Chapter 17: The Stage is Set

January 25, 2024 1:25 PM

Jacob was finding it harder and harder to focus on building homes as people keep wondering away. Off in the distance, Jacob could see Pyrrha moving about with some kind of metal thing on her back, a thing that had come from the secret part of the armory. Jacob had no idea what it was and he had to fight not to stare at it in wonder like everyone else. A number of them were whispering between each other, trading theories and other crap. So much for helping the slums...

Whatever it was, it must have been what his dad had wanted with Sanders. Still made him pissed that his dad hadn't even bothered to say hi. Too busy being Force Commander Derek to even say hello to his son, but DID have time to talk to Samantha AND Sanders. Dammit, why had he even bothered being worried for the old bastard? Jacob turned back to the house he was helping build and took out his frustration on the nail he was hammering in. If nothing else, this was good for misplaced aggression. He was helping others and keeping himself from punching someone.

Jacob focused on his hammering for a few minutes till a cheer got his attention. He turned back to see Pyrrha and Sanders heading back to the area, getting a cheer from the workers. Jacob rolled his eyes as his anger came back with a bit of jealousy. Yes, lets all hail the returning hero. The brave man who had nearly gotten eaten by the spidermonster, and gotten Jacob blamed for that, somehow. It still made him furious that he got a chewing out because of that while Sanders got off scott free. Last time he saves his ass, that's for sure.

Jacob had had enough of this shit, too angry for even hammering to solve. He was going to drown his rage in some meat, shine, and Samantha's smiling face. Jacob tossed down his tools and headed back into the main celebration. Despite himself, he couldn't help but cheer up a bit as he made his way through the area. Seeing the slum people happy and actually hopeful was just too good for Jacob to stay angry. He would never admit it to anyone, but Jacob did think Sanders deserved some praise for helping these people. Still, he couldn't help but be jealous of him. He was being treated like the hero Jacob had always wanted to be...only it was Pyrrha who was really doing all the work. Without her, Sanders was just another asshole.

Jacob moved through the crowd to the cook fire Samantha was at. He smiled as it came into view and looked around for Samantha. Oddly, however, he didn't see her anywhere near the fire. Jacob's smile faded as he wondered where she had gone. He walked up to one of the other women serving food to ask her.

"Excuse me," he said to get her attention. She turned to him and looked about to tell him to wait in line, but Jacob stopped her with a raised hand.

"I'm just looking for Samantha, have you seen her?" he asked as the woman got an ahh look.

"Oh, Samantha. Uhh...she was her- OH RIGHT! Derek came by with a few others and had her come with him to talk," the woman said with a smile.

"Where did they go?" Jacob asked the woman. She pointed off toward the city and Jacob thanked her before heading that way. He weaved his way through the crowd as he looked around for any sign of his dad or Samantha. He didn't see either anywhere in the crowd, however. Frowning a bit, he decided to try in the city thinking they might have wanted some privacy.

Jacob heading into the near empty streets and saw, at the end of the block, his dad, Samantha, and a few others from Squad Three all talking. Jacob headed over to them and managed to catch the last bit of his dad's words.

"-form tomorrow. Make sure all your stuff is ready by tonight and that you have everything you need for a long trip. Extra ammo and water takes first priority, understood?" his father said as everyone nodded. Jacob moved into the group, getting a smile from Samantha and an odd look from his dad. The others barely even glanced at him and Jacob had to fight the urge to yell at them. He keep it bottled, though, since his dad was here.

"Good. You can stay at the celebration till the tests tonight, but make sure you are battle-ready tomorrow. Now, I need to have a private chat with my son," Derek said as he waved everyone away. The other members of Squad Three gave Jacob smug looks and seemed to snicker a bit. Jacob wanted to punch them all, but Samantha's touch on his shoulder got his mind off them. She gave him a light kiss before heading with them back to the celebration. Sanders turned back to his dad and wondered what he had done now. Maybe he had heard about his and Sanders' fight...

"Jacob, I have decided to reassign you. You are now part of Squad One," Derek said with a slight smile. Jacob felt like he had just been slapped upside the head with a winning lottery ticket. W...What the hell?! Reassigned to...Squad One....that was the best squad in the Force! The very same squad Derek lead himself! Was this why his dad had avoided him before, to confirm his reassignment with Darius? Holy crap...Jacob didn't know what to say...and he had called him an old bastard too...

"Da-Commander...Thank you, sir! I won't let you down!" Jacob finally managed to say with a proud salute. FINALLY! He was moving up and soon he would have his own squad and then his own Force. He was going to show everyone that he was his father's son and just as good, if not better, than his old man!

"I know you won't, Jacob. Make sure you keep Hope safe while we are gone," Derek said as he started to turn to leave. Wait...safe while they are gone? What the hell was his dad talking about? He had just told Samantha and a few-...from Squad Th-... Realization hit Jacob like a sledgehammer and the impact sent his anger soaring to new heights. His dad had only moved him to Squad One to keep him from going on this mission!!! This wasn't a promotion, it was just a way to keep him from the mission!! That bastard thought he was that much of a liability?!?!?!?

"Safe wh-... You asshole! You moved me to Squad One just to keep me off this mission?!" Jacob demanded as he moved after his dad. His dad's shoulders slumped a bit as he sighed. He didn't turn, though, as he answered.

"I moved you because I felt it was needed. That is all," Da-no Derek said. This wasn't his father talking, just the damn Force Commander who had it in for Jacob! Jacob's hands clenched together as he felt his anger beginning to boil over. How could his dad do this to him?! As if he didn't catch enough shit as it was...

"Why was it needed?! Do you know what the ot-" Jacob started to say before Derek whirled around on him. Derek glared down at Jacob with a furious look.

"I don't have to justify anything to you. You are not going on this mission and that is final. Now you can either be a good soldier and do what you are ordered and join Squad One, or keep questioning me and get booted out. Which is it, Private Hodgson?" Force Commander Derek said with barely contained fury. Normally, Jacob would have backed down for such a look and statement, but his anger and rage were overriding his sense.Like hell he was going to back down!

"I could ask you the same, Dad, or should it be Force Commander? Cause it sure seems like a lot of your fucking choices are something my dad would make and yet want the Commander's authority behind them. The Commander wouldn't put his squad a man down and risk everyone's lives just to protect one soldier. And my dad doesn't get to tell me what I can and can't do now that I am not living in his house! So why don't you just go fuck yourself and your damn Private bullshit!" Jacob said before storming away from his father. Derek yelled after him, his voice roaring with rage, but Jacob was having none of it. He took off running into the celebration, having no wish to even look as his dad much less listen to him, and weaved through the crowd. Jacob was bigger than most, but nowhere near as large as his father. He managed to weave through without much trouble where as his dad keep getting bogged down by the mass of people. Soon enough, Jacob couldn't hear his father's angry yells over the dull rumble of the crowd.

Jacob turned back in the direction his dad had been and felt his rage bubbling up again, though with a hint of guilt too. He shouldn't have said that...and yet it felt so damn good to finally say it. He was utterly sick of his dad acting like his dad when it came to his safety, often putting others at risk because of it, and yet wanting the obedience a Force Commander demanded at all times. But most of all, he was sick of his dad just assuming he would screw things up. Anytime there was something important to do, Dad always picked someone other than him and he was SICK of it. Well fuck him and fuck his lack of faith in him.

Jacob plowed his way through the crowd, making for a food line. He was in no mood to weave through people so he just barreled his way through, leaving a number of people cursing behind him He returned their curses and stormed through. Thankfully, the line wasn't too long and he was up front soon enough. He was so lost in his anger that he barely registered the familiar hi from the woman handing him his food. He looked up to see Samantha's smiling face staring back at him. Her smile faded, though, and slowly turned into a worried frown as she looked at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked him as Jacob grabbed his food from her.

"Nothing, just tired is all," Jacob lied before walking away to find a spot to eat his meal. Samantha, though, didn't look to be fooled by that answer and followed after him.

"Jacob? Jacob, what is wrong?" Samantha asked with a worried tone. Jacob groaned to himself as he realized he was making her unduly worried now. He cursed his dad for this mess again as he took a bite of his meat. Maybe he would luck up and she would leave him alone once he told her it was about his dad.

"Just mad at my father, alright? Now leave me alone," Jacob said as he began to try and eat as messily as possible. He knew Samantha could not stand when people ate like pigs so he was hoping the display would send her scuttling off. No such luck, though, as she ignored his messy eating as she sat next to him.

"Why, what happened?" she asked with a slight twitch as he smacked his lips together. Jacob gave up on eating messily to scare her off and sighed to himself. No getting out of answering it now as she would just keep baggering him till he broke. Better to just get it out of the way and avoid the headache.

"I'm not going on the mission he just told you about. And, to top it off, he had the gall to assign me to Squad One to try and appease me," Jacob said, unable to keep his anger out of his voice. Samantha shook her head and sighed at that, looking rather displeased by it herself. He knew she would understand just how wrong this was and why he was pissed as hell.

"I'm sorry, Jacob. Derek should never have moved you to Squad One for such a horrid reason... but he is just trying to keep you safe," Samantha said as she wrapped her arm around his shoulders. Jacob's face frowned in annoyance at that and he turned to glare at Samantha.

"By keeping me away from everything? By never letting me do anything that is perfectly safe and being furious when I step out of HIS comfort-zone? All they while taking huge risks himself?" Jacob said as his anger began to rise to new heights. It wasn't fair...it wasn't fair that his dad went out there everyday and risked his live while forcing Jacob to sit here and wait.

"He is just worried about losing you," Samantha said as she tried to pull herself closer to Jacob. Jacob shrugged off her arm as his anger flared to its limit.

"AND WHAT ABOUT ME!? What, does he think I don't worry about losing him too?! That I don't live in fear of him going out and just never coming back? Of me never knowing what happened to him and having to live my life never knowing if me being there would have mattered?! Does he think I won't miss him just as much as he will miss me?!" Jacob said as he had to fight back some tears coming on. Dammit, he hated to admit that, but it felt good to finally admit it. A few people had turned to look at Jacob during his outburst and Jacob glared back at them.

"GO THE FUCK AWAY!" he yelled at them and they all began to scamper away. Jacob sighed as he flopped back down and buried his head in his hands. He sighed to himself as he felt Samantha slide over to him. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged herself to him as Jacob fought off the tears that were demanding to be released. They two sat like that for a few seconds before Samantha spoke up.

"You should tell your father that. He loves you, Jacob, and he will see just how unfair he has been if you talk to him rather than yell at him. Just tell him what you said and he will let you come, I promise," Samantha said as she nuzzled closer to Jacob. Jacob slid his hands down from his face and thought about it. Maybe...maybe she was right...may- Jacob's lingering sadness and anger turned to fear as he remembered what he had said to his father when he left. Fuck how the hell could he go and talk to his dad after saying THAT?! No...no he..he didn't think he could face his dad right now. But he knew Samantha wasn't going to accept that answer.

"Yeah...yeah I should. Think I will go do that now," Jacob said as he started to get up. Samantha didn't release him from her hug as he tried to stand, however. He glanced back to Samantha and came face to face with her suspicion look. He thought about making a run for it, but reconsidered as Samantha's arms tightened their grip. Jacob tried to keep the fear off his face, but it was hard to keep his feelings from surfacing when Samantha was this close. She sighed as she looked down and shook her head.

"Or we can wait till after this mission. I suppose we don't want to cause issues before such an important thing," Samantha said getting a sigh of relieve from Sanders. Before either of them could do anything else, a low deep horn blast came from the direction of the townhall. Most of the people around looked surprised, but Samantha didn't look surprised in the least.

"That time already? I need to get back to the armory to get some stuff ready, unless..." she paused as Jacob turned back to look at her,
"unless you want me to stay here. I don't mind sitting out this mission too and I am sure we could find things to do..." Samantha gave him a look that made Jacob's pants feel a bit tighter. That...was a very...very tempting offer, but at the same time Samantha was one of the best soldiers in Squad Three and they would already be short-handed without him. He...he couldn't do that to Squad Three, even if he hated most of them.

"No, the squad is going to need you, Samantha. You need to go," Jacob said, kicking himself for it as he said it. All that time alone with Samantha...damn his morale compass! Samantha's lusty look slowly faded away to be replaced with a neutral look. She...wasn't mad was she? Fuck he hoped not.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to tell me to go only to regret it when I leave," Samantha said as she moved a bit closer to him. Jacob's pants trouble only got worse now that Samantha was leaning against him and close enough for him to smell her scent. Dammit, he soooo wanted to say fuck the squad time to fuck, but he just couldn't do it.

"Yes, I'm sure. They are going to need you more than I will," Jacob said  with a inward groan. Samantha's neutral look vanished from her face to be replaced with a bright smile. She leaned in and kissed him full on the lips, going for a full on make-out. Before Jacob could wonder what that was for, Samantha pulled away and got to her feet.

"You should go to the meeting. Even if you are not going on the expedition, you should know what is at stake. Just don't do anything too stupid afterwords, alright?" Samantha said with a slight smirk and a wink. Jacob was left with a confused look on his face as Samantha sauntered off, obviously shaking her hips on purpose with each step. What...what was that about? Had...had he done something that had made her happy? He must have as she only did things like that when she was happy with him. But what the hell had he done?

He shook off the sight of Samantha's retreating rear, and the desire to go rushing after it, as the horn blew a second time. Samantha had told him to go and he supposed he might as well hear what Darius had to say. Even if he wasn't going, he should at least try to stay up-to-date. And maybe...maybe his dad would be there and... fuck no..no he couldn't do that.

Jacob followed the flow of people heading toward the town hall and away from the celebration area. Only a handful of people were going against the flow or avoiding it as most everyone was heading that way. Jacob was able to overhear a bit of chatter from the people moving around him. Most figured this was going to be some kind of award ceremony for Sanders or something else along that line...ugh he hoped they were wrong. The smarter ones in the crowd figured it had something to do with that huge metal thing that Pyrrha was using before, which is what Jacob figured as well. Still others thought Darius was going to step down and let Sanders takeover, which nearly made Jacob burst into laughter. Jacob wasn't a fan of Darius' leadership and willingness to let people die, but he was still better than Sanders. At least Darius had proven to be successful at leading, unlike Sanders. Not to mention, Jacob had a feeling Darius was not the type to just step down.

By the time Jacob arrived at the town hall, the area in front of it was packed with people. A few soldiers were moving around the area, trying to get people to move in closer to make more room. Normally a meeting like this would be held inside, but with the winter people here, there simply was not enough room inside the hall for everyone. Instead, Darius, his dad, and Sanders were all standing on the raised platform in front of the town hall. Jacob stayed near the back of the huge crowd, content to be away from the press and his dad's gaze Thankfully, Derek seemed occupied with his own thoughts and was staring off into nothing rather than scanning the crowd. Jacob thought he looked...sadder than normal and a bit of guilt hit him. Maybe once this was over he would talk to him and apologize.

A few minutes passed as more people squeezed in while others headed into nearby buildings to look through the windows. Finally, the last of the people came into the area and Darius stepped forward to begin his announcement. The crowd quieted down as Darius cleared his throat.

"Good afternoon to you all. Today has been a very momentous and wonderful day. From the gifts of home and food from Hope's new heroes, Sanders and Pyrrha, to the strange sight I am sure many of you saw on Pyrrha. Today has, certainly, been a day of wonder.

"However, despite how wonderful this day may have been, we cannot forget that we are at war. Outside these walls, men and women fight everyday to keep us safe from those that would crush us. From those who view us as nothing more than vermin needed to be exterminated and removed from this world for daring not to bow to them. I know this is not something you want to hear on a day full of celebrations, but reality will not take a backseat just for our enjoyment. No matter how much we would wish it would."

Darius paused here as he looked over everyone and seemed to scan for reactions. So far, all he had really done was erase a few smiles as they remember what a horrid world this was. Great, people finally get a distraction and he rips it away with nothing to offer as comfort. Asshole.

"But just because we must accept this reality for now, does not mean that we cannot change it for the future. Indeed, I believe it is time we start doing just that. The object many of you saw on Pyrrha was a new weapon developed by our scientist and engineers. It is a mobile base capable of being safety moved and used while on Pyrrha's back. With it, we can transport man and materials far faster than we have ever been able to before, and range further as well. This new weapon, combined with the already incredible power of Pyrrha, will allow us to bring the fight to the Society and force them on the defensive," Darius said, getting a few cheers and claps. Still, most of the people seemed skeptical or downright hostile to the idea. Jacob wasn't surprised by that in the least, though. Any talk of fighting the Society since the Bears were wiped was always meet with suspicion and fear. Idiots, didn't they see that the Society would wipe them out regardless of if they fought or not? Fighting was the only option they really had.

"I know many of you are...hesitant, to put your faith in anything that involves warfare against the Society. I will admit to sharing your fear and worry, doubly so after the fate of the Bears. Thankfully, or hero Sanders has come bearing the answer to this problem as well. When he escaped from the Society, he did so bearing important intelligence. This intelligence suggests something is in Lindale, something that may turn the tide of the war completely in our favor," Darius said as Sanders looked away and to the side. The entire crowd picked up on that last part and the skeptical and hostile looks vanished to be ones of interest. Jacob eyes widened a bit at the news as he realized this is what Darius was talking about back when they had first gotten back to Hope. And he wasn't going to be allowed to go?!

"While we all mourn for the lose of Dr. Manchent and his death at the hands of the Society," Sanders downcast look became even more downcast at that part, "his legacy still lives on. According to the information Sanders brought back, Manchent left something in Lindale. Something so dangerous to the Society that they were willing to kill their own to protect it. So dangerous that they have not stopped hunting Sanders since his escape. So dangerous, that it must surely be able to turn the war against them. Tomorrow, an expedition will go with Sanders and Pyrrha, using this new weapon, to search Lindale for what Manchent left. We will find whatever it is that he left, bring it back, and use it against the Society! With Manchent's legacy, we will turn this war into our favor and our hero will see us to victory!" Darius said getting a cheer from nearly everyone in the area. Jacob watched as Darius moved aside and Derek pushed Sanders forward.

"To the hero who will lead us back to our lives! To Sanders!" Darius yelled as the call was picked up by the crowd. Jacob's jealousy came back in full as he looked at Sanders on that platform, his name being chanted. Despite being exactly where Jacob wanted to be, he looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. Dammit, why was HE up there?! Did none of them know Jacob had saved his ass not a day ago?! Of course not, cause HE wasn't important! And now the "hero" was going off to get a weapon that could turn the tide without Jacob so he could be even MORE celebrated?! HELL NO! HE WAS NOT PUTTING UP WITH THIS! HE WAS NOT GOING TO SIT ON THE SIDELINES WHILE EVERYONE'S FUTURE WAS ON THE LINE!!!

Jacob stormed off away from the meeting, making a beeline for the armory. He was going on this mission and there wasn't a damn thing Sanders, Darius, or his dad could say to stop him! He didn't care if he had to have a heart to heart with his dad or punch him out, he was going and that was that!

He plowed his way through the nearly empty celebration area, stomped through the construction area and its many half built homes, and growled the whole way up to the armory. He was about to smash the door aside when movement to his side caught his eye. Jacob turned to see a few people moving some boxes toward the secret area of the armory, the same area that had the metal thing the expedition was going to be using.

Jacob's anger was pushed aside as curiosity took over. He moved over to the area and saw the people moving the boxes toward a person-powered crane that was lifting them up to the platform. Ahh, they were moving the supplies the expedition would need onto the platform. His curiosity sated, Jacob was about to go back to blasting into the armory when a thought occurred to him. He headed back around to the other side of the armory, where the garage and the ramp down the Charlotte was, and came upon a massive pile of boxes and thimbles ready to be transported to the platform. Jacob smiled to himself as he moved toward them.

Suddenly, he heard some voices coming toward him and Jacob cursed as he dived behind some of the crates. Two of the workers were coming back to grab more of the crates. Crap, if they saw him in here they were sure to wonder what he was doing and might even go to his dad about it. Dammit, this would have been so much easier than having to deal with his dad. He groaned to himself until a familiar female voice came from outside.

"Hey, you two, can you help me with this?" Samantha yelled from outside, getting the workers to head back out of the garage. Jacob let out a sigh of relieve as they moved away and back around to the front of the armory. Jacob wasted no time as he moved to one of the crates marked for ammo. He opened the top and took out a number of the clips inside. He sat them aside and out of sight till there was enough space for him to get in. He climbed in and let the lid fall back down over him. There was barely enough room for him to fit in here and it was going to be a very uncomfortable ride, but he was willing to put up with it if it meant he could go on this mission. And by God, he was.

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Sanders had to fight to keep some kind of positive look on his face. All this was just...too much. Darius had dumped every hope and dream of the people of Hope onto his shoulders. Worse, he hadn't given a single hint to Sanders that he intended to do it. And now that it was out there, anything short of accepting the burden would crush these people. It was just like when he had first arrived in Hope with Pyrrha...dammit had he been planning this since then?!

Sanders tried to keep his anger at Darius hidden as he waved to the cheering crowd. He thought about saying a few words, but was afraid his tone would give away how unsure he was of all this. These people didn't want an unsure person, they wanted a rock-steady hero, and Sanders didn't want to dispel their belief that he was the later. He did his best to look confident and sure of himself as he keep waving to them till Darius stepped forward again.

"Everyone, quiet down, there is still more to tell," Darius said, getting the cheering and yells to die down after a few seconds.
"I will be going with this expedition, as will Force Commander Derek. With both of us gone, General Holmes will be placed in overall command. As for Hope itself, Mayor Cormec will be in charge. With the recent victories we have made against the Society, in part thanks to Sanders and Pyrrha, it is unlikely they will trouble us while this mission is going on. Should the unthinkable happen, however, remember the drills we have practiced and follow all orders given to you by military personal.

"In addition, ther-" Sanders listened to Darius for a few short seconds before deciding this stuff had nothing to do with him. It sounded like this was just law and business stuff to keep Hope running while Darius was gone. Most of it went right over Sanders head along with most of the crowd who seemed to just mil around hoping for something more interesting to come up. It never did, though, but Darius didn't talk long.

"-and rations will be keep at their normal rates.  Derek, any further business?" Darius asked the larger man. Derek thought for a second before he shook his head. Darius nodded and turned back to the crowd.

"That is all the announcements. I know many of you would love to thank and wish good luck to Sanders personally, but I must ask all of you to refrain from that. He and Pyrrha will both need their rest and I require his counsel before going on this expedition. Therefore, I would ask you all to go back to your homes or helping make the new homes for our less fortunate citizens rather than rushing the platform. Thank you," Darius said. To Sanders surprise, everyone actually did as Darius suggested and began to disperse into the city, the dull buzz of their talking filling up the air.

Darius turned back to him and Derek and motioned for them to follow him into the town hall. Sanders had just turned to follow when a familiar voice caught their attention.

"Darius!" a woman shouted from behind them. They all turned to see Doctor H- Kimberly coming up the stairs to them, a determined look on her face. Sanders had to fight not to stare at her chest as it bounced with each step she took up the stairs. Dammit, what heav- NO NONO!

"Doctor, can I help you with something?" Darius asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I am going on the expedition," Kimberly said  with a look that broached no discussion. Sanders glanced back towards Darius and saw his face remained the passive mask it always seemed to be, completely unreadable. Derek, however, was far from passive and looked about to argue against it. Before he could, Darius held up his hand and motioned Derek over. Derek came closer and Darius whispered something into his ear, something about picking battles. Whatever Darius said seemed to work on Derek. He turned back to look at Kimberly before his shoulders slumped and he sighed in defeat. Probably for the best as the way Kimberly looked made it obvious No was not a choice.

"Very well. Have any equipment you will need delivered to the armory before the end of the day and come to the platform as soon as the town hall horn sounds. If you are late, we will leave you behind," Darius said keeping both his voice and face emotionless. Kimberly didn't so much as smirk as she nodded and headed back toward her clinic. Sanders wasn't sure if he was excited or worried she was coming, but didn't get much time to debate as Darius headed into the town hall.

Sanders followed him along with Derek and entered into the rather...unimpressive town hall. Most town halls had decorations, monuments, or something to show the town's history. No such things here as all the hall was...was well just that. It was a big open hall with wooden pews scattered about. A large raised platform along with a podium was at the far end of the room along with a spiral staircase leading to the second floor. A few spare guns and rockets were scattered about the room on gun racks and a few of the "windows" seemed more like gun-slits. Most of the walls were reinforced with large metal bars or were solid metal on this side. He remembered Jacob had said this place was more fort than town hall and, seeing it on the inside, he could see what he meant. It probably wouldn't hold out long against a Society attack, but it was better than being out in the open.

Sanders shook off his wonder at the sight as he remembered what had happened outside a second ago. He rushed up to Darius and pulled him around to face him. He ignored the fast approach of Derek as he stared Darius down.

"What the hell was that about?! You are making it sound like whatever Manchent left is going to solve everything and, magically, turn us all back to normal!" Sanders said, his anger rising as he realized those people's expectations would never be meet now. No matter what Manchent had left, it would NEVER match the expectations Darius had given it. Darius, though, didn't even bat an eye at Sanders fury.

"I told them what they wanted to hear. They don't want to hear that we MIGHT have a way to help them, they don't want to here that we are WORKING on saving them, they don't want a POSSIBLE savior. If I had told them the full truth they would have seen it as a fool's errand or, worse, as us fleeing to save our own skins. Either way, we would not have been able to leave on this mission and whatever Manchent left would be lost to us," Darius said with his increasingly infuriating emotionless stare. Dammit, what he said did make sense, but that didn't make it anymore right. They were still getting these people's hopes up far too high and would only succeed in crushing their spirits when they failed to deliver.

"And what happens if we come back and what Manchent left wasn't a game changer or, fuck, if we come back empty-handed? What the hell do we tell them then?" Sanders demanded. He thought for sure Derek would have butted in by now and pulled Sanders away from Darius or said something, but the large man was silent as he and Darius went at it. Maybe he was having the same doubts as Sanders.

"Then we lie to them, of course. We tell them that what we found is so great we can't risk revealing it and let them believe everything will change. And everything will whether we succeed or not. The platform and Pyrrha alone will revolutionize our war efforts without the need to find anything in Lindale. That will be enough to keep the people happy and their morale high. And as long as we do that, there is still a fighting chance," Darius said as if explaining a problem to a child. Sanders was less than happy with that tone and with the dishonesty of this. Whether Darius was right or not, it didn't excuse him outright lying to his people just to keep them fighting. Doubly so when that lie might be the only reason they were still fighting.

"So we just keep them in the dark and hope they never find out the truth? We let them live in ignorance to how bad things are?!" Sanders demanded in anger. Darius sighed to himself and rubbed his temple before he responded.

"And what would you do instead? Let them know that we have no way of winning the war as things are? That even if that platform works perfectly it will never win us the war? That we are putting what little hope there is on the belief that there is a miracle in Lindale left by Manchent? What good would that do anyone? Who would we help by telling them that they are, most likely, doomed to die without ever regaining their original size? That their children will still live in fear of being squashed as bugs and that their family and friends who go off to die managed to only buy time with their lives?" Darius asked with a harsh glare. Sanders tried to stammer out an answer, but found himself unable to find a good comeback to that. It...it wasn't....this wasn't right and...and yet...

To his surprise, Sanders felt Derek's large hand pat his shoulder. Sanders turned back to see a sympathetic look of the large man's face.

"I know how you feel about lying to them, but Darius is right. Telling everyone the truth isn't going to help them in this case. All it will do is make them lose hope and give in to despair. And nothing will insure we lose more than that. In this case, lying to them is the kinder thing to do, even if it is morally wrong," Derek said with a sigh. Darius nodded his agreement as Sanders scrambled for something to say in opposition. And yet...nothing came. Dammit he didn't want to agree with this, but everything Derek said was true. What good was the truth if it made things worse for these people? You couldn't save everyone...and you couldn't always tell the truth... Sanders unconsciously rubbed the whistle in his pocket. Would you have told me that Lindsey?

"...Alright, just...don't make me part of anymore lies," Sanders said with an admittance of defeat. Darius groaned a bit, but didn't say anything as Derek gave him a glare. He shook his head and turned away.

"Fine, we have better things to do than debate this anyway. Derek and myself need to go over a few things in private before we go over the mission with everyone. Make sure you and Pyrrha are ready in case the backpack is finished early, we still need to test it with real people. And make sure you keep this conversation to yourself," Darius said before heading toward the stairs leading up. Derek sighed to himself and shook his own head before going after Darius. Sanders had no wish to continue this conversation or its implications anymore, so he turned and headed out of the town hall. This entire event left a bad taste in his mouth and he wanted to put it behind him. Doubly so when he had no real choice but to go along with it. He had come too far with the Phoenixes to abandon them now, even if he was beginning to wonder if their leader was really the best person for the job.

Pushing his worries aside, Sanders looked around to see where Pyrrha had wondered off to. He saw her head and her shoulders peeking out above the buildings in the direction of the lake. She was smiling down at something and looked to have found something to keep her entertained. That was good as he really didn't want to see what kind of trouble she would get up to if she got bored. He decided to go check on her and started toward her.

After a few minutes of moving through the streets, all while fending off people wanting to thank him,  Sanders exited Hope and got a good look at what Pyrrha was up to. She was sitting out in the lake with her legs crossed in front of her. The water was just deep enough for most of her legs to be under the water, though only barely. Her knees, however, stuck out like giant furry islands and Sanders could see people moving on them. He squinted and could barely make out the forms of kids moving over and around her knees. Sanders figured they were the orphans from before and Pyrrha must have taken them out to play in the water. From here, it looked like Pyrrha was using her fingers to try and, gently, push them off her knees while the kids ran to avoid her fingers. From the sounds of the laughter drifting to him, they seemed to be having a good time.

Sanders thought about swimming out to join in and get a better look, but he worried about his armor. If he keep it on, he would be lucky not to have to be fished out by Pyrrha. But if he took it off and it was taken... No, he couldn't risk the one thing he had left to remind him of Isabella and the debt he owed her. This armor was staying on till Isabella was avenged.

 He looked around for some other way to get out to Pyrrha, but the few boats around were either out on the lake already or tied up with no one around. He supposed he could just take one of the tied up ones, but he didn't really want to steal anything. Not the best image for a hero to be cultivating either. He was about to give up when he noticed a familiar figure off in the distance. Samantha was standing on a wooden dock at the lake's edge and was staring off toward Pyrrha and the kids.

Sanders headed over to the wooden dock Samantha was standing on, figuring a talk with her would help him forget the conversation he had just had with Darius. She turned to him when his boots began to make the dock groan and smiled at him. Sanders moved up and stood beside her and joined in watching Pyrrha play with the kids.

"I suppose you and Jacob have heard about the expedition," Sanders said as he tried to find a good way to start a conversation.

"Yes. Our squad was picked to go on it," Samantha said with a less than thrilled voice. Sanders was a bit surprised that Derek would let his son go on this mission considering how protective he was of him. Doubly so after they had just gotten back from another mission.

"Really? It will be nice to have some familiar faces on the mission. Though I wonder what Darius had to do to get Derek to agree to let Jacob go," Sanders wondered out loud. Samantha smirked and seemed to laugh at a joke only she heard.

"He didn't say anything. Derek had Jacob transferred to Squad One to keep him from going," she said with a bitter laugh. Sanders was taken aback at that and stared at Samantha to see if she was joking. The slightly angry look on her face was enough to tell him she wasn't.

"That explains that. Would imagine Jacob is not taking that well, I know I wouldn't," Sanders admitted. If Isabella had ever, purposely, left him behind in a mission, but still took Aviel, he would have been furious, and that was him. Jacob, though... Hell Sanders hadn't known him long but could already tell he was a hothead. Sanders began to worry where Jacob was and if Samantha needed to go find him before he did something rash like try to kick his own dad's ass.

"He wasn't, but I think he found a way to deal with it. Or at least he better have if he knows what's good for him," Samantha said with a slight glare toward the armory. Sanders guessed that was where Jacob was and that she had already dealt with him. Or at least she better have for Jacob's sake. If he hadn't, he would probably have been better off taking his chances with Derek.

"Ah...well good. Would hate to see him and his dad at each others throat," Sanders said, somewhat jealous of Jacob. Must be nice having a woman looking out for him like Samantha did. There was a time when Sanders had not, but two women who did that...and now one was gone and the other....she was going to pay...

Sanders anger was distracted by the sound of a lot of water being shoved aside. Sanders looked up to see Pyrrha lowering her hand into the water and scooping out a number of the orphans. She did the same with her other hand before lifting them both to her head. The orphans moved over to her head before Pyrrha went back to scooping out the rest. Once all the kids were up on Pyrrha's head, she began to, slowly, crawl back to the shore. The kids were still laughing and playing, using her hair like a mini-forest, as they made their way back to land.

Pyrrha smile widened when she saw Sanders, but didn't move toward him. Instead, she crawled to a part of the lake shore that didn't have any docks and got out of the water. She lowered her head and let the kids use her hair as rope as they slid down to the ground. Once they were all off, she moved around them and laid down around them leaving an opening between her head and legs facing Sanders and Samantha. With her settled, the kids moved up to her and started to use her fur to dry off and get warm.

Sanders started toward the "stadium" Pyrrha made with her body along with Samantha. Pyrrha was happily purring away as the orphans started back to playing. A few came up and hugged Samantha while others stared at Sanders like Superman had just walked in on them. Despite himself, Sanders couldn't help but feel somewhat good about seeing their awe. What person didn't want to be viewed as a superhero? Yet, he was no hero and certainly no superhero, no matter what Darius manipulated his people into believing.

Before anymore kids could come up to them, Pyrrha put her hand down between them and the kids and brushed them toward her fur. The kids grumbled a bit as they went over to her and dried themselves off.

"She really isn't like most catmonsters, is she?" Samantha said as she watched Pyrrha make sure all the kids got dry. Sanders smiled to himself before he answered.

"No...no she is not. She..." Sanders stopped as he debated on whether he should tell Samantha the truth. He had already told Darius and Derek about her being unique during their "interrogation" of him, but the only other person he had told had been Lindsey... He...supposed he should let someone else know in case...in case something happened. And Samantha was the best candidate for that job now that he thought about it. Pyrrha had taken a real shine to her.

"She was a prototype to make a smart catgirl. Probably why she didn't just eat me when we first meet," Sanders said as Samantha looked up at Pyrrha with interest.

"A smart catm- catgirl... Do..do they have others?" Samantha asked as a bit of fear creep into her voice. Sanders didn't blame her. The thought of facing down a catgirl as smart as Pyrrha that wanted him dead was terrifying to say the least.

"Honestly...I don't know. I think she was the only one, but they might have made more," Sanders said with a sigh. The fear and worry on Samantha's face began to spread and a few of the kids seemed to be picking up on it. Sanders tried to think of something to reassure her and grabbed a thought that came to him.

"Don't worry too much, though. Pyrrha was nowhere near as smart back then as she was now. I could barely get her to do anything, even simple stuff like picking me up. Hell, it took me forever to get her to put me down and now...now..." Sanders drifted off as his words got him to think about that. Used to be he had to use command words to get her to do things, but...but he could remember a few times he HADN'T used the command word and she still did what he wanted. Most of those times had been rather recently too. And stopping that blow from the giantess...that had never been a command. And the way she acted like she could understand him at times...he thought it had just been because they spent so much time together, but now... Did...did she honestly understand him now? But...but he hadn't used the nanobots on her so how could that be?

"Really? I can't imagine her not being as smart as she is now. That's good though, maybe it means Pyrrha is one of a kind. She certainly is unlike anyone else I know when it comes to how she is around the children. The way she is so happy just to see them happy...reminds me of someone else I used to know," Samantha said, obviously to Sanders inner-confusion. Sanders shook the confusion off as he nodded in agreement. Pyrrha had gone back to giving the kids pony rides on her fingers and was as happy as can be by it, softly purring away. She seemed even more happy when some of the kids started to snuggle up to her and her warmth to nap.

"She certainly makes for a good daycare service. Caregiver, toy, and building all in one," Sanders said as he left his confusion for later and focused on the now. Worrying over why Pyrrha was changing for the better was not as appealing as watching her mother the parent-less kids. And besides, whatever was happening was making Pyrrha that much more a valuable ally, so why worry?

Samantha nodded and looked about to say more, but was interrupted as the kids began to pull her toward Pyrrha's hands. She laughed a bit and waved bye to him as she let herself be lead/pulled to the giant hand to help the kids up onto the giant fingers.

Sanders chuckled a bit at the sight and sighed to himself. Man...what the hell did Jacob have to be mad about, anyway? Pushing aside his annoyance and jealousy for Jacob, he moved into the circle and decided to join in on the fun.

"OK, kids, who wants to wrestle a hero?!" he yelled as he got ready to show these kids the moves he had learned with his siblings. He would see them again, one day, and he didn't want to be rusty.

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January 26, 2024 5:15 AM

It was still nearly pitch black out when Sanders was woken by the horn at the town hall. Both he and Pyrrha cursed the damn noise and Darius for deciding to start so early. Sanders was tempted to have Pyrrha go over and just smash the damn thing as way to say no, but resisted the urge. Instead, he begrudgingly got up and groaned to himself.

This wouldn't have been so bad if Darius hadn't made them stay up so late. Between the meeting on how the backpack would work and the few test runs, it had to have been past midnight before they were left to sleep. Sanders would be surprised if they had gotten more than three hours of sleep and that left a very nasty problem for Sanders. Getting Pyrrha up.

Shouting and yelling only got Pyrrha to squash him into her breast as a way to hush him. Sanders grumbled to himself as he laid smushed into Pyrrha's house-sized breast. He shifted around a bit to try and wiggle free, but didn't get very far. He was about to just give up when he noticed Pyrrha's nipple nearby. Sanders got an evil smirk as he wiggled his way to it. He reached over and rubbed it a few times to get it to harden a bit. Pyrrha moaned a little, but didn't release her grip on him. Sanders went with plan B as he grabbed as big a handful of nipple he could get before squeezing it as tight as he could.

Pyrrha let out a yelp of pain and jolted upward in surprise, sending Sanders flying up before coming back down on the, thankfully, soft breast. Pyrrha growled in anger at him, but Sanders ignored her as he pointed toward the armory.

"I'm just as exhausted as you, but we still need to get moving. Up, Pyrrha," Sanders said as Pyrrha rolled her eyes. She looked like she was going to go back to sleep so Sanders moved over to her nipple again. Pyrrha let out a low growl as he did, but Sanders didn't back down.

"Don't think I won't do it again, Pyrrha, because I will. Let's go, UP!" he said as Pyrrha glared at him. She huffed a bit and gave a low groan of acceptance. Sanders smiled as he felt Pyrrha start to shift up. His smile faded, though, as Pyrrha gave him an evil look and her head lunged toward him. Sanders cursed as he tried to run, but was too slow to avoid Pyrrha biting down on the back of his shirt.

"Dammit, Pyrrha NO! Put me down! You are not going to carry me like...ulp," Sanders said as he already felt his stomach starting to churn from her movements. Pyrrha rolled over and began to head toward the armory, her head swinging around more than usual. Sanders had to fight not to leave what little was in his stomach on the ground  as he dangled more stories than he cared to know above the ground.

"Dam...get you....for this..." he managed to stammer out between gulps and groans, but Pyrrha simply gave a pleased grunt in response.

They arrived to find the members of the expedition slowly filing in. Most of them looked as groggy and generally miserable as Sanders was though a few looked fully awake. Derek was among them and looked like he hadn't just woken up sometime before four AM. Sanders didn't know what kind of coffee he had, but he wanted some. Or he would have if his stomach wasn't about to empty.

Pyrrha, finally, put him down near the platform and Sanders had to rest for a few minutes to recover from the motion sickness. He gave Pyrrha a wicked look as he made a mental note to pull some of her hair out by "accident" during the trip.

Sanders was more than a little worried it might take Derek "helping" to get Pyrrha under the backpack again and his slightly bruised jaw made him very much hope that was not the case. Thankfully, Pyrrha went right under the backpack without a sound of complaint once he told her too, causing him and his jaw to relax.

A few minutes later saw the backpack secured to Pyrrha and Sanders back on her head. He moved to the back of her head to watch as the expedition began to climb the scaffolding to board the backpack. Darius lead the first group, looking just as unreadable as always. He and his soldiers looked no worse for wear thanks to their early start, save one kid who was carrying a large machine on his back. The poor kid looked on the verge of falling asleep and had to be smacked a few times. Next came Derek and Squad three, minus Jacob. They had a few who looked like they still needed to be in a bed, but most looked mostly alert. Samantha looked awake and gave Sanders a half wave as she moved up to climb Pyrrha's hair to where he was. Sanders returned the wave as another squad came up.

Sanders didn't recognize anyone in this group, but their leader still caught his eye. He was a tall lanky man with a completely bald head that sported a number of burn marks. He had a number of large, jury-rigged tanks on him that made Sanders more than a bit nervous. Thankfully, they were taken by some of his men and put in one of the buildings on the backpack. Sanders didn't think he wanted to know what was in those things... As for his soldiers, they seemed like a mix bunch of obviously hardened vets and rookies. The vets looked full awake and didn't bat an eye at what they were getting on while the rookies, at least the awake ones, were slack-jawed and had to be shoved to their spots by the vets.

As the last of the new squad came on and Samantha got up to him, Sanders saw Doctor Kimberly and Jimmy come up. Both were accompanied by three helpers who were lugging leather backpacks full of stuff, most likely tools and such for their respective jobs. Kimberly completely ignored Sanders high up on Pyrrha's head, but Jimmy gave him a nod at least. Both them and their assistants were moved into the larger building near the middle of the platform. Behind them came two people Sanders did NOT want to see. Henderson and Taylor came next and both shot daggers up at him. They headed to the back of the platform to where the large cannon was, thankfully far away from where Sanders was going to be.

"What was that about?" Samantha asked in confusion.

"Don't worry about it," Sanders said.

Sanders thought that was it until he noticed a figure dashing up the scaffolding. The figure looked somewhat familiar, but he didn't place who it was till he had boarded the platform. William Pledger rushed onto the platform and let out a sigh of relief that he had made it. Darius seemed to get a slightly annoyed look by his arrival, but still had some of his men show him to his spot on the platform. With him now on, Darius whistled to get everyone's attention.

"Everyone, hook to the platform now. While we are moving, you are only to unhook yourselves in the event of emergencies. Failure to do so may result in you being thrown off and being killed. Understood?" Darius yelled out. A general yes sir was his answer as people set about hooking their leather harnesses to the spider webs built into parts of the platform. Darius got his own harness hooked in and waited a few seconds before he yelled out again.

"Sound off for securement!" Darius yelled as, one-by-one, everyone sounded of that they were hooked in. When the sounding got all the way back around to Darius, he nodded and turned to Sanders.

"Sanders, let's go," he said simply as Sanders nodded and got to his feet. Samantha nodded to him and started to wrap her hands around Pyrrha's hair. She was going to be his eyes and ears for how things were going back there since he couldn't see through Pyrrha's mass of hair. After making his way through the "forest", he came to her ears and started to get his own grip.

"OK, we are going up!" Sanders yelled back to Samantha before getting Pyrrha to raise herself up. Sanders heard the metal groan as the platform was lifted off the scaffolding. Sanders waited for Samantha to yell back to stop, but heard nothing from her. Letting out a sigh of relief, Sanders got Pyrrha moving toward the drain.

They had tested this climb last night with strawmen and Pyrrha had managed to climb up and wiggle through the drain without losing anyone or damaging the backpack. Still...strawmen were not real people and Sanders couldn't help but be worried. If something went wrong... Pyrrha splashed her way through the lake till she reached the edge of the drain and stopped there. Sanders took a deep breath before shouting back the warning. He heard Samantha give it and waited a few heartbeats before telling Pyrrha to climb.

Up they went as Pyrrha stood up and Sanders heard the backpack roll back into its second stage. He didn't hear any screams of pain or terror as the backpack shifted back to its second stage. It seemed the rubber flooring and addition of hook-ins to the buildings had fixed the problem with the change. With everything still sounding good, Sanders had Pyrrha pull herself up and into the drain itself. Once she was in the drain fully, Sanders head the backpack roll back to its normal stage and waited till Samantha yelled the all clear to get Pyrrha moving forward. She wiggled her way out of the drain, doing her best to stay as low to the ground as possible. Finally, Pyrrha slipped out of the drain and into the gloom of the early morning hours.

"Everything good back there?" Sanders asked, hoping for a good response.

"Everything is fine!" Samantha yelled back as Sanders sighed in relief. The backpack was working just as it was supposed to and, now that they were out of Hope, the worst part should be behind them. From here on, assuming they avoided the Society, it would just be a few days ride to Lindale. Finally, he was heading toward Lindale and the answers he had wanted since that horrid day so long ago. Finally, it was time to see what Manchent had left for them and what had caused Isabella to turn on the Society.

"It took me longer than I was planning, but I'm heading to Lindale. I'll find what you left, Manchent, I'll avenge your death, Isabella, and I'll make sure you didn't die in vain, Lindsey, I swear it," Sanders said as he rubbed his armor and then the whistle in his pocket.

"Pyrrha, let's go," Sanders said as Pyrrha gave a determined meow of her own and took off toward Lindale.

Back in one of the storage building on the backpack, the lid to one of the ammo boxes raised up slightly as Jacob peeked out. He desperately wanted to get out of this damn box and stretch his cramped muscles, but he had to wait till they were too far from Hope to be sent back to reveal himself. Till then, he would just have to suffer. The lid lowered back as Jacob waited for his time to come.


Briefing on Mobile Fortress, AKA "Backpack" operations given in part by Jimmy and Derek:

"OK quiet down everyone. We are going to go over the operation of the backpack and where you are to be on it while we are moving. Make sure you listen and listen good as not obeying the rules we lay out can, and most likely will, get you killed. Understood?"

The large group gives various kinds of yes.

"Good. Jimmy, why don't you start?"

"Alright. First and foremost, let's go over the structure of the backpack itself. It is slightly less than fifty scale yards long and fifteen scale yards wide, making it more than large enough to carry all of us. For ease of visualization and keeping things straight, I've separated the backpack into different sections.

"The first section is the outer most part that we call the oval. The oval runs around the edge of the backpack, but stops near Pyrrha's neck, no need for gunners there. The oval is where our best shooters and soldiers will be, ready to help fend off any attacks, and has numerous tie down points to allow them to move about if need be, though I would not recommend it. It is, also, the most dangerous place to be as you are right at the edge and most vulnerable to attacks. We have put up small barriers of metal and such to try and give some protection, but...well I am sure anyone who is going to be in that position knows how much that helps.

Silence fills the room for a second.

"Anyway, the second section is in the very back behind the oval line. This is the cannon section and is where our air-cannon will be installed. Henderson and Taylor are the only two who should be in this area so we can move on, I'll talk to you two in private about it later.

"Next section going forward from that is the storage area. We have installed two "buildings" onto the backpack that will hold our supplies and keep them from the elements. During travel, the supplies will be tied down and the buildings sealed to prevent us losing anything in case of more...hectic conditions. No one should open or be near these while we are in motion, unless you want to be buried under boxes.

"The middle area is a larger building that will be the barracks and medical area. There are no beds inside, so don't get excited, but there is places that you can hook to the platform. Along with those we put in some specially made tie downs meant for people who are lying down in case of...wounded people. The Doctor, her nurses, my workers, and myself will all be inside during normal operations to keep us out of the way in case the worst should come. Around the barracks are other tie down points that those soldiers not on the oval line will use. There are a few that are close to the oval line, but these should only be used in case of an attack. No reason to have more people near the edge than needed, after all.

Lastly is the command area right behind Pyrrha's neck. This area is where Darius and the other squad leaders will be while we are in motion. It is the best protected area and will give Darius a near direct line of communication with Sanders, though it will require a middle man to sit on the back of Pyrrha's head to relay the messages. Samantha has volunteered for that job so no need to worry about getting picked for it. Sadly, we can't hook a tie down up there so...well I'll just talk to you about it later, Samantha."

"Does everyone understand the layout?"

Another general yes.

"Very good. Now, I will read off where each of you will be assign-"