Isambard Prince's Story

Prince made another face as he pulled the pliers away from Douglas' fingers, while Inviere turned to a pair of LDA Agents that slowly made their way into the cell.

"If you torture him too much, Prince. The intel might be damaged, so we'll perform this now so we can recover the valuable intelligence." She said, while Prince backed off, slowly relenting to the authority of the Chairman.


Inviere slowly turned to Douglas, shaking her head.

"I'm going to offer this only once, as a gesture of good faith." She said, as the LDA Agents stood to the side, while a third could be seen wheeling in a cart that had several large computer devices mounted onto it, along with several large wires that came to one large wire that gave way to a wicked looking needle that appeared to be several inches long.

"We need to know what you've set in motion. If you tell me here and now, we won't proceed with this operation, and we'll transfer you to Military custody as a prisoner of war, until you will be tried and sentenced accordingly." Inviere said coolly.

"Alternatively, if we proceed with this operation, you'll be turned over to the Confessor Cabal, where you will not receive a fair tribunal, and you'll be tortured and inevitably summarily executed. That is assuming you retain your mental faculties after this mind trawl." Inviere explained.

"You have thirty seconds to make your decision." She added, while the Agents prepared the machine.

"I would certainly hope you make the right decision, I'll acquire my intel either way, I'm merely offering you a way out of the torment that will inevitably follow this mind trawl."

Douglas thought on her words and seemed numb to the outside world as he almost seemed dumbfounded in his own conundrum. Intel was always a pleasure and now with the knowledge that that damned beast was not with the Aschens then maybe things could be different. It was only when he began to look back at whisper did the pain suddenly return in mass amounts. His gaze fell to the floor now and as he heard the two speak a bit more and then to the offer that was made he only grunted as he was ready to talk.

"You want to know something of value?" Douglas seemed to loose track of himself as he looked over to Prince. "You have had a high priority item in your mists the entire time and you had little value to realize it." Slowly the transmuter began to roll his head back and look up towards the ceiling. "My target is an old weapon that has assimilated into your culture and my job here has already been completed." He began to chuckle slightly as blood ran down the side of his mouth in a lite drool which he cleaned up by rubbing the side of his face against his shoulder.

"My colleague I was to be traveling with has her own agenda though and the powers at play behind that force have something that not even I know." He began to grit his teeth slightly as he began to concentrate of cutting his ties with the woman who was bringing him such pain. He wanted her out of his mind and even though she was firmly rooted he would hope that his meager will would be enough to restore his own control.

As Douglas chose to speak, Whisper eased off, dulling the pain once more, but she didn't depart his mind. It would take more than will power alone to force her out at this point, and the mana inhibitor suppressed any magical means he might have to remove her. She did however fall silent. The anger was gone as quickly as it had come, and it had been replaced with a quiet calm. A patient state of observation, curiosity even.

"You're not being specific and you're wasting my time, Weskit." Inviere said with a scowl as the Agents continued to prepare the mind trawl.

"I want specifics, I want names, I want places." She said calmly, before she held out her hand, and an LDA Agent placed a small telephone into her hand.

Inviere took the phone, pressing a button and holding it to her ear.

"Fleet, this is Command Actual, I want a level two lockdown on Arastel until I say otherwise." Inviere said, pausing a moment. "Find this guy, and bring him to the Admin center." She said, flipping the phone closed.

She then turned to one of the Officers observing in the other room, scowling at Doug for a moment, and then back to the Officer.

"Twenty Million cubits, to the person that brings me that man, I want him alive!" She said, pointing to the image of Thalgan.

She then turned back to Doug.

"Start talking and start giving us specifics." She demanded, while they continued to prep the machine.

Douglas smiled as he looked at Inviere. He knew that regardless of the outcome he was going to get off the rock one way or another and it burned his inner core knowing that it would not be the way he had foreseen it. But the thing that he did not want was to be hooked up to that machine.

"Nikolas Denaris, a former experiment gone rogue by an old organization called the Council, I want him alive and in a study program so that we can replicate the results."

Douglas wished he could free his hands as there was so many things he wanted to do at this time and escape was on his mind as he spoke the truth. He knew his colleagues knew of his location when he sent the signal before he was captured so it was only a matter of time when he could walk free again.

"As for the location I know he is housed in one of the many higher ups in Aschen society. Those who asked me to go said they would send another so I hired a mercenary to act on my behalf if things got to messy."

And just like that, Whisper was gone from his head. It was so abrupt that Douglas would likely find himself disoriented at the abrupt absense of her presence. She offered no parting words, and no explanation as she sat up on the floor, her eyes blinking a bit as she tried to orient herself to her surroundings.

It was a bit disconcerting to go from viewing the world through Douglas, to finding herself laying on the floor.

She opened her mouth as if to speak, but determined that explaining her actions would take time, and reveal her intentions to Douglas.

A moment later her form had dematerialized and vanished from the room.

Hangar Bay...

"You might be a mercenary, but the fact remains that boarding a ship without permission is construed as piracy." Regardless of your intentions. He said, while he considered Tenna's plea, before he scoffed.

"So... let me get this straight... you want us to let you walk into the Brig, weapons and all... and if the Admiral decides to levy execution because you committed a violation of international Maritime law... you're going to let us levy your punishement, and not shoot your way out? Because you have Honor?" The Sergeant asked, while the AI Chimed into his earpiece.

"Sergeant, my sensors have finished a preliminary readout of the suit, it's magnetic shield based systems will overpower all but our heaviest weapons. I'm attempting to get a readout on the armor composition... Additionally, Prince has arrived via Bifrost from Isiria, to assist in the prisoner's capture and interrogation..."

As the AI Spoke, a voice rang from behind the pair of Soldiers, a man clad in a bluish violet robe, hands clasped in front of him as he bore a grin on his face. There was a lip piercing and short, spiky blonde hair, and all was adorned by piercing blue eyes.

"I'll take it from here, Sergeant." The figure said, as he waved his hand and let his mind concentrate, aiming to use his abilities to attempt to literally de-magnetize Tenna's suit, and with the flick of his hand, the gravity immediately around Tenna would then increase drastically, from 9.78 m/s², to a staggering 70m/s², which was twice the surface gravity of jupiter, and would result in a 150 pound man weighing 600 pounds, likely enough weight and pressure to cause the suit to fail, or take it's toll on the man within as it was like Tenna was standing on the surface of a small star.

Prince maintained this while his mind started searching for weak points in the suit, psychokinetic energy dancing and scintillating about, before his hand flicked again, and would let his mind first wrap around the weapons themselves.

"I'll have fun prying you out of your suit like a can of fish, and then I'm going to have a little fun with you. You should have taken the easy way, instead of making me take time to come here and pry you out of your suit" Prince said with a grin.

---

Inside the Conference Room.

Both Hanley and Raphael were silently wathing the video as it played, Hanley was quietly scribbling notes in Anquietas every time the small figure commented in the video. As she was scribbling notes she was considering her replies, calculating each one carefully while Raphael sat in silence.

"Terms.. I'll get to that in a moment.. the Quorum is digesting this video." She said, the video EGO was displaying to Jester and Hanley, was likewise being displayed to an Assembled Quorum, and an assembled Parliament back on Langara.

"I wanted to address a few discrepancies though... Trust needs to be built if this peace is to last." Hanley said, keying in a few notes to the Quorum.

"Clarify for me... CONCORD... Your Orgnization is dedicated to protecting the weak and promoting peace across all peoples, using it's power to defend those who face insurmountable odds? Correct me if I'm wrong, Admiral." She said, waving her hand across a holographic display.

"Your Organization interceded against the then Confederation because the Confederation presented an overwhelmingly superior military, an that the outcome of the war with Terra would be less desirable than if we had succeeded?" Hanley asked, shaking her head.

"Your group seems to have a fairly sizeable affinity for Terra... It's interesting because we didn't get the help terra did when the Taiyou were slaughtering our people in the streets." Hanley commented.

"Didn't see any evidence of CONCORD holding hearings or making demands when the Taiyou Empire's 300 Trillion Man army had it's eyes on our little corner of space. Did you decide to pick a fight with us because your Military analysts percieved us as weaker?" Hanley asked. "At least Aschen soldiers weren't pulling Terrans Civilians from their homes, gutting them, and leaving them to die in the streets, like our friends the Taiyou did to my people."

She made a face a moment, before she pulled up a log and footage from a different video, the engagement with the Fleet of Inner Knowledge.

The Video was highlighted by the voice of Warden Apis. “You are free to leave. Do not enter Sol system.”

Hanley made a face, but that face inevitably turned into a snarl.

"That Fleet had just escaped an ambush from a Taiyou armada, and was being sent to Sol to evacuate Aschen civilians from Terra to protect them from the Aschen Genocide you were turning a blind eye to. Millions of lives could have been saved, but CONCORD acted against it. The blood of those civilians is on Warden Apis' hands." Hanley added. "I lost my Family in that Genocide, only reason I'm still here is because that warrior's sword didn't strike a vital organ. I watched helpless while Imperial Warriors massacred our enclave, and left everyone to die in the streets." Hanley said the words firmly, and any empath could detect the spike in emotional and subconscious energy. Hanley was traumatized by the event, but she tried to mask it.

It was then she pulled up the text from the Declaration of war, briefly reading over it. "As I understand it... CONCORD was to terminate all military operations once the conditions of this declaration were satisfied... Which they were; though the Concordat with Terra, and the Aschen's admission into UCON. All hostilities against the TNG had effectively ended at that point.. it was six months later your forces attacked our ship. That kind of capriciousness is the reason I'm reluctant to trust anything you say. If you can't follow your own decrees, what makes you think you'd follow anything we set?"

Hanley swept her hand across another block of Anquietas text. "Indeed... there is a state of Defacto war, but we're also in a state of Armistice, Ceasefire, a state that I was under the impression, started when the war with Terra ended." Hanley added, listening to Aaric's statements further.


"The Empire recognizes the Terran Government, it recognizes Terran's Sovereignty. We cooperate fully with the Terran Government where applicable. What we don't recognize is arbitrary borders drawn far out beyond Terra's capability to colonize or grow, given it's Technological state, as for Abducting Terrans? You'll have to substantiate that claim because frankly I find it absurd." Hanley quipped, before she checked her notes.

"The first term is the termination of all hostilities, and the immediate repatriation of all prisoners of war to their respective nations, more a formality than anything since I don't believe either state has prisoners, and there hasn't been a Military engagement for some time."

Tenna nodded as the sergeant spoke. He hadn't intended on violence, not unless it had been absolutely needed, at least. He hated when people figured that he, being a mercenary, had no sense of decency and that he'd just as soon murder as he would be polite. Sure, his track record wasn't the greatest, but neither was any other merc's. Each and every last one of them was bound to have dirt on them somewhere.

"You'd be perfectly correct, Sergeant." He noticed the blue-clad man come closer. "It's unfortunate that you won't be allowed to see me prove my intentions." He sighed and looked Prince eye to eye, not lowering his gaze. As he was about to speak, those ice-blue orbs closed and the strain on his body became incredible. He squatted for just a moment, as if bearing the load of his own weight on his shoulders, keeping from smashing to the floor face first because the fibrous material of his suit hardened and contracted like muscle as he moved.

"Pleasure to meet you in person as well, Prince. I thought I warranted someone more important though. Guess I was wrong." He smirked and opened his eyes, having shut them when he crouched. As he dropped a knee tot he deck, bracing himself more soundly but feeling the pressure more painfully as it spread in different way, he noticed that there were particles of dust flying towards him through the air. His smirk grew as his mind did a double take.

"Sergeant, you may want your men to hold on to something. I don't think yo-" He stopped, wincing in pain. He felt his knee pop, and he let himself drop to the floor, accepting the new displacement of his weight. Although he could tell nothing was too terribly damaged, it was obvious to him that his knee had bent in a way it wasn't meant to and one of the tendons had torn partially. He grimaced and groaned slightly.

The thought of reaching for his weapons crossed his mind quickly, the desire to put as many high-velocity ferromagnetic pellets into Prince's pretty face as he could threatening to overwhelm him. But another thought, more a memory, flashed through his consciousness. His father telling him something when he was young.

"Don't let any man control you, Tenna. Your freedom is the most important thing you can have. That, and your word. A man must always keep his word, especially in these times where crooked men rule with iron fists."

The memory faded into the pain in his knee and he struggled to raise a hand, the suit aiding him for much of the motion.

"Give me a fuckin' chance, will ya? I'm not going to shoot anybody, and if I get chosen for execution, I refuse to respond with violence. On the honor of a man who knows well enough that his life is on the line." As his hand dropped once more, he took a deep breath and tensed his body, forcing himself to have the ability to breathe.

Even as he lay there, and the psychic energy caressed his weapons, they remained dormant and bonded without issue to his back and thigh. The Solitude however shifted in small increments, fully autonomous. A small antenna, no more than a few inches in length, emerged from the aft top of the craft's hull and began transmitting to any nearby vagabonds and wastrels of an enormous score: a derelict hulk of an Aschen trade freighter. It was calling for help.

Arlan remained calm during Hanley's outburst. "There existed at that time a state of war. Not only did the Fleet of Inner Knowledge lock and show aggressive intent to the single Redeemer class battleship, the Aschen were the first to fire their weapons." He could have easily added that the combined fleet of Inner Knowledge faired extremely poorly against the lone black operations battleship, something they had called a 'frigate' at the time. "When Warden Apis gave Admiral Nagala that ultimatum it was to her benefit and with some amount of mercy." He paused and the small blue figure spoke while displaying a navigational route. "The Fleet of Inner Knowledge returned to SOL in the following hours and re-engaged Taiyou Forces in the system." Arlan had already known that and he nodded.

"I detest wordplay. I detest deception but at every interaction with the Aschen we have encountered only deception. CONCORD's conditional declaration of war covers the whole of Terra and her sovereignty. Sovereignty we currently reside in now. It does not just cover a single Terran government. It covers all governments native to Terra, all people's native to Terra, and all groups who have adopted Terra as their permanent home to include those of Aschen and Taiyou decent identified as citizens of a Terran government. It includes all of Terran sovereignty. That sovereignty and those borders need to be honored just as you expect your borders and your sovereignty to be honored."

He turned then from Hanley to stare at Vanessa over the shoulder of Raphael. His eyes remained focused on the werewolf for a moment before turning back to Hanley. His left eyebrow perked.

"You say that your empire recognizes the Terran Government, that it recognizes Terran Sovereignty, that you fully cooperate with the Terran Government where applicable. Applicable? That sums it up perfectly." He shook his head and sighed. A short video displayed. It was a video of the Terran glassing both at ground level and in orbit.

He turned to Raphael McGregor and then back to Hanley. "The first term being that there is the termination of all hostilities, and the immediate repatriation of all prisoners of war to their respective nations is agreed to provided the rest of the terms are met."

The confessor grinned some more as he twitched his hand slightly, using his abilities to attempt to force Tenna on to the ground, and the Marines made their own move.

The Sergeant nodded, and his men quickly moved forward to try and handcuff Tenna. These were specialized mechanically locking handcuffs with a specialized locking mechanism. The cuffs themselves were crafted from reinforced and hardened trinnium, which made them roughly 100 times lighter and stronger than steel. Once the Binders were secure, the Marines would attempt to remove his weapons, while the Confessor stood there with a wicked grin.

"Secure him in the brig, I will perform the cleansing on him, and then he will be disposed of once the Admiral has made a decision."

The Marines nodded, and should Tenna be brought to his feet, he would be taken back to the tramway, with the Confessor in tow.

A long torture session was being planned for the lone mercenary.

----

While Aarlan was speaking, Raphael's expression seemed to not change, while Hanley was holding her head up with her right hand, making a face while taking notations.

"Are we discussing peace or are we pointing fingers? Admiral?" Hanley said, looking up to the video. "The Administration that gave that order was purged when the Empire came to power, they got their justice." Hanley said, looking up to Aarlan with a hint of frustration.

"The United Aschen Empire recognizes the sovereignty of the Terran National Government, and the sovereignty of the nations of the Greater Shintenchi Co Prosperity Sphere, nations and organizations we have been made aware exist." Hanley said, huffing in amusement.

"We can't recognize the legitimacy of a nation we don't know exists, let alone come into contact with, so my previous statement stands, we cooperate with the Terran National Government where applicable. You may twist those words however you see fit, the meaning I intended still stands." Hanley explained.

"We obviously wouldn't cooperate with neither the Terran national Government, or any entity for that matter if they called for things like disbanding our military or even our Empire, but in matters that don't contradict the interests of this Empire, We will cooperate fully."

"All this though..." She said, gesturing to the videos. "Water under the bridge, we're not getting anywhere; so I'm going to put this very simply." Hanley said, taking some more notations.

"Unless the Empire threatens the livelihood of the Terran National Government through Military means, CONCORD stays out of our affairs. Shintenchi can go without saying, not that CONCORD'd help them anyway, being Taiyou puppets and all.." Hanley added, before she nodded to the AI, in which the Reverence's AI brought up a star map, and offered a copy for EGO to download.

"These are the territories, jurisdictions, borders, and all claimed holdings of the United Aschen Empire, following the ratification of peace, CONCORD will be permitted to enter the territories and holdings of the Government of Tal'dor for the purpose of diplomacy only. Warships, weapons other than defensive weapons for security purposes, and all non-essential diplomatic personnel will be prohibited from entering the United Aschen Empire unless special circumstances arise. All diplomatic contact will be arranged in advance through remote communications with the Ministry of Defense, or the Quorum, or the Emperor." Hanley explained. As she explained, the map displayed, showing the core and outer territories of the original Empire, the Isirian puppet government, and claimed future holdings in sections of the Perseus arm, and finally, the Epsilon Eridani holdings.

"CONCORD is prohibited from traveling within one light year of the Epsilon Eridani system unless special arrangements have been made." Hanley added.

"CONCORD will be prohibited from interfering in all Imperial affairs that do not impact Terra, or CONCORD's interests. If the Empire declares an Exterminatus on a planet, we're going to exterminatus that damn planet as long as it's not Terra or a world claimed by CONCORD or it's respective nation-states."

"A Diplomatic meeting will be arranged every six months, alternating between Langara, and the CONCORD Capital, alternatively, a neutral Diplomatic outpost can be constructed in unclaimed territory, staffed by security personnel from both Organizations." Hanley explained after taking some more notations.

"And lastly, CONCORD Shall contact the Empire diplomatically and attempt to resolve any grievance peacefully and mutually before taking any hostile action. Likewise the Empire shall contact CONCORD in the same fashion I have described."

Hanley finally sat up straight, and took a few more notations.

"Does your government find these terms agreeable?"

{This is a continuation of the scene with Tenna and the Confessors on the Reverence in Barnard's Star, taking place in the ship's brig.}

AHSC Reverence II Esteem
Somewhere in the Barnard's Star System

Brig

In the attempt to remove Tenna's Weapons, the marines found their hands slightly burned through their gloves. The Confessor simply huffed at this turn of events, before he attempted to use his psionic abilities to remove the weapons, suspending them in air as the AI ordered a crew to place the weapons in a special containment box which would allow them to remain hot and not damage the surrounding materials.

The weapons would be secured through Duralthene calipers, and men in Heat-suits, and taken to the Armory. Tenna on the other hand would be thrown into the brig itself, with Prince towering over him as two Marines secured the binders to a chain, which was fastened to a metal loop in the center of the room.

"You should have disarmed when the men told you too, Mr. mercenary." The Confessor said, grinning as a second Confessor wheeled in a large tray with assorted torture implements.

Tenna sighed and let the weight of his body relax as comfortably as he could, eyes on the confessors. He'd never really liked the way the Aschen did their business, despite running a dirty style of business himself, but it was in this moment that he came to realize why. They had all these pretty rules, all these useful things at their fingertips, and they still resorted to the most vile and unlikeable things.

"I should have? I mean, words are words and can mean some very pretty things, Prince, but sometimes you can't obey them. Conviction is a powerful force, and I weighed my options. My job was set, my task before me. I was simply following what I was contracted to do." He smirked somewhat.

"Just like you two fine men. I would call you gentlemen, but that doesn't exactly fit the situation." He moved his head in a way to vaguely suggest the torture implements. "You're just doing your job, and there's no foul to be had there. 'Course, by that logic I'd be walking as a security escort right about now, but that's hardly the case." He shook his head and chuckled darkly.

"So, what's on the agenda then? Gutting? Thousand cuts? Or maybe you were going to try something new and as of yet untested on a half-Terran subject."

"You see..." Prince said as he paced around Tenna.

"Just because you accept a job, that doesn't mean that you can just waltz onto a military ship like it's your own personal palace." The Confessor said, coming to a stop in front of the mercenary. There was a pause, before the Confessor went to select his varios instruments, his hand moving across a pair of battery cables, and then they went to a pair of pliers.

"How should we begin... Ah!" Prince said as he grabbed the battery clamps, and then he turned to Tenna.

Sparking the clamps in the mercenary's face, the Confessor grinned.

"I'm going to level with you..."


"This is going to hurt." He said, before he put both clamps on Tenna's chest, to deliver a painful electric shock.

As the man, if confessors could still be called such, prattled while selecting what to use first, Tenna's eyes traced the lines of the room. He was looking for escape ways, but he couldn't see much more than the door in front of him and the area to his sides, as well as the holder of the torture instruments. He sighed ever so slightly, wondering how anything on this ship got done if things went south. Only one way in an out was a near literal death sentence in an emergency for anyone who got trapped inside if the door become inoperable.

As the clamps sparked in front of his eyes, he debated quickly whether or not to have the magnetics in his suit activate and re-route the electricity away from him, but he didn't want to antagonize them any more than he already had. When the jolt shot through him, however, the suit responded to the spasms of his muscles. As he twitched, the artificial fibers grew tougher, flexing and automatically augmenting his natural strength of body. A sharp crack rang out, followed by a quieter pop, the pop coming from Tenna's left shoulder. The mercenary grimaced, face locked in pain, but he did not cry out.

He refused to give them that satisfaction.

Instead, he flexed again, this time fighting against the current flooding his body's nerves with fire and pain, forcing the suit to constrict against his upper arm. Another pop rang out, and Tenna heaved out a heavy breath through his teeth as the electrical surge continued. At least he'd gotten his shoulder back into its socket.

Mind wiped of thought, Tenna didn't process the feeling of more blood flow in his wrists. He didn't register that the flexing twitch augmented by his suit had loosened the binders minutely. It wasn't enough for them to get him free, but it was more than nothing.

Isambard Prince also happens to be sitting by himself in one of the booths, watching the happenings in the bar.

The sun was slowly setting over the skyline of Caprica City. Isambard Prince was on the balcony of the Imperial Palace, staring westward at the city spreading out before him.

He was swirling a glass of Ambrosia in his right hand, as he looked up at the green and blue crescent of Pangar in langara's sky.

A Confessor peered in behind him, before he bowed deeply.

"My Lord..." The Confessor said, standing aside. Minister Chaska, the Minister of Defense for the United Aschen Empire was standing with file folders tucked under her arm.

"We discovered a new planet, inhabited by a primitive civilization." She said, stepping forward as Prince slowly turned around. "I heard. The Quorum was in an uproar; you proposed we conquer the planet for the Empire." Prince said, as he turned and started to approach the Minister.

"You moved forward on preliminary invasion scouting missions without consulting with me; your emperor." He said, setting the glass down, his jaw twitching with anger.

"Maybe i had something else in mind that would not equate to invasion. You see; Minister. The antiquated way of thinking that we'll just conquer anything doesn't get this Empire anywhere." Prince explained. "You have failed your Empire, Minister Chaska."

Chaska swallowed hard as Prince approached her. She looked up at Prince, as if expecting her life to end then and there.

Prince turned, and stepped away, before he held out his hand.

"Confessor, give me your weapon." Prince ordered, and the Confessor nodded abruptly, before approaching and handing Prince a sleek Disruptor pistol.

Prince turned, and raised the weapon, firing once into Chaska's thigh. There was a green flash, an audible pop and a plume of smoke that stank of flesh. Chaska buckled to one knee and screamed in pain, grunting as she held the seething wound. She was panting, clenching her teeth at the searing pain of the disruptor bolt that had struck her leg, leaving a gaping hole that had gone clean through her leg, cauterizing everything.

"If you fail me again, it will be your life." Prince said flatly, as the Confessor carried Chaska off the Balcony, and into the palace where she could get medical treatment.

----

Meanwhile, Prince dusted the charred bits of flesh and clothing from his outfit, before he turned to a second Confessor.

"I'm intrigued, I wish to learn more." He said to the Confessor.

"Prepare the Bifrost, and get my staff ready. I will gauge this world's worthiness of contact with the Empire."

The evening was quiet and pleasant with a cool breeze coming out of the north for a night on the town in Van Leugen. A fine Dining that served everything from steak to lobster made a perfect choice for the young Chloë and her date.

No one recognized the man no thanks to his low profile and lack of any real media presence. A well kept face and short bleached hair made Isambard look like one of Van Leugens many wealthy elite.

The pair conversed in a language almost indecipherable to Terran ears, the flowing vowels of Lingua Anquietas drowned out by the din of the restaurant.

The pair kept their eyes on the menu, to both of them, but especially to the man paying for the meal; money was no object, he had the wealth to buy the establishment if he so desired.

The server presented the finest champagne, of which Prince took a sip and raised his glass.

"Excellent choice, Chloë." He remarked. In which she simply smiled.

"I need something big." Brian said to his partner, Wilson, as they sat in Brian's car. Both had cameras in hand, hoping to snap shots of celebrities and politicians doing something that could make them some money.

"I know." Wilson said, "I've got bills to pay." He continued, snapping a few shots of limousines passing by. The music festival had brought a lot of important people to the town, but so far everyone was being careful.

Likely a result of the new mayor taking a zero tolerance policy towards everything illegal except jaywalking and double parking.

"Wait." Brian said, eye pressed to his camera's viewer. "Over here. That's that councilwoman. In the restaurant." He said, pointing out what he saw to Wilson. The other man held his camera up and began to zoom in.

There they were Chloe McGregor and a stranger.

"Hot date?" Wilson asked, snapping a photo. "Could be her dad." Brian said, "I don't know. Look at that body language. Totally a date." Wilson told his friend, "Body language? They're just sitting there."

"Whatever. I'll see if I can get a closer look. At least before security chases me away." Wilson said as he climbed out of the car, camera down at his side. He needed it hidden otherwise security or someone's bodyguard would come and smash it.

He couldn't afford another right now.

The pair continued to quietly enjoy their dinner; the server brought lobster Thermidor for Prince, and a hearty steak and baked potato for Chloë. The two shared a giggle, with Chloe putting her hand on Princes with a smile.

The two were completely oblivious to the paparazzi around them, the entire venue had been checked by both Pirandello/Kruger and the Confessor Cabal. Much of the restaurants "patrons" we're really Princes security retinue, considering his paranoid nature and his distrust of leaving the safe confines of the empire, it was something he insisted on for their date, despite Chloe assuring him that Pirandello/Kruger could handle any heat.

The restaurant continued to operate normally however, at Chloe's request to make as little of a disruption as possible, even if her date looked old enough to be her father, she knew getting in with Prince could mean her family could come out of Exile.

"Just a guy hanging out, not trying to get photos." Wilson said to himself as he approached the glass window of the restaurant. No one seemed to be paying attention to him. Why would they?

The people inside were safe and wealthy. They didn't need to care about what was happening outside of their safe space.

That was ultimately a good thing for Wilson. He raised his camera up and began snapping pictures of Chloe and what he thought was her suitor. "Found yourself a sugar daddy." He joked, "I might need to do the same thing if photojournalism doesn't work out."