Chapter 32: Tutelage of Giants

The smell of salt on the air in the middle of the deserts of Jordan signaled that we had arrived. As we set up camp, one of the guides, who had taken us into the desert on camelback, turned to us. "There are many caves here." he said, a fact we were well aware of. "The prophets and their followers likely left much behind in the way of their writings, to keep them safe from the desecration of heretics and outsiders. But there is likely no great, glittering treasure here for you."

Whether he meant that as a warning or not was immaterial. Whatever we found out here would be taken back to Germany, to prop up the university. Whether it glittered or not was, really, quite inconsequential.

- From the personal journals of Lorenz Kihl, May 24th, 1920

HERZ-Matsushiro, Two Weeks Later

Of course, the moment passed, and life marched on. For the pilots of HERZ, that found them in one of the new break rooms of the Matsushiro complex, constructed nearly overnight with the wonders of Interfacing as the base expanded at a breathtaking pace.

The original Children of NERV and the Numberless Children chatted aimlessly as they relaxed for a moment from their duties. Those duties being training, and slowly starting the training process for, the first wave of new pilots.

"You know, it's weird." Asuka said as she sipped at her canned coffee. "Even knowing about the decrease in the draft age with the Impact Wars, finding out that most of the people we're going to be training are around our age is… yeah. Weird."

Shinji nodded as he chewed on the candy he'd taken a few pieces of. "Yeah. I was expecting something closer to career soldiers in their 30's."

"It certainly eases the training process, however, not having to deal with so great an age gap as that." Rei said with a slight shrug.

"Maybe." Toji said. "Doesn't always make it that much easier, with how some of them are."

The minds in the room turned to the fresh candidates they had spent the first few weeks as active members of HERZ guiding through the motions of training them to pilot the Evangelions they would take over.

With the first candidates in large part from Japan, and with there being so few, Daniel had made the Children into groups of 2, with Mayumi teaching the last pilot on her own, all of them dedicated to working together to teach the new pilots the skills they needed to pilot their, in turn, new machines.

2 Japanese, an American, a Kenyan from the African Union, and somewhat surprisingly, a Basque pilot representing the European Union, were the first wave of fresh faces to the world of the Evangelion.

Of the 2 Japanese pilots, Keita Asari and Musashi Lee Strasberg, Keita, at least according to Mari and Mana, was the more easygoing of the duo, kind and rather meek and unassuming. Musashi, on the other hand, was proving to be something of a thorn in Asuka's side.

She remembered back to the first time she watched Musashi glance around the virtual Frame Plug. "Interesting design." he remarked, forgoing English for Japanese as he lowered the control console into the ready position, and the simulation booted up, putting them on a flat plane, Asuka in the conceptual Unit-02, Shinji in the conceptual Unit-01, and Musashi in a rather bland looking generic version of the Frame Titans Asuka had taken to calling 'Unit-0T'.

"It's the template for the standard Frame Plug." Asuka replied. "Whoever produces the one you'll be piloting may make some changes, and who knows, maybe you'll make some of your own, but this is the standard."

"Got it." Musashi said offhandedly as he went through the start-up process, and Unit-0T took a step forward as it raised its arms, flexing for a moment and testing its range of motion for a moment.

"Alright." Shinji said. "Let's go through the rest of the range-of-motion tests, get you comfortable."

"Yes, Captain."

There it was again. That subtle twitch in Musashi's face that said… something. There were too many emotions mixed up whenever he talked to Shinji, or really anyone else besides her and Mari, that her Sight outside of the Evas couldn't quite pick it apart.

Either way, they began to go through the movements together, walking and running and jumping through a digital obstacle course courtesy of the Intermediary System.

After the range-of-motion tests concluded, Asuka nodded. "Alright. Good job. Let's run through a simple spar, get you used to the beginnings of combat in the Eva." she paused for a moment as she tapped on the training room screen on her control console. "So, I'll go ahead and-"

"I'd like to spar with Captain Ikari, please."

Asuka and Shinji both blinked as they looked at each other. "Uh… okay." Shinji shrugged. "I don't see why not."

Asuka nodded as the conceptual Unit-01 walked forward and Asuka changed the parameters on her panel. "Alright," she began, "simulated synch level is going to be at 55%. It's not going to be unbearably painful, but you'll feel it when you've taken one across the face. First one to pin the other wins. Ready?"

Unit-01 and Unit-0T crouched slightly, Shinji taking a relaxed, open stance with a bladed body and arms forward, his legs wide and in a stable platform. Musashi, on the other hand, took up a boxer's stance, arms close together as Unit-0T stepped forward.

"Go!" Asuka said, and Unit-0T walked slowly over to Unit-01 as it stood its ground for a moment, then stepped back once, then twice as Musashi finished closing the distance.

Musashi threw a light jab, Shinji slapping it aside as he threw a punch of his own, Musashi stepping back out of range and beginning to circle, Shinji circling with him.

Round and round they went, first for moments, then for a minute, Musashi stepping into range to test Shinji's defenses before darting back out.

Then, as they finished a step to one side or the other, Musashi charged forward, batting aside the hook that Shinji threw as he slammed into him, sending a knee into Unit-01's groin, causing Shinji to wince as he gasped in pain. Unit-01 shoved Unit-0T off for a moment, stepping back to try and refocus, but Musashi was relentless, pressing Unit-0T into the gap Shinji had made and hammering him with blow after blow.

Shinji took the assault as best he could, but as a surprise leg sweep sent Unit-01 tumbling to the ground, Shinji simply threw Unit-01's arms in front of him as Unit-0T went to the ground, kneeing Unit-01 savagely in the side as he continued to wail on him.

As the beating went on for moments more, Asuka's eyes widened as she realized what was going on. Musashi had no intention of pinning Shinji anytime soon.

"That's enough, Musashi!" she shouted as Unit-02 stepped forward, grabbing at two of Unit-0T's abdominal armor strips and jerking the Eva roughly off of Unit-01.

She brought the comm panel of Musashi front and center as she spun Unit-0T around and put it in an arm lock, seeing the fire in his eyes, the barely contained… well, the closest thing she could describe was rage.

But there was a fire of her own in her eyes as she began. "When I tell you to pin your opponent, you pin your verdammt opponent! Is that clear?"

"I was getting around to it." Musashi growled back.

"Bockmist! We're ending the simulation now!"

Asuka sighed quietly. "Yeah. Musashi's calmed down a little since Daniel talked with him after that whole ordeal. He's apparently been in and out of his office a few times."

She glanced around the table. "How are all your trainees doing?"

Mayumi smiled slightly. "Arantxa is actually doing well." She recalled their last session of training. A somewhat fumbling thing for her, still, but she was getting the hang of it as target practice finished, the last Angels disappearing in a flash as Arantxa laid them low with precise bursts of tire, and the digital weapons disappeared.

"Good job." Mayumi said, looking at the Basque pilot's level expression. "You have a good feeling for shooting already, I can tell. And the range which you first engaged at is impressive."

Captain Arantxa Etxebarria bobbed her head, her expressive brown eyes looking up. "Well, yes. My father taught me how to shoot when I was young, what with Second Impact making hunting something to be done frequently. I was a lookout for Spanish ultra-nationalist mobs for a while, then a defensive sniper at 14 after the war kicked off. I guess it's a skill set that transfers over easily to piloting one of these."

She sat back in her seat, looking intently at Mayumi as she began to talk, her hands moving almost on her own. "Let me tell you about the first rifle I shot. It was a beat-up old thing, a bolt-action, Mosin Nagant actually, that my grandfather apparently…"

"I would actually like her to meet the rest of you." Mayumi continued. "She likes telling and hearing stories, it seems."

Toji nodded. "And Mavuto is…" he looked at Hikari with a worried look in his eyes. "Kinda scary, I'm not gonna lie."

"How so?" Shinji asked as his eyebrow arched. "From the only time I met him, he seemed friendly enough. Almost overly friendly."

"Yeah," Toji nodded, "until he steps into an Eva." Toji and Hikari watched on as Lieutenant Commander Mavuto Okrie did what could only be described as systematically disassembling the digital version of Sachiel that had appeared before him after neutralizing its theoretical AT Field. His first attack used his Pallet Magnum to kneecap the Angel, sending it tumbling to the ground with a wail. He then viciously stomped on the Angel's arms, the crack snapping through the speaker systems once, then again. Finally, he unloaded round after round into Sachiel's back, the core finally cracking and the Angel disappearing into a cloud of glittering particles.

They both glanced at the dead face that looked down at where the Angel had been, no scrap of emotion in his eyes. Then he took a deep breath, and an easy smile split his face as if it had always belonged there. "So," he said in thickly accented English as he looked at them with that seemingly ever-present friendly gleam in his eyes, "how did I do?"

"You did… great, man." Toji replied with some slight shock. "Passed the test with flying colors."

"Splendid!" Mavuto said. "Is it time for an early lunch? I just can't get enough of sushi! It's so much different than what we have back home."

"He's…" Toji shook his head. "Brutal. That's the best way to put it. After he gets out, it's like a switch flips, and he's ready to buy you a drink again. He chalks it up to the Impact Wars in Africa. 'Only the strong and the willing lived in those days'. That's what he said."

"Yeah…" Hikari said quietly. "Many of them were old enough to remember what it was like, out in the worst parts of the world at the time."

Hikari looked over at Rei and Kaworu. "How is Orien doing?"

"He is adjusting well." Rei replied. "He has a few friends in the American Marine Corps that survived the First Battle of Tokyo-3, so he had a basic idea of what to expect."

"And he isn't thrown off by the whole…" Asuka began. "Half-Angel thing at all?"

Lieutenant Commander Orien Wallace shook his head as Kaworu asked the question after an Angel-combat-focused training simulation. "I don't see a point in being afraid of what you look like. I know who you are, at least, as much as a week or two allows for. And I'm okay with what I see. I've had plenty of relatives who already went through all that. Who know what it's like for someone to assume what you are, how smart or stupid or friendly or unfriendly you are, just because of the color of your skin."

"And yet, you fight for a nation that allows such?" Rei asked. "It seems… counterintuitive, to protect the people that hated you and those you love in the first place."

Orien shrugged. "They're the minority really. And someone's gotta step up to defend those that can't. My hands might not be the best. But they're certainly better than someone else's, aren't they?"

Kaworu shrugged. "Not more than anyone else who has gotten to know us."

"Hmmm. Interesting." Shinji said. "Did I hear right when someone said he plays cello?"

Kaworu smiled slightly as he nodded. "Indeed he does. He is an interesting soul. Seemingly more suited to creating art than piloting an Evangelion. But he is sure that what he is doing will help him protect those around him. He is… unflinching, I believe is the word, in his morals."

Shinji hummed as he looked at the clock. "Well, back to work, I guess."

The Children all rose, throwing away snack wrappers and disposable cups as they returned to their duty of protecting the world, and making sure their charges could do the same.

. . .

Commander's Office

The office that Misato had designated as her and Ritsuko's was a cluttered, almost messy space. Two desks took up much of the room, the one near the back wall occupied by Misato, Ritsuko standing by her side in an eerily familiar scene, the rest of the room taken up by movable screens, bookcases, and computer terminals.

It made sitting in front of the main desk somewhat difficult, as Daniel, Maya, Ryoji, and a floating gem that projected Eleanor's head and shoulders, the crystalline walls of Terminal Dogma floating into view every once in a while as she directed work in the Geofront, were readily aware of.

"Alright," Misato began, convening the staff meeting, "we'll start with Daniel. How's the pilot situation coming along, especially when it concerns First Lieutenant Strasberg?"

"Other than Strasberg, everyone else is doing fine. The kids are enjoying their tenure as instructors, and they're proving themselves quite capable of relaying the curriculum that we've established. Asuka's gained a not insubstantial amount of zeal for it." Daniel said with a slight smile. The smile vanished as he continued after a moment. "As for Strasberg, we've had several more conversations since the incident last week. I believe we've gotten, at least to some extent, to the core of the matter."

"And what's that?" Misato asked, an eyebrow arched.

"He's hafu." Daniel replied, a level expression on his face. "Apparently he and his family went through quite the troubles in Hokkaido after Tokyo-1 was wiped out by the nuclear strike."

Ritsuko nodded slowly. "Probably grew up during the time the nationalism bug bit Japan after Article 9 was written out of the Constitution." she said, a tinge of sadness in her voice. She sighed quietly. "He probably has quite the chip on his shoulder, then. It never really went away, after all."

Daniel sighed quietly. "Honestly, the fact that we haven't hired a therapist for anyone yet is a miracle, considering what everyone's been through, and that doesn't even extend beyond anyone here in HERZ."

"Otherwise," he continued, "I'll be taking Mari, Mana, and Mayumi later today to get them Interfaced. Some of the other kids want to get a second Aspect Core, too, so I'll be helping them as best I can there, too."

Daniel shrugged. "That's all I really have to say."

Misato nodded, then looked over at Maya. "So, Maya, how's the development of the new computer system coming along?"

"We've finished setting up the idea of the system." Maya began. "It's going to be a similar design to the old Magi: three cores in concert having to agree to any decisions put to the system. The biggest difference is that instead of using a digital copy of someone's mind, we'll be engaging the permanent services of three Spirits to fulfill those roles." she said the last part with some slight discomfort at the thought.

"Makes sense." Eleanor replied. "There's Spirits that are up for just about anything, if you know how to call them. I'm sure there's plenty of weirdos out there that think crunching numbers and deliberating decisions is the dream job. There's plenty enough that they form the basis for most of the OS's on Worldstrider Seabreakers."

Ritsuko shrugged. "We'll probably be going through some ethics troubles here on Earth, then. But, then again…" she smirked slightly. "Since when haven't we been going through some ethics troubles?" she mused somewhat grimly.

"Other than that," Maya continued after a moment, "no immediate troubles with the Intermediary System. It should be on track for Daniel's big team simulation next week."

Misato nodded. "Alright. Eleanor, how are things in Terminal Dogma?"

Eleanor glanced around at surroundings no one else could see. "We've got the floor in Terminal Dogma most of the way clear, even though it is taking some more time doing it by hand, and we've started to make our way into the base itself, again, taking some time to clear the rubble. It's kinda weird, seeing NERV's logo again." she said offhandedly.

She paused for a moment as she looked up at something, and sighed as she shook her head. "We'll need to get Lilith out of here in order to do any more work beyond what we're already doing."

She began to look around again, and her eyes widened slightly after a moment. "Oh, we've started sending probes into the lake to find those cores that you mentioned, Ritsuko."

As she spoke, her image fuzzed, then resolved into a view of a small group of technicians looking intently at several screens and tablets as a screen showed the depths of the LCL lake, tinged red from the Corite that rested above its surface.

The view fuzzed again, and Eleanor reappeared. "I don't know if our current probes will be able to reach the depths to find them. We're already stretching at…" she paused as her eyes narrowed slightly. "325 meters. How deep is this thing?"

All eyes turned to Ritsuko, who cupped her chin thoughtfully. "Last I recall… about a kilometer and a half?"

All eyes proceeded to widen slightly, and Eleanor whistled. "Wow. Okay. We'll need to make some specialized drones then. Other than that…" she puffed her cheeks for a moment. "That's about everything from me."

Misato nodded. "And Ryoji." she said, looking intently at him. "How goes looking into SEELE? Any sort of progress at all, or have they just dropped off the map entirely?"

Ryoji sighed quietly. "They've proven their ability to stay hidden thus far isn't something we've been able to throw a wrench into. I've got old contacts that I'm building trust with again, seeing as I've spooked them off somewhat by going as public as I have and throwing in my lot with HERZ." he scoffed slightly. "Even though I helped build the damn place…"

He shook his head. "Anyways, they haven't been able to find anything thus far. Some paper trails that lead away from Russia, France, Africa, America, all pointing to different places before they stop. Even with Ikari the elder's help in getting the true names of the people behind SEELE, it hasn't gained us much ground beyond putting out APBs for all of them."

Misato grimaced slightly. "Alright. Keep at it, and let me know when you hit something big."

Misato sighed quietly as she sat back in her chair. "As for things I have to tell you all… well, our new uniforms should be ready soon. That's really about it right now, seeing as we won't have a UN representative for another month."

They all glanced down at themselves for a moment, almost all of them wearing casual clothes, accentuated by an armband of green with the HERZ logo in black on it, while Ritsuko's customary lab coat, a holdover from her days in the Science Division, sported a pin with HERZ's logo instead.

"Oh, good." Ryoji said. "Nothing like being a good-looking part of the machine, now."

A quiet chuckle rippled through the room, then Misato stood. "Well, I'm ready to go home now. I'm sure you all are as well. I'd say we're done here." she paused for a moment as everyone else stood and Eleanor faded from sight, the gem falling into Daniel's open hand. "Let's savor being able to do this for a moment. To just be done for the day."

They stood there for a moment of silent appreciation, then made their way out the door of the office.

. . .

Infinity Box, Later That Day

Mari, Mana, and Mayumi slowly stepped into the Infinity Box, looking around with wide eyes as Daniel, Eleanor, and the other Children led them in.

"I… gotta admit," Mari said slowly, disappointment evident in her tone, "I was expecting something a little more… mystical for my first experience with magic."

Eleanor sighed quietly as Daniel reached out a hand with a slight smile, and handed over a wad of yen. "Well, that's not to say it can't do that." Eleanor replied as she, and the rest of the group, came to a stop in front of the Numberless Children. "But since what we're working with isn't technically magic, we like to keep the mysticism to a minimum for those who aren't used to such things being involved in their lives in the first place."

"But if you want to give off that 'wizard' vibe, more power to you, I guess." Asuka said with a shrug as three seats rose from the ground in front of the Numberless Children, three more rose up in front of the group, and a bench appeared behind the group.

As Mari, Mana and Mayumi took their seats, Shinji, Asuka and Rei sat across from them, Daniel staying by the three kids as the others moved back to the bench.

"Alright," Daniel began, "I'll start by saying that, technically, you're already able to do what we do."

"Really?" Mari said as she tilted her head. "I can already…" she puffed her cheeks for a moment. "Like, throw lighting at you?"

"With the right amount of power and the right focus, yeah." Asuka replied. "Thing is, you don't have the latter, and you need more of the former. Which is why we're going to plug all of your souls into the biggest power source in all Reality."

The Numberless Children all blinked. "Oh." Mana said, a hint of incredulity in her voice as her eyes widened slightly. "That sounds… somewhat dangerous."

"It isn't." Shinji replied. "Simply… uncomfortable for a moment. You'll see what we mean."

"I would suggest closing your eyes." Rei said. "The sensory overload can be somewhat overwhelming in the beginning."

As all three girls closed their eyes, Daniel linked with Shinji, Asuka and Rei's souls as he blinked on his Sight. "Okay, just like I showed you." he said calmly, sensing the hesitation and anxiety without even having to look at the three kids beside him. "You've got this."

Shinji and Asuka nodded, while Rei simply focused before the other two, Frames reaching out towards the souls of their expectant, nervous, and in one case, outright excited friends.

"Now, opening up the soul like you're about to is still tricky, so take it slowly, and don't be afraid to back off and let one of us step in if you need to." Daniel continued as the kids finally connected, the Children's Frames gently pulling apart the souls of Mari, Mana and Mayumi to get at that most fundamental thing. The root of the soul.

"Good job. Now, strengthen the Root until it starts to strengthen itself, then pull back and seal it up." Daniel's gaze flicked intently between the three girls as he watched them ride out the sensory overload that nearly flooded their brains, then the Children closed up their Numberless counterpart's souls, and began to pull their Frames out with a sigh of relief as Daniel's Sight shut off.

Daniel stepped forward as the girls opened their eyes and began to look around again, looking down at their hands. "Woah." Mari said, then winced slightly at the surprising volume of her voice.

"It's gonna take a little time to get used to the First Peak." Daniel said quietly with a growing smile. "But welcome to our little corner of the world."

. . .

4 (Relative) Hours Later

Daniel raised a hand to stop the exercise, the three spars occurring coming to a stop one after the other. "Alright, you three." he said, looking between Mari, Mana, and Mayumi. "You've certainly adjusted quickly. But there's still going to be a few days of training to get under your belts before we start trying to pull the souls out of your Evas. Sounds good?"

Mari in particular sighed heavily, but nodded. "Yes, oh wise master wizard. I guess we can make that work."

Daniel chuckled softly as he reinserted the Infinity Box into the time stream. "Alright, then. Go get some rest, come back to me tomorrow after you're done training your pilots."

The Numberless Children nodded again, then made their way out of the box. As they exited, Daniel looked over at Asuka. "So, any luck getting a new Aspect so far?" he asked with a slight smile.

Asuka sighed as she took a swig from a water bottle, grimacing after she swallowed. "None so far. Trying to find something on purpose is a lot harder than it looks. I've been looking for lightning almost all day now."

Daniel nodded. "Yeah. It took me…" he bobbed his head side to side for a moment. "About 5 days of non-stop searching before I got my second Aspect. Just ride it out, and keep at it."

Asuka sighed. "Alright, I guess."

Daniel's smile grew slightly, then his clear-pad buzzed. He reached into his pocket, looking at the message on it intently. It was from Ritsuko. And it was for Asuka. His eyebrow arched as he read the brief summary before the attached video file, then he turned to Asuka.

"You have someone wanting to talk to you." he said as he walked over, preparing the video file to play before he handed the pad over to her.

"Really?" her eyebrow arched as she took the pad, looking at the face on the screen for a moment. The young woman staring back at her was of a fair complexion, American or European if she had to guess, with hazel eyes and long blonde hair that she managed with a dark headband. Around her neck, a simple silver cross hung on a black choker, evident above a plain t-shirt and a cream jacket.

Asuka pressed play, and the young woman began to speak. "Hello, Ms. Soryu-Langley. My name is Marie Vincennes. I am a member of the United States Army Evangelion Corps, and I have a request I would like to make of you."

"As you may likely notice, you will be receiving this message from me through old NERV channels. I had access to these channels due to my father's employment at NERV-3, until…" she paused for a moment, then took a breath. "Until the Nevada Incident. I wish to honor my father, and all his coworkers' memories, and take up the mantle of Evangelion pilot, so that such an incident may never occur again. Thus, I would like to be trained by you, the current best Evangelion pilot, to ensure that I can keep my promise."

"I hope to hear from you soon, even with how busy I am sure you are at this current moment. Thank you for listening to this message. God bless you and your work."

With that, the video ended, and Asuka looked back at her friends, an arched eyebrow and a somewhat impressed expression on her face. "I've gotta say, this is unexpected, and yet… kind of exciting." she began to smile slowly. "I mean… someone who just out and out admits that I'm the best, and that's part of why she wants to learn from me…"

She handed Daniel back his pad before she pumped a fist, seeming to restrain herself from dancing with joy. "That's awesome!" she finally managed to say.

Shinji nodded. "Yeah. That is. You're getting good recognition." he scoffed slightly. "Better recognition than we got a few months ago in New York, at least."

Asuka chuckled. "Yeah, that's true." she looked over at Daniel again. "When can I talk to her?"

"As soon as we're able to reach her. Like she said, these are old NERV channels, and HERZ operates on channels that are mostly the same. It's finding which ones we don't use that she did that'll take some time." Daniel paused as he smiled slightly. "But not much."

"Alright." Asuka said, hands on her hips and a proud look on her face. "She'd better be ready, because I'm about to give her the training course of her life."

. . .

Somewhere Above the Middle East

Lorenz Kihl looked down from his private jet at the place that had been the genesis of SEELE, and pondered on how they had arrived at this point.

It was a lifetime ago, now, when a far younger man discovered the true course of man's path, and what destination would offer salvation to their souls, beyond petty religion or shamanism, beyond a simple rebalancing of a world thrown into utter chaos after a generation was wasted away on the fields of Europe. His findings had established new fields of science, though his name was hardly ever attached to them, and brought him the millions, nay, billions he needed to establish the society that would save the world.

And now…

His lips twisted as he leaned back in the wheelchair that was his only means of locomotion now, and he considered the frankly calamitous events that had led to this flight. NERV's willfulness and outright insolence. Ikari's betrayal. The emergence of powers from beyond the universe none could have foreseen, even the creators of the Scrolls themselves. All burned at him in a way that the aches and pains of his rapidly more artificial body could not compare to.

But they would persevere. There was no end except Instrumentality. There could not be any other end, now. They had come too far, done too much, to turn back from this course. And they would bring humanity with them. Whether they had to come with them kicking or screaming or not.

A tone sounded in his earpiece, and a screen folded out of his chair, blinking on to show the words 'SEELE-4'.

"What is it?" he growled.

"I have arrived at Arqa." the man behind SEELE-4 replied simply. "2, 3, 5, and 7 have arrived as well, and the others are not far behind. Only a day or two at most."

"Very well. When I arrive, we will begin the collection process to ensure the Final Scripture will be at the peak of its power. What of our agents?"

"We have various methods of collection available to us at a moment's notice. Our sources in the Lone World are now… problematic, at best, so we should not rely too heavily on them."

Kihl considered this for a moment, a gnarled, wrinkled hand stroking a clean shaven chin. "Let us begin with some of the more… subtle methods of collection. Should those fail to remain under our control, we shall have to be more… direct. Either way, we can, perhaps, turn some of our perceived setbacks into an advantage. I shall lay out my thoughts when I have compiled them and arrived at Arqa."

"Very well, sir. We look forward to your arrival."

With that, the screen switched off, folding away as Kihl looked down again, remembering his youth, and the struggle which he made to keep it.