The towers were lily pads. Or at least they resembled them. ‘They were more like pillars topped by circular platforms,’ Jenniah mused to herself as the shuttle made its way to the top of Rain Pillar 5. The iluun looked back at the general who was leaning back on the mycelium padded seats of the shuttle craft. His eyes were closed, but it would be hubris to assume that he was defenseless. The guards in front of her readied their equipment as the shuttle descended into its parking zone, guided by the blinking panels directing it. A soft whirring filled the air within the cabin, signalling to the occupants that the shuttle had landed. Itharaak and Jenniah walked out, escorted by their guards. The whirring of the sleek vessel quieted as the two strode forwards, headed for the stairwell right at the center of the tarmac. One of the D’varoan bodyguards, a stout, muscled irsu halted, raising his hand and signaling to Itharaak. He had received an important communique. Itharaak halted and turned his torso to face Jenniah. “I have to take this,” he said, grimacing in embarrassment. Jenniah paused, considering the implications of continuing without him. After a noticeable beat, she turned her head toward him.

  “I'll wait below,” the Glacian replied.

  Itharaak nodded and watched as her guards opened the airlock doors and ushered her through. He waited three heartbeats before addressing the soldier. “Targe, what's wrong?” The soldier removed his helmet, revealing a D'varoan male a decade younger than Ronjah. His blonde strands among the dark locks flowering from his skull betrayed Glacian descent. “I have news of an incident in Tachnen’s spaceport. Ranova 's grid was sabotaged ahead of Public Governor Tachi’s visit to Harazan.”

  Ronjah had been on his way to Tachnen station when they had last messaged each other. Itharaak 's eyes narrowed. “Any reports on the Jathka?” he asked his bodyguard.

  Targe’s orange irises seemed to glow brighter. “His armor read outs suggest a surge of stress, but his vitals are stable,” the half-D’varoan stated. “Permission to speculate on the readings, sir?”

  Itharaak tilted his head. It was unusual but not surprising that one of the home troopers would be interested in the Imperium’s prince. He nodded curtly.

  “I think he was involved sir.”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Itharaak 's eyes narrowed into slits. If the Jathka was involved, it'd be best to keep the fact close to his chest. Besides, he was sure to hear unanimous disapproval about D'varoh’s “Special Military Operation”. Despite the incursion on the Imperium's frontier zone within the galactic cluster, the Union insisted that they be involved. D'varoh had sent their own officials to inform them that they had no right, but the leaders of the countries under Yghastia 's influence insisted that they did. It hadn't stopped the Jathka from going off on his expedition.

  “Tell no one,” Itharaak replied. “As far as we're concerned, our Ronjah has just gone off planet.”

  Targe donned his helmet, its visor looking more like a skull than an opaque hood. Nodding, he escorted his general downstairs.

  “I must congratulate you on your success, taiji Ubloi,” Chroma Porroteva, Fey elf ambassador to the Yghastian Union said. Her posture was solid, as solid as the great oaks that bordered Yghastia and the Haeydlaic Territories.

  “Don't congratulate me yet,” he said, continuing their conversation about what they had permission to share about each other's States. Chroma Porroteva was representing not just the Fey Elf Conclaves to the north, but the Eilonkiin Confederacy. It was more of an alliance, akin to the Yghastian Union, an actual Confederacy. She along with the Elven delegate to the summit, Haihyn U’thu’lor’maph, were here to discuss Glacia's decision to join the Yghastian Union. Despite, the centuries of animosity between Glacia and it's neighbors – especially Yghastia – the trade incentives and security bonds were much needed opportunity for 2nd-World nation. Jenniah 's homeland was ready to join. The summit was an open one, due to the fact that the issues being discussed today were international and interstellar. Tachnen Station had been sabotaged, shutting down the local grid for the spaceport city. And the nation directly involved was the central issue behind the meeting. The Arem Accord was being renegotiated, and this was going to have a major impact on the Llcyran face of the world. As far as the Fey Elves were concerned, their concerns lied with the possible ramifications for their conclave due to this new union. “This is going to trigger quite the earth-shaking Capital Election. As if each country's leader gained status as the elected hegemon, giving their country 3 points while member nations had 2.

  That meant 7 points for the Yghastian Union members. Countries that were outside the membership were given 1 point as a courtesy. Glacia entering this union would bring it up to a total of 9. This would affect trade negotiations with Glacia, heavily influencing their water monopoly up from the northern glaciers. Glacians were given rights to land occupied by sulfur pits in exchange for free local water rights and ludicrously exorbitant shipping fees for each mile away its sources ‘ 20 -mile radius.

  It was typically 60Red Luminecs, an energy credit tied to the electric grid. The sulfur pits were granted to the Glacians, Chroma explained. Ubloi nodded with understanding. Those lands were rented to the Glacians by lease of the Fey Elves, and 60 Red Luminecs was enough to secure 200,000 tons of silver, and still have enough of Sekaia's most valuable currency to hire an army of professional soldiers capable of rivalling D'varoh and Yghastia 's best basic armed forces. No single country had the kind of money that would amount to quintillions of dollars. Chroma filled Ubloi in on the details of Glacia and the Fey Conclaves’ trade and defense deals. Ubloi was especially impressed by the mining cities that the Glacians rented and cohabitated with the Fey Elves. These pale elves lived underground, with the males often venturing above ground often, due to the extreme variance in height. Ubloi shared the latest developments in Yghastia and Aedlaan. The mist collectors were working, though that didn't diminish the achievement right before them: Yghastia had unearthed a well. The delegates arrived before Jenniah. Ispario Marioco was the first delegate, entering along with Todd Ylvaine of house Ylvaine. Inqui and Aedlaan had arrived. D'varoh and Glacia were all that was left. Dorrud Rhuthar, Glacia's senior representative, arrived just ahead of Itharaak and Jenniah.

  “Ubloi, congratulations on being the Facilitator for this summit,” he had said. “Are we ready to begin the meeting?”

  Ubloi looked at the iluun and irsu assembled around him. “We are still waiting for our guest. Your junior rep is bringing him down just now.”

  The doors into the room opened.