and the nameless faces become Grier and Sean and Sully and Kate. Our team of six becomes a unit with every practice VR session, led by Tor and seconded by myself. At first a few were resentful of my intrusion, but when Grier backed down, so did the rest of them. I become comfortable, maybe too comfortable.
“The pack’s moving quickly. They’ve staked out a few of the small nomad villages in the wasteland, but no humans have yet been harmed,” Tor says at our next meeting. He stands in front of the room, all eyes on him. I sit beside him out of duty, surveying the team and going through the recon documents that either I’ve prepared myself, or some of the other sects have gathered. We know that the pack is on the move, but their motives are still unclear. He continues. “Our objective is to cut their path off from Ichton, and wait until they strike before we make our move.” My expression remains blank. So we wait until they kill someone, maybe hundreds, before we strike. Where is the attack first, ask questions later mentality of the Corp I once knew?
Grier asks for me. “So we do nothing until someone dies?” she says.
Tor nods solemnly. “If we strike first, we could upset an entire war that might not have happened otherwise. It’s not the best scenario, but we need to value the lives of the larger populace over the miniscule chance that we can avoid war by attacking first,” he replies. The room remains silent as each of the team ponders this idea, each with a tell-tale grimace of distaste.
Tor continues with his strategy plan and the map we’ve been using to mark out sightings, but I’m distracted as I pull out a file I’ve never seen before. It’s only one page, and the subject line reads “UNCONFIRMED”. It was produced by Tor, and details accounts from smaller villages of people going missing and being found mutilated in the woods. It screams Harpy attack to me, but the file has been closed and discounted. I shuffle it behind other papers when Tor looks down at me, and at the end of the meeting I slip it into my bag, making sure no one notices. As the team packs up to continue their duties, I glance at Tor, who’s jotting down some quick notes from the meet.
“So you really think the pack won’t launch any assault on the villages?” I ask quietly.
He shakes his head, but seems uncertain. “They’re just trying to scare us into action right now. Gabe might be a bit of a wildcard, but he knows what he’s doing. If we attack first, then by their nature they have the right to launch a full assault on the underground, and to be honest, I don’t know if the Corp has the facilities to handle that kind of pressure, at least not here in Ichton. We need to play it by ear and try to figure out what they’re up to first,” he replies.
“Do you really need to guess at what they’re up to? It’s pretty obvious they’re preparing for an assault. That’s why we’re here, isn’t it? To end it? So why don’t we push on and end it before it begins?” I state, eyes focused on organizing my papers. Tor sighs deeply. Why can’t we look at each other? What is it about eye contact that’s so intimate that it frightens me? I feel as though I have a secret buried deep within me, and if I let him even glimpse it, my world will unravel.
“This is protocol here. We don’t strike first. I know that this goes against everything you’ve known before, Piper, but I need you to be on board here, okay?”
“Okay,” I say finally. As I’m packing up the rest of my files he takes my hands lightly and twists me toward him. He smiles and mutters some kind of thanks for my help, but I can’t seem to focus. With his eyes on mine, something shatters.
The first thing I do after the meeting is slip underground to pay Sandy a visit. As usual, he’s slumped over his laptop, furiously typing script, the darkness of the room barely illuminated by the neon glow of the computer screen.
“Give me one
“The pack’s moving quickly. They’ve staked out a few of the small nomad villages in the wasteland, but no humans have yet been harmed,” Tor says at our next meeting. He stands in front of the room, all eyes on him. I sit beside him out of duty, surveying the team and going through the recon documents that either I’ve prepared myself, or some of the other sects have gathered. We know that the pack is on the move, but their motives are still unclear. He continues. “Our objective is to cut their path off from Ichton, and wait until they strike before we make our move.” My expression remains blank. So we wait until they kill someone, maybe hundreds, before we strike. Where is the attack first, ask questions later mentality of the Corp I once knew?
Grier asks for me. “So we do nothing until someone dies?” she says.
Tor nods solemnly. “If we strike first, we could upset an entire war that might not have happened otherwise. It’s not the best scenario, but we need to value the lives of the larger populace over the miniscule chance that we can avoid war by attacking first,” he replies. The room remains silent as each of the team ponders this idea, each with a tell-tale grimace of distaste.
Tor continues with his strategy plan and the map we’ve been using to mark out sightings, but I’m distracted as I pull out a file I’ve never seen before. It’s only one page, and the subject line reads “UNCONFIRMED”. It was produced by Tor, and details accounts from smaller villages of people going missing and being found mutilated in the woods. It screams Harpy attack to me, but the file has been closed and discounted. I shuffle it behind other papers when Tor looks down at me, and at the end of the meeting I slip it into my bag, making sure no one notices. As the team packs up to continue their duties, I glance at Tor, who’s jotting down some quick notes from the meet.
“So you really think the pack won’t launch any assault on the villages?” I ask quietly.
He shakes his head, but seems uncertain. “They’re just trying to scare us into action right now. Gabe might be a bit of a wildcard, but he knows what he’s doing. If we attack first, then by their nature they have the right to launch a full assault on the underground, and to be honest, I don’t know if the Corp has the facilities to handle that kind of pressure, at least not here in Ichton. We need to play it by ear and try to figure out what they’re up to first,” he replies.
“Do you really need to guess at what they’re up to? It’s pretty obvious they’re preparing for an assault. That’s why we’re here, isn’t it? To end it? So why don’t we push on and end it before it begins?” I state, eyes focused on organizing my papers. Tor sighs deeply. Why can’t we look at each other? What is it about eye contact that’s so intimate that it frightens me? I feel as though I have a secret buried deep within me, and if I let him even glimpse it, my world will unravel.
“This is protocol here. We don’t strike first. I know that this goes against everything you’ve known before, Piper, but I need you to be on board here, okay?”
“Okay,” I say finally. As I’m packing up the rest of my files he takes my hands lightly and twists me toward him. He smiles and mutters some kind of thanks for my help, but I can’t seem to focus. With his eyes on mine, something shatters.
The first thing I do after the meeting is slip underground to pay Sandy a visit. As usual, he’s slumped over his laptop, furiously typing script, the darkness of the room barely illuminated by the neon glow of the computer screen.
“Give me one
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