“[color=gray]What do you mean ‘[i]flared[/i]’? How could this happen?[/color]”

Besca hunched over the inlaid monitor at the table, eyes glued to the readings as the energy-levels at the quarry began to spike. They’d tracked the singularity here, and by every account they ought to have had its emergent timeframe down to the [i]minutes[/i]—how the hell were they off by several hours?

“I triple-checked the scans, they were [i]bulletproof[/i],” said one of the analysts, sounding just as baffled. “We had that blip a few hours ago, but it leveled out before you even got up here. Everything was stable until a minute ago!”

“[color=gray]Clearing fucking [i]not[/i]! Two of our pilots aren’t anywhere near that checkpoint, how long do we have?[/color]”

“Five, maybe ten minutes?”

The doors to the monitoring room opened for a single uniformed man. He was older, black hair shorn short and streaked with gray. A thin beard hid the lines in his face, but did nothing to soften the cold blackness of his eyes. He strode to the round table, hard gaze fixed on the only person in the room, maybe the whole station, who wouldn’t wilt under it. 

“[color=black]Darroh, report.[/color]”

“[color=gray]There was a mistake,[/color]” she said, and glared the analyst quiet when he tried to protest. “[color=gray]Readings, hardware, we don’t know—doesn’t matter. We’re looking at five minutes ‘til this thing kicks off.[/color]”

He took the news like a wall took the impact of a baby bird. “[color=black]Our pilots?[/color]”

“[color=gray]Ghaust and Abroix will be set. Calhan might make it in time, St. Senn won’t be up here ‘til it’s already opened. Once she’s back we can have her prepped in minutes in case she’s needed, but right now I’m worried about the barricade.[/color]”

“[color=black]Ground forces are mobilized, they can cover for Calhan. Category?[/color]

Besca shook her head. “[color=gray]Slightly raised, but still within expected parameters. Enough room for the little guys, a few titan-class, [i]maybe[/i] one Modir. All in all, could be worse. Won’t have the light for glamour shots, but this should still be a clean sweep.[/color]”

Barring an intensive psychological evaluation, it would have been impossible to tell whether or not her answers satisfied him. In the end he made a gruff sound, nodded, and left the room again.

Besca whirled back around to the table, brought up a view of the quarry, and several smaller screens monitoring the town. Her eyes jumped from one to another, until she spotted a boat tearing its way towards the shore. 

“[color=gray]Ghaust, Lucis,[/color]” she said, speaking into an earpiece. “[color=gray]Where are you?[/color]”

Lucis’s voice came back, “[color=92278f]About to slot in. This really happening, Doc? Bit of a surprise, not like you to be so sloppy~[/color]” 

“[color=gray]Yeah, yeah. What’s the Casobani word for [i]asshole[/i]?[/color]”

“[color=92278f]I believe it’s something like, [i]Darroux[/i].[/color]”

“[color=crimson]Where are Calhan and St. Senn?[/color]” Ghaust’s voice was hard, gravely. 

“[color=gray]Safie’s on her way. Dahlia will be prepped up here soon in case things go south.[/color]”

“[color=92278f]Oh [i]Darroux,[/i][/color] Lucis hummed. “[color=92278f]Have a little more faith.[/color]”

[hr][hr]
They moved. Fast. Dahlia braced against the railing as the boat jolted against the waves. Safie managed to stay upright, and almost instinctively, she took hold of Quinn. Her serious expression melted when she met Quinn’s eyes, and she sat down to be level with her. 

“[color=green]Hey—hey it’s okay,”[/color] she said, tender voice somehow reaching her through the ripping water and blaring alarm. “[color=green]That thing Deelie and I came to do, looks like it’s just happening a little sooner than we thought. They’re warning everyone, that’s all.[/color]”

“[color=skyblue]We should pull in closer to the barricade![/color]” Dahlia called. 

“[color=green]The elevator is farther, we need to get you up first! Look! Lou and Ghaust are already set![/color]” 

She pointed to the distance, towards the quarry, where floodlights lit the massive forms of [i]Grauritter[/i] and [i]Magnifique[/i]. From so far away they looked like thin statues, but suddenly they moved, taking unburdened steps away from the checkpoint. The last giant, [i]Jubilee[/i] remained behind. 

Dahlia seemed worried, but nodded. Safie turned her attention back to Quinn, putting on another warm smile. [color=green]“Sorry we won’t get to do the fireworks tonight, but hey! We’re gonna put on an even [i]cooler[/i] show for you, how about that? You get to watch me kick some serious butt—and Lucis and Ghaust will help, too, but they’re not as cool.[/color]”

As they drew closer to shore, the alarm began to wane. By the time they reached the docks, the whole town was nearly silent—at least until the sounds of rushing vehicles and the clamor of crowds picked up again. 

“[color=green]Alright! Wish me luck![/color]” Safie tousled Quinn’s hair, gave her a wink. “[color=green]Watch for the one with the big, glow-y chains, that’s me.[/color]”

With the same grace as she’d had on the boat, she leapt the railing onto the dock, and broke into a sprint, vanishing into the still-crowded streets. 

Dahlia took her place, patting Quinn on the shoulder. She smiled, but she didn’t have Safie’s unshakable optimism behind it. “[color=skyblue]Hey, if you’d feel safer, you could stay with my dad. I trust him as much as I trust Besca. I-I mean, everything’s gonna be fine, you know, but all I’m saying is…uh…even if it’s not, he won’t let anything happen to you. N-not that it will. Gosh, I’m bad at this, I’m sorry.[/color]”

She pulled a pen from her pocket, gently took Quinn’s hand, and scribbled some numbers on her palm. “[color=skyblue]Here’s our phones. I really liked meeting you! When this is all done, we should, like, keep in touch. I miss talking to people from home.[/color]”

Daz came over and pulled Dahlia into a hug that she returned even stronger. He whispered something to her, and she nodded. With a last wave to Quinn, she took off down the docks, towards the elevator’s platform. 

Suddenly it was just the two of them.

“[color=darkorange]Like she said,[/color]” Daz rumbled. He stood beside her, a veritable mountain in man’s form. “[color=darkorange]You’re welcome to stay with me. We can head back out to the water if you feel safer there, or we can stay in the town. I’d offer to take you home, but I think it’s best we don’t stray that far ‘til this is over.[/color]”