Gerhard was stunned. Utterly and completely in shock, by the performance given by his team-mate and comrade, Dr. Lucas Amato. 'He's insane.' Gerhard<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic">thought</span></span>to himself, his mouth open to such an extent that a truck could have driven through it. 'Utterly and completely insane!' Gerhard agin,<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic">thought</span></span>to himself. 'I mean...'<br/><br/>Gerhard's thoughts flashed back to the words he had exchanged with Lucas before leaving the lad to his own devices in the cafeteria, "You don't need to wait for an opportunity, or a chance, to laugh and jest, Lucas. You just need to do it, is all.", and horror promptly crossed his face. Alas, there was nothing to be done for it. "We're about to be sent on a mission that could change the very face of the world as we know it. That involves the lives of not just ourselves, but countless untold thousands...' Gerhard shook his head. All he could think was, 'bad timing. Just... horrible, timing.'<br/><br/>The entirety of the staff and everyone else in the room laughed at Lucas's jokes. There was applause at the end, as well. But the laughter was nervous. The applause did not burst forth, like thunderous adulation. It was mechanical. Polite. Out of the corner of his eye, Gerhard noticed an HQ elder press his palm directly to his face, and shake his head. Gerhard had not met the man, so it was unclear just what position he held in the hierarchy.<br/><br/>Lucas yielded his speech to the master strategist, who quickly cleared his throat and unfurled a large map over the surface of the table. The large projector also putted to life, revealing a computer generated image of the overland terrain. The strategist, a tall, brawny man with a cigar permanently stuck to his mouth, ran his finger over the paper map, giving a short nod to another staff member who stood off to the side.<br/><br/>The image on the projector changed smoothly into a birds eye view of the terrain, swooping down and around the entire terrain that surrounded the city. A small smile touched briefly upon Gerhard's features, as he recognized the small northern valley, within which was his trading outpost. The region was only on the map for the briefest of seconds, however, as the animation swerved back around to show the region due east of the great city. Maybe a little bit further north.<br/><br/>"All. Right." The big burly brute glanced in the direction of Lucas, Thea, Dan, and Gerhard, and snorted. "Listen up, you snots. The upper dome is under constant surveilance from high level orbiting sattellites, hight altitude drones, and countless ground cameras and seismic detectors. Even if you could scale the outer wall, you wouldn't get past the second one directly lining the city. There's a 5 KM dead zone between the outer wall and inner. No where to run, and no where to hide."<br/><br/>Brutus paused and gave them a stare. "You get caught there, it's a death trap. Don't fuck that up." He said, pointing his finger at the group He then unfurled another map, this own showing topological data. Right on cue, the camera on screen moved smoothly several kilometers to the south and east. There was a dried up river basin at the bottom of the screen. Near the top, on the other hand, was a raging river.<br/><br/>"Now, the old St. Lous changed course after the inundation. We know that the new river flows directly underneath the city. It comes back out from underground right here." Brutus stabbed the projector screen with the butt of his cigar. "The big wigs of Lumina know this. Maintenaince pipes and trails snake the area. There are service entrances that can be accessed here. Surveillance is still rated triple threat. We don't have full reconnaissance reports from the region. You four snots<span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">might</span></span>be able to get through them."<br/><br/>"If, after site reconnaissance, you find that you can't get through via the waterway service entrances, then you'll need to go down here." Again, the strategist thrust the butt of his cigar against the projector screen, where the dry riverbet was. "There are waterway service corridors down here, as well, but they predate the inundation. Still, we know that this was the old exit of the St. Lous. You should be able to find your way to a junction, and from there you kiddies<span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">'might'</span></span>be able to find a way into the new service lanes. It's a maze down there, and the damned Luminati know it, so surveillance is rated only at standard threat."<br/><br/>That was the end of the plan, essentially. This big, gruff man took one final puff and let a long stream of heavy smoke escape from his nostrils. "It's near suicide either way. You'll be able to communicate with HQ in short bursts and long intervals. Our batteries will only be good for 3 days by the time you get there. It's been a while since we've had people inside Lumina. Last we knew, their technology had far outpaced ours. If those batteries go, there's no guarantee you'll find compatible tech to replace them."<br/><br/>"That's it." He said. Gerhard was perfectly inclined to believe him. Another staff member moved in to take the clicker, just as Lucas had passed it to this guy. But the big guy held the staff member off with a gesture and a grunt. Holding up his big burly hands, he seemd to say, "wait." And so the staff member complied.<br/><br/>This man looked at each of the four teammates directly in the eye. He took the cigar out of his mouth, holding it in between his knuckles. His hands were shaking. The man fought back his tears. "Just... get your asses back here. In time for supper, you hear? Supper. That's all."<br/><br/>The big guy handed the clicker off the staff member, and the room erupted into a thundering round of applause, a standing ovation for several minutes.<br/><br/>The Leader grabbed them and spoke, "Pack your stuff. You're leaving tommorrow morning at dawn. Good luck."<br/><br/>* * *<br/><br/>Gerhard held the reins of his horse gently by the hands. He stood to the side of it, looking into the eyes of the mare. The mare looked back into his. He patted her cheek. "Hey, girl. I guess you're mine, huh? Beautiful. From now on, that's what I'll call you." He smiled, and took out one of the apples they had been given for the trip for feeding the horses. "Here you are." He said, and smied as she ate it with great relish.<br/><br/>The other three stood nearby, each of them with their respective rides. The sun was just above the horizon, belching a glorious red across the sky like the explosion of a thousand suns. Before them lay the open stretch of the desert. There was no sound but for the whisper of the wind, mingling with dust. As far as the eye could see... they could see nothing.<br/><br/>"And so it starts."