Narrowing down where to look was useful.
Unfortunately, someone still had to go there and check if we had found anything worth looking at.
By the next morning, Zelda had somehow managed to move half the intelligence section into secure holding.
I didn't know where she kept finding more paper.
A folding table had been set up outside the female fox's containment pen. Old patrol reports covered one side, while supply losses and abandoned outposts took another. The centre held the map we had spent most of yesterday staring at, now marked with everything the intelligence teams thought might connect to Khan.
It looked better than yesterday, but it was still terrible.
The search area was smaller, technically.
Africa was large enough that technically didn't help much.
Zelda stood on the other side of the table with both hands resting against it while the grey fox watched us from behind the reinforced barrier. Her eight tails covered most of the rear half of the holding pen.
"You again."
"Morning."
"It is not."
I looked toward the high windows near the ceiling. Sunlight was already coming through them.
"Looks like morning."
She ignored that and looked at the map instead.
That was why we were here.
Zelda gestured toward it.
"We found a pattern."
The fox stayed where she was, so I picked up the map and walked toward the barrier.
"Come look."
Her ears shifted before she stood and approached. The movement made the guards tense, but the fox only glanced at them before lowering her head near the reinforced opening used for passing food and equipment into the pen.
I held the map where she could see it.
Zelda started showing her the marked incidents. Missing patrols first, followed by supply losses, camps that had been found abandoned or destroyed, and reports of monster groups moving through territory where they normally avoided each other.
The fox listened without saying much before one claw touched the reinforced floor near a section of the map.
"Here."
Zelda stopped.
"Why?"
The fox lowered her head closer.
"I know this place."
I moved beside Zelda.
"From Khan?"
"Yes."
Everyone around the table became a little more interested.
Zelda pointed at the marked region. "What is there?"
"A meeting place."
"For who?"
"Scouts. Messengers sometimes."
At least we finally had something more useful than another mark on a map.
"How old is your information?" I asked.
The fox looked at me.
"I used it before the attacks."
"How long before?"
"Weeks."
Much better than months, even if it was nowhere near perfect.
Zelda tapped the map.
"How large?"
"Small."
"Numbers?"
"They change."
"Defences?"
"They change."
I looked at the fox.
"You're incredibly useful."
She showed me her teeth.
"I was not responsible for building it."
"Pity. Would have saved time."
Zelda ignored us.
"If the site is still active, what moves through it?"
"Reports. Short orders. Sometimes scouts waiting for new assignments."
"Could it lead us farther into the network?"
The fox looked at the map again.
"Maybe."
I hated that word, but it was still better than nothing.
Zelda looked at me, and I already knew what she was thinking.
"No large team."
"I didn't suggest one."
"You were about to."
"I was going to suggest a security element."
"That's a large team with a boring name."
The fox looked between us.
Zelda's expression didn't change.
"Three people minimum."
"Fine."
"One of them human."
I thought about it.
Jean was useful, but this wasn't her kind of mission.
Marasuki was the obvious choice from my side, which was exactly why I wasn't taking her. She had already spent enough time carrying the operation while everyone else caught up.
I needed someone who could move quietly, fight without needing supervision, and make decisions without freezing when things changed.
The answer came quickly.
"Luna."
Zelda studied me for a second before nodding.
"I'll have her informed."
"No. I'll get her."
The fox looked at me.
"You trust the human?"
I looked back at her.
"More than you."
Her ears flattened.
That counted for something. Probably.
I left secure holding and went looking for Luna.
First, though, I needed a translator.
I found Tim arguing with Lucas outside the dining area, which saved me the trouble of searching the rest of the base.
"Tim."
He looked at me.
"Yes?"
"Give me your translator."
He stared at me.
Lucas started laughing.
Tim looked at him, then back at me.
"Why?"
"I need it."
"For what?"
"Translation."
Lucas laughed harder.
I looked at him until he got himself mostly under control.
Tim unclipped the device and handed it over.
"When do I get it back?"
"Later."
"That is not a time."
"Then don't ask questions you won't like the answers to."
I left before he could complain more.
Finding Luna took another ten minutes.
She was near one of the training areas, checking the edge on her claymore.
She looked up as I approached.
"Problem?"
"Mission."
Her attention moved away from the sword.
"When?"
"Now."
She looked at the translator in my hand.
"What's that?"
I held it out.
"You're going to need it."
She took the device but kept looking at me.
"For what?"
"Fox."
Her expression flattened.
"What?"
"One of the captured foxes found something useful."
"And you're taking it outside?"
"Her."
"Fine. Her."
"Yes."
Luna looked down at the translator, then back at me.
"And you want me there."
"Yes."
"Why?"
I shrugged. "Zelda wants a human involved."
"That isn't what I asked."
Unfortunately, she had heard enough of me to know when I was avoiding something.
"It's a small recon mission. I need someone who can move quietly and handle themselves if something happens."
Luna watched me while I waited for an answer.
Then she clipped the translator around her neck.
"How does this work?"
"Put it around your neck and turn it on."
"I already did the first part."
"Then you're halfway there."
"That was incredibly helpful."
"Thank you."
She pressed the switch on the side, and the device gave a short tone.
"Anything else?"
"Probably."
"You don't know?"
"I stole it from Tim five minutes ago."
"Borrowed."
"That too."
She shook her head and picked up the sheath for her claymore.
"Where are we going?"
"South."
"Very specific."
"You'll love the briefing."
"I already regret agreeing."
"You haven't agreed."
Luna secured the claymore across her back.
"Then why are we still standing here talking about it?"
She had a point.
We returned to secure holding together.
The fox was lying inside her pen again, waiting without looking even slightly relaxed. Zelda was still working through reports at the folding table.
The fox raised her head when Luna approached.
Luna stopped several metres from the barrier as the translator gave a faint crackle.
The fox spoke first.
"You."
Luna looked down at the device, then back at her.
"So it works."
The fox's ears moved.
"You understand me?"
"Unfortunately."
The fox looked at me.
I shrugged.
"The machine works."
Luna noticed the restraint collar lying on the table and looked at Zelda.
"Is she wearing that?"
The fox showed her teeth.
"I am not."
I looked at her.
"You are."
"No."
"Then you stay here."
Her tails moved faster.
"You said I would serve you."
"Provisionally."
"You said nothing about that."
"I also didn't say you could walk freely around military positions after taking a medic hostage."
"She survived."
Luna's expression changed, and the fox noticed immediately.
I stepped between Luna and the barrier before that conversation got worse.
"Collar."
The fox stared at me for several seconds before lowering her head.
A section of the containment barrier opened just wide enough for the collar fitting while two guards stayed close to the controls.
Luna picked up the collar.
The fox's eyes tracked her as she approached.
Luna stopped just outside the opening.
"Try anything and I won't need this."
The fox looked at the claymore.
Then at Luna.
"You think you can kill me?"
"No."
The answer made the fox pause.
Luna fastened the collar around her neck.
"I think Ren can."
The fox looked at me.
I smiled.
"Aren't friends wonderful?"
Luna stepped back before the barrier closed again.
The fox gave a low growl.
Luna adjusted the translator.
"I can understand angry noises without this thing."
The fox's head snapped toward her.
I turned toward Zelda.
"Transport?"
"Ready."
"Observation post?"
"Already in place. You'll fly to the nearest forward base, then take ground transport from there. Patrols will stay outside the target area unless you request support."
"Good."
Zelda looked directly at me.
"This is reconnaissance."
"I know."
"Do you?"
"Yes."
The fox looked between us while Luna tried not to smile.
I pointed toward the access corridor.
"Let's go before everyone becomes irritating."
"You started this," Luna said.
"I start many things."
"That isn't a defence."
"I didn't say it was."
The flight south took several hours.
The fox travelled in the cargo section under guard, with enough open floor space that she didn't have to fold herself into a box designed for humans. Luna and I sat farther forward and spent most of the flight in silence.
I could work with that.
We landed at a forward base later that afternoon and transferred into a large armoured carrier for the last part of the trip.
The fox took up most of the rear compartment floor, and her tails covered nearly everything that remained.
Luna stood in the open rear section and looked down at them.
"Does she need all of those out at once?"
The fox lifted her head.
"Do you need both legs?"
Luna looked at me.
I sat down on one of the side benches.
"I'm staying out of this one."
Luna stepped carefully over two tails and sat opposite me.
The fox watched her.
"Careful."
"I was."
"You nearly stepped on me."
"I didn't."
"That is not the same thing."
Luna looked at me again.
I checked my weapon straps and continued pretending the problem had nothing to do with me.
The carrier started moving.
For the first few minutes, no one spoke.
Then the fox looked at me.
"You trust her?"
Luna's eyes shifted toward her.
I looked at the fox.
"Enough."
Luna's jaw tightened slightly.
The fox noticed.
"And me?"
"No."
The answer came quickly enough that Luna almost smiled.
The fox's ears flattened.
"At least you're honest."
"I try."
"You threatened to cut my tails off."
"You tried to get inside my head."
"I failed."
"Which is why you still have eight."
Luna looked between us.
"What exactly happened with you two?"
The fox lowered her head.
"I lost."
"That part I know. I read the report." Luna looked at me. "Did the charm even work?"
"No."
The fox made an irritated sound.
"She broke the illusion."
"With Ors?"
"Yes."
I shrugged. "Then she ran."
The fox's head came up.
"You are skipping most of it."
"I like my version."
Luna looked at the fox.
"And then she caught you."
The fox stared at her.
"You have already read the report."
"I said that."
"Then why ask?"
"Because reports are boring."
I looked between them.
"That sounds like a human problem."
Neither of them looked amused.
The carrier hit a damaged section of road and shook hard enough to end the conversation.
I wasn't complaining.
The observation post was small, with three armoured vehicles, a communications truck, portable barriers, and a handful of soldiers watching the surrounding area.
Most of them stared when the rear door opened and the fox climbed out.
I couldn't blame them.
A captain approached us.
"Princess."
"Captain."
His eyes moved toward Luna, then the fox.
"The general said three."
"There are three."
His eyes remained on the fox.
"I can count."
"Good start."
Luna coughed into her fist.
The captain looked back at me.
"We have your extraction frequency. Two patrol groups are operating east and west of this position. Neither will enter your mission area unless you request it."
"Perfect."
"We also have aerial drones available."
"No."
He nodded without arguing, which improved my opinion of him immediately.
The fox turned south.
"We should move."
Luna looked at her.
"You remember the route?"
"Yes."
"After how long?"
"I do not forget places."
"Convenient."
The fox's tails moved.
"You distrust me."
"Yes."
"You should."
Luna frowned.
The fox started walking.
I followed her, and Luna joined me a few seconds later.
"She says that too easily," Luna muttered.
"She tried to kill us recently."
"That doesn't make it less strange."
The first hour was easy.
The fox kept us away from old roads and exposed ground. She moved quickly, but not so quickly that Luna had to rush, and I noticed she was adjusting her pace for us without saying anything.
The terrain became rougher as we continued south.
Dry hills rose around shallow valleys filled with brush and scattered trees. Old vehicle wrecks sat beside broken roads, most stripped down to their frames.
The fox stopped near the remains of a concrete bridge and lowered her head to sniff around the broken surface.
Luna glanced at me.
I shrugged.
The fox moved beneath the bridge.
We followed.
She stopped near disturbed dirt.
"Three passed here."
Luna crouched beside it.
"How long?"
"Yesterday."
"You can tell that from dirt?"
"I can smell them."
Luna looked at the ground and then at the fox.
"Right."
The fox's tail tips moved while I continued ahead.
The route turned west for several kilometres before cutting south again through an old industrial area.
The buildings were mostly empty shells.
One had collapsed across the road, forcing us through a narrow gap between broken concrete and an overturned truck.
The fox stopped before entering, and I nearly walked into her.
"What?"
She looked ahead.
"Someone has used this route recently."
Luna moved closer to the wall and studied the ground while I stayed where I was.
"How many?"
"I do not know."
"That was less useful than the bridge."
The fox looked back at me.
"Then smell it yourself."
Luna looked away.
I stared at the fox.
"Did you just make a joke?"
"No."
"Sounded like one."
"It was not."
"Sure."
She moved through the gap.
Luna leaned closer to me.
"I think she likes you."
"Don't say disgusting things."
"I heard you're courting two women."
I stopped walking.
"Jean."
Luna continued ahead.
"She needed to vent."
"About me?"
"Yes."
"That sounds healthy."
The fox turned around.
I pointed at Luna.
"She started that."
The fox looked between us.
"The two of you are strange."
"You've known us for half a day."
"That was enough."
I caught up with Luna.
"Jean is opening up too much."
"She talks about you."
"That is exactly my complaint."
"She worries about you."
"That sounds worse."
Luna's expression softened, but she didn't continue.
I was grateful for that.