There was a sigh. A huge screen showing upon three faces, each in a different location of the screen but at least taking up all of the computer. It's bright, plenty of people talking and working just outside the glass door but inside is just a girl and her weapon facing the computer with the three faces on it. "Anything going over there guys?" her voice, normal female voice that was not at all soft or high-pitched but almost a bit manly but just right for a strong girl the age of seventeen. Even though in reality he shouldn't be moving at all since he has no whereabouts on us anyhow. But doesn't mean you can't be too careful, she thought. Sol wasn't the type of person to be overly-cautious but not carefree either, not in times like these where she needs updates, status reports, so on and so forth. Being a leader really took a lot out of you, but you get used to it after a while anyway.

"We had a recent disturbance the other day which went up the command to my to do list, we took care of it but I just want to make sure everything is okay over on your sides as well," she said, reassuring her fellow Leaders to make sure that nothing was going wrong on her side, but in reality, the little things are also just as important as the bigger ideas that could get you killed or thrown into a concentration camp. Sol could not remember her past yes but it didn't mean she had to stop moving forward, because moving forward is what all of this was about.

Mia fingered silently played with a knife in her lap while she looked up at the three older teenagers on the screen above her. It always made her nervous to meet with people who had more experience in life than she did and it was what drove her to become better than they were. The screen she looked at was divided into three even pieces vertically and in each space a person was watching her; two male and one female. She listened as each person began to explain what was happening if their HQ and decided when a moment of silence appeared to take her turn to explain what was happening with her.

"Nothing of major importance has happened as of yet. We had a quarrel two days ago with a small concentration army but other than that we have had it pretty simple over here," she responded with the authority of a general. Her voice though feminine and young held a timbre that showed she had power; lots of it. And she used it wisely when it came to this battle and wouldn't abuse it or fling it around like some toy. "I think I should also report that I believe the few survivors of the fight might have gone back to the camp to recruit more men for a large scale attack." It made her heart shudder to think of loosing anyone; no matter the cause. Mia was selfish but she was selfish for others not herself.

There was a thump and roll against the pavement as Sol looked up at the ceiling and hated all of this. It was stupid to tell all truth, the war, the army, the King, everything. Looking up as someone finally responded, she was surprised to here the youngest of the leaders speak out first instead of the older ones. "That's good, we need more men, from my resources, the King seems to always ignore the concentration camps in Antarctica so this shouldn't be a problem," the last thing they wanted was less instead of more. Looking over at the record books her Tactics update her on, she seemed to have a well known understanding on how what they were making and what they were planning really works.

"Guys we need strategy, you know we can't rely on the Tactics for everything we're going to do, as Leaders and practically the owners of each HQ, we need something to help us travel faster than, so far airplanes are too loud, tanks we need for battle and those are worse then the planes, air balloons take too long, so much for cars because they're very unreliable. This is the year 3000, we need to have something that it quick and evolved, did any of the scientists from your sides leave you any plans of easy, fast transportation anywhere?" Sol asked, a little frustrated that the number one thing on their To Do list was something as simple as transportation, it wasn't even as major as low supply on weaponry.

"Hang on one moment; I think we might have something but I need to go and check my files." Mia stepped out of the view of her camera and walked over to a computer that sat on the wall to the right of the screen. She turned it on and typed in a password and watched the screen as she waited for it to load. As she waited she heard footsteps moving around above and in the room next to her and sighed as she thought about how people were rushing around to tend to the wounded. The computer chimed as it loaded and she quickly opened up several windows and scanned the information that was being presented to her.

Mia appeared back in the screen; her jet black hair now rippling over her shoulders and down her chest when it before was all pushed back behind her shoulders. "It seems we were left several hover cars and one large hover ship yet they are in need of some improvements and repairs before they are ready to be launched." She opened a book that was on the table before her and looked at the recent reports she had been given by the engineers that were working on the vehicles. "The smaller ones - of which we have ten - can hold squadrons of about fifteen and the ship can hold an estimated amount of one hundred. I believe there is also one main ship meant for the leaders; us. I do hope we are not the only ones because we do not have enough room for all of our people," she furthered as she looked back up at the screen. "So far that is all I can give. I also have some information on concentration camp fourteen that may be useful if no one else has anything to add." The teen sat herself down on the chair she had been seated in before to rest herself; it was stressful having to fight a war no one had been able to win yet.

"If you would please make copy of those plans on the concentration camp, that you would pleasantly grateful thank you," Sol said, still sitting as she was whacking her brain for other things that she needed to discuss. Looking at her clipboard that was tossed to the side earlier today, she flipped the pages and read every crook and nanny of the thing, nothing. "Well, there doesn't seem to be anything else to discuss so...break time!" she said, sighing and finally relaxed. Looking over at the screen, she felt like talking like normal human beings, "So how's it going over there Engel?" They referred to the Leaders by their last name because it was code. It also became a habit. Leaning over on the keyboard and still looking up at the big screen she waited for her to answer. "Hold on that Engel!" she said, finally remembering what she was going to say as she ran off into the laboratory where everyone was working. "ROLLAND! ROLLAND!"

(Eh, a little better but still on a writer's block. D:)

He walked through the hallway with purpose; a clipboard clutched to his chest as he moved. He ignored everyone who moved by him and didn't respond if someone calle dout his name. Mia needed to know what had happened and he wouldn't let anyone stop him. Not even the two young boys around his age who were play wrestling; that was something that annoyed him more than the fact that people teased him for being short. It wasn't Aaiden's fault he was short; not his at all.

The boy paused at the door to the meeting room he knew Mia was in and typed in the pin for the door; only him and a few other very important members knew it other than Mia. He waited as the door slid open and stepped into the room and the door slid shut again. Briskly he walked over to his leader and paused only an arm's length away and dipped his head in respect. "Mia; something important has come up and I take it your best interest to know what has happened," he explained as he held out the clipboard with a determained look on his face. Aaiden wanted to be helpful above all else; it was his mission in life.

She was just about to answer when she heard the door slide open and her most important member walked into the room holding a clipboard. "Aaiden?" Her silver-grey eyes widened as she heard that something new had come up and took the clipboard from his hand with a kind smile. "Thank you; this is very helpful," she stated as she dipped her head in return. Mia always honored those who went out of their way to help. She turned her attention away from the young boy and to the information he had brought with him.

Quietly she flipped through several pages and absorbed the information they presented with a practiced eye. "I see. This is very good news Aaiden." Mia looked up at the screen and set the clipboard down; she knew that everyone would see the boy and had no problem with it. He was a valued asset to her base and she knew she wouldn't have been able to win half the battles she did without him. "My technician Aaiden has just brought me some valuable information. It seems they have just discovered four more hover crafts that are in working order and can be sent out to those who need them. As for the plans...." Mia turned to Aaiden and began to address him. "Will you go over to my computer and send them the blueprints and information we found on concentration camp fourteen? I'm sure later we'll hold a meaning and you can explain what they mean," she said quietly enough that only he could hear her. She looked back ta the monitor. "Other than that Christian everything seems to be going quite well over here. I've just gotten great news and everyone is either relaxing or tending to the very few wounded we have," she stated in a tone that suggested she too had finally relaxed.

Aaiden nearly burst with pride as Mia told him that what he had brought her was helpful but didn't let it show on his face; he knew that emotion bothered his leader more than anything else. He snuck glances at the screen above them every so often and wasn't surprised to see the other three Knights. He'd never met them in person but knew enough to know that they were powerful and very good leaders. Although he would always say his was better.

"Yes ma'am," he answered when he was told to send the information gathered on the base. He rushed over to her computer and sat down; quickly going through the process of logging in and typing in password after password to reach the files that were prohibited to anyone who wasn't chosen. His brown eyes scanned window after window until he found the several things he was looking for. Thoughts of being able to explain something himself at a meeting with the four most powerful people he knew other than that blasted King made him slightly nervous; they were above him yet he was the one who had to give them details. After he sent the several notes of information and the blueprint he spun in the chair and concentrated on Mia. "It has been sent and they should be recieving it shortly."

Rolland popped up his head, his usual self with a toothpick in his mouth and bored eyes stared at his older sister. "What's up?" he asked from the other side of a tank he was fixing along with some of the other technicians. "Bring me the blueprints!" she yelled as Rolland blinked his at her. "Now?" he asked, just curious. "YES NOW! IT'S IMPORTANT!" Sol yelled at him, really testing her patience. Rolland slid down the set of stairs he was on and started jogging over to his sister, stopping and staring with his dazed look before handing her the blueprints from his back pocket. "Thank you Rolland," Sol sighed as she took them from his hand and went off, Rolland just stood there then one of his partners called his name to come back, and so he did.

"Sorry, you might want some privacy for this one," Sol said. She was completely alone on her side, she didn't know about everyone else though. She saw that Mia had company but soon left afterwords. "Good that you sent the plans, we have something a bit on the high mark right now, and this is only between the four of us," Sol said, being very specific because this was classified to her by the scientist who left her the facility and it was important that everyone else knew.

Luca walked into his meeting room after typing in the code and plopped himself down on the bed he lay down on when in meetings. The camera was set up in such a way that he would seem as if he was sitting up and the screen was flat above his head so that he could see each of them. A laptop next to him dinged and he looked over at it seeing that he had recieved something from the AAHQ technician and smiled a little. Luca looked back up and beamed at the other three faces. "Ciao," he said light-heartedly as a screen next to the screen with their faces lit up showing the message he had been sent.

"What's this important info Christian? And thanks for the stuff Engel." He ran a hand through his messed up blonde hair and yawned. "Sorry, didn't get much sleep last night. So much stuff going on around here I'm surprised that I got even the two hours that I did," Luca explained as he yawned again; covering his mouth this time. It was hard for him to keep his eyes open but being able to see the other two leaders and possibly his best frien Mia was enough to keep him from doozing out to get himself more sleep. He couldn't even imagine how he looked but he was sure he had dark spots under his eyes and that his shirt was a crumpled mess.

The young red head had what looked like a round ball in front of her on a desk and a bright desk lamp was beaming plenty of light onto it. In her lap was a blueprint of what the ball looked like taken apart and she often looked back up at the sphere before looking back down at the blueprint. A screwdriver was between teeth and her hands where working on taking apart the object; one hand held another type of screwdriver and the other was testing a piece that she was working on taking off. Her laptop but pinging off to her left but she knew that her leader already received whatever the message was; so Karina completely ignored it.

What she really wanted to be doing though was sitting near Luca's side and helping him with whatever he needed her to help him with. But she was currently working on what he needed help with and she knew it was for that other leader at the AAHQ; it hurt her deeply. Yet Karina would not disappoint him and fail trying to make the little bomb better. And she knew that her partner in Australia would not fail either. A sigh passed through her lips and past the screwdriver as she thought about how lonely she was without Luca.

"I'm faxing it to all of you right now," she said, the fax machine pretty fast to copy and print out the blueprints to everyone. The blueprints showed Lances, the type actual Knights use during Jousts. But it was more complicated, had more tech added up on it and different patterns to unlock new and improved items to make the Lances look stronger. "Doctor Robertson, the scientist who gave me this facility, made it absolutely clear not to get his into the hands of anyone else except for us. I think this is something we could use to take down the King, I mean look at this stuff!" she said, putting the paper up on the screen. "This is absolutely more advanced and haven't you seen something like this that the General's tend to carry around? What if this thing could lead us to victory," it was all amazing what was written down. The structure, the technology, it was heart-pounding.

"What do you think guys? Doesn't seem impossible to build and work towards," Sol said, pretty fascinated and intrigued by what the scientists left them. This would really help them get off of their feet and start practicing with each other. Rolland came through the glass doors and tapped his sister's shoulder. "Sorry, I was reading your planner and I just remembered, what day did you want the Combat Practice to be?" Sol sighed, glaring at her little brother, "What day is good for you guys?" Suddenly changing the subject for a bit.

Mia was looking down at the blueprints and nodded a little before she wrote a note onto the sheet of paper. Silently she slid it over to Aaiden and let him deal with the rest and didn't bother asking much more. Her heart was pounding at the sight of Luca and she was trying her best not to blush. "It's an intriguing idea and I do believe that it is something we should strive towards. With my transportation; Christian's lances and Luca's new tech we should be able to take down that mad man." She looked over at Aaiden for a moment before she looked back at the screen and sighed a little.

"As for a time for Combat Practice. Seeing as we won't have any battles for a while I'm good with any day all of you have planned. By my estimation the enemy have no idea where we are as the battle we were in two days ago was a few leagues away from where we are situated," she answered. Mia was waiting for Aaiden's answer to her question and was also wondering what was happening with Luca; and so she decided to ask as there was nothing else to report from her side. "Luca; what has been keeping you so busy you fail to get the proper amount of sleep?"

He looked over the blueprints with a practiced eye; his HQ was better known for its advancement in technology and weapons. It was what he had dedicated his time too other than trying to find out more about his past. "I'll fax these over to my technicians and I'll get to work on this ASAP." Luca slipped the sheet of paper into a flat machine next to his laptop and watched as it came out the other side and fell tot he floor in some sort of graceful swooping dance. He picked up a question on what had been happening in his HQ from Mia and ran a hand down the side of his face before deciding to answer.

"Well; yesterday we got into a huge battle with a collecter army for concentration camp three that lasted from noon until maybe ten. Then last night at about midnight several prototype bombs went off in the engineering room and we had to clean up all morning. I hit the sack at about nine this morning and woke up at eleven to get back down there to help with the fix up and then I came here right after for the meeting. Squadron four of my army has suffered some major losses and we have a lot of injured over here. I'm waiting for the medics from our mini base in Oxford. They'll be here in two days. As for the Combat Practice I'm sure we can hold it any day after the medic team arrives," he explained between yawns and fights to keep his eyes open.

He smiled as he looked down at the blueprint of the lance; it was almost too easy to build. He could have it ready in a month's time as long as he wasn't given anything else too big to work on. Quickly he wrote down his answer and sent the sheet back to his leader. "Ma'am, I'll be going back to engineer room. I just recieved a message that they have gotten one of the ten broken hover crafts working and I wish to be there for the testing." Aaiden dipped his head and quickly left the room.

His footsteps were loud in the echoing hallways and he nodded this time at those who called out to thim but stopped for no one; he couldn't afford to miss the testing and he knew he would have to be the one advising it. As the main technician he was the one who overlooked main projects and decided who worked on what and what projects could be pushed until a later date and what had to be done then. Already he had pushed aside working on a new gun for Mia to make the hover cars usable and he'd have to push them even further to get working on the lance.

Sleep...I could use some sleep right now... Sol said, not being able to get sleep all day, it was horrific. "Then we'll make it tomorrow cause I just want to get it over with," she said, tired and about ready to sleep with her palm on her cheek and her elbow on the keyboard stand. "Where are we doing it? Nevermind, don't answer that, we'll just do it at Marino's since his is much more..." she was looking for the word, "Roomy." She had to kick his butt when they were going to do this training though because after Marino's way of making a "practical joke" on her caused her to loose her sense of stability that day, she was really excited for this, but didn't show it. Rolland took the blueprints and wrote down the date, "Anything else for you big sis'?" Sol looked at her little brother and smiled and patted his head, "No, thank you Rolland you're excused."

"I ended up making contact with the one of the Generals last night," she admitted. Making any sort of contact with the Generals was crucial because if that fact was flinching or showing you were scared in front of an Army General was practically yelling out "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to defy the king!" "I was so God damn lucky he caught the guy behind me because I was out of it...no sleep for the past 72 hours and still going..." she yawned, still about ready to sleep right then and there.

Am I the only one getting any sleep these days? she thought silently as she watched the two leaders of the EAHQ and the NAHQ yawn like people who hadn't slept in weeks. It actually made her feel slightly guilty and she looked away to look down at the message her technician had left her. A smile pulled at her lips and it made her feel fantastic that it would be possible to own the weapon that Sol believed would help. Without looking up she nodded. "I'm good for tomorrow but I thought Marino wouldn't be available until the third day from today?" she said as a question before she looked up at the screen.

"You did?" It was a rare thing to meet with a General; something she knew since the last contact she had had with the general of the Eastern Hemisphere had been three days ago when she got the info on the concentration camp. And in turn he had gotten it from the OS3 of her hemisphere. "Did she have any information or was it just a meeting?" she asked. Mia never understood why it was so hard to reach the generals. It should have been the other way around; the leaders should be the hard ones to get.

"Mmm, I'm not really available tomorrow. We have too many repairs to do and the team doesn't get her for two days. While my base is in this order we can't hold anything here or afford to have anyone leave. I'm telling you; three days from now and we'll be back in better order than you can imagine." He yawned again and ruffled his platinum blonde hair as he waited for the chiding and bickering to start. Luca felt guilty for having to postpone something so important but how was anything possible if his base was in the shittiest order ever.

It impressed him that Sol had met with a general because even he knew that it was a rare occurance. He had met with one a month prior but it had just been to get blueprints for his new bomb and he wondered how Karina was doing on it. Luca was worried that it would malfunction and go off just like the ones in the engineering room and his heart skipped a beat. What if it does? He had to make sure she was alright. He reached over to his laptop and sent a message to one of his two main technicians and waited for her reply.

Sol gripped her hand into a fist, "You could've mention that earlier when I asked what day..." If it was one person she couldn't get along with was with Luca. "God Marino, you just love to piss me off don't you?" she gritted her teeth, she jaw tight in anger. She calmed down, sighing, Rolland coming back to report, "Tank's done, anything else besides the Lance?" Rolland was very lazy and didn't want to do something that would take him less than a week to make. He preferred to get the larger things out of the way before anything else. "Could you change the date for the meeting four days afterwords, thanks Rolland," Sol kissed his head as Rolland whistled, walking away, still bored and unsatisfied with his work.

"It was just a meeting, but I love how things played out for the better when someone let the rats loose in the Meeting Room," Sol smiled innocently. It was an original prank that Luca came up with and decided to steal. It was funny when all of the important women and men in the meeting room ran away just because of some frightened rats. If it were poisonous snakes, then that would be a different story. But the look on the Female General's face was so priceless she just had to take a picture and send it to the Inquirer to put on the front page of the newspaper. BEST. DAY. EVER.

"You may not have been listening Christian but he mentioned it. I'll repeat for you what he said." With that she pressed a button on the desk that automatically recorded and replayed when Luca had explained his predicament before Sol had determined the meeting place.

"Well; yesterday we got into a huge battle with a collecter army for concentration camp three that lasted from noon until maybe ten. Then last night at about midnight several prototype bombs went off in the engineering room and we had to clean up all morning. I hit the sack at about nine this morning and woke up at eleven to get back down there to help with the fix up and then I came here right after for the meeting. Squadron four of my army has suffered some major losses and we have a lot of injured over here. I'm waiting for the medics from our mini base in Oxford. They'll be here in two days. As for the Combat Practice I'm sure we can hold it any day after the medic team arrives," he explained between yawns and fights to keep his eyes open.

It played this on her screen until she appeared again and she sighed a tired sigh. I'm aging to quickly she mused to herself. "You must have heard him explain this because you were too busy falling asleep. Marino is not to blame," she explained after the clip had played. A part of her was only defending Luca because he deserved to be defended. Another part was doing it because she literally hated that he was being blamed and wanted to defend him for her own selfish gain. And yet another part was doing it solely because she considered him her best friend.

Luca hid a smile as Mia defended him in the best way possible; it made him feel extremely important. His gaze shifted as he noticed a little red head standing by the door and he nodded a little to let her know he received the message that she was okay. He gestured with his hand for her to go back to what she had been doing and turned his attention back tot he screen. "Engel; thank you so much. And Christian; I don't quite remember letting rats out. If I had I think I would remember." His speech suddenly paused as he remembered that Mia had been there and that his little Karina had been there as well with this look of guilt on her face. "But I think I know who did," he muttered.

The blonde held up a finger and said quickly, "Give me a few minutes." Before he slid off his bed and left the room. He would deal with the the same way all leaders had to deal with it. Luca didn't like it but he would have to punish Karina. He remembered the mice and he had remembered how nearly everyone in the room except the leaders had run.

Aaiden nearly shouted out and jumped for joy when one of the ten broken hover crafts lifted off the ground and hovered and even moved about the large engine room with vigor. It was a breath taking site knowing that he and his people had brough it back to life and he knew that Mia would be even happier about it. "Good job people! Now; get to work and I'll be back after I report this. Which hover craft was that?"

"Eight!" he heard someone call out as everyone returned to what they were doing.

"Right then," he said as he turned and nearly ran from the engine room with an excitement he only felt when they managed to complete a huge task. It made his heart beat adrenaline through his veins and he was too excited to even speak. They had gotten it to fly! There was nothing that could ruin the moment for him; unless they were to be discovered. That would be able to suck the excitement from him in seconds.

Karina sat in her room all her concentration on the round ball shaped bomb in front of her. She had already increased its explosive power two times but she couldn't seem to find a way to extend the time it stayed on the floor before it exploded. Once set she knew it would blow as soon as it hit the ground which wasn't the point of the bomb. It was to be thrown and then roll to the enemy where it then exploded before the enemy could do much about it.

She fiddled with her left ponytail while she chewed on the handle of a screwdriver as she looked at the blueprints and through over how she could possible adjust its internal timer. Karina couldn't figure out a way to get into the device that deeply before it blew up. "Mars," she muttered as she looked at the small brown bear that sat next to the lamp. "What do I do? Sir Luca will be so upset if I can't fix it." Her eyes seemed to water as she spoke to the inanimate object that was her only friend.

Sol blinked her eyes at the evidence shown by Karina, "I seriously didn't need to see a repeat of his face saying that but okay, I take back what I said, I haven't slept for the last three days and I wish I could use it today if my meeting with the Governer wasn't today..." If he canceled, she would have an hour long nap, and an hour long nap was like a whole day's rest for her. There was a boom that shook the room a little as she was afraid to look behind and see what disaster took place. "Sorry Big Sis', we were testing the new Sludge Bombs," Rolland pointed out. Sol sighed, "Don't you guys have something that won't shake the ground from a bomb explosion?" "Well, we didn't expect the shake either, sorry," Rolland slowly crept back to his work. Sol just raised a brow and sighed looking at her calender.

"Oh yeah, we have to attend a Masquerade Ball...who's up for that?" Sol asked, not really waiting for Luca to come back. If it wasn't for the Governor of France who so kindly gave all the Leaders an invitation to the Ball, they wouldn't have had this chance to make alliances with the other Governors and all. "The invitation says we can take a bell boy," Sol looked it over to see if she was missing anything vital or and needed detail to look over. "Preferably, I've never worn a dress so I just hope this meeting with the Governor will do me some good," Sol said, looked over at the other things. "Too late for that, I already made you a dress for this certain occasion," Rolland said, scratching his head, making the red bandanna wave up and down his hair. "Oh...I didn't know...well I guess but it says you have to wear a mask too," Sol looked over the invitation. Rolland popped a mask to her as she looked at it curiously. The eyes were the only think cut out of it, other than that it was a porcelain doll's face. She slipped it on, tying the ribbon around it, "How does it look?" "Fake," Rolland replied knowing she was going to ask him that. "Does it look that fake?" she asked the other Leaders.

Mia blinked and held back a chuckle at Sol's clear evidence of her hatred for who Mia called her best friend. It was hilarious that Sol seemed to bear so much hatred but Luca showed nothing but friendship for each and every leader. "Oh you silly girl. I don't know why you hate him so much. He's never done anything to you," she stated as she finally got herself to calm down by taking a few shallow breaths. Suddenly as if by surprise a migraine blasted through her skull and she winced before she could get into her pocket and pull out the meds. She swallowed several dry and again took shallow uneven breaths to make the medication work faster.

Completely blissed out she sighed and thought about the Masquerade Ball. She had already tried on her dress and even her mask and she felt she looked perfect in it; she even knew who her bell boy was going to be because she could go nowhere without Aaiden by her side. Due to her high state she answered as honestly as she could. "Of course it looks fake. It's supposed to. My mask just goes over my eyes. Like a sort of Robyn thing only fucking sexier," she muttered her voice breathy. Already she could see her dress and began to re-think exactly how appropriate it was for this ball. Maybe not enough?