Five monsters had gathered outside the first tunnel entrance. One carried a shield made from part of a human vehicle door.
Hou Yao left my hand and crossed the yard. The blade punched through the makeshift shield and the monster holding it.
I appeared behind the rest as Heian Emo followed.
Shadow tendrils caught two weapons while Ors flashed.
One monster covered its face.
I cut its head off.
The next tried to pull free from the shadow around its arm.
Hou Yao returned to my hand and went through its chest.
The fourth turned toward the tunnel.
Heian Emo caught it between the shoulders.
The fifth dropped its weapon and raised both hands.
I looked past it into the tunnel.
"No."
Hou Yao crossed its neck.
The tunnel beyond them was wide enough for several vehicles to pass through at once. Storage rooms had been cut into both sides.
One held food, another weapons, and a third contained boxes of human medical supplies.
I kept moving until voices came from farther inside.
Three monsters were arguing near another chamber. One pointed deeper into the tunnel, another pointed back toward the quarry, and the third carried a bundle of papers under one arm.
Seeing monsters carry reports still felt wrong.
Not because they were stupid. The ones we had fought were intelligent enough to plan attacks, use stolen weapons, and follow orders.
The strange part was how familiar it looked.
Paperwork. Supply records. Delivery schedules. Patrol reports.
Khan had taken scattered groups and given them the same kind of ugly system humans used to keep armies moving.
The monster holding the papers turned toward me.
I appeared in front of it, drove my fist into its stomach, and caught the bundle before it hit the ground.
That one stayed alive.
The second reached for a sword.
Heian Emo struck its wrist with the flat of the blade and broke the arm before the weapon cleared its sheath.
It was standing beside the records chamber, so it stayed alive for now.
The third monster ran deeper into the tunnel without carrying anything or working near the records.
I appeared in front of it and cut it in half.
The two survivors stared at the body without moving.
I pointed toward the records chamber.
"Back."
Neither argued. They walked into the room, and I bound both with shadow before picking up the bundle of reports.
More shouting came from deeper inside.
I wanted to keep going, which was enough reason to turn back.
I didn't know where the tunnel ended, how many branches it had, or what was happening outside. I had already found the records and captured the monsters working with them.
Chasing deeper without information was how Sara kept getting herself into trouble.
I was not going to steal her bad habit.
When I stepped outside again, Luna had pushed the remaining fighters away from the central building.
The quarry floor was covered in bodies.
The fox was back too. She stood near the eastern route, away from the corpses and the central building. Her illusion had ended, and several dying monsters were staring at her with open hatred.
Luna walked over and handed me the translator.
"Loose connection of some kind."
"You fixed it?"
"I hit it a couple of times."
I clipped it around my neck.
The fox's ears flattened. "This place will not remain safe."
"How quickly will another site react?"
"I do not know."
"At least you're consistent."
She showed me her teeth while I looked around the quarry.
Nobody outside the records building or tunnel chamber was still alive.
That simplified things.
I took out the communicator. Still no signal.
"Luna."
"Yes?"
"Get high enough for a signal and send Zelda our position."
"What am I asking for?"
"Intelligence teams, soldiers to secure the quarry, and people to clean up this mess."
"Containment?"
"Only for six prisoners. I'll move them myself."
"Records?"
"Those too."
She looked at the central building. "All of them?"
"Yes."
"That is a lot of paper."
"I noticed."
Luna took the communicator. "Anything else?"
"Tell Zelda the site is secured."
She looked across the bodies.
"That part seems accurate."
"Go."
She left for the ridge.
I returned to the central building.
The four prisoners were still where I had left them.
The courier looked at the fox and said something.
The translator worked this time.
"Traitor."
The fox stopped near the wide entrance.
The courier spoke again. "You served Khan."
Her tails shifted behind her. "I survived Khan."
"You obeyed him."
"So did you."
The courier pulled against the shadow holding its arms. "He gave us ground."
"He gave you orders."
"He protected us."
"Then why are you carrying his pack through the night?"
The courier stared at her.
I looked between them. "Can we do this later?"
The fox didn't move. "I want to hear."
"I want the records sorted before someone else arrives."
She kept watching the courier.
I pointed at the nearest table. "Read first. Murder request later."
"I did not ask."
"You were thinking loudly."
She lowered her head near the entrance, and I dragged the nearest table closer before we started with the papers from the tunnel.
The fox could read parts of them, but not everything. Different groups used different marks and languages. Some reports were simple enough to understand from numbers, places, and rough maps. Others needed context she didn't have.
I separated the packets by their symbols: a split tusk, three claw marks, a black circle, a bird-like shape, and several others I couldn't recognise.
The fox touched the split tusk mark. "I know this one."
"Who?"
"Orcs west of here."
"Name?"
"I do not know what they call themselves."
"You know the mark but not the name?"
"I saw it on their shields."
I didn't need a family history. I needed proof, and we found it quickly.
One packet recorded food requirements for a group larger than anything we had seen near the relay. Another listed dead and injured after an attack I didn't recognise. A third contained observations of human patrol movement around two forts.
Then we found reports from Gibraltar and Ismaila.
I knew the shape of those battles.
The writing meant little to me, but the numbers were clear. Aircraft arrival times, barrier recovery times, movement from support positions, which response came first, and which positions sent help.
The fox touched one of the reports.
"This came from the attack where you captured my mate."
"You can tell?"
"I know the mark."
I kept reading.
The report didn't name my siblings, but it didn't need to. The descriptions covered fire fists, ice control, shadow movement, barriers, explosive marks, and a fast smaller fighter with two blades.
I put the page down.
"They were thorough."
"Yes."
There was no pride in the fox's answer.
Reports from several groups had arrived at the same site. Different marks, different territories, different needs.
The boards showed supplies going out and messages being collected.
Khan had not simply pushed monsters toward human forts and hoped for the best. He had built a working network between groups that had once stayed apart or fought over territory.
Luna returned while we were sorting the second table.
"Signal found."
"Zelda?"
"She answered."
"How angry?"
"She asked why three people attacked a staging site without support."
"Fair question."
"She also asked whether you were planning to teleport half the quarry into her operations room."
I looked at the tables.
"Not half."
"That answer made her angrier."
I laughed.
"She said intelligence teams and soldiers are moving from the nearest forward position. They'll secure the quarry and search the tunnels."
"How long?"
"Several hours."
"Fine."
Luna looked at the papers. "I hate this place."
"You are in the army."
"That is why I hate paperwork."
The fox looked between us. "Humans record too much."
Luna pointed at her. "See? She understands me."
The fox moved to another table without answering.
We kept sorting.
Near sunrise, we found a board covered with dates, group marks, and destination symbols.
The fox studied it while Luna sat on the edge of a table and drank from her canteen.
After several minutes, I tapped the board. "Well?"
"This shows movement."
"Supplies?"
"Some."
"Messages?"
"Some."
"You're doing the thing again."
The fox looked at me. "I am reading."
"Read faster."
"I can stop."
"Take your time."
Luna laughed into her canteen, and I ignored her.
The fox traced one section with a claw.
"This movement is tomorrow."
"What is moving?"
"I do not know."
"How many?"
She looked closer. "Five marked carriers. Guards."
Luna stood. "Destination?"
"Not written here."
"Then what is?"
"A handoff point."
I moved closer. "Where?"
The fox pointed toward a rough map pinned beside the board.
"North-west of here. Several hours."
Luna looked at me. "You're already planning it."
"Yes."
"We haven't left this place."
"I can plan and stand at the same time."
"You need sleep."
"I'll sleep later."
"No, you won't."
The fox moved away from the board and watched us.
Luna noticed. "What?"
"You know her well."
Luna's expression changed slightly.
I stepped in before that went somewhere I didn't want.
"She complains professionally."
"I learned from Jean."
"That explains too much."
Luna smiled while I turned back to the board.
Five carriers, an unknown number of guards, and a handoff point scheduled for tomorrow after midday.
That gave us time to return to Kriti, sleep, and come back with a proper team.
I already knew who needed the work.
Luna noticed.
"No."
I looked at her. "I didn't say anything."
"You thought something."
"That is not illegal."
"It should be when you make that face."
"What face?"
"The one you make before giving your siblings work."
The fox looked at me. "You are taking your family?"
I looked at the fox, then at Luna.
Luna looked away first.
I turned back to the board. "I'm taking people who need field experience."
"Your siblings," Luna said.
"Some of them."
"Which ones?"
"I'll decide after I sleep."
"You just said you weren't sleeping."
"You told me I had to."
"That was easier than expected."
I looked at her as she smiled.
Jean was a bad influence.
I spent the next hour moving records and prisoners back to Kriti.
The four from the central building went first, followed by the two from the tunnel chamber. Boxes of reports, movement boards, maps, stolen human forms, and everything else useful came after them.
By the time the first security teams reached the quarry, Zelda already had intelligence staff working through the recovered material.
The soldiers stayed behind to secure the buildings and search the tunnels.
The female fox disappeared into secure holding almost as soon as we returned. She had been awake as long as the rest of us, and nobody objected when she curled up in the back of her pen and went to sleep.
That left her mate wearing one of the translators while intelligence staff worked through the recovered paperwork. He understood some of the marks and languages the female hadn't recognised, though his answers came with enough growling to make the analysts nervous.
Luna watched them work for several minutes before finding the nearest empty chair and falling asleep.
I left her there and went looking for Zelda.
By the time I entered the operations room, I had been awake long enough that the chair beside Zelda's desk looked better than it had any right to.
Unfortunately, Luna had already claimed the nearest one before falling asleep, so I was out of luck.
Zelda was reading the first report from Gibraltar.
She put it down when I approached.
"Reconnaissance."
I nodded. "We found something."
"I can see that."
"The reports came from several groups. The foxes recognize some marks, not all. Supplies moved through the quarry, information came in, and orders went back out."
"And Khan?"
"Still not there."
"His base?"
"No."
"Superior?"
"No."
"Monster Realm connection?"
"Nothing confirmed."
Zelda nodded once.
That was why I liked working with her. She didn't turn missing information into something more convenient.
I placed a photograph of the movement board on her desk.
"But we found this."
She read the notes beside it.
"Tomorrow?"
"After midday."
"Five carriers?"
"And guards. Number unknown."
"Carrying what?"
"Not written down."
Zelda looked at me. "You want to intercept them."
"Yes."
"With your siblings."
I smiled.
Zelda watched me for several seconds.
"I don't remember giving you authority over your siblings."
"I don't remember you having authority over mine."
"I'm the last person who says yes before you take soldiers into the field."
That was annoyingly fair.
"You'll brief me properly first," she continued.
"Fine."
Luna shifted in the chair without opening her eyes.
"I told her to sleep first."
Zelda looked at her.
"I agree with you."
Luna smiled without moving. "Everyone does."
I looked between them.
"This is becoming unpleasant."
Zelda pushed the photograph back toward me. "Sleep. We brief tonight."
I took the photo.
"There's still sorting."
"My people can sort paper."
"That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me."
"It wasn't meant to be."
"Still taking it."
I turned toward the door.
Khan was still somewhere south, and we still knew almost nothing about what waited behind him in the Monster Realm.
What we had now was proof that his Human Realm network moved reports, supplies, and orders between groups that had once operated separately.
Part of that network was moving tomorrow.
That was enough to work with.