NOVEL NEXT Loop 257 - Part 5
“Alright, I like what you’ve done so far. The diversion and giving them a well-deserved bloody nose with no real losses on our side was smart, but it’s also just a start. Before we get into the next steps, we need to cover information security. From this point forward, anyone who doesn’t already know where someone else starts a loop is not to be told about it. This is especially true for me,” Harold had taken over the briefing after he himself had been caught up on the events. He reminded Cal somewhat of Andy, but harder, likely from a life of whatever being a spy really entailed.
“Sleek, you heard the man, no telling me where Harold lives, same for you Fulginanis, as I assume you can tell where the portal ends,” Cal said.
“Thank you, and to that end, I will need to borrow Sleek again so we can form another gateway from which everyone can operate back and forth,” Harold said.
“Of course, I love trips! You will have to bring Scrump too, though, if you don’t want Cal to come along,” Sleek replied, dancing across the air from Cal to Mother Scrump and petting the cat when she landed.
“Understood, at some point, I will need a primer on how spirit bonds work exactly, or as exactly as you can give me. Continuing down the need-to-know basis, is it possible to move Bug to the root network? As I understand it, it won’t work on humans, but can she be added without Ethel’s help?” Harold asked, looking at Gus as he did so.
“Maybe I’ve never really done it without her,” Gus started to explain before Libby cut him off.
“Yes, I can do it. I understand how the system works now, and with Bug present, it is easy enough for the system to copy her location from her brain. It is an amazing thing Ethel has created, and I sincerely wish to have a long conversation with her about mana manipulation and computer automation,” the librarian robot answered.
“Good. I want her added to secure Trashcat’s starting location. From what I understand, Bug initially found Trashcat, and while I know the network picks her up earlier than when he found her now, I’d still like to protect that information as much as possible as it’s another link to my whereabouts,” Harold further explained.
“I understand the purpose of all of this. I was in the military, so I promise I’m not trying to downplay it, but what is the next step to getting my wife and son back? Both of them have already been through so much since this all started, and the idea of them experimenting on them, possibly turning them into their zombie soldier things, is horrifying. We need to free our people,” Stan said, his voice held steady despite the fact that his face didn’t share it.
“We are going to war. Well, it’s probably better to say we are already at war, and this is just a new front. The next steps are going to be raiding several locations I know of that, at the very least, used to be Agency buildings. While those of us who are most equipped to do the smashing and attacking, I will be doing some covert operations. Is anyone in the room interested in learning how to blackmail a senator?” Harold smiled at his question. Cal didn’t expect there to be any takers and was surprised when Alfred stood to speak.
“I think I would work as your best accomplice in something like that. People expect dogs as companions. No one would bat an eye to things I’d be able to learn besides those who already know who I am, which should help us gain even more intel,” the dog explained his reasoning.
“I like it. Alfred is on my team, then. The next big question is, is there anything we can do to increase our strength during this loop quickly? Any untapped resources we are sitting on?” Harold asked the room.
Cal had a few possible ideas but started with the one he would have already done by now if it hadn’t been for the last two failed loops. “Bug, do you think you can heal Grannus? Getting their realm working and connected to ours would not only give me a power boost, but it would also give us some potential resources to be mined in the future.”
“Hmm, probably. I was gonna try already when I had the chance. It’s not fair Grannus has been stuck outside the void house for so long. He should be here partying with everyone, well, when there are parties again. I miss the capybaras,” Bug answered with a sad look back at Cal.
“We will get them all back, Bug, no matter what it takes. Alright, that’s one thing Bug and I can work on after this meeting. Does anyone else have any suggestions?” Cal asked the room
“I will see what I can do to summon some of the Arctic primal creatures here. They may be able to supplement our fighters. I also have enough materials for another two doses of loop-awareness concentrate, assuming the loop runs to completion,” Andrew answered.
“That needs a better name, but good. We can probably get some more materials this loop during the raids anyway. But much more importantly, I heard you can summon penguins. Is this true, Andrew? Have you been holding out on us?” Cal asked, trying his best to keep the laughter out of his question.
“He can also summon a polar bear!” Bug interjected before Andrew could respond.
“Yes, probably. I could in the Under Library. I will try to reestablish contact out here as well,” Andrew answered, looking both happy and annoyed at the same time.
“Do we have any candidates for the injection?” Harold asked.
“Besides a few more of the animals? Not really. There’s a couple of people I’d consider that we’ve worked with before, especially Tim, though I wouldn’t be surprised if the Agency thinks he’s already loop-aware following our Mars mission,” Cal answered.
“We can lengthen that list later. For now, I’m going to get another gateway established so we can start some real raids unless anyone has anything else to talk about.” Harold said, scanning the room as he spoke.
“Nope, looks like we are good for now. Bug you’re with me. Scrump, Sleek, you’re with Harold. Everyone else, let’s meet back up in a couple of days for Agency raid planning,” Cal’s words were followed by several nods. Harold had taken control of this situation handily, and Cal was grateful for it. Now, it was finally time to help at least one of his friends, the one who had been waiting patiently for far too long.