The Human Event

by Shocks


Fire Within the Earth

His muscles were burning with the amount of effort they were releasing, his mind alerting him that he should take a moment for rest. Yet he did not, he refused to allow a stoppage now, even if he couldn't remember when he had last had a water break. Through the exhaustion he had found a rhythm, a flow to the continuous work that seemed to lessen the burden, and stopping now chanced the idea that he may not be able to continue for awhile. Again, he hefted another rock before him, its rough edges scrapping against the hardened skin of his palms. But he paid it no attention, and like the repetitive times before, tossed the rock into an awaiting mine cart with a resounding clang. The sounds of other work followed his own, the clang of picks and axes as well as the sound of crumbling rock creating a symphony of noise.

Letting out a sigh at the momentary reprieve, his ice blue eyes flicked over to the others around him, each busy at work with their own digging. Various humans in different clothes that expressed working in any profession other mining continued their work unperturbed, some even making jokes here and there.

Ed Darson reflexively tried to avoid looking at the strange dog like creatures were also present, the ones that were doing most of the digging; nor the smaller yet somehow more unnerving equine bug like figures that moved to and fro.

Even after the past months, he still hadn’t got used to them.

This was not to say that the 21 year old was racist, or speciesist, whichever was the correct term. It was just difficult for one to take all the changes that had occurred with a grain of salt, especially in dealing with the creatures known as changelings. The idea that their body was more insect in regards to that of a mammal made them seem even more disturbing, barring the fact that they wielded fangs and had a hard chitin armor as simple evolutionary structure. He didn’t even want to consider their ability to morph into other beings with an unnerving precision. Sometimes he wondered if the movie series of Alien was somehow inspired by them.

And the Diamond dogs...the bipedal canines that stood nearly as tall as the average human male, though carrying the bulk and muscle of a large canine made them additionally intimidating yet at the same time they were ridiculously st-uneducated, speaking like the cliché acting of a caveman. It was even difficult at times not to relate them to the dogs back home, hell; he even was able to make out some breeds between the various mutts.

And their ability to dig was something amazing in itself. Their whole journey had been spearheaded by the dogs, their claws tearing through dirt and rock better then a jackhammer on overdrive. Not to mention their skill to make the tunnel perfectly supported without the need for beams even as it reached dozens of feet across and multiple meters high.

It was in these very tunnels that he found himself working, ripping into the mountainside of the ponies’ capital in probably the ballsiest move he could think of. Ed certainly would have never suggested it, but then again, that’s probably why he wasn’t in charge or even one of the supply runners for that matter.

Though, he knew the main reason why he wasn’t in the runners, but didn’t bother to acknowledge it.

His body jerked momentarily as he felt a poke on his side, and he yelped slightly in surprise. Despite the large amount of noise overtaking the tunnel, more then a few individuals paused in their work to offer him a curious glance, causing him to blush in embarrassment at the attention on him. Not to mention getting a few shivers down his spine from the blank looks of the iris-less changelings.

"I...uh...rock. Fell on my…foot" He stuttered, pointing to his right foot with an index finger. There was a small pause as those that bothered to give him a glance contemplated this rather strange explanation before some simply just returned to their work with a roll of the eyes or looked him over for just a moment longer before shrugging. Regardless, the outburst was soon forgotten and the sounds of work once again filled the area of the tunnel. Ed let out a sigh, and returned to his attention to the person next to him, the one that had no doubt startled him.

The individual, a petite girl that he had to guess was between fifteen and sixteen was busy moving more rock than some at a rather rapid pace, though this was significantly due in part to her right hand glowing a bright lilac, a large piece of dirt floating into the mine cart in the same color. Her brow was furrowed in deep concentration as she didn’t hesitate to release a grunt at the obvious strain on herself, the glowing hand lifting handfuls of rocks while the other grabbed what it could in a physical grip. Adorning her form was a dirtied cyan tank top while she wore a pair of jean shorts that had clearly seen better days. He wouldn’t be surprised if this was one of her few sets of clothes. Though, one could say the same about his now dirtied white dress shirt and his damaged slacks.

An involuntary sigh escaped him.

Necessities had been scarce lately.

Observations aside, he returned back to his own work, though looked over to her as he grabbed another large rock. "So, what's up?" He asked, referring to the poke earlier. She paused halfway in crouching to pick up some more rocks, her brown eyes looking up to him in a look of annoyance. Just as she did this, her other hand lost its glowing aura, the small rocks hovering in front of its collapsing back onto the ground. She was caught slightly off guard by this at first; having a shocked look, before shooting a glare back at him.

"You weren’t working, you were just lying against the wall for too long" Her rather mature sounding voice caught him off guard coming from her smaller form, before he shrugged, dumping another rock into the mine cart.

"How long?" He inquired casually.

"Too long" She replied quickly, her attention focused on the fallen rocks from before, her hand pulsing with its lilac light, dampening and lightening as her eyebrows furrowed even further in agitation. He was well aware that her tone was betraying a fair hint of annoyance and only talking to her increased it.

But, there was not exactly much to do and while he was content to work quietly alongside her as he already had, he didn’t want to do it now that she was going to be constantly shooting glares at him.

"You do know, you can use your arms as well, not just…that?" he said, rolling his right shoulder experimentally before picking up another rock, flexing his muscles for extra emphasis. She didn’t care to look up, continuing to focus on the rocks before her.

"First. Don’t call it ‘that’. We both know what it is. Second. This way is easier" She used her rather quick and abrupt tone again, which held no chance of debate. Her hand was still attempting to get the rocks back into the air but all she received for her efforts was a small vibration from the stones. Gritting her teeth at the unruly rocks, she pushed her outstretched hand closer to the rocks, the aura gaining a momentary boost of light. The small stones in return began vibrating at an increasing tempo, but still refused to rise upwards.

Ed couldn’t help but smile at her seriousness over the situation; she looked entirely too focused on the use of the magic to realize she could just use her god given arms to carry the rocks.

"You know, if I saw you on the street a year ago I would’ve thought you were crazy doing that" He laughed, dusting a part of his shirt that had become increasingly dirty.

It actually appeared she was about to blow a gasket from the death glare she was offering him, but this was cut off as a loud and sharp bang echoing down the tunnel. All at once, the entire workforce composed of dozens of bipeds and quadrupeds paused in mixed curiosity, fear, and even excitement. He looked on worriedly for a moment, his eyes darting to the opposite end of the tunnel. The silence was only interrupted when a hard female voice rang out from the front of the tunnel.

"Another cavern breached! We're getting close!!"

This caused uproar of hoops and hollers from many of the human workers, many slapping each other on the back or offering cheers here and there. The diamond dogs just seemed confused by the whole situation while the changelings continued their work as if nothing had occurred. He simply muttered a 'Nice' before returning to his work, though it seemed he was more invigorated as he hefted another rock.

He also noted that the girl's expression had done a nearly complete 180 as she seemed to have the biggest smile on her face, her eyes seeming to gleam with unshed tears. It was no doubt what they were doing here seemed to mean many times more important to her then to him. But he supposed it was because of the fact that everyone here was a stranger to each other, and he could not honestly say he was emotionally invested in the mission.

He got lucky or perhaps unlucky, to come to this world alone…

It appeared the girl was the exact opposite.

The rocks lay forgotten as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, the small smile she had still present. Despite the two's earlier clashing, he decided to ask a question he hopefully would get a positive answer to.

"I take it you have someone in there?" He spoke kindly, trying to relay a warm feeling to the girl.

Her reply carried no hint of anger, or agitation, but relayed a rather sad undertone. "My cousin. His name's Derrick. He's all I have left"

The answer struck a cord for the man, and he was momentarily forced to stop to offer her an apologetic look. He hadn’t meant to cause a painful moment for the girl and he felt unsure of how to respond properly.

He didn’t get the chance however as she shook herself once and began to pick up the rocks from before, this time without a problem to use her hands... He smiled as together they began to carry rocks into the mine cart, both noting how full it had become in short time. In addition, the rubble that had littered their sides of the wall had been nearly entirely cleared. No doubt they would have to move elsewhere for work, or perhaps return to the makeshift base camp for the remainder of the day..? Night?

He actually hadn't been informed of the outside world in awhile. Though, that probably came with working with tech and resources equivalent to the dark ages. He would have to remember to ask when he went back to camp, his 'bunkmates' would probably know.

Ruffling his blond hair, he eyed the cart appraisingly, unsure if they could put anymore rocks in it without running the risk of overloading it for the changelings. As if to speak of the devil, a large black equine figure approached the two. Larger then most changelings he saw, its jagged horn reaching his upper chest compared to his lower stomach area. It calmly walked up to the duo, and he subconsciously moved to stand a bit closer to the girl, inadvertently shielding her from the equine like insect.

"This one has been informed you have completed work here. This one will move the rocks away" It said, looking up toward him with a neutral expression. Its voice caused a shiver to run down his spine as he was able to make out almost numerous voices coming from the drone.

"This one also alerts that you may return to..." It paused for a moment, and he was able understand it seemed confused, "The base camp...as others call it...or resume work with others. Do not overwork yourselves if you choose the latter. It is unwise" With that, the mine cart was enveloped in a sickly green glow as the changelings horn alighted in a similar color, and as if on its own power, began to roll toward the far end of the tunnel, the equine insect right behind.

The odd duo watched the changeling make its way down the tunnel line, staying in the center of the tunnel to avoid disturbing the other workers. Taking a glance at each other, the two clearly seemed unsure about whether to continue their work or return to the camp.

“I can go a little longer if you can. I’m not really tired that much” The man stated looking around for any other promising choices for work. The girl shrugged, offering a small smile.

“I haven’t exactly been using my muscles, well besides this one anyways” She said, pointing to her head. The older human laughed at her small joke and motioned over to a fellow pair of workers.

“Looks like they could use some help. You willing?”

She nodded. “Definitely”


The city of tents, Ember, Red Rock, base camp, or rather simply, 'that fucking hole in the ground' was the affectionate and rather demeaning set of nicknames given to the largest settlement of coalition forces that made up the bold group of miners digging and in some cases blasting their way through the ancient rock. Located in a cavern capable of fitting a five story building comfortably as well as holding six tractor trailers laid out end to end, the comparatively massive rocky structure housed the near entirety of the human, changeling, and diamond dog workers that had spent the last months in almost nonstop activity, barreling through rock and stone as if childsplay. This was of course, well in part to the human's combined fear and anger of the equines that had come to hold many of their fellow humans captive, their drive to get the operation done as quickly as possible to avoid any chance of complications occurring.

There was also the factors of the diamond dog’s natural affinity for digging and mining, coupled with the changelings assistance throughout the process allowed for an unbelievable speed of efficiency that left many well educated human engineers gawking at the progress the three races had managed to make in such a short time.

Some would claim this would be a bit too short.

One such person, or human to be specific, had this very exact thought, and had openly voiced her growing agitation at the races' progress. While not directly angry or upset at the missions chance of success growing increasingly better, it was the very destination of the operation that brought her great unease. Thanks to the various agents of the black insect equines, they had come to know nearly all the information they would need to know about their mission's goal, the facility that housed nearly a third of the total human population that had come to find itself on Equestrian soil.

While some would fail to understand her unease at the chance of freeing fellow humans from captivity, those that were in her position could easily sympathize with her feelings. For the born and raised English woman of the United Kingdom, the mantel of leadership that she had found herself thrust upon-and partially self elected, much to her own internal protests-had left her with increasing amounts of stress, being nearly the de-facto leader of the mission. Despite her position already solidified as a leader to the slap-job that was the so called 'New Government' of human races, her original posting had been practically all but a title, with no actual authority to back it up. Now however, she had the unbelievable task of managing the combined efforts of three races that had nearly nothing to no similarities, save for the time honored classic of a common enemy.

And now, even as the digging continued in earnest, she found herself conflicted, her morals pulling her this way and that to answer a question that would lead to a decision she was unsure she was capable of making. The greater fact was, it was her decision. Isolated from the larger authority of the new government, the mission's success and failure was entirely dependant on her and the fellow humans that made up the chain of command, a cold realization that had left her up for many 'nights' inside the cavern.

Victoria Allastiar found herself attempting to avoid these thoughts, the 36 year old calmly watching the flow of movement to and from the tunnel entrance to the tip of the digging team. From her elevated view at the 'command tent'-the largest tent structure to make up the settlement- she was easily able to make out the various human, equine, and canine workers move in and out of the tunnel. Holding the tend flap aside, she noted the looks of her fellow human beings that exited the hole.

She was surprised to note many appeared to be in high spirits, in particular a rather tall teen or young adult and what appeared to be a 15 or 16 year old girl, the taller figure making wild gestures about something only the two would know about.

Indeed, she had found that after the initial debacle of claustrophobia and 'space madness' that had originally affected a surprising number of her fellow humans during the first weeks of the operation, many had grown to enjoy the steady progress of the digging.

This was clearly not due in part to the ra-supply groups finding a rather larger base of targets to att-scavenge, no, not at all due to that.

Especially after one such group had returned from their raid with a surprising number of bottles of the alcoholic variety...

She practically groaned at the thought. She had nearly lost her voice yelling at the bastards.

Though she couldn’t deny the moral boost that been achieved from that. The Englishwoman had almost been terrified the ponies would hear the drunken singing of nearly 30 inebriated men and women, coupled with a few changers and dogs.

Ah well, she did have a slight difficulty remembering that night…she had woken up after all cradling a bottle of supposed wine like a newborn child.

Finding herself getting off track ,no longer interested in watching her fellow workers, she released her grip on the weathered beige tent flap, allowing it to limply fall back into place as she turned to the inside of the cloth structure.

A somewhat reminder of the older style tent structures used by armies of ancient times, the circular area before her was the relative lobby of the tent, as it branched off into several smaller rooms designated by additional tent doors or flaps, one in particular her own personal quarters. The lobby floor was made up of various carpets, allowing for someone to walk around barefoot compared to the rest of the tent city that lacked this comfort.

Hugging the sides of the tent was various furniture pieces, most however just simple wooden chairs for extra seating. Lighting the cloth structure was the familiar kerosene lanterns that had practically been hoarded by the humans for this operation, not to mention lighting the massive structure of the 'hive', humanity's latest home away from home.

The golden glow did well to illuminate the lobby to display its main feature, a massive rectangular table that was squarely positioned in its center, and where the rest of the human leadership found itself occupying.

Three other humans were sitting at the table, each in varying positions as well as various states of emotion.

A man with a clearly Asian decent sat at the far end of the table, hunched over with a bored expression as he twirled a ruby the size of a goliath beetle on the tabletop. She had originally come to believe he was from China or Taiwan, but had discovered upon him speaking that he lacked any form of an accent and had stated very plainly that he was born in the good old US of A, Cleveland to be exact. Wherever that was. He had introduced himself as Eric Lee, a ‘former’ banker.

Exactly opposite of him was another man, who was leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up on the table, eyes closed and brow furrowed in what appeared to be annoyance. Dressed in a thick brown cloak with its hood lowered, he had a somewhat annoyed look as his arms were crossed indifferently. Anton Belnov, a Ukrainian/Russian born was the leader of the recently christened ‘supply runners’- the individuals that chanced discovery everyday to get needed supplies for the coalition. Not to mention the most experienced in using, for a better term, magic.

She almost felt like a child again thinking about it like that.

The last human at the table was a stressed looking woman very similar in age to Victoria, seated at the middle, most of her concentration focused on her twiddling thumbs. Despite her finding out that this woman, Jessica Valentine, had maintained a job as an actual representative of small government, a mayor she stated; she found that the woman was borderline incompetent at times.

She assumed she didn’t stay in office for long.

Deciding then and there that their was no prolonging this anymore, she sighed, begrudgingly making her way toward said table, her footsteps almost non-existent against the fabric of the carpet. Only when she was relatively close to the table did the Asian man actually look up to her, soon followed by the woman in turn.

"So are we actually going to discuss this now or what?" He asked, the tip of his index finger pinning the top of the ruby to the tabletop. Letting out a much deeper sigh, Victoria practically collapsed into the seat in front of her, allowing the chair to take the full brunt of her weight at once. She rested her hands on the table, taking a moment to admire its smooth finish.

"It’s now or never" she replied, her focus still directed on the tabletop as her hands glided along its wooden surface. Her answer was followed by the Russian at the far end of the table to remove his feet abruptly, his arms nearly slamming down on the table in an audible slap.

"We should have done this long ago, not pull a plan out of our asses at the last possible second" he stated coldly, offering a glare at the other three in anger.

While Valentine shrunk back slightly at his glare and simply left Lee shrugging his shoulders, the Englishwoman returned the glare.

"So we're just going to be so willing to toss people headlong into danger?" She rebuked. The man simply rolled his green eyes.

"And sending them blindly in to a potential clusterfuck is such a better alternative" Belnov pointed out.

Victoria winced at the truth of his words, her gaze drifting back down to the table before her. It was not an idea she was fond of by any means, though that could be send about most of her situation. It was something she just felt was far out of her league, but had never decided to voice this.

They needed leaders.

She had volunteered to step up to the plate and now, she was a leader. A leader who had to face the challenges of potentially sending those under her command into a very likely hostile situation. Where people could get hurt, where they could die. It was not something she was interested in doing.

But she had to.

Someone had to.

Lee suddenly spoke up, his voice laced with anger. "Easy for you to say Ivan considering you’re the practical leader of your little raiding parties. If you’re so tough, how about we send in the raiders first hmm?" He sneered, twirling the ruby once more, it causing a small chattering along the wooden surface.

This was followed by the cloaked human glaring at the speaker, an index finger raised in indignation. Just for a moment, his finger glowed a faint crimson and coincidentally, the ruby stopped spinning. "Supply runners. We,are, supply runners. And for your information durak, those are the people feeding you. One should take a moment to offer some appreciation" He stated, his thick Ukrainian accent only adding to the strength of his statement. The second he was finished, the ruby fell on its axis, landing into the waiting hands of the American man, who offered a small glare.

Jessica Valentine, experience telling her the rising tension between the two sides was becoming dangerous, held her hands up in a placating gesture to the men.

"Now boys, lets try to keep this civil" She gestured calmly, the slightly oversized blouse she was wearing slumping somewhat along her shoulders. This caused a rather dramatic eye roll from Victoria, who rested her chin on her knuckles. Now she decided to speak up, where was that voice in all their other meetings?

"Well, look who decided to grow a backbone for once" She mocked, earring a glare from the woman before her.

"I’m just trying to keep us together thankyouverymuch" She huffed, only getting a grin from Victoria in turn. She found Valentine had a rather annoying ‘I am holier then thou’ attitude', something that rubbed the housewife in all the wrong ways.

"Really? Because all you seem to do is sit in the corner while the grown ups talk" She laughed, causing a huffed outrage from the other female. The momentary back and forth that had been caused by the two men had seemingly come to a halt as the two women traded insults, and to the surprise of most of the group, found that they could not refuse a moment of stoppage. Insults based on race, nationality, birth, one’s mother, and a variety of other things not spoken about in polite company erupted out of the mouths of the two women, the men joining in shortly after.
While one nearby could probably hear the various slanderous comments, thanks to its elevated position in the cavern, the tents shouting contest did not reach the ears of the humans workers, though it was unclear if the other species picked it up.

Finally, after many tense moments, there was a small pause in the shouting match, each member stopping for a second to catch their breath. Slumping back in his chair, Belnov sighed.

"Yebat menya..." He groaned. "We are all fucked aren’t we?"

The remaining three all glanced at their companion, the shouting match coming to an halt as his words sunk in. And in those words, much of what little power that had fueled the anger between the group melted away, resulting in everyone returning to their seats. A pregnant silence descended amongst the group, each contemplating the brutal truth of his statement. Thoughts raced through each of their minds, some of the stress from before returning anew.

Finally, though, the Englishwoman spoke up.

"Anton?" she asked, using the man's real name, immediately grabbing his attention.

"What are our chances of winning if your runners go in first? Do you think we could beat them with what you’ve got?" She said, running a hand through her shoulder length chestnut hair.

At this, Anton sighed, shaking his head in a negative. "No. We just don’t have the numbers. We only stand at 32 and that is hardly enough. That facility is supposedly housing hundreds of guards. Trained soldiers. Not the militia we claim ourselves to be. Even with te dogs and changers assisting us, we still would be at a disadvantage"

"Not to mention the queen is likely not to send any backup for this. You know how she has already 'invested so much into us'" Lee spoke up, emphasizing the last part of his speech with air quotes.

Victoria grimaced slightly at his words. Truth be told, most of the free human population owed its freedom largely in part to the changelings, their agents finding and bringing them to safety before the roundup-the time when many humans were arrested unjustly- began. The changeling queen, Chrysalis, if she remembered correctly, was generous enough to give humanity a place away from the prosecution that fell upon them.

Apparently, the changelings could relate.

They were more or less enemies of the state of Equestria, and were practically jailed upon sighting. This was supposedly due in massive part to the their attack on the capital city from which they found themselves more or less beneath, the siege spurred on by the fact that the changelings were starving from lack of emotional food sources, especially love. They said they attacked in desperation after diplomacy failed, Celestia refusing to help the black equines.

Well, that was their side of the story of course.

And there were rumors...

Thoughts aside, the queen had already supported the human operation with droves from the hive, but had stated vehemently that the attack was to fall on the shoulders of the humans. And what with the free humans being sheltered by her majesty, they had little power to overrule her.

"Maybe send in the dogs first? They seem pretty tough" The ex-mayor spoke.

Victoria scoffed at this suggestion. "So what? They’re the cannon fodder?". Sure, she wasn’t a diamond dog fan, but she at least held some affinity for them, especially considering they had made them get this far.

Valentine raised an eyebrow. "What?" She asked confused, her silver eyes narrowing.

Anton face-palmed in a rather uncharacteristic way. "Its soldiers you have no problem sacrificing for te greater good. They get shot up, you stay alive. Understand? Da?"

Valentine visibly paled at this. "I-I didn’t mean like that! Just, you know…they have natural defenses! Claws! Fangs! They could put up a fight!"

"But the ugh...can't believe I’m saying this... the ponies have magic! We know most of that facility houses unicorns! Ugh... stupidass fantasy land... We are the only ones that can fight that! Sending the others in first would more then likely cause more harm then good!" Lee intoned.

"Then we go all out" Victoria suddenly whispered, something clicking inside her head.

"What?" The two closest to her said simultaneously, looking on in disbelief, while the Russian simply raised an eyebrow.

"You heard me" She stated, her gaze locking onto the two. "We go all out. We send in everyone we can that can fight. We overwhelm them. Cause too much chaos they won’t be able to function properly. And in the confusion, we grab as many prisoners as we can"
Silence hung in the air as the others digested their compatriots plan. Their thoughts racing through their heads as they attempted to fully understand her plan. And in conclusion, did not find it satisfactory.

"So? That’s it?!" Valentine spoke, incredulous. "Just send in everyone and hope for the best?!? It’s practically suicide!"

"Da. It is" Anton muttered, causing a smirk from Jessica and a frown from Victoria.

"I like it" He grinned suddenly.

The ex-mayor's jaw nearly hit the table as she sputtered; her gaze switching from Victoria to Anton.

"Screw it. I’m in" Lee grumbled, still focused on his ruby. This caused his fellow America to look at him as if he had grown a second head, while he shrugged in indifference, his eyes practically stating ‘You got a better idea?’. Another silence followed as the lone naysayers’ gaze drifted across her companions.

"You’re all insane!" She finally spoke.

Victoria rolled her eyes. "That was just the rough outline. If we work on it, we could turn it into a real strategy" The Englishwoman motioned.

A sudden buzzing noise, similar to a bee but at a drastically higher volume, caught the group’s attention, and after a moment, a familiar black carpaced equine entered the lobby through its largest tent flap. It approached the table before stopping a few feet away, its iris-less eyes regarding everyone coolly.

"This one would like to report that the night cycle has begun for the time being. Shall this one alert the camp to 'Lights out'?" It asked, its tone indicating that of a female. Victoria nodded quickly, recognizing the changeling that was more or less her secretary thanks to ‘orders’ by the changeling command. How she recognized her was lost to even herself.

"Yes please, if you can. We'll be right here if you need us" She warmly answered.

The changeling shuddered slightly before nodding its head, seemingly ignoring the effect before.

"Understood. This one wishes you a 'good nights rest'" The changeling spoke again before it departed just as quickly as it had arrived.

Victoria turned back to the group, her gaze falling on all present. Stepping around the interruption, she found herself speaking sternly.

"So I'm going to just ask this just to be clear. Who's with me?"

"You have my vote" Lee spoke, the American saluting her with quick thumbs up.

"It’s a bold plan that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Of course I’m in" Anton smirked, the Russian stroking the small growing goatee on his face.

"I still think you’re all crazy" Victoria’s biggest annoyance, Jessica Valentine spoke, but for once had a playful smirk on her face. The Englishwoman found her respect suddenly rising for the woman, if only barely.

She nodded at each in turn. Her confidence rising at the support she had received.

That 'night' inside the cavern, long after the most of the lanterns that lit it dimmed to simulate night, a golden glow could be seen from the inside of the command tent, its occupants hard at work analyzing everything they had on their objective. Many times that night, angry shouting could once again be heard from the tent and multiply times did two women exit it in a shouting match of insults. However, the work would continue on, and by 'sunrise' the next morning, the four would lay exhausted at the table, but they would each have smiles on their faces.

For they had something that could potentially change everything.

What they had, was a plan.