The corridors at Vanguard Operations were filled with activity as Naia and Poros made their way through the throng of military personnel responding to the alarm. The usual sterile smell of the base made possible by its purifiers was gone. In its place, the sharp tang of ozone served as a sign of recently activated warp technology.
Approaching the central command hub, the number of voices grew louder. It became a cacophony of urgent reports and barked orders. Commander Orfea stood at the center of this ordered chaos. Her silvering hair remained pulled back in a severe bun and her weathered face was set in usual grim determination.
The image she surveyed flickered on the holographic display. It showed a massive disturbance happening along the Confluence's border colonies. Because the center of the area itself was extremely stable, it attracted large chunks of similarly safe space in Dead Zones that tended to be a bit more inert than they usually were.
But now, a surge of chaotic energy threatened to destabilize a significant portion of their hard-won territory.
"Harmonic Navigator Naia, Shift Walker Poros. I trust you're ready for a new assignment."
The stern older woman acknowledged their presence without even looking over. It was a testament to her years and her specific ability. Orfea was *the* first Navigator ever found decades ago in their universe, when V/O was a much less structured part of the military. At the time, it had really only been a research project studying the energy of the realities while serving at the frontline.
"Yes, Commander. What exactly is the situation?"
Naia stepped forward, her hand instinctively tightening around her harmonic staff. She asked it to clarify, but she could tell some of what was happening on the 3-D map. The old soldier's eyes finally met Naia's and their startling shade of indigo pressured the younger woman as much as always.
"The Dead Zone has begun to encroach on Settlement Delta-7. We're evacuating, but we need additional teams to stabilize the area long enough for the operation to complete. It's good that you were the first one from your squad here."
As the commander succinctly briefed the fellow Navigator, Naia caught sight of Evander and Theia entering the hub from the opposite side… together. The blonde's presence seemed to immediately draw attention from the rest of the room. Her confident stride alone would have done it - and the slight shimmer of chaotic energy around her metallic gloved hands marked her as something further extraordinary.
Evander, his Tactical Visor already activated and reading the actively written mission reports, moved in nearly perfect sync with her. The sight sent a familiar pang through Naia's chest - it was as if they'd been partners for years rather than days. Like the amount of time the black haired woman had been with him had been stolen and used by the similar looking blonde.
She pushed these feelings aside, focusing on the mission at hand. There would be time for personal concerns later. There was always more time later. Right now, they had a job to do that she was an important component in. Arguably the most important.
The ability users moved swiftly back through the corridors towards the warp transit station. Naia felt the usual pre-mission tension coiling in her stomach, but it was tinged with unease similar to the last time. She glanced at Theia, the woman who walked a few paces ahead. Her confident posture felt noticeably different from when they first met.
'Her head keeps turning to look at… anything technological we pass.'
The Navigator wanted to believe it was something like a growing ease around everyone that made the blonde so casually reveal her interest in those kinds of things, but also felt that such an assessment was wrong. After all, she had never even met Poros or bothered to introduce herself to him as they walked.
"Standard mission procedure. We'll be warping directly into a high-risk zone. Naia, you'll need to establish a harmonic field as soon as we arrive, just in case. Use the "
Their squad leader began speaking as soon as they stopped to wait for the base staff to prepare their interdimensional jump. Theia tilted her head with an unhidden spark of curiosity in her eyes.
"That would be fascinating. I've been wondering about the exact mechanics of harmonic fields in relation to Dead Zone stability at the moment of interaction. Naia, would you mind if I observe your technique closely during our transit?"
Naia blinked owlishly, taken aback by Theia's scholarly tone.
"I... of course. Though it's not much to look at from the inside."
Evander's brow furrowed slightly, his eyes flickering red behind his visor as he assessed Theia.
"You seem... different today. More interested in the technical aspects of everything. You even talked about how the alarm system worked on the way here."
Theia smiled at him but it lacked most of her usual mischievous edge.
"Every mission is an opportunity to learn something, isn't it? I learned a lot last time, too. Especially with phenomena as complex as we encountered there."
The prep staff called out for them to board the warp transport. Naia and Evander unconsciously fell into their pre-warp ritual. Their hands found each other, fingers intertwining in a gesture of comfort and familiarity that the woman craved. Theia's eyes widened slightly at the sight, a flicker of surprise crossing her face.
"Oh, you two are... *together*. I hadn't actually realized."
Naia felt a twinge of confusion. Hadn't the blonde been aware of this before? All of the small intrusive thoughts she'd had about the way she had been looked at by the woman on their original meeting had been colored with that assumption. Now she felt that oversensitivity and an inability to really 'read' the chaos user had played her for a fool.
She pushed the realization aside as the warp sequence began, focusing instead on the task at hand. The air around shimmered with a mix of energies. Naia closed her eyes, listening to them - ready to reach out with her ability to smooth the chaotic energies around them. Despite not sensing the woman's emotions, she was *acutely* aware of Theia's intense gaze.
Studying her every move.