The Impulse soared through the clouds. Inside, the humming of the jet's engines disrupted any silence. It had been weeks since Solomon and his trio of operatives failed to stop Gabriel.

Asha played her handheld console with the volume off, but her fingers tapping the screen more than made up for it. Jyn, on the other hand, napped in peace. As for Odom, he hated the silence. When the fuel sensor blinked, he was almost relieved.

Odom said, "Principal Winter, we're running low on fuel."

Solomon responded, "Locate our nearest substation."

The House of Knights had a handful of refuel stations around the globe. Thanks to Solomon and his relationships with certain politicians, the House of Knights was granted permission.

 

*****E V*****

 

Enduring turbulence, the Impulse barreled through a series of storm clouds. Lightning raged around them. Thunder crackled.

Light suddenly pierced the clouds, revealing a peaceful blue sky with bright, white cirrocumulus clouds. In the center was a refuel station. There were four docking ports. Another jet similar to the Impulse was already docked in one. The Impulse slowed its speed, hovering into the port. Locking mechanisms secured the wings. The station's jetway plugged into the side of the Impulse.

The station was like an airport, but beneath the transparent floor were the inner workings of giant machinery working to keep the station afloat.

Running up to Solomon, a mechanic said, "Principal Winter!" Behind him was a small crew of two. "We're serving another craft at the moment. How soon do you need maintenance completed?"

Solomon replied, "No rush. We've been flying for the last 6 hours. We could use the break."

 

*****E V*****

 

Solomon and Jyn spent some time in the lounge. It was just the two of them drinking tea at the bar.

Jyn said, "Just shoot me now."

Solomon was confused and took another sip of tea. "It's not that bad, honestly."

Jyn wasn't referring to the drink. It was another patron.

Edmunds overconfidently walked over with a half-empty glass in hand. He eagerly put his arms around them; his breath reeked of alcohol. "Hello, compatriots. Haven't seen you in so long! Jyn, you're looking fantastic!"

Hearing Jyn start to draw her sword, Solomon said, "Jyn, perhaps you could review strategies with the team?"

Jyn reluctantly left Solomon alone with the red-haired annoyance.

Solomon asked, "What brings you here?"

Edmunds responded, "Free drinks. Oh, and the ol' girl took a bit of damage."

Solomon said, "I thought you only participated in crowd control. How did your jet get damaged?"

Edmunds' team has been relegated to level green missions--low risk assignments mainly involving armed resolutions to issues that local governments didn't want to deal with; mainly stopping protests against corrupt officials, or enforcing evictions.

Edmunds snatched a bottle of wine from the bartender. "It's not important." After taking a chug, he said, "Broke my old record, though. Three dead, ten in critical condition."

Repulsed, Solomon knew if he said something, Edmunds would've misconstrued his words and reported to his father. Solomon already couldn't stand Principal Fallene.

Edmunds said, "I hear you're having problems with that Eon Viant. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes considering how big of a deal this is. That's a lot of pressure."

Edmunds just couldn't get a reaction out of a Solomon. He was impenetrable like a mountain. Instead, Edmunds carefully grabbed Solomon's glass and finished the last of his drink.

Edmunds continued, "Between us, if you don't succeed, well, don't be surprised if people start losing their jobs."

Solomon said, "As much as your father would want that, that's not how it works."

Edmunds smirked. "I got a pretty good idea how this works. I know you can't be touched, but can you say that about your team."

Solomon wouldn't let the Chief Principals punish his team. They were on an impossible mission with few resources and no reinforcements. It was no secret the Chief Principals cut corners in regards to hiring staff. Yet, somehow, they retained the best warriors and paid them poorly. That meant the remaining operatives had to handle the work of their comrades who were fired.

Edmunds wasn't finished, "Your team needs backup, Principal Winter. Unless you want to arrange more funerals.

Solomon said, "I've had a long day, Edmunds. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get some rest."

Edmunds responded, "You're not going to finish the rest of your drink?"

Solomon was aware the moment Edmunds had taken his glass. He learned to restrain himself around the entitled ignorant.

 

*****E V*****

 

The trio of operatives had occupied themselves in the recreational area. There were a few relics in there: pool tables and ancient blocky machines called arcade cabinets.

Odom said, "No amount of planning is going to do us much good if we don't get backup."

Jyn said, "Solomon's trying to get us reinforcements."

Asha chimed in, "Why is it so hard? It's like the principals want us at a disadvantage."

Odom knew the truth. He was all too eager to share. "Because bringing on more soldiers cost money, and soldiers just aren't worth that much to them."

Jyn hoped to end the discussion. "Solomon's doing his job, so let's focus on ours."

Odom continued, "Then, let's do our job. You weakened our plan when you tried to bench Asha back at Cortez's ridiculous mall-fortress. It's like you don't you want revenge for what that beast did to our comrades. Mackey, Bree, the countless civilians he's murdered. The president ordered a clean execution. I say we burn the beast and worry about anything else later."

Jyn said, "We don't follow the president, we follow the House of Knights."

Odom said, "Coming from the woman who follows one man."

Jyn said, "Let's refocus. I can't have your emotions distracting you out there."

Odom nearly lost it.

In the last war, when Odom was still a soldier with America's army, he was on a search and rescue in the desert. Under the unforgiving sun, the convoy was ambushed by an Eon Viant. She was a titan with muscles that put bodybuilders to shame. Odom remembered the Eon Viant's wicked grin as she crushed a fresh recruit's head like a grapefruit.

Odom said, "I watched friends get massacred by an Eon Viant, sweetheart! Our target is a beast just like her, and he deserves to burn."

Jyn said, "Odom, don't ever call me sweetheart."

Asha nervously interjected. "Mom, Dad? Do you two need a time-out?"

Asha breathed a sign of relief when Odom took his leave. If a fight broke out, she wasn't sure if she could have saved him.

 

*****E V*****

 

It had been more than six hours since Jyn had eaten. She had a protein bar but would rather have had fries. The vending machine was stocked with every conceivably unhealthy snake: bags of chips, high fructose candy bars, cheesecake bites.

After getting a seat, Jyn popped open a bag, and the smell of salt and vinegar came rushing out. Seated within distance of her was Asha occupied with some kind of survival game set in the woods.

Asha asked, "So, are you and Odom going to be ok?"

Jyn said, "Yeah, don't worry about us. How are you holding up?"

Asha said, "Well, I still have a little pain in my lower back."

Asha's fingers increased speed as they tapped the screen, directing the character what to do. It wasn't enough as a fiendish gigantic hawk swooped down and captured her character.

Asha said, "Jyn, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why did you try to keep me out of the fight?"

Jyn asked, "I watched Mackey and Bree die. They had so many more years left to do the things they wanted. I just wanted to keep you alive."

Asha continued, "I might be a kid--uh, a maturing young woman--but I'm an operative just like you. And, statistically-speaking, I'm much closer to your skill level than Mackey and Bree. Sorry that wasn't the right thing to say. I'm still working on my people skills."

Jyn said, "Don't sweat it. I understand what you meant. From this moment on, I'll treat you as my equal."

Asha responded, "It's not going to matter if we're dead. I just wish we could get backup. Our target is basically invincible."

Jyn's memory of the battle was coming back to her. Every moment was so quick, barely enough time to register what was happening, but she remembered clearly the one time her blade dragged across Gabriel's skin had drawn blood.

Jyn said, "No. He's not. I cut him."

Asha said with some semblance of hope, "Are you sure!?"

Eon Viants were notoriously endurable to the point where they were thought immortal.

After Jyn explained how it happened, Asha said, "His density factor..."

Jyn asked, "His what now?"

Asha had read a research paper that was lost in obscurity. It proposed a theory that an Eon Viant's "durability weakened under long periods of duress." The longer they fought, the more human they became--the Density Factor. It was hard to prove true since very few survived an encounter with Eon Viants.

Puzzled with Jyn giving her a confused look, Asha said, "What? I don't just play games all day."

Together, Asha and Jyn determined Gabriel's limits. It was near 15 minutes into Gabriel's rampage when Jyn's sword penetrated his skin.

 

*****E V*****

 

Solomon had faith in his team, but even he knew they needed help. Facing an Eon Viant with few numbers was like trying to extinguish a forest fire with paper towels. Solomon tried to contact Knarrow's Island again. As expected, his calls went unanswered.

Jyn found Solomon in the Impulse and updated him on everything.

Impressed with Jyn's leadership, Solomon said, "Perhaps someday you'll be joining me as a principal yourself."

Jyn responded, "Oh, no! That's your speed. I'm much more comfortable being the means."

Solomon replied, "Even a blind man can see you're capable of much more than you're willing to admit."

A steady beep grabbed their attention. Jyn went over to the console. "We're getting an SOS from an old com. It's in the Ezawa Region. I didn't know we had any operatives out there."

Solomon replied, "We don't."

Solomon called headquarters. On the other line, an intelligence analyst with the House of Knights answered.

Solomon said, "This is Principal Winter. I need you to redirect a satellite. We're sending over the coordinates."

Jyn had messaged the coordinates. After a few minutes, imagery of Oliath's island were sent over to their monitor. The images were a little blurred, but a campsite on rocky terrain could be made out, and so could the owner of the watch: Gabriel.

Solomon had many global connections: politicians, celebrities, mercenaries. Since the Chief Principals weren't going to authorize reinforcements, he would need to call in a favor.