Sarxas stood where she was for a whole hour, up until dawn, when she spotted a white-haired young woman in an elegant dress wandering about. Doesn't she know Diplomacy Square is closed for preparations, right now? The Feliniri woman walked up to her and said, "Pardon me, miss, but didn't you know this part of the District of Justicra is closed off until all the preparations for today's event is in place? There will be plenty to do here once it opens up. Besides, you shouldn't be going about the city alone at this hour, especially with all the soldiers from the Mysticaran Federation and the Metargo Kingdom in town. Those two nations don't get along, at all, as far as I've seen." He cat ears caught the sounds of people arguing, which prompted her to glance in the direction of the sounds, her teeth gritting. "Speaking of whom..."
She stepped forward a few times before spotting soldiers from both Mysticara and Metargo about to exchange punches which each other, yet immediately stopped when Sarxas shouted, "Hey! Knock it off, you guys! You're not even supposed to be here at this hour, anyway!"
Most of the men backed away from each other, but one of the Metargo men gritted his teeth as he replied with, "Well, look who it is: the Feliniri Benjlakki from Brown Wing Team. Here to gloat over the previous war in this place?"
If there were ever an example in Benjlakk of a reason not to provoke a Tiger Feliniri, what happened next would be it. "I said..." Sarxas lept up into the air, ready to kick. "Knock it off!" Her foot landed squarely on the man's forehead, resulting in him landing hard onto the concrete, knocked unconscious. "Take him with you and beat it!" With The fight prevented, Sarxas walked back towards the white-haired girl.
"Sorry you had to see that. Metargo and Mysticara don't seem to get along, at all. They have been fighting off and on frequently, picking up where they leave off after stopping in-between periods of warfare. The initial part of latest period where Metargo was not fighting Mysticara, even if briefly, was when the invasion upon the Republic eastern region, this region called Fertaninn, happened. Well, it's not like any of that is new: For one thing, Metargo has invaded Benjlakk before, albeit out of desperation to supply the Kingdom's citizens with food. Plus, Mysticara and Metargo have been doing this to each other for so long, everything that goes on between them in hostility is kind of expected." Her thumb pointing towards Diplomacy Hall, the doors to which she was stationed beside, she added, "Our President, Howard Anderson, convinced the Senate within Congress to approve of a mediation process to take place in that building while the festivities go on. Benjlakk, our nation, needs a relief from being pressured towards making a stance different from our neutral one, something we have held for a long time."
She brought out her military tablet she received three years back and began tapping keys. "Well, you seem like a nice-enough gal, so I'm not going to hold you up any longer. Where are you staying at? You look like you come from someplace else. Oh, and your name?" While listening, Sarxas thought in the back of her mind about the footsteps nearby somewhere. Whose were they?
---
Saul could hear Beathas getting up and ready. He glanced in her direction once she greeted him, his response with a small grin being, "Good morning, Beathas." He listened to his daughter explain that she did not want to be cooped up, which he completely understood. A royal's life was not at all easy, despite the illusions the media gives. He nodded wholeheartedly at her request to explore the hotel for a bit. "Of course! If you take the elevator nearby the rooms that Aaron, Kyle, and May are staying at, you should be close where most everything is. The dining area and the pool adjacent to that room will be nearest to you once you take the elevator downstairs."
Karen woke up, next. Saul maintained his soft grin as she approached. His face went slightly pink at the feeling of lips on his cheek. "Good morning, darling." He listened to her words prior to his grin fading, replaced with a stressed, yet exhausted expression while he leaned his head downwards towards the surface of the desk, the head kept up by his left hand due to his right one holding a pen. "Assuming the Mysticaran officials even listen to our side of it, along with Parliament actually approving whatever motion towards peace that is given once we arrive home. That is the sad reality of politics: it is often run by emotions rather than logic; by ignorance and stereotypes instead of understanding and knowledge. The Mysticaran Federation's Head Councilor, Marcus Pericles, the first elf to be elected to that office, has seen more combat and destruction than any of us can hope to perceive, given his naturally long lifespan that comes with being an elf. He is desperate to put a stop to the harm towards the natural environment, little realizing that these things take time. It has already taken generations to solve several crises, and it would likely take generations more to resolve the dilemma with the habitat. As for our Prime Minister, Romano Lopez, well, we already know how nationalistic he is. If only I could hang my rifle and pistol as souvenirs instead of using them in warfare at Parliament's behest."
---
Zechariah and Benjamin listened to Larry the whole time, taking note that he would rather not be called Laurence. Zechariah pondered for a moment on what was said. Highbrook Academy? Isn't that along the coast of Frankliisha, one of the States within the mainland of Moutreer, that largely mountainous region within Western Benjlakk? He's really come a long way from his home. On top of that, people from Moutreer often brave tough weather due to being up in the mountains. He saluted back towards Vance. "Looking forward to working with you, Larry." Glancing back towards the rest of Brown Wing Team, he said, "Well, I'd like to stand around in further conversation if we could, but we are due to start our patrols and watchman duties soon, so we better get moving. Ben has the files for your general area that you'll be standing watch over and patrolling." Glancing in Larry's direction, he told him, "Hey, Larry? Why don't you come patrolling with me, since your transfer was kind of last minute? I know everyone else pretty well, having fought alongside them during the Metargo invasion upon Fertaninn that we recently experienced. Most of us, including myself, were drafted, unless you count Ben, my brother."
He continued the conversation as they made their way to the hotel. "you know, I heard that Highbrook is located along the coast of Fankliisha, a State within the Mainland of Moutreer. It must be rough living high up on those mountains." Chuckling, he added, "Well, I guess it beats living in an orbital space colony, where you're stuck with the same scenery in the interior pretty much all year. Although, I hear plenty of landscaping has been done to make the inside of those colonies kind of like a town on the planet's surface, not that I ever been in one of them in my life. And, to think a lot of our solar power comes from that leftover which is delivered in rechargeable packs from those same colonies up in space. They make quite a living from such deliveries." Shrugging, he added, "But, anyway, we heard about your military life, though I am wondering what you did before being accepted into the academy. We don't automatically consider military duty, after all." Zechariah listened the rest of the way, which was about fifteen minutes, nodding every so often.
Once inside the hotel, Zechariah glanced in different directions while patrolling, making sure not to miss anything. He made sure Larry was beside him, though. This was the first time Zech and the new corporal were working together, let alone in the District of Justicra, and he did not want him lost, left out of the loop, or anything of the sort.
---
Kyle waved back at May, whom he was having fantasies about in the back of his mind. It was common knowledge in Lion Team that Kyle had a tendency to think about women in the erotic sense. Aaron kind of wished he did not know about that. Although, it was also known Kyle did have his limits and boundaries. For one thing, he did not go after women much younger or older than him, or even the ones that were otherwise out of bounds. And incest? Don't even get him started on that topic; he absolutely hates it and finds the idea of sex with family members disgusting. Even the mention of such a thing would send him puking.
Aaron glanced in May's direction, his face somewhat emotionless, and said, "All right, now that all three of us are up..." he then noticed two Metargo soldiers that were also part of Lion Team, one of which was unconscious and being dragged. "What happened to Private Lucius?"
The man dragging the knocked-out soldier responded with, "He ticked off a female Feliniri Benjlakki soldier from Brown Wing Team and got kicked hard in the head, sergeant."
Aaron knew Private Lucius well, which made him give a questioning glare. "He wasn't picking a fight with anyone, was he?"
"Yes, sir."
"With whom?"
"A few Mysticaran men and, once that was broken up before it even started, her."
Aaron face-palmed himself. "Just as I thought. That idiot should know better, by now. Okay, bring him back to his room and give him some medical attention. I'll have a word with him, later." Glancing back at May, he said to her, "Okay, that out of the way, we better see if any of the royals are up, yet, so we can escort them. The King should be awake, and possibly the Queen. The Crown Prince is probably working out somewhere. I don't know about the Princess." He next saw Beathas approaching. "Speaking of whom, here she comes."
He walked over, then saluted Beathas with Kyle doing the same thing. Aaron spoke up. "Good morning, Your Highness. You're up earlier than usual."
---
Benjamin handed out the papers. "Read the files carefully. We can't afford any mishaps. Letting one troublemaker run loose could jeopardize the whole thing." Looking at Catrina, he gave a soft grin. The girl was like a sister he never had. "Catrina, why don't you come with me? We are patrolling the same area."
---
At the scientific meeting, Willkarta, Sarxas' brother whom was adopted years ago, examined the papers Lilira had and was, as usual, impressed. "Nice work. You've got a lot of the schematics down-pat." Pulling his own pen and paper, he said, "Although, I do know of a way to make it so that weapon can be set to stun remotely. The equation is complex, so bare with me." He wrote it down from the thoughts in his head. If there was one thing he was strongest at, it was mathematics. Once it was done, he showed it to the girl and said, "What do you think?"
---
Gracchus spotted Machara and had a wider grin on his face, "Good morning, Machara." Pouring another mug, he handed it to the woman. "Coffee?"
Agathe giggled softly. "You think he'd leave you out, Miss Akira?"