Kazundo Gōda's Story

The C.O.R.e. ship could see, but not hear Thrawn's expressions and slowly decided that it would make a comment

"Every Empire needs help. Not one is perfect, not even C.O.R.e., and can always improve. Tell me, do YOU have the cure to death? The cure to every sickness? We have this, you do not. You have weopens and life that C.O.R.e. needs... Are all life trully this ignorant and narcissistic? You all act like children. You are as intelligent as one too."

The C.O.R.e. transmission finally cleared, showing a S.C.O.R.e. engineer



"So will you comply?"

The twisting, turning alleyways of Niihama City provided a brief refuge from the police as they gave chase. Densely packed buildings kept the Jigabachi attack helicopters from giving chase. Though, the sirens of hundreds of police cars echoed through the city as the Police began their search. While they managed to elude them for the moment, diving into an alleyway, it would only be a matter of time before the SUV's GPS System is located, and hacked into.





Deep within the offices of the Public Security office, a telephone began to ring. It was a telephone inside the office of Daisuke Aramaki, the Chief and Director of Public Security Section Nine.

It took about a ring for the phone to be picked up, and the man listened to the voice on the other end. It was the Chief of Police for Niihama City's Sector One police force.

"There's been an incident at the gate, foreign agents have infiltrated the city, and our Police units have been unable to locate them."

Aramaki's lips were pulled into a tight grimace, as he listened intently to the voice on the other end.

"Thirty dead, twenty more wounded. Self Defense Army has begun to mobilize, their last known location was Expressway twelve heading to Sector Five."

"Understood." The Chief replied, before he hung up the receiver with an audible click. His tired eyes looked upwards, to the Director of the Inter-Solar System Police.

"Director Kanō; this is a public Security matter, we don't need the ISSP snooping around in jurisdiction that isn't theirs." Aramaki protested, as the Director shook his head.

"Respectfully, We're dealing with matters that concern the ISSP, the Military, and Public Security respectively." Kanō added, as he shifted in his seat, bringing one leg over another, and smoothing down the creases on his black, carefully tailored suit. Kanō stood as a contrast to the elderly Aramaki. A slightly overweight, middle aged bureaucrat against the aging, thin director.

"The solution is simple..." A third voice echoed in the office, as Director Kazundo Goda, of the Cabinet Intelligence Service stepped in seemingly from the shadows. "The Military wants to use this as justification to retaliate against the native kingdom on the other side of the gate. They've contracted a manipular legion from Argos, and are simply waiting until the time is right." Goda explained as a wicked grin crossed his face.

Pursing his lips, Aramaki spoke up. "We need to limit the damage, I'll send in my team."

"If your team fails, the Military will be forced to deploy, and cordon the whole sector off." Kano added in a note of warning.

"We've set up roadblocks on every major roadway leading out of the sector, the SDF deployment into the city is almost complete." A young Taiyou officer reported as he offered a crisp salute to Defense Minister Kanou.

"We've ordered the Police to stand back, and we have them on Satellite tracking, last ping had them on the Yamagashi Causeway heading into Sector Five." The man reported, gesturing to a large screen displaying a map of the region, his hands moving a long pointed stick to the icon of the armored SUV as it traveled down the roadway.

All throughout the city, Tanks, armored vehicles, and soldiers were beginning to flood into the city. Some of them came by helicopter, while others came through via Niihama City's extensive public transit system.

Omar and Augee would find the Causeway mysteriously devoid of cars as they drove along, the wide concrete road offering little obstacles between them.

However the entire city had gone into lockdown. Augee and Omar had been branded terrorists by the Taiyou Military, and they were now being hunted by both the Police, and the Self Defense Army.

Far up ahead, where there were no exits to turn off the road, a roadblock could be seen as the road twisted ahead into the denser part of the city. There were two HAW206 Multiped tanks, their tan, armor glinting in the dim light of the city. These large four-legged tanks resembled mechanical scorpions, with two 7.62mm machine-guns mounted in two small manipulator arms at the front, with the 'stinger' armed with a 105mm howitzer.

Standing in the middle of these two tanks was a Taiyou Armor-Shrike, a humanoid mecha that stood roughly twenty feet tall, it was armed with a large autocannon, which hurled 30mm Armor piercing shells.

Manning the roadblock was about a dozen Taiyou soldiers, armed with their standard issue Seburo C26a assault rifles.

As the armored SUV approached the checkpoint, the Armor Shrike lifted it's weapon, and fired a single shot at the engine block, the 30mm Armor piercing shell would make short work of the crude armor plating that had been installed by the Yakuza, and should it hit, would pierce the front grille of the truck, and the engine block lengthwise, this would cause catastrophic internal damage to the engine, bringing an abrupt halt to the SUV.

Some time later, the Taiyou Imperial Palace Press Room...

The clatter of camera shutters filled the room as Princess Aeka nervously stepped forward to the podium. The flag of the Taiyou Empire of Greater Niihama draped behind her, flanked on either side by well manicured bonsai trees.

Before Aeka was a room full of people, cameras pointed at her from news outlets across the Taiyou Empire.

It was up to her. Her brother was incapacitated, her sister was missing, and everything rested on the young, inexperienced princess.

She took a breath, and focused her attention on the cameras. She put on the most serious expression she could muster, and she conjured up all the gravitas she could.

She shuffled some papers in front of her, and then brought her attention back to the cameras, as the clattering of shutters filled her senses.

"Loyal subjects of the Empire." Aeka said, glancing briefly down at her paper. "In the preceding weeks of this statement, we had made first contact with a primitive culture on a planet in the Milky Way Galaxy that the locals refer to as Gaia." She took a brief sip of her water, and then continued with her statement. "Initially our first contact with these people proved challenging, with a distinct language, and cultural barrier between our two peoples."

Aeka took another breath.

"In the interest of cultural, and scientific understanding. Director Seno Miyagi, Prime Minister Kayabuki, Her Imperial Majesty Princess Yukiko, and my brother, Tennoheika Shimizu Takayama traveled to this world to meet with the leaders of these primitive people, so that we may form a lasting friendship, and mutual understanding between two very different cultures."

The cameras focused on Aeka, and the clattering of the press corps continued.

"In the days following, we learned that this culture was one of barbarism, and savagery. The leaders of this primitive culture organized an ambush, in an attempt to steal our technology, and cripple our leadership in the hopes that they may strike fear into the hearts of the loyal subjects of this Empire." Aeka continued. "In a swift, well coordinated ambush, warriors from this culture used perverted magic, to overwhelm the Imperial Guardians, and assassinate our Emperor. In their attack, they managed to take the life of our Prime Minister, critically injure His Imperial Majesty, and from what we could tell, kidnap my sister, Her Royal Highness Princess Yukiko, and our Science Director Seno Miyagi. To what perverted aims we do not yet know."

Aeka quietly shifted her paperwork, glancing down briefly before focusing on the cameras yet again.

"In addition to this attack on our diplomatic envoy, these savages sent terrorist squads to Niihama through a mysterious gateway that connects our two worlds. There, the terrorists managed to carry out a series of attacks that this city has not seen in ten thousand years. The death count reaching into the hundreds, of innocent civilians, police officers, and local security."

Her eyes went briefly to the disfigured man in black, then back to the cameras.

"Therefore, it is upon the advice of the Imperial Diet, the Shogunate Council, the Minister of Defense, As well as the authority of my station as Crown Princess of the Taiyou Empire, and acting Prime Minister."

Aeka paused, and then took a sip of her glass of water.

"It is with reluctance, and trepidation, that I, Crown Princess Aeka Takayama issue the following Imperial Decree."

She shuffled her papers once more, and her expression only deepened in it's gravity, as her lips once again parted to speak.

"WE, by the grace of Heaven, Emperor of Niihama, seated on the throne occupied by the same dynasty from time immemorial, enjoin upon ye, Our loyal and brave subjects:

We hereby declare a state of total War upon the primitive cultures that make up the northern reaches of the planet Gaia. The men and officers of Our Army and Navy shall do their utmost in prosecuting the war. Our public servants of various departments shall perform faithfully and diligently their respective duties; the entire nation with a united will shall mobilize their total strength so that nothing will miscarry in the attainment of Our war aims.

"To ensure the stability of the Taiyou Empire of Greater Niihama and to contribute to intergalactic peace is the far-sighted policy which was formulated by Our Great Illustrious Imperial Grandsire, and Our Great Imperial Sire succeeding Him, and which We lay constantly to heart. To cultivate friendship among nations and to enjoy prosperity in common with all nations, has always been the guiding principle of Our Empire's foreign policy. It has been truly unavoidable and far from Our wishes that Our Empire has been brought to cross swords with the primitive cultures of this world."

Shifting her weight, Aeka brought a hand to push some hair from her brow, wiping some of the sweat that had began to bead on her brow. She took a breath, and continued her speech.

"This trend of affairs, would, if left unchecked, not only nullify Our Empire's efforts of many years for the sake of the stabilization of our two galaxies, but also endanger the very existence of Our nation. The situation being such as it is, Our Empire, for its existence and self-defense has no other recourse but to appeal to arms and to crush every obstacle in its path."

Aeka took a second document from the stack, and began to prepare a wax seal, as she continued to speak into the microphone.

"The hallowed spirits of Our Imperial Ancestors guarding Us from above, We rely upon the loyalty and courage of Our subjects in Our confident expectation that the task bequeathed by Our forefathers will be carried forward and that the sources of evil will be speedily eradicated and an enduring peace immutably established in the Gaian system, preserving thereby the glory of Our Empire."

Slowly, Aeka affixed her wax seal of office to the document.

"In witness whereof, we have hereunto set Our hand and caused the Grand Seal of the Empire to be affixed at the Imperial Palace, Niihama City, this seventh day of the fifth month of the first year of Nobuo, corresponding to the 112,602nd year from the accession to the throne of Emperor Taisho."

There was thunderous applause as the people inside the press room applauded their Princess. Aeka passed the document to Defense Minister Kanou, and the press corps began to clamor for questions.

There was a brief crackling, followed by a secure channel being transmitted to the corvette class ship. It was a video channel that displayed two individuals, a middle aged woman with Taiyou-like features, but something seemed off, She was clad in a simple black yukata, a cup of tea in her hands which bore faint scars. Standing directly behind her was a horridly disfigured individual in all black.

"William Dorsun of the Kingdom of Asylia." The woman spoke. Her accent was distinctly not Taiyou, but Aschen. Her words lilted with the dialect of someone who came from the Aschen province of Gemenon.

"I am Empress Dowager Kendra Takayama." She said, introducing herself over the channel. "You are here on a diplomatic mission." She cast her gaze over to Gouda for a moment, speaking to him in hushed Taiyou about something.

"His Imperial Majesty is indisposed at the moment, so if you wish to discuss anything, it will have to be through me." The woman added, though something seemed off, a steely resolve afixed her gaze.

"I can have landing coordinates transmitted by our Generalissimo, and a party ready to receive you."

William eyed the woman for several moments before nodding tersely. "Awaiting coordinates."

William would wait only long enough to receive those coordinates before cutting all transmissions and piloting the ship down as indicated. His guardian called from the back "Should I save some for em, you think?"

"It wouldn't do us any good, They're likely to see it as poison or some such. I doubt they're going to listen to us at any rate. Most likely scenario involves them detaining, imprisoning, and then interrogating us."

The Guardian chuckled "Won't do em any good, neither of us are important enough to be told anything."

"That may be, but for our ladies sake we must make the attempt to slow events down to a manageable level." Dorsun responded as he maneuvered the ship to the planets surface.

A literal handful of electronics debris spit out from the Shadow Phoenix and floated in a scatter off into space. Immediately after, the warp drives engaged.

The Global Self-Defense Army and Niihama's Skywatch had been tracking the object ever since it entered Niihama's solar system. Every trajectory had been carefully plotted into hundreds of supercomputers, and the course analyzed, it was projected to crash far outside any major urban zones, what few existed on the planet. Was this deliberate? Skywatch was concerned, so the decision was made to redeploy the fleet, and move ground forces towards the mountainous region south of the Yukikaze megacity, one of the few untouched regions left on the planet.

Whatever it was, no chances could be taken, so the Army deployed, and set up fortifications all around the small crater, powerful resonance barriers kept the radiation contained within the local area, and a combination of machinegun emplacements, sandbags, and hastily poured concrete redoubts marked the first line of defense, as hundreds of Taiyou soldiers took position surrounding the crater.

Each one was in a fully hermetically sealed combat suit, which offered a second layer of protection from the radiation, their weapons consisted of the Seburo C26A Assault rifle, a 5.45x45mm box fed high velocity assault rifle that fired high-powered armor piercing rounds.

The Area had also been closed off to the public, but the surrounding area began to fill with news crews, reporting the affair all across the Empire.

Two wasp-like Jigabachi AV attack helicopters were circling the crater as well, their rotors thundering through the still, thick air, thirty-millimetre rotary cannons mounted on their tails crooked forward, like a wasp about to sting it's prey.

Four Armor Shrikes, and two HAW206 multiped tanks rounded out the ground response, their main weapons trained on the small object below, was it a simple meteor?

The Director of Public Security, and the General of the Imperial Ground Self Defense Forces were both standing on the back of a large troop transport, under the camouflage canvas cover that was flapping in the wind, With most of the government pre-occupied with other things, both had been placed in charge of the response here.

"Director Miyagi is on his way from Niihama City." Aramaki said, turning to the General. Whom turned back to Aramaki. "I was redeployed from the gate to this location, fortunately the situation with the Vikings has yielded little in the way of events." Hama said, taking a pair of binoculars to gaze into the crater.

"We'll wait for Director Miyagi before we approach the object." Hama added.

About a week and a half later, after Drulovic's people were able to extract Keiko, allowing her to "Quietly pass away" as a jane doe, unidentified within the prison. Five individuals arrived in the main lobby of the prison to meet with the superintendent once more. It was a week of quiet, Hokushin too had gone with Keiko to the Shintenchi Shogunate, and now it was time for the meeting to occur, what everyone had been carefully plotting, planning, and waiting for.

Yukiko came in first, she was wearing a simple black pantsuit, with the Imperial Broach pinned to her lapel. Behind her came the minister of foreign affairs, Shuichi Minamino, the Minister of Defense Kanou, and the directors of both the Cabinet Intelligence Service, and Public Security. In the days that lapsed, Keiko had confided in both the Shogun, and Yukiko, as well as individuals within the Taiyou Government that she knew they could trust, and things on Niihama were slowly beginning to fall into place.

Andrijana's phone rang, the guard at the front lobby informing her that "More Taiyou." were here, and they "Looked important." As each one of them were well dressed, though Director Gouda was carrying a large briefcase that held a large laptop computer, and some receiving equipment. Behind them, a pair of Taiyou bodyguards waited at the door, as to not raise too much of a fuss.

They talked among themselves in Taiyou, discussing recent events, they had come here first, before they would proceed to Shintenchi, to discuss the logistics of unseating the current Emperor, and installing the rightful Heir.

Andrijana had only just finished signing off on a series of incident reports and disciplinary tickets that one of the captains had sent up that morning, when this call came too. "Just send them upstairs, to the conference room please." The conference room up here was used about twice a week, for senior staff meetings and general staff meetings, while most of the officers had their own spaces away from administration - the locker room, the break room, the parking lot. She took the stack of papers to the mailbox hanging on her door and put them in the slot labeled outbox, striding down the hall toward the little staff kitchen area, where she put on a pot of water for tea. Stopping by the bathroom, she adjusted her glasses and smoothed down part of her hair where it'd begun to frizz a little, then returned to her office where she grabbed a notepad, a pen, and a glass of water. She settled into the conference room just as the kettle had heated, and grabbed it too. There were cups in the conference room, and that box of tea bags one of the secretaries had squirreled away. Somehow, Andrijana had the sense that this meeting was anything but routine.

The guards escorted the five individuals up to the conference room as instructed, one by one each of them had entered the room, each of them had a neutral, if not somewhat hushed demeanor and expression about them, there were four men, and one woman, each of them dressed in a simple suit, and tie, or pantsuit where appropriate. Each one of them took a position around the conference room without saying anything.

There was the woman, who definitely was not Aeka, she appeared to be in her early forties, maybe forty one, or forty two, her shoulder length brown hair was left to hang loosely on her shoulders, and back, separated from her bangs with a simple headband that was adorned with subtle precious gems, and appeared to be made from an expensive ebony.

There was a young man, dressed in a nice suit, he seemed analytical, calculating as he entered the room, but he seemed to be the least imposing of the group, there was another man, an older man with balding hair, and a goatee, his suit was tailored, and pressed, like someone who was used to government meetings. Immediately behind him was a tall man who seemed scarred, his face twisted into a sardonic grin by scar tissue, as if he had suffered some kind of burn injury.

The last man was a middle aged man in a suit, hair pulled neatly to the side. All of them took a seat except for the woman, who sat last, and only said a few simple words.

"Where is the Director?" She asked, her Terran English was much better than Aeka's.

Andrijana stopped, halfway to pouring tea into the cups. "The Director?" she said, unsure what - or who - exactly was meant. "I'm sorry; I'm not sure what you mean. Director Boisvert-Panelo doesn't work out of Ĭtpraṽmår; her office is in Wing City." She resumed pouring tea into the cup, and set it aside, grabbing the next one. Then realization hit, and she paused again, swallowing. These people were asking about the old woman. "Ah - you must mean Ms. Drulović. She is an inmate here currently, and not the director of the TIB anymore. She is probably in her unit right now. Were you hoping to ... " With a sinking feeling, Andrijana realized she already knew the answer to that question.

The internal inquiry into the Jane Doe's death had been routine and swift, the papers just signed off the day before, and though Andrijana had her suspicions, she'd kept quiet and hoped that if she were lucky, the entire affair with the Taiyou was soon to be over. Clearly, this was not the case. The old woman was up to something. And Andrijana would have preferred it stay far from her office, so long as it did not involve murder or escapes.

Andrijana smiled thinly and apologetically, though the expression wavered a bit. "Pardon me, I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself properly. I'm Andrijana Krstevska, the superintendent here. Welcome to Ĭtpraṽmår." She was wearing a tweed jacket and black skirt, one of the very few who wore civilian dress on the premises. "Can I get you anything else to drink? We don't often have official delegations to visit." Except when Drulović was there.

The woman frowned, and she cast a weary gaze at the Superintendent, and frowned. "I know who you are." She said, folding her hands in front of her, on the table, lacking the polite, timid tact that Aeka had when she visited, rather, Yukiko commanded a regal presence, even more so than Shimizu when he visited. "I am Yukiko Takayama, Crown Princess, and Heir Presumptive to the Chrysanthemum Throne." She answered, gesturing first towards the scarred man at the table.

"I am Director Kazundo Gouda, I am the Director of His Majestys' Cabinet Intelligence Service." The man replied, his voice holding a tinge of coolness to it, as Yukiko's gaze fell to the older man.

"I am Chief Aramaki, with Public Security Section Nine." He answered, as Yukiko turned her gaze towards the other man seated across from Aramaki.

"Taro Kano, I'm the Minister of Defense, for His Majesty." Kanou answered crisply, as Yukiko's gaze turned to the younger man.

"Shuichi Minamino, I'm the Minister of Foreign Affairs, for His Majesty." The man said politely, inclining his head. "Pleased to make your acquaintance." He said, standing up and offering a bow, before seating himself back at the table, everyone at the table shook their heads, politely refusing the offer of tea, rather, Yukiko cleared her throat.

"We have much to discuss, and I would prefer it if you sent for Miss Drulovic with all haste, unfortunately we are on a very tight schedule, and must move quickly." Yukiko explained.

Andrijana returned a respectful bow, then stood at the head of the table, nodding. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances, and I'll do my best to help if I can. I'll call down now for Ms. Drulović," she said, trying not to stare agape at the collection of senior Taiyou Empire personnel - and royalty - assembled in her decidedly unimpressive conference room. She lifted the receiver to the room's phone by the door, calling the central hub. "Please send Ms. Drulović from the unit up to administration, second floor." Andrijana lowered her voice, "and without restraints, thank you." She turned back to the Taiyou delegation, ignoring the half-filled cups of tea on the table, and took a seat. "Would I be able to ask what this is about? We're not, ah, usually a prime destination for visiting dignitaries and world leaders."

The room was bare, the table plain and unadorned, the chairs technically cushioned but uncomfortable for anything longer than about an hour or so, with windows that overlooked only the main parking lot, with the chainlink fence and concertina wire visible around it. Today, it was bright and overcast, highlighting the dust on the blinds, the uneven fading on the thin carpet, and the cracks in the tiles visible where the carpet did not stretch. The only decoration on the wall was a framed painting of a world with twin suns that a marooned alien had made when incarcerated years ago, and left as a gift when he was released. He hadn't wanted to take with him any reminders of the place.

Andrijana couldn't think too much on how drab the room was though, how utterly unfit for a princess and her ruling officials. She was waiting to hear whether Shimizu had ordered her execution, and if so, if this meeting was simply a way to offer her a slightly less unpleasant path to death.

Yukiko didn't answer the question, however Shuichi took on the mantle of answering the director's question. "Our business with Drulovic is classified to the highest echelons of our government, we appreciate your cooperation in this matter though, it is of utmost concern to our national security that we have this meeting without delay, or interruption."

Director Gouda offered a brief nod, before he pulled out the briefcase, which of course didn't have any weapons, rather it was a laptop computer, and a powerful long range transmitter. Gouda briefly turned to Yukiko, who offered him a nod, and then he began to search the room for a power outlet, where he plugged in a small adapter, and then the laptop computer before opening it.

Aramaki stayed quiet, along with the other officials as Gouda began to work, powering up the computer, and plugging a thin wire from the back of his neck, into a port on the side of the computer, he took his hands off the keyboard, and the computer began to work, utilizing just a connection to his mind.

Gouda then plugged a small video uplink cable, adapted to the Terran standards into the projector, and he then reached over to power it on, the cable plugged into the back of his neck pulled taught for a moment, as the projector warmed up.

Yukiko finally, firmly and rather calmly broke the silence, and the ice.

"Do you have the documentation for my mother? Who was her prosecutor? Who was the presiding judge?"

Andrijana detected something dangerous flitting in the air at these questions from the presumptive heir to Shimizu's throne. She shook her head, apologetic still. "I don't have any of the paperwork offhand, no, your highness," she said. "The case was prosecuted more than ten years before I was appointed to my position at Ĭtpraṽmår, so I'm not familiar with the parties who were involved. I unfortunately only became aware of her presence here rather recently. I ... " Her voice faltered. "Officially, at least, your mother passed away about a week ago while in custody, but without her name on any of her paperwork quite yet - I had sent word to the Taiyou consulate at her request, and released her remains and personal effects to the senior attaché there just a few days ago." The word 'officially' hung between them, as Andrijana suspected they all knew that Keiko Takayama was likely very much alive, and that she was aware of this. "I'm so sorry for your loss." And she meant it - if Keiko were in fact dead, somehow, and all of this had come about for a dead empress dowager rather than a living one committed to removing the current Taiyou emperor from his throne. "Unless of course..." She watched as Gouda hooked his cybernetics into the projector in the room, wondering what in fact this group had come for.

The officers sent for the old woman couldn't come soon enough, Andrijana decided. Much as she resented Drulović's evident expertise and necessity here, Andrijana knew the old woman would know what to make of this.

Yukiko offered a soft chuckle at the mention, they all knew Keiko wasn't dead, they all knew exactly where Keiko was, and that Takara Sato had been taking good care of her, it made sense what happened to about three people in the room, including Yukiko, and Kanou and Armaki could put two and two together.

"Perhaps it's for the best." Yukiko said with a soft smile. "As you well know with the Kendra Shaw situation, we do not tolerate the imprisonment of one of our family members, and I would have taken action to ensure she was freed at once." Yukiko smiled. "It's better this way, for all parties involved." The Princess said with a smile. Yes, Yukiko knew exactly what was going on, Keiko told her everything.

"Officially, she is still a jane doe, do not put her real identity on any paperwork." Yukiko implored, Tarou, and Minamino nodding. "Our Government believes Keiko died years ago, for the current situation at hand, it is best that it be maintained." The young foreign affairs minister remarked.

"We were able to quickly suppress any news of her yet living, for the time being." Gouda remarked, before he slowly returned to his seat, Taiyou text in green scrolled down the projector in green code, before a loading bar of some kind began to slide across the screen.

Yukiko pursed her lips at the information, they didn't have the files. She cast her gaze to Gouda, and cleared her throat to speak.

"Dare ga sono jiken o shori shita no ka shiritai." "I want to find out who handled that case."

"Well, paperwork can always be lost or delayed, and questions easily deferred to an endless loop of bureaucratic inanity," said Andrijana, hands splayed open on the table. "Your mother's identity is safe here, for however long you need it to be. If there's anything the Terran prison system excels at, it's dragging our heels in response to simple questions." She did not like this, much of the time, but if it would keep them alive, and protect an elderly woman who'd just received devastating news about the state of her family and nation, then Andrijana would be willing to oblige. Eventually, she'd have to answer to her own government, but with luck, that time might be far enough away she would not have to contemplate it for a while. "We can keep prying eyes away from the Jane Doe files. I'm glad to hear that her highness is safe." Of course, it would also serve Andrijana's purposes - the central office would not be pleased with her if they knew she'd all but facilitated an escape.

Andrijana had never planned to go into corrections. Not many people did. She'd started as a teacher, then thought she might try her hand at social work, and somehow that had led to an incredibly - almost insultingly - low-paying job in the prisons department, and all those years later, she'd ended up here. On the other side of things from where she'd once been, advocating against administrators just like herself to try to get inmates' basic needs met. Now she was stuck. Ĭtpraṽmår was a punishment assignment. A punishment assignment that had started ten years ago. And each successive year, central office made it clear Andrijana would not be welcome back in Wing City.

Two guards finally appeared at the door with Drulović, holding her by the elbows. Of course, they'd ignored Andrijana's instructions. "Where did you want the inmate?" The old woman looked tired, her forehead glistening with perspiration from the walk over that the guards had taken a little too briskly, especially with the leg irons, her rather shapeless gray uniform a stark contrast to the carefully tailored rich fabrics that the Taiyou wore, and even to Andrijana's fashionable (if bargain rack) skirt suit. Drulović's gaze quickly marked each of the Taiyou in the room, recognizing nearly all of them at once, but her face betrayed no reaction.

"Just - there, please." Andrijana stood hastily, pulling out a chair from the table, near her own, for Drulović. "Here. Let me help you."