicate screen of the diagnostics. "Should there be no interference, the planes will arrive at their destinations successfully. However, resistance is anticipated. They will likely try to intercept somehow."
"It won't be an issue," Claeg boasted as he plopped beside Kaila, who shrugged him off.
"Still, it is wise to be vigilant," Junichiro responded as he approached them. "Here, you two should take these for insurance."45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZ5KllTx16
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