Turning the corner of the metal vessel's hallway, Jack heard the thud of his footfalls echo; he was only half awake and making his way to the briefing chamber on cruise control. He had slept in a little and was meant to meet Monty about two minutes ago. It would be fine… he hoped.

  As he rounded the corner, he saw Monty waiting at the entrance. The man waved and jogged over to him. His energy level was a little too much for Jack at that exact moment, and he couldn't help but close his eyes and shake his head.

  “Hey Jack, late night?” Monty asked as he pulled up next to him and walked back the way he had just come from.

  “Not really, just overslept. What did you want to talk about?” Jack said, not having the social battery at the moment to engage in pleasantries.

  Monty chuckled slightly and placed his arm around Jack's shoulders.

  “Sorry, it has been a busy few days, I know. Best to chat in private but I will be quick. Thanks again for helping out yesterday; you have no idea how big of a help that will be,” Monty said.

  They entered the room and Monty closed the door behind them. He motioned for Jack to take a seat and sat down opposite.

  “I will be straightforward, Jack. I could really use your help on this expedition. I have no right to ask, and I need to make a few things very clear to you first. But I can’t pretend that your assistance wouldn't make this whole thing much easier.” Leaning back as Jack sat down, Monty propped his chin up on his palm.

  “I have prepared everything as if you are staying behind, so please don’t worry about anything like that. We will be fine if you choose to stay, but I have put things in place if you decide to join us as well.”

  Making sure he had Jack's attention before he continued, Monty asked.

  “This is going to be very dangerous. Your only experience in a rift was relatively tame and controlled. This is on a different scale. Sadly, I don't have time to go over it before the briefing, but I have to express that the level of danger here is very high and very real. This will be a long expedition, likely between one to three months. Obviously having you along with us would be an immense help; the longer the expedition, the more we have to worry about mana usage,” Monty said. He at least had the courtesy to look a little ashamed he was asking.

  Before Monty continued Jack interrupted him; this was something he had been thinking about since he had first seen the Yeti on Zerra.

  “Okay, let me stop you there. I am on board, Monty. I don't think I would feel right not being involved somehow after the way the people there looked at me. I didn’t do anything, but still, I feel obliged now. I hate that by the way. The way Vessara begged for my help?” Jack shook his head.

  “I feel conflicted, sure. I want to be able to help, but I know that other than my thing I can't really contribute much. If it was just that, then sure I would be happy to help and be the battery so you guys can do what you need to do. But I can't really do that, can I? Although I assume if you are asking me, you have a solution for how I won't expose myself and get locked away doing exactly what you are asking me to do now? But for someone not so noble and in a less fancy location,” Jack said with a little wink.

  It was banter, sure, but it was beginning to become a habit. He knew how these things worked; every time he helped Monty, no matter how noble the cause, the easier it was for Monty to expect that he would do it. He didn't know what he wanted for his future, but he knew it wouldn't always be here.

  Jack couldn't help but notice as Monty's smile at the first part of his response quickly turned into a wince at the second as he nodded.

  “Thank you, Jack. I am sorry and I promise this won't become a habit. I will find a way to pay you back for this as well. As for the plan, yes we have something prepared. Turrel has agreed to accompany us if you were coming; he will be there to protect you specifically. He will assist in other capacities where needed but his primary goal is you… he made that very clear,” Monty said.

  “You have already essentially created a story for us by telling Brandt about your amplification. We can just go with that for now. I will be entering into a binding contract with the crew who are attending; that will amend their existing agreements to ensure that they are not able to discuss your ability or why you are on board for a period of ten years after their contract with me finishes.” Monty stroked his face, which for the first time that Jack had noticed had stubble. The hairs were ginger. Jack smirked to himself, which seemed to put Monty off slightly as he paused before continuing.

  “They all have at least five years left at the moment. The agreement binds them for ten years after that. That gives us fifteen years of silence to work out a solution for you. By then your planet will be inducted and you will probably have much bigger issues. How does that sound?”

  Jack's eyes stretched a little wider when it dawned on him that the Origin could be used to enforce contracts and much more intricate agreements than he had previously thought. He had only imagined exchanges, money, or little things, but employment and NDAs that were enforced by a god-like being… that made him a little uncomfortable.

  Snapping back to the present as he heard Monty's foot tap the floor, he decided he was okay with it in this situation. He knew from his interactions with the Origin so far both parties had to agree, and Rummi had mentioned nothing could be coerced. Monty was probably offering something of value for them to keep his secret so he had to accept. He was curious, however.

  “Sure. I have trusted you so far; if Turrel is on board as well then let's do it. But can I ask, what did you offer them to keep me a secret?” Jack said without a hint of shame.

  Monty shook his head with a sheepish grin.

  “You should add that to the list of things that is rude to ask, Jack. But if you must know, I will be forfeiting my allocated shards for the next few expeditions. Also just to be clear, this is not them keeping a secret; this is them not talking about it outside the crew. We are still going to have to keep most of what you do under wraps, okay?”

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  Monty stared at him waiting for a response.

  “Got it. Keep hiding but just a little less than before.” Jack saluted.

  “Okay, let me… sort all that out. We have the briefing in like twenty minutes now, so feel free to hang out here or do whatever you need to before then. I will be back soon,” Monty said with a forced smile as he picked up a tablet and began typing away at it, completely ignoring Jack.

  Having nothing else to do and not wanting to walk back, he took a seat on a chair in the corner of the small meeting room. He rested his elbows on his knees and his chin on his palms as he dozed while waiting for everyone to arrive.

  He did that 'falling awake' thing at least twice before he noticed there were other people in the room. Groggily looking around he saw a few crew members he had met already and some he had seen in passing. About ten people were in the room already and Jack had to admit it was a strange mix. After seeing the Lizardkin on Zerra, he noticed that everyone on the crew, while very different in appearance, was still very humanoid.

  Hoping it was just a cultural thing he pushed it aside; talking with Vessara had triggered some sense of unease that was hard to ignore. As if he had summoned her, the Lizardkin woman entered the room. She looked around and, noticing him, inclined her head towards him before approaching Monty at the front of the room.

  Some of the other crew noticed her doing this and were now staring at him. He shook his head and sat up straight, shaking off the cobwebs of sleep. He saw Thalen come through the entrance with Turrel and they both approached the front of the room. Turrel took up a seat to the side, while the man who looked like some sort of Blood Elf from Warcraft did a quick head count and raised an eyebrow at Monty.

  Monty nodded, and Thalen picked up a tablet as a screen projected on the wall behind him.

  “All right. We are all here, and only five minutes late. That must be some sort of record, right?” Thalen said.

  “Your lazy ass was the last one in here, Thay,” Jungo, one of the kitchen crew members, bantered back.

  Thalen stared at the man and let the silence stretch until it was objectively awkward for everyone in the room.

  “Okay then. Well. This is all happening very quickly, but our esteemed Lord Montarg has committed our services to assist the lovely Lady Vessara. Strap yourselves in and get your listening ears on everyone.” He did a once-over of the entire room, making sure to make eye contact with everyone.

  “I am sure you have all read the extremely detailed documents I prepared and had sent to all the members of the expedition this morning. And if for any reason someone forgot or only skimmed it beforehand, it will be there after this meeting to review.” Thalen looked directly at Jack; he raised his arm and pointed.

  “Our newest crewmate and mysterious colleague of Master Turrel will be joining us on this expedition. As you all know, his involvement and anything you see or think about him during the expedition is not to be discussed. Well, at least not with anyone outside the members of the expedition. So Jack, and if you have a title I am sorry I wasn't told it, please expect to be the centre of gossip and rumour for the duration of this mission.” He smiled and continued on; this whole presentation vaguely reminded Jack of the pre-flight safety demonstration on an airplane, complete with theatrical gestures.

  “Mission details next up. We are on a strict escort mission. We are to escort and protect Lady Vessara while she is searching for a contingent of her people that have gone missing in the rift. Now, if we were to happen across the Rift Guardian during the execution of this mission, it would be expected that we exercise our best judgement in keeping our charge safe. As we are all aware, Lord Montarg is a big believer in neutralising threats before they become a problem.” He did the biggest, fakest wink Jack had ever seen.

  “Understood?” Pausing long enough to take a breath but not long enough to hear an answer, he continued.

  “We have a Tier 3 rift here. Single frequency, high concentration Ice rift. The threat level is a seven out of ten. Yes, a seven, guys; this rift is no joke. Hostile environment, limited vision due to constant weather events, and extremely aggressive Riftspawn.”

  Thalen seemed like some sort of weatherman crossed with a radio announcer with his presentation so far. Jack was enthralled. As he spoke, images and symbols flashed on the screen behind him. Jack, now being literate to the level of a toddler, could make out a few of them here and there. He mostly just guessed based on the verbal context.

  “There are three confirmed Riftspawn varieties: Tier 1 Lupine, Tier 2 Ursine, and Tier 3 Elemental. This will suck. Elementals suck. Good luck to you, Amira and Axel; that is on you guys. Details are in the dossier I am sure you have already read.” He pointed at two people that Jack had to admit he had completely forgotten the names of. He wasn't trying to be rude; he just had a tendency to forget people. He told people he was terrible with names, but in reality, he just didn't pay enough attention.

  “Being Tier 3, we have an enormous area to search. Last scans read a radius of approximately 438 kilometres. We will be utilising the Turtle for this expedition. We want this to go as quickly as possible, but obviously we are preparing for the worst case, so expect one month but prepare for three.”

  Jack blinked rapidly as his eyes went as wide as saucers. Three months, four hundred kilometre radius. That was… big.

  “Ensure you have your mana reserves prepared. If you are one of our lucky Water or Ice frequency users, please limit the number of storage gems you pack. We will be allocating most of the Turtle's storage space to heat and essential frequencies. I have been informed we may have a way to recharge our fire supplies, but that will be limited, so prepare as normal.”

  Thalen paused for a moment as the image on the screen didn't react the way he wanted. He tapped his tablet a few times. After he banged it on his knee the image changed; he sighed, glancing at Monty before he continued.

  “We want to give you all as much time to prepare as possible; this will be a long trip. Unfortunately, time is of the essence. Entrance will be in approximately twenty-four hours' time.” This time he did pause for a moment as he let that settle over the group.

  “If you are part of the combat team, please remain here as Master Turrel and Lord Montarg will be running through what to expect and all that tactics fun stuff. If you are part of the support crew, go prepare yourself now. We will have a more detailed meeting here at twelve. Read your documents. Jack, you will be with me for now.” Thalen finished speaking and a third of the group stood up and left.

  He walked towards the door and motioned for Jack to follow him. Jack looked at Monty and Turrel who both nodded. He stood up as he thought to himself that people really needed to start giving him a little bit more information about what was happening next. He was feeling a little like a pinball at the moment.

  He followed Thalen out into the hallway where he was waiting for Jack. He nodded as he greeted the man.

  “Hey Thalen. How are you doing?”

  He looked at Jack with a straight face, shook his head, and started walking.

  “Extremely stressed and busy. Wishing I had time to have a sleep and prepare myself, but the joys of being the Seneschal to a Lord as… driven as our Lord Montarg… well, it keeps me on my toes to say the least.” Glancing over his shoulder at Jack as they walked, he sized him up.

  “I have been told we need to get you outfitted for the expedition, some basic cold weather magitech attire to begin with. There was another piece of equipment Lord Montarg specifically wanted you to have for this trip as well. So… off to the armoury we go,” Thalen said, his voice flat. He managed to make a trip to a weapons vault sound as exciting as filing a tax return.