Triple Point

Chapter 117: Regroup

Camilla

16 OCT 34AE, 0815

Redwood National Park, California

To put it optimistically, everyone made it out of Farallon alive (except for Senior, who was currently MIA), plus they got the evidence they needed to expose the Org's wrongdoing.

From a realistic perspective, all of that was still true. But their forces had been separated during their escape, they had lost their primary leadership, they didn't have any captives to support their evidence, and everyone was exhausted. Oh, and they were now stranded in the middle of a forest in Northern California, with no supplies for survival and absolutely no plan on what to do next.

At least, that was Camilla's takeaway from Abby's introduction to their all-hands meeting. And while her bluntness wasn't exactly appreciated by a few members of their worn down crew, Camilla knew that they couldn't waste time on niceties, especially not when the Org could find them at any moment.

When they were fleeing the Farallon Islands, the hundred Org reinforcements weren't far behind. At that moment, Abby had made a choice: the rescued captives and their injured fighters would rendezvous with their transport ship, while everyone else would act as the decoy to draw the reinforcements away. Sure, they ended up being outnumbered by about three to one, but most of them agreed it was their best option.

Thankfully, their escape ended up working flawlessly. Their decoy team managed to stay ahead of the Org reinforcements for hours, leading them on a wild goose chase along the west coast. And once the Telepathy Twin reported that their boat of escapees was in the clear, Miles easily used his illusions to hide them until the Exodos metas navigated them to a temporary hideout. 

And now, they seemed to be relatively well hidden in a dense forest of redwood trees. With the combination of the thick tree canopy and the abundance of natural fog, it served as a decent temporary hideout until they could figure out what they were going to do next; that is, if they could ever come to an agreement.

"Like I've been saying, we need to play it safe, now more than ever," an Alliance meta insisted for the fourth time that meeting. Ironically, their raised voice echoed throughout the clearing they were gathered in, and could probably be heard from a mile away if not for the group's sound-dampening precautions. "Right now, all we should be focused on is survival; exposing the Org can wait. Because one wrong move and we'll all be arrested or killed before we can make any sort of difference, and the Org will bury that evidence for good."

"Yeah, no thanks to your fearless leader," the Gorilla sneered, and a few Exodos metas murmured in agreement. "And now look, even her brother left without cleaning up her mess."

"He didn't leave us; we sent him back with the others," Sydney corrected. "And can you blame him? He just found out his sister had been lying to him for decades, and then she almost killed him. And now, she might even be dead. Have a little compassion, man."

"She's been lying to all of us," another Alliance meta grumbled furiously, ignoring the guidance from his neighbors to calm down. "She's been lying to the world, and the world deserves to know the truth."

"I would not worry too much," Hitomi calmly offered. "I can tell you from personal experience that most of the world does not care about the soap opera that is the United States."

"I know our situation is far from ideal," Abby raised her voice authoritatively before the arguments could escalate further, and with every passing second, she was beginning to look as haggard as Camilla felt. "Regardless of what we decide to do, we need to make sure we move forward as a team. Can we at least all agree on that?"