Lauri's mind immediately began attempting to recall everything he had heard about Whispering Legion.
"Whispering Legion… That was one of the Titans that had emerged during the appearance of three Category Three Gates, along with two others, the Fallen Titan Goliath, and the Corrupted Titan, Winter Beast."
Everyone slowly turned to look at Lauri as he spoke.
"No one can be certain of its true nature as it was annihilated during its debut due to the combined forces of the three Saints holding ground within the Antarctic Centre, Saint Cor, Tyris and Dire Fang… Danse, pass me that report."
Lauri sprang from his seat and crossed the room in quick strides, taking the paper from Danse as it was offered. His eyes moved across the lines, his expression grew dark.
Without looking up from the paper, Lauri gave a quiet command, his voice low and edged with something grim.
"Somebody get Lucky and Mele."
As Katrina quickly dashed towards the pilot's cabin, Sansa touched her fist to her lips.
"I feel stupid asking this, but… How bad is it?"
Lauri didn't respond, his gaze bound to the report.
Entering the room, Mele was pouting.
"Lucky didn't want to trade… Apparently, he already got two copies of [Pack's Alligences] from just running them over. Hey Sansa! Have I got a new Memory I think you'll…"
Mele's excitement at seeing her friend back from the Dream Realm died down as the atmosphere of the room settled on her. Lucky stepped beside Mele, his expression confused.
"Don't tell me a Saint has died?"
Lauri frowned.
"No, nothing that bad…"
Lauri wasted no time briefing Lucky and Mele about their upcoming mission.
"We have been tasked with destroying a series of bridges in order to slow the advance of the remnants of Whispering Legion."
Narrowing his eyes, Lucky rubbed his chin as he thought, his eyes slowly widening as he realised where he had heard the name before.
"Whispering Legion… Isn't- Wasn't that a Fallen Titan that got killed?"
Glancing at the paper, he shook his head.
"It was killed, but it seems the Fallen Titan was only a part of the Whispering Legion. From scout reports, it seems that the Whispering Legion is an army reminiscent of old medieval warfare – the scouts report that they have seemingly disciplined ranks of infantry, heavily armoured knights… and siege engines.
At the last line, Lauri gave a faint, humourless chuckle.
"They even have flagbearers waving their tattered banners as they march north."
Katrina dragged a hand through her hair, her voice unsteady.
"This… This is a suicide mission. Command is actually sending us on a suicide mission this time."
Seeing Katrina's reaction, Lucky touched her shoulder.
"It can't be that bad. It's not as if Command is telling us to go fight this Legion; we just have to destroy a couple of bridges. How many bridges are there?"
Looking further down the page, Lauri shook his head.
"If the report is correct, there are seven bridges connecting the southern region of Central Antarctica to the northern region. That's not so bad; we can just destroy the bridges before the Whispering Legion reaches us. I believe all of the cities have either been evacuated… or destroyed. So after we knock down the seventh bridge, then we can begin heading north, to Falcon Scott and assist in its defence."
The atmosphere in the room began to lighten as the group realised they wouldn't need to directly engage the remnants of the Fallen Titan.
Everyone began to relax – everyone, except Danse.
He wet his lips, hesitating only a moment before speaking.
"Captain, please check the distance between the bridges."
Lauri turned to Danse and nodded.
"Right. Right."
Quickly double-checking the first page and finding nothing regarding the distance between the seven bridges, Lauri turned to the next page. His eyes slowly crossed the text, coming to a stop as he finally found the distance between the seven bridges.
And then his eyes widened.
"No… no, no no."
Lauri muttered under his breath, his voice growing more alarmed with each word.
"No, this, this can't be right. This…"
Lauri fell silent as he gripped the report tighter.
His silence prompted Sansa to ask.
"What's with that reaction? We should be fine, right? Even if it takes a day or two and they get close, once the bridges are down, it won't matter. They'll probably have to travel all the way to the coastal highway. Which will be a problem for later, sure, but we can just hightail it all the way to Falcon Scott. After that, their numbers won't matter."
Lauri shook his head, no longer holding a worried expression; he was looking at the paper in utter disbelief. Lowering the pages, he clapped a hand to his forehead.
"No, that's the problem. There's no direct road from one bridge to the next; we'll have to figure out our route on the fly… Command believes that at the very least, it should take us five days to reach each bridge."
Trying to stay confident, Lucky smiled.
"Well, that's good. It's only a couple of days, then we're homeward bound."
Lauri clenched his jaw in frustration.
"No, at the very least, it should be five days. That's not accounting for any disruptions, emerging Nightmare Gates, or roaming hordes of Nightmare Creatures. They haven't even accounted for the time it will take to destroy the bridges. What are they thinking, having us do this!"
Having stayed quiet, Katrina asked meekly.
"Does the report say how long it will be until the Whispering Legion reaches the ravine?"
Looking at the page, Lauri's eye twitched, not finding the information, he flipped to the next page. That was when Danse spoke up.
"Command doesn't know when the Whispering Legion will reach the ravine. They stopped sending scouts after the Legion killed three of them one after another. It seems the Legion caught on – they knew they were being tracked... The last report had them seven days away from the ravine."
Tapping the pages lightly against his chin, Lauri fell into thought. The room seemed to quiet around him as he thought over the implications in his mind, weighing distance, time, and risk.
Finally, he exhaled.
"Then we have no time to waste. Lucky."
The young man snapped to attention the moment his name was called.
"Yes, Captain!"
Lauri lowered the pages slightly, his expression sharpening with resolve.
"It seems your luck has saved us once again – we're already heading in the right direction. So get this thing moving!"
Lucky didn't hesitate.
"Understood!"
He nearly stumbled in his haste, turning on his heel and rushing back toward the pilot's cabin, boots striking the floor in hurried rhythm as the urgency in the room snapped back into motion.
Turning to the rest of his team, Lauri quickly barked out orders.
"Katrina, I want you running constant analysis on the Rhino's systems. We cannot afford a breakdown until after that last bridge is nothing but a memory. Mele, Danse – we need a plan to bring these bridges down."
Raising her hand, Mele asked.
"Why do we need a plan to knock some old bridges down. We're all Awakened, you're a Master. What's the problem?"
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Danse exhaled.
"These bridges aren't just any normal kind of bridge, Mele. They're not made of sticks and stone – they were engineered to withstand the world around them. That includes extreme weather conditions, seismic stress, structural shockwaves, sustained load from military convoys... Aerial impacts..."
He paused, eyes darkening slightly.
"And possibly even contact with Nightmare Creatures."
The group swayed slightly as the Rhino rumbled to life.
Dropping the report aside, Lauri dragged a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply.
"And we get to bring it all crashing down."