"Good morning, Commander," a Bulgarian Soldier greeted him in his northern accent as the Headmaster and the other elite soldiers saluted him. His own five soldiers fall into line behind him, with Eko trying her best to fit in with them and the way they are presented.

Sure, she stood dressed as they all were, black fitted suit, and she felt like an absolute boss in her outfit. She looked every part of a soldier. But, she felt like an imposter at this stage; surely, they could see she wasn't like them whatsoever.

"We need to get in touch with the survivors," Matthew's instructions began, "Cid mentioned that he would get into contact prior to our arrival to explain?"

"Cid had," the elderly Headmaster nodded kindly.

"We have them on our levels. Precisely four hundred are here. We are quite overrun. However, a carrier was coming tonight to take them to Sea-tac?"

"Yes, before nightfall. If you could lead my four soldiers here to them, they need to be processed."

Upon that command, Matthew flung his head over his shoulder to the four.

"Kurt, Abigail, Fae, CJ."

"Sir," they nodded in command, and without another instruction, the Bulgarian soldiers offered the way for the Isadorian soldiers to follow.

The eight of them immediately disappeared from sight, leaving Eko staring at Matthew and what she was meant to be doing.

"This way," he instructed Eko, allowing her to follow him as he took the heel of the Headmaster that offered them forward into the vicinity of his small Academy.

"I'll need your records from the intake."

"I figured you might want them. Claire has already pulled the report together for you to look through. They are in my office."

Stepping into the hallways of the Bulgarian Base, Eko watched the ancient building of sandstone and architectural archways of steel constructed around her. They pulled together a world of ceilings of glass and natural light that flooded her surroundings of the smaller school.

"An impressive Academy you have here," Eko began in awe, allowing the Headmaster to drop back on his pace and join the young woman in a conversation with himself.

"We are nearly as old as Isadora."

"Yes," she nodded, looking at how the place had been designed. It wasn't as architecturally sound as what Isadora had been; sure, the walls and the surroundings indicated that it had been around for a long time, and the Headmaster himself was a testament to that.

For Eko, there was a form of magic missing, a vibrancy of life that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Perhaps it was her slower pace vibe from this Academy, compared to the humming bustling Academy of Allegiant.

"You were the third built after Isadora."

"Yes, ma'am, we were," the Headmaster nodded to Eko, quite surprised at her knowledge, "we don't hold the numbers as some of the sister sites. But we do quite well considering."

"John," Matthew laughed, "I don't think she really cares," his tone was humorous.

"Hush boy, a lovely young lady is asking me about my Academy. You've had her presence all this morning, and now she's interested in where we are. I don't get this often."

"You don't get the company, in general. More like it."

Eko giggled, shaking her head at the Headmaster.

"By all means," she continued, "ignore the grumpy one here. He hasn't had his morning coffee yet."

John looked back to Matthew and chuckled.

"What are you telling him, Eko?"

"Nothing, Commander, just your need for a coffee to be a decent human being."

Matthew rolled his eyes, thankfully arriving at the elevator; John reached out and selected the third level of the three levels built for the site. They all stepped inside, waiting for the elevator to take them to their destination.

"What a tragedy," John shook his head, "how this was to befall those poor innocent people."

"But you're taking care of them now; that's what's important," Eko encouraged, and the Headmaster smiled as the elevator pinged and announced they had arrived at level three.

"This way," he instructed kindly to them both.

---- -----

The hours passed, and the reports from his soldiers were filtering into the tablet he had on hand, uploading to the team back at Allegiant as they monitored and assessed the victims of the tremendous tragedy that had befallen the moon.

Eko had spent the next hour with Abigail and the survivors after she left the office, leaving their Commander to finish through with formalities with the Headmaster.

That's how they found themselves aboard the Sierra Ace and buckled in with the crew. Matthew remained on the docks and where he had been finishing off his discussion with John.

"Zulu III will be here in a few hours to move the survivors as outlined. They have your numbers."

John nodded as he shook the Commander's hand.

"The survivors will be taken care of," John assured him, "in the meantime, take care of my dear friend. I sense this has put him under much stress."

Matthew paused; John had no idea of the stress Cid was now demonstrating to his staff and soldiers, nor was it an attribute he took in his stride.

"He is in good hands. We've got this. Just let us know if anything out of the ordinary happens. I do not want you to wait, not with what's happening."

"Understood," John smiled, and he watched the Commander nod before heading back to the ship and boarding it, if not moments later.

Passing the soldiers, he took to the cockpit, engaging the system to prepare them for departure. As the hangar closed, the engines roared to life, and Eko, like the soldiers, felt the ship pull upwards before being thrusted forward towards their next destination.

"Would they be in any immediate threat?" Eko looked at Abigail curiously, and softly she shook her head.

"If we left them there, perhaps. Ezra, I would anticipate, would strike at the survivors. Commander Skarsgard had ordered us to tag them and move them to Sea-tac tonight. For their own protection."

"Sea-tac. I meant to ask. What is this place?"

"Our main defence site, like the Outrigger. The defence network is a safe haven established a few years back," Abigail explained, "we send most people to those sites, to be quite fair."

"They'll only be caught in the crossfire if we don't," the elder bald-haired man known as CJ chimed in, he was in his later years, but it did not mean that he wasn't as agile as the rest of the soldiers around him. Tattoos of his Narlean culture took over his body, only leaving his face unmasked from the ritual tattoos.

"Ezra is looking to destroy anyone that would oppose her." he continued.

"The academies and their allies?" Eko cocked her head.

CJ nodded, "Isadora leads the academies; as you know, we are the prime target. One would think the subsidies of our culture should be a target first. Destroying the support structure before targeting the main affiliation of our bases."

Fae clicked his finger together, humming almost, the thick accent was hard to hear, but Eko knew what he was trying to say.

"Zevon knows, ze attack. That is Zkarsgurd's order, az much as ze is protected, ze greatest threat is us."

Eko nodded, "is that why no survivors are at Isadora's base?"

"Zwar," Fae continued, "zoldiers built for zwar."

"What Fae is trying to say." CJ leaned back into his seat, "there should be no one at our base that can't defend themselves."

"Right, of course, that makes sense," Eko nodded, feeling the ship as it began to descend. They must be coming up to their next destination already. Leaning forward to the view, they were greeted by the expansive beachfront, and she watched as the shoreline altogether came into view.

"Saint Cristos," Abigail announced as the ship began to land, and Eko found that the following site had been quicker than their stay just before.

The Headmaster had only a handful of the survivors, nor was there anyone that she had been looking for.

Upon departure, the Headmaster acknowledged his support and cooperation with Isadora's base before allowing the soldiers to leave.

"Where are we off to next?" Eko had finally caught back up to Matthew, the first to arrive before the soldiers had finished up with their reports, lingering by the hanger. What captured them both was the rolling clouds coming in from the north.

"Portland," Matthew answered, "with the storm on the horizon, it might deter us."

"Is that going to be a problem?"

"Electrical storm, it looks like," pointing towards the cobalt skies disappearing away from them, "we'll need to get to Portland. The storm will jam our senses." If on cue, his soldiers appeared.

"Sea-Tac's dispatches are en route already." CJ updated his Commander.

"Good, board. We need to head to Portland before the storm hits."

"Sir," the four soldiers nodded upon his command, entering the ship, allowing Eko to hang back with the man as they passed them.

"So, we're staying at Portland?" the smirk of a smile appeared as she stepped forward.

"We are, and you will be losing that bet tonight," his hands clasped together almost in prayer as he brought his hands to his lips. The seductive look met her gaze, and that dark place at the base of her brain whispered seductively to her.

Rising to the challenge, she stepped into his chest while the soldiers weren't looking. A breath take away, and she inhaled his clean, wholesome scent.

"Beg me to fuck you," she held his intense, burning gaze for that moment, or maybe it's forever... but eventually, her attention was drawn to his cunning mouth.

"Beg me, Matthew."

He looked down at her, gaze hooded, his eyes darkening. He loved this game and grasped her chin, holding it in place, ever close to his own.

"Would you prefer my tongue or my cock?"

"Beg me, and you'll find out."

"It's only a matter of time- you'll cave," he raised his head, grasping her chin a fraction tighter, pulling her towards him, but what he didn't expect, nor anticipate was when she grabbed him at his pants, the soft hand grasping at his cock that hardens instantly upon her touch.

"You'll beg me," her hand squeezed, loving the feel of him through his pants, reeling in the delight that those rumours had proved quite true about his package.

"I know men like you."

Then just as strong as she came onto him, she backed off, her hands returning to herself, and the devil of a smile plagued her face, for the crack of a rolling storm echoed, and he stood perplexed as she retreated from him.

He knew, staring at the back of her swaying brunette ponytail, that whatever chaos she brought to the table, it was utterly worth it at this point.

EPPPP - our girl is upping the game!!!

VOTEEE if you are on Team EKO!