*Having scraped together about two cumulative hours of sleep over the past 70, Evie finally got herself into presentable form, all the current updates solidified on paper. After sending out the ping to all Reality Warriors cards and Seven comms, she waited for them all to arrive.
Once as many as possible (the Visitor noticably absent) were gathered, she entered the conference room. Makeup and shades had covered all evidence of her lack of sleep, but it couldn't cover the dimming of her usually bright personality.
She took a breath, looking out at everyone gathered for a moment, and set her papers down.*
Good morning, everyone, and thank you for coming. I know that the events of the past few days have been... traumatic, especially with a lot of us trying to find new homes.
On that subject, the Sanctuary is open to anyone who needs a temporary bunk while they look. Just talk to me or Jaina for a room assignment after this.
*She paused, then started again, eyes down.*
First, I've heard some rumors going around that Jones is dead. He is not, but he is in a coma, which is why I'm here. He was shot. I am investigating.
Second, the floor is open for any questions you all may have. I have a general plan for going forward, but I would like to hear everyone out first.
*Kendo slowly raised his hand.*
What is it precisely that occured during the battle? There was very little communication over the last few months, unless I missed a summons. Was the Commander injured before the battle? Is that why the large golden man was giving orders out in the field?
*Perhaps he had been too preoccupied, but it really felt like no one had told him what was going on.*
*Did nobody brief the kid? That was worrying.*
You're the one who cut the Harvester in half, right?
That "large golden man" was the Foundation. The Visitor requested that Jones hang back with him in order to help coordinate the attack. He was... completely fine when I left him.
*A shaky breath. Stay calm.*
Communication was kept to a minimum for security purposes. Despite this, it seems we were compromised.
*She would find out why. But that was her own personal vendetta.*
The Foundation led the attack, the weapon that was designed to take down the Harvester's shields malfunctioned, and he was baited into attacking the Ice King in a blind rage. That fight ended with him being frozen. The Foundation is dead.
The Ice King was betrayed and murdered by the Voyager immediately after. He reforged and overloaded the Zero Point, which is what you interrupted.
Now the Zero Point is badly destabilized, and is threatening to collapse. If it does that, all that exists, everywhere, everywhen, will cease to exist.
Well, yes, I did do that. It seemed the right thing to do then.
*It was probably not the time to mention that he had heard his Shard Daggers whispering to him before rift butterflies turned them into the Infinity Blade. Because that sounded crazy.*
I certainly feel as though there was a distinct lack of communication regarding what had been happening. I was busy myself, so I understand from that aspect, but as a member of the Reality Warriors, I feel a bit left out of the information pipeline. I did not even know what the Seven was before this meeting.
*He looked around at everyone. He was bouncing his leg, but his expression was determined.*
For those of us who do not live with the main group, it feels important that all be kept within the loop. Perhaps if more information was shared all around, we may have been able to come up with an alternate plan...
*He swallowed, and tried his best not to think to hard about how authoritatively he had just talked about things he knew very little about.*
*The kid wasn't wrong. Evie allowed his words the room to settle, giving them their proper respect.*
You're right.
I make no excuses for it. There was a critical lack of proper communication. There was also an overwhelming amount of scattered problems that posed unforseen issues, some of which are still not resolved entirely.
Jones and I, for example, were forced to hop realities recently due to the Voyager's intrusions on sensitive timelines.
*She looked back at the table.*
I myself didn't really know about the Seven personally until a few weeks ago. Maybe we could have had a better backup plan. Maybe not. I'm not certain anything could have helped, considering our security was compromised. It's almost...
*... Like it was engineered that way.
Evie paused, frowning. Way too many things made sense if she considered them in that light...
But why?...*
[Visitor had spent more time than he cared to admit tracking down their person of interest. She was very skilled at hiding, but luckily, he was better at finding.]
[He had come to her as the Visitor. After all, he did not need her for her expertise alone. He also needed to test her loyalty, without her knowing who was under the mask.]
[It had been difficult. She was no fan of the Seven. But he could be persuasive. After all, the two of them shared one trait:]
[A deep sense of scientific curiosity.]
Ladies and gentlemen, apologies for being late. I was locating someone with the necessary knowledge of the Zero Point that would allow us to fix our most recent issue.
[One problem with entering a meeting late: everyone immediately had their eyes on you. Visitor hated tardiness, but unfortunately, the mission had demanded it.]
I would like to present to you the island's foremost expert on the makeup and properties of the Zero Point...
Doctor Slone.
" I figured this island needed a Zero Point expert.. so, here I am. "
[ Slone looked at everyone else in the room, knowing they must be judging her. She didn't have the best reputation, after all... but regardless, she knew how important she was, and that this team needed her help. ]
" You're going to need me if you plan to fix this. "