"You're sure there's no other option?" Trey asked. The voice on the other end of the line sighed.
"I wish there was, old friend. But you know how our colleagues can be once they've decided on a course of action."
Trey snorted.
"Yeah."
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I tried to protest, but they've already made up their minds. There's a lot of momentum behind this, more than you'd expect had this all been a sudden decision.
"I think they planned this," his friend said.
"Of course, they planned it. I'm just glad I had some warning. Thanks, by the way."
"You know you can count on me."
"I do," Trey said, and considered whether he should bring his friend along, but he wasn't entirely sure he could trust the man. Not when the lives of Aera, Hunter, and thousands of others were relying on his ability to make the right choices.
And that trust was the deciding factor in who they'd be bringing with them.
"I do," he repeated, "and I've requisitioned a piece of work from one of your favourite artists on your behalf for all the years you've helped me."
"Not Sinclair," his friend asked, shocked by the revelation.
"The same," Trey said.
"You shouldn't have! This is too much! Where am I going to put it?"
"I'm glad you're happy."
"And this is on the announcement of your retirement! This isn't right, Trey. You should be upset! You should be angry. Are you going to fight back?"
There it was.
His answer would be shared with the Council as soon as the call ended. But he was ready for that.
All Oberon security forces have been recalled and were on assigned to ships heading outworld. Most were already on their way to distant outposts, ready to help assist in their decommissioning, and then moving all of those liberated assets to their new home.
The Oberon domain would offer no resistance to the takeover. But that didn't mean they were going to roll over and let the Chan's commandeer their entire industrial capacity.
"When does the order take effect?"
"24 hours. That was all I could buy you."
It was better than he thought.
"No, there won't be a fight, as long as they hold to that 24 hour window."
"I see," his friend said, "well, that's relieving to hear. Should I expect to receive your family during the holidays? I'm sure Lilah would love to catch up with Aera."
"Not this year," Trey said. "I believe the family is due for a very long vacation."
"Ha!" his friend bellowed, "I bet! You haven't stopped working since you took over for your father. I've got to say — you've always impressed me more than the rest of our colleagues. Anyway, I'm sure you'll be busy for the next few hours. I'll let you take care of business. Call me when everything has calmed down," his friend said.
"Will do, take care, my friend."
Trey hung up. He took one last puff of his cigar, leaving the stub on the table. Then he thought better of it and threw it in the trash, wiping the ash off the table and into the ashtray. He sighed. His assistant stood at his side, a concerned look on her face. She'd been following all the developments as he had, and was quite aware of how severe their situation was.
"Idra, call your husband," he said, his voice calm but tired. "I'll call the board and ready Merciful Cloud for departure, then I'll collect the kids. It's time to leave."
"Exodus?" Idra whispered.
Trey contacted his trusted board members and a few others who had been excluded from the initial project. This was done to maintain secrecy about Exodus. They were still considered trustworthy. There were some whose expertise and competence would serve them well, but had habits and personalities that could undermine his authority in the coming years.
He needed a loyal team to help him. Now more than ever, it was time to exercise his power as the Oberon monarch, a privilege he didn't take lightly, but was more than willing to use when necessary.
Idra wasted no time on her part and started dialling. They'd discussed all the steps, hoping for at least another few weeks before they'd have to make this choice, but they'd been prepared to make it at a moment's notice. She'd already spoken with her family about what they were preparing for, and they would be ready to leave as soon as she said so.
The Chan's had turned their child's mistake into just the catalyst they'd needed to speed up the timeline for their ascension.
However, Trey was grateful that Jason Chan had made so many mistakes in the way he handled Aera and Hunter. Otherwise, Trey wouldn't have been inspired to keep a close eye on the dynamics at play around Barnum this year. He wouldn't have caught on to the Chan's ambitions, and the plan to have his family removed. By the time he knew, it would have been too late to do anything about it. He might still be able to enact a project like Exodus, but with such a short timeframe he'd be look at a small handful of ships.
He was also grateful for the foresight he'd had in planning the coming operation in the first place. Everything seemed to come together to see that the Oberon Corporation had an escape route — a way to survive the coming storm. Soon, the Oberon domain would be a hive of activity. They wouldn't be able to bring everyone along. It would be impossible. But they had plenty of out-world assets which could relocate now that they'd had time to plan.
They would be all gone, stripped bare by the time the Council came to claim them.
"Oh," he said, a thought occurring to him once he'd made all the calls, "make sure the professor is on board one of the ships. He's already agreed to leave the academy at a moment's notice. Send small craft to extract him from Barnum. He's already packed."
Idra nodded and called the professor, organizing a team to extract him. Trey took a few prized possessions from his office, stuffing them into a bag. He brought his favourite coffee cup and a few books, which held sentimental value. His staff at the mansion would pack away a few mementos as well. All the ones who he'd had investigated, and passed muster, would leave with him. All of their families would accompany them.
It would be the biggest fleet movement in the world's history. Within a few hours, the sky would belong to the Oberon corporation, and their vast firepower would cover the escape of all the personnel they could gather.
He took one last, fond glance at the home office which had served his family for generations.
He closed the door behind him, shifting his mind from the past to the future.
It was time to build a new legacy, somewhere far from Sanctuary, far enough that the Council wouldn't find them for a long, long time.
He called Aera, and then Hunter, and told them to get ready to leave.
---
The change had come so suddenly. It was a few days after their return to the Oberon estate. Hunter was focused intently on the new etheric channels that had been forming since he'd first became aware of them.
He'd worried that his over-expenditure of etherium had strained him too far, and that it would have had an adverse effect on his channels. But it turned out it actually had a beneficial effect. There were quite a few new growths in response to the strain. It appeared the mechanism behind the rapid growth of his channels was highly adaptive. His channels hadn't expanded any more than usual, but they felt more intense. There was more etherium flowing through them than before.
His AR had gone up again. He'd started a new journal to record his progress.
5:50pm
Start AR: 25
End AR: 26
At this rate, he would hit 30 AR in a few days.
It was too early to celebrate. New phenomena meant unknown variables, and with his growth, there was only so much of the unknown that Hunter was willing to tolerate. So he decided he would limit the intensity of his ether expenditure for the near future while he studied himself.
He'd missed the first call from Trey, having been deep into his practice. But he was there for the second one.
Trey told him to get ready to leave.
They were leaving?
Everyone was leaving?
Trey told him he'd explain everything when they met up later. In the meantime, his only job was to pack his essentials. They would be going on a very long trip. Hunter wondered how far they would travel, and why, and he remembered what Trey had said to them before their last day at Barnum.
The council was squeezing them out.
If he was right, then this worst-case-scenario level serious. Where the hell would they go? It wasn't like the Council wanted to hunt them down, was it?
Then he considered who was behind the entire plot and knew that it was entirely possible that their lives could be in danger.
Hunter didn't take long to pack. After having to rely on himself for so many years, he knew what he could live with, and what he could live without. He didn't need his third arm anymore, so he left it behind. He had hung it on his tool rack a couple of days ago as a reminder.
He thought about it from a symbolic perspective and then decided to bring it anyway. It was important to remember what he was capable of, how he could adapt to circumstances when the circumstances didn't seem to want to adapt to him. He couldn't take it easy just because his biggest impediment had been solved. He was the kind of person who persevered, and he wouldn't let himself forget it.
He'd packed some of his favourite clothes, his father's journals, as well as his own journals and schematics for future projects. He considered the luxurious bed that he enjoyed, but figured he wouldn't be able to take it with him.
Nor would he be able to take the view, which was unfortunate, but perhaps one day he'd find something better.
Hunter took inventory of what he had, which wasn't much, seeing if there was anything else he wanted to take with him. Then he remembered his favourite coffee blends, which the kitchen always stocked in excess. He made a call and sighed in relief when they told him that Trey had already had their entire supply shipped out to wherever they were going. When he asked if they knew where that shipment was headed, they told him that they were just as clueless as he was.
Trey was keeping this close to his chest. He wondered what the man had planned.
With only the faintest hint of regret, he turned off the light to the room and closed the door. Before leaving, he checked near the kitchen for extra coffee. He smiled, finding a few dozen bags which the staff had missed. He stuffed as many as he could into one of his empty bags.
He went to the front of the house, where he found Barry and Aera packing bags and trinkets into the Kellese.
Aera offered to take Hunter's luggage and place it in the trunk. Barry refused. He pointed at her cast, shook his finger at her, and took Hunter's luggage—except the briefcase, which Hunter refused to part with. He needed to be aware of the briefcases whereabouts at all times. What it contained could be considered the most valuable things Hunter owned.
"Thank the universe we're taking the Kellese," Hunter said as they both sat in the backseats.
Aera smiled and shook her head.
"It's just a car," she said.
"iTs JuSt A cAr," Hunter mocked.
"Grow up," she sighed. Then held up a finger when he was about to repeat his performance, a look of warning on her face.
He'd seen her almost choke out a man twice her size. He'd take the warning. Barry got in the driver's seat, but waited to start the car.
"What are we waiting for?" Hunter asked.
The front door to the mansion opened and Trey stepped out, holding a travel mug, which Hunter was sure he knew was full of their local light-roast.
"Where's your stuff?" Aera asked as Trey entered the passenger side seat, and Barry activated the car.
"Sent it on ahead," Trey said.
"And where exactly is 'ahead'?" Hunter asked, still feeling apprehensive about the sudden move.
Trey smiled and looked back at Hunter, his suit jacket and tie bunched up under his chin.
"You'll see. I think you're gonna like it," Trey said, frowning at his tie and readjusting it as he faced the front window again.
"You're really going to keep us in suspense?" Hunter asked, glancing at Aera to see if she was feeling the same way he was. She appeared as stoic as ever, but it wasn't the old, cold kind of distance he'd endured the last time they both sat together like this.
Trey's mysterious smile graced his features once more. Hunter rolled his eyes and shared a glance with Aera. She seemed to share the same mild frustration around being kept in the dark.
After that evening at Barnum, something had shifted between them. Hunter wouldn't call them close, but they were no longer strangers, nor simply acquaintances obligated to spend time together.
They were friends. He didn't just trust Aera to have his back; he wanted to trust Aera to have his back. And was sure she felt the same way.
They were a unit. Over the last couple of days, they even continued their training sessions without Trey prompting it. They joked around, and laughed, and Hunter called Aera a cripple, and she showed him that even a cripple can still kick his ass.
Hunter thought it was awesome. It made him feel good. Not the part about getting his ass kicked, but that there was no hostility behind it.
Hunter had never had a sister before, and he wondered if this was what it felt like.
Throughout the trip, Hunter noticed Trey keeping his eyes on the sky, and Hunter did the same. There was an awful lot of activity up there.
"Some sort of event going on?" Hunter asked. "Something to do with the Council?"
Trey sighed.
"Yeah, something to do with the Council. A Council which," he checked his watch, "in about 9 hours, we will no longer be a part of."
So he'd had been right. Aera tensed beside him, growing more still than usual.
"But there's always a plan," Trey said, "And a plan behind the plan. And a plan behind the plan behind the plan."
"Where are we going?" Aera asked, "What are we going to do?"
"We are going to be okay," Trey said. "In fact, I think we're going to be more than okay. Come on, let it be a surprise. I promise you'll love it."
Hunter complained a bit more, but Trey was refusing to budge. The man was as stubborn as Aera, go figure.
Instead of heading towards the city, the Kellese headed deeper into the mountains. An hour later, they crested a hill, and Hunter saw a sight that took his breath away in the valley below them.
Hundreds of ships were grounded, and thousands of people were lined up around them. Cargo was moving at a scale that Hunter had never seen before.
"Is this the entire fleet?" Hunter asked. Trey shook his head.
"This is about half of it. Most of the military vessels will be getting into formation to cover our exit. The rest have already left."
Hunter was speechless as he gazed over the grand display. He heard Trey snickering at Hunter's reaction. Barry drove them down into the valley, and they drove right to the end of the line of ships. Hunter took in every sight he could, every silhouette, every make and model.
"You're really moving the entire company."
Trey just nodded with his signature smile. The Kellese approached the biggest ship. It was the final ship in the assemblage. It was at least three times bigger than the rest. They drove past the line of people and joined the freight cars hauling supplies through the ship's cargo bay.
They exited the car as Barry went to park it in a marked cargo container.
"Welcome aboard the Merciful Cloud, our home for the next year," Trey said, opening the door to the ship's cargo bay. "It's the flagship of the fleet."
"How far are we going?" Aera asked.
"Far away," Trey said, "Very far."
He glanced back at them.
"Far enough to grant us the freedom to live and grow as we wish," he said, looking at Hunter, who was meticulously examining every detail of the machinery.
He couldn't get enough. He wanted to see it all, to understand how it was all put together. He could feel the etheric maelstrom contained within the ship's walls.
Finally, he was here. In a roundabout way, Trey had kept his promise, and Hunter hadn't even had to earn Excellence for it.
It was time to leave Sanctuary. He was really going to explore new worlds. He couldn't contain the upwelling of excitement in his chest.
And when he considered who he was going to be doing it with, that excitement blossomed into a pleasant warmth.
His new family would be with him every step of the way.
"I knew you'd love it. Come on, let's get you two packed away," Trey said, leading them down one of the ship's busy corridors. "We've got plenty of work to do."