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The meeting began predictably enough, with Team GRY covering the usual essentials. They discussed the food supplies, general updates, and noted that, as expected, nothing much had happened. It was all routine, and the team members were settled into a casual sort of focus, their attention drifting occasionally as the Doctor reviewed their standard agenda. But it didn’t take long before her eyes gleamed with a familiar excitement, and her voice grew sharper. This shift meant something; she had news or a mission brewing.
“You’ve all noticed our dearest Gray Mann has been… rather quiet lately, ja?” she inquired, tilting her head with a calculated, theatrical pause.
The Assassin, who’d been busy ruffling his feathers and leaning back lazily, perked up, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. “Oi, yeah, what’s up with that?” he grumbled, shaking his head in disapproval. “I mean, he’s no spring chicken, but silence? What’s he planning?”
The Agent and Vandal both nodded in agreement, exchanging knowing glances. It wasn’t just Gray’s silence that concerned them. Silence often meant planning, which meant things were stirring beneath the surface. The Doctor herself kept her expression measured, as if indifferent to the ripple of unease threading through the team.
Meanwhile, the Artilleryman seemed quieter than usual, his feathers bristling with an anxiety he tried—and failed—to hide. He’d been mulling over thoughts of his own on the matter, though he looked about as eager to share as a worm in a chicken coop. The Assassin noticed his hesitation and leaned over, offering a firm but friendly punch to his friend’s wing.
“Oi, out with it! I can see that brain of yours ticking away! Speak up, mate!”
Caught in the sudden spotlight, the Artilleryman’s feathers puffed slightly in embarrassment. “Ah, da…” he began, his accent a bit thicker under pressure. His gaze swept over the others, and seeing their expectant faces, he finally pushed past his hesitation. “I… I think it’s time we speed up our training. Maybe even start looking for Australium—any piece could help Gray Mann, right? Maybe it’d speed things along on his end too.”
His words hung in the air, a mixture of apprehension and anticipation rippling through the group. The Doctor’s eyes gleamed with a delighted intensity, as if he’d voiced exactly what she’d been waiting for.
“Ja, I think that is wise,” she said with an approving nod, her gaze sweeping over the rest of the team. “It’s about time we move forward. Expect daily training, and we’ll soon start scouting for TF Industries and the Australium.”
The Agent, typically cool-headed, looked as though she’d swallowed something unpleasant. She sighed, her enthusiasm clearly faltering. “Oui, I suppose it’s time to… start the real work,” she muttered, reluctant but resigned.
The Assassin, however, cocked his head, his feathers settling. “Training starts today?” he asked, calm but with a glint of excitement, as though the prospect of action revived his spirits. He shook some lingering dust from his feathers, eyeing the Doctor with cautious enthusiasm.
The Doctor’s answer was a sharp nod. “Ja! Today, we’ll fly to one of our training sites. Afterward, we’ll split up to search. Before that, though, we shall eat. Oh, yes…” Her eyes brightened, a flash of mischief and satisfaction in her gaze, as though she’d just remembered a hidden prize. “Artilleryman, you have the communication module, ja?”
The Artilleryman nodded, straightening a bit, his nerves tempered with a quiet pride. “Yes,” he said, a mix of responsibility and dread in his tone. It was an honor, in a way, to be trusted with something so significant.
“Sehr gut!” she chirped. “When we return tonight, you’ll send a report to Gray Mann—let him know we’re beginning operations,” she instructed, her smile soothing but her tone leaving no room for negotiation. But the Artilleryman’s face tensed. Contacting Gray Mann was always nerve-wracking; Gray’s thin patience, not to mention his appearance, which seemed to grow more haggard with every interaction, was enough to make anyone wary.
“Da… I’ll do it,” he murmured, ruffling his feathers slightly out of anxiety. Leaning against the rough stone that served as their makeshift table, he cast a sidelong glance at the others, as though hoping someone else might volunteer. But there were no offers, and the Doctor’s approving nod sealed the arrangement.
“Actually,” the Agent chimed in, her fingers tapping thoughtfully against her beak, “I’ve got another idea. We’re low on weapons and tech as it is. During our scouting, why not keep an eye out for spare parts, abandoned tech, anything useful?”
The Doctor’s face lit up with approval, and she gave the Agent an encouraging pat on the shoulder. “Ja, very good! Just remember, everyone, we meet back here by sunset. And don’t forget the Team GRY call,” she added, demonstrating with an ear-splitting screech that echoed through the quarry walls.
The others winced but nodded, acknowledging her with a series of nods and low murmurs. The Vandal stood up, stretching her dark green and blue wings wide with an impatient yawn. “Alright, then, are we done here? I’m starving—let’s get training over with so we can eat.”
“Yes, I think that wraps it up nicely,” the Doctor chirped, clearly pleased with their progress.
The Assassin chuckled, his earlier tension replaced with a grin. “You know, I’m kinda excited. Feels like we’re finally doing something worthwhile out here! Better than sitting around.”
The Artilleryman shifted awkwardly, still uneasy about what lay ahead, but a cautious hopefulness had started to bloom within him too. He might not like the idea of conflict, but perhaps, with the team beside him, they could manage. As long as things didn’t get too dangerous, he could almost let himself look forward to what awaited them.
With their plans in place, the team fell into a loose formation as they prepared to head out. They began walking in a tight V-formation, the Doctor leading them to the quarry’s upper edges, where the desert sun cast long shadows across their feathers. The rocks below were warm, and the familiar call of desert birds filled the air. There was something grounding about it, a reminder of where they’d come from and what they were building toward.
As they reached the highest point, the Doctor glanced back at her team with a gleam in her eye. “Well then… shall we?” she asked, her voice carrying a mixture of pride and anticipation that seemed to fuel them all.
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