Jose’s thoughts were in a haze as he walked home with Lysa. She kept trying to talk to him about the development sweeping the colony but eventually shifted her focus to her own devices when it was made clear he just wanted distance and silence.

Before the two of them split paths in their loamy hillside neighborhood, Jose piped up, “I don’t know what to do with this news.”

The two of them were still as the wind passed through their fingers, his headspace ignoring the sweat trickling on his brow and intermingling with the fabric on his body.

Lysa gave him a wide smile, “We do what we always do; get ready and do what we can to get the job done.”

“I take it that means you’re planning to participate?”

“I only plan on going if you do. Someone needs to watch your back and with how out of shape you are, you’re gonna need all the help you can get to jumpstart that dream of yours.” She was blunt and to the point.

“I’ll get my bearings straight and talk to you tomorrow about it. There’s some stuff to take care of before I make my decision.” Jose replied. She gave him an understanding look and left it at that, walking on her path to her home where her wife and kid were waiting for her.

On his own path, he could see the lights inside the window were bright and the gentle strings of a guitar carried the melodious voice of a woman singing about a lover out at sea. He walked inside to see Emma humming along to the tune, her work attire neatly folded on the bed as she danced and swayed to the rhythm of the music.

She turned to him and wordlessly grabbed his hand. Kicking his shoes to the door, he eased into their dance and wrapped his arms around her waist, her arms coiling around his shoulders like a warm and loving scarf.

“Welcome home, love.” Emma said before laying her head into his chest. The two held one another, loosely swaying to the beat of the music until the song drifted to a looped winding sound.

“The tape’s done. Should I go and change it?” Jose asked.

“Not yet. I want to be held like this just a little longer.” Emma replied, her hot breath making a warm spot on his chest. He wordlessly obliged, waiting for her to let go to cross the room and put on another favorite song of theirs.

He fumbled with the tape machine, ejecting the cartridge that rewound itself upon removal and looked for another cartridge in a long black box.

“Anything you’re feeling in particular?” He asked her as he searched through their catalog.

“Well, I’d be happy with more Sirena if you don’t mind. Estrellas en El Agua or something along those lines, please.” She replied. He could hear the sounds of something boiling in a pot and the hurried footsteps and muttered curses over its audible volume. He shook his head in amusement and sifted through the cartridges until he found the one he was looking for; ‘Stars in the Water’ by the ever enigmatic Sirena.

He popped the cartridge into the tape machine and after a moment of coiling, the house was once again alive with the sounds of guitars, trumpets, and bongos that reminded Jose of the music carried across the Stardust beaches. Satisfied with the music choice, he undressed himself of his work vestments and redressed into more casual attire.

The aroma from the kitchen became too tantalizing to ignore and he drifted over to Emma, hovering around the pot of now simmering sauce with diced onions, garlic sausage, potatoes and an assortment of spices that gave the contents a reddish-orange tinge.

He moved around her and pulled out two plates as well as utensils and cups, setting them down on the small table overlooking their front yard window. Bringing the pots to the table Emma scooped out plain white rice and then layered a heaping helping of the saucy mixture, potatoes and sliced sausages slowly sliding down the rice pile.

The two sat down and initially ate their meal in satisfying silence, savoring each bite of a home cooked meal.

He had so few of them in his youth that he audibly cherished each home cooked meal Emma made.

“I’m assuming you heard the news delivered by the Council today?” Emma said without looking directly at him.

He cleared his throat with a glass of water, “I did. I’m assuming your report helped with their decision making process?” His first question was met with an affirmative nod. He continued, “If they’re accepting volunteers then, what’s the timescale? How far are we away from the drop site and how long do we have to prepare?”

She raised an eyebrow and took a drink from her own glass of water. “It sounds like you’re rather invested in the specifics. Is this just your academic curiosity or are you genuinely considering joining as a volunteer?” Emma’s statement was rather pointed and he knew it suggested some form of ulterior motive on her part.

Of all the people in the world, she was the best at hiding her reasons from Jose. Or maybe he was unnaturally dense when dealing with his partner.

She mistook his silence for a moment of hesitation, “Because volunteering may see you out of Ileah but the trip is going to be risky.”

He figured it would be.

“I figured it would be dangerous. It’s why I was asking for a time table so I know how much time I have to prepare.” That statement got another eyebrow raise.

“So you plan to volunteer then?”

“And if I do? Are you going to stop me?” It was her turn to pause and think about the comment. She placed her utensils down and gave him a level headed stare.

“I’ll only stop you from going and getting hurt if you planned to go without including me in the plan.”

There it was. He visibly relaxed, sinking back into his seat.

“Yes love. I want to go. I know I’m not ready though, which was why I wanted to work with Lysa in getting a training plan started.”

He forced himself to take the plunge. No turning back now from his commitment to the effort if he wanted to retain some ounce of respect from his partner.

She looked at something in her journal before turning back to him, “Alright. So we have the two of you confirmed for the mission so far. There are a total of ten spaces and, although I don’t expect many people to volunteer, enough might do so that they’ll hold some tests to see if everyone can hold their own.”

That made Jose tense up. There’s always something that throws a wrench to his decision. “Then what’s the timescale I’m working with? I need to know if I need to have started training yesterday or what to focus my efforts on.”

She stood up and mockingly inspected him, circling around him slowly with prodding fingers on his flabby skin and slightly bulging stomach.

“Ileah is about three weeks away from the route being at its most optimal to anchor and have us head towards the site manually. The tests are going to be soul based for the most part but training you on a bit of your endurance wouldn’t hurt.”

He scowled at her last comment but she wasn’t wrong. His sedentary job wasn’t exactly amenable to afternoon training drills with Emma and Nora. He also didn’t try very hard to participate but acknowledging that to Emma would make him resent himself even more.

“Is it just the basic soul exercises or am I going to need to showcase a ‘wow’ factor to ensure my position on the team?”

“Well, assuming that more than ten people volunteer, yeah, I guess you will need to show some sort of special skill that would make you an indispensable member of the team. Considering they’re trying to emulate us Vanguard and our team compositions, it makes sense to have each member capable of performing particular tasks that can alleviate a problem for the rest of the group. It’s not like you wouldn’t be able to wow them anyway.” She raised her eyebrows suggestively and kissed the top of his head.

The two of them talked about logistics and the objective of the mission.

Apparently the Elders were just looking to salvage any soul cores still on board the vessel and maybe take their engine for their own.

Part of the waiting time was included so those few machinist’s in the foundry could craft a device capable of making the engine portable.

That probably meant that they were going to have a fight with the Head Archivist in the Annals about borrowing higher class magic items with similar properties to craft their own device.

Since Lysa was volunteering instead of Nora, Nora asked Emma to set up a training routine for her wife so she wouldn’t get in any trouble out on the field. Nora had expected her wife to volunteer the moment she got news of the mission.

“In no uncertain terms is that woman to come into harm or I will find you and murder you with my bare hands.” Nora had told Emma.

He wasn’t Lysa’s keeper; if she would only volunteer if he volunteered then it was her decision to follow through on such an endeavor. They were friends and he appreciated her loyalty but she didn’t have to come.

The two volunteers and Emma established a connection on a private web and talked about the logistics of their training session.

Their crash course was going to consist of a refresh of the fundamentals and a discussion on what sort of talents to bring to the table to be seen favorably during examinations.

The establishment of a training regiment made everything feel real and daunting to Jose, but he considered that if his mother could take similar actions in stride, he could too. There was a nervousness there but he would play it off as confidence until even that wish came true.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Wake up, mi amor.” Emma whispered into Jose’s ear. His eyes opened just a crack before his belly aching began.

“But the sun isn’t even out yet.” Jose grumbled, turning around on the bed. She pulled at their blankets and waited for him to get up, her glare becoming more and more intense with each passing second.

“You agreed to do this. Now get up before I have to make you, Jose.” He let out a number of mumbled curses but slinked out of the bed and onto his feet. She had prepared clothes for their morning routine, laying out a loose shirt with shorts.

At the corner of their front door was a bag filled with different training supplies.

“You’re wasting time. Come on! Get ready.” Emma hurried him along across the house, pushing him around to speed through his morning routine. With frantic speed, he was dressed up and out of the house with Emma trailing ahead of him.

The sky was still shades of purple and blue, glimmering gemstones hanging in the sky guiding one's eye to the celestial body hanging above the Kingdom of Odalla. Even the Veil could be seen, a wall of mysterious energy hanging from the ceiling to the earth as a dividing line for what was conquered and what was untamed. It shimmered in viscous colors.

“If we can even consider our side of the Veil conquered…” Jose mumbled.

He dismissed the thought and focused on the task at hand, following his partner through the countryside path to the crossroads where a very groggy Lysa stood.

Upon seeing their silhouettes approach, she jolted upright and ran towards them.

“Good morning, guys!” Lysa yelled in a scream whisper.

“Good morning, Lysa.” Emma stopped for a moment to exchange greetings and then picked up her pace down the path and towards the Vanguard training grounds on the other side of the colony.

Lysa and Jose tried to keep up to her pace but he was winded halfway through the jog. If Lysa was struggling with the jog, she didn’t show it, or maybe she was showing pity on him and didn’t want him to be all alone during the jog.

“Your wife’s something else. Didn’t really take her as a morning person though.” Lysa said. The two of them were walking towards the training grounds at this point, letting Jose catch his breath and at least jog in short bursts.

“She isn’t a morning person,” Jose replied between breaths, “She’s just doggedly persistent in keeping to schedules and goals. If we weren’t considering volunteering, she’d be home snoring up a storm.”

Lysa laughed at the remark, “Well it’s good to know that even our mentor can be fallible.”

“Oh gods, don’t inflate her ego like that. Our ‘mentor’ is just taking advantage of her position and training in the Vanguard to help us out. She’s not a…” the word got caught in his throat, a sensation of heart ache coursing through his body like ice in his veins. Jose allowed the sentence to drop and silence settled between them for just a moment before Lysa barrelled through the awkwardness.

“Well, she’s teaching us how to defend and apply ourselves so she should at least have the same reverence as a teacher.”

“... I just hope she can teach well.”

The two spent the rest of their walk towards the training grounds discussing potential talents for the examination. Lysa was a naturally muscular woman and he knew that her soul reinforcement technique was unnaturally strong. Years of practice and dedication on her part made it difficult for even steel to cut into her while reinforcing a section of her body.

She was thinking of using that defensive technique offensively, punching and kicking through solid objects without the use of magic items to display her ability to clear through potential rubble even without supplies or if supplies were spent elsewhere.

He hinted at his own secret talents with the Grimoire hanging on his side but before he could get into the specifics, the two of them faced the Vanguard building in all of its splendor.

Where most of the other buildings were rustic and covered in greenery, the Vanguard building shined with its sleek and imposing design. Their logo, a shield with the fortresses symbol plastered on it, draped either side of the building in long and silky banners that flowed with the wind.

There were two smaller buildings on either side of the main one. Barracks for those Vanguards still in training or for those that preferred to remain close to their headquarters.

Emma was standing impatiently outside of the building, leaning on her spear while tapping her foot.

“It took you two long enough. I expected Jose to be unaccustomed to the trek but you too, Lysa?”

Lysa merely replied with a shrug. Seeing Lysa’s indifference, Emma turned her ire to Jose and he predictably squirmed under the scrutiny.

Satisfied with garnering a response, she walked the two of them into the building.

The inside of the building was large with pillars of marble carved in the shape of famous Vanguard heroes across the institution's history. Vanguard heroes native to Ileah were commemorated with pedestals, urns holding their ashes or what could be salvaged from the scene of their disappearance and memorabilia important to them when they were alive.

Recreations of it anyway. The real stuff was located in the Kingdom of Odalla.

It made Jose feel like he was entering some kind of crypt with the eyes of the dead watching over the Vanguards with a stern gaze, or unyielding scrutiny for outsiders like Lysa and himself.

They walked through the grand hall and out to the training grounds. The ceiling was made of glass, allowing the sky above to shine twilight down on them. Training dummies stood like silent sentinels in measured steps away from one another.

The silence was broken by Emma dropping her bag onto the loamy earth beneath their feet, the clattering of tools echoing across the building.

She clapped her hands and looked at Jose and Lysa, “Alright, let's get this lesson started.”