Even now after reaching 30% he felt the well of focus on the image running dry he couldnÆt finish the Skill like this Shaking his head Randidly stood and stretched a little then left his little shack to look up at the rising sun
Although the day seemed to loom before him with a huge waste of time that might result in him revealing himself Randidly was surprisingly cheerful He took the time to start a small fire and fry some eggs and monster meat he had stored in his interspatial ring Very quickly the smell of cooking food brought out nearby people Most of them were teens who didnÆt like either their situation at home or the rules of the Unity Church camps and came here at the chance to work for something better But there were also some more impoverished families of steelworkers that came out with hopeful eyes
He hesitated for a few seconds checked the sun and then began to cook more food more than enough to everyone in the area to eat
Seeing that Randidly or rather Baloo was going to provide for the people many poor families approached with moist eyes and offered to help cook Randidly thanked them awkwardly and accepted A few of the more prosperous individuals went back to their homes and returned with a few things to help with the meal
It was cornmeal mostly and other bread but one family had a few jars of fruit juice and the most valuable bit was a bottle of pre System honey RandidlyÆs neighbor produced some potatoes and Randidly felt obliged to produce a basket of peppers he had Very soon there was a breakfast hash going and Randidly directed some of the children to plant the pepper seeds nearby
After a moment of thought he produced some corn and potato seeds he had and gave those to the children to plant as well When they finished Randidly pressed his hand into the ground and released a pulse of Aether It would only have a negligible effect but it would give the plants here an edge There might even be some mutations in the future due to that spurt of energy It was worth watching
By that time Randidly was close to running late and he departed the people waving him off and continuing to produce food to cook together Just as he was leaving he mentioned that it might be easier if some people dug a cooking pit and made some stationary grills to work on Then he left content with his 3 Levels in Cooking and 1 in ChefÆs Palate
The base of operations for the expedition wasnÆt hard to find They were situated midway between the steelworkers ghetto and the Unity ChurchÆs Re educationÆ Camp When he arrived Randidly was apparently recognized because one of the two grim sentries gestured for him to follow and led Randidly to a mustering area
These military types have too much free time Lucretia commented as Randidly walked through neat rows of tracts and tents Why must they insist everything be so precise It is extremely offputting
I suspect you are one of the few who thinks that Æ Randidly thought back bemused
Randidly felt her roll her eyes This is why your people have no understanding of karma They simply chase the shape rather than understanding the substance Neat rows will not let weak soldiers win wars
But it keeps the roads clear for them to flee Æ Randidly pointed at
As Lucretia cackled with laughter Randidly moved to join the group of about 30 or so people already standing there talking quietly Disturbingly there were about 6 soldiers around all of them carrying those plasma rifles that the people of Zone 1 love so much A lot of the people here he recognized with a pang they were people who traded regularly with Foreman Davey
A point for him just being swept up in this revenge which was good If this blow was aimed more at Foreman Davey and Randidly happened to be happily thrown into the danger area all for the better That meant they likely wouldnÆt push him into using any of his true strength
He had checked his reflection this morning and he hadnÆt found any deviations in the illusion But if anything that made him feel more nervous Fine for now meant it would fail later Hopefully the timing of that didnÆt end up fucking him
Again Randidly wondered what Neveah was doing She seemed to be having a great time which was good but similarly worrying Her sense of fun was a bit skewed He blamed himself for allowing her to spend so much time with the two clowns Paolo and Kayle Dinesh was supposed to be a calming influence but he turned out to have just gotten corrupted by them as well And now
Now what he didnÆt know wouldnÆt hurt him
Very quickly a figure swayed through the crowd and arrived at his side
Hey Viking Tatiana said as if this were the most natural name in the world
Randidly blushed It was one thing for people to call him Randidly and for that to be weird After all he could blame the weirdness of that name on his parents Specifically on his coo coo mother But Viking was a name that Randidly blurted out when he couldnÆt think of anything else it was a moniker of his who foolish making And explaining that it was just a joke or something now was a bit
So Randidly said coughing into his hand You are here too I wondered They donÆt they donÆt seem to be very worried about establishing a working relationship with us
No TatianaÆs smile remained bright but her voice was chilly They know what this is just like we do
It was a sobering thought Around them the crowd parted again and Gregory and Sonya came forward to stand with them It was a party reunion just short Griffith Randidly thought idly Around them the other steelworkers began to cluster Not joining them per se but listening intently
It seems we were designated as the leaders of this group Tatiana said with an eye roll
Must be our stunning good looks Gregory said revealing a gap tooth smile
Sonya gave Tatiana a long look Or our palpable charisma
Just then a man who appeared to be a higher rank than most of the soldiers strode out of a nearby tent and came to greet the gathered steelworkers To his credit when he glanced around at the surrounding soldiers he made a small gesture with his hand The soldiers that were standing around the group let go of their plasma rifles so they hung by their straps
It was a small reduction of an implied threat but it wasnÆt something that the man had to do Randidly appreciated it
Good you are all here IÆm Sergeant Phillip IÆll be acting as a liaison between you volunteers and the UHF military wait Sergeant Philip pulled up short as a skinny man opened his mouth to speak I have one rule for this do not say you didnÆt volunteer It will go a lot easier for all of us if you embrace this charade and we donÆt have to enforce the reality of the situation
The skinny man faltered Gregory folded his arms and gave the man a look LetÆs hear what the Sergeant has to say
Either a bigger trp or this man is more interested in saving people than in being the instrument of the punishment for you Lucretia mused If he treats you all as volunteers youÆll have more autonomy and both you and he can ignore the ugliness that led you all here If you force the issue
A waste of effort Æ Randidly stayed still content to let Gregory take the lead here especially since he agreed with playing along with Sergeant PhillipÆs game
Sergeant Philip turned to Gregory with a small smile Sergeant Phillip was an olive skinned man with short curly hair as I was saying I am your liaison Myself and five of my men will accompany you during the mission We have a 20 mile stretch to cover and based on our predictions the border is going to jump anywhere between a half mile and a mile backward ThatÆs a lot of ground to cover and it’s all residential At least 10 000 people will need to be located and brought safely back into our Zone ThatÆs our job
You might not know this but the real danger to the new arrivals to the System is monsters from other parts of the borderlands because time was frozen somehow prior to the System there are no monsters in this area ThatÆs why we will have a detachment of 200 soldiers sweeping the surrounding area eliminating nearby monsters Now as soon as the time is unfrozen monsters will begin to spawn but they will start weak We need to get as many people out before the average Level of the monster reaches Level 30 ThatÆs about the point where the detachment will start to feel pressured by the monster spawns ThatÆs when we pull out