"Hello. Can you all hear me clearly?"
Though there was no video call, Joanne's voice carried authority and commanded attention with just a simple question. Luciel was as impressed as he was curious.
"Clear. Belynda speaking."
Then Bambi followed.
"Clear. Bambi speaking."
She nudged at his waist, urging him to say it too.
"Clear. Luciel speaking."
After he finished his roll call, a chuckle came through the speaker.
"I see we have a new face here. Is this the boy you've been traveling with, Bambi?"
"Yeah. You already know, so why bother asking?"
It seemed even the president of Golden Flower couldn't keep Bambi in line for more than a second. Luciel chuckled inwardly in amusement. He sneakily glanced at Belynda to see her reaction, and as he expected, she was glaring at the her like the Elf had committed a sin.
"Grumpy as usual, are we now? Anyway, I heard about the situation. Don't blame Belynda too much. She was just acting on my orders."
Bambi crossed her arms and furrowed her brows.
"You could just call me instead."
"Bambi. You blocked all of our communications ever since you went on that self-exploration journey of yours."
Silence immediately filled the room.
Luciel turned to look at Bambi, who hadn't moved since. Her arms were still crossed, her jaw tight. Her eyes flickered with stubbornness that knew she was in the wrong but refused to admit it.
Joanne let the silence do the work before continuing.
"Still, I owe you an apology, Luciel. I'm sorry for my miscalculations, which should never have happened. Golden Flower will do its best to compensate you."
Having Golden Flower owe him a debt was something he'd never expected, but he would gladly accept it. It could give him a huge head start over his Resonator peers, so it would be stupid of him not to accept.
"I look forward to it."
Joanne huffed a laugh.
"Did Belynda tell you she likes you? I have a feeling she tried to recruit you already."
Belynda's lips curved into a wry, almost helpless smile before answering in his stead.
"He laughed it off, Joanne. Can you believe it? Quite the talent, honestly."
'Laugh it off? When did I even laugh!? I just ignored it completely, which is totally different.'
Luciel couldn't believe someone like Belynda would put words in his mouth. He couldn't help but want to retaliate with an exaggeration of his own.
Joanne, on the other hand, laughed softly on the other end.
"I see. Luciel, you're welcome at Golden Flower any time. I'll give you my contact information once you have a Resonance Watch."
Stunned, words briefly stuck at his throat. Not knowing what to say, he glanced at Bambi because he thought she would intervene, but she only smiled.
Luciel had to force an answer out of him.
"I appreciate the offer."
He sighed in relief. Dealing with these people was harder than he thought it would. He just wasn't familiar with the corporate talk and formal precision of his speech.
"Man of few words. I like it."
After her remark, a sharp clap from Joanne cut through the line.
"Now then. Let's get to business. I'll keep this brief. Approximately eighteen hours ago, Josephine's squad entered the Shattered Realm on a routine operation. They were expected to report back every hour."
Joanne briefly paused, then continued with a heavy voice.
"But the comms went unanswered by the second hour."
The words hung in the air like a held breath. Luciel felt Bambi stiffen beside him.
"As of now, Josephine Morgenstern and the entirety of Blackhawk Squad are reported as MIA."
Bambi shot to her feet.
"What do you mean, MIA!?"
Her voice cracked the silence like a whip. The cordial and casual atmosphere was gone in an instant.
If Luciel had heard correctly, then Josephine must be related to Joanne, since they shared the same last name.
'This is a much bigger issue than I expected.'
And it seemed Bambi was close to Josephine. He glanced at her, and the look on her face was a mix of disbelief and dread.
Joanne's voice remained steady. At least, she tried to. And painfully so.
"Exactly what it means. We lost contact with them sixteen hours ago. All subsequent attempts to reestablish contact have been met with silence."
Belynda then chimed in.
"The last known coordinates place them in Sector 9, close proximity to the Lament. Retrieval teams were deployed within two hours of their disappearance, but they were forced to withdraw due to hostile environment."
Luciel sat motionless, absorbing every word. Bambi, however, was anything but still.
"What business does her squad have scavenging around the Lament!? Fuck's sake… What about Autore? Any comms from him before disappearing?"
Joanne's silence and Belynda's head shake told them everything they needed to know.
"I'm afraid I must take my leave. We'll have a full briefing at headquarters."
Joanne's voice tendered.
"Welcome back, Bambi."
Bambi sank back into her seat, shoulders rolling against the chair.
"I haven't accepted the mission yet."
Joanne laughed softly.
"You will. See you soon, everyone."
The line went dead.
Bambi stood and paced the room, eyes fixed on the ceiling.
Then she turned to Belynda.
"How long until we reach headquarters?"
Belynda swiveled her chair and examined the artifacts on the shelves.
"Fifteen minutes, tops. We're waiting for clearance from the DTC."
"Dimension traffic control? Surely there aren't that many ships going about right now."
"It's mandatory. Unless you want to crash and burn in the Grey Space."
Luciel, a newcomer who had yet to grasp the terminology or inner workings, simply listened and learned. He figured that interjecting without fully understanding the situation would only serve to embarrass him. Still, he found it strange that both Joanne and Belynda let him listen in on such a sensitive matter.
Bambi let out a sigh and walked to the front of the desk.
"Call Franne for me."
Belynda rotated her chair toward Bambi.
"Franne? What for?"
"I asked her to send a skyship here as a favor. Gotta cancel it now."
Belynda thought about it briefly before guiding her hand toward the floating screen. After a few swift motions, a call was made.
The other side picked up immediately.
"Belynda? How rare of you to call me."
"It's Bambi."
Franne gasped.
"Bambi? You're aboard the Gleipnir?"
Luciel listened in on the conversation, curious about Franne's identity. She seemed to be someone high up, given how casually she addressed Belynda and how she could provide a skyship at her discretion.
"Unfortunately."
Franne's unrestrained laughter erupted at Bambi's words.
"It's a pretty suffocating place to stay in."
Belynda swung both legs up onto the side of the desk, her eyebrows furrowed.
"I'm sitting right here, you brats."
Franne laughed even harder. She trailed off with a long, satisfied sigh.
"So, I suppose you called to have the ship turn back?"
Bambi gave a thumbs-up.
"You're always so quick to catch on!"
"You flatter me. Alright, I'll notify my guys."
"Thanks. I owe you."
"Then it's about time for you come to Boreas."
Bambi laughed sheepishly.
"We'll see about that."
Belynda cut in, head tilted toward the ceiling.
"No one wants to go to Boreas, Franne. It's cold as hell."
Unfortunately for Franne, she had a point. Boreas was one of the five Arks belonging to Heerser in the Western Bloc. It sat at the northernmost edge of the continent and was considered one of the harshest environments in Tellus.
Luciel shuddered just thinking about having to peel himself out of bed every morning. Even he didn't want to visit Boreas unless necessary. Now that he controlled fire, though, it might not turn out to be as bad an experience.
Franne knew it too. She let out a quiet, weary sigh, conceding the point without argument.
"Anyway, it's great to be able to talk with the two of you, but I have to go. Duty calls."
She was about to end the call, but then she spoke again:
"Oh, is that boy Luciel with you guys?"
'Me?'
Luciel mentally pointed to himself, an eyebrow raised. He didn't expect her to address him. He quickly answered.
"You're looking for me?"
Franne's tone settled, casual ease giving way to courtesy.
"You're here. Congratulations on your awakening. I have a feeling we'll be working together often going forward."
Luciel blinked.
'How much did Bambi tell these people?'
He sat up a little straighter.
"Thank you."
Belynda had to have her say, as usual.
"Franne, stop scaring the kid."
Franne clapped back quickly.
"Please. You probably had him sweating the second you walked in."
Belynda smirked.
Luciel hated to say it, but she was right. Belynda's presence alone had put him in flight-or-fight mode. He realized then that many more powerful beings were hidden across Tellus. If someone like her was a squad captain of a company, he didn't want to imagine what stood above. Right now, he was just a small bug beside the giants out there.
He shifted in his seat, choosing to remain silent, but he didn't forget his corporate smile.
"Alright, I'll leave you three to it. Ciao a tutti!"
With that, the line cut off.