Emory and Nephenee stood in front of the FOB while they waited for Athos to return. At first, it was just silence between the two, but eventually, Nephenee asked, "Emory, what you did for Innes, could you do that for anyone, or do they have to be nearing death?"
"I can do that with anyone. Not right now, but tomorrow probably," Emory considered, "Why do you ask?"
"I want you to do that to me too. This war looks to be much more dangerous than I planned. Especially if we're going to join forces with the Fae, I want to be prepared and get stronger," Nephenee said with conviction.
"Are you sure?" Emory asked as she turned to Nephenee, "Unlike Innes, this would be your second sphere, and in many ways, it functions very similar to your Force sphere."
Nephenee nodded, "I'm sure. I want to be able to protect him myself if we get into that situation again instead of asking you. Or who knows? You may not be able to help us right away in the future."
"Okay then. Tomorrow morning, before I leave, I'll cast Contract on you," Emory agreed, "Innes is a good guy; he's lucky to have you around."
"He is indeed a good guy. Caring, thoughtful, sweet, protective, and dependable. I'm glad he's going to be okay," Nephenee blushed slightly. Emory pursed her lips, thinking that Nephenee and Innes seemed quite close, but before she could follow up, a flash of light shone from the teleportation platform a few feet away. When it dimmed, Athos and Bramimond stood on the stand as Bramimond took a few moments to adjust to his new surroundings.
Athos approached the girls and motioned to Bramimond, "This is Bramimond, one of two leaders against the Apleem. Bramimond, this is Nephenee, the leader of this outpost, and Emory, the young one I told you about."
"Pleased to meet the two of you, though I wish it were under better circumstances," Bramimond greeted them and shook their hands, "Athos said you had a run-in with the Mantoan, but I don't see any signs of an attack around here."
"Beyond the barricades, though with Emory here, we only sustained minor injuries," Nephenee replied and pointed to the destruction in the distance. Bramimond turned and saw the countless bodies strewn across the distant landscape as well as the large crater closer to them. His jaw was ajar as he turned back to them in disbelief.
"You? You did all this?" Bramimond stared at Emory, "How did you come away without so much as a scratch?"
Emory smirked, "Dragons can't be hurt by insects. Come, let's meet with Supreme Commander Shepherd. There are a lot of topics to discuss." The four walked towards a reinforced building with two guards standing outside. Once inside, the Elandrian were shocked by Emory's explanation of the device and its capabilities; they had no idea the humans had such advanced technology since Elandrian society focused on magik instead of innovation. It was a little crowded on the platform with four people, but they all fit snugly and waited for the other screens to pop up. After a few minutes, Gatrie and Sam, Shepherd, Tana and Gwen, and Tethys appeared on their respective screens. Most of them instantly turned to shock as they saw who stood before them on Nephenee's screen, not only Emory but two wise old men with distinct pointed ears.
Once everyone had a moment to take in what they were seeing, Emory asked boldly, "Supreme Commander, are you alone? The message I'm relaying is for our ears only right now."
"Yes, it's only me," Shepherd was taken aback, "What news do you bring that requires such sensitivity that not even the rest of the High Collective can know?"
"First and foremost, the Apleem attack has been neutralized with Innes as the only injury. We repelled two hundred Mantoan and one Uthid. Innes was critically injured in battle against the Uthid but is now in stable condition. However, I do not believe this is more than a scouting party; their true force is much more numerous and powerful than we previously estimated, numbering in the billions. Therefore, my informant has decided to come forward to offer an alliance. Please welcome, Athos the Fae," Emory orated. All of them on screens gaped their mouths at her statements.
"Thank you for facilitating this meeting, Emory," Athos bowed slightly, "Hello, humans, I am Athos, and this is my friend Bramimond. We are Elandrian, part of a larger group of races you refer to as the Fae and were the race that originally taught magik to your ancestors. We are two of the Five, the heads of our government. We have been at war with the Apleem since we left the Earth over a thousand years ago. It's clear you are now a part of this conflict, and we believe it's time we bring humanity into the fold."
Shepherd took a deep breath before starting, "I am astounded by all this new information. Obviously, we would entertain an ally against this larger threat. I should be upfront with you; I only lead the largest faction of humanity. The descendants of those humans taught by you lead the other faction."
"We already know, but thank you for being honest with us," Athos nodded, "Our basic terms are very simple. We agree to share information and resources with you, and you reinforce your armies until they are ready to support us on the main battlefields. We only request one thing: Emory remains in charge of this growing operation."
"Of course! We have nothing but praise for Emory. After we get off the call, I'll let Lloyd know," Shepherd agreed.
"Please let him know that I will be there to collect them shortly," Emory added, "I will also announce to this group that after things return to normal here, I plan to visit Earth for a few days to reclaim my birthright from the Council of Witches. Under my authority, this will become a joint mission going forward. Afterwards, I'll be visiting the other two bases." Once again, jaws dropped at this newest revelation.
Finally, Sam interjected, "Could you take me with you to see the Council?"
"Me too," Gwen interrupted, "In case my dad gets out of control, I want to be there."
"Of course! It'll be easier to navigate the bureaucracy with your help," Emory smiled. Athos and Bramimond agreed to stay on Temia for two days, both to monitor Innes's recovery and to record necessary information about the Apleem as they knew their base locations and home world among many other important information. Of course, while they were there, they would also train Innes and Nephenee in Arcane magik, but Emory had deliberately avoided spilling the beans on that situation. In fact, offering her Contract to all of her friends was the whole purpose of visiting the other bases, meaning she would actually accomplish the tasks in reverse. With their business concluded for the moment, the call ended, so Nephenee led the others to the mess hall to eat. It was a rather basic meal, but after the day they had, it tasted like a feast. Since they would all be working together long-term, Emory and Nephenee peppered Athos and Bramimond with questions about the Elandrian and the Fae as a whole.
The Fae were actually a collective of six individual races that were divided into two groups: Casters and Primal Beasts. The Elandrian, Dryads, and Pixies comprised the Caster group which was defined by its use of Arcane magik. Though Dryads and Pixies didn't have the Arcane sphere, their innate Primal spheres allowed them to be just as formidable. These groups relied on casting magik to augment their physical bodies, further defining the Caster group. On the other hand, the three races of Primal Beasts were the Chimera, Leviathan, and Treants and were defined by their innate magik bodies, specialized for specific purposes. Though called "Beasts", they could willingly and easily change between their humanoid forms and bestial ones, were just as intelligent as the other races, and had complex societies like their fellow Fae. They even had two spheres of magik just like humans and other Fae, though the spheres they had were innate, meaning they always knew them and were confined to using one of the two they had.
The Elandrian were from a star they called Arlanthia, but when they pulled up a star map, humanity called the star Kepler 62, over nine hundred eighty light-years away from Earth. Though they didn't have the same level of technology that humans had, they accomplished far greater feats with magik and enchantments, making them a type three civilization on the Kardashev scale. They used mostly teleportation for travel or magik to enhance their natural physique which already rivaled the peak of human physique. Automation that humans used was powered by magik in the Elandrian world but largely functioned the same way. However, magik was as efficient as matter-antimatter bombardment, and the Elandrian had been using magik like this for twenty thousand years.
After learning about everything, Emory and Nephenee told them everything they knew about human culture and technology. Bramimond was most interested in Jask because the AI could do the work of several people in battle strategy and planning without ever tiring or missing information. Having fought against the Laxtros for a thousand years, he wondered how it may have been different with it and how it would change the war now. A combination of the Fae's magik and human technology could really change the war. Then again, the Laxtros and Uthid were a type two civilization with inferior magik capabilities to Elandrian but superior technology to humanity, according to Athos and Bramimond.
Once everyone had shared stories, Nephenee showed Athos and Bramimond to the mixed cabin area and let Emory stay in her room. Emory protested at first, but Nephenee explained that she wanted to stay in the med bay with Innes. She noticed a slight blush in her cheeks yet decided against bringing it up; Emory wasn't the type of person to get in other people's business unless they were in danger, When she lay down, exhaustion washed over her like waves on a beach. But for the first time since she landed on Yuzuno, she slept peacefully through the whole night.