Chapter 77: On Track
"Well?" Astra asked, her voice quiet but expectant as she watched Veira crouch near the ship. The scientist leaned in, her eyes wide behind her glasses, fingers gliding along the cold metal of the vessel’s exterior. Despite the sunlight warming the village, the ship itself remained icy to the touch, an ancient relic dug deep into the granite roads like a buried monument.
Belk, Vagnis, Zelr, Godrick, Freya, and Lailla stood in a semicircle nearby, all watching as Veira silently inspected the strange technology. None of them dared to speak yet, not while the sharp-eyed scientist was deep in thought.
Veira stepped back after a moment, exhaling as she turned to Astra. "If it’s as you say... rebuilding is surely possible, but—" she paused, glancing over her shoulder at the others, then back at Astra, her expression tightening, "this doesn’t work on steam-powered tech. I can tell at least that much."
Belk furrowed his brow. "What does that mean?" he asked, voice low and laced with impatience.
"It means," Astra began, arms folding across her chest as her mind raced, "we’ll have to perfect the battery after all." Her gaze drifted past the others, lost in thought now, speaking more to herself than anyone in particular. "The ones we have now won’t work. Not even if we stacked a billion of them in a chamber. They’d never hold the charge needed."
There was a beat of silence. The air seemed heavier with each word.
"Not to mention," Veira added, lifting her eyes to the ship again, "the risk of the communication system still being functional. If it activates—if it sends anything—unwanted attention could arrive, and fast."
Confused glances darted among the group. Vagnis scratched his head. Freya’s brows pinched with concern. Astra began pacing, boots tapping lightly on the stone. She ran a hand through her wind-tousled hair, mumbling beneath her breath, trying to organize the flood of ideas into action.
Finally, she stopped. "Right. Veira," she said, snapping out of her trance and turning to the scientist, "what’s your answer?"