You heard what I said, didnt you? It could take you weeks just to get to the nearest settlement.

I cant afford to waste any time, insisted Megan.

Cant do it. Stiles shook her head and sighed. We need every resource weve got, including all the trucks. Best bet for you is to wait here until the storm season has passed and, if the no-fly restrictions are over by then, we can get you back that way.

Maybe nows not the best time to ask

No, Megan, said Stiles firmly. Well help you, and thats only right, but Im not just going to hand over one of our trucks to you when youre still unwilling to tell me exactly who you are. And if it wasnt for Gabrielle, and what I think might happen to her if she did return to the Demarchy, maybe things would have worked out differently. But my decision is final, do you understand?

Yes. Megan nodded. Im sorry if I seemed pushy.

Thats fine, said Stiles, standing up now. Its just that, with half this damn planet going up in flames, Im beginning to wonder if coming here was really such a good career choice.

It might be all over by next week.

Stiles smiled. Do you really believe that?

Megan chuckled. No, not at all.

I should get the medbox prepped for Bash, declared Stiles, stepping towards the door. Look, this is all for the best. Okay?

Megan nodded. Okay, she said, with as much feigned sincerity as she could muster.

The storm came down a day later, blanketing out the sun and spreading a dim twilight all across the landscape. Megan could hear the howl and shriek of the wind through the walls of her quarters.

The Tabernacle was barely functioning, if at all, though experience told her that the Accord had probably shut down most of the network to try and prevent the Freehold using it for military communications. The Accords own military comms nets were unhackable, even to a machine-head like herself, so all she had any access to were news feeds about the latest relief efforts, most of which were currently focused on Port Gabriel. The weather there had worsened considerably, hampering all recovery attempts.

The storm continued blowing all through the next day, and then the day after that. Some more news trickled in: half the planet was now in lockdown under new martial restrictions despite strong protests from the River Concord States, a rival Uchidan nation that had long shared a bitterly disputed border with the Demarchy. In her mind, the howl of the wind became an indrawn breath of suspense, as if the whole of Redstone was waiting for the Accord to begin its counter-attack.