The Awakened shut the door behind them and then activated the protective field again.
"Thank you, Gustav," Gui nodded at the burly man.
Gustav saluted and put his arms in front of him, his back blocking the door.
"Come in, both of you," Lena motioned for her daughter and son-in-law to take a seat at any of the chairs in the conference room.
Noble forced a smile. "How bad is it that I am having a second private meeting with the Chancellor in a month?"
Gui smiled softly. "Lena asked me to be here, and as you know, refusing your mother is never the wisest decision."
"I am aware," the professor recalled plenty of times when not listening to her mother had not ended well. "What is this all about? I have seen funerals that were happier."
Lena shifted in her seat. "After hearing Julius's concerns about Bastion the other night, I started doing some research of my own. I have quite a few connections and found plenty of other Awakened who can confirm the dire state of things both in Valor's stronghold and in Ravenheart."
"The Great Clans were not terribly forthcoming with this information on their own, but when I presented the information Lena gave me, they could not deny it. As such, both clans have accepted government help." Gui nodded at Lena.
"What kind of help?" Noble chewed her lip.
"Managerial help. Building infrastructure." The Chancellor sighed. "The Great Clans are excellent with military strategy but inexperienced with large-scale resource management. They have never had to set up a place to support millions of mundane people. They are floundering, and they know it. More than that, they do not want to deal with it. This is the government's area of expertise. Their best option was to let us help."
"Lance was always worried that Spell would throw us into a primitive time. He thought that without proper planning, we would starve or die from lack of water before the Nightmare Creatures finished ravaging the earth." Lena explained. "So he made a plan. Dozens of them, actually."
"Dad and his plans..." Noble knew how much her father liked to expect the unexpected.
Lance had been that way even before the Category 5 Gate opened in America. His fast reaction time was how the three of them had managed to escape.
The loss of his extended family wounded the former Director deeply, making him push himself to the point of exhaustion at times. The boxes of notes he left behind had helped predict the chain of Nightmares in Antarctica.
It seemed he still had more to give.
"Most of the theories and plans were a little crazy or at the very least not applicable, but there were a few kernels that the government wants to incorporate in their plan to make the Dream Realm inhabitable by mundane people." Lena pulled open a datapad in front of her and slid it to her daughter. "Here's a sample."
Noble stared at the plans for plumbing and city organization. Her father must have pulled and copied from ancient civilizations to have the level of detail he did.
"Combined with what others have come up with, we have a real shot at making sustainable living situations for those displaced by the Spell. I don't just want them to survive, I want them to thrive." Lena always looked younger when she was full of passion, and just now she could have been in her twenties.
"We will begin implementing the most basic of these as soon as possible," Gui confirmed. "We hope it will make a difference almost immediately."
"That's wonderful," Noble tilted her head. "But I don't see why we needed to have this cozy meeting. If you need my help, I will do what I can."
"Wait until you know what we are asking before you agree," Fort warned.
Noble felt a wave of unease flow from all three people at the table.
Lena touched her daughter's hand. "The refugees of Antarctica came to the Dream Realm with nothing. They are hurting and broken. They need mundane people like them to come in and guide them. Awakened will not face the same difficulties nor be able to sympathize with their struggles. That is why I have volunteered to go to the Dream Realm to help."
"You can't!" Noble's heart beat wildly in her chest. "Did you ask Gui to be here just so I wouldn't make a scene? I can make a scene with or without his presence!"
"I asked the Chancellor here so you would know the state of things. And so that you would realize that what we are asking comes from a place of necessity, and not just my whims." Lena tried to keep her voice calm, but her daughter's accusation had gotten under her skin.
"For our plans to work, we need competent people to implement them, both here in the NQSC and in both strongholds." The Chancellor nodded. "Lena has shown she would be a valuable member of that team."
"Then why can't you stay here and be one of the NQSC people, mother?" Noble shot an accusing look at her mother.
"I go where I am needed," Lena regained her calm, "and I can do more good in Bastion than I can here."
"Are you going because Julius is there?" Noble pressed her lips together.
"I would be lying if I said he didn't factor into the equation." The older woman pursed her mouth.
"What about us?" Noble let her frustration out in full force. "You are just leaving us behind? You cannot come back once you go or you'll be infected by the Spell!"
Lena's jaw tightened. "I am thinking of you, my love. I am thinking of the future of humanity which includes you and those precious grandkids."
"Those grandkids won't be able to see you anymore if you leave." Noble tried.
'I won't be able to see you anymore...'
"If we follow the plans set in place, I wouldn't be able to see them anyway..." Lena trailed off.
"What do you mean? Fort, what does she mean?" Noble remembered that her husband had asked her to keep an open mind.
He has said nothing was set in stone, yet Lena's decision was more informational than asking for advice. That choice had already been made.
Which meant there was something else going on...
Fort cleared his throat. "I have been requested for reassignment as well."
"We're moving?" Noble's mind raced. "It better be to the Western Quadrant or some other spot in the waking world. If you think you are dragging our family to Bastion, I have found out things that..."
"I've been asked to go to Ravenheart." Fort blurted before Noble could finish.
The professor felt like someone had hit her in the gut. There was no air in her lungs for a moment as if she had forgotten how to breathe.
"Ravenheart?" Noble managed at last.
Fort nodded.
"I see. I think I get the picture," Looking at Gui, the professor added calmly. "Chancellor, would you excuse us?"
The dark-haired man coughed. "I have never been more happy to leave a room in my life. Best of luck, all of you."
After letting down the protective shield, Gustav opened the door and followed Gui out of the room.
Without the protective array, Noble's scream could be heard clearly in the hallway.
"HAVE YOU BOTH LOST YOUR MINDS?!"