June 16–18 – Tenochtitlan
Stayed behind in Tenochtitlan while the others recovered from the storm-that-was-a-god. It wasn’t a vacation. I was attached to Zara’s hip for most of it—security, executive confidant, whatever role was needed.
Zara spent her days with executives, priests, and power players. Her mission’s changed: the board now wants Dr. Velasquez found and brought in. They don’t say “before she causes more trouble,” but that’s what they mean. I didn’t argue. I’d already put Temoc and his old crew into motion—quietly—while Zara was making moves. Once they've dropped Halo off with Kolada, they will be en route to the Lost Continent. Gotta stay one step ahead.
June 19 – Crossing the Pacific
Aztechnology lent me a suborbital executive shuttle. Very kind of them. It got me to Sulawesi fast.
Halo and the others had been extracted from the crash site by Temoc’s crew, with a little help from my Indonesian friends.
I found the team banged up but breathing. Slag’s in Singapore, getting his ware replaced. Kate went with him. Gotta keep those ratings up, gotta keep Ares happy.
Halo’s moody. Detached. Her emotions were all over the place—simmering contempt bleeding through even when talking to me. I told her to cut it out. Told her the world might worship her, but it won’t forgive her if she turns cold. She didn’t argue. Not much. That’s a win, I guess.
June 20 – Making Plans
JJ flew ahead to New Atlantis. In an ideal world, we should have canceled and taken a break, but the world ain't ideal, and Halo’s too big to cancel now. So we keep going.
We spent the evening at a seaside colonial mansion—courtesy of Mr. Kolada, who always seems to be two steps ahead of everyone but plays it like he’s just happy to be included. It was quiet. Drinks, food, music. I cooked. It’s something I do when I need to feel human. The others either enjoyed it or pretended to for the feeds, which is all I ask.
We remembered Luna. Toasted Blink. Talked a little about nothing in particular and a lot about things we’ll never repeat. If this were a movie, it’d be the calm before the next storm.
Seattle’s sending more muscle. We need it. We’re short-staffed, low on stamina, and barely scraping by with what we’ve got. New orks, trolls, a dwarf with a mouth, and a couple of humans to round it out. No elves. All are... Halo... fans. Not my team, but they’ll do the job.
June 21 – Long-distance call
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