The stars were out in force above the Rider property, blanketing the dark sky in a wash of silver. The old outdoor table, hastily reinforced with scrap timber and surrounded by a mismatched cluster of camping chairs and stools, had become their communal hub—the war table, the dinner table, the planning station, and occasionally, a place to rest their elbows and just breathe.

Tonight, they'd managed to cook up a decent meal. Some fried rice, sausages, and a few leftover bits of damper filled their plates. Bell had even pulled out a plastic container of her secret spice mix from her old pantry stores, which had somehow survived the goblin ransacking of the kitchen intact. It was a small comfort, but a good one.

Everyone sat in a relaxed sprawl around the table, full bellies and warm drinks in hand, enjoying the quiet for a few precious minutes before the night shift began.

Kai was the first to break the comfortable silence.

"So…" he began, idly pushing a grain of rice around his plate, "how long do you want to try and not fight any goblins or hobgoblins?"

Bell leaned back in her seat, her fingers interlaced over her stomach. "I think we should just hold off as long as we can and see what happens. The longer we stay out of combat, the more we learn about how the System works without risking everything."

Zane gave a thoughtful grunt, scratching his chin where a layer of stubble had begun to regrow. "I get that, I really do. But I don't like the idea of leaving the goblins to their own devices. What if they don't stay local? What if they head toward town?"

Tarni was chewing on a toothpick, lounging on the camp stool like it was a recliner. He nodded. "Yeah, that's a good point. But we're not ready to go looking for trouble either. How about we stay here, focus on defences for the next two days? If nothing changes, we all go out together after that. Not just some of us this time, Zane. We go as a team."

Lily's eyes lit up. "We could use that time to train, too. Work on actual coordination, maybe do some drills? So far we've been lucky or winging it—or both."

Zane leaned forward, lacing his fingers together on the table. "Alright then. Two days. We train, we fortify, we watch. But if those lights trip or we hear anything out of the ordinary, we're on it fast."

Everyone nodded.

The agreement settled over the group like a warm blanket—measured, cautious, and necessary. They knew what they were up against now. None of them liked it, but they understood it better. Fear and excitement hung in the air in equal measure.

Tarni stood and stretched, his joints popping loudly. "Alright, who's on first watch?"

Lily grinned, already grabbing her spear gun. "You and me, Uncle Tarn, I believe."

Zane raised a brow at her. "You sure you want the shift with the least chance of excitement?"

"Hey," Lily shrugged, slinging the strap of the spear gun over her shoulder, "I like a quiet night."

Kai gathered up the dishes with a tired sigh. "Guess that makes me and Dad second shift?"

Zane chuckled. "Yeah, and you can try not to fall asleep this time."

Bell folded her arms and gave Zane a small frown "I slept all night last night, because there are 5 of us, I think everyone should get a full night's rest every 5th night. Kai needs the most sleep so he can have the night off first."

Kai rolled his eyes but didn't argue when he saw the look of determination on his mother's face.

Bell patted the seat next to her. "Come on, help me sort these leftovers before the ants get a feast."

As Tarni and Lily headed to their assigned watch post, the rest of the family settled into their tasks. The stars wheeled overhead, silent and uncaring, while down below, a quiet resolve set in.

They weren't soldiers, but they were survivors now. Family. A team.

Later that Night…

The night air was cool, almost pleasant under the cloudless sky. Lily leaned on the railing near the ladder while Tarni sat cross-legged beside one of the solar sensor lights, keeping an eye out over the gravel perimeter.

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Nothing moved. Not even a breeze.

Tarni yawned and muttered, "Not even a roo fartin' in the distance. Quiet enough to make me nervous."

Lily chuckled. "I'll take quiet."

Then—click—the sensor light behind them flicked on.

Both of them shot upright, weapons ready. Lily's eyes scanned the gravel circle. Tarni darted to the shooting slot and peeked through.

"Anything?" Lily whispered.

Tarni frowned. "Nothing. No movement. No sound. Must've been a false alarm."

Lily nodded, but kept the spear gun steady just in case. "Or something small enough not to trigger the others."

They stayed on edge for another tense ten minutes, listening for so much as a footstep.

Eventually, the light clicked off again.

Tarni sat back down, his heart slowing. "Bloody sensor lights, piece of junk. Might've been a possum."

"Or a goblin with a diet plan," Lily muttered, eyes still scanning.

He snorted. "Let's hope not. I don't trust anything green and sneaky."

But the rest of their shift passed uneventfully. By the time they handed off watch duty to Zane and Bell, the quiet had returned—uneasy, but peaceful.

Still, as Tarni crawled into his sleeping bag on the couch and zipped it closed, he kept the machete close.

Just in case.

The sun rose into a cloudless sky, golden light stretching over the paddocks and bushland that surrounded the Rider property. The early morning was already warm, and the buzz of insects hummed in the air. But today, no one was lounging or taking it slow.

Today was about training.

With the defensive trenches half-dug and punji stakes drying in greasy rows, the group decided it was time to shift focus to something just as important: teamwork.

Out behind the house, on a flat stretch of cleared ground, Zane clapped his hands and called everyone together.

"Alright, crew. We've had enough individual practice. It's time we start working together properly—train as a unit."

"Finally," Tarni muttered, twirling his machete like he was auditioning for a bushland kung-fu movie. "I was starting to feel like a background character."

Zane ignored him with a smirk. "Here's what I'm thinking. I'll tank. Get up front, take hits, hold attention."

"Obviously," Bell said, arms crossed and smiling. "You're built like a fridge."

"Cheers, love," he shot back. "Tarni, you're off-tank. Mobile. You jump in and out of the fight, hit hard, try to get behind them. Use those sneaky tendencies for good."

Tarni gave an exaggerated bow. "The rogue life chooses me."

Zane continued. "Bell, you're our ranged support. Use your bow except when we need real stopping power, that spear gun of yours hits hard and fast, and with that Powered Shot skill, you've got the punch we need to finish tough ones or keep enemies at range."

Bell nodded, already loading her spear gun. "I can rotate and reposition, but I'll stay out of the melee unless things go bad."

Zane turned to Lily and Kai. "Lily, you're our flex. You move wherever you're needed—help Bell, support me or Tarn if we get surrounded, and most importantly... protect the healer."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Healer gets a bodyguard now?"

Lily grinned, cracking her knuckles. "Damn right. You're going to be squishiest one here, Kai. The way you spend your points, if you go down, so does everyone else."

"Gee, thanks," he muttered. "No pressure."

Zane placed a hand on Kai's shoulder. "You're more important than you think, son. If you're free to heal, we stay alive. That's it."

Kai straightened a bit at that.

With roles assigned, they got to work.

Training began slow. At first, they moved awkwardly—crossing each other's lines, stepping into each other's strikes, calling out wrong directions. Tarni and Zane bumped into each other constantly, and Lily nearly took Zane's head off when she spun with a practice spear to intercept an imaginary flanker.

"Oi!" Zane ducked, waving his hands. "Friendly fire, woman!"

"Then stop lumbering around like a wombat in gumboots!" she yelled back, breathless.

They reset. Again. And again.

Then slowly—something shifted.

Zane learned to step just far enough forward to hold the line without blocking Bell's aim. Tarni moved with more precision, ducking and weaving behind imaginary enemies, flanking the targets they'd set up using hay bales and empty water drums. Lily shadowed Kai like a hawk, knocking aside foam mock-goblins (made from pillows and duct tape) before they could reach him.

Bell nailed target after target from a distance, only occasionally muttering about how the reload time for the spear gun still sucked.

Kai, standing just behind the line, healed Zane during mock-up charges and even managed to time a few clutch heals on Tarni while he darted around."

They laughed, they shouted, they corrected one another constantly.

"Don't step into my line of fire!"

"You're not a tank if you're standing in the healer's lap, Dad!"

"Tarni, you have to call when you disengage!"

Bit by bit, they started to move as one. Flowing between roles. Adjusting with instinct rather than instruction.

By mid-afternoon, sweat drenched every shirt, every hat, every sock. They collapsed in the shade, drinking from water bottles like survivors in a desert.

"That..." Lily panted, sprawled out on the grass. "...was actually pretty good."

"I didn't fall over," Kai added, proud.

Tarni rolled onto his side, grinning. "And no one got stabbed with a real spear. A miracle."

Zane leaned back on his elbows, catching his breath. "We've still got a long way to go, but we're better than we were this morning. A lot better."

Bell smiled at them all. "And it's kind of fun, working together like this."

"Speak for yourself," Tarni said. "I'm sweating like a busted tap."

"Want a hug?" Zane asked with mock sweetness.

Tarni made a noise of horror and rolled away. As he stepped out of range of everybody, "We are getting bettera at this"

Laughter rippled through the group as the sun crept westward. The air still held that tension—the awareness that danger was out there, waiting—but for now, they were ready. More ready than they'd ever been.

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