Countess, Lin, and Vance looked at each other with interest.

“Dinner and rest!” said the Baron.

“Haha!” said Lin. “I’ll take it.”

“Thank you, sir,” said Countess. She looked at Lin scornfully. “We are honored by your hospitality.”

The Baron brought them to the far wall of the Logistics Center, where he pressed a button on the wall. A pair of doors opened, revealing a room which seemed to be nothing more than a cylinder of glass.

Baron Greystone stepped in and Countess’s team followed. The doors closed behind them.

Countess’s stomach dropped suddenly. Vance actually screamed like a child, and Lin reached out to steady him. “Steady on!” he said.

The glass cylinder dropped out of the bottom of the Logistics Center and was falling rapidly into the darkness below.

“Don’t panic,” said the Baron. “This is called an elevator. It’s a method of transportation…for going up and down, quickly.”

“With respect, sir,” said Lin. “You gotta warn a guy before you drop a flaming catapult shot on him like that!”

The Baron looked at Lin, snorted, and then resumed looking outside.

Countess wanted to laugh but couldn’t. She was too scared and amazed by what she was seeing. Her heart was beating double-time, and she found herself breathing heavily.

The massive space they were descending in was somehow cavernous and empty, and filled with lots of complex-looking equipment. Some of the equipment was moving rapidly into and around an immense cube. The cube was comprised of many levels and rows of stacked boxes. The boxes came in a rainbow of colors and had names on the side like: Aventor Aerospace, Molecular Dynamics, Titan Maritime, Keplar Industrial, Vaportech, Rayon-Theta, Mechanism, Vortex, and Global Atomics.

Countess’s head was swimming. It was too much visual information, too fast.

“Coming up on your right,” said the Baron, “is the one active warehouse stack.”

There was a huge whooshing sound, as the elevator went past the active warehouse. Large darkly-colored machines were moving boxes out of the long and deep rows of stacked boxes and were setting them down on top of other boxes which were being stacked on a large open platform nearby.

“The orange platforms are cargo elevators,” said Baron Greystone. “They move the boxes up or down, depending on where they’re needed. Normally these machines are inactive, but I wanted to give you a little show for the ride.”

The elevator reached its destination and came to a sudden halt. Countess felt her weight increase, and she reflexively bent her knees to compensate. The elevator doors opened, and the words “Dormitory Level” were written on the opposite wall in large, black letters.

“Now for your meal,” said the Baron. He smiled brightly. “You’re going to love this.”

Countess’s team followed the Baron down a wide hallway, and into a room filled with brown boxes.

“I don’t know why,” said Lin, “But I was expecting something more…”

“Like a prepared meal?” said the Baron.

“Yeah—“ said Lin. He was staring blankly at the boxes. “I mean, yes, sir.”

“This is the next best thing!” Baron Greystone reached into an open box and pulled out three shiny, brown packages. He handed one to each team member.

Countess looked down at the package. It had a large circular logo on it depicting a bird in flight, and the word PHOENIX. Below that, were the words: MRE Meal, Ready to Eat. Menu 23 - Southwest Style Beef and Beans.

“Oh,” said the Baron, looking at Countess’s package. “You got my favorite!”

“I have no idea what I’m looking at,” said Countess.

The Baron smiled. “You’ll figure it out. Now! To your rooms! I need you rested for your trip tomorrow. Thank me later.”

Baron Greystone led the team to their rooms, which turned out to be quite fancy, each having its own toilet and shower. Countess had seen rooms like this before, but they were usually reserved for field officers or the very wealthy.

“I’ll leave you all here. Enjoy your meal and relax. Get some sleep. You’ll need it.”

Countess turned to enter her room when the Baron stopped her.

“A word, please, Countess?”

Lin and Vance went into their rooms and closed the doors.

Baron Greystone looked at Countess intently. “I know you’re having reservations about this leadership role.”

“Yes, sir,” said Countess. “I am. I work alone. I’ve always worked alone—”

“Not always,” said the Baron, cutting her off. “You’ve been sent on many missions where you’ve had to direct others.”

“Well yes, but—”

“Let me finish. Your recent VIP mission. You emancipated that bank owner from the Saug prison outside Kings Town.”

“Fernhaven. Yeah, that was…not fun. Why did we have to do that, anyway? Didn’t seem like one of my usual.”

The Baron smiled, looking uncomfortable. “I owed his wife a favor. Sorry about that.”

Countess shook her head and laughed. “Now it all makes sense.”

“On that mission,” the Baron said, “you had to control and guide him to safety. That’s leadership.”

“I guess so.”

“Trust me, I know that guy personally. You’d have to have powerful skills to get him to do anything!”

“He was a handful,” said Countess, “but I see what you mean. I may not be the best team captain, but I will see this through to the end.”

“I know you will.” Baron Greystone stood at attention and saluted Countess. She saluted back.

The baron turned and walked away. In her room, Countess tore into her Meal, Ready to Eat. She got to the third layer of packaging, decided it must be some practical joke, and gave up. She laid down on the bed and was asleep in seconds.