A skyscraper had collapsed next to Fort Solace, giving an excellent view of the surrounding area, especially Fort Solace. Three demons had gathered specifically to spy on the Fort and created their own little home away from home. They were drinking glasses of wine, one of the few good things they had found in this dimension. There was also a charcuterie board, but the less said about the meats on the board the better.

Sharness, a succubus whose wings covered her body, leaned on the railing, “The humans seem especially busy today. Almost as if they were getting ready to do something.” She sipped from her glass.

Deezer the Defiler, a horned demon with the legs of a goat and the wings of a bat, picked at the board; he had already chosen the better cuts. “Either that or they were getting ready to defend themselves. The lower tiers are getting antsy; an attack could be imminent.”

Lellend poured himself another glass. His black metal armor chafed as usual; he had chosen his steaming skull out of courtesy to the others, but at least the wine was good for the discomfort of it. Too bad Deezle the Dopey had eaten the best cuts as usual. “They've found a Thurvian artifact. One of the edging rings. Someone just disappeared in a portal.”

Sharness dropped her glass, and she flew down to Lellend. “Are you bloody kidding? That could lead to the very front below being used as a cross-dimensional beachhead!”

Deezle the Defiler tossed the board away in disgust. “Figures. That puts those bleeding tattooed warriors just a heartbeat away.”

Lellend couldn't help but smile. “It's not that bad. The representative was apparently from further down the line. We may be lucky here.”

Sharness relaxed a bit. “How was he dressed? In camos or leathers?”

Deezle the Defiler's eyebrow cocked. “And one of those steampunk-style weapons or just futuristic?”

Lellend sipped from his glass. “Camos and a rail gun covered in crystals.”

The other two started laughing. Deezle the Defiler stopped first. “You had us worried there for a moment. This may not be that bad, after all.

Sharness raised her glass. “Cheers! That was close!”

Lellend smiled as he rose his glass. His plans continued unchallenged. The Fort would soon be his.

* * * * *

Lieutenant Sawyer entered the office of General Martins yet again. She had at least had the chance to grab a shower this time, so she wasn't as dirty as she had been previously. She saluted and was then told to sit.

"So...what was the weapon like?” General Martins smiled mischievously.

Lieutenant Sawyer's eyes rolled. “He can punch through a demon and control portals. But he's also sixteen and we have no idea what else he can do.”

General Martins was serious. “I saw his little portal trick on the cameras. If he transported even from as short as to where you encountered the---” (she looked at her notes) “---dretch, then it would be interesting to see what his limits are.” She put the folder down. “What were you able to find out about the ring itself?”

"I can summon the kid once per day. In fact, I'll be summoning him tomorrow for a physical exam.”

"Doctor Taggert should have a fun day, then.”

“I'm also going to have Douglas spend the night so we can have him examined. I'm sort of curious how different he is away from a zone.”

“Good idea. I may have him join in on a simulated battle.”

"I doubt that would be as good as you think it would be. His enhanced abilities require proximity to the zone.”

“Interesting. Such a shame.”

“Well, it does limit his usefulness. But the ring's power to summon apparently can't be transferred. So I'm stuck with it. It also means no one else can use it.”

“It could be worse, I suppose. All right, then; I'll also schedule an appointment with Dr. Michaels. A psychological exam would be interesting.”

"Oh, and we'll need the location of a nearby surf shop if there is one.” General Martins' eyebrow raised as Lieutenant Sawyer grinned. “Don't ask.”

“Okay. I won't. But I will ask our scavengers.”

“Okay. Guess I should make sure Dr. Taggert is ready for the two of them.” She paused and she looked concerned. “Douglas and Samuels together. This could be bad.”

General Martins smiled. “Yeah, that could be horrible. Fortunately, Douglas' abilities are limited to a zone.”

Lieutenant Sawyer saluted and left. She had damage control to worry about.

* * * * *

After dropping by the office of Doctors Taggert and Michaels, she stopped by the barracks of her team to make sure that they weren't killing each other. She heard loud noises, possibly yelling as she approached. She sped up, slammed open the door, and...was in total disbelief as to what she saw.

Rodriguez, Samuels, and Douglas were hitting each other with pillows. They were yelling various epithets as they swung into each other. She realized that she had never seen Rodriguez without his shirt on before; the cybernetic arm was a definite surprise. Samuels she had; the scars across his back were old news. Douglas in blue-striped boxers was something she had never imagined seeing; the kid was arguably in need of a serious PT regimen. He also had a tattoo of some sort on his left shoulder, some sort of tribal tattoo, as well as some script on his right. A shower could be heard in the background; obviously, Walker was cleaning up.

So these are my mighty heroes. Rodriguez favored a sideswipe and was just going at the other two full force. Several times he would knock one of the other two away from the center of the battle. Samuels chose his targets carefully before striking, usually from behind; he forced Douglas to the ground a couple of times and even staggered Rodriguez a couple of times, but Rodriguez would glare at him like one would a mosquito before laying into him again. Douglas was not taking the fight seriously and was just in it to be in it; there was no question that he was just enjoying being part of the group.

She decided to just back out. The guys had it under control. As she was stepping back, however, she was hit by a force from behind that sent her into the middle of the battling men.

Without a word, Samuels and Rodriguez froze and went to parade rest. Douglas looked at what the other two did and assumed the same position. A single feather from the pillows fell between them.

Lieutenant Prowse walked into the room. “Really, Sawyer? I thought you had a report to file.” She looked at the guys and smiled. “At ease, guys.”

Rodriguez threw his pillow on his bunk, while Samuels threw a pair of pants at Douglas; Douglas glared but put on his pants anyway. Rodriguez closed to showers to close the doors; he paused before yelling, “Walker, you'd better have clothes in there!” and closed the door. Douglas had just slipped into a dark tunic when he returned to the group.

Lieutenant Prowe handed the cardboard box to the guys. “The advantage of being an officer, guys.” She grabbed two of the longnecks and proffered one to Lieutenant Sawyer, who grabbed it. All but one of the remaining longnecks disappeared from the box. Walker came out in pants and a tank top and looked at the scene as he grabbed the last long neck. He needed to exercise more than Douglas. It was also sort of strange to see his hair combed; he had just enough hair to play with that his hair always looked messy.

Lieutenant Sawyer watched the group talk, tease, and annoy each other as she sipped her beer. They bragged about who did the most damage, which was shot down by someone else's claims of skill. They compared techniques, with the understanding that their technique was best, again shot down by talk of someone else' masterful technique. Douglas pointed out the advantages of his magic, while Samuels pointed out how the team would have died but for his marksmanship. Walker had to bring up how his knowledge had helped the group, even as Douglas disagreed; obviously, it was his experience that was paramount. Even Prowse got into it, bragging about how her rare combination of martial arts and rifle skills turned the tide of battle.

This was how she liked to see her crew relax after a long day; an informal debriefing where she could slip into the background. The next day's more formal debriefing would not go like this, as the soldiers would be far more professional, at least she hoped, and there would be a much more analytical approach to the situation would be taken. But for now, this is exactly what they needed. This was a team that would fight together and watch each other's back. Prowse bringing the beers was a much-needed touch, and drinking it made Sawyer part of the group, even as she held back from the conversation in general; she had to maintain her status as a den mother.

She would need to bring Kev into this motley group; it would be interesting to see how he would change the dynamic. The kid was still a mystery to her; hopefully the exams tomorrow would tell her a little bit more about him. She also needed to appraise him in battle-sims; it would be interesting to see how well he could wield the weapons he brought with him. She would have loved to have seen the stake gun in action; too bad it felt as if he were going to leave it behind wherever it was that he came from. That of course asked its own questions, especially as it felt he was from another era as well as dimension. Still, those were questions that could wait until tomorrow.

Tomorrow would bring its own challenges but this moment of sunshine was needed.