Motherland: Fort Salem

- Previously on Motherland: - Welcome to Fort Salem.

I am General Sarah Alder. All of you have answered the call,

just like your mothers and their mothers before them.

We live in a time of ancient hatred and emerging threats.

The Spree are ruthless and savage.

We will need all of you to meet what's coming.

I am Drill Sergeant Anacostia Quartermaine.

My job is to keep you alive through basic.

Starting this year, you will rise or fall as units.

How anyone in your unit performs is how everyone in your unit performs.

I know this is a lot for you, but it is just the beginning.

- Guys, let's all take a breath. - You look troubled, child.

- I want to be reassigned. - I heard your request was denied.

I'm the one who should walk.

The Spree has no great leader. They will appear normal

- in every way, and maybe even are. - I'm Scylla.

How can we fight them if we can't even tell who's one of them?

I have to go back to Circe. I have inspection.

This is an inspection.

Stop, Scylla

No, this is important.

I need to secure this area.

Okay, I gotta go.

- How's high and mighty? - Abigail? The same.

A lot less mighty than she thinks she is.

Yeah. That's just the world she comes from. It's her family.

Where do you come from, since we're on the subject?

All over.

Could you be more vague?

- We moved around constantly. - You a base brat?

My parents didn't serve.

How'd that work out for them?

- It's complicated. - I do complicated.

Bells are ringing.

Don't you have to go?

- I'll see you tonight? - I'll try.

I'm not sure when we're done, so...

Henbane, aconite, yarrow.

So you're saying if I chew on those at midnight on a full moon,

that I'll start floating around the sky like one of you.

- Not exactly, Madame President. - Kelly.

Not exactly, Kelly.

This is what we make our salva out of.

We use it in combat, as you may recall.

The recipe is quite ancient.

If we could all float away from the Spree...

General Alder,

I'm speaking here as a friend,

you need to give me something on those butchers,

because sooner than later, there'll be no place safe

to be a person in America, much less the world, for that matter.

We work ceaselessly to deliver the Spree to justice.

But what are we doing in a concrete way

to find these people, to stop these people?

We've developed a way to track the Spree's use of forbidden workings.

- How? - This kind of work leaves a signature.

One that we now recognize.

Just an hour ago, one of their bombs went off on a bus in Kiev.

They're branching away from balloons.

- They used a bottle this time. - A plastic bottle?

Anything that holds a volume of air.

The sound they trap inside needs it. Small as a pill bottle.

I need to know about these things.

- There's a lot you don't know. - Is that so?

Attacks like this are military matters, by rule of law.

And you too are bound by rule of law

to the will of the American people,

who have elected me to represent their interests

and protect them. Don't you forget it,

or you may find yourself reminded.

I'm not surprised.

I missed inspection.

We know. We were there.

Anacostia gave me guard duty tonight.

Should have thought about that before you

were late for third bell.

That kind of nonsense is not how we're going to get ahead!

What are you doing here?

You weren't supposed to... You did not.

Tell me you did not come when you didn't have to.

Why would you subject yourself to this willingly?

- Having a bad time? - I miss home.

You hated it there. You told me every day.

I know, but I was foolish then.

It was so peaceful and relaxed, and I had privacy...

Glory, may I remind you, the world really needs us right now.

It's becoming a scary place. Maybe we can make it a little less scary.

- My Seed Sounds are a mess. - They'll get better.

- I don't want to die a terrible death. - I know.

There's no going back. We're here.

We ran out, so we're raiding your mess.

- Ran out of...? - Coffee.

- I'm sorry. - Nothing to be sorry about.

You remind me of my daughter.

Ladies. Top five highest ranking units

will attend the pageant in Salem Town,

after which they will enjoy a few hours of unsupervised time off base.

Best of luck, ladies.

Let's walk.

- How did it go with Wade? - Same.

Threats wrapped in condescension.

If I don't deliver a victory in the Ukraine,

she intends to bring out conventional forces to fight the Spree.

- She said that? - In as many words.

She wants to be re-elected. That's her real drive.

Eliminating the Spree is incidental.

How are things in Kiev?

We're waiting for the strike team to land.

Well, hello there.

Hi. Don't you all look happy and healthy.

A blessing on you children so you can stay safe and strong.

My word is done...

as the rising moon and the setting sun.

Go play.

Does me good to see the fosterlings.

I remember when you were one of them.

- How's your Bellweather Unit? - Better.

You should have seen Petra's daughter whinny and pout when I kicked her out of my office.

She got the message.

Keep me posted on them.

Everyone is still talking about what they did in vocal.

I have officially taken an interest.

Understood.

Libba Swythe.

Daughter of misfortune.

I thought I smelled sulfur and defeat.

Abigail Bedwetter.

I mean, what happened to her?

All that careful breeding and a face like a spider abortion.

You're a contagion, Libba.

You're a dumb noodling nay-nayhorse from a dumb noodling nobody family.

You're the kind of stupid that spreads.

You are malice, Abigail.

I heard about your little meeting with Alder.

Maggots will reject your fetid corpse!

Don't let her take your joy. That's what she eats.

Gather.

Pick it up.

Run at me and stab me in the eye.

- What? - Now.

Again.

Is anyone up for this?

Windshear, ladies.

The first official piece of military canon

you get in basic training.

Windshear is a site-specific, rapid-conjuration, impact-absorbing shield,

created by layering two complicated Seed Sounds subvocally.

No big deal, right?

We will begin with Seed 41, the seed of haste and accumulation.

Upper register, just north of audible range.

- So, Libba... - You guys seem tight.

It's a family thing. Our mothers hated each other in War College.

- Libba did add to it, though. - What did she do?

It was my debut,

unarguably the most important day of my life before getting called.

She danced with my Cavalier before I got a chance to.

- What language are you speaking? - What's a Cavalier?

Kind of like your date for the night, but way more astrological and foretold.

Anyway, she danced with him in front of me,

in front of the very best of Annapolis witchery.

It was a declaration of war.

War, though, isn't that a little disproportionate?

You don't get it.

It wasn't about the guy.

That was my night.

She took it from me.

Hey.

Lieutenant Helen Graves.

Sorry to scare you.

- You must be Private Collar. - Hi.

I brought coffee.

- No thanks. - Suit yourself.

- It's not my fault you're here. - I never said it was.

This is gonna be fun.

- What year are you? - Sophomore, War College.

- What specialization? - Necro.

- What's that like? - Necro's like any other.

Blasters blast, they clear ground with dangerous weather,

Fixers fix people, keep 'em alive, Knowers see around corners,

they know what to do, when to do it.

Necros, well, we just happen to channel the power of death itself.

Well, what does that mean?

Death has its own magnetism and resonance,

highly directable in combat situations,

great for gathering intel.

The dead make excellent eyes and ears.

Why are you so curious about Necros?

- No reason. - Yeah.

Two can play at that game, tight lips.

All right, so maybe I have a special Necro in my life.

This evening just got interesting. Who is she?

She's a second year. Scylla Ramshorn.

Bright girl. Best in her year.

Yeah. Bit cagey, though.

The thing you've got to understand is that Necros

are a weird lot on the best day.

- And why is that? - Because of what we can do.

Because we are the Army's bastard stepdaughters.

Because we're so damn spooky.

On top of that, Scylla's got her own stuff.