Somehow, seeing Albertina again was both uplifting and depressing to Scarlet. Last night, the two of them had camped on another clearing, before continuing their way south, keeping the river nearby while looking for crystal monster that they could hunt and looking at the scanner every now and then. About an hour after they left in the morning, the radiation-level went down to green, signaling that only few and weak crystal monsters would live here.

They had paced themself, focusing on stealth-training instead of speed, so it was early afternoon when they entered the area that was cleared of trees and Keera had recalled Badgy.

When they started walking to town, Scarlet started to wonder. She had noticed that, while Keera had gotten used to things a little, she still seemed jumpy. It would be interesting to see her behaviour and actions once they were in the relative safety of the town, whether Keera would try to latch onto another or stick with Scarlet. With more time, she was quite certain that she could have trained Keera to the point of total obedience but with just five days to work, it was impossible to condition someone to that extent. Maybe, with a non-psion and if she had liberally used psionics to attack their mind, shattering and shaping it. But even in such a case, it was much more likely to result in a nothing more than a burned out husk, at least when done by someone of her skill-level. It was not impossible, it was, after all, the highest crime a psion could commit under Federation law and it was the only crime Scarlet was aware of that carried a compulsory capital punishment.

She shook of those thoughts as they approached, calling out to the wall and a male head appeared above it, looking down on them.

“Ah, it's the two of you. You are late, you know? The other two were here at dawn, waiting to be let in.” he called out.

Scarlet flicked her hair back, putting on an air of nonchalance. “Not like the Doctor told us when we should be back, other than after five days. Open up, would you?” she called back.

Keera seemed a little annoyed that they could have been back in town for hours by that point, even if Scarlet was not quite sure what good it would do. It wasn’t like the creature comforts in town were that much better, to her, it was only worse. With just Keera in the vicinity, she had been able to let her guard partially down after a few days, knowing that the other needed her more than she needed Keera. Now, in town, she was surrounded by potential enemies, some of them with the potential to kill her.

In addition to that, she had just started to figure out how to ignore Keera’s presence when opening her mind to nature, as she had started to think of the state in which she felt all living things around her, strengthening her power and learning more than she had thought possible. It was fascinating to see what her mind could do without the shackles placed upon her by the proximity of many humans, it was as if every human was giving off noise that drowned out the world.

Her progress over the last few days made her curious, it seemed to be so much more effective than the training she had before. Was it something about Verdun that strengthened her or was it the simple fact that she needed to keep up a scan at all times, or risk getting attacked?

Shaking off her contemplation, she followed Keera through the smaller metal door into town, looking at the town with new eyes. Sure, the wall and the few guards under the leadership of the Doctor had some strength but just remembering the huge bird they had seen, she wondered what would happen if such a monster attacked them. While it was hard to judge at the distance, just from the oppressive feeling it had given her, she was quite sure that it would turn into a massacre, making her want to have some option to get away, if such a monster ever came by for tea and dinner.

After a word of thanks to the guard, who eyed Keera with clear appreciation, they walked to the central house, where they had awoken and met the Doctor.

“Ah, you finally showed up. I thought you’d been killed by some monster.” Mendar laughed when they entered, looking a little thinner than before and a little disheveled..

Scarlet just looked him over before turning away, ignoring the stupid bait for what it was.

“Oh, don’t worry, we just took our time exploring and getting started on our harvesting here. I want to avoid going hungry or begging for alms from the Doctor.” Keera answered, looking very smug.

Just as she finished, the Aida came from the back and greeted the two women.

“Good, there you are. Let me get the Doctor, now that you are all here, he will want to finish your orientation.” she said, before turning and walking into the back of the building.

“You explored. I’m not sure if you are brave of foolish. I’d rather learn more about the situation before stumbling into the unknown.” Mendar continued his taunting with a smirk.

“And what makes you think that anyone will give you information for which they have bled without remuneration?” Scarlet spoke up, getting a little annoyed by the obnoxious behaviour.

“They need everyone’s contribution, so why wouldn’t they want us to have as much information as possible?” he asked, still laughing.

Scarlet suppressed the laugh that wanted to bubble up, wanting to scold the idiot for his foolishness. When had any human, ever, given away anything for free, if they could use it to their advantage?

Instead she just shook her head, dismissing the fool, and focused on the door to the back, waiting for the doctor.

Keera sat nearby, obviously enjoying the feeling of a soft sofa beneath her, after sitting on logs for the last few days.

A few moments later, the Doctor entered, with Nedri and Aida on his heels, Nedri limping a little. The Doctor looked Keera and Scarlet over for a moment, before speaking.

“Good, you all survived. That means you are now full members of Albertina and can live inside the walls. As full members, you are expected to work for the good of the town, mostly by gathering monster crystals so we can fill our quota. If you don’t fill your quota, there are measures to motivate you to do better the next month.”

Scarlet decided to speak up, feeling a little antsy and caged within the house, as if the walls were closing in on her.

“Excuse me, Doctor, you mentioned before we left that we could exchange crystals for off-world goods. Is there a list of goods we can exchange for?” she asked.

“Sure, but just so you know, I obviously won’t take your original crystal. You need that one to gather resources.” he answered, with a slight smile.

“Obviously. But we had five days, even without you, we should have been able to detect a monster or two, shouldn’t we?” she remarked, trying to gauge his reaction on her statement that he had something to do with the acquisition of their original monsters. She thought that there was a short moment of surprise, but could not be sure.

“That depends, whether you stayed in the nearby area or ventured into unknown. Aida, get the supply-list, let’s see what our two new girls have brought back.” the Doctor ordered and Aida left.

“Oh, and I have another question. Is there a limit to the crystal monsters? You’ve shown me that video but how rare are such monsters?”

“Luckily, those with the size and power in that video are rare. You might have noticed that Crystal Monsters have a territorial instinct and they will attack if you violate that territory. Monsters such as those rarely travel and have their territory in the regions with high radiation, so you are advised to steer clear of them.” he explained, looking slightly haunted.

“I think we saw one, but from a great distance. It looked like a enormous bird and the air was a little hazy around it.” Scarlet revealed, hoping for more information.

The Doctor twitched a little but otherwise kept his poker face.

“Well, rare doesn’t mean that there are none. Hope that you don’t see such a monster again, or at closer range. They truly deserve the title of monster.”

Aida came back, carrying a sheet of paper that she handed the Doctor.

“Here it is, our current supply. You fulfilled your orientation, so you get ration bars for ten days, afterwards, you will have to exchange for more. If you want better food, you can exchange, if you want tools and such, exchange. Oh, Aida, please get the area map, so they can get orientated and know where the danger-zones are.” the Doctor added, sending Aida on another errand.

“But you asked for the list, the value of your crystals depends on their size and composition and we use a credit-system. You need twenty Credits each month for basic supply, more will get you additional comfort and such.”

With that, the Doctor handed Scarlet the list and she started reading.