A Dance Of Crowns & Thrones | Book I

Chapter 39 | The Makings Of You

Suffering from the worse night sleep from the beds on the base, Eko rubbed her eyes tiredly against the co-pilot's chair.

The only decent thing to happen that morning besides the storm being exaggerated and clearing up during the night was that she had found her way to the training arena that morning where Matthew, CJ, and Fae, had been training.

Opting to join them for the hour endurance session prior to their departure to continue their search, Eko found herself with an unprecedented view of the man who had been the source of tantalizing pleasure in her dreams during the night.

To Eko's observation, it became apparent that both CJ and Fae struggled to keep pace with their rigorous training. Their efforts fell short compared to herself and Matthew's performance.

Following the training session, breakfast quickly followed suit. Eko managed to freshen up, get dressed, and return to the ship. Abigail had efficiently loaded the coordinates into the ship's system in preparation for their departure.

"Guidance three and four had picked up the survivors on our end," Jesse's face emerged on the screens in front of her, Matthew nodded slowly in the pilot's chair  beside Eko as he continued with his reports on the secondary screen before him.

Jesse, with Toni and a few of the soldiers, had been onsite at a base east of them, "they've been moved to Sea-tac before dawn." The red headed continued.

Toni leaned in, making his presence known on the comms, adding, "Daniel mentioned that he dispatched scouts during the early morning hours over the past few days."

Matthew, in deep thought, raised an eyebrow and turned his attention to Toni, waiting for further details. Toni continued, "He did come across a few stragglers, but there have been no new sightings or encounters as of last night."

"All the same," Jesse grabbed the tablet from a soldier behind her, and she nodded, indicating two minutes. "The stories are the same on the attacks. Nobody has seen anything differently, nor have we found anyone else from the crown court."

"Reapers materialized," Toni glanced up from the tablet, locking eyes with Matthew and Eko. "They appeared simultaneously with the attacks. The palace suffered partial destruction. According to the collected accounts, there was a three-minute gap between their appearance and the subsequent decimation of the moon, as corroborated by the elders."

"Sounds 'bout right," Eko agreed, looking first at Toni and then at Matthew, raising her takeaway coffee cup to her lips. She eagerly consumed the warm liquid that brought some vitality to her morning.

"Cid mentioned earlier that we're also returning," Toni said, tilting his head in confusion.

"I read that too. The other locations have already been assessed by the Cela Team and reported back, so yeah, we're heading home," Matthew replied, shaking his head.

"Right!" Toni exclaimed with excitement. "We'll be seeing you in just a few hours. You know what this means, right!?"

Matthew glanced up at the screen, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips. "Escobar, here we come."

Toni slammed down the controls, capturing Jesse's attention immediately. She quickly activated the mute function, and both Eko and Matthew turned their full focus to the unfolding scene. They watched as Jesse vigorously waved her finger, animatedly shouting at Toni, who assumed a defensive posture, his hands raised to defuse the situation while containing his laughter.

Leaning forward in her chair, Eko struggled to hold back her laughter, careful not to let the coffee in her mouth dribble out.

"Okay bye guys," Matthew chuckled, reaching over to switch off the control panel. As the screens reappeared, he returned his attention to typing on the main control panel.