Chapter 211 - The Long Walk Home

A couple of days after Shaali's funeral, Lu'um had finally recovered from her wounds. Over the course of that time, Reed had brought Lu'um up to speed on the situation in Mulia. 

He had reached a critical impasse with his work. Something that he could not overcome on his own.

Although Reed had developed the means to combat the Infestation on much better terms, he lacked the human resources to make his plan a reality. Reed also understood that if he tried to advocate for what seemed like a total war against the Infestation, the Unified Mulian government and the people of Mulia would rightfully oppose him. 

"I know exactly what it sounds like, but I'm not trying to fight an unwinnable war. What I am trying to do is fight a short, winnable war, though," said Reed as he gestured toward the holographic projection in front of them. 

Lu'um's room was turned into a circus lightshow as an enormous planet began to form out of the projection. It was an incomplete globe, filled with several massive gaps — uncharted areas that had not been yet mapped in the Shadowlands. Hundreds upon hundreds of thin white lines, each representing a different fleet of warsh.i.p.s, began to slowly inch across the planet... 

It was, amazingly, a rough battle plan for an operation, unlike anything Lu'um had ever seen before. Though she was initially not too unenthused about the very prospect of going to war, her mind had changed after she read through what Reed had developed for the operation. 

"So, what do you think? Not too shabby of a plan, right?" said Reed, smugly. He wasn't one to brag excessively, but even he couldn't help but feel proud about what he had accomplished. 

"It's a strong start for something big, that's for sure, but it still needs a lot of work. And this plan's not going to work without assistance from Citali, either," said Lu'um as the gears in her head began to turn. The logistics of Reed's plan could be covered by the resources and workforce present in Mulia, but it lacked the speed and capability to carry it out in an even remotely feasible timeframe.

"To build this hypothetical megastructure you've conceived, we're definitely going to need planetary-scale matter fabricators. Without them, it'll take Mulia more than 8,000 years to build them with its current industrial output and capabilities," said Lu'um. 

"And although we do not have any planetary-scale matter fabricators in Citlai, we do have the blueprints, engineers, and smaller, industrial-scale matter fabricators to create them..."

Reed grinned and said, "I was counting on that. And Mulia can provide the raw resources to build the matter fabricators. After they're built, we'll have them hauled back to Mulia to begin the real work."

"Even so, this project will require the full support of the entire continent's workforce and its economy for it to be completed. And that, in itself, will not be an easy task to do," said Lu'um, pouring a bucket of cold water on out her idiot's annoying but adorable smugness. 

Reed rubbed his chin awkwardly and chuckled nervously before he said, "Yes, about that little problem... That's where you come in, honey. I can think of no one better to manage rallying the support required to proceed other than you." 

He meant it when he said Lu'um was the best possible person for the job. Reed thought himself a decent orator nowadays, given all the work and practice he had in recent years, but he knew that he was no match for Lu'um when it came to fighting in the political arena or even in speech-making. 

In fact, Reed was convinced that she could probably sell water to fish. It was her infamous silver tongue that had built one of the biggest companies in Mulia — Evergreen Solutions — and by extension, the impressive fortune that had funded most of Reed's unique enterprises and research projects over the last couple of years.

To put it bluntly, Reed was actually on Lu'um's payroll. He had been living, for all intents and purposes, on the allowance of his own lady. An eye-opening fact that would have likely made him the b.u.t.t of many jokes by the men of Mulia if they ever learned about it...

Lu'um stared inquisitively at Reed with an odd smile and said, "Hmm, is that correct? Are you sure? My asking price is rather high, you know? It could very well leave you utterly bankrupt..." 

It was the smile of a predator who had caught sight of their favorite prey. 

Reed stared at her with a slightly embarrassed expression and said, "I'm sure that we could work something out. I am... open to suggest—" 

He never got to finish that sentence. As it turned out, Lu'um never intended on negotiating. Not that Reed had expected her to actually behave herself after he glimpsed what laid behind her eyes.

It wasn't until the next day that they both left Lu'um's room. Reed had been completely put through his paces, to the point that he almost felt his soul leave his body last night. When he finally woke up past midday, he let out a small groan of pain. 

His back hurt like hell... and upon closer inspection, Reed found that some manner of a fearsome beast had seemingly mauled him. His back was littered with a brand new set of battle scars, much to his dismay. One would've thought that a razor-wyrm had clawed and bitten Reed as if he had been a chew toy. 

They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but I can't say I missed this part about her that much. God knows how I'd look if I didn't possess any regenerative abilities or a strengthened body...

When Reed turned to look at the disheveled woman sleeping peacefully beside him, he wondered where he would've been in life had he not met her. 

What a difficult question... 

What would he have accomplished without her?

Would he have even dared to make something out of the second chance he had been given? 

Not a damned chance. Even with a thousand extra chances, I would have never accomplished what I have done without her by my side. 

Sure, Lu'um had her own flaws, and sometimes she had erred along the way. She had not exactly been perfect, but then again, neither had he. Not that it was a real competition, anyway — Reed always knew who the better half was from the beginning. 

Looking at her, Reed cracked a genuine smile for the first time in years. Had Lu'um seen it, she would've taken a picture of it and framed it for posterity...

Unfortunately, though, there was work that needed to be done. The time had come for Reed and Lu'um to part ways with the somewhat comfortable respite they had enjoyed in Citlai. Not that either of them wished to stay too long in Citlai anyway, not after what transpired.

In the end, they decided not to tell the Mulian High Council about their plans, for they knew that they would never agree to join them. Not with their hearts still full of grief over Shaali's death and, most importantly, the spent and hollow void that was their failing spirit. 

Even now, the terrible wound inflicted upon them by the Infestation had not yet healed. It was not too surprising considering the fall they had experienced. From the top of the food chain in the entire multiverse to the very bottom of existence, eeking out a meager living like cowardly rats...

"The High Council will never agree to support our plan. Never.  I'm serious; they don't have the willpower in them to stand up and fight back anymore. I guarantee you that they wouldn't even agree to just build the matter fabricators if we asked them — not even directly participating in the war itself. That's how low the morale is right now in Citlai, despite the harmonious facade you'll across the city," said Lu'um. 

Even so, Lu'um did not think the situation was entirely helpless. She believed that if they could successfully unite Mulia for the cause, they would be able to provoke Citlai into action. Get them out of their dreaded slump, so to speak. 

"If Mulia truly went to war against the Infestation, Citlai would never be able to live it down if they didn't participate too. The mere thought that a motley group of younger, weaker races could be braver and stronger than them would be unacceptable for them to swallow." 

Were the peoples of Mulia to actually retake the planet of Mu, it would be an unimaginable and everlasting embarrassment to the Ancient Mulians. How pathetic would it be if foreigners they considered under their protection accomplished retaking their own homeworld? 

Lu'um smirked. "They'll never let that future come to pass. Once we get the ball rolling in Mulia, we'll come back and give Citlai a proper kick in the bum to wake it up. They've needed one for the longest time now, to be honest." 

She could not deny how eager she was to see that day — when the voice of every last man, woman, and child in Mulia chose to fight, to stand up and finally leave their little birdcage behind once and for all. 

When the warcry of a continent unified in spirit and purpose reached the furthest corners of Mu. When the glorious sight of more than a hundred and fifty million mortal souls achieved what her people had been unable to do:

To make the Outsiders experience the bitter taste of defeat.

Lu'um's blood boiled in fervent anticipation. Never would she have thought that two short years would have changed Reed so much. In what seemed like a blink of an eye to her, Reed had grown into the man she expected him to become a decade from now. 

It was astonishing to witness but incredibly disheartening to think about. That sort of exponential growth could have only occurred under pressing circ.u.mstances. Whatever Reed had dealt with while she was gone had definitely affected him greatly and taken something out of him as a cost. 

But this was something Lu'um would have to investigate further another time, though. At the moment, she and Reed were heading towards the Shadowlands for work. 

Truth be told, over the course of the last 5,000 years, only about eight percent of the planet had been mapped by Mulian forces. What they needed most was a reliable scan of the entire planet — they needed knowledge of where the Infested were most concentrated, what potential resources could still be salvaged for the war effort and comprehensive data of the planet's topography. 

Now and then, long-term excursions had been arranged to study Ancient Mulian ruins, collect war tech, and map out unknown territory. But these expeditions never proved too fruitful as most scout fleets sent out into uncharted territory rarely ever returned home... 

Which is why Reed had enlisted Lu'um's help for this daunting assignment. He needed someone he could trust completely, could support him against the worst the Infestation had to offer

This would not be a simple or a quick task, not by a long a shot. This extended journey would take them across the entirety of the planet and only god knew what manner of corruption was waiting for them out in the deep, uncharted areas of Mu. 

Either way, it was going to be one hell of a walk back home, that was for sure...