6 days after 'Wake'
Aedhira raced out of generator room. His footsteps splashed against the puddles withing the corridors. His demeanor exuded haste, maybe panic, but his mind was anything but that.
He wasn't human, not by a long shot. Not only did he not think on the same wavelength, he also 'thought' thousands of time faster.
"Argos, put Monitor on the line"
[Affirmative]
------------(HAILING MONITOR)--------------(ACCEPTED)---------------
[Sire?]
"Monitor, I hope you've heard my announcement"
[Affirmative]
"Good, I need you to have Mender get ready to move out."
[Mender?] Said Monitor, though a hint of confused derision could be heard through the line.
The connection between Aedhira and the Perpetuus Aes, especially his Maxims, was special. Though, the soldiers of the Aes army were not like Aedhira, in the sense of 'living', they came rather close. Same could be said for his Maxims. While they didn't have a full fledged soul to their names and bodies, it couldn't be said that they didn't have one at all. To compare, Aedhira's soul would be that of a.....full grown man, and a soldier of the Aes, would have one compared to that of a toddler.
Except, as Aedhira 'grew', So would his soldiers. A special bond, unique to him. Though he didn't know it yet, he had a subconscious idea.
Aedhira chuckled a bit, hearing Monitor's tone.
"Yes, I need Mender. I know you think it should be you, but I really need someone to hold down the fort."
Literally.
[I see....I'll see to it then]
--------------(END HAIL)-------------
Aedhira, despite his wishes, didn't have time to tend to Monitor at the moment. Alas, there were greater priorities at hand. For example;
"Argos, do we have a location on this outpost?"
Aedhira really didn't have a clue. He hadn't even formally accepted to help the refugees, so they hadn't even sent any coordinates.
'Though, it'd do wonders for first impressions' he thought.
[.....No sire, we do not have any exact coordinates]
"Tsk"
[I apologize]
"It's not your fault, I was to hasty, it seems. Do we at least have an approximate location]
[Ah, that we do. After your orders, I triangulated the signal, and found an approcimate location of the source]
"At least we have something. Well, how far is it?"
[....]
Silence ensued. Only his splashing footsteps echoed in the corridors.
"Argos?"
[....]
"Argos"
[4523.55 kilometers]
Silence again. Only this time, there were no footsteps.
Aedhira sucked in a sharp breath of air. And exhaled just the same.
"That's...far"
[Affirmative]
"How...How do we even get there?"
[....]
It really was far. 4500 kilometer was not a joke, whether unhindered by air or gravity, or otherwise. It would at least take days before he got even close. No doubt, the horde would've taken care of the refugees, and left no crumbs by then.
...He needed more information. Not from the archives, not the outdated stuff he was working with. Something concrete. Well, more concrete.
"Argos, do we have any active satellites in orbit?"
[Scanning, stand by]-------------[No]
"Sh*BLEE-"
[Ah, we have one]
"Just one?"
[...]
"Sorry"
[We have one, a decommissioned Meynel Observer]
"Meynel?"
[A term for mana-affected climate]
"Then work it out, I need eyes on the situation"
With urgency in his voice, Aedhira waited for Argos to establish a connection with the decommissioned Meynel Observer satellite. Time was of the essence, and he needed to gather as much information as possible about the outpost's situation before making any further decisions.
As the connection was established, a holographic display materialized before Aedhira, showing the view from the satellite's orbit. He scanned the screen, searching for any signs of activity or distress.
"Anything, Argos?"
[Scanning... There appears to be a disturbance in the vicinity of the outpost's location. It looks like some sort of conflict.]
Aedhira's heart sank at the news. The outpost was indeed in trouble, just as General Varric had claimed. He knew he had to act fast if they were to have any chance of aiding the refugees.
"Argos, can we get a closer look? I need to assess the situation before we proceed."
[Zooming in now...]
The holographic display zoomed in on the outpost's location, revealing a scene of chaos and destruction. Smoke billowed from several buildings, and Aedhira could see figures moving about in a frenzy.
"It's worse than I thought," Aedhira muttered under his breath.
[There are signs of combat, sire. It appears that the outpost is under attack.]
Aedhira clenched his fists, his mind racing as he began to formulate a plan. They couldn't afford to delay any longer. Lives were at stake, and he refused to stand idly by while innocent....hopefully innocent people suffered.
[It seems the outpost has been under siege for some time]
"I can see that...Argos....How do we get there?"
Aedhira's voice...it was calm. Why calm? In this situation?
Silence. And interrupting it was a hail. From Monitor
-------------(HAIL INCOMING-----MONITOR)-------------
--------------------(ACCEPTED)----------------------
[Sire]
"Monitor?"
[I have realized we have slight transportation problem]
Slight would be an understatement. They were essentially grounded. Forget the Aes, forget the five Maxims, Aedhira would be lucky if her got there himself in time. Which was unlikely.
"Shoot, I'll take anything right now."
[Shoot what?]
"Never mind, what did you have in mind?"
[Please proceed to the 22nd floor sire, I think it would be better if you saw it for your self]
------------------(END HAIL)-----------------
"What's with the suspense....Argos, mark the way to the 22nd floor"
[Marking-----Proceed to follow the markers]
As he walked, Aedhira couldn't shake the feeling of uncertainty that gnawed at him. Why he was stressing this much over strangers, not to mention, people he'd never even seen.
If one were to ask him, even he'd struggle giving an answer. To him, it just felt....natural. A gut feeling perhaps.
He raced to the 22nd floor, taking the stairs, since he could climb the stairs faster than the elevator went up.
And when he did reach the floor....he just stared blankly. And no one would blame him. It was a rather baffling sight.