Chapter Summary: In which the ladies lay some of their cards out on the table.
Chapter Word Count: 5,253
Quick Notes: One more chapter after this (And it won't take 5 months.) and we're done with this part of our adventure.
"So, she's bringing Miranda Priestly's daughters here today?" Rachel said, looking across the table. "And writing her first column about what happens when someone comes to us claiming Clan ancestry?"
"Yes," Quinn said. "They want to know more about the internships before she decides on the other, but she'll do her first column on that, no matter what she decides. And if she agrees she'll meet all of us."
"So, it's not a coincidence that the whole Council, except Mother, is here today? And Tina and Mike Chang?" Rachel said, idly poking her tablet.
"Yes," Brittany said, smiling at her. "It's a setup in some ways."
"What really happened to Miranda Priestly?" Rachel asked. "Did you find anything?"
"It's still a mystery," Brittany said. "A private plane, with Miranda Priestly, her First Assistant, and several other Runway staff, disappeared returning from a conference. It's as if it simply disappeared in mid air. One minute it was there, the next gone. And no transmissions from the black box."
"No debris?" Quinn asked, surprised. "That sounds like it exploded or disintegrated."
"Big ocean. Tiny bits of plane," Brittany said. "Not much chance of finding anything unless someone saw it happen."
"But you're still looking into it?" Rachel asked.
"Yes," Brittany said. "Unless it was something unusual, we probably won't find anything. So, no promises. But we're still looking."
"So, no mentioning this to them?" Rachel asked.
"Nothing to report, so getting their hopes up would be cruel," Brittany said, nodding. "So, don't bring it up."
"Yes, Lady Shadow," Rachel and Quinn said, at the same time. "We hear and obey."
"And don't you forget it," Brittany said, giggling.
"Don't give her any ideas," Santana said, glaring at them.
"San!" Brittany said. "You're supposed to agree with them."
Sighing, Santana leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
Andy, Caroline, and Cassidy stepped out of the taxi in front of the small open square.
"It really looks different," Andy said. "They've moved the firehouse back from the road. It used to open right onto the intersection. And look at the grass and trees!"
"And the crowds," Cassidy said, excitedly. "Lots of people."
"And signs," Caroline said. "Think we'll be on TV?" She pointed at several TV camera crews.
"Hopefully not," Andy said. She headed towards the firehouse, Cassidy and Caroline as close behind as possible, holding each other's hands. Reaching the edge of the crowd, she tried to push through, with little success. "Might miss our meeting," she said, frowning.
"Maybe they have transporters, like in Star Trek, and we can get them to beam us up," Cassidy said.
"Or maybe, I can call someone," Andy said, pulling out her phone.
"That works also," Caroline said, nodding sagely, listening to Andy talk with someone in the building.
Several minutes later, there was a disturbance at the front of the crowd. It was like a wave approaching them. When the wave reached them it was clear that it was several tall figures dressed in the now recognizable alien armor. Reaching Andy, Cassidy, and Caroline, the figures stopped, parting the crowd. Gesturing silently, they turned around and headed back to the firehouse, the three women between them. The door was opened by one of the tall blonde women Andy recognized from her earlier meeting at the paper.
"That's so cool," Cassidy said, once they entered the firehouse. "They just parted in front of us."
"Your mother could do that," Andy said nostalgically.
"I've watched tapes of her in action," the tall blonde woman said. "She definitely had a certain something. A command presence, I believe your sociologists call it. It's rarely seen in women."
"Women can't be in charge?" Andy asked, bristling.
"Oh, they definitely can," the woman said. "But it's cultural. That your mother was able to overcome that says a lot about her."
"Who are you?" Cassidy asked the woman.
"I'm known as The Shadow," she said, smirking. "If you're a James Bond fan, you can think of me as our 'M' except younger."
"And hotter," a voice said, echoing in the entranceway.
"You're just biased," she said in response. A shorter, dark haired woman joined them.
"You're Lady Air," Andy said. "You command your fleet."
"Yes," the woman said. "If it flies in air or space, it's mine."
"Don't let Q hear you say that," said the blonde. "Her troopers fly in their hard suits."
"And she works for me," she said, "so I'm still in charge of everything."
"And she is standing right behind you," the blonde said.
"That's such a cliche," Lady Air said, sighing. "She is, isn't she."
"Yes," another blonde said, joining them. "And we've discussed this ownership issue before and will again."
"So, moving on?" Lady Air said, giving her a sideways look.
"Moving on," said the first blonde, who'd called herself The Shadow. "Ladies, why don't you come with us."
"Is everyone who wants to take the qualification test going to be met by almost your entire ruling Council?" Andy said. "If so, it's going to take you years to do this."
"Nah," Lady Air said. "We already have a general idea who qualifies and who doesn't."
"And, everyone needs to get in here," a diminutive woman said, whom Andy recognized as another of the alien women, their Ambassador.
"And now for the boring exposition," Lady Air said, in a low voice. "It doesn't kill, fortunately. But it comes close."
"Santana!" the short woman protested.
"Shorty!"
"Ladies!" Lady Hands said, stopping their argument in its tracks. "We're here for a reason, and not your daily sniping contest."
"So, get on with it," Lady Air said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. Reaching over, she pulled The Shadow down onto her lap, who landed with a happy squeal.
"Can I start?" the new woman said.
"Go for it," Lady Air said.
"Introductions would be helpful, I believe," she said. "You are Andrea Sachs, reporter for the New York Mirror, hopefully on loan to us for an important project. Your companions are Caroline and Cassidy Priestly, your stepdaughters and the daughters of Miranda Priestly. Correct?"
"You know they are," Lady Air said, whispering something in the Shadow's ear, causing her to giggle.
"The other women in the room, that would be us, are the active members of the Dragon Clan Council of Nine. The grumpy one over there is Lady Air, our Fleet commander," she said, pointing at them one at a time.
"On her lap, for some unknown reason, is our Shadow, commander of our intelligence division. Lady Q, the Hand of the Council, our troop commander, is next to them. The woman who looks like Lady Air but is a bit taller, is Lady Sophia, our Weaver, and I am Lady Rachel, the Clan Memory. Any questions before we continue?"
"What are the Weaver and Memory?" Cassidy asked.
"The Weaver is our spiritual leader," Lady Rachel said. "And the Memory is the Clan historian cultural preserver, more or less."
"You said 'active' members," Andy said, "and you only mentioned five of nine. Where are the others?"
"We did not come to this world with a full complement, of staff or others. The names of the remaining Nine would be translated as Mother, Healer, Teacher, and Peace. They are unavailable at this time," the Shadow said.
"Can you explain what they would do if they were available?" Andy asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
The Shadow shrugged, looking at the others. "The translation of their names into your language loses much of the meaning in our language, but I'll try. The Mother is the protector of the people. The Healer is in charge of the morale and well being of the Clan. The Teacher prepares our children for the future. And the Peace? The one who maintains internal order. We have people fulfilling these roles but for one reason or another they are not qualified to be elevated to the Council."
"More answer than you expected to get?" Lady Air said. Andy nodded. "We won't try to keep things from you, though we won't share everything."
"Although we may look like you?" Lady Q said, leaning forward. "Never forget that our experiences and motivations are alien to yours."
"Right, aliens," Andy said. "Won't forget. So, we're here to go through the process. What happens next, after we enter the room."
"Really simple," Lady Rachel said. "As soon as you stepped through that door, you were scanned. Now we wait for the analysis and the results to be announced."
"But it'll be a big deal for the people out there," the Shadow said, waving her arms dramatically. "A simple scan won't be enough to satisfy them. But they won't meet us, the Council. We have several highly trained personnel. They'll be dressed in their best uniforms, and will walk the candidates through the process. We'll ask for some form of valid ID, documented family tree or history, and a DNA sample."
"So, you'll already know," Andy said. "Before they say a word.
"Yes," the Shadow said. "But if we just pointed a small device at you," she said, holding out a small object in her hand, "would that make you happy? No," Cassidy said. "I'd feel ripped off."
"Exactly," Lady Rachel said. "So we give them a little bit more."
"What do you do with the information?" Andy asked. "Why ask for a family tree, if you can answer the main question quickly?"
"I have been working for a number of years on a project," Lady Sophia said. "The Mayan Diaspora. I became interested in finding out what happened to those of my people who were taken away after the Spanish Conquistadors stole our lands. This information will help with my research."
"So, you aren't an alien like the others?" Caroline asked.
"She is, but it's a matter of degree," the Shadow said. "Lady Sophia can trace her family back to the original Clan explorers who merged with the Mayans. So, in that sense she is as much an alien as the rest of us."
"And our results?" Andy asked. "What does your gadget have to say about us?"
"Artie?" Lady Rachel said.
"Yes, Lady Memory," Artie said, her voice filling the room.
"What did you find out?"
"Lady Sachs has an unusual genetic map. She is not a Clan descendant from any of the thirteen Clans, but something else that we are not familiar with."
"Something else?" the Shadow said, looking at her, clearly puzzled.
"Yes," Artie said.
"Not other Clan?" she asked. "Or known Terran human?"
"Correct," Artie said.
"Continue investigating," she said.
"Of course," Artie said.
"What does that mean? And who is this Artie?" Andy said.
"Artie is our local representative of the Pan-Galactic Confederation. Very hands off. They make the rules we follow."
"Why hasn't anything been said about them?" Andy asked. "You mentioned them at the press conference but I couldn't find any details."
"Uh, we've been saying that we're the local law enforcement, peacekeepers, for this sector of the galaxy," Lady Air said. "Doesn't that imply that there's some form of government above us?"
"Yes," Andy said. "But somehow, people seem to have been ignoring it."
"Strange how that happens," the Shadow said. "Which is not our doing," she added quickly. "But people, no matter how intelligent, seem to ignore the things they can't see. And the Pan-Galactic Confederation is basically invisible. We said 'Hi! We're the new neighborhood cops', and no one seems to have thought that through."
"I'm assuming you want people to know this, or you wouldn't have brought this up now," Andy said. "Does that make Artie the Ambassador of this Pan-Galactic Confederation?"
"No," Artie said. "The Confederation is not a government body in a form you would recognize. The Dragon Clan is our designated representative body for this area. All communication to us goes through them."
"Why did you say Andy isn't Terran?" Cassidy said. "Or your Clan?"
"Genetic fingerprint," the Shadow said. "Her's doesn't match any known Terran genetic map we have on file, at any level. Which should be impossible. But Artie likes mysteries so we'll figure it out eventually. It's possible her family line is just very rare."
"So, you need her family tree?" Caroline asked. "Like you would anyone else?"
"Yes," the Shadow said. "It might contain clues."
"I'll have to talk with my mother," Andy said. "But that can wait. What about the girls?"
"We will need to see their family tree or known family history," Artie said, "but they do have traces of Clan genes, though not an expected one."
"Really?" the Shadow said. "Which one? Tiger Clan?"
"No, yours," Artie said.
"How is that possible?" Lady Rachel said. "She's the only living member of her Clan on this planet."
"Apparently not," the Shadow said, smiling. "Any other info from the scan?"
"There is a ninety percent chance that their line is an earlier branch of yours," Artie said. "Querying Clan records now."
"But aren't you all the same Clan?" Andy asked.
"I'm adopted," she said, bouncing excitedly. "The Dragon Clan rescued me when my parents died traveling in this area. Having relatives is awesome! And you can call me Brittany."
"Babe, you're still a member of ours," Lady Air said.
"An extremely valued member," Lady Rachel added.
"But I've never had blood related cousins before," Brittany said. "This is so exciting. And another mystery for Artie's people."
"There are no records of missing Clansmen from that Clan that match their genetic map. And no exact maps from known living clan," Artie said. "We will continue researching.
"Okay," Andy said. "So, does that mean Caroline and Cassidy qualify for membership in the Dragon Clan? We know I don't."
"They are qualified to petition to join the Clan," Artie said. "However, that can take a number of years of your time. Their membership status in their original Clan must be clarified first. And then that Clan's Council of Nine and an immediate Clan relative must agree to the transfer. Often that is refused unless there is a valid reason the Council accepts."
"So, basically, not now, maybe later," Andy said. "Or maybe never."
"Correct," Artie said.
"Not a huge," Cassidy said. "Interesting but it doesn't change who we are now."
"Nope," Andy said. "Still my daughters. Still Miranda's twins."
"You will have status as misplaced young Clan," Lady Q said, finally speaking. "That entitles you to certain forms of assistance from us. Basically, well treated, honored guests when you feel like visiting. As for being Lady Shadow's cousins, that is up to her. She knows how her birth Clan treats family better than we do."
"What about the internships?" Cassidy asked. "Does any of this affect that? And can we tell anyone?"
"No," Lady Rachel said. "Having Clan blood will certainly help in some ways. Some of our technology only works completely with Clan descendants. And some information is Dragon Clan access only, but that would have been true even if you weren't Clan at all. And I wouldn't recommend telling anyone. Stick to the simple truth - you aren't Dragon Clan. Too many complications otherwise."
"Do you expect to find other Clan like this?" Andy said. "Especially some other Clan?"
"We did an initial scan of the planetary population several years ago," Artie said. "It revealed the presence of Clan on this planet but it was not fine enough to determine which Clan. A detailed scan requires closer contact."
"So it is possible there are other groups of Clan settled here?" Andy asked.
"Possible but unlikely," Brittany said. "Unless they were in hiding from the Confederation, they would have come forth when we arrived."
"We have questions about the internships," Andy said, deciding to move on. "What schools are sponsoring them? How long will they last? When will they start?"
"The primary sponsor is our Clan School of Cultural History, though the credits will come from the Peninsula University of the Yucatan, which is affiliated with Columbia University. So, when the internship is over, in a year's time, you can apply those credits to a degree program at either Peninsula or Columbia."
"That sounds good," Andy said. "But what is the internship, really?"
"Assistants for the film crew that you would be working with. Sometimes fetching coffee; sometimes helping with setting up the equipment. Learning how to use all of the equipment will also be part of this. This crew has experience teaching their craft to newcomers."
"When can we meet them?" Cassidy said.
"Two of them are here today to meet you," Lady Rachel said. "Lady Q can take you to them while we discuss several things with your mother." Cassidy and Caroline looked at Andy, silently asking for permission. She nodded, and they followed Lady Q out of the room.
"Have you thought about our offer?" Brittany said. "For both jobs?"
"Writing columns and traveling among your people? Yes," Andy said. "The other? I can't commit to anything until I have some idea what you expect from me."
"Have you seen the movie 'Monument Men' or read the book?" Lady Rachel said.
"Yes..." Andy said, puzzled.
"We'd like you to be our George Clooney, sort of. But not exactly," she said.
"And before we jump into the whole story, let's do a little thing the Fleet lawyers call a Non-Disclosure Agreement," Lady Air said.
"You have lawyers?" Andy said. "So, even aliens can't escape them?"
"Actually, we don't have them as such," Lady Rachel said, glaring at Lady Air. "But the Shadow here likes buying companies and property so we had to hire Earth lawyers to make sure we keep everything legal."
"Which costs more than the property we use them to buy," Lady Air said, poking Brittany again, causing her to giggle.
"It just makes things easier if our Q doesn't have to worry about damaging property in the middle of a battle," Brittany said. "And we do benefit from it."
"What kinds of benefits?"
"We bought out a number of holding companies in Cancun, as part of consolidating our ownership of the enclave," Brittany said. "Several we ended up owning outright. So, we have full or partial ownership of small hotels in London, Paris, Moscow, and several other large population centers. Several we've turned into embassies."
"But Santana, our Lady Air, won't let us buy a theme park," Lady Rachel said, pouting.
"We don't need anything like that," she said. "Want some excitement, go asteroid mining or sun sailing. Those even include real death defying moments."
"Sun sailing," Andy said. "I keep forgetting you have real space flight. You seem so normal, when you don't talk with accents."
"We'll explain everything, if you sign the NDA our lawyers came up with," Santana said. "And here they are." A professionally dressed woman entered the room, carrying a folder that she then placed in front of Andy, before nodding at the Council and leaving the room.
"No men," Andy said idly, as she opened the folder. Inside were several documents, with colored marks next to place to sign. She started reading it carefully. It appeared to be standard NDA boilerplate, similar to things she'd encountered in the past.
"Not in the Clan that came here," Santana said. "Not the original and not our followup mission."
"We will eventually," Rachel said. "There are men known to be qualified as Clansmen through this effort to repatriate them but none have come forward yet. And the Mayan population in Mexico descended from our lost Clan certainly includes men."
"But none of the Dragon Clan leaders are men," Andy said. "Have none come forward to claim a place at the top? That's an unusual situation, isn't it?"
"Not yet," Santana said. "And there's no way for them to try to take over if they did. The Dragon Clan was founded as a matriarchy. We don't hate men but their role is not a leadership one. Dragon Clan men excel at nurturing tasks, like farming. But we don't need anyone for that right now. The Mayan descendants in our enclave include plenty of farmers."
"Oh," Andy said. "How are you dealing with our patriarchy?"
"Carefully," Brittany said. "We have good relations with several world leaders who are men. Others are willing to work with us even if we make them uncomfortable. The benefits of access to our technology are too great to ignore."
"And the rest?"
Santana shrugged. "We'll find something to get them to play along. We have no plans, as we've said before, to try to conquer the planet. Anyone wanting access to space using our tech will have to work with us as the local Galactic law, but we won't force change on their cultures," Santana said, "That's not why we are here. And our spiritual leader," she waved at Lady Sophia, "is not the evangelical kind."
"Spirituality does have a place in our lives," Lady Sophia said, "but our beliefs are not like yours. Some feel more of a connection to the Oneness than others. We do not have a history of forced belief and conquest. Cooperation among the clans is too important."
"What of the Mayan religion?" Andy asked. "It seems to have been a very traditional patriarchy."
"The Dragon Clan stranded on this planet joined with another culture in the Yucatan to become the Mayans," Lady Sophia said. "As a former Mayan High Priestess, I can say that your European anthropologists and archeologists misunderstood our religion. And with the coming of the Clan, we are attempting to clear up the confusion. But that will take time."
"Why are you here then," Andy asked, "now that I've signed these. And why do you need me?"
"It's really simple," Brittany said. "The Dragon Clan originally came here, several millennia ago, to set up a branch office of Galactic Peacekeepers for this area of the Galaxy. If you looked on the Galactic map, it's actually a fairly large area. But this was the only populated system so it was picked as the best location for a base. Something happened to those earlier Clansmen, that we're only beginning to understand, and their mission was not completed."
"So, no one noticed, if it has taken this long for you to come back," Andy said.
"It was a small group, and the Confederation moves very slowly," Brittany said. "When they eventually decided to investigate, they contacted us when they couldn't find anything other than small traces of the previous Clan."
"They have an incentive," Rachel said. "This time. The Confederation is huge. The Dragon Clan is one of thirteen Clans performing Peacekeeping duties. But an ancient enemy of the Confederation has been attacking other sectors, leaving this one undefended. So they brought us in."
"So, basically, you are the peacekeepers for this part of the Galaxy, and you are expecting a war to expand to this sector and you are getting ready for it," Andy said. "Correct?"
"Essentially," Rachel said. "But although we are larger than the previous Dragon Clan to settle here, we still aren't large enough to handle a war. Or to police the entire sector. We are currently in a building phase. Several years from now we will be at full strength and be able to cover the entire sector."
"So, then what?
"Then, the projections from the Confederation give us five years before the ancient Enemy reaches this sector," Brittany said. "Five years to get the planet ready for that."
"So, what do you need me for?" Andy asked. "I don't know anything about space war or peacekeeping."
"It was recently pointed out to us that, although we have someone devoted to preserving our own culture, the Clan Memory, if something happened to this planet due to actions of the enemy, your culture could be lost. If we had to evacuate this planet, assuming we even could, everything that makes the people of this planet who they are would potentially be lost to you."
"Why do you care? You're aliens?" Andy asked.
"Some of us do have roots on this planet," Rachel said. "Which, is one reason why you signed those NDAs. That we have family here is not for public consumption."
"Some of us grew up in Ohio," Santana said. "We'd rather that no one finds that out, though it is impossible to keep it completely secret, so it will happen eventually."
"Ohio? You do know that I'm originally from Ohio?" Andy said. "Why is it a secret?"
"It will come out," Brittany said, "but we would rather control the message when it does."
"So, you're aliens who grew up in Ohio, mostly," Andy said. "So you actually have some attachment to this planet."
"Correct," Rachel said. "And family. So, we aren't going to abandon this planet to the enemy when they reach this sector."
"Like the Foreign Legion?"
"That's one way to put it, though we didn't run away from anything, we were recruited by the Pan-Galactic Confederation's Advisory Council to - find out what happened to the original Clan sent here, finish setting up our Clan to police this sector, and prepare for a possible war."
"If this is the only populated system in the sector, why does it need peacekeepers?"
"Pirates, and others trying to exploit it," Rachel said.
"The way it works," Santana said, "is that the use and distribution of resources of a sector is up to the civilizations in that sector. Outsiders must go through them first to access the resources. For example, if there is a system that contains a valuable metal, and some of them do, someone from outside the sector cannot come here and start mining. They can purchase the ore from a local miner but they can't extract it themselves.
But in a case like this, where the major civilization has not yet gone beyond their home system, and there's no one to contact, someone needs to make sure no one removes those resources without permission."
"That sounds like an impossible task," Andy said.
"It is," Brittany said. "And we haven't really begun. Our fleet has just started working its way through the sector, exploring systems and putting up monitoring systems. But even with our technology that will take time. Decades. Time we don't have while we focus on preparing this system for war."
"It seems like you have it all under control," Andy said.
"As we were saying, we missed something in our plan," Rachel said. "Yes, we will be ready, on schedule, for the enemy, and if our plans work, so will this planet. But your culture? We need to protect it."
"What's your plan for that?" Andy asked. "I'm assuming you have a plan?"
"Lady Shadow is our plan expert," Rachel said.
"It's a simple plan," Brittany said. "I was in Paris several weeks ago and did this." She pulled out a small gadget and set it on the table and pushed a button. A large, 3D image of the Louvre appeared floating above it. "It's how we preserved the old Mayan cities we renovated. A molecular level, 3D image. We send someone to every museum and historical site and record it."
"It won't be the original," Rachel said. "But it will be saved."
"What about our books and literature?" Andy asked.
"Anything electronic will also be saved," Rachel said.
"The scans can be used to create holographic images," Brittany said. "Any book scanned can be read like the physical original. Any object scanned, except living flesh, can be revived as a hologram of the original."
"That's really fancy," Andy said. "What do you want from me?"
"We need someone to run this effort to preserve your culture. We don't currently have enough people for the needed preservation teams or time to manage it ourselves. We need you to be in charge of this effort."
"How would I do this?" Andy asked.
"We'll provide funding, the necessary equipment, and eventually people for the teams," Brittany said. "And you would be working with the Memory's office. But this must be a secret for now."
"Why wouldn't you tell anyone?" Andy said, frowning.
"Well, for practical reasons," Rachel said. "If we asked permission to do this we would have to tell your planet why, and that could lead to society destroying riots. Or these museums would insist on being paid, adding days of negotiating for each museum. There's only so much time to do this. It'll be faster and more efficient if you just go and do it. It's a failsafe. If nothing happens, no big deal."
"Okay," Andy said, nodding. "So, we go to each museum in secret and scan it?"
"Yes," Rachel said. "And historical sites like the pyramids, and Stonehenge."
"If all this work is not needed, what happens to all of the scans?" Andy asked. "Do you destroy them?"
"Artie? What happens when the Confederation scans a culture's heritage like this?" Rachel asked.
"In the past, it was done after the culture was destroyed, by war or exterior forces. The culture wasn't around to decide. It became part of the Galactic Museum collection. In this case, the decision would need to be made by the planet."
"That'll be messy," Santana said. "But it's a valid answer. You spend the next several years doing this. After we deal with the enemy, we make the scans available, to someone. By that time, the technology to view these scans in 3D should be common."
"The museums that are scanned, or the owners of the artworks will want some say in this. We could end up in court for the rest of our lives," Andy said.
"We'll worry about the legalities later, when we have time," Santana said. "Do you want the job?"
"What about the column for the Mirror, and your camera crew. And Cassidy and Caroline? What about the internship?"
"The column is your cover," Brittany said. "The logistics will need some work. But you'll be doing both. Working with the film crew as they document our presence, and collecting historical and cultural artifacts with the preservation teams you'll manage."
"What do I get out of it?" Andy asked.
"The story of a lifetime? Once you're done, we'll want documentation, and you'll be able to turn it into something publishable."
"Okay, I'll do it," Andy said. She could feel something she'd thought lost forever coming back, excitement at an almost impossible challenge.
The Council reconvened back in Chichen Itza later that evening.
"Still think this is a good idea?" Santana asked the others. "If Sachs ever changes her mind we could be in a lot of trouble."
"Yes," Rachel said. "She isn't going to do it for us but for the good of her people. So it will get done."
"As long as she doesn't turn into a fanatic," Quinn added. "Too many of those running around already."
"Stretching the truth a bit there with our reasons for picking her," Santana said. "We've sent out a few probes but we haven't even remotely begun to catalog this sector. And we could handle a dozen preservation teams with our current staffing."
"Doesn't matter," Brittany said. "We already have the old Galactic scans. We're just updating them. And putting someone like her, from this planet, in charge of the preservation will make things easier in the long run."
"You're thinking too far ahead for me," Rachel said. "Your head is a scary place."
"We still love you, Rach," Brittany said, blowing her a kiss.