Priority: The Return Of The Princess

--Oval Office, Presidential Complex, Earth--

It has been over 48 hours since the dinner with the delegation from Spes, President Liam is now on the call with Commander-in-chief Brooklyn after he received a short 10-second video feed from the GIA confirming the Reaper is real and the invasion is already ongoing. The video feed is from a GIA agent from the Outer Ring Sector of the Batarian Nation, he managed to send it before the Reaper found him.

"Mr. President, if the Reapers are here then we probably don't have much time left" CIC Brooklyn says.

"I've ordered the GIA to keep an eye on the Reaper but keep their distance. How's the preparation going?" President Liam asks.

"Slow, Mr. President, we have been stockpiling weapons and defensive platforms in our outermost systems. We have only been making minor improvements, any major changes would attract attention of foreign powers and the population" CIC Brooklyn reports.

The UNE's massive economic power in additional to its advanced technology allows the nation of maintain its military readiness at the highest level at all time. All hardware are always up-to-date, training and wargame happen regularly with a large stockpile of reserve Guardian and Ares lines ships as well as other military equipment. The only way to improve the readiness any higher is to implement wartime policies, which enable conscription and ramp-up military production.

"Do what you can, we don't want a conflict with anyone before the Reaper main force arrive. The GIA is digging up whatever information about the Reaper in the Novea database, hopefully we can use that to our advantage" President Liam says "You're dismissed".

--Briefing Room, HQ building, Fort Alnus--

Ava and the 5th SIF spent the last 2 days help putting things in Alnus town in order. Pina and her knights were airlifted back to Italica along with the released Imperial soldiers to prepare for their long trip back to Sadera capital. King Duran along with a group of advisors as well as engineers was sent to Elbe and Alguna by air. Communication equipment and facilities will be built in each Kingdom for ease of sharing intel. By morning of today, a call from King Duran himself provided General Nguyen a piece of important information.

One of his spies in Sadera sent word that a respectable noble family left the capital for a vacation at their private mansion. The family went against the Emperor's order and brought the other worlders slaves with them, both are women. After hearing the news, General Nguyen immediately passed the information to ISOC for a rescue plan. The 5th SIF was chosen for this mission.

"Commander, I've already sent the detail of this operation to you via TACNet so let's keep this short. Operation Home Coming" General Nguyen says as a holographic image of the mansion appears "Standard rescue op, at 0100 your platoon will be airlifted by D-20Bs to the AO. Two GS-12 gunships will circle above the AO to provide immediate close air support, the enemy won't be seeing them as Spes has no moon so the night is very dark. To make sure it is not a trap like last time, recon drones have been swiping the area around the AO all day and they will continue to provide overwatch as well as taking out target of opportunity".

"2 sir? Isn't that overkill?" Ava is surprised because even 1 GS-12 gunship carries enough firepower to annihilate any modern army.

"They have magic on this world, we don't know what they're fully capable of so it's better to overkill than sorry" General Nguyen replies.

"Rule of engagement sir?" Ava asks.

"Shoot to kill and don't take any chance. Do whatever you must to bring your unit and the hostages back safely, I don't care if you have to slaughter everyone in that mansion" General Nguyen steps closer to Ava and continues "Are we clear?".

"Yes sir!" Ava replies and nods "Do we know the identity of the hostages?".

"Our recon drones have identified the hostages as Cassie Jones and Sita Kumar" the holographic images of the 2 women display as General Nguyen replies fully knowing the answer that Ava is looking for "Can you complete the mission or do I have to pick another unit?".

"I can, sir, I'll bring them back safely. My thoughts for Admiral Ruby won't affect my ability to perform my duty, sir!" Ava replies.

"Good, you're dismissed" General Nguyen replies. As soon as he received news from Earth that UNE citizens are being kept as slaves in Sadera, recon drones have conducted hundreds of sorties over the city. A detail map of the city was drawn except for some deep underground parts that can't be scanned by the drones. Many UNE citizens are identified but there is still no sign of Admiral Ruby Bennett.

Ava salute the General then walks out of the briefing room. Deep inside, she's disappointed that her mother status is still unknown. She quickly shake the thought from her mind and refocus on the reality. Her mother will be found and rescued, but for now, she can help the families of these two women happy by bringing their love ones back safely.

--Throne room, Sadera Palace--

After finishing up her business with the Formal House in Italica and saying farewell, Pina and her knights were airlifted by D-20s with the released Imperial soldiers to a location near Sadera. They were all, except the royalties, given a onetime offer to join the Rose Order, rejoin the Imperial Army or return home. Only a few want to join the Rose Order or rejoin the Imperial Army, most of them just want to go home to their families.

As soon as she was back in the Palace, the princess invited 18 noble families to meet her and returned their loved ones. Out of the noble families, 11 of them were pro-war. Pina, with the help of her knights, managed to convinced 4 to switch side to pro-peace. 5 of them said they will consider the possibilities and 2 decided that war is the only way to restore their honor.

The news of Pina's return and where was she during the time of her disappearance did not take long to reach the Emperor. Molt summons her to the throne room to explain herself and report what she had seen on the other side of the gate to the war council and the senate. Once everyone is in the throne room, Molt calls Pina to step up and start the session.

"Pina, you can start now" Molt says.

On the platform where the throne reside, there are 4 more seats next to it. Looking from the door, on the left of the throne is 2 seats, one right next to the throne is for the passed away queen and next to it is Pina's seat. On the right is the heir's seat right next to the throne and then prince Diabo's seat.

Pina stands up from her seat and walks down to the center of the throne room "Father, Generals and Senators" she says as she bows to each side.

"I'm sure by now you all know about the siege of Italica. I was there fighting the bandits, I was there when the other worlder's giant flying fortress arrived and I was there when the acting countess surrendered the city to the enemy" Pina says as she is trying to stay calm "I saw what our enemy is capable of, their power is far beyond anything the Empire has ever faced before. The kind of power that even the gods themselves jealous of".

Pina pauses to look around, to see the expression on everyone. The generals on the war council side shows indifference while most of the Senators show disgust and disrespect. Taking a deep breath, she continues.

"Watching them took care of the citizen of Italica, help clearing ruins and treating the wounded, I realized that they are not barbaric people like we thought. So I used my status as an Imperial Princess to request a visit of their world and a meeting with their leader and maybe use reason to convince them to make peace" Pina says.

Senator Calvus stands up and speak out loud "So you think the Empire will lose this war?".

With that, the senators side of the room erupt in argument while the generals discuss among each other. Molt looks over to his guards which signal them to pound their spear on the metal plate at their feet. The sound echo the room as Molt command everyone to be silence.

Once it is quiet down Molt tell Pina to continue with her story.

"No, I do not think the Empire will lose this war" Pina has to choose her words wisely if she wants to convince them and keep her life "But fighting a war against such powerful enemy will also weaken the Empire. In less than a month of conflict we them we lost more than half of our armies and our cities in the East are falling to them fast. If we can make peace with them, we can trade, we can learn to make powerful tools like them".

The throne room is again noisy as the senators and generals discuss among themselves, but it is calmer this time.

"Quiet!" Molt orders as the room quiet down then he continues "What did you find on the other side?".

"I found out that they are much more powerful than we can imagine, they control the stars and build worlds. They have ships that can travel among the stars and between their worlds" Pina says.

"Nonsense!" Senator Calvus once again shouts but the room remain in order this time.

"I'm speaking the truth, I met their leader and they gave me the terms for peace" Pina replies.

"What are the terms?" Molt asks in his calm but commanding voice.

The throne room door opens as Hamilton enters with both her hands holding up a scroll. She walks toward Pina and hand her to scroll then bow the Emperor then leave. Pina opens the scroll and reads aloud all the terms except for the last one.

"These terms are too generous, they fear us, they want to end this war in peace so they don't have to face our wraith!" Senator Calvus says.

"There's…one final term" Pina says.

"What is it?" Molt asks.

"That we turn over my father and everyone who was responsible for the invasion through the gate" Pina says.

"This is outrageous!" Senator Calvus shouts as the whole room erupt in argument, even the generals can't keep calm anymore.

Zoral looks over to Molt and asks "Father! You can't agree to this!".

Only Molt and three others are showing no emotion while everyone else are either panic or angry. Pina stands there in the middle of all this looking at the ground feeling a sense of defeat weighing on her. The session is dismissed after a while but Molt orders Zoral, Pina, Diabo and Tiberius to stay behind

"Father! Are you seriously considering this?" Zoral is the first to speak once everyone have left as he could not keep calm "it is humiliating, it would bring shame to us all, father!"

"Calm down, brother, father hasn't made a decision yet" Diabo says.

"Shut up!" Zoral shouts at Diabo then angrily walks to the window behind the throne and looks at the view of the city to try and calm down.

Molt looks at Pina and the scroll in her hand. If what his daughter said was true then the enemy is a lot more powerful than he thought. He knows that Pina might be naïve and have much to learn but she is neither a liar nor coward.

Molt is a cruel ruler with an iron fist, but everything he ever did is for his children and the future of the Empire. The constant news from the front line more or less made him come to a realization that the Empire could not hope to win this war and that it was his arrogance that brought this upon them.

"Ever since the other worlders started their campaign to the East, and the report of a giant flying fortress over Italica, I knew the Empire could not hope to win this war. Not without the intervention of the gods" Molt says while looking at Tiberius "Me and Tiberius drew the same conclusion so we came up with the plan for Dumas mountain range. The goal is to stall them for our magic guild to come up with a power magic that can turn the tide or at the very least make it so costly for the enemy that they have to sit down for a peace talk".

Zoral turns around, could not hide his rage "Father! You're the Emperor of the Empire, how could you say such words! Only a coward would say such thing!".

"Brother! Know your place!" Diabo interrupts Zoral.

"And you! What have you ever done for the Empire? You and your books, your philosophy, you're weak and soft!" Zoral shouts angrily at Diabo.

As Diabo about to say something, Molt hold his hand up signaling Diabo to stop then he walks over to Zoral "My son, being brave does not equal being stupid. A good leader must see the reality and adapt to it, not blindly chasing some dubious ideology".

"Do you even hear yourself?" Zoral pauses for a moment as he and Molt stare at each other's eyes "You've gone soft, what happened to the Emperor that shacked the whole city because they refused to surrender, huh?" He says calmly this time then turn and point at everyone in the room "All of you, cowards".

Zoral storms out of the room as everyone else is watching. Molt watch as he remember the event that Zoral talked about. In his last conquest, he marched on a city and demanded surrender to avoid bloodshed and to reserve his army for the long campaign ahead. The city governor mistaken him for being weak and refused his offer, knowing that if he let this slight, every city after will try to resist him and a lot of civilians, as well as soldiers lives, will be lost because of multiple long sieges. Molt ordered an attack and gave the order to shack the city, none was left alive. News traveled and every city after that surrendered to him as soon as his army arrived. The campaign to conquer the land ended quickly and with minimal loss of lives.

Since that time, the Imperial Army always slaughtered the population of the first city they conquer to instill fear into the heart of the enemy.

"Find out what is he going to do and if it's something stupid, stop him" Molt looks at Tiberius and gives him the order. He knows that his son will not stay put, Zoral is a man of action despite he is not wise enough yet to act on his own.

"Yes, Your Highness" Tiberius bows then leaves the room.

Molt then signals Diabo to leave the room so he can be alone with Pina.

"Pina, my daughter, I'm glad that you're unharmed. Now tell me, what fate awaits me in the hand of the other worlders?" Molt asks.

"You will be judged in their law system, you will be staying in prison for the rest of your life" Pina says as she is about to cry.

"So they will not grant me honorable death, but lock me away like an animal, a slave" Molt replies with a chuckle.

"Prisoner execution is against their law, father" Pina replies.

"Peculiar people" Molt says as he turns and look out to the city.

"Father, you are really considering this?" Pina asks. She was so sure that Molt would do anything to go against such a demand, but this is very surprising to her.

"Come here and look" Molt waves Pina to come and stand next to him and see the view of the entire Sadera capital "It's beautiful isn't it? For thousands of years this city is the brightest gem on Falmart, the pride of the Empire, the pride of the human race. Since my father gave me the throne, I swore an oath to myself that I will do anything for its future. I want you, my children, to grow up and rule an Empire worthy of history".

Molt then extend his hand and touch the window "I spent my life conquering, I have defeated many kingdoms and I have seen the consequence of recklessly, stubbornly fighting a hopeless war. Land ravaged, cities ruined, lives loss, there would be nothing left to rule. I don't want that to happen to us, if everything you said were true then we have no hope, continue to fight only means the complete destruction of the Empire. What fate would be awaiting my children then?".

"Then why do you and Tiberius intend to fight at Dumas mountain range?" Pina asks.

"Because we wanted to keep our independence, and if we make it costly enough we can force them to agree to talk with us on equal terms. But since you, my daughter, had managed to secure a…generous treaty such as this, there's no need for that plan anymore" Molt explains.

"So you agree to these terms?" Pina asks.

"Yes, I have no other choice, but we need to gain approval of the senate and the pro-war faction has significantly more support than the pro-peace" Molt says as he turns to look at Pina "That new person that you brought back with you, is he a spy they sent to help you? I want to meet him".

"W…what are you talking about father, there's no spy" Pina fills a chill running through her body.

"You can't fool me, daughter, your entire life you've been avoiding making friends with anyone other than your group of girl knights. Now you went to the other side of the gate and return with a man? Even a fool can tell" Molt says.

Pina gets on her knees "Forgive me father".

"Stand up, I want to meet him, maybe he can help us" Molt says.

"He…He's here" Pina says as she stands up "please ask the guards to leave".

"What do you mean?" Molt looks around in confusion but then he decided to trust his daughter and nod at the guards telling them to leave them alone.

Viktor has been standing in the corner of the room since the beginning. Everything that happened has been recorded and relayed back to Fort Alnus. He deactivates his cloaking field and walks towards the Emperor.

"Greeting, Your Highness" Viktor says as he bows slightly.

"You are a mage?" Molt asks.

"I am no mage, Your Highness, this is cloaking technology, one of many tools I carry with me" Viktor replies.

"Interesting, you could assassinate me anytime you want" Molt says.

"Yes, but that is only a backup plan. I hope it won't come to that" Viktor replies.

"Meet me in my library tonight, we will discuss our plan. Pina, I suggest you talk to senator Philotheus Serapio. He is the leader of the pro-peace faction in the senate" Molt says.

--D-20 landing pad, Fort Alnus--

Ava is sitting in the hangar waiting for it is time to go. She takes out the little box of her mother's officer's stars and stares at them, but she doesn't notice Ashley is approaching.

"They might know where she is" Ashley says.

"Huh?" Ava a little bit confused.

"The hostages that we're going to rescue, they might know the location of admiral Ruby" Ashley replies.

"Probably, but I have to focus on the mission now. Getting them back safely is the priority now" Ava says.

"Don't worry, commander, we'll bring them back. And when the time comes, we'll also bring admiral Ruby back safely" Ashely says.

Ava stands up and put her hand on Ashley shoulder "Thank you, Ash. Come on, it time to go".