"Woah... I didn't know the Eisendrache could fly this this high!" Kuno gasped, taking a glimpse out the side of the aircraft.
"Cruising in the mesosphere isn't actually unheard of." Yun sighed.
"It is for a ship this size, a battleship no less." Ola cut in as she stared out into the vast, inky blackness of the upper atmosphere.
"It's just until the Empire's search cools down." Yuren responded.
In the weeks since their daring escape from the capital city of the Empire, life aboard the ship was interesting. So far, most of the women had adapted and shared their perspective opinions about various things, ranging from government, politics, and lifestyle.
Though Yuren did regret it a little, they were always hanging around his room and using it to socialize, but more importantly, he didn't mind, as their company did brighten the dull grey corridors as they chatted away the hours on their journey.
He couldn't decide if being on a ship full of women was a blessing or a curse.
But eventually they'd need to resupply. The ship was well stocked; however, the physical toll on his body from the ship's constant use of his resonance was becoming a concern. He wasn't used to using this much energy.
"I noticed you've been a little sluggish, commander." Bei's voice caught his attention.
"It's nothing." He waved her off.
"Reila noticed as well, she's been doing her best to reduce the demands on you, but flying at this height is the least ideal condition for the Eisendrache given its altitude limitations, massive size, and lack of thermal engine capabilities." Bei brushed his silver hair from his face and smiled.
Yuren gazed at her for a few moments before she quickly found a spot on the wall to avoid his look.
"Please consider another way, okay?" She quietly spoke. "Your resonance can do impossible things, but even you have limits."
Nodding his head in agreement, he couldn't argue when even his own men knew of his health, as their safety and stability were reliant on him. "Do you have any suggestions?"
"I do." Lina piped up as she walked into the command center. "The Trinity Range has dense enough residual resonance at its upper elevation to mask our signatures. They're heavily forested and have rivers for food and fresh water. With only two entry points for the central forest, its natural area of defense puts one here, and the other there."
"Trinity Range?"
Lina projected a map on the main screen. "See these three mountain ranges, they converge here creating a region within a massive river basin. It's triangle formation only has two paths to the inner forests and mountains. It would require flying across the waters rather than air space, ensuring we don't catch any radars of other ships' attention."
Bei looked at the green areas, seeing small openings that created passageways, but there was still one thing: "Couldn't they just fly over the area?"
"Well sure, but as I said, the residual resonance is dense in that area, the waves disturb radar visibility and scramble communication dynamics." Lina explained.
"I see." Yuren folded his hands on his desk and examined the terrain once more.
"Though it could possibly be dangerous, Meteorn always lurk in resonance dense areas like this." Yun chimed in.
"They won't bother us, I can guarantee that much at least." Yuren reassured her.
The blonde woman looked to him, seeing his confident smile. "If you say so."
"Trinity Range huh? Alright, send the coordinates to Reila." He replied, finally convinced it was their best course of action to do this and make their move now, while the military was still scouring the continent for them.
"On it!" Kuno saluted and sent the note to the Helmswoman's terminal on the bridge.
Leaning back in his seat, Yuren looked at Bei, his face filled with worry.
"Are you worried about an engagement?" Bei gave him a look that seemed to judge his expression.
He shook his head. "I'm worried about Garra and Eri. We haven't heard from them..." He whispered as he lowered his head, feeling unsettled that the two had just disappeared.
Bei frowned. "Don't worry, if they were in trouble, the military would've flaunted their capture and paraded it all over the open channels to try to get you to turn yourself over."
"Besides those two are a powerhouse together. Just have confidence in Garra, she'll reach out when she can." Lina sat down on the sofa and crossed her legs, making herself comfortable.
Yuren sighed. Perhaps they were right, he hoped, at least. In the meantime, it was best for him to get some rest as they dropped their altitude.
After a few days of spending their time in the dense wintery valley, which was centered within the Trinity Range, most of the androids found tasks to perform around the area.
"Damnit! How do you girls find it so easy to adapt to life in a snowy hell like this?" Dae grumbled as she hauled a cart full of chopped wood towards the group by the lake's edge.
"How can you even be complaining? All you used to do was sit in a radio truck." Estriv sneered. "Not much has really changed when you think about it."
"Maybe for you! But some of us aren't adapted to the cold." The redhead hissed back.
"Just turn off your thermal sensors, forehead." Estriv shot back as the engineer's temper seemed to show itself in rare form.
"I'll feel less human if I do that!" Dae retorted, feeling ridiculous that she was having this conversation.
"You aren't human." Estriv flicked her gloved finger against her helmet, causing a little vibration to echo in Dae's ears.
Dae remained silent; she did not argue there, not like this blonde android took their situation as easily. She couldn't exactly blame them, so her situation was no different.
"Chop, chop, ladies! Get moving, the sooner we get this done, the better! Unless you want to be stuck building in a blizzard." Ester flew by on one of her drones.
"Does that shrimp seriously think she can just boss us around." Dae grumbled as she picked up the hatchet at her feet and returned to cutting and chopping more of the logs for use.
"Yes, because the commander told her to oversee camp construction." Estriv shot back, drawing a groan from the frustrated engineer.
"Commander... can't he see she's trying to invade his space?" She mocked, glancing at the campfire they had started to gather around as they worked.
Away from the others, inside a small cabin, Yuren sat at a table looking at his phone, 'No signal' filled his screen.
Frustrated, he closed his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. Wherever he was, he couldn't be certain that his plan would work. With a lack of communication from the outside world, plus not knowing what the official status of the Empire's search for him was, he couldn't decide if being in hiding was helping their situation.
Putting his device away in his pocket, he gave himself a chance to collect his thoughts. His primary concern, besides Eri and Garra, was that Jia's core was still somewhere out there. With her body being kept in a crisis capsule aboard the Eisendrache, but without her core, there was no guarantee of her survival.
"Naiola, you there?" Yuren held his communication device to his mouth.
"Status normal, Commander." Her voice answered.
"I have a question, can you spare a minute to help me think it through?" Yuren replied.
"Yes." The comm buzzed before she then continued. "What is the situation?"
"There's nothing wrong. I was just thinking about covering the area with a dense resonance... a blackout zone, so to speak." He spoke softly.
"Commander, that is highly dangerous. It would act as a beacon and draw all the nearby Meteorn to our location. There's no guarantee that you can control the resonance in such a dense and widespread field." Naiola said inquisitively.
"If Esotonia can do it, so can I. And I've said it before, the Meteorn are not an enemy to us anymore, please stop seeing them as threats. Having Meteorn close by will help us secure the location as well." Yuren answered firmly, his tone leaving no room for debate.
"That may be so, but one don't forget, the Empire has equipment to measure resonance levels. Setting up a new blackout zone would result in an intense investigation of the area. It could expose us." She asserted.
"About that, I have a plan that'll keep the military out of the Trinity Range." Yuren leaned forward, using his comm device.
"Then, what are you proposing?"
"I'll just ask Jytenreu to unleash her resonance, the Empire won't be quick to come here if she's what show up on their radar." Yuren responded, though his voice didn't reveal his apprehension towards the idea.
A small bit of static was heard before Naiola answered. "I see. Calculating risks..."
"It'll throw the Empire for loop." Yuren tried to fill in the gap for Naiola; the AI needed to think through every possible scenario to truly analyze the risks and calculate the potential probability of success in accomplishing his goals.
"There is something you are not accounting for. Factions other than the Empire may come to investigate. One such group is called Requiem, they are a powerful group who often engage and destroy high-class Meteorn that prove troublesome to the military. They already have a presence in the mainland but have a strong foothold at the border, if they hear about Jytenreu the higher chance there is for our discovery." Naiola spoke matter-of-factly, but the way she explained was somewhat cautious, as if warning him about the consequences.
"Alright, what are their capabilities?" Yuren questioned, his brows knitting at the name of this group. He hadn't heard of it before, but if she was putting it on the table, then the AI had data to prove their threat level was significant.
"There are two known members who operate on this continent; Yuvuel, a super-high mobility and flight capable android that uses three quantum energy weapons, a pair of auxiliary cannons and a laser saber. The second is know as Atlas, weapons and abilities unknown." Naiola listed off the capabilities.
"Atlas... wait I seen him before!" Yuren spat in a surprised tone as he then recounted his interactions with the mysterious duo. "Though I don't know what he actually looks like, I remember the exosuit he was wearing... it looked more like some kind of heavy power armor. The cloaking he used was probably the best I've seen."
"Is that so? Then that only further confirms the potential danger of them." Naiola's tone matched his own in bewilderment.
"To be perfectly honest... I'd much rather have the surrounding area filled with Meteorn. Think of it as an added layer of security. If they do come, the Meteorn will engage anything that enters our domain." Yuren explained further.
"Commander, activating a new blackout zone will draw the Meteorn even closer, and likely kill half the wildlife in the range." Naiola warned.
"The entire point is to make the immediate area dangerous. I already told group I assigned to hunting to hunt a mile away from the ship and campsite. If a scouting party or small military patrol comes to investigate they'll encounter the Meteorn we've drawn in before being able to discover our presence or ship. We can deal with anyone that gets too close as they flee from the Meteorn."
"Commander, in the future, I do hope you'd share your plans with me in full. Then I'd be able to base the risk calculations more in line to what you have in mind."
Yuren smiled slightly at the statement, hearing a hint of respect coming from the AI within his device.
Standing up and taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open and wandered to a tall tree, resting himself against it as he leaned back and took in the environment.