Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Stage 7

Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Miranda had been meticulous in her preparations when she had landed about ten kilometers from the capital city of Tenacity on Gilrich Gulch. She made sure that the parachute was hidden away and she did some battlefield medic work on her body. The blow she had received when she was tripped had damaged her more than she thought. One of her ribs was cracked and her knee was still throbbing from the last attack. There was going to be a slight limp in her walk.

Wrapping her knee up with a bandage wasn't as bad as when she had to remove her shirt and form fitting undershirt to wrap her rib cage. That brought a few tears and whimpers but it had to be done. The agony couldn't be helped. Grabbing her bug-out pack, she got dressed again and started making her way into the city.

She was fully intent on going to Dylars' Ditch, but that odd sensation urged her to change course and head for Gilrich's Gulch. She knew there was an office there, but by her understanding it was an R&D facility. Even that was just a guess, though, as such intel wasn't given to any who hadn't finished their Final Milestone.

Knowing the risks of being captured by the Colonial military ship that was chasing her diversion, she managed to fly undetected to Gilrich Gulch and employed a diversionary tactic that Richard had coined "Overload." The idea was to give your enemy too much information about your intended next move. Having hacked the navigation computer and securely erased all data, she started to input multiple points of origin and departure. Then she started dumping whatever she could from the emergency supplies as well as a few parachutes. Once she was done, she set the autopilot point of destination to Sanctuary. After she had finished her mischief, she put a parachute on her back and bid the jumper farewell as she drifted down.

She was walking a little faster now that she had warmed up and tested her weight on her knee. She was determined to jog the rest of the way. Something was guiding her. She didn't understand why she trusted this guiding sensation, but she had little else to go on. And if she didn't reach Zechariah within the next day or two, her tentative grip on her paradoxical Gift would fail. Oddly, whatever that sensation was seemed to agree with her thoughts and continued to push her onward.

Miranda's mind wandered as she drew closer to her destination. She had been woven into the history that made her beloved Tenacity possible. The core of her being brimmed with excitement as every step brought her closer only not only to the end of her mission, but that now overly anxious sensation.

Miranda stopped when she reached a high point on the trail she was following and allowed herself a moment of luxury. She drew in the beauty of the sprawling metropolis. Her smile softened, as she came to grips after all those years of her self-imposed exile.

For better or worse, she was finally home.