A moving Endeavor

The Chairwoman blinked, a flicker of something unspoken crossing her face. Her gaze grew distant for a moment, and she murmured, "Déjà vu is a hell of a thing, isn't it?"

Elias tilted his head slightly, his confusion evident. "Wh-what do you mean—?"

"Nothing, Kael," she interrupted, her tone clipped. "Just rethinking some old memories."

Her eyes settled on him briefly before she added, "I will consider you in the future."

Without another word, she turned toward the door. Her voice rose as she addressed Oliver. "Get them ready. Have them meet me in ten to fifteen minutes."

Oliver gave a quick nod, his movements sharp as he began organizing the group.

After some time had passed and the three had left, Elias sighed deeply. "I still haven't learned about everyone's Ikona yet," he muttered. He let himself fall back, crashing onto the training floor, and stared at the ceiling above him.

The structure overhead caught his attention. Crossed beams of steel formed a lattice of squares, giving the building a clean, precise look. The design was almost mesmerizing in its symmetry, and for a moment, he felt oddly impressed by the neatness of the place.

Exhaling, Elias let his body relax against the soft, fake turf. Dot's floated nearby and broke the silence. "So… what do we do now?"

Before Elias could answer, a faint hum of singing reached his ears. Lifting his head slightly, he glanced toward the pod rooms on the far side of the training area. The sound grew clearer as he focused on it.

He sighed again, rolling over onto his stomach before pushing himself into another shaky push-up. As he kicked up to one knee, Dot's exclaimed, "Wow! I think that's your fastest time standing up yet!"

Elias chuckled lightly. "Yeah. Hopefully, I can fully get this down soon. It's like my body and joints are starting to adapt."

Walking back toward the training area's main path, he noticed three open doors. Peering inside one of them, he found Tidwell sprawled on the ground beside his bed. The room was a mess, with items knocked over and scattered around.

"You still alive, man?" Elias asked, leaning against the doorway.

"Y…yeah…" Tidwell groaned. "Just… can't move well."

"Try envisioning your movements," Elias suggested. "Trick your mind into thinking it's the opposite. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

Tidwell grumbled something unintelligible, but Elias had already turned toward the source of the singing. He followed the soft tune, stopping just outside another pod room. For a moment, he hesitated. "I guess that's Faye singing," he thought to himself. "Everyone's got their hobbies, I suppose."

The door slid open unexpectedly as Elias turned to look inside. Standing there was Faye, her hands outstretched as she sang into a microphone. "And with your light in my—" she began, stopping abruptly when she noticed the open door.

"H-hey! Why did you open my door?" she shouted, her cheeks flushing.

Elias threw his hands up defensively. "Whoa, definitely not me!"

A small laugh echoed from within the room. Elias's eyes shifted toward a small creature with a swirling blue, red, and pink pattern across its body. A single metal spring protruded from its head as it hovered near Faye before landing gently on her shoulder, still chuckling.

"I take it that's your Ikona?" Elias asked, his gaze shifting to the tiny creature on Faye's shoulder.

Faye hesitated before responding, her tone tinged with a mix of frustration and resignation. "Y-yeah, pretty much. I've been using this downtime to practice this stupid ability—or whatever it's supposed to be."

"What do you mean?" Elias asked, leaning slightly closer, curiosity clear on his face.

Faye sighed, glancing at the ceiling briefly before continuing. "Oh, sorry. It's just… when I sing, it's not because I enjoy it or anything like that. Apparently, singing lets my Ikona do certain things, like flying farther than usual or conjuring these weird control words." She gestured toward the creature on her shoulder. "It's tedious, honestly."

Elias raised an eyebrow. "Control words? Like commands?"

"Exactly," Faye said, pointing to the faint marker hovering above her head that only shard users could see. "My quest today is to sing and learn new ones. So, basically, I'm just a glorified performer stuck with tasks I don't really understand. Not much control on my part, as usual."

Elias placed a finger under his chin, nodding slowly as if piecing something together. "I see… I see. So it's like making the best of a bad situation. In that case, you should practice out in the open where you'll have more space to experiment."

He paused, glancing back toward the training area. "Meanwhile, I should go check on Tidwell and try to coach him into standing. I'm sure he's dealing with the same punishment I have, along with the others."

Faye tilted her head slightly, her expression softening. "Sorry you weren't picked for the mission."

Elias turned back toward her briefly, offering a faint smile. "It's fine. Really. I'm more useful here right now anyway." He hesitated for a moment, then added, "Besides, it's probably better this way. I'm not exactly in peak condition either."

Faye let out a small chuckle, moving her hand to brush a stray lock of hair from her face. "No, trust me. You're not missing much. I'm not a fighter at all. Both my parents were politicians before the military took over. I've spent most of my life trying to rebuild the family name—not by fighting aliens or hardened criminals, though." She let out another laugh, this time more genuine.

Elias nodded, his expression softening as well. "Noted. Well, if you feel like it, come out and join us when you're ready. No pressure." He gave her a small wave as he turned to leave.

Dot's lingered for a moment, floating in place as if contemplating something before turning back toward Faye's Ikona. With a playful wave of her antennae, Dot's hovered forward. Faye's Ikona mirrored the motion, its tiny form bobbing slightly before settling back on Faye's shoulder.

Elias walked off, his steps purposeful but not rushed, leaving Faye standing quietly for a moment as she watched them go.

Elias finally made his way to Tidwell's pod. Inside, Tidwell had managed to sit up, his back pressed firmly against the wall, looking thoroughly irritated.

"Making some progress, buddy?" Elias asked, a faint grin tugging at his lips.

Tidwell shot him a glare. "Ah, screw you and this damn system. I just want to chill, man. Is that too much to ask?"

Elias chuckled softly, leaning casually against the doorway. "Well, looks like some things just can't be controlled right now. It's about to hit 7:00 a.m. I'm heading to grab some breakfast. I'll bring back some go trays for you, me, and the other two sad saps who can't move right."

Tidwell blinked and then frowned. "Wait. You got hit with this problem too?"

Elias nodded. "Yep. Pretty much the case."

Tidwell threw his hands up—or tried to, his movements sluggish. "Then how the hell are you moving? I've been stuck here for hours!"

Elias shrugged. "Honestly, I just took it one body part at a time. Start with the toes, then move to the ankles, and so on. You get the idea."

Tidwell grumbled under his breath, his frustration evident. Elias gave him a quick wave as he turned toward the exit door. As he walked, his thoughts wandered. How exactly am I supposed to work through all this?

When the door finally slid open, Elias stopped mid-step, startled to see Elara standing right outside. She leaned against the frame, her arms crossed, her presence as commanding as ever.

"Perfect," she said, her tone firm but not unkind. "Just the person I was looking for."

Elias blinked, caught off guard. "Wh-what?" he managed, his voice faltering slightly.