30 June, Year 2050, Pre-Conflict:

"A dire year for humankind. The flight to Mars was a near-failure on our end. The last hope of saving the earth nearly extinguished, but we made it. Our first (and final) mission had begun once Daughter La-Tel set foot on the red-planet. Her directive: to establish contact with the civilization of old and commence The Mediation."

- Dr Mayumi Harukami.

MANDO:

A vast rusted-red sand stretched as far as the lands could reach. Highlands of nothingness sprawled across the surface with spots of craters here and there. Barren dips with hints of shade from the naked sun. No colonies were to be seen, from Mando's viewpoint. The orbiting satellites thoroughly scanned every sector of Mars and returned negative signs of life. Mando wondered if they were duped. He wondered if there truly were life-forms living on the planet. 'Is this a trap to capture The Daughter?' He thought. Mando sat waiting with a waning patience. He propped his binoculars atop the dashboard of the four-wheeled terrain climber, studying the vastness ahead of him.

"Nothingness…And more nothingness…" He spoke.

The emptiness of the planet petrified him, the fear of uncertainty was right before him. He could not think anymore of the accomplishment humanity had just achieved. He was the first human to set foot on Mars, yet he felt no accomplishment of any sort. It was not a time of celebration, but a time of dire stress for humanity. A week of surveying the sands, collecting the remains of CASA land rovers, reminded him of home.

"We must come to a consensus with them. We cannot handle anymore conflict." Mando muttered.

He could feel his hands twitching with nerves, his neck stiff with a sullen anxiety of the unknown. 'Do they want an advantage over us before The Mediation starts?'

'BLIP. BLIP.' A notifying ping from his helmet-radio shook Mando from his deep thoughts.

"Captain Rand, we have arrived." Rang a voice.

Mando broke out from his day-haze, noticing the intense escort brigade arrive from behind him. Two rows of twelve dune climbers surrounded the singular V.I.P transport climber. The vehicles coated with advertisements of the 'D & B Protectorate Corporation' banners. Outstepped from the centre vehicle stood two persons, fitted in green protection suits to protect them from the harshness of Mars. Mando unseated from his four-seater climber and walked closer to greet the V.I.P. The two figures' visor helmets were tinted to deter the harsh chill, rendering Mando unable to identify one from the other.

"Commander Mando." Spoke a soft, feminine voice on Mando's intercom radio.

Mando immediately recognized the sincere voice as though it were his favourite song. La-Tel, daughter of The Director stood in front of him.

"Greetings La…" Mando corrected himself, "Daughter Thorne."

"Apologies for being late, we had issues." Another voice spoke beside the girl.

Mando recognized his brother's voice instantly.

"Tell me what happened, Loche." Mando urged.

"Engine failure. We lost signal to a booster-rocket one minute after launch," Loche replied.

Mando could hear La-Tel sniff her nose on the intercom. He knew she was shaken-up by the incident.

"Why was I not told about this? I've been here for a week," Mando requested with anger in his voice.

"Our orders were to maintain radio-silence, no matter what happened. We cannot risk foreign entities listening into our communications," Loche retorted.

Mando knew the order all-too well. The Board and The Director had ordered him a year of silence before embarking on the journey to Mars.

"It was so scary, Mando…if it weren't for Loche, I…We would have died." La-Tel spoke with distress.

"Stay calm, Ma'am. We need you to be fine before The Mediation begins," Loche interjected.

La-Tel nodded in agreeance; she was about to spearhead the most important conference in history. Mando wanted to say more to the girl, but he could not under the circumstances presented forth; they were to begin talks with a civilisation that lived on Mars.

"We can discuss the issue later, we have more important matters," Loche said with an urgency in his tone, "There is no time for the past, Mandy, we must honour The Board's mission."

La-Tel approached Commander, placing a hand on Mando's spacesuit to deter his wondering mind. He could somehow feel the warmth of her hand through the multiple layers of the suit.

"Loche is correct. Let us make way to the meeting-point," La-Tel agreed.

"As Daughter of The Board commands," Mando replied.

Mando felt a heavy heart for La-Tel, he'd known her vital mission had already begun when the Mediation was set in motion by The Board. She had no say in the decision, as she was representative of The Board, employed to do as they commanded. Mando wished she were never born the daughter of The Director.

"Let us proceed," Mando commanded the fleet of security behind the Daughter. A unitary movement of protectorate forces readied themselves in their climbers. La-Tel and Loche sat in Mando's climber, ready for the journey ahead. Mando glanced at his watch, inspecting the time on Mars:

"It's nearly five o' clock, the temperature will be dropping below-zero soon," He spoke.

"The Meeting's at six, we have an hour to get there," Loche replied.

Mando pressed the ignition for the d-powered climber, he could feel the vehicle wurr to life through the vibrations of the steering apparatus. It set motion, trudging forward into the vast dunes of Mars. Two formations of the Protectorate security followed in single file as Mando's vehicle trudged forward through the sand. Nothingness everywhere ahead as the vehicle drove, Mando stayed focus on the mission ahead, but could not help to stop his thoughts on the near-failure of the space-ship.

'There is no way the shuttle's engine could fail like that, The Director would have ensured the utter and complete safety for their daughter,' he considered to himself. Mando's mind could not block the horrible thoughts that flooded him: 'Is someone out to destroy us? To sabotage our mission?'

Mando noticed La-Tel's silent gaze at him as they drove onwards. Her helmet-visor blocked Mando from seeing her facial features, he wished he could see her face.

"Mando, what is bothering you?" La-Tel asked.

Mando questioned himself, should he tell her his worries? No, he could not. She too, had worries, he could not burden her anymore than what sacrifice she already had in store.

"We need to find them before nightfall. I'm told tonight will be minus-twenty Celsius," Mando replied.

The light of day had long passed, with the escort fleet driving half-blind. Loche studied the holographic map projected from his right arm, overlooking the layout of Mars' terrain.

"Where is Doctor Harukami?" Mando questioned.

"She's still in the shuttle, she's in contact with the Board to explain what happened with the booster," Loche replied.

"I should have been there," Mando muttered.

"No, you are captain of the Mars Meeting. You have twenty-four protectorate staff to command," La-Tel retorted.

"I should have been with you in the shuttle," Mando corrected himself.

La-Tel shook her head.

"You could not have done anything even if you were there. Loche was the one who saved us," She spoke.

Mando looked back to his brother, he was the engineer of the family, the brains, while Mando was the brawns. He was glad Loche was onboard the shuttle.

"I…tried. I do not believe I had done anything worthwhile," Loche responded.

'What does he mean by that? He is chief engineer and head of Build-a-lot branch back on Earth.' Mando questioned his brother's reply.

"We should be near the location." Mando spoke.

He could not detect a single building or landmark in the vicinity. They were told to meet there, the exact co-ordinates disposed by The Board. The trio disembarked the climber, surveying the surroundings. Mando pressed the switch of the light-emitters on his helmet. A soft-blue light illuminated the dark ahead of them. Mando felt the iciness penetrate his space suit, but shook off the notion, he worried for The Daughter most.

Then, an abrupt shake of the ground occurred below the group. Tiny vibrations cluttered their feet. Mando instinctively unholstered the volt-rifle attached to his chest, readying the untested-space weapon.

'BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR'

The ground continued to quake, mounds of protectorate soldiers rushed to the vicinity of La-Tel, their weapons ready with uncertainty.

"Weapons ready!" Mando commanded into his intercom device, waves of Protectorate guardsmen readied their weapons.

And then, a large brown and black structure uprooted from the ground ahead of them. Steadily revealing a pair of figures inside the rectangular structure.

"Weapons Down!" La-Tel screamed through the radio.

The protectorate and Mando followed her instructions without resistance. The two figures were fitted in black robes, Mando could identify some sort of golden suits beneath their robes. The figures' visors coated black, with tints of silver linings. The figure on the left stood with a sort of authoritative poise. It held a long golden rod in the left hand, in the shape of a golden lions' tail. The one on the right had its hands clasped with a cautious stance to welcome the Earthlings. The vibrations of the ground ceased their trembles as the structure settled from out of the surface. La-Tel approached the two figures with confidence, knowing these were the creatures they were instructed to meet.

"Welcome," Spoke the figure on the left, "I presume you are the Princess Throne?"

"I am known as daughter of the Board, not princess. But yes, I am she." La-Tel replied with courtesy.

She knelt to a knee to greet the beings. She was instructed that their custom demands that one knelt on their knee to greet those in authoritative positions. "And I assume that you are the right hand of the King, Master Nher-ko'n?" She asked.

"I am thee," Nher-ko'n acknowledged, "Beside me is my spawn, Jal'el. He will accompany your men and safeguard you whilst you stay on our home."

Jal'el bowed his head to La-Tel, but kept his voice closed to La-Tel and her guard.

"Let us proceed, my King awaits," Nher-ko'n remarked, and held out his hand to La-rel.

She and Mando followed suit into the large structure that arose from the ground.

'Some kind of elevator…but I see no mechanisms that move the contraptions,' Mando thought.

The ride down was quiet, they faced the stone-walls as the contraption descended below. Mando kept his gaze on La-Tel, as to ensure there were no tricks at play against her.

"You needn't worry for her safety, Captain Nex," Nher-ko'n remarked, "She will be regarded as royalty from today onwards. We Terrans will guard her with our lives."

Mando did not like acknowledging him by his last name, it was too formal for his liking, but he accepted their formalities for the time being.

"Just doing my job," Mando replied.