The rest of the day went by in a blur of mental activity, incorporating the vague information from Mordred, directing the people outside, trying to get everyone to work together, it felt as if whenever I managed to deal with a problem, three more cropped up.

Finally, with the setting of the sun, activities outside ceased as darkness blanketed the area. The calls for information dwindled, the requests stopped, I was finally able to hear myself think.

“That was…” Galatea, for one, was just as lost for words as I was. While she normally didn’t feel exhaustion, right now, the bleed-over from me was strong enough to affect her a little.

“Indeed, it was.” I agreed, knowing what she meant, even if she wasn’t quite able to put it into words.

Standing, I moved out of my private area, into the cabin, almost running into Mordred as I did.

“Things are wrapping up for the day.” I opened, not wanting to be impolite and just kick him out, but I wanted him out of my plane.

“Yeah, you should join the rest of us for dinner. The Guild has a private room and Vegas-rules apply, what happens in there, stays in there.” he said, sounding almost as tired as I felt.

“Mother, it would be polite to join them, especially as you are here as Technica’s Apprentice. You might, one day, be one of their Leaders.” Galatea broke in before I could politely decline. And as much as it irked me, she was right. Well, it didn’t irk me that she was right but that I would have to socialise.

“And when is that dinner?” I asked, hoping to have some time beforehand.

“Oh, in about an hour. So, will you be there?” he sounded almost too eager, making me wonder about his motives.

“Most likely, yes. I will have to talk it over with my partner, Anath.” I explained, at the same time, checking where she was. It was good that my helmet hid my smile, she was right on time, currently walking towards the plane.

Mordred took the hint when the hatch opened and Anath entered, leaving us alone. I could see from Anath’s body-language that she was exhausted, so I simply took her hand, leading her back into the private area and to the shower. There, we quickly managed to take off our costumes, helping each other where it made the task faster, before we moved under the shower.

There, under the warm spray, Sophia and I clung to each other as the events of the day caught up to us, the horrors we had seen and heard rearing their ugly heads. Both of us had seen how little life was worth when faced with the overwhelming force of Nature and both of us needed to affirm to ourselves that we were still alive, that the other was still with us. And so, we clung to each other, for warmth, for comfort and simply because we were both still alive. Somehow, that search for warmth changed at some point, when we not only found warmth, but heat. And sought to stoke each other’s fires.

We were almost late for the dinner, I had managed to ask Sophia about it and she had easily accepted. She was in her usual costume, taking off the mask to eat was easy, I had on my stealth-suit, for similar reasons, but also remembered to put on the disguise I commonly used to go out for lunch or dinner with Technica. I didn’t want it to become common knowledge that I looked suspiciously like Technica, just in case anyone would come to the conclusion that we were related. It might come out at one point, but for now, secrecy would serve me more.

After checking with Mordred where the dinner actually was, Anath and I walked over. It was in an classroom the Guild had taken over, making sure that the windows were covered, to make sure nobody could see inside.

While Anath and I were not the last ones to arrive, we were next to, with only Fey and Hancock still missing. It was interesting to see everyone out of costume or without their masks, they looked so… ordinary. Pheronica, who I thought was incredibly dangerous, lacked any features that marked her as such, no ominous clouds billowing around her, no aura of unquestionable doom, no nothing. She was just a good-looking woman in her early thirties. It was just the same for the others, without knowing who they were, you would never be able to guess that. But then, neither Technica or I looked any different, at least we wouldn’t without our mechanical parts.

“Good Evening.” Anath and I greeted after taking our masks, showing the others our faces, just like they showed their faces to us. It was something of a ritual, at least it felt like one, that we came together in a mission to help other humans, despite the fact that, according to the files I had read earlier, some of the present Powered had fought against each other before.

“Good Evening.” the others greeted us back, with Iron Maiden walking over to us. At a guess, she was just a little older than Sophia and me, making me wonder if she was another student on Academy Island. She looked quite shaken, just like Sophia and I had, before we had… collected ourselves in the shower.

She introduced herself a little more directly, shaking both Sophia’s and my hand, asking us to call her Gabriela. After the exchange of names, there was a moment of awkwardness, as neither Sophia nor I were comfortable talking about our private, out of costume. lives and was hesitant to talk as well.

Luckily, we didn’t have to suffer that awkwardness for long, we were saved by the arrival of Fey and Hancock who entered together. Hancock instantly spotted me and must have made the connection between the Powered wearing a black lab-coat and the Powered wearing black armour, or maybe he recognized my voice. Either way, he directly approached and, quite angrily, berated me for my actions during the day, claiming that I had risked innocent lives and that my mission-control was atrocious.

I let him rant for a bit, mentally putting together my rebuttal and considering options, for example the option to leave him here when we flew back, but Fey interjected before I could even begin.

“That’s enough, Arthur. You know, when Councillor Technica told me that she finally found an apprentice, I was overjoyed, Tech-based Powered are a rarity, especially those with enough power to, one day, take over a council-seat. However, when she told me that she’d send that apprentice down here, I was a little worried whether that apprentice was ready.” Fey stopped for a second, letting it sink in, while Hancock, or Arthur, as he apparently was called out of costume, looked almost gleefully happy.

“I was wrong in my apprehension, completely wrong.” her words, spoken without malice, made his expression instantly drop, but she continued, “Before you approached me outside, to rant at me, I talked to the local military coordinator and was rather surprised when I learned that their entire mission-control had already been integrated into our system, making sure that all forces were working in an efficient manner. In less than a day, Diana managed to set up a system that coordinates hundreds of different groups, some of whom don’t speak English, into a singular force, all contributing to the rescue-efforts. That alone is an impressive feat, one few people would be able to accomplish. However, Metis managed to do so while she and her powers are, at the same time, supplying electricity and clean drinking water to both, the field-hospital and even the refuge-camp. Can you even imagine just how impressive feat that is?” she finished, her voice still calm, yet there was an underlying tone of admiration.

“I don’t know of any Powered, except maybe Technica herself, who could accomplish such a feat.” now, Fey turned to me, giving me a respectful nod before continuing, “So, I’m grateful that she’s here and have told the locals that, if there are any problems, Metis speaks with my voice, as my second in command.”

In the silence following that statement, you could have heard a pin drop, I was not sure if it was because of me being names second in command or if it was because of the quite obvious reprimand for Hancock. Or maybe it was because of the statement that, unless I died beforehand, I would one day sit on the Guild-Council as one of the most powerful Powered on the planet.

“Thank you, Fey.” I simply acknowledged, keeping my feelings on the matter hidden beneath my trained poker face.

“It’s merely the truth. Now, I have given orders that the food is placed in the adjacent room, so we can move over to get some food before starting our dinner. Remember, during dinner, we are all family and nobody is to be judged or discriminated against, even if you can’t stand each other outside. Here, we are all part of the Guild, working to improve the ties between Powered and mundanes.” Fey strongly announced, gesturing to a second door.