Sitting back in her chair, Jet regarded Lauri with a grin.
"I was going to say the same thing to you. I had a good feeling, since I received a report that Skytide had gone to push back Winter Beast, so I wanted to try contacting you. As luck would have it, it seems the storm has abated enough to reach you."
Crossing his arms, Lauri exhaled.
"Yeah, quite lucky… I hope Skytide knows what she's doing. How long has she been throwing herself against that thing at this point? All she's been able to do is slow it down, and just barely… Makes you think…"
Lauri's words trailed off as he stared at the terminal's keyboard.
Jet waited a few moments before sighing.
"Makes you think? Makes me think what? Spit it out!"
Rubbing his jaw, Lauri felt the fresh stubble along his chin. His eyes narrowed.
"If I should grow out a beard?"
Jet didn't respond; her unamused expression spoke a thousand words.
Lauri chewed on his cheek for a moment before continuing.
"So… should we finally get off our asses and challenge the Third Nightmare?"
At his words, Jet's joking expression shifted. The humour in her gaze faded, her eyes turning sharp with sudden seriousness.
"The Third Nightmare? What's prompted you to start thinking in such a dramatic way?"
Huffing, Lauri rubbed his right shoulder, attempting to massage the pain away.
"I'm not being dramatic, come on. There's so much power in becoming a Saint, in gaining your Transformation Ability… Think about if we were Saints right now, just how many problems in Antarctica we could solve on our own. No need for cohorts, no need to put the lives of so many mundane soldiers at risk…"
Lauri's fingers tightened around his shoulder as he spoke. He suddenly became aware of his heartbeat as it hammered away inside his chest.
Jet simply nodded.
"I'd be a fool to try and disagree with that. But you know my reputation, people think I'm some kind of murdering psychopath. Like I'd stab them in the back the moment the Nightmare begins… Eh, who needs them? What about your friends? Why not go and challenge the Third Nightmare with them?"
Lauri let out a quiet laugh.
"When did they stop being your friends?"
"My friends?"
Tapping something off-screen, Jet shrugged.
"Probably somewhere around the time since we finished the Second Nightmare – and me not having spoken to any of them since. That make sense to you?"
Lauri jokingly pouted.
"You still talk to me, don't you?"
Jet rolled her eyes.
"Only because I couldn't connect to Sunny."
Lauri sat up laughing.
"Ah, the protege! Speaking of that Little Devil-"
Jet moved close to the camera until her face took up the entire terminal.
"Stop calling him my protege! He is not my protege!"
Ignoring Jet, Lauri continued.
"-We've dealt with those Nightmare Creatures that were on a path to hit his convoy. An absolutely disgusting bunch of Dormant and Awakened Beasts, with the cherry on the top, they were being led by a Fallen Tyrant with some nasty regenerative capabilities. You're welcome, by the way. I'll have one of mine return to the Dream Realm soon to file a proper report."
Hearing this, Jet's expression shifted from annoyed at Lauri's protege remark to relieved at hearing that the horde had been slain. She clapped her hands together.
"Finally, some good news. I'll make sure to let Sunny know. It'll definitely raise his team's spirits when they hear that you saved them from a fight with a Fallen Tyrant. Was it a hard fight? Pf, of course it was, it's a Tyrant. I'm sure with your team behind you, you managed all right."
Lauri awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.
"Um… Yeah… I mean, when my team got to me, we managed to deal with the Tyrant and its minions pretty quickly. I used Hailrend to counter its regeneration, but even that alone probably wouldn't have been enough. So I'd have to put the majority of the praise on Danse for keeping pace with me."
Jet met Lauri's his eyes for a moment, then answered.
"That's great, that really is. And since you haven't said anything about your team losing a limb or life, I'll assume that means they are all in good condition. I guess with all of that… Wait… What do you mean, when, your team got to you?"
"Ha, haha, haaa…"
Lauri slowly moved away from the monitor as Jet's gaze burned a hole through the screen.
"I might have jumped off the side of a mountain and rushed over to fight the horde. And from there I might have gone toe-to-toe with the Tyrant for a little bit– But it was only for a short time before Lucky rammed the Rhino into its side. To be honest, I have no clue how much time I spent cutting through its minions. I kind of lost track of time a bit in the middle there."
Watching Lauri with a glare, Jet dropped her head and let out an exasperated sigh, her lips pulled up into an annoyed smile.
"Lauri, you are… Incorrigible. As long as you're in one piece, that's all that matters at the end of the day. Alright. Now, unless you've got any more death-defying stunts you want to tell me about."
Jet paused for a moment before continuing.
"I'll be going. Command doesn't currently have any missions assigned to you for right now, so take this time to rest. Because no doubt there'll be some catastrophe for your squad to deal with soon enough."
As Lauri and Jet said their goodbyes, the others standing not too far behind him couldn't quite believe what they were witnessing.
Nudging Sansa, Mele whispered.
"Since when was Captain so buddy-buddy with Master Jet?"
Nothing came out of Sansa's mouth as she opened it; her jaw simply hung open.
Lucky and Danse tilted their heads in unison, watching the exchange with identical expressions of disbelief.
They didn't say a word.
They didn't need to.
A silent understanding passed between them as they slowly looked at one another, each holding the same thought in their minds.
'Captains got game.'
Closing the terminal, Lauri turned around. Seeing the group staring at him with varying levels of disbelief, he squinted at them, a hint of a smile on his lips.
"What?"
Vick was the first to speak; her brows were raised in surprise.
"We… Just didn't know you knew Master Jet so well."
His head tilting slightly to the left, Lauri's smile returned, tinged with confusion.
"I mean, yeah? We're old friends, I've known her since the Awakened Academy, we met a month or two before the Winter Solstice and bonded over the possibility of never coming back to the Waking World. If anything, out of everybody I know, I'd call her my best friend."
Katrina's hands slowly rose, her fingers twitching as if she couldn't quite process what Lauri had just said. Her voice quivered with barely contained disbelief.
"Y- You're best friends with Jet- Master Jet- Soul Reaper Master Jet? That Jet?"
Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Lauri frowned.
"I'm starting to feel insulted here."
Standing, he returned to his position beside the table.
Vick's eyes narrowed.
"Tell me, darling, do you have a thing for Master Jet. She is a very beautiful woman."
Lauri's face scrunched in disgust as Vick asked her question.
"Eugh, no- gods no! She's like a sister to me more than anything."
Watching the faces of his team, Lauri ran a hand down his face.
"Okay, okay enough… Enough of whatever this schoolgirl gossip is. It's time to put you slackers to work. First off, Danse, Sansa, go take some rest. Especially you, Danse. I saw you yawning even before the fight, so I can only imagine how tired you are now. Katrina, Lucky, I need you two to run diagnostics on the Rhino to ensure Lucky's… Brilliant idea hasn't broken something vital."
Turning to Vick and Mele, Lauri offered them a sympathetic look.
"I'm sorry, Mele, Vick, but you two have drawn the short straws. I want you two to go outside and start stripping the corpses for soul fragments. Mele, since your soul is still filled with my light, you'll be able to shrug off any inconvenience that might come from coming into contact with the tainted fluids. Vick… I dunno, just try not to get wet."
Vick hummed softly.
"Gee, thank you, Captain."
Pausing, Lauri added.
"Actually, for that reason, Katrina and Lucky, I want you two to join in on scavenging once you've finished with the diagnostics."
Mele and Katrina both shared the same expression of disgust.
Lucky, on the other hand, was still looking at Lauri, his eyes almost shimmering with respect.
"Alright, everyone – off you go, you've got your jobs."
The group began to break apart. Vick and Mele moving towards the Rhino's exit, Sansa began moving toward her sleeping pod, and Katrina left for the hatch that led down into the Rhino's engine compartment.
This left Danse and Lucky still standing by the table.
Lauri's brow furrowed as he looked between them. Something about the way they were looking at him left him feeling unnerved.
"What… What's that look for? Did you not hear your jobs? Go, get."
Circling the table, Danse clapped his hand on Lauri's back.
"Captain."
He gave him a thumbs-up, followed by a firm pat on the shoulder.
"We will follow you into the darkest pits of hell, through the worst of what this crisis has to offer us."
"Uh…"
Glancing between the two men, Lauri raised a thumbs-up of his own.
"Thank you?"