43. Nine Months, minus however long it's been

        The budget for the bomb project was infinite, there was always more funding when needed. As a result, things were rapidly mushrooming out of control, depending on individual perceptions. Dell was already recruiting teams to manage his foreseen aftermath, Halios was already training troops for his foreseen battle, Halki was investing in more storage space to keep track of developments, even Torus was demanding extra storage facilities, faster than could be provided.

         Stressed, Orius left the heat of Headquarters in need of a cold drink in spite of the pouring rain. For him, the project was demanding answers he couldn't provide because he hadn't even run the tests yet, how could he sign off on his plans without gambling. An Atomic bomb?

         He paused in stride to glance through the steamy windows of the Skin Club, sparsely populated given all the activity and bad weather outside. Feeling the need to warm up and relax, he slipped inside and took a seat at the bar. Moments later his worries were on the release, nerves medicated by alcohol, stress soothed by a Golden Goddess, swinging a serpent around her glittering body on stage.

         "I hear the Crystal Skulls are a raging success!" Halki sat down beside him only moments later.

         "Your Honor" Orius turned to greet him, trying to hide his disappointment. "How successful the Crystal Skulls are still remains to be seen!"

         "You don't sound very optimistic" Halki observed. "I'm not surprised, this whole Coming War business is a sham. You know, if I was any good at divination, if I had Panther Power, I'd use the magic of the Crystal Skulls to sell the idea of a colonization project! Forget Aquilla! Let him rot in the sea! I fancy a new beginning, somewhere nice and warm, out of the rain."

         "Somewhere like Ebar?" Orius wasn't a newbie, he could pick up on a tip when he sensed one, there had been rumors of a colonization project in Ebar. "So it's true?"

         Halki shrugged. "Who knows? My guess is it's true, or we wouldn't have heard the rumor, would we? I'm hopeless at this divination business, I'm trying to think what other angle I could use to sell the idea. I hear Ebar has the most beautiful goddesses in the world!"
         "They're Serpents" Orius reminded.

         "I know" Halki smiled. "I don't hate them like Atalon does, I think he's got them all wrong." He looked Orius in the eye. "You know that."

         "Of course!" Orius felt relieved to learn he wasn't the only one with reservations about the way things appeared to be, he understood where Halki was coming from.

         Relaxed from the wine, Orius returned to his office feeling better, Halki had infused his mind with refreshing thoughts to consider. He knew a way to sell himself to his idea, he would convince Atalon of his divination skills, his Serpent bloodline could be exactly the leverage he needed to land him a colonization gig in Ebar. 

         He chuckled as he considered the synchronicity, that a solution to leave Atlan had fallen into place at the very moment he wished to flee it was no coincidence, it would be such an easy sell he would hardly need to try.

The Crystal Skull element to the equation was so perfect it seemed to be a Divine Intervention, an opportunity for him to seize, exclusively.

         Nor did he have much competition, neither Torus nor Vikkar had comparable talents, he was the quintessential god for colonizing Ebar. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for, it was a chance to re-build the Serpent race, perhaps he could even build them back up enough to compete with the Atlan Empire.

         Zara scanned her new dorm in Lochia, a humble contrast to her beautiful home in Fina. The room was cold, damp and the paint was peeling off the walls. The mattress was old and smelly, there wasn't a closet full of beautiful clothes hung on a rod, this closet was full of old, musty smelling folded plain green robes.

         The only decor was a pair of paintings, this time it was Medena and Atalon, watching over her from the wall above a small table with a bowl of fresh oranges, but there were no roses or invitations to the salon this time. She wandered over to the window to admire the twilight sky, she had a view at least. From her window she could see over the city walls, there was no longer a need to seek out a glimpse, this time she had a balcony view of the farmer's fields… And the Dogon territory beyond; she dared not look too closely.

         Fighting back her fears, she gazed longingly out across the landscape, through the trees she could catch a glimpse of faintly sparkling lights, shimmering in the distance through the trees... 

         "Fina..." Feeling like a prisoner, she let out a labored sigh, reminding herself, "only nine months, minus however long it's been..."