Priority: Peace Talk P.2

--Guest Lounge, Presidential Complex--

Pina has been sitting quietly since she returns from the Oval Office. She is staring out of the window with a blank expression on her face.

"Pina, can I call you Pina? What's on your mind?" Ava asks.

"Yes, you can call me Pina, Commander. I'm just thinking about the meeting" Pina replies.

"It didn't go well?" Ava asks.

"It wasn't as good as I had hoped, but It was a lot better than I expected" Pina says.

"Ahhh, hope for the best and expect the worst. That's a good mindset for a leader Princess" Duran comments.

"Thank you, Your Majesty" Pina bows her head to Duran.

"Then why's the sad face?" Ava asks.

"The terms are generous and…reasonable, but I'm in doubt of my ability to follow it through" Pina explains.

"Politics aren't an easy game to play, but it is the pain a leader must go through to lead their people, Your Highness" Duran says.

"I understand, I just don't like it" Pina replies.

"Well I got just the thing that might cheer you up" Ava says as she picks up the ordering pad and input a drink name.

"One Pina Colada for…erm…Princess Pina Co Lada?" the waitress has a big confused look on her face while she's leaving after putting down the drink.

"You have a drink named after me?" Pina says with a clear surprised face "It's a huge honor to have a delicacy name after you in the Empire".

"Sorry but no, Pina Colada origin is uncertain but the earliest known appearance dated back in the 19th century on Earth. The recipe is ancient, and has been around for over a thousand years now" Ava watch Pina takes a sip and continues "When I first heard your name, I was surprised too but the 'Colada' of the drink is without space and your name is with a space 'Co Lada'. Pina Colada in Spanish is strained pineapple".

"This tastes so good, Commander, can I bring the recipe back with me?" Pina continues sipping her drink.

"Sure, I'll print it out for you but I'm not sure your world would have the ingredients for it" Ava says then she turns to look at Viktor "So how have you been? Exciting for this new mission?".

"I'm fine, Commander, this mission is going to be a challenge but I like challenges" Viktor replies.

"Challenge? Didn't you do this sort of thing all the time?" Ava asks.

"Yes, but this time it is different. In the past, before deployment, there would be time to familiarize myself with the political system and culture of the nation that I was going to infiltrate and we had hundreds of years to study all the known races in the galaxy, I would be going in knowing exactly what I need to do, mostly. The Saderan Empire is a new culture and their political system is an unknown to us so I'm going in blind" Viktor explains "Plus they have no technology at all, which make my job a lot harder as I can't just simply hack their personal database and get the information I want".

"Don't worry Special Agent Volkov, I will do anything in my power to help you with your missions" Pina says.

"I'm counting on that, Your Highness, and please call me Viktor".

"And you can call me Pina, I won't let you down Viktor. It's for my benefit as well as yours" Pina replies.

The secretary walks to King Duran and informs him that it is time to meet with the President. He stands up and bows slightly then starts following her to the Oval Office.

--Royal's Heir Wing, Sadera Palace, Sadera--

Zoral is sitting at the round table in his personal dining room with his generals Decimus, Ennius, Faustus and Crispus. These are Zoral's most trusted and loyal friends from some of the wealthiest noble family in the Empire. They would blindly follow the Crown Prince to corners of the world and believe in him to be the next great Emperor of the Empire.

"Any news of Tiberius plan?" Zoral asks.

"Following Tiberius's order, all the Legions from the East are marching back to Dumas mountain range leaving our cities and fortresses in the East are left with only their garrison. Many just surrender to the other worlders, the ones that resist fall in the matter of days but that's only because the enemy heart is weak and they want to minimize peasant death" Faustus reports.

Decimus takes out a scroll and hands it to Zoral then he reports "As you can see, Your Highness, Tiberius and your father are planning to build underground tunnel networks all over Dumas mountain range and use wild board skins as camouflage. They even strip our Legionnaires of their armors and have them wear only tunic, put away swords and shields to only carry the new repeat crossbow as a weapon".

On the scroll is the defensive plan that Molt and Tiberius came up with the war council. It took them sleepless nights to finalize it. With the other worlds making advances on the East and terrible news coming in daily, they both know what the enemy is capable of and that the Imperial Army stands no chance against them in the open field.

There are 12 paths that allow passage through the mountain range and only 3 of them are big enough for wagons to travel. Tiberius suspects that the other worlders will use these 3 paths to march their war wagons, he plans to build a system of trenches and wooden bunkers for ballista and Scorpio engines in the forest along these 3 paths. The other paths have the same defensive network but since they're narrow and rocky no ballista will be set up along them. Booby traps like the ones used in the Battle of Alnus Hill will also be set in strategic locations.

Dwarfs are ordered to carve bunkers in the cliff overlooking the paths for more ballista and Scorpio installation. The purpose of this is to fight enemy metal dragon and provide support as well as over watch for the troops along the paths. They hope that the high ground will give them some advantage and a better fighting chance.

Legionnaires with repeating crossbows will be using the trenches for cover and wear no armor for better mobility as the armors are useless against the enemy's weapon. They will be wearing tunics made of wild board skins so that the enemy's metal dragons can't see them. Both Molt and Tiberius well aware that the Empire cannot win this war without tremendous loss, they hope that if this plan don't win them the war, it will drain the other worlders enough to bring them to a peace table.

"This is outrageous!" Zoral swipes the wine glass off the table out of rage "Where is the dignity of our Empire? Leaving our allies and cities to the enemy, hiding and fighting like a bunch of lowly peasant and cowards. Father is becoming old and seduced by that arrogant fool, Tiberius".

Crispus looks around and sees his fellow generals node at him "Your Highness, we must do something".

"You're right, we must do something" Zoral pauses for a moment to think and then turns to look at Crispus "How fast can you gather your Legions?".

"I have 3 ready to go, give me 1 day to prepare them for marching. May I ask where we will be going, Your Higness?" Crispus asks.

"Icia, we're going to Icia" Zoral then points at the map on the wall "At this rate, the other worlders will reach Icia in a week, longer if the more cities and fortresses resist them. It will only take us 4 days to reach the city if we force march and rest once we're there".

Force marching is the unique trait of the Imperial Army in the entire known world of Falmart. The troops is only allowed to rest for 3-4 hours a day when the night is darkest without making any kind of serious encampment. It is the incredible training and discipline of the Imperial Army that allow this kind of maneuver, any untrained or undisciplined army that attempts to perform this will result in disorganization, desertion, exhaustion, starvation and eventually cause the army to slow down to reach it destination longer than a normal march.

Zoral stands up and walks to the map then continues "The city's back is against the Icia mountain and its multi-level with multi-layer of walls offer a strong defensive position. We're gonna make stance there, we'll defeat the other worlders there and prove to the Empire that they can be defeated and I'm their savior".

"Good plan, Your Highness. The city also has a few secret escape tunnels into the mountain so we can safely retreat if things don't go according to plan" Decimus comments.

"What do you want us to do while you're away, Your Highness?" Ennius asks.

Zoral walks back to the table and picks up a knife "Father is no longer fit to be Emperor but we can't dethrone him now. You three stay here in Sadera and gather support for our cause, once the time is right I will take the throne and lead the Empire to another golden age. You will be in charge of this task Ennius and Decimus will be your help. Faustus, I want you to travel North and convince to Legions their to follow us" Zoral replies and throw the knife at Sadera on the map.

--Oval Office, Presidential Complex, Earth--

King Duran is taking a final look at the treaty to make sure all the terms are correct and true to what they have been discussing.

"Improve metallurgy technique and technology, composite bows technology, a new breed of warhorse, improve agriculture, trade, education. I have to say these terms are very generous for Elbe Kingdom and Alguna Kingdom, Mr. President" Duran say while continuing to read.

"I'm surprised that you're not asking for our weapons and war machines, Your Majesty" President Liam praises.

"While I'm admired your capability of war and the power of your weapons, I'm also no fool Mr. President. No nation would give another nation its powerful weapons of war, and even if you did, we have no way to produce the tool and the knowledge to maintain them and use them" King Duran replies, he takes a sip from the glass of water next to him and then continue "It's better to improve from what we have and can do then step by step we can be like you one day".

"That is very wise, Your Majesty, may I ask if you are satisfied with the terms?" Ambassador Noah asks.

"Yes yes, very. I will put my hand on this pad and say my name to conclude right?" King Duran proceeds to sign the treaty and continues "There's something I need to tell you, to show trust, since you have been very kind. My spies in Sadera report that Tiberius had brought your people to the capital. His intention is to prevent your flying war machines from destroying them from above".

"Why did you hold back on this information? Why are you telling us now?" Ambassador Noah asks.

"Mr. Noah, as an Ambassador, when you negotiate a treaty, you need to hold back some cards just in case. Your card is your military might which is overwhelming powerful that you don't need to hide, mine is information" King Duran replies with a confident tone and a smile on his face.

"We understand, thanks for telling us" President Liam says then press the button to call the secretary "Please bring Princess Pina to my office".

It doesn't take look for the secretary to bring the Princess back into the Oval Office.

"Mr. Presidant, Ambassador, Your Majesty" Pina curtsy then continues "Is there anything wrong?".

"King Duran just informed us that the Empire is holding our people hostage in your capital. The GIA has been notified and Viktor's top priority now is to get them back to us. When you are back in your world, King Duran's men will provide the information of our people and who… owns them. We would like you to prioritize helping Viktor to bring them back safely" President Liam says.

"I understand, is there anything else?" Pina asks.

"That will be all, now I'm going to have to ask you all to leave as I have an important matter to discuss with Commander Ava" President Liam says.

--A few moments later--

Ave after following the secretary into the Oval Office, walks to in front of the President's desk and salute then stands at attention. This is not the first time Ava meet President Liam.

"Commander Ava Bennett, it's an honor to meet you again. It feels like yesterday since I put that medal on your uniform. Please be at ease" President Liam return the salute then gives Ava a handshake.

Ava put her hands to the lower center of her back and relax at ease stand after shaking hand with President Liam then she speaks "The honor is mine, sir!"

"Thank you. Now, officially, I invited you here to congratulate you for leading your unit and recusing 17 UNE civilians from the Empire. However, the real purpose that I ask you here is because I have an important task I want to personally brief you on" President Liam says.

A holographic image of an alien structure appears in front of them.

"As you know there's another continent on Spes other than Falmart. Advanced alien facilities were found by recon units from the 9th Terra and a scientist team was sent there" the image change to display the interior of the structure "The main facility is massive and seem to be mostly intact. However most of the facility is being sealed by powerful force fields that use the same power source with the planetary shield".

"The planet core" Ava says.

"Correct, they found a security control in a chamber. Our team believes that they can unlock the rest of the facility from there and find the central command that, according to the data from Norvea Castle, is in the center of the facility" President Liam explains.

"But they don't have the key for it?" Ava comments.

"Precisely" President Liam replies as a holographic image of a cube with strange patterns on it "the GIA identified this object as the key to allow access to the security control and according to the intel from our allies on Falmart, it is currently in the possession of the Empire as they believe it's a gift from the gods to the glory of their nation".

"And you want my unit to go get it" Ava says.

"Bingo, but the problem is we don't know where it is. Viktor is tasked with finding where it is while he's in the Empire's capital and once we know where it is, you will take the 5th SIF to retrieve it" President Liam says.

"Copy that, Mr. President" Ava replies.

"Now you maybe wondering why I could just have General Nguyen brief you on this. I want to personally emphasize how important this is. The Reaper is real and they're here, more and more systems in the Batarian space are going dark that even the Citadel Council is on edge even though they are denying it. Everyone wants a piece of Prothean tech and knowledge to booster their defenses and we have to get to those first. Needless to say, you cannot fail this mission as it might cost the survival of civilization as we know it" President Liam explains.

"I will not fail, Mr. President" Ava says

"Good to hear that, Commander, when Special Agent Viktor gives us the location of the key ISOC (Interstellar Special Operation Command) will come up with a retrieval plan and you're up. For now, you're dismissed" President Liam says.

Ava returns to stand at attention to salute and then leaves the room with a lot of thoughts on her mind. The Batarian is a non-council race like Human that native to the world of Khar'shan. While the human refused to join the council due to political restriction and military limitation treaty that come along with it, the Batarian strive to obtain a seat within the council but only granted associate status instead. Believing that the council served them dishonor, they broke away from the Council Races and became the Batarian Nation.

The Batarian technology level is lacking behind most races in the Galaxy and far inferior to that of the UNE because of the sanction from the Citadel Council. However, their military makes up for the lack of technology with an overwhelming number and unwavering bravery as well as recklessness in combat, which make them a formidable fighting force. Therefore, if they are losing systems this quickly and the GIA keep losing agents trying to find out what is happening, then the situation is very bad. According to the data from Norvea Castle, this is only the vanguard force of the Reaper.

--The Dining Hall, Presidential Complex, Earth--

The Dining room is where the President of the United Nations of Earth host dinners in honor of important guests, often head of government of other nations. The layout and environment within the hall are prepared depending on the type of banquet and the race of the guests. This time there's only an oval table and the room is decorated in Victorian age royalty style.

"Your dining hall is impressive, Mr. President" King Duran is impressed with how beautiful the hall is decorated, not even his personal dining hall is this excellent.

"Thank you, the DSA wasn't sure that you will like their decoration. I'll make sure they know that you like it" President Liam replies.

"It is most impressive, even the Imperial Banquet Hall is not as well-decorated" Hamilton comments while looking around the hall "Although this one is smaller".

"Hamilton" Pina whispers as she shakes her head lightly while looking at Hamilton.

"It's ok" President Liam chuckles then he continues "This dining hall is reserved for our most important guests such as head of government and royalty such as yourselves. Usually, there's only a few at a time so we don't need a bigger hall".

President Liam looks around the table to make sure that everything is in order and the quests are enjoying the dinner. However, he can see that Tuka and Lelei are not feeling comfortable.

"Ms. Tuka, Ms. Lelei, is the food not good?" President Liam asks.

Tuka is slightly startled when she hears her name, she looks at Lelei showing clear shyness. Understand how Tuka is feeling, Lelei explains to the President "Tuka and myself are not used to fancy diner such as this, Mr. President. Tuka's people, the Elves, are very close to nature. They usually eat as a tribe around a bonfire using logs as chairs and tables. I am a nomad and we eat at whatever place we can sit, sometimes on the move in side our wagons".

"But the food is good" Rory jumps in the conversation as she continues to ravage the food on her plate.

With a chuckle, President Liam continues "I haven't had the chance to ask, how was your trip?".

"It was magnificent Mr. President, your people have achieved godly feats. You build worlds and control the stars, yet you claim to have no magic. It is fascinating" Pina replies.

"Thank you, Your Highness. It is true that we have no magic, it was a fiction in stories before we arrived at your world" President Liam say "despite all our advancement in science, we've never once discovered even the slightest hint of magic".

"We can teach you" Lelei says "I can teach you" then she creates a fireball from the palm of her right hand.

Seeing that, the PSA agents jump right into action. One of them tackles Lelei to the ground while another holding her head at gun point, another 2 agents stand in front of the President with their guns ready while more rush into the hall. Surprised by the event, Grey and Hamilton rush next to Pina and hold a fighting stance. Tuka and Lucas are terrified and hide behind Ava, only Rory and Duran seem to be keeping calm.

With the agents yelling trying to get everyone to put their hands where the agents can see, Ava tries to deescalate the situation "Woa woa woa, everyone calms down!".

"Alright alright, everyone stands down. Put your guns away" President Liam orders.

"But Mr. President…" one of the PSA agents attempting to get the President to reconsider his order.

"It's ok, put your gun away" President Liam says then he walks over to Lelei and pulls her up "I'm sorry Ms. Lelei, they are just trying to do their job".

"I understand, I'm sorry too" Lelei apologize.

"What a fun dinner" Rory says while chewing a chicken drumstick.

"You're still eating?" King Duran asks to which Rory only shrugs in replies.

"Anyway it's getting late, everyone is probably tired. Please escort them to the landing pad so they can head to London for the night" President Liam orders the agents.

"Rory get up, time to go" Ava tabs on Rory's shoulder.

"But…"

"Now" Ava says with a commanding tone.

"Fine!" Rory stands up but takes the whole plate of food with her.

King Duran is still amazed that a mortal human could have so much influence on an apostle like that. Rory the reaper is the apostle of war and death no less.

Once the guests have left, President Liam sits back down and calls the head of the Department of Science.

"I want to set up a research facility on Falmart, I want you to find out how magic works and how we can use it in combination with our technology" President Liam orders.

"Right away, Mr. President" replies from the other side.