“Tyson and Maddison,” she replied without hesitation. “I know they’re new to our teams, but they proved invaluable to me while over in Australia. Tyson might find it harder to read exact thoughts when others are thinking in other languages, but intents should still be clear to him. I can give him a translator easily enough.”

Gregori nodded. “You have a rapport with them, which is ideal too. Do you have a medic in mind?”

“Boo.” Receiving a blank look from Gregori, she continued. “Ewa Steenburg. She is more than capable and has trained under Jess, and her Talent is ideal.”

“Agreed. I’m going to send Tomas along with you as well. Yes, I know you’re capable of mechanical work yourself, but you know how he is with cars and is probably the best person to get a vehicle factory up and running.”

“Francis’s team is not being deployed currently?”

“Net,” Gregori said, shaking his head. “Mr. Denver’s team will be deployed into the countryside to the north and Ms. Murphy’s team to the south.”

“Locky and Jolli will have the joy of mapping countryside,” Sam spoke up. “With some of the stuff found in Australia, we have a larger drone network we can rely on.”

“I understand you’ve duplicated your vehicles AI for your suit?” Gregori said, waving at her arm band. “Your vehicle is still functional?”

“Yes, I duplicated one of Avi’s backup’s so the buggy can still function independently. I’ve called the one in my suit Phoenix to separate them.”

“Any issues detected so far?” Elaine asked.

Zoe shook her head. “No, but I’m watching for them. Phoenix is operating as it should.” She turned her focus back to Gregori. “Other than Avi, can I request another larger vehicle than an ATV? I think I may need to take more supplies with me than normal.”

“Indeed, and good forethought. We already have technicians looking at making sure the power grid can be expanded that way. Part of your mission is to check the power grid too, see what can be used there.”

“Sir,” she replied, nodding. “When do we leave?”

“Dawn, two days from today. Dismissed.”

“Sir,” Zoe replied, leaving the meeting room to inform her new team.

~

“A car factory?” Tomas asked, eyes sparkling with anticipation. “Wait, in Stuttgart?” Zoe didn’t think Tomas could get more excited, but he did. “That’s the Porsche factory! Holy crap, I cannot wait!”

Zoe blinked a couple of times while her mind dug up data from the network. “Oh, yes, I guess it is.”

“This means I’ll be making the first Porsche in god knows how many years. I’ll get to design cars!”

“Don’t get too excited,” Zoe replied, chuckling. His enthusiasm was contagious and she couldn’t help but smile. “We don’t know the state of the buildings yet.”

Tomas waved a hand dismissively. “Matters not. The fact that I’ll get to go to the Porsche factory is a start. We will be producing new vehicles in no time at all.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re keen. We leave in two morning’s time. Feel free to load up a Jeep with whatever you think you might need to help repair the factory and get cars going again. Oh, and Avi’s trailer is free to load up too, but make sure to leave space for food.”

“Gotcha,” Tomas replied, bounding off for the garage.

~

“Hey Boo, you busy?” Zoe asked, knocking on the door to the clinic.

Ewa smiled warmly at Zoe. “For you, never. Come in, come in.” Ewa, or Boo as most called her, was a mid twenties, slim woman who was unassuming and blended in wherever she was. No one was able to pin down exactly how she made herself be overlooked, but Mini had confirmed that she was Talented and that was likely the cause. Even psychics like Mini’s father Travis found it hard to read her. She earned her name Boo because she had scared too many people while not focussing on “muting” her Talent. With enough concentration she could turn her Talent off, but more often than not, didn’t bother.

Zoe let the door close behind her as she leaned against the counter between them. “Wanna go on an adventure?”

The younger woman tilted her head, curious. “What kind of adventure are we talking about?”

“I would like you to be part of my team to go explore Stuttgart to see if we can resurrect a car factory and see if the city is habitable for the people coming over from Australia. We don’t anticipate anything dangerous, but Gregori seems to think I need a medic.”

“Interesting,” Boo replied, looking thoughtful. “Who else is coming?”

“Tomas, Tyson and Maddison.

“Oh, I’ve yet to meet them, they sounded like they knew how to handle themselves.”

Zoe chuckled lightly. “Yes, they do. We’ll pick them up on the way out of town. Tyson isn’t a fan of the background noise here.”

“Understandable. If you can’t turn off your Talent, that could be frustrating.” Boo looked thoughtful for a moment. “I’m in.”

“Excellent,” Zoe replied, fist bumping her friend. “See you two mornings from now, ‘kay?”

“‘Kay,” Boo replied. “Now scram, I’m working.”

~

“Hey Maddison,” Zoe said through the FK’s helmet. “How are you settling in there?”

“It’s cold!” Maddison complained into the phone on her end. “I’ve seen frost in the mornings before, that’s normal, but having frost still persisting in the shade up until midday? Bloody hell, need more than a flannie for this weather.”

“I’ll take it that a ‘flannie’ is a piece of clothing?”

“Strewth it is,” Maddison replied. “But, these jackets you gave us are really bloody good.”

“Good to hear. Now, I’ve been given a task and I’d like yours and Tyson’s help.”

“Is it to somewhere warmer?”

“Actually, yes,” Zoe replied, “though not much.”

“We’re in,” Maddison replied instantly. “When do we leave?”

Zoe chuckled. “We’ll pick you up on the way out, so Tyson doesn’t have to suffer with the noise here. We’re leaving in two morning’s time.”

“Bonza, he’ll be keen as mustard.”

“Why didn’t you use your slang as much while we were in Australia?”

“Because it’s less funny there. Using it here is great, everyone gets so confused.”

Zoe snorted with laughter. “Well, you’re confusing me. I’ll have to get an Australian to English translator into my suit.”

“She’ll be right,” Maddison replied before disconnecting the call, leaving Zoe to wonder what the hell Maddison was even saying.

~

Tomas acquisitioned one of the larger personnel movers, one that he had previously converted to solar and electric power, and started retrofitting the back of it to be the mobile workshop of his dreams. He figured he only needed two seats, and was honestly debating with himself if he even needed the passenger seat.

Racks of containers of various fittings, bundles of wires and cables, sheets of metal and his favourite tool chest all made their way into the back in a neat and orderly display. The vehicle that could previously hold twenty now barely seated two, and that was only because someone stopped him taking out the extra seat.

Two days of hard work let Tomas sleep really well before the mission, instead of being unable to sleep due to excitement.

~

Zoe worked contentedly in her workshop on the suit. She decided that, while she liked 'Firebird Kinetic Suit', she didn't like 'FK', so decided to just call the suit after the AI, calling it 'Nix'. The buggy had always been Avi to her, so it made sense. As the thought passed through, she told Phoenix to double check the backup of Avi was functioning correctly. She was utterly focussed on upgrading the suit to have extra stuff that she didn't want to be distracted.

A heavy duty drone was added to the back along with longer life batteries and a compact, deployable solar array. The hidden weaponry, all laser based, were swapped out for her preferred stunning array. A rapid fire one on her right arm and a slower charge one on her left, alongside the control module.

She found the suit had micro jets and rapid air braking fins and queried Phoenix on it. The AI came back with images of Firebird suits dropping from up high, righting themselves with the jets and braking before they landed, impact being barely more than jumping off a step. Zoe left the systems alone, having no idea if she would ever need them.

Alterations were made to the helmet though, making it capable of folding down into a large collar and a visor so that she could still had her heads up display and not feel claustrophobic in it.

Familiar arms circled her waist and she leant back into Hayden's chest. "You're all prepped for tomorrow?" he asked softly.

"Mhmm," her reply came as she relaxed into his chest, not realizing just how tense and focussed she'd been.

"You'll be amazing," he whispered into her ear before nibbling on the edge of her ear. She melted into him before turning around and kissing him forcefully.

"I cooked ratatouille," Hayden said between kisses, making Zoe break off and drag him back to their quarters.

~

Phoenix brought Avi up to date, as the backup that had been used did not have any of the Australia mission data. The suit AI also made sure that the car AI knew that any commands from it came from the Creator. Avi agreed, as Phoenix was attached to Zoe after all.

~

The morning broke clear and bright, the sun peeking into the garage as if enticing the people to come out and explore. Zoe finished storing Nix directly behind the drivers seat where she could access it easily if needed.

Boo made Zoe jump as she brushed past and climbed into the modified truck, sitting next to Tomas, who had already double checked the truck and was ready to go. On the far side were the two other teams, Kally and Daryl doing final checks on their teams while Gregori and a few other decision makers, like Elaine, watched on.

"Alpha ready," Zoe called as she finished checking her team.

"Beta ready," Kally called, excitement evident in her voice.

"Delta set," Jolli stated, favouring Kally with a warm smile.

"Godspeed," Gregori said, setting the convoy into motion.

Zoe lead, Tomas on her heels, as they broke from the convoy to pick up the twins on their way through.

A few minutes later, Maddison dumped a heavy looking bag into the back seat of Avi then rubbed her hands together. Tyson threw his bag into the middle of the trailer and hopped into the passenger seat as Maddison took her perch behind him, rifle still shouldered.

Zoe passed them a pair of balaclavas and goggles, which they both slipped on quickly, picking up the thoughts from Zoe and her red cheeks.

"When we break, I'll do the introductions," Zoe said before directing Avi back out the town and onto the path behind the convoy.

~

Stopping for lunch, the small drones from Avi launched, spreading out to scout the local area, giving everyone a chance to relax while they ate.

"Tyson, Maddison, this is Boo. She's our medic and also has a Talent for, uh," Zoe paused. "Vanishing?"

"Being unnoticed," Boo supplied, shaking their hands.

"Explains why you're really quiet to me," Tyson said, staring at her. "You're even quieter than Zoe. Didn't think that was possible."

Boo smiled warmly. "I'm good at staying out of the way too." She tilted her head, looking at Maddison. "Problem?"

"No?" Maddison replied. "Can you please move around a bit, big actions, jump, wave, punch for about ten seconds?" After Boo shrugged, she moved around a little. The random actions caused Maddison to rub her temple. "Thanks. It seems your Talent also hides you from mine."

"You see future shadows, right?"

"Yeah. Your shadows, right now, are faint. I should have been able to see them all, but, I only get about a second of shadows."

"Talent interactions is a study of mine. Can we do more testing later?"

Maddison shrugged. "Why not."

"Excellent. Once this adventure is over, I'd like you and Tyson to help with my tests." She lead the way to where the other two teams had already set up for lunch, fresh fruit and bread shared around.

“We need to repair a few towers,” Locky said to Alpha team as they arrived. “We flagged them and sent the locations to base. Otherwise, the power cables just need a few replacements and the network looks like it should be right to transmit power down the line. We’ll have to check the substations along the way, which will take us longer to get there.”

“The repair team from base is following?” Zoe asked.

“Yeah,” Jolli replied. “You missed that briefing. It’s okay though, your mission doesn’t really concern the power grid where it is part of Beta and Delta teams missions. You just focus on your tasks, little one.”