Chapter Eighteen

Part Two: Direction

 Soleria walked through the grand, glowing lobby of the Depot with pride, avoiding the front desk entirely and headed straight for the elevator doors, which slid open automatically and closed when she entered. Upon the elevator's ascent, Soleria’s expression shifted from calm to serious. She was heading to the Engineer Corps in person to get what she needed done. 

 Upon entering the room, Soleria walked up to the desk where a secretary sat in her seat. She didn’t realize who she was talking to as her sights were down at the paperwork before her.

“We’re closed, the Engineer Corps Depot isn’t for civilians anyways-” The Intrinsic Secretary then looked up to see that Soleria was wearing the regal attire of a Core leader. Her demeanor changed to more respectful.

 “Oh! Councilwoman! Good afternoon! Would you like me to call my Manager?”

She was a girl with short shoulder length golden hair, she wore a white button down with a symbol on her chest. It was a shield with two wrenches in a cross pattern with a blue flower across. It was the emblem of the Engineer Corps.

Soleria smiled pleasantly. “No, thank you! I was actually wondering if you could construct some things for me. I've compiled a short list.”

She pulled out her Slate, placing it into a slot on the desk, creating a series of beeps as the Secretary looked at the data from the computer in front of her. Multiple images and designs for modified weaponry appeared on her screen, the Intrinsic lifted an eyebrow. 

“I see. If you don't mind... what, may I ask, are these for?”

“It’s for a personal project.” Responded Soleria sharply. She looked up at her with weary eyes. 

“Um…” The girl began nervously as she scrolled through the requested items. “There’s nothing but weaponry on this list, ma'am. I’m not sure if-”

Soleria waved dismissively. “Well it’s for a member of the 5th Core, so it should be fine. I am a Councilwoman after all.” 

“Right... of course.” The Intrinsic attempted to swallow her nerves away as she downloaded the contents from Soleria’s Slate to the Engineer Corps main computer.

“I’ll send this, so our 3D printers can work on building them for you as soon as possible. They should be done by tonight.”

Soleria sighed a heavy sigh of relief. “Tonight? That’s wonderful! That will be all, then.” She beamed.

“Are you positive you don’t wish to speak with my Manager? He’s still in the area.” Asked the Secretary once more as she patched the request to the rest of the Depot.

Soleria momentarily lost her smile, but quickly replaced it. “Yes, I’m positive.”

 Afterward, later that day. Dart was lying up against the metal railing of the patio outside of the Beacon. She was clearing her mind, the light breeze, fresh air and the beautiful sunset was putting her mind at ease. She watched as a Federation Zeppelin hovered above in the sky, the turbines wired as it approached the landing pad within the Enclosure. As she watched it fly, she thought about her recent dreams. 

“Elaine Saito… that’s not my name. I’ve always gone by Dart… right?” However, it stirred her soul for some unexplained reason. It was all so absurd, yet they felt so real to her. Each dream felt more like reality than anything, she could feel, think, breathe and move in them like normal. To her, those dreams were more like hazy memories.

“It’s almost time. stifle your very soul. You need to be ready.” Those were the words she received the day the Frontline Enclosure got demolished by Abyssiti.

“Stifle my soul?” The meaning behind those words were lost to her. “What was it that I needed to so desperately prepare for?” Now that she thought about it more, the first time she got one of those dreams was the morning of the attack. A moment in time, before her entire life, as she knew it, was derailed. 

 All of it bothered her. It was like her mind was not her own, like she was being influenced by some external force. Yet, some small part of her was content with it. Like in some way it was just an extension of herself giving her these dreams. Then, suddenly, she heard the giant doors of the Beacon creak open behind her. 

“Ah. There you are Dart! Nice to see you’re still awake!” Greeted Fives. 

Dart turned and smiled at her teammate. “Hey.” 

She affectionately rustled his brown hair with her hand when he walked up. “Aren’t you supposed to be asleep?”

“Here to interrupt my calm silence?” She said jokingly.

Fives chuckled. “I don’t sleep, I just rest my eyes! Plus, it feels like we haven’t talked in a while.”

Dart couldn’t fault him for that, they’d been so busy training she hardly talked to anyone outside of dinner or the occasional banter. She shared a room with Quill, yes, but Fives? She didn’t interact with him on a daily basis.

“Fives… do you remember how I asked you and Quill if this would be a good thing for us? Our first night here.” 

He glanced at his team leader, and then looked up and tapped his chin as he thought back. “Mmm. Yeah, yeah I do.”

“How do you feel about it? Like, now that we’ve started training.” Asked Dart as she calmly gazed at the sunset.

 He sat down on the concrete next to Dart as she stood. Fives looked out at the Southern Enclosure through the metal bars of the railing. The sky was an array of various oranges and purples, as the sun dipped behind the horizon.

“I think It’s fun!” Fives looked up at Dart. He then looked away with a chuckle, scratching his nose. “Well I mean I’ve felt more free here than I ever have within that cramped Enclosure.” 

“Can’t say that doing pointless chores every day was the highlight of my life, heh.”

Dart sighed, “Free huh?” She understood what he meant, but this wasn’t freedom. Not in her eyes; they were still at the whims of someone else.

“Yeah!” He looked back up at Dart with starry eyes, and an optimistic smile on his face. “And maybe when we get to go on missions on our own, we’ll be able to see all that this world has to offer!” 

“You, Quill and I can explore new places and see new things. Together! To me, that makes anything we go through here worth it if we can do that.”

She smiled at him, but that smile soon faded as she thought to herself. Even if they got to explore the world, they’d have to inevitably come back here, to the Federation. She wanted to experience Fives’ dreams as much as he did, but she wanted to be boundless; to travel the lands with her 2 friends without ever looking back. Without the constant will of others being imposed onto her. 

“We should probably go inside, before it gets too late.” She suggested as the last bit of light vanished from the sky. In the new darkness the three moons loomed above, amid the starlight was the ever glow of the cracked moon, Luna. Fives and Dart stared up at the celestial body with content looks on their faces.

Fives got up from the ground and dusted off his uniform. “Roger that! You don’t have to tell me twice!” 

 Meanwhile that night, Soleria was standing in the Evangelist 5th Core post office. In the room crates were stacked high with the dim lighting giving the office an orange glow. She had a clipboard under her as she signed her name on the paper attached to it. An Intrinsic looked upon her from behind the desk. 

“Are these supplies being sent to the Units in the Southern Enclosure?” He asked curiously. 

He then glanced over Soleria’s shoulders at the large containers she had behind her. She was trying to ship them out to the Beacon, with haste.

“Uh, Councilwoman Illow. I must ask, what’s inside of those boxes?”

“Uhm.” Soleria continued to sign the paperwork to get the packages shipped out in the next few hours. “Just normal Abyssus Unit gear.”

The guy lifted an eyebrow at the Intrinsic, he didn’t buy it. “Mrs. Illow, what’s really in the containers? You know we can’t just ship anything out to those humans-”

She quickly grabbed his hand and gave him a sheepish grin. He looked down to see she had handed him several Federation Credits; it was enough for bribery. He looked up at his superior in shock. 

“It’s just normal. Regular. Standard Abyssus gear.” She declared, with a nervous chuckle.