The Recon

Once we're done eating, Anna directs us back to the room Ivan is in.

It looks a bit different now.

The people who were here working have mostly cleared out, leaving the room a lot quieter than before.

Ivan stands at the far end of the room.

"Ah, there you are." He turns and smiles, gesturing for us to take a seat at one of the tables.

Eric is the first to sit, and Hestia and I sit together across from him.

The man hums. "Now then. I suppose it's about time we had a talk." He crosses his arms. "You know the basics of what we're about. To escape this planet. It's something we've been trying at for years and years."

He shakes his head, a smile curling up on his face, his eyes distant. "...I admit. After the initial failure it's felt like...an impossible dream. We've been looking, but there's never been an opening. Not with our limited resources."

He shakes his head. "Staying hidden, surviving, and slowly rescuing those we can manage to without alerting them has been...all we've managed for a long time."

His voice drops a bit, the look on his face going a bit distant. "...But you've brought something to the table we've not been able to have until now." He looks up at us. "People who can work from the inside."

Mia squints at him. "That's what I don't get. Why haven't you been able to do this before?"

Ivan nods to Eric. "Him."

Eric crosses his arms. "My contacting you a year ago?"

I glance over at him, then. "How did you do that, anyway?"

He tugs at his ear and grimaces. "Smoke signals. I learned some years ago. Every chance I got alone I'd put some up in the sky. Eventually, I noticed some responses."

I slow blink. "Smoke signals...are real...?" It's not a concept I'd really heard of outside of movies. But...I guess if you're in the middle of a field, with no trees, and want to communicate with other people in another field...?

Eric snorts, "You really thought that was fake?"

Mia shakes her head and waves a hand. "It's really primitive, especially between groups of people that can't communicate any other way though, right?"

Ivan nods. "Of course. Eric's aggressive signaling is the only reason we noticed it at all. When he signaled it again in another spot we realized what was happening and mobilized as quickly as possible."

I frown a bit, then. "But...the test is random, right...?"

Ivan shakes his head. "No. It's not. There are set places. It might be random which ones they go to - I don't know, we haven't figured out a pattern - but there's only a limited number of locations they travel to.

Knowing roughly where Eric was, and when, meant we could finally intercept someone. Normally we only know the test has happened when it's too late. We can make contact in the second test, but by then it's too late to do anything but offer freedom."

Eric lets out a breath through his nose. "Can't say I'm really surprised. I expected something along those lines." He shakes his head. "It's why I made sure to signal when they moved us. Figured you'd take the chance to approach."

Ivan's lips quirk up. "Lucky that they haven't determined we're so predictable." His eyes are thoughtful. "They don't see us as a threat, but they do see us as pests to be eliminated. Staying hidden has been our only hope."

"So responding to the signal...was a risk..." Mia murmurs.

"One we had to take." He shakes his head. "And...perhaps it will be one that pays off." His eyes flick between us all, his smile broadening. "...If you're all here to tell me you got useful intel last year?"

I...

Don't think I've got useful information on my own, but. I will add to the conversation after Eric and Mia, if it seems appropriate.

Eric and Mia look at each other and then back to Ivan. "Yes." Eric says.

Mia nods, and speaks up. "There really isn't a lot of use to be found in there, though."

"Maybe not." The man settles his hands on the table, looking between Eric and Mia. "But you have the schedules and locations of their supply ships, don't you?"

Mia's eyes widen a moment, and she smiles, shaking her head. "Yeah." Her gaze turns down, thoughtful, but she's still smiling, "We should be able to give you the details on the next shipments coming and going."

"Perfect." He hums. "I've got people who can handle the controls of the ships, so you don't have to worry about that. I just need to know what you know."

She looks up, "We'll tell you everything."

I glance at Eric and nod. I don't have much information, I think. But I'll do my part. And Eric's knowledge of the guards and whatnot is also helpful, right? They've got to know when the guard rotations are.

The conversation moves into the details of what we learned while working in there, which Eric and Mia mostly take over.

It's weird. Like. I know a lot about what's happening in the factory and how things are moved around. But that's not really useful information for the resistance, not right now, at least.

Not unless they somehow need to know the movements of the stuff they're making in the factories themselves.

And I very much doubt that.

Ivan leans back in his chair finally, crossing his arms. "Then we have three months." He sighs and shakes his head, laughing a little. "...It's not a lot of time. But we'll make it be enough."

"...Do you think you'll be able to escape with the next shipment...?" Mia asks, her brows furrowed.

The man sighs, "Do you know the timing of any later shipments?"

Eric shakes his head, and Mia's brows furrow. She bites her lower lip, her expression going thoughtful. "I could...probably find out, but it wouldn't be easy."

Ivan's eyes are distant a moment. "...There's no third trip out here. If you don't have the information now, then...it's the only shipment we can use. Three months will have to be enough."

Eric squints. "...So I'm right to assume we won't be going back to that place?" He looks up, "You're not going to send us back?"

The man smiles and shakes his head. "No. If you go back, we'd have no way to extract you again." He laughs, but the sound is sharp and hard. "...We don't have much here, but...you're welcome to it. One way or another...it'll be the last three months we have it."

I frown.

Ivan stands. "Thank you all. This will help more than you know."

"So." Mia tilts her head. "Will we be wearing these bracelets all that time?"

"Hm? Oh...no." He shakes his head. "In a few days we'll be able to crack the admin password to safely deactivate them."

"Oh. That's...really good to hear."

I nod. "...So. Is there...anything else you need from us?"

"Not at the moment." He shakes his head. "But when the time comes, trust...we'll need every person in this compound if a single one of us wants to see home again."