Since the outpost was running smoothly, Emory returned to her little meditation circle near the ship. She sat cross-legged on the ground and brought up her Chaos aura before spinning it inside her body as fast as she could. After ten minutes, she took a short break to focus on her breathing, lasting about five minutes. In four hours, she had completed this cycle sixteen times and needed to get up and stretch. Her stomach grumbled, so she moseyed into the ship for something more filling than a food pill. While she was in the common area, she saw Greg walk through before heading back towards the command center.
Emory picked up a sandwich and some juice before trailing Greg. Once he entered the room, she stood in a secluded spot while she ate her food and cautiously peeked through the windows to see what he was working on. Most of the files looked to be older, but she saw several printouts of recent topography maps. She found it strange that he seemingly preferred to work with actual papers instead of virtually like most people their age. Still, it was just another oddity she could add to the pile of things that weren't adding up about Greg. Unfortunately, Emory couldn't see what documents he was looking at specifically; she could only determine that he was organizing the papers into specific areas. As she had confirmed his location and finished her lunch, she decided to return to her training grounds and keep tabs on when he left the ship.
Sitting down on the ground, Emory continued trying to elevate her sphere in the same manner as before. She continued this routine for another twenty cycles while she stared blankly off into the distance. With every new rotation, Emory could feel it speeding up incrementally inside her body. Not in leaps and bounds, it was more like sanding a board, taking it down layer by layer. Not only that, but she was also adapting to using the sphere which made her recovery time more fruitful. When she started, it would take her the whole five minutes just to recover most of her stamina. Now, she could return her stamina levels to their original height after the five minutes of rest.
Yet, even after nine total hours of training, Emory still felt just as far away from level three as she did at the beginning of the day. Feeling slightly depressed about the situation, she scampered back to her cabin and flung herself onto her bed. As she stretched across the covers, she felt the familiar vibration of her link stone rumble through the bed. Pulling it out of her pocket, she continued laying there as Perceval chimed in her mind.
"Good evening, Lady Supreme, I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time," he warmly greeted her.
"Not at all, Perceval," Emory smiled, "I'm always happy to speak with you. How are things going back on Earth?"
Perceval said happily, "Everything is going very well, especially in Clan Ide. That's actually why I reached out to you. Tomorrow, Franz will officially take over as the leader of Clan Ide."
"Perceval, what are you saying?" Emory squeaked, "I mean I'm very happy for Franz but what will you do now?"
"I had hoped you would allow me to join your forces," Perceval replied which caused Emory to nearly drop the link stone.
"Are you sure, Perceval?" Emory breathed, "It's about to get really rough out here. The Apleem could land any day."
Perceval nodded, "I'm very sure. Truthfully, I had been preparing Franz to take over for some time; however, your arrival put the transfer on hold for the time being."
"I would welcome your help," Emory expressed graciously, "Do you have a problem joining Samantha instead of me? I fear her outpost will soon see an invasion force, and they could use a strong reinforcement."
"If that's where you would like me to help, I will gladly go there. I just want to finish my life defending our people against this massive threat," Perceval responded.
"Thank you so much," Emory acknowledged his kind gesture, "I was worried I would have to split my attention between two battlefields. With your help, I feel much better about the impeding fight. I'll let Sam know right away."
Perceval grinned, "I'll be there tomorrow morning. Thank you for accepting my offer."
The link stone returned to its cloudy composition for a minute until Emory called Sam. She explained the situation to Sam and told her to be especially gracious with Perceval. Once she finished, she put the link stone back in her pocket and sighed deeply. While she could lean on Clarine's experience to direct the war on Temia, neither Elffin, Gatrie, nor Sam had ever led a full-sized army. In a battle where two sides were evenly matched, experience could shift the field significantly. When Cassandra led the Council to fight back the Mantoan originally, the armies were led by six of the senior Councilors including Perceval, meaning he had both leadership and fighting experience against the Mantoan. Finally with a huge weight off her chest, Emory got changed for bed and lay down. Sleep came quickly due to her relaxed mood until the dream started.
An Uthid covered with ebony plate mail stood in front of a screen when a Mantoan rushed next to him. "Sir, four more ships have arrived, but we're still waiting on six more," the Mantoan reported with a salute.
"We're already pushing fifty ships per planet on this operation," the Uthid growled, "Weren't these the same inferior creatures that had troubles pushing out the Mantoan? With the number of ships they're sending, you'd think we were attacking a Fae planet."
The Mantoan lowered its head, "The report says there is a special target on one of the planets that seriously wounded Selena. I'm worried we might not be enough."
"You know how petty she is," the Uthid snarked, "She probably tried walking into a situation with a strike team and got beaten back. Laxtros have such fragile egos."
"Still, sir, the power of any group that pushed back Selena is not one to underestimate. She didn't reach the position she is by anything less than pure strength," the Mantoan countered.
"Enough about Selena," the Uthid snapped, "How long until the last ships arrive?"
The Mantoan cleared its throat, "Five days, sir. Then a two-day trip to the planets. There is also still the matter of your location; you haven't locked in a choice of which planet you'll be leading from."
"I'm going to head to the last planet the special target was on. If I can be the one to capture such a person, I'll live like a king for the rest of my life. You can go to the other planet," the Uthid gruffly replied.
"Very well, sir. Do you have any other duties you wish me to take care of before leaving?" the Mantoan asked humbly, "If I'm there when the last ships arrive, we won't have to wait on anything."
The Uthid shook his head, "Get there and get ready. I want to take off as soon as they arrive."