Ronnie might still have been dreaming of a lifetime record in "biggest gun fired", but Sam's enthusiasm soon resynced with Rebecca's about the travel opportunities. All of the women agreed that their little deduction shouldn't leave the RV, since these government agent types Tierman apparently vouched for were so very concerned about operational security. (Plus, no point in ruffling their feathers.) Sam and Rebecca nearly forgot about it anyway — they were far more preoccupied with digging out their field packs and being ready to go as soon as word came.

Amira and Ronnie pulled some strings, and Tierman agreed to shuttle the second diplomatic SUV over to the armory, where they could pick it up on the way out of town. Epstein cautioned them it was in rougher shape than Amira's, but neither of the girls really gave a damn. Chrissie promised that she and Patrick would get over leaving their familiar Humvee behind as soon as their "butts hit the fancy leather seats."

Rhonda insisted that Epstein would be going with them in case one of the vehicles broke down, and was also sending Landry as "muscle" — a fitting association, Rebecca thought. They'd seemed decent fellas so far, so sure, why not.

The girls would have probably driven each other nuts with their pent-up enthusiasm if they weren't able to make a little fun of themselves over it, especially when they had to partially unpack the gear stacked on the dining table as they realized they needed items from it. The days felt excruciatingly slow while they waited for more news, chipping in on their share of work around the settlement, but spending the rest of the time nearly vibrating with excitement.

There was a strong undercurrent of trepidation too, worrying how they could be disappointed, but it went unspoken. They'd already given enough voice to their doubts, and discussing those yet again just felt like giving granting them power. The four days it took for the expedition to the New Anna power station to be planned felt like twice that, but news finally came that everything was in order.

Leonard and Allison insisted on hosting both couples for dinner before they left, along with Ronnie, even though she was staying behind. (Amira had strenuously supported the idea of giving her military command of the Garden Fort's garrison.) They decided to gather two nights before departure, leaving the last evening for final preparation and rest.

Leonard surprised them with some freshly caught fish from the river — some kind of bass, he suspected — and did a pretty good job pan frying them. Afterwards, Rebecca and Ronnie were leaning on the balcony rail outside the dining room while the others played with Rufus lackadaisically inside.

"You know I wish I was going with you, kiddo. But I have faith in you, and your friends are solid people."

Rebecca scooted her elbows along the rail and moved closer to Ronnie, resting her head on her mentor and friend's shoulder. "I know. But you have to keep this place safe, we still don't know what the fuck's bumping around out there in the dark. Think of it as making sure i have a home to come back to, y'know?"

Ronnie chuckled. "Smart cookie. Knew I know what my responsibilities are and just focused your argument on the leftover guilt."

"Heh. Don't ever feel like you haven't done enough for me, Ronnie, please. I don't know how I would be here right now, happy with Sam, with a good home, healing into a bearable flavor of missing Jaime, and in a position to go out and look for my mom if it wasn't for you."

"Alright, but only if you come back safe. Remember everything I've taught you, and keep your head on straight out there."

Rebecca lifted her head with a mildly impudent grin. "Am I supposed to keep my head on straight, or on a swivel? Why can't whoever comes up with all those military maxims be consistent?"

"I'm not going to get into how many different knuckleheads have come up with a catchy phrase over the years. I do wonder if my biggest sacrifice these days is putting up with how much more lip you give me now that you're doing better?"

Rebecca made a scoffing noise. "Yeah, yeah. No good deed. But you know full well sarcasm means love around here." She was grateful for the opportunity to express the volume of her appreciation through humor, which Ronnie would tolerate, and also wouldn't seem like some kind of jinx before they parted ways for a mission. But...

"Ronnie, I never had a sister. But I think you'd make an awesome one."

Rhonda actually put an arm around Rebecca's shoulder and gave her a little squeeze. "I mean, technically I did already, just not for you. That's why all your old Princess Bride references pain me so much, remember? And why I can never forget the themes to some children's shows. Talk about enhanced interrogation techniques, I think they actually used Spongebob at Gitmo."

"Oh jeez." Rebecca fell contentedly silent for a while, looking out at the stars between the scattered clouds. She knew well enough what Ronnie had not said.

Their quiet contentment was ended when Rhonda looked off to one side, lifted her arm off of Rebecca's shoulder, and called her attention to something. "Hey, kid. Look down there."

Rebecca followed Ronnie's gaze down to the courtyard — she always did feel better that Allie was going to raise a kid in an apartment on the safer side of the building. Two soldiers were striding crisply to a point midway along the courtyard, but closer to the barracks building, and when they reached it, turned in a simultaneous about-face towards it. A reflection glinted as one of them lifted a bugle to his lips, and a second later, she heard the first haunting note he blew. Ronnie's back straighten in her peripheral vision.

Before she recognized the tune, and while the first long note was still resonating, Ronnie quietly asked her, "Do you know the words to this?"

Rebecca tilted her head, and finally recognized the long warbling note as the opening to the mournful tune she associated with military funerals. She tried to whisper back as quietly as she could and still be heard. "No... what happened?"

"Hang on." Ronnie still spoke quietly, hurrying through a few words to catch up, then slowing her pace to match the clarion notes. "Day is done, gone the sun... from the lake... from the hills... from the sky. All is well... safely... rest. God... is nigh."

Rebecca had felt a rush of goosebumps right after Ronnie started the last sentence, and waited for the last echoes to fade. As it is, she felt like Ronnie might have been breaking some kind of protocol just to tell her the words in time with the notes. When everything was silent again, and the two soldiers headed indoors in the same precisely locked step, she finally spoke. "Wow. That's actually... beautiful, and totally changes how I hear it. Why were they playing it? Is everyone okay?"

Ronnie took a deep breath like she was re-centering herself. "Yeah. That's actually the point." Windows across from them and most of the exterior LED spotlights in the courtyard started to go dark. "With the extra power coming in, we can run those lights longer, but still have to be mindful. Giving Sammie a predictable cutoff for all of them makes her life easier, so I gave orders to revive the lights-out call. Figured a little routine couldn't hurt. I also think that's been played for far more than enough funerals around the world over the last year, so we're tipping the fucking balance back."

There was an odd ripple of determination dripping from Ronnie's later words, combining with the memory of the notes still lingering in Rebecca's mind to form an odd mixture of haunting emotion for her. "Wow, again. Yeah, I'd sure like someone to tell me all is well every night. I appreciate that they played it at a reasonable volume though."

Ronnie chuckled. "Yeah, well. I figured we didn't want to piss off the neighbors. I'm glad that kid can actually play, so we're not standing out there holding a boombox over our heads."

"Heh. Speaking of neighbors, you might wanna spread the... lyrics, for lack of a better word, around."

"Have a little faith, kid. What do you think Allie's talking about tomorrow at her little morning service?"

Rebecca shook her head. "You missed being one step ahead of me, didn't you?" When Rhonda only grinned at her sideways, Rebecca voiced a nagging concern. "You don't think playing it right before we head out is, like, tempting fate? Bad foreshadowing?"

"Not if we don't let it be. Like I said, we're reclaiming it. Allie's gonna tell folks tomorrow what it means, that'll get around, it'll play one more time before you leave on Monday."

"I won't deny it'll be nice to repeat those words to myself tomorrow night. Though not gonna lie, I may forget parts of it and replace them with humming."

**

At the closing of Allison's service, she said a short benediction over the imminent expedition. It was... open-mindedly worded, wishing them safety, success, and a happy return. Not too heavy on the manus dei stuff... but Rebecca still found herself mumbling the closing "Amen" along with everyone else. It couldn't hurt, right?

Even if spirituality didn't bring her much direct comfort, Rebecca still deeply appreciated the human side of the faith equation. Just knowing a number of people were strongly hoping for their success brought her a measure of calm, comforting in the face of the multiple flavors of anxiety fluttering around within her. She held onto Allie for a very long hug when it was her turn, even though she'd probably get another one tomorrow before they left. It still felt right, like she could soak up more of the optimism through direct contact. Both Allie and Sam smiled at her understandingly when she relaxed her arms and stepped away.

"I will see you again tomorrow, Rebecca." Allison clasped one of her hands as they separated, to give it a reassuring pat. "And, I will see you again after that. My faith isn't just in the folks upstairs, but in you and your friends, too."

Rebecca felt a small knot in her throat at that she carefully breathed away, blinking her eyes clear. "Thank you."

Sam got a longer-than-average hug too, and Allison smiled over the top of her head at Rebecca while she patted Sam's back. "You two take good care of each other. That's both an observation and an instruction."

"Yes ma'am. Thanks for what you said, too." Sam moved to Rebecca's side after the embrace.

"Of course, dears." Allison moved on through the small group of attendees, leaving the two of them to sidle over to the kitchen counter, collect a mug, and start pouring what Rebecca first thought was a cinnamony tea.

She stopped when the mug was a third full with a quizzical expression and held it up to her nose, then took a cautious sip of the dark amber liquid. "Oh my god. Leonard..."

He turned to face them in the kitchen, from where he was doing... something hospitality-related at the opposite counter — Rebecca was too busy beaming at his grinning face to notice what. "You like the little surprise?"

Rebecca handed the cup to Sam, let her get a sip in, and then topped it off from the thermal carafe. "Cider. Real cider. How the hell..."

"Well, I can't take that much credit. It's not real cider, but it is pretty good for the powdered stuff, huh? I thought it might be fun before you go."

"You and Allie are saints. I don't care what anybody else says."

Sam hummed an agreeing sound from behind the mug as she nursed it.

"The best part?" His grin renewed as he stepped closer to them and opened a drawer. "Some for the road." He slid two packets across the counter like it was a clandestine exchange, and Rebecca quickly pocketed them in her hoodie.

"Genuine saints, I say." Then, to Sam, in a hushed tone... "Stop hogging that or I'm keeping both of these for myself!"