“Joseph, are you done with practise for the day?” Vasa asked as the young man staggered into the apartment, covered in sweat and breathing heavily.

“Y-yeah…” Joseph gasped. “Why?”

“I thought that after lunch, we could watch some more of your history. I really enjoyed your discussions on all the events we watched – what did you call them again?”

“The Crusades.” Joseph replied. “We only… saw one of them – you’ll find the others just as interesting. Yeah… that sounds good. Let me… just get a drink and rest…”

Vasa laughed. “Of course. I’ll prepare something to eat.”

Smiling to himself, Vasa went to the kitchen whilst Joseph collapsed onto the sofa. Staring up at the viewport, he wiped the sweat out of his eyes and began to search for the point where the pair had stopped watching the previous night.

His wrist phone lit up as a message came up. He glanced at it briefly, and once a few seconds had passed for him to absorb the words he was reading, he bolted upright.

“What?”

Group Chat [1 (One) Monf Weft] [Zack , Lola , Joseph , Cassie , Geoffrey , Serafina , Harrut , Kushel , Yasen , Levan , Alcor , Denneb , Caroli , Situla , Cassil , Vasa , Ephra , Mizar , Rana , Saiph , Fafnir ]

Mi just a forewarning, we’re finally hitting that point.

Fa What point?

Mi my group is now heading to the deepest parts of the Reaches

Mi we’re gonna lose signal

Wait, that was a possibility? JC

Mi unfortunately, yes

Le Once you go too far into the Reaches you can no longer send messages

Le We wanted to inform people because we might need some guidance on how to find the incubator

“Vasa, are you reading this?” called Joseph.

“Yeah.” Vasa replied from the kitchen, his voice somewhat muffled by the door. “I’ll reply once my hands aren’t full; just give me a few moments longer.”

“What are we going to do?”

“I’m not actually sure.”

Sa that sounds like it could be some downright nasty trouble

Sa if stuff goes wrong out there we could be wigging out and wouldnt be able to message you about it

Mi yeah, we’re aware of the issues.

GS hey thats not gonna be a problem, right? i can always help!

“Alright, here. Eat up.” Vasa said, exiting the kitchen and handing Joseph a plate of food. Whilst Joseph ate, Vasa tapped away on his wrist phone, looking up every so often to watch the events on the viewport with interest.

Va Are we sure that would be a good idea? Geoffrey, we still don’t know the possible problems with your bilocation.

GS gonna level with you

Mi i’m not sure about this myself.

GS i already did it the other night and it was fine

GS vasa can give me the instructos and then i can travel out here and guide ya

LZ That… isn’t the worst idea Geoffrey’s ever had.

Va I’m nervous about allowing it, but I suppose we need a detailed guide, and having someone there in person… yes, that might be best.

Va Geoffrey, can I trust that you’ll take this seriously?

CJ He’s never taken anything seriously.

GS my friends lives are on the line if they step wrongly in the reaches right?

GS with those stakes i gotta do my best for everyone

GS you can trust me

Vasa massaged his temple. Joseph looked up at Vasa with an earnest stare.

“He will do this. I think it’s a good idea. If we give them the instructions for finding the incubator now, we won’t know if they were successful until they either return or… don’t come back. If Geoffrey goes over there, he can keep us informed every step of the way.”

“Information is key.” Vasa agreed. “Right.”

Va If everyone else is OK with that, then let’s do it. Geoffrey, head to Zion at your earliest convenience, and I’ll brief you on how to find the incubator and stay safe in the deepest Reaches.

GS sounds hip my guy

SA sounds guy my hip

GS NICE

Le I think that would be best

Mi yeah, we need all the help we can get

Ra So long as Geoffrey comes back for a little bit each day, he can’t miss his training

GS fiiiiiiine

ZL Agreed.

Va Alright. In that case, I believe we’ve come to a conclusion. During the time when we can’t talk, I hope that all of you remain safe. Find the incubator, then find the Universe Seed, and most importantly… come back home.

Al We shall! I speak for everyone when I saw we’re VERY EXCITED to finally get out of the Reaches after this!

Ca awesome! yeah lets do it!

Vasa smiled to himself.

“Well, I think that’s all worked out.”

“Yeah, looks like it.” Joseph said, grinning at Vasa. “We’re gonna do this. You know that, right?”

“I’m starting to believe it more and more.”

“Glad to hear it.” replied Joseph. “Now let’s chill out with some crusading.”

Vasa heaved a sigh, and for a brief moment, his head rested on Joseph’s shoulder before he righted himself. Joseph fought down a blush.

“Sounds good.” Vasa muttered, yawning. “Oh, god, I can’t remember which Raymond this guy is. Poitiers, right?”

Joseph answered him whilst they sat together, watching the Crusades. For the first time, his daydreams of picnicking and researching together featured someone else instead of Geoffrey, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about it.