Joakim had been in it once before. He remembered its vaulted ceiling, and its gold-gilded arches which caught the light of a hundred magenta lamps. Stone pillars, adorned with tapestries depicting many a battle against Solich heretics which burned a sense of history and grandeur into the room, and indeed, the entire building it was in. The floor below his feet bore a mirror-like sheen, exactly the way its steward liked it. Towering windows were draped in brocade curtains made of threads of sapphire. This great hall was a testament to the power and taste of the family under whose name it belonged, a name only three able-bodied members still bore.
Joakim had been in it once before, not long after his introduction to the Frei Squad. But this time around, only one of his comrades was present with him. The gazes of two household guards were heavy on them as they stood motionlessly before the empty throne.
“Why is it just us two?” he asked his colleague in a whisper. He didn’t care about being silent anymore, the patience within him simmering away fast. He had been given no details about why he was sent to the Karesti Palace—only instructions to wear his full dress uniform and arrive there as soon as possible.
“Not a single clue,” Lucia, dressed similarly to her comrade, shrugged in a low voice. “But this can’t be a normal briefing, no way.”
“Obviously it isn’t a normal briefing,” Joakim furrowed his brow slightly, annoyed that Lucia was stating the obvious. “The Colonel and Mein—the Captain are nowhere to be seen.”
Whatever we’ve been sent here for is clearly way bigger than any of them. Than any of us.
Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity of waiting, the lofty pure-Utrium doors of the great hall swung open with a boisterous creak. Joakim nearly slapped his palms over his ears, but that was no way to act in someone who ranked multitudes higher than him, even though he had no idea who was opening the door.
Accompanied by two guards, a man bearing the badge and uniform only someone in the highest brass of the Titanian military could don strode forward over the long golden carpet that stretched from the doors to the throne. The fact that this man was allowed to wear his uniform in a space where traditionally no military effects were permitted was a sign that the war was changing Titanian society on a deep level. Perhaps it had been allowed because there would simply never be enough time to change into something more regal with the amount of shifting a person in such a position would have to do.
“Corporal Ruders, Private Holt,” Major General Sjogren came to a stop about five yards from the young Frei Squad members, who had turned around quickly to salute the senior-ranking soldier. “This way, please.”
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Without hesitation and complaint, they followed the major general and his guards through a series of halls and stairs. The end of the excursion brought them in front of a room Joakim had been in once before.
The Emperor’s Chambers.
Sjogren’s two guards opened the doors into the chambers, allowing entrance into a room that looked just like it did the last time Joakim set foot in it. The painting of the Royal family was in the exact place as before, with Empress Consort Ilmatar’s form still plastered over, her husband and daughter remaining in full view. In the back-centre of the room, was the Pod that Emperor Henrik of the Titanian Empire had laid unmoving for the past 10, nearly 11, years.
And beside the Pod, clad in complete armor except for her head, was the Emperor’s sister.
“General Karesti will have a word with the two of you.” Sjogren courteously informed the two teenagers, before taking his leave along with his guards.
Mother Pizna, have mercy on those two children, Goban Sjogren wished he could mutter as he stepped out of the Emperor’s Chambers.
“I’m very pleased that the two of you were able to come so quickly. It’s as we expect of any Titanian soldier.” Rhona spoke with a slight smile about her lips.
“We are honoured to be in your presence, General.” Lucia said, as she and Joakim each raised a hand in salute.
“At ease. I have questions for the two of you. Firstly, how badly do you wish to see our war against the Terrans end?”
Is this a trick question? Joakim mused. How does she want us to answer this?
“So long as it maintains our Empire’s position at the top, Ma’am!” Lucia spoke with genuine national pride, a consequence of being raised by a Terran father who bore nothing but animosity towards the people of his homeland for abandoning him in the mines of Titan decades earlier.
“A-As long as it results in accomplishing the Empire’s goals, I believe.” Joakim spoke with milder confidence. He only voiced his half-true opinions as a safe option, in the case that the General was looking for an excuse to punish the two of them for whatever reason.
“Good. That’s very good. Maintenance of the Empire’s power is our objective, at the end of the day,” Rhona nodded, before suddenly slamming a button on Halsten’s Pod. The sudden movement and loud bang it created almost caused Joakim to jump, but he knew better than to show weakness in front of the head of the military. As the gas rapidly cleared inside, Lucia dropped to a knee immediately. Joakim didn’t have to ask why she did so and did as she did.
No one can’t kneel before the Emperor, Joakim mused. Even if all you can see of him is the shell of what he once had to have been.
Rhona then took a knee herself, once her brother’s form was in complete view inside the Pod.
“Your loyalty to the Crown is firm,” Rhona complimented, as she did a rapid-fire analysis of the two Frei Squad members’ stances without making direct eye contact. “You two are making this very easy for us. Well, right onto my next question, then,”
She lifted her head, locking her sharp gaze onto Joakim’s face.
“Private Holt… how badly do you wish to see your brother again?”
“I-I beg your pardon, Ma’am?” Joakim was dumbfounded. Why was Stefan being mentioned all of a sudden? How did she know the boy even had a brother?
“The boy called Stefan Laine. I know you and him are connected by blood. By doing what I am about to tell the both of you, you will get the chance to see him again. So, listen carefully, the two of you.”