Shadow Slave

Naeve stared at him in bewilderment for a few moments, then glanced at the column of military vehicles that stretched far.

"You are the commanding officer? Things must have changed, then... not that I'm complaining! It's actually great to see a familiar face. I just thought that you were supposed to be in charge of a single cohort of elite Awakened."

Sunny sighed.

"Yeah, well... the situation is a mess, so I ended up being in charge of an entire battalion instead. As well as around twelve thousand refugees. Anyway, thanks for the rescue... I really owe you one, Naeve. That battle could have turned ugly without your ship's support."

He studied the gargantuan shape of the beached vessel, finally recognizing it as the battleship that had delivered his cohort to Antarctica several months ago. Or what was left of it, rather.

"Ah, yes, the rescue... truth be told, it is us who need to be rescued. As you can see, the ship is not exactly in great shape, and the crew - the ones who are still alive - are not in any way prepared for a long landbound march across Antarctica. We are only truly capable at sea, and even then..."

He glanced at the mangled remains of the fearsome vessel.

"...ah, the sea turned out to be more capable than us, in the end. In any case, your caravan is pretty much our best hope. So... do you maybe have space in these vehicles for a few thousand shipwrecked sailors? Give or take."

Sunny stared at him for a few moments, then smiled.

"Sure, no problem. That can be arranged. There's a lot of useful stuff left in those cargo holds, I assume? Come with me, and we can discuss the details. How the hell did your ship end up here, anyway? Wasn't the convoy supposed to be coursing between Falcon Scott and the Northern Quadrant?"

situation in the Antarctic Center worsened with the appearance of hostile titans. His last orders were to scout and secure

jellyfish, whose corpse eventually washed up on the shore, but not before sustaining catastrophic damage. With no friendly port nearby, the vessel drifted along the coast for a

Naeve

the southernmost tip of the region by a vessel called Ariadne. It was destroyed, too, leaving me stranded there. What was Army Command thinking, separating individual battleships from the convoy? Wasn't it

Nightwalker sighed

obvious as you might think. The coastal waters are not usually that dangerous, when compared to the true deep sea. Or at least they used to be safer. There were risks

'Makes sense, I guess.'

Logistically, it was a risky, but somewhat necessary decision, considering that the Winter Beast had shut down the entire communication network

it was not like Naeve's battleship had been immediately sunk. The fearsome vessel operated along the coast for close to two months before stumbling on the abominable jellyfish and suffering a

that the House of Night had agreed to play ball. Since

conversation

sailors, the sailors themselves had to disembark and reach land,

proper defensive perimeter had to be established, guard duty shifts had to be set, refugees needed to be fed and cared for. Sunny might have as well given

all these things had

water, he was still an Ascended... more than that, he was an Ascended from a great clan. The Nightwalker was an absolute elite among fighters, with long

made Sunny feel much more confident in their chances of reaching Falcon Scott in one

to a vast

Naeve with a strange expression

it and raised an