Cecil City, the sun had already sunk below the horizon, leaving only a brilliant golden-red glow spreading over from the other side of the mountains, spilling across the rooftops after passing over the vast forests and riverbanks of the western district. Having just finished handling an urgent document that had arrived moments ago, Gawain had little time to admire the magnificent view outside. He arranged for Amber to handle some less important work, then sat directly in the easy chair in his study and once again focused his mind, connecting to Firmament Station's monitoring system.
After confirming the expedition fleet's location, he did not immediately tell anyone else. Instead, he maintained a shallow connection with Firmament Station at all times, keeping an eye on Byron's movements. Whenever he had the chance, he entered a deep-link state and used the space station's optical sensors to directly inspect Winter's Wrath.
For some time now, Winter's Wrath and the fleet she led had remained moored near the sea platform of the Orbital Elevator, seemingly without any major activity. Firmament Station's systems had not sent any further alerts either. But Gawain knew that Byron's side must still be exploring the Orbital Elevator platform—he was not the sort of man to sit idle in calm waters and waste time doing nothing.
From what they currently knew, Byron's exploration had apparently not triggered an "excessive reaction" from the Voyager Legacy. At the very least, the fleet had not come under attack, and Gawain had received no intrusion warnings from the system.
"...Good thing Byron is leading the fleet instead of Rebecca," Gawain muttered inwardly while maintaining his connection to Firmament Station. "If that blockhead had gone over there, she'd probably pull off some spectacularly suicidal stunt. Like hurling a fireball as big as a city gate