There was such an eerie feeling in the conference room that Nathan knew something bad was going to happen. Regulus Lafaye warned him earlier that he had important matters to discuss, but he didn't mention a gathering of the entire magister assembly.
Lafaye was overdue, giving the six members of the assembly ample time to theorize on why they were summoned at this late hour. But they didn't. Unlike the morning of the Conventus, tonight nobody spoke.
They had now come full circle, having met privately with the Regulus on the day of the Conventus. That morning they had discussed the absurdity of the idea of a flood. Tonight, perhaps the idea was not so absurd.
Quinn, Bristol, and Gavin had all shown signs of anger since the Conventus. Random acts of violence caused by indigena interfered with their work and were a continual source of irritation.
Theo had not shown signs of anger, but constantly struggled with indigena relations. He was put in an impossible situation as head of security. Enforcing security on a planet of savages while also maintaining the core values of a non-violent, non-aggressive belief system was continually fraught with challenge.
Isaac, the last member, joined the meeting via phone. He was seldom able to leave his post in the communications room due to the sensitive nature of his job. As medius he was in charge of all communications, both from Earth to Caelus as well as Earth to carina.
Nathan wondered if the five of them felt as he did, that Lafaye intended to call for a flood. He had been hinting at a flood for days, even prior to the Conventus. Indigena relations had only gotten worse since then, as had the Caelan's anger management.
The mere thought of a flood tingled the base of Nathan's neck. A flood was more than drastic; it was an act of aggression that would forever change their lives on this planet. To flood. To come out of the shadows simultaneously and overwhelmingly. To insert themselves into indigena society with the use of psy, enforcing Caelan will everywhere in an effort to control.
A flood had always been theoretical. It had been intended only as a last resort, in cases of a serious identity breach or in issues of safety. It was never intended as a means to subjugate the people of Earth, or to bend their will for any sort of personal gain.
Nathan sighed, guilt-ridden, feeling as though he were on a slippery slope. He had been gathering indigena technology for the past several days, sending it back home for reverse engineering in accordance with Lafaye's instructions. State of the art electronics, designs, patents, and any artifact deemed worthy of integration had been sent home. While he didn't feel good about his actions, he understood the reasons for it. The indigena were like children. They had no true appreciation for anything. They squandered most of their inventions, and continued to demonstrate an inability to use them responsibly. On Caelus, these technologies would be applied efficiently and sensibly.
Lafaye finally appeared, entering the room with Volk. The two men were engrossed in a focused discussion, stopping just inside of the doorway. Lafaye carefully held his birdcage, looking at the floor as Volk emphatically made some sort of point.
"It doesn't matter who saw you," Lafaye interrupted him dismissively. "The only important thing is that everything is in place."
Volk nodded weakly.
"Everything is in place—you're sure?" Lafaye asked.
"Yes, Regulus."
"Did you test it?"
"Yes, I tested all of the equipment myself."
"Fine then," Lafaye said. "Go. Monitor it and report any—developments, immediately."
