They were all in the wide open up above the snaking canyon. The group of four had come out a different route before meeting up with the Shadow Walkers.
There was a massive rock protrusion where they had exited. There was a bit of bare ground around them, but everything else around was green grass.
The mountain range was about three miles from them, but the nearest route up the mountains was over fifteen miles away. Sig was taking this all into account as he constructed a new blueprint.
Sig was the mind that constructed and operated all the complicated weapons and systems. Tag's was the power he provided that made it all work, and the pilot.
Together, the two made the perfect team, and they both stayed strong. The Queen's Blessing still powered the two of them, so they knew that their most excellent Queen was still alive.
As the men got back to the group, Pendra was arguing about who should be the group leader. Granthus and John were ignoring the two, but Miku was trying to pull Rixie into the argument.
"I am the Queen's Royal Wife! I should be the leader of the party! Rixie, tell her!" Muki said while pulling her forward by the bicep.
"No! I am not getting involved in this! She doesn't know me any better than she knows you, so it is pointless for me to repeat what you just said!" Rixie said and pulled her arm free, then disappeared into a shadow.
"This is not a matter of who is higher on the food chain. I am a Royal Guard, and I was a Queen; even if I lost my people, I am still more qualified to lead us!" Pendra said, shaking her fist.
"John is going to be in charge," Tag said plainly as he and Sig walked up, making both girls turn to him in surprise.
"What? He isn't a ruler!" Miku complained, but Sig shook his head.
"Neither are the two of you, but we don't need a ruler right now. I think that Tag's suggestion is good," Sig agreed.
"Wait! This isn't fair! You two read each other's minds or something! Of course, you would agree!" Pendra tried to counter, but Granthus spoke up.
"No, I think that John is the best choice. He is the only one of us besides myself that has real combat experience," Granthus said with a nod.
"Wait, why are you not the one leading us?" John asked, finally speaking up.
"Because I don't want to and need to work on something that can pin down the Geo-Sect in case we are found out, and it tries to get away. You are more suited for the job," Granthus explained, and then turned away and opened up a screen filled with strange symbols that he started to move around.
"I think that you would be best; even Ryan comes to ask you questions," Rixie said as she appeared from a shadow behind him.
John sighed, and both women crossed their arms, turning away. Unfortunately, they both turned to face each other, and it looked like the two were going to start back up about something, but they both turned and walked away.
Sig had constructed a blueprint, but he was still unsure about how it was going to go. He had designed a box with large wheels, but they were not powered, which concerned Sig.
'What's wrong? You feel uneasy about something?' Tag sent, and Sig sighed, knowing that Tag would not see this as a problem.
'I wish I could still talk with Gamble; he would have figured this problem out easily. We can only go two speeds, slow and fast. I can't figure out how to make the wheels turn by themselves. So, the best I can do is use the GraviBees to push the box forward, but we can keep everyone safe inside. The other is using boosters, but even at the lowest setting, it will send at breakneck speeds,' Sig explained, and Tag reacted appropriately with a massive grin.
'Better than a kick to the head with wooden shoes. Plus, if you use the GraviBees, we don't need to drive around; we can just go straight up the wall, right?' Tag asked with excitement.
'Don't you think that that will look a little bit suspicious?' Sig asked, but Tag shook his head with a grin.
'We can't win them all, plus we can just say that it's Gravi-Stones,' Tag told Sig, but the Two were lost in their conversation and didn't notice Rixie standing right in front of them.
"Are you two done yet?" Rixie asked, startling the two men, making them jump back.
"Sorry! We forget that we are talking in private, but we have a plan to get us all there," Sig said and then started to explain to everyone.
[Gamble's View]
"Why did you order one of your guards that is unaccounted for to give Queen Lexia an injection?" A glossy smooth-skinned hairless Sky Eel Folk interrogator.
I could tell him the truth, but that was only two of my opinions of the matter. The one said to use the baton on the man's belt and then take him hostage, but that was shut down.
During my moments of introspection, my mind sped up, and the world around me disappeared. I created a construct in my mind with eight pillars to hold each fraction of the now complete Hexus of my mind.
The three offered to try to make a deal with the interrogator, but that created unrest with the others. After a quick vote shut down by the other five, the last two offered to start asking the questions, which was generally accepted after the plan was formed.
I closed the construct and brought myself back together as one, but the separations were still there. I still could not bring myself back together as one, but that could possibly be the next level in my evolution.
"The Queen refused to let me explain myself, and so far, I have received the same kind of treatment from you and the rest of the Sky Folk. You also forced my Queen to activate an escape system that has placed her somewhere so far away that I can't find her. Why?" I asked, staring the interrogator in the eyes, and I started to lean forward.
The Sky Eel Folk backed up in fear, as if seeing me for the first time, but I had yet to look at him directly and had kept my eyes closed most of the time. I didn't need them to see; I could construct the image in my mind with my other senses.
"What is wrong with your eyes?!" The man asked as he couldn't take his eyes off the hexagonal-shaped iris filled with a galaxy that moved around my glowing gold pupils.
This was another improvement Gamble had received with his evolution, and now he could see the threads of everything around him, every connection in this universe, and he could read about the three children and mate that this man had, and that he was not affected by the Lichtar.
"I am Gamble, the Central Hexus Coordinator, and I see everything. Tell me Malkis, how is Tal, Grent, Kyrie, and your wife, Pam? Or maybe we should talk about what you have been doing since the last time you saw them all three months ago? Karen? The Seal Folk Pilot? Not bad," I said casually and watched the Malkis the interrogator almost turn transparent. "Now, I will explain myself, and you will listen. Then you will get all of my Queen people released to proper living quarters!"
The man sat down, and then nodded.
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