Ultima Ratio

Chapter 77: Expect the Unexpected

It didn't take Izzy long to determine that the device was encrypted almost exactly as Danya's had been, and that was enough to assume that it indeed belonged to Victor Garza. While neither Izzy nor Quyen could break through its security, they both assured they could still track the wristband it was trying to connect to, given that they were within a certain proximity. While that wristband may not be attached to Garza himself, there was at least a chance its whereabouts would be a clue on its own.

They finally had a lead. They were finally one step closer to ending the war.

The rest of the day was spent preparing for their departure. For Quyen, Makana, and Izzy, that meant configuring their sensors to search for Garza's signal and verifying that their plane was ready for a potentially lengthy journey. For everyone else, that meant trying to restore some of the life back into Pali Uli, leaving it better than they found it.

It was an impossible task, but they had to try. So they did what they could, collecting the salvageable scrap wood from the demolished houses and using them to patch those that suffered the least damage. Akira managed to keep up for about an hour until her vision began to waver. After that, Danya forcefully prevented her from doing anything remotely strenuous, and Akira delegated herself to simply collecting the strewn belongings amidst the destruction.

After a solemn dinner and a restless night, they left before sunrise the next morning, eager for victory.

Of course, they expected their gratification to be significantly delayed. Without the ability to access wide-range sensors, their plan was painfully old-fashioned: fly around the world until they hit something. At the very least, the technology that came with their gifted-then-stolen Concordian aircraft could cover a little more ground than what the UN had, but it wasn't by much. As such, they started their journey by heading north, intending on altering their trajectory depending on weather patterns and military movements.

No one expected their sensors to pick up a signal eight hours into their journey, but that's exactly what happened.

"It's coming from Alaska," Makana said as the others huddled around the cockpit. "In the middle of nowhere, by the looks of it."

"Are you sure this thing is working properly?" Jivan asked, their gaze still bleary from the nap they just awoke from. "Seems awfully convenient, no?"

Quyen glared at them. "Are you doubting our abilities, Gupta?"

"Yeah, are you?" Izzy chimed in from next to her, defiantly crossing his scrawny arms over his puffed-out chest.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Jivan mumbled, leaning slightly closer to Sam's ornamental biceps.

Their highly reliable tech led them to a small western city called Bethel. As they made their approach, a cursory review of their destination showed it hadn't changed much from its pre-war state with most of its ten thousand residents adamantly staying put in their homes.

"It's smart, actually," Makana said once they had landed a couple kilometers away from the city. "In small communities, everyone knows everyone. And any word of outsiders travels fast."

"So you have to be extra careful that you don't get seen," Quyen said as everyone watched Jivan and Navin bundle up in thick jackets for their reconnaissance.

Jivan frowned. "Rude. Are you doubting our abilities, Hale?"

"Absolutely," Quyen replied immediately.

"You should've seen that one coming," Navin muttered.

Jivan scowled. "Whose side are you on, anyway?"

Thankfully, the siblings managed to locate their target and scope out the surrounding area within three hours. Unfortunately, there was no way of knowing if the community's rumor mill started running, and the team was going to have to trust that their self-proclaimed recon experts knew what they were doing.