Fertaninn, Benjlakk's eastern region, contains wildlife and plant life relatively untouched by civilization, making this place a haven and paradise for people looking for an escape from most of the fuss that comes with politics. Many farmers, agricultural workers, biologists, and solar technicians call Fertaninn home. This is where Benjlakk's capital, the District of Justicra, is located. Here, the story begins.
Zechariah just put on his khaki, ceremonial military uniform for this day. It was the day of the conference to determine whether Benjlakk were to be involved in the war between Metargo and Mysticara. At the moment, Benjlakk was neutral, and the young sergeant doubted that would change. He then remembered the communication disk on his desk, which he picked up and began recording a voice message on it:
My dear Azalea,
Today is a big day for Benjlakk. Diplomacy Square is going to be packed with guests from around the world, as well as people from all over Benjlakk. While the festivities go on, a conference is going to be held on whom Benjlakk will side with, if at all. All the while, I am going to be out on patrol and stuff like that with the rest of my platoon of mech pilots. I hope the war is not out of hand where you live, knowing what has went on, so far.
Were it possible, right now, I would have loved to have brought you here, to Fertaninn, the most peaceful region in Benjlakk. There are plains and forests here which are relatively unspoiled by civilization. It is peaceful, an ideal place to live in if you want to avoid the fuss of politics and stuff of that nature. Well, it is close to time to patrol Diplomacy Square, so I should get going, now.
Yours forever and always,
Zechariah
Just then, as Zechariah sent the message, his older borther, Benjamin, whom was wearing a green uniform, knocked on the door and asked, "Hey, Zech! Who you calling?"
The Eagle of Mercy grinned and rolled his eyes. "Oh, it was someone I met at the Solar Tech Convention in Southeastern Fertaninn."
"Well, let's get going. The Diplomacy Square Festival is about to start, and we need to be there to keep any fights from happening!"
Zech laughed. "I know."
With that, he prepared his two laser pistols, setting them to stun before placing them in his holsters. The two brothers met up with the rest of the Brown Wing Team. Zechariah said to them, "Okay, As you all know, this is an event which will contain tons of people from many different places. Be on the lookout for anyone who winds up hostile towards each other and either escort them out or arrest them if the hostilities turn into a fight. That could happen, anywhere, anytime, especially with the war outside our borders. You all know what to do. Move out."
With members of the Brown Wing Team at other locations, the brothers chose to patrol a quieter spot of Diplomacy Square. So far, no fight broke out, yet they could never be too cautious. several moments passed before a familiar face, and an angry one, at that, appeared right at the area's entrance to diplomacy Square. It was Aaron Lextu, the Metargo soldier whom Zechariah fought during the previous war that occurred a couple years back. With Aaron were May and Kyle, Kyle behaving in a somewhat jolly mood due to the possibility of being able to party some.
Kyle spoke, first. "Hey, Aaron! Look at that! The Malachi Brothers! Kind of cool to see 'em in person, eh, buddy?"
Aaron gritted his teeth. "Hush, Private Scipio! We're here to escort the Princess, not for the party!" The leader of the Lion Team glanced back at Zechariah and posed the query, "I guess you're gonna gloat, now, over the several times you beat me?"
Aaron's words set Zechariah's teeth grinding. How dare that man treat war or combat like it was some game! "There's nothing to discuss with you, Aaron, so don't pretend there is!"
Aaron merely crossed his arms across his chest with, "Fine by me!"
Kyle laughed a little. "Looks like you've been told off, sergeant!"
"Whatever..." Aaron looked around and finally spotted the Princess coming their way to the entrance. "Good morning, your highness. It looks like you get to meet the famous Malachi Brothers early. One of them is Benjamin Malachi and the other is the so-called 'Eagle of Mercy', Zechariah Malachi."
It was when Aaron stepped to the side that Zechariah noticed the woman Aaron spoke to. Just the sight of her changed Zechariah's mood from angry to shocked, which showed in his eyes and facial expressions. He quite literally froze where he was. "Aza?"
Benjamin gave a confused look, "Zech, what's wrong? Is it really that big of a surprise she'd be here? Did you see her in person, before, or something?"
-----
Elsewhere, Saul, Calida, and Leonardo were making their way to the conference building where the diplomatic matters were to take place. Saul held Calida's hand while he mentioned some things required to know beforehand. "Now, Leo, we must be on our best behavior in front of the President of Benjlakk. Even one sign of disrespect towards anyone in the room could be used against us. In order to gain the Benjlakki people's approval, we cannot do anything they will frown upon. We are already in quite a pickle with how many towns and villages you burned to the ground, so far. We need to break the stalemate, and cannot afford to mess this up."
-----
Over at the refreshment section of Diplomacy Square, Gracchus and the rest of the Air and Ground Party from the Natrulkra Tribal Force were enjoying some coffee and/or wine. Gracchus personally enjoyed the friendly vibe of the place the most. The different cultures and people mixed into one intrigued him, as he was always curious. Granted, he knew he could not stay at that spot of Diplomacy Square for too long, so he told Isaac and Elisabeth. "I better head over to the conference building to be at the Chieftain's side, so no funny business while I'm gone, especially you, Isaac. Don't. Kill. Anyone. This isn't like Mysticara, where you could challenge somebody to a duel, you quite literally cannot kill a living person here in Benjlakk. If you do that, we'll have the Benjlakki Republic as an enemy before the conference even begins. That being said, don't bother hurting anyone while we're here."
The elf leader of the Air and Ground Party said what he had to and walked on over to the Chieftain, Malinha Nedilo, and escorted her. He was one of few people who knew of her spy network. "I don't know what you hope to achieve by having spies in Benjlakk, but you best hope they don't find out there are any in their country, as that will be construed as a violation of their neutrality."
Along the way, Gracchus noticed one of the Benjlakki Diplomats, Oriana Aspiral, heading the same direction. Wow! She's beautiful! He could not help but smile at the blue-haired woman, yet did not glance in her direction long, since staring was rude. He quickly recovered and had his eyes forward, again.
