Chương 421: Book 7 - Chapter 17 - Awkward

"Evelyn, I didn't hear you come in," Claire said, either unaware or intentionally ignoring the awkward atmosphere.

"Alise and I were just filling Hel in on the current situation. When I saw her, I was really hoping that we'd be getting a wave of reinforcements from Mars, but she told me that's not going to happen."

"I've heard," I said, gesturing towards Sharron.

"There's not that much water on Mars, so there wasn't much need for the samurai involved to specialize in aquatic operations."

"You'd think with access to Class IV and Class V catalogs, someone in the strike force would be able to step in and bulldoze their way through the Antithesis down there," Alise pouted.

"Unfortunately, it's not that easy," Sharron replied.

"Ask Evelyn. She tried to create some aquatic skirmishers using her existing catalogs, and the results were… dubious at best."

"They worked," I grumbled.

"They just weren't as effective as I expected. I'm sure I would have figured something out eventually."

"I'm sure," Hel snorted. I quickly glanced around the room before turning back to my friends.

"So, why is it so busy in here today? Are you guys holding another strategic briefing today?" I asked.

"No," Alise replied, shaking her head.

"We leave the war room, that's what we call this particular meeting room, open at all times so the members of the task force have a place to review our intelligence and coordinate with one another."

"Couldn't they do that from their own boats? You're not holding out and keeping all the data to yourselves or something, are you?" I asked.

"Of course not," Claire snorted.

"We've just found that most people don't like to try and coordinate an entire campaign using nothing but their augs. They prefer to see who they're working with face-to-face and try to collaborate on a plan before executing."

"Having a nice place to do that planning is just a nice bonus," Alise said.

"Don't you have a similar place on your oversized aircraft carrier?"

"Strato Carrier," I corrected.

"And yes, I do, but I was just thinking that I don't use it enough right now."

"Well, maybe you should open it up to your allies. You'd be surprised at how much of a difference it can make when everyone has a secure place to coordinate from," Alise said.

"I'll consider it," I muttered.

"If I ever run into another situation where it's appropriate. I won't be doing it now, obviously, it's better to have a single location than splitting everyone up."

"Do you think there's a chance you won't be in a situation where you'll have to coordinate with other Samurai?" Alise asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'd like to say no, that now that the Mars strike force is back we'll have enough firepower that we can start getting a handle on our Antithesis problems, but I know better," I replied.

"Give it a month or two and there'll be another world-ending crisis we'll have to deal with."

"Ah, the life of a samurai," Hel chuckled. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. The conversation kind of died there for a moment. I think the twins realized that the situation between Hel and I was a little awkward, and they didn't know what to say, so Sharron stepped forward and cleared her throat.

"So, as I mentioned in my message, I brought Evelyn by to meet some of the other samurai who are participating in the operation. We just wanted to stop by and pay our respects on the way," she said.

"While I appreciate it, you didn't need to," Claire replied.

"We're all busy, and I'm sure you have plenty of other things that demand your attention."

"I wish that were the case, but ever since I upgraded my Command and Control implant, I can handle ninety percent of my duties without even thinking about them, and the other ten percent are being handled by my command staff. Until we locate the Gene Tender, I'm pretty much sitting back, wringing my hands," I grumbled.

"Really? I'm surprised you didn't jump into the water and try to chase that thing down yourself," Hel laughed.

"I don't always lead from the front," I replied.

"I have so many troops now that it's just not feasible anymore."

"If you say so," she said with a sly smile.

"Anyways, don't stick around on my behalf. Although I want to help, I literally just got back, and I wanted to check with these two before I settled down. Sounds like the situation back in Seattle hasn't been as stable as I would have liked, so I'm not sure if I'll be helping here, or keeping an eye out on what's going on back there… We'll see." She put her hands on her hips and looked me straight in the eye.

"We'll talk later, once we both have time. Yeah?"

"Yeah," I replied awkwardly.

"Later is good."

"In that case, we'll leave you to catch up," Sharron added, without missing a beat.

"Would any of you know where Mako, or the rest of the Sisterhood have setup? I figured I should introduce Evelyn to them."

"Ah, yeah… they've been staying down in the lower guest rooms, and although they've been working with the others, they don't come up here that often," Claire said.

"Why not? Too crowded up here for them?" I asked.

"No, they just prefer to do all their planning in a more comfortable place," Alise smirked. I cocked my head to the side.

"Like a sitting room?"

"The secondary dinning room," Claire grumbled.

"Half of them have high metabolisms due to the various bionics and genetic changes, and I didn't want them eating in here, so they moved downstairs."

"You kicked them out because they were getting crumbs on your tables?" I asked.

"With the amount that lot eats, they leave more than crumbs. Plus, they unnerve people when they eat," Claire explained.

"Come on, how bad could they be?" I asked.

"You'll see soon enough," Claire replied.

"It's not that far away, but I'll send you the directions."

"Thanks, we'll probably be here for another hour or so, so if you need something from us before we leave, don't be afraid to ask," Sharron said.

"Yeah, thanks," I muttered, taking a step back.

"I'll talk to you all again soon." As the others said their good-byes, I quickly retreated out to the hallway.

"What was all that about?" Sharron asked when she joined me a couple seconds later.

"Did something happen between you and Hel? I thought you were on good terms."

"We were. We are…" I paused for a moment, then looked up at the roof and sighed.

"It's a long story, and I don't want to go into it right now. Let's just say she did something that was probably the right decision, but I really didn't like it. I promised to think about the situation while she was on Mars, and I have,; I just didn't expect to run into her all of a sudden."

"Well, I'm sorry. I knew you two hadn't talked much while we were up there, but I didn't know there was a reason," Sharron said.

"If I had, I would have given you more of a heads up."

"I know, it's not your fault," I replied.

"It's something Hel and I will have to deal with. Just… not right now." I sighed again before looking over at Sharron.

"Let's find Mako."