Alexandria pulled her finger away from the diminutive plant just as one of its spikes thrust out toward her, missing by millimeters. That Dr. Ruberg had gotten the thing to survive in this climate was a small miracle in and of itself. The ecologist would have loved to pose the doctor some questions, or even just play with the comfortingly familiar flora for a bit longer, but it was time to pay attention.

The woman sat quietly, looking to each of the team members as they took a turn speaking. A small smile visited her lips as she realized how cordial everybody was being with each other. It was a far cry from the fiasco of a briefing they'd undergone yesterday. She was unable to detect that the open hostility from the previous day had simply coagulated into something more insidious. No, it made sense to her that everybody should be a bit less on edge. After all, this mission carried with it much less baggage than the previous one. Secretly, the ecologist was relieved with the nature of the assignment. Everard couldn't well butcher a kaiju they weren't fighting. She wanted a chance to speak with the young man one-on-one before they were thrust into another life and death situation involving the beasts he so seemed to despise. Given their shared scientific background, she was certain she'd find common ground with the boy. That aside, however, there was something about the intel the group had been provided with that bothered Alexandria.

"I'm glad that we all seem to be on the same page." Alexandria thought out loud, giving a wide grin as she pressed her open palms together, and remaining blissfully unaware that everybody was reading from a different playbook. Mikan's strategic run-down seemed perfectly reasonable to her, so she opted not to comment on it, and instead cut directly to the subject of her concern. She turned to the commander.

"That said, I have a small inquiry regarding this assignment." The woman spoke measuredly now. When her superior officer responded simply by raising an eyebrow, she cleared her throat and continued. "So, uh, I believe it was stated earlier that this Randy should be approached by somebody with combat experience. Should we take that to mean that he intends to, um..."

Almost afraid to finish the question, Lexi looked around at the other pilot's faces. Nobody seemed eager to complete her thought for her.

"...you know, fight?"

The commander allowed the group to make remarks about one another. He was about to speak in an attempt to lower the tension before he was spoke to by the Selvan pilot.
The commander opened his folder.
"Randy has cause. 8 non-fatal injuries to military personal. When speaking to him you all should be best to not upset him. It is simply a safety precaution to have combat experience." His gaze panned across the table "And since you all are still at odds with one another it's best that you all spend some time as a team. Now, Suit up and get out there." Just as last time he snapped his folders on the table before taking his leave.

The Lieutenant stepped forward giving a quick salute. "Mission Control will be standing by. Once each pilot has confirmed they’re ready the mission will begin. Good luck. Doctor, if you'll follow me I'll show you to your lab."

Doctor Ruberg stood "A pleasure to meet you all, if you find anything remember to let me know." She let out a huff as she picked up the tank with the plant and began to make her way out.

---
The pilots made their ways to their respective mechs. As the lights began to flash and supports moved, engines roared to life. CO Abigail's voice broke over the comms.
"Alright team, your readings are coming in good and clear." The hangars opened with roars and hisses of machinery. "All mechs are clear to scramble."

The march was long and the various climate changed caused pilots to be on the lookout and re-calibrating balance systems as the traversed the continent. Before the pilots knew it the intense heat of the Saratumti Desert was upon them. Traversing the shifting sands took some time to get used to for some. Before long the great city of Habnaji came into sights just as dusk began to fall. Habnaji's distinct lighthouse was lit. The beam of light danced across the sands causing small reflections to dazzle the pilots as it did. The winds picked up the glittering sands and allowed them to dance across the dunes. Raza and Safiya couldn't help but feel excited for the coming of Aleta. The pilots could see clouds begin to form in the sky, the info was correct Aleta would appear any moment now.
The team continued to move along the beautiful landscape around the city till they saw the small house. The refurbished chassis stuck out easily in the sand. Outside there was a umbrella made of hard light shielding and a chair beneath it. In the chair was a man matching Randy's pictures. Next to him was a drink cooler and a large fluffy sheepdog. next to the house was a fenced in area with several large and healthy Quesmoas. When they approached the man looked over their mechs before speaking.
"Oi' What do y'all want now? You're starlin' my flock!" He motioned to his Quesmoas.

The journey to Saratumti was quite uneventful for Safiya, though she relished the thought of returning to her homelands. The climate was much more to her liking and the feeling of being close to home was a welcome prospect. Her mech being built for this particular biome, traversed the dunes with relative ease, and silently helped the others as they dealt with some of the more difficult portions of the desert.

The swirling clouds above signaled the arrival of Aleta, a force of nature that Safiya both admired and feared. So majestic a creature, and so powerful, whose existence proved vital to the people of the desert. If her people could manage to work in tandem with this kaiju, surely there was hope for the rest of humankind to do the same. At least, that was what she hoped.

It was not long until the group came upon Randy who immediately told them off for startling his flock of Quemoas. She had to admit, the man looked no better than the picture that was shown. Still, it was his mind that had made him the legend he was today. Safiya noted that he had fashioned an umbrella with hardlight technology. It made her feel mildly proud of the own hardlight modifications she had designed for Solar Plexus. She looked to one of the others - she assumed Raza - to make contact with the engineer. They would have to be quick though, for Aleta's approach could make any such conversations futile.

The monk moved to speak, the first words he had uttered in a week. The long road had provided the ideal opportunity for meditation, and Raza had come to terms with the task given him by the Will of the Desert. If pilot of Miracle was the role by which he was meant to serve and restore balance to the planet, then Aleta be praise. It would be so.

The monk raised the Arbiter’s left hand to its heart and the right to its head, a traditional Saratumti greeting.

“Hail, master of fire and steel. Aleta’s blessings upon you. Rise, for the Will of the Desert has called you to the world’s aid.”

Randy scoffed at Raza's greeting.
"Don't ya' think that's a bit to formal? And I thought I was clear to the last guys, I ain't gonna go unless you got a good reason." The man sat back in his lawn chair before reaching in a cooler and removing a can of alcohol.
"No t' mention, with how you talk, you probably don't want a guy like me in the military."

Randy looked up as the sky began to darken with clouds as it did the various lights on the city dimmed to avoid distracting the large kaiju. Even Randy adjusted some setting to make his home dim. Small droplets began to dot the ground. Aleta would soon be upon them.

As the pilots began to take in the new sights around them Abigail's voice came over the comms
"Hey guys, we're tracking some unusual subterranean readings. Could just be some mining from the undercities. We'll keep you posted if we learn more."

Raza was doing a fine enough job for the moment, if you asked Everard. His phrasing was brusque, but the monk’s approach to diplomacy was surprisingly sensible given the incredibly blunt introduction the man had given not a week before. Here on the field, Raza seemed perfectly capable of needlessly flowery language and frustratingly vague requests, the cornerstones of all diplomatic communication. Perhaps the muscle man had a shred of grace to him after all.

What attempts at communication did concern the Obernian were Abigail’s.

“Pardon me, Abigail.” Ev’s overly formal voice joined her on the team’s comms. “But Saratumti volunteered the most MIRACLE pilots out of any nation, so they must be on board with this initiative. Surely it’s possible to coordinate with their government for information? I’d be much more comfortable once we confirm that those readings are human mining activity. In the meantime,”

He switched over to public frequency for Randy’s benefit.

“Excuse the interruption, but HQ is getting some unusual readings from below. I suggest we take this discussion to higher ground.”

“The boy speaks wisely,” Raza continued. “See how the Desert itself wills you join us, and hastily. The chaos wrought by the fallen threatens the balance of the world. He who is able and will not lend his aid is no better than the forces of destruction from which he runs. Refuse to come with us and see your soul forever stained by the blood of preventable catastrophe. Make haste.”

Yikes. Mikan understood Raza was deeply fixated on his calling, but the way he talked to Randy it was almost like he'd never seen another person before, let alone talked to one. The greasy mechanic clearly wasn't going to be swayed by riddles and demands. He neither returned the greeting Raza and Safiya shared- she assumed it was Saratumti in origin- when he offered it, and it was clear he wasn't interested in forced recruitment. He wasn't the only problem, though Ev seemed to already be on that.

"Thanks for being on the ball with Abby," Mikan's message read. "I was kind of worried about that too. Keep us informed, and if it turns out to be something bad, take my role as point with Raza until I get back."

As it would have appeared on his screen Rankaku would have already crouched down, opening itself for Mikan to escape. "Hey there," NVOX would chime as she would slowly approach the man. "Name's Mikan. Sorry about startling your flock."

In an annoyed voice Abigail responded "That's a good idea Ev. I will talk to the Saratumti Government. I'll let you know when we have more info."

Randy rolled his eyes at the situation. "Look 'ere I ain't leaving my house. Even I were, I don't see much high ground around here."
His gaze shifted to the newly introduced Mikan. "Why 'Ello there, finally someone that doesn't talk in proverbs. The birds will be fine once you leave here."

The rain began to increase. The pitter patter of rain began to make itself known as it hit the mechs. Then it could be heard the large wing flaps off in the distance, to those that had heard it before there was no doubt. Aleta could be heard approaching.

“We waste time.”

Raza hadn’t bothered to switch to private comms.

“The Stormbringer approaches. Best we power down and await her passage, lest we deter her from her path to the city.”

The snippy tone coming in over the radios did little to abate Everard’s grievances with command’s lack of coordination. His initial concerns were quickly shifting to genuine worries as the unmistakable signs of Aleta’s approach manifested, and they were a thousand times worse than the videos online had ever made them seem. Rain and thunder out on the sea? Soothing as anything. Here in the sands, it was enough to make him shudder.

Externally calm and collected, however, his response echoed back smoothly over the private frequency.
“Please do take your time, HQ. We only have 5 pilots putting their lives on the line out here.”

Not wanting to further interrupt Randy’s conversation with Raza, he thanked Mikan back with a quick two-fingered salute from his mecha. The Kaiyokese pilot’s attitude had admittedly impressed him; as awful as she was outside of the field, she knew how to create a cooperative atmosphere on mission.

Raza for his part apparently knew how to create an atmosphere of insanity, and Everard soon regretted not interrupting the monk. The mere idea of powering-down their only safety nets out here was so inordinately maddening that Everard’s composure cracked immediately.

“Are you bloody daft!? For all we know, that signal below is a sand-monstrosity twice the size of Aleta come to swallow the lot of us whole. Until HQ gets itself together, we need the whole team ready to retreat at a moment’s notice.”

“What we need, boy, is to for the stormbringer’s path to remain clear.”
Thankfully for Everard, Raza’s reprimand came over the inter-mech channel.
“The clouds may frighten, but Aleta brings life to the sands. We need only assist her in finding the path. Remain on standby if you must, but eliminate all external sources of light.”
Raza paused, waiting for another round of the tremors that had placed an unease in the back of his mind. In that moment, all was still.

“It is rare,” he eventually continued, “though not unheard of, for the wormlords to roam this way. If one should emerge, the Desert’s Will has seen fit to place use here to contain the threat. Let us spread out, lest we all be swallowed at once.”
With that, Raza marched some 300 feet northward, turned The Arbiter to face the others, and powered down.

The sands of the desert weren't at all the the sand you find on a beach. Course and dry, it was hard to find your footing as they shifted underfoot but still didn't compact into a hold. Still Mikan drew closer to Randy as steadily as she could. It was risky considering the briefing, but she had to battle with the other pilot's broadcasts. "Yeah, about that." She wasn't sure what to follow up with.

The rain that lazily drifted on to NVOX's screen steadily grew into bigger and bigger drops, until Mikan felt a sudden shift in pressure. Knowing what it meant she detached the screen and hid it away, and started typing again. "I can't really leave. Not until I convince you to come. I don't know what you've been offered. And I'm pretty sure I can't offer anything else. But I'm an EMT. My job is to save lives. And I think you might be the best way to do so."

She was standing in a proper rainstorm now. Heart racing from nerves and the subtle flapping of large wings. Drenched and small in darkness, her face plead in a way her device couldn't quite match. "All I can do is ask. Please find it in your heart to help."

An audible sigh could be heard coming from the comms as Abigail listen to Ev's remarks. "We're working on it, Ev. The Saratumti government doesn't have any mining planned. But they're making sure it's not illegal use of the equipment. Also we're trying to get in touch with the Sarajul scientists to cross examine all known kaiju with the readings as well as checking to make sure it isn't something harmless like the local endemic wildlife. And these things unfortunately take time. Now as I said, When we figure out what it is, we'll let you know. Until then, your a trained combatant, so be prepared."

Randy grew increasingly quiet as he began to think. One hand on his hip other placed under his chin.

As he did so the ground rumbled again. This time as the rumble started hundreds of small luminescent plants emerged from the ground. Their leaves unfurled wide to catch all the water they could. They appeared in multiple shapes, colors and sizes. Then as the plants emerged, almost as if on queue, The wingsbeats grew loud and Aleta entered the city. As she passed overhead the rain beneath her halted for moments between wing beats. The large kaiju flew out over the city before landing atop the lighthouse in the center. Her wings glittering with the rain drops as she began to eat from the Saratumti offering atop the city's centerpiece.

Even Randy stopped to look at Aleta in all her elegance. Then he addressed Mikan "Even if I wanted to go, who would take care of my flock? Doubt t'e commander would allow them on base."

Incredible. Raza was actually powering down his mecha, and had seemingly entirely given up on the mission’s primary purpose of convincing Randy to join them. Mikan was trying, at least, but the other two pilots were either too frightened of Aleta to speak or seemed just as content as the monk to make zero conversational headway. What a disaster this mission was turning into.

Thankfully, someone on the team had taken negotiation courses and had some modicum of experience hashing out a trade deal. Everard took the floor again.

“As a matter of fact Randy, we may be able to convince HQ to allow your birds on-site. Two of the five members of our team come from backgrounds in biology, and I’m sure there’s value in having bipedal animals to study for biomechanical and kinesiological purposes, correct?”

The Obernian sat his mecha down in front of the mechanic in a cross-legged position, an unusual display given the way that the machine’s disproportionately long legs had to arc around each other make room.

“We’re a well-financed group, I’m sure we can provide comfortable accommodations for both you and your flock.”