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Tree branch: check. Assorted lightweight seed-bearing fruits and nuts: check. Other seeds: check. Water bottle, for when she has to veer away from the river: check.
Better not linger in her starting place too much longer. Yellow's faster than her and may have already come home to a wreck. Thorn might have a habit of checking up on the place, even, just in case. She's invisible, inaudible, unsmellable - that won't help if he sends someone thorough. Or comes in person.
She sets out.
She's been flying for about thirty minutes after her shopping trip when she falls through a tear and squeaks inaudibly and lands in the middle of -
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imeanforever
wormcan
"We can have equipment for surviving a hostile atmosphere within the hour. Most of the time will come from how long it takes the tinkers. That will probably take on the order of months if they start from scratch, or as low as necessary, down to minutes, if their existing designs can be used. String Theory will be able to tell you a precise deadline when she starts blueprinting. That will be a hard limit."
imeanforever
"I'll consult her, then. It'd probably be safest to have her do the construction somewhere on Scion's planet. Would that alert him or anything?"
wormcan
"We have no way of knowing. But there are unoccupied habitable earths to choose from."
imeanforever
"Yes, but that makes transporting it to Scion's planet a possible bottleneck. Eh. Probably less dangerous than risking him noticing."
wormcan
"It can hardly be more.
Let us know if the gate works, and we'll supply everything the tinkers need."
Let us know if the gate works, and we'll supply everything the tinkers need."
imeanforever
"You don't think he might notice the gate itself? If I can put it where he is I can put it on the opposite side of his planet - unless it's big enough to cover the whole thing? - but it might be detectable."
wormcan
"I'm sure he has some way of finding it if he's looking. Contessa can't see your gates but can know where they are if dust in the air vanishes or appears from nowhere. The bulk of Scion's attention is on Earth Bet, but we don't know his limits. No guarantees."
imeanforever
"So perhaps I shouldn't open it right away but wait until we have more response mechanisms in place in case it sets him off then and there."
wormcan
"Without knowing how long it would take to settle, we can hardly time it for just before the planet-destroying device goes off. We can fight him if necessary, might even win if the goal is to stall him, but there would be casualties."
imeanforever
"Yes, but right now a lot of Kept don't have contingency plans for 'what if Scion starts destroying everything' and wouldn't be able to fight, and I was planning to conquer Fairyland and still haven't done that, and so on. The gate can't be timed but it can be delayed."
wormcan
"Oh, you meant other plans. Scion isn't attacking yet, we do have time. You can set up what plans you need. Though you understand why I'd prefer a resolution as soon as possible."
imeanforever
"Yes. I'll go talk to String Theory and update the Kept's orders and get a spare sorcerer and conquer Fairyland, shall I?"
wormcan
"As you wish." People with their non-Scion goals, so annoying. "Door to Hawthorn." The rectangle reappears.
imeanforever
"I'd like the Queen's name - the real fairy queen, not Glaistig Ulaine - from Contessa as a failsafe."
wormcan
Well, succeeding at her irrelevant task faster can't hurt. "Door to Contessa." Contessa steps through, already knowing what she's being asked. But she hasn't been asked yet, and current orders don't allow deriving fairy names outside of exceptions.
imeanforever
So Promise makes one. "The name of the fairy known commonly as the Queen whose unique power is to know other fairies' names may be, once, to me only, spoken."
wormcan
"I'll have to get to Fairyland first. As far as my power knows right now there is no such person."
imeanforever
"There are fairyland gates in Hawthorn. I can turn you invisible so the Kept don't ask inconvenient questions. Only long enough to get the name requested, and without taking extraneous actions, you may use a gate I indicate to you." Voila.
wormcan
Contessa goes through the door to Hawthorn, and is back very quickly. She whispers some syllables to Promise.
wormcan
"The sooner you succeed, the sooner we get back to saving the worlds. Glad to help."
imeanforever
Promise snorts.
And then she goes and updates the Kept - it looks like just a generalized expansion of their self-defense permissions; if the scale of the destruction goes up they can do more to handle it. She gets all the released Kept on a conference call to deliver the update to them too.
On her bulletin board she writes I feel like conquering Fairyland. Almost everyone there is immortal so you'd get somewhat relaxed combat protocols if you want to help. There is a signup sheet.
And where's String Theory?
And then she goes and updates the Kept - it looks like just a generalized expansion of their self-defense permissions; if the scale of the destruction goes up they can do more to handle it. She gets all the released Kept on a conference call to deliver the update to them too.
On her bulletin board she writes I feel like conquering Fairyland. Almost everyone there is immortal so you'd get somewhat relaxed combat protocols if you want to help. There is a signup sheet.
And where's String Theory?
wormcan
String Theory is throwing together a device. She's gradually moving more and more frantically, and then she changes her mind. She slams metal barriers down around it, locks them into place, and gets some distance from the whatever it was.
"You looking for me?" she asks between explosions.
"You looking for me?" she asks between explosions.
wormcan
The tinker's face suddenly becomes mostly grin. "You came to the right person. I'll need a lab, tools and materials. It isn't going to know what hit it.
Do you care which planet?"
Do you care which planet?"