Maeve disembarked from the Bulwark just after sundown, and its only destination was a nearby hotel. Landing it on the roof of the tall structure, the two ducked into the upper-level lobby, checked-in, got their actual physical keys, and started making their way down to their assigned rooms.

Ren paused in front of her own door though, not quite ready to open it, and turned to her mentor, “…Sir, if I can ask…:

Gabriel paused and glanced back over his shoulder, then turned to look at her more evenly, “Yeah, what’s up?”

“The way you talk to the Eidolon has always been a bit of an enigma to me, but today…it just seemed so brazen. Don’t you…see anything wrong with it?”

He stared quizzically, but then offered a weak laugh, and scratched his chin, “I guess it would come across as off-putting to people who aren’t used to it… But, I think Xanarken would probably check my temperature if I called him by any honorifics, and Rylen…well… Him and Xanarken go back to the beginning, and view each other as perfect equals – the yin to the other’s yang, if you will. If I don’t call one by their lordly title, then surely I can’t spare it for the other.”

“I know all that, but still… At least, in such a formal setting, maybe it would be a good idea to fall in line a little bit? Uhm…sir.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

Ren hesitated, not knowing really how to respond to that, so she just bobbed her head and cast the man one last side-eye before clicking the key into her door and pushed it open, “Goodnight.”

“Night.”

The door clicked shut, and Gabriel was left in the hall on his own. He flipped the key around in his hand a few times, but then moved on, and went into the room next door. Once inside, he tossed the key onto a door-side shelf, and snapped his fingers – in an instant, the grey-and-red uniform jacket dissolved into dust and disappeared, leaving him with just the form-fitting dark-grey long-sleeve shirt, the pants, boots, and belt. He pulled the tie from his long hair, drawing the full length of it over his shoulder, and fiddled idly with the blood-red tips as he fell back across the top of the large bed.

She’s lasted longer than most, he thought to himself, staring at the ceiling, I wonder if she’s stuck with me or something. Refusing to regard the Eidolon with their titles was usually enough to get trainees to request a transfer, since they all thought they’d get in trouble by proxy of me… But, she doesn’t seem to have that on her mind at all. …Hmph, I’ve never actually been scolded by anyone before like that either. Good for her, I guess.

He sat up again though, and lifted himself back towards the center of the bed. With a toe behind each heel, he nudged his boots off, and sat cross-legged on the pillow-top as he brought up his nanotech HUD. With a few ‘clicks,’ he located the dreaded file, and tapped to open it. The initial parts of Ren’s profile were things he already knew; her current status as a mediator trainee in the Fourth, that he was her mentor, that her home-skiff was Maeve, and things of that nature. However, when he went to the next page, and saw ‘Previous assignment’ at the top, the first thing he saw was the profile photo of her wearing the purple variant of the Luminary soldier’s uniform, and the first words he read were ‘Sixth Wing.’ With that, he immediately closed it, dismissed the HUD overlay, and got up again, “Welp, that’s enough reading for now. Time for a shower, and then a very late night catching-up on all my shows.”

.

He was a sprawled, catatonic mess the next morning, when the sound of a knock on his door forced his eyes open to the haze of consciousness. The towel from his showed was still half-wrapped around his hair, and the whole mess of it tumbled out at weird angles as he sat up.

“Sir Gabriel! It’s time to go, are you up!?” Ren’s voice called from the hall, and she knocked again, “Sir Gabriel!”

One eye blinked at a time, and he looked at the clock on the nightstand, “I think I slept for 45 minutes…” He said quietly, and fell back again to close his eyes, “Just as…planned…” When the knock came again, it was louder, and startled him out of his torpor.

“Sir Gabriel!”

“I’m up, I’m up…!” He called back, and finally stretched, then hobbled off the side of the bed with a loose-fitting bathrobe clinging to one shoulder. He cracked the door open and stared, circles under his eyes, “Just…go get yourself breakfast or something. I’ll catch up.”

Ren stared at him, mystified, and her face went red for the split-second she could see that half-naked torso, “O-okay! Sure!” She didn’t need anymore convincing after that, and all-but trotted away, trying not to look as flustered as she actually was.

Gabriel snorted a quiet laugh to himself and then closed the door again. When he was somewhat lucid again, he found himself on the rooftop with a foot on the step to get into his skiff. For a moment, his sleepless mind couldn’t tell where, when, or why he was there, but when he saw Ren quietly clapping her gloved hands together in the pilot’s seat, he remembered, and pulled himself the rest of the way in.

“So, where’s the next mission?” She asked eagerly, “You never did give me the details.”

“In Kitez,” he answered simply, and slumped into the passenger seat on Ren’s right, “Thattaway.” He pointed roughly west-ish.

Ren’s left eye twitched, “Ki-what?”

“Kitez.”

“I heard what you said! What are we gonna do in Kitez!?” She balked, “...Sir!”

“Apparently this mission is actually more for you than for us; I’m just kind of along for the ride, in case you need help or something.” Gabriel explained. He lifted his hands up to within a few inches of his face, and flicked his index fingers forward to pass the sights on his personal HUD to Maeve’s main-screen. Thereupon, the face of a blonde-haired, green-eyed teenager, “That’s Knight-cadet Setharion something-something. He had a mission from Rylen in Kitez – and it’s a big deal from what I’m told - but what the details are on it, even I’m not allowed to know until we get there.”

Ren could only stare with a look of horror on her face, “…Wh… You’re joking. This can’t be right. This has nothing to do with the Fourth. Ryl-…er, Lord Rylen should be sending someone in the First to get him, not us.”

Gabriel snickered to himself as he raised his left hand, palm up, and turned-on Maeve’s flight-systems in-so-doing. He then leaned back in his seat and draped his right arm over his eyes, “That’s the spirit. Wake me up when we get to the drop point. It’s listed on the thing somewhere.”

Ren felt her heart sink into her stomach, but she gripped the flight-stick anyway. With a few small adjustments to the way everything was set-up around her, including pulling said flight-stick around to be directly in front of herself instead of somewhat to the right side as Gabriel preferred it, she pulled back on it, and Maeve lifted off the ground. She sighed quietly to herself, and looked one more time at that profile-photo on the display before she confirmed the spot they were expected to go to, and closed the brief.

.

Still in Trazad, the Bulwark oversaw the transfer of Empress Rani’s remains to the Sargonians late in the night, and was now parked there. It would not be allowed to leave again until after a memorial ceremony had taken place…which could take days.

Aboard, in a large conference-room, with the iconography of the First Wing emblazoned on the far wall, Rylen manifested his mantle in front of a desk at the head of the space. In the middle of the room, was a 20ft long, 6ft wide, oval-shaped black-glass-top conference table, with 15 different seats set around it, evenly spaced apart. The floor beneath that table was brushed-chrome, and extended another 12in from the back of the seats, creating something of an island that distinguished it from the rest of the area. Under other circumstances, the whole room would look very different, but in that moment…it was just the private meeting-space for two Eidolon.

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Xanarken manifested nearby soon after, “They’re on they’re way as we speak.”

“Perfect.”

“I hope you’re not doing this on the misguided belief that you can tempt Dame Ren back into your good graces.” Xanarken wondered suspiciously, “She’s holding-up pretty well with Gabe.”

“Would that I could,” Rylen answered, his vampiric-like fangs more obvious than normal as he gave the man an innocent smile, “I merely want to reunite two long-lost friends.”

“Seth is going to chew her a new one when they get to him.” The Fourth noted, “And Gabe’s probably going to have some choice words, too.”

“How he feels about it isn’t my concern. He’s had three months to read the Dame’s file, so if this is a surprise to him, it’s his own fault.”

“Yeah…I’ve tried… She’s tried.”

Rylen shook his head and reached over to pet the taller Eidolon’s shoulder, “I’m sure they’ll all be fine. The Aegis is on standby at the border, and Captain Rydell doesn’t have a hair-trigger. He has a far more contemplative demeanor than his father, so he knows better than to start an international incident if anyone in the Conclave gets involved for some reason.”

“And thus, the true reason why you don’t just send someone else,” Xanarken crossed his arms, “I dare say you actually learned from the last time.”

Rylen shrugged his shoulders up, held them there a moment, then released again, “It was hard not to glean a lesson from back then. Former-Captain Lequerion Rydell did kind of stick his foot in it.”

“He attacked one of Kitez’s top generals, and it was the entire reason Kitez threw us – and the World Cloud – out.”

“It’s been 22 years, and there’s new leadership in Kitez. After everything else they were mad about back then – up to and including taking Gabriel out of there like we did - slicing a general’s ear wasn’t that big of a deal.”

“Drawing blood at a parlay is always a big deal.”

Rylen turned on a heel to face his brother, “That saying you like so much…speak softly and carry a big stick. You’re the ‘speaking,’ and I’m the ‘stick.’ Consequences be damned, I still stand by Captain Rydell on that one.”

Xanarken drew in a long breath, and shook his head as he exhaled – not that his mantle actually did any breathing, but the gesture meant the same either way, “At any rate, with Gabe and Dame Ren leaving Trazad right now, they should arrive on-site with Seth by mid-afternoon. With any luck, the recent insanity with Prince Iresha hasn’t ruffled any feathers in Kitez, and this will just be a simple grab-and-go mission like it was supposed to be beforehand.”

“It’ll be fine. Seth’s in good hands.”

.

With Gabriel out-cold, Ren grudgingly piloted Maeve due-west, and leered at him past her shoulder, “You knew full and bloody well that we won’t have any access to the World Cloud once we cross the border, so you stayed up all damn night just to avoid reading my file, didn’t you? …You’re a sore loser, Gabriel Lugios.”

The drop-site was just ahead, and Maeve landed…though not without a carefully-planned rough jostle at the very last second, which gave Gabriel quite the startle back to consciousness.

Ren smiled innocently, “Hope you had a nice nap, sir. We’re here.”

The side-door opened, and Ren unbuckled so she could hop out first. By the time Gabriel got his act together and followed, it was all he could do to avoid looking out of his depth, as he beheld the crowd of Sixth Wing soldiers all showing a rather unexpected amount of respect towards his trainee. Salutes were crisp, and a path was cut from Maeve to the open door of a nearby small-town motel. Gabriel scuttled-up to Ren’s side, and asked in a quiet voice, “What’s going on?”

Ren could only give an uneasy smile, “…My reputation precedes me, it seems.”

“What reputation?”

She stared at him, unblinking, but then turned around to start walking, an annoyed grumble set under her voice. Gabriel reluctantly followed, and as before, by the time he’d caught up, soldiers were at attention before the woman.

“Dame Ren Nibasai, welcome!” The officer in charge said; not quite a Captain, but rather, First Lieutenant; she bore a similar set of cape-laden pauldrons as an actual Captain, but they truncated at the ends of her shoulders, rather than extending a foot beyond each.

Ren could only offer a well-meant-but-half-assed salute in return, but then gestured both hands in a downward motion, “Please, you don’t have to do all that. I was demoted all the way down the chain when I left.”

“You’ll never stop being where you came from, Commander.” The officer countered, but then gestured for her HUD to display for both new-arrivals to see.

Gabriel grimaced, and whispered – mostly to himself, “Commander?”

As before, Seth’s visage displayed for all to see, but this time, a map was included, showing their current location a few miles out from the Sargon-Kitez border, and then zoomed out to show mostly Kitez. The Exclusion Zone was a prominent feature of the north-eastern quarter of the hermit-nation, but was well-encapsulated on all sides, with a waterside border on its northern face where it went into a large bay. Just south-east of the Exclusion Zone though, was a blotch of land that bordered it, and a pin was set into it. The officer explained, “This is land owned and managed by former-Magistrate Gavin Mallerd. About a month ago, a Void Scar opened on his property, and in his generosity, sent a secret missive to Lord Rylen’s Myrmidon division to notify them. Long story short, Knight-cadet Setharion Rydell was commissioned to investigate.”

“Rydell…why does that sound so familiar?” Gabriel wondered to himself.

“His time in Kitez has expired, however,” The officer continued, “And Lord Rylen has requested your assistance in bringing him home.”

Ren sucked in a breath, and set her hands on her hips as she looked on at the map, “…Figures. Alright, well, sounds simple enough. Nanotech goes offline, we walk in, we nab him, and walk out again?”

“In a manner of speaking. Tensions in Kitez have been high these past two years, since Prince Iresha became afflicted. Your nanotech will not be the only thing going down for this mission. You’ll be going undercover.” The officer explained, and stepped aside in that small motel room towards a closet, and opened the door, “You have your choice of attire. You’ll have full use of the room to prepare. In 20 minutes, you’re departing for the Kitezan border. A vehicular escort will take you to Judge Mallerd’s homestead, drop you off, you’ll make contact with cadet Setharion, spend the night there while he takes-down his equipment, and then come back in one of the vehicles the Judge has been provided with for this purpose. Any questions?”

Ren hesitated, but then lifted her head, “How’s he been?”

“He misses you.”

“Yeah…”

“Alright, everyone else out; Dame Ren and Sir Gabriel will come out when ready.”

The three soldiers who were there with them saluted and stepped out, and the officer pulled the door closed behind her. Ren could feel the stare from her mentor boring into the back of her head, but instead of facing it, she stepped off and went into the walk-in closet, looking for something acceptable to swap into.

“So that’s it?” Gabriel asked dryly, “You’re just gonna go about your business like this didn’t just confused the Hell out of me?”

“What’s to be confused about? You were here for the whole brief.” She shot back, and pulled some black leggings with a half-skirt, grey sweater, and knee-high boots from the closet, “I didn’t hear anything more or less than you did. …Sir.”

He just gestured at the whole room, “Then why did everyone act like they’re familiar with you? And that you’re familiar with our query?”

She looked at him with a quirked brow, “I’m gonna let you stew on those questions while I go change. Find something to wear while you ruminate on the obvious answer.”

Gabriel just watched in disbelief as she came out, made a U-turn into the bathroom, and closed the door behind herself. In annoyed frustration, he swung his arm out in front of himself and snapped his fingers to dissolve the uniform-jacket, and roughly stepped into that same closet, “I hate not knowing stuff.”

A short while later, Gabriel found his way back out of the room, now wearing a black suit with a red dress-shirt and black tie, and he busied himself with braiding his hair while they all waited for Ren to come out as well. When she finally did, it was as if all hands were on deck again, and everyone was attentive to her movements. A vehicle as already waiting for them, and the First Lieutenant who had briefed them went to open the door.

Ren approached first, resolutely consigned to her fate now, and paused for that last task; she loaded her overlay, and shut-down her nanotech access. A moment later, a small red dot flashed on each of her irises, and the officer confirmed it, “Thank you, Commander. Safe travels.” She looked then to Gabriel, who grumbled and did the exact same thing before following his trainee in, “Thank you as well, sir.”

The door was closed, seatbelts were drawn, and within seconds, the vehicle was moving. Gabriel could be nothing less than a sourpuss the entire half-hour ride to the Kitezan border. The check-point was far-more popular than either Knight had expected, but it was their driver who explained, “Folks with ties to both Kitez and Sargon have been spending the last two years trying to figure out which side of the border they wanted to be on. Apparently, the trouble with Prince Iresha yesterday has helped many of them finally make that call.”

“Why would that suddenly matter? He didn’t just become afflicted then.” Ren wondered, looking between the two front seats.

“Because the prevailing worry is that the Emperor is going to send his son to the College at Agartha as a result of it. That’s a red-line for the Duchy.”

“Ah…”

“The minute that boy goes to Agartha, the Kitezans feel he’ll become a pawn for the Luminary Council. He’d be raised-up with our values and sentiments, and when he goes back home - and eventually becomes the Emperor himself - he’ll be more sympathetic to our views. Maybe even be the one to get Sargon into the Accord finally.” The driver continued, and inched the vehicle forward as those ahead pulled through, “One can only hope…”

“Another worry for another day. As long as they haven’t shut the border down yet, our window of opportunity for getting Seth back is still open.”

The driver smiled, “Yes, ma’am.”