14 Priority: The Tour

--War Spike, Terra Sphere--

The Commander-in-chief is on comms with the President in his office.

"The GIA just informed me that the entire Outer Rim sector of the Batarian Nation gone dark just hours ago, sir" CIC Brooklyn King reports.

"Do we know what happened?" President Liam asks.

"No sir, our agents in that sector also went dark. The Batarian government is keeping quiet but the last transmission from our guys saying the colonies were being attacked by a powerful unknown force" CIC Brooklyn pauses for a moment and then continues "The description of the hostile forces fit the description of the Reaper in the data from the Prothean AI on Spes, sir".

"So it is true, what about the Citadel Council?" President Liam asks.

"We forwarded our findings on the Reaper and warned them, sir. But they don't trust us, as always" CIC Brooklyn replies.

"Alright, have the GIA double down on those Prothean data. If the Reaper is as powerful as the Prothean's warning then we don't have much time, we need every information we can get, their weaknesses, tech level, strategies everything. Start fortifying our borders but do it quietly, I don't want the public to panic yet" President Liam says.

"Yes sir" CIC Brooklyn then hang up.

President Liam turns hit chair to face the window looking out to the pacific ocean thinking. He then presses a button to talk to his secretary "Move the meeting with the Falmartian 1 day back, there's something I need to do first" then he hang up and call the Turian Primach.

Since the First Interstellar War, Human-Turian relation has been improving fast. Despite UNE refusal to join the Citadel Council due to disagreement in rule and regulations, the Turian Hierarchy has a certain degree of respect for the UNE.

--New Ginza Square, New Ginza City, Eden Prime--

New Ginza Square was converted into a small military base surrounding the gate. At the South end of the square is a memorial place to remember the deaths during New Ginza Incident. Usually, there would be a lot of people who come to grief their lost ones and pray. Today, however, the DSA cleared the entire block from civilians for the visit of the group.

The D-20 enters the atmosphere of Eden Prime and comes into view of New Ginza City. Looking out of the window, the passengers can see a beautiful city below with tall and beautiful buildings that seemingly reach heaven. The transport slowly descends onto the landing pad in New Ginza Square and opens its rear ramp.

"Hmm, interesting" King Duran says

"What?" Pina asks.

"So your General went through the gate and see these godly structures, all these flying wagons and the first thing he did was giving the order to slaughter everything? You Saderans are truly blinded by your arrogance" Kind Duran replies.

"You…" Pina feels insulted but instantly calms down because she knows Duran is not wrong "I suppose you are right".

The Empire has always been the most "civilized" and advanced nation on Falmart. All the conquests to conquer foreign lands were in the name of bringing civilization to the barbaric people. Having never lost a war, despite some battles were lost, making the Imperial General believes that the gods are on their side and they will always in no matter what. This is part of the reason why many in the Empire is still believing that the defeats of the Imperial Army beyond the gate and at Alnus Hill were just a small setback and they will eventually win the war.

A DSA agent leads them to the memorial place. In it, a large stone wall with all the names of the ones who died during the incident with their picture on it. Rory kneels in front of the stone wall and prays for Emroy to take their souls in as they died in battle. The others pay their respect in their own way.

"…my your souls find peace among the gods" Rory finishes her prayer.

"My the gods be kind" the other Falmartians in sync.

Down the road to their right, where the blockage set up by the DSA is a group of protestors. Knowing that the people from Spes are going to visit, these protestors use the opportunity to go loud.

"Punish the Imperials, justice must be served!" the protestors chant over the speakers.

"They really hate us, but why? You won the battle, you killed hundreds thousands of Imperial soldiers. What more do they want?" Pina asks.

"It doesn't matter your Highness" Grey says "we came here and killed their people so they want the ones who gave the order to be punished".

"That is correct. The soldiers that you sent died because of the greed and arrogance of a few, they are also victims of the crime of your father and his followers" Ava replies.

"Alright let get moving before it turns into a riot, and we have a schedule to follow" a DSA agent says.

--Throne room, Sadera Palace, Sadera--

The war council consists of the highest-ranking Generals of the Empire are gathering in the throne room to present their strategies for the war against the UNE to the Emperor. Zoral El Caesar is also in present with his goons, he is next in line to take the throne when Molt steps down.

Their strategy is to use the Dumas mountain range as a natural barrier between the UNE and the Northern part of the Empire. Dumas mountain range was the dwarf territory before it was conquered by the Empire centuries ago. The dwarf was an industrious nation that was expert in creating all kinds of tools and weapons. After defeating the dwarf, the Empire use them to build better weapons and armors for their troops.

The campaign against the dwarf was one of the bloodiest in the Empire's history but it gave the Empire valuable experience in guerrilla warfare as well as mountain warfare. The dwarf used trees and tunnels deep inside the mountain rendered the wyvern forces useless, they only come out to strike when they found a weakness and then disappeared back into the tunnels. Only with the sheer number and economical superiority that the Empire win the war.

Tiberius is intending to use the same tactics that the dwarf used against the UNE in hope that he can buy enough time for their mages and scholars to find a way to turn the power table. He vowed to dedicate his life to bringing glory to the Empire but he is not delusional, he knows that the UNE is more powerful and if nothing changes they are going to lose the war.

"Retreating and hiding tactics like cowards and my father approves. He has grown weak, Tiberius has grown weak" Zoral says to his goons "I'm going to do something about it".

Zoral then leaves the room with his goons, going in his mind is an evil scheme.

--HSS Destiny bridge, Olympia Sphere space--

The next stop in their trip is Olympia Sphere. This sphere was built around an O-type star and its nickname is "Space Vegas" which pretty much describes it all. The sphere is the center of entertainment, from shopping malls to casinos, dance clubs and everything in between. It also famed to have the clothes in all of UNE. While the alien population within UNE borders is very small, one can find all kind of races from hannar, krogan, turian, salarian, marikarian etc in Olympia Sphere.

The Destiny just passed through the gate and is now on approach vector to one of the 4 entrances of the sphere.

"I'm guessing those ships belong to one of the Guardian Fleets you were talking about?" Lelei asks pointing to the Guardian Fleet anchoring nearby.

"That is correct, young lady" Admiral Hackett replies.

"And there are people living in this…sphere?" Lelei continues.

"Yes, we built many of these across our territory. The UNE is the only nation with advanced enough technology to build such spheres" Admiral Hackett answers.

"It's so big, so many times bigger than our world" Lelei marveling at the sphere then she turns to the Admiral like she just remember something "Admiral, how are your spaceships can travel a great distance in such a short amount of time?".

"Well, Destiny?" Admiral Hackett says.

"Our understanding of String Theory allows us to generate wormholes which connect 2 points in space and through the use of Casimir effect, stabilize them. The FLT drive will push us through the tunnel at a speed faster than light itself to reach our destination" Destiny AI explains.

"Casimir effect? And String Theory? Light has speed?" Lelei confused.

"Casimir effect is the effect of a physical force on a perceptible perimeter of a confined space, which allows the energy density in a certain region of space to be negative relative to the ordinary vacuum energy. Such an effect makes stabilizing a traversable wormhole possible. String Theory is…" Destiny AI is explaining but is stopped by the Admiral.

"Ok, ok that's enough. We can give you a datapad so you can read about all this interesting science in your free time, young lady. For now, we are entering the sphere so let enjoy the view" Admiral Hackett says.

Each sphere consists of 3 layers, the outer layer is the armor and the defense of the sphere. The middle layer between the inner and the outer is where shipyards and ship maintenance platforms are located. The inner layer is the habitat layer where people live, it has artificial oceans and landscapes. Depending on the star it is built around, each sphere is massive but of different sizes. Olympia Sphere is one of the biggest of all.

The Destiny enters the sphere's entrance and docks at a docking arm in the middle layer. Ships of all kind busy flying orderly in a flow of busy traffic and go about their business. One of the DSA agents is waiting for the group at the dock.

"Welcome to Olympia Sphere ladies and gentlemen. Please follow me" the DSA agent greet them.

"How long are we going to be here?" Rob asks the agent.

"A few hours top" the agent replies.

"Seriously? You can't even enjoy half of what this sphere has to offer if you would stay for a whole month, what is a few hours gonna do?" David says.

"Well, we're not allowed much time to begin with. Plus, if the peace talk goes well they can always return here" the agent replies.

"Awe, at least can we go to the bar? Commander pleaseeeee" David pleads.

"Alright, alright but no alcohol. Ash, make sure they only have synthehol" Ava rolls her eyes.

"Yes ma'am" Ashley jokingly stamps her feet and salute.

The group follows the DSA agent into an elevator leading to the inner layer of the sphere. When the elevator reaches the surface, the Falmartians are speechless of how beautiful the scenery around them is. Looking all around, instead of seeing the horizon where the land meets the sky, they see the land continue to arch upwards. Forests, oceans, mountains, grasslands, cities can be seen from where they stand. A truly remarkable experience.

"You people capable of such godly feat yet you are quick to make peace with us and even being respectable towards your enemy. Why?" King Duran asks Ava.

Pina hearing that question snaps out of marveling the sphere and run towards the conversation indicating she wants to know the answer too.

"Because war is never good, all it ever does it bring death, destruction, pain and tear family apart" Ava replies remembering her dad and her mother.

"But don't you want vengeance?" Pina asks.

"Yes we want justice, but we want to do it the right way. Let say we march on Sadera, your Imperial Army will fight us to defend your capital. Hundreds of thousands on your side will die but for what? Sure, we will have our vengeance on the ones who are responsible for the attack on us but what about the men that die defending those? What about their families, wife, daughters, sons?" Ava replies.

"The Commander is right, we can win with overwhelming military power but then, it would leave a lot of pains and suffers behind. The power vacuum we leave behind will cause even more death and destruction to your civilization. Therefore, by engaging in diplomacy we can avoid all that and still possibly reach the same result. Albeit it would take longer and more of a headache, it is worth it" the DSA agent adds.

"Bring justice upon the ones who ordered the attack" Grey says.

"Correct" Ava nods.

"What…what if diplomacy fails then?" Hamilton asks a part of her knows the answer.

"Then war is the only option left" the DSA agent answers "Alright, we're here at the Olympia Gems' Spike. This is the tallest spike on this sphere and it has everything inside, please pick anything you want, as much as you can carry and don't worry about the price. We will pay for them as gifts to you".

The mall within Olympia Gems' has everything from synthesized items to hand-make goods and clothes of all kinds of quality. It is a dream of every shopaholic.

While Pina and the girls spend their time in the clothing section, Duran and Grey are lost in the medieval shop. This shop sells real medieval combat armors and weapons with modern forging techniques, which means that the armors and weapons are many times lighter and more durable than their ancestor.

"Look at this, not even the best of the dwarf smiths can make armors and sword of this quality" Grey says as he admires a knightly arming sword.

"So light, so durable" Duran says as he swings a sword with all his might at an iron poll put there by the shop owner for the buyers to test the weapon. If the weapon breaks or cracks it will be fixed easily by the replicator but that is rarely the case "not even a mark" he says as he inspects the sword after the swing.

Pina and Hamilton pick out some fancy maxi dresses.

"Princess, I've never seen such quality in such quantity before. The finest velvet and silk of the Empire can't even be compared to this" Hamilton says.

"I know and this is available to everyone not just the noble, right Commander?" Pina asks as Ava is also trying on a dress nearby.

"Yes, pretty much everyone can buy any of these" Ava replies.

"Even your pea…citizens are living better lives than the royals of the Empire" Pina says "I wonder if the Empire could ever be like this".

"Give it time and you can be, our civilization was just like you once" Ava says as she put on another dress "If the talk goes well and you acquire some kind of treaty with us, we might even help you speed up the process".

"We can ask your leaders to do that? How?" Hamilton asks.

"Ladies, ask me how to kill a man and I can show you 100 different ways to do so, but politics? I prefer to not be part of, however, yes that is a possibility. It would most likely come with a cost though" Ava shrugs.

"I'll do whatever it takes to bring this greatness to the Empire" Pina says.

At the end of the shopping session, everyone is happy with what they have. Grey and Duran each take 2 swords and a dagger, Pina and Hamilton carry countless bags of clothes and other stuffs. Rory got a few sets of black camisoles, black shorts and long trench coats also in black. Tuka got a composite bow with massdriver-assisted string, Lelei got an e-book and Lucas got a toy. Ava also got a few dresses.

A few DSA agents help them carry all the shopping back to the Destiny. The other SIFs are already waiting by the entrance of the Destiny.

"Alright everyone, this is it for me" the DSA agent says "I hope you enjoyed your short visit, good luck!".

"Look like you got yourself some fancy dresses, Commander" Ashley comments on the bags Ava is carrying.

"Yes, DSA treat" Ava winks.

"And you sent me on babysit duty" Ashley says.

"Hey come on LC, we had fun!" Jimmy laughs.

"Let go, we can do more shopping when this is all over" Ava also laughs.

When everyone gets to the bridge, it's evening Earth time. Admiral Hackett is waiting for them on the bridge.

"Ladies, gentlemen, I hope you had fun. I must inform you that the meeting has been moved to tomorrow, we were ordered to take you to the Utopia Ring" Admiral Hackett says.

"Utopia Ring?" Pina says.

"It is one of our ring worlds, you will love it" Admiral Hackett replies as he signals the helm to take them out.

Ringworlds have their diameters many times bigger than spheres depending on how hot the host star they are built around. It is built so that the surface of the ringworld receives enough heat to keep water in liquid form without a requirement of a powerful radiation shield like the spheres. Utopia Ring is one of the paradise ringworlds while some ring worlds were built to be shipyards, military bases and industrial ringworlds.

--Throne Room, Sadera Palace, Sadera--

Molt is standing next to his throne looking out the massive window, behind him is a spy who works for him.

"Any news of the Princess" Molt asks.

"No my Emperor" the spy replies "I asked around and it appeared that she went with the other worlders willingly to Alnus Hill, what is she doing there or why I do not know".

"We can ask her knights when they return to the capital, in the meantime, I want you to keep finding any information about the Princess. Go" Molt orders.

"As you wish, my Emperor" the spy then leaves.

Molt stands there showing no emotion as usual, a person of his position cannot afford to show any kind of emotion as any wrong expression could result in his death or worst. However, deep inside he is worrying for his daughter. He thought that Italica would be a safe place for Pina to be entranced, the city tall wall and its distance from the capital mean that he could easily send reinforcement to help her should it be besieged, but he was wrong. The situation is worse than he thought and now his daughter might be paying for his mistake.

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Author's note: So, Happy New Year everyone. Thank you for your support of my story, this is my first story ever and seeing that you guys enjoy it really keeps me going! Yes I changed Zorzal name to Zoral because I think it sound better like that :D