About an hour earlier.
Queen had been studying a hefty reference book titled A Detailed Guide to Eastern Inner Alchemy Terminology when a message arrived.
It came from one of her most capable subordinates, Reed, Zion's Hunter.
Reed had few assigned duties. She roamed the area around Zion as a free-ranging scout. Her exceptional skill at reconnaissance and concealment let her spot any intruder with ill intentions and observe the movements of nearby factions without being discovered.
Queen had always trusted her. Because Reed did not get along well with others, Queen had even given her the freedom to act on her own.
That meant Hunter could, if she wished, live like a rice weevil, eating her fill and waiting for the end. For Queen, who counted every penny and wanted a return on every expense, such an arrangement was exceedingly rare.
But Hunter had repaid Queen's trust with her actions.
She had not caught and stopped every intruder in time. Over the past few years, though, she had repeatedly found traces of infiltrators that other scouts had missed, and more than once had eliminated them single-handedly.
On her own, she did the work of an entire reconnaissance squad.
When Queen had first made the appointment, some people had been quite unhappy. In the end, that resentment vanished like smoke, replaced by wholehearted respect for Hunter.
She had earned the right to be treated differently!
This time, she was once again the first to spot trouble, and she sent a message over her communicator.
[Hunter: A lot of enemies are coming. They smell of snow and cold wind. Their killing intent is strong.]
Queen froze for a moment, then frowned and pressed a few buttons on her communicator to dial another number.
"Sea Cat, use the High-Altitude Balloon to scout