After defeating Irif, everyone assumes that the hardest part is over, and that they can finally relax for a moment. But while flying back to Enoria, Kaleth and the others are attacked by an ancient enemy, who they thought was long dead. And he has a...
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Nef had lost all comprehension of time. Neither he nor Yorin had a watch, but he doubted he'd check even if one of them did. There was just so much wonderful technology around Nef didn't understand, but he wanted to.
Gods, did he want to.
He had to force himself not to ask, though, because they were currently trying to get close to one of the hovercrafts blocking the way home.
"So...you just happen to have a drone?" Nef asked as he watched the video feed from the drone in question with Yorin. It wasn't like drones were expensive or uncommon—though a license to use them was now necessary because some assholes just had to have gone and ruined everyone's fun—but it was still really random for Yorin to own one. Especially one that could handle Iritharian weather because, oh gods, it was cold and windy. Particularly in the south, or so Nef heard.
"Of course. I made it for the purpose of monitoring climate change," Yorin replied, and Nef's eyebrows reached his hairline. "And, perhaps...it's quite fun to fly it."
"Climate change?" What was Yorin talking about? There was no climate change. Unless he was talking about monitoring it for thousands of years. Which was just insane to Nef.
"Oh, yes, I forget you don't know these things," Yorin said with an apologetic shrug before focusing back on the large monitor in front of them. "The evolution of industry tends to be quite damaging to the environment. We went through it thousands of years ago, but thankfully a few generations before I was born my people managed to slowly start to repair the damage. Only to destroy half the planet with radiation later."
Yorin paused for a moment, clearing his throat.
"Anyway, once your people started reaching the point of possible global environmental damage, Enor created a device to keep dangerous amounts of carbon dioxide, and other gases in check, and sent hundreds of these devices into the atmosphere. I never went up there to study them, but after Enor died, I decided to monitor their effectiveness."
Nef just blinked at him and stared for a moment before shrugging. Better to just accept this information. "Okay then."
"You no longer have anything to fear," Yorin said. "Relioth, as deathly afraid of anything to do with nuclear fusion as he is, made sure the world would turn to alternative sources of energy. And with the reserves of coal as low as they are, it was not difficult, I imagine."
"Right, my only worry now is death by an army of cars," Nef joked half-heartedly. His smile was more a grimace as his heart clenched. They could see them now, and there was a ridiculous amount of them. Four or five in a row, lining the coast as far as they could see. There had to be hundreds at least.
"I don't think calling them cars is accurate," Yorin commented, bringing the drone ever closer to the blockade as he narrowed his eyes. Nef really started wonder how close Yorin wanted to get because there was no way someone of the people driving those aircraft wouldn't notice and shoot the drone down.
