After arriving at the city council Angelica heads to the private discussion room in which she is supposed to meet the two councillors of the Capital of the united human Republics. When entering the room Angelica is surprised at the sight of the oracle which is usually only seen in public hearings.

[I don’t trust this oracle. There is no transparency to her, and one can’t know if she isn’t controlled by someone behind the scenes, but it seems to be true that she has the prophecy skill so there might be some truth to her words. Maybe she is a good person, let’s hear what she has to say.]

First councillor: Angelica, we have an urgent matter to discuss with you.

Angelica: Well, if you call me in at this hour you better have, or I will have to address this in the senate.

Second councillor: I can assure you there is no need to go this far, and you come off as rude in front of the oracle if you say such things before listening to what we have to say first.

Angelica: I value my sleep as much as she does so, she should best understand the mood I am in right now.

The oracle silently nods in the corner and the councillors look at each other and shake their heads.

First councillor: The problematic sleep schedule of the oracle is a topic for a different time. The issue we have called you in today needs immediate attention. The oracle has informed us that the capital is in immediate danger as of now. We do not know what the threat is since the oracle is notoriously vague, but she has been clear that the issue must be addressed immediately, or the capital might fall.

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[Well that sounds just like straight-up nonsense.]

Second councillor: Because of the vagueness we ask you to send out letters to your army group and your navy immediately. The enemy might be approaching the capital by the sea route so we can’t be cautious enough here. Of course, the city will offer the required funds to you immediately. We councillors have already scheduled a meeting of the representatives tomorrow and we are confident that the funds will be allocated without issue since it is the oracle that gave the information.

Angelica: How do we know this information is the truth? The oracle has prophesized wrong in the past. Everyone knows the city is low on funds already and might have to go into deep debt with someone to afford this. I also can’t send my soldiers here without paying them, so are you sure about this? This might cost you both your positions, councillors.

First councillor: You are only telling us things we already know, but we don’t have a choice because of the severeness of this issue. If we lose our positions, it is one thing but if the capital falls the union might be in danger. We will contact the senate for more funds, but we are not very optimistic we will get them since they have the same doubts that you have.

Second councillor: Our families live here. We can’t endanger them by ignoring this. We must do what we can to not endanger them. I hope you understand.

Angelica: Well, I am not in charge of finding the money. If tomorrow you are still in the position to call on me, I will assemble my army and navy. If not and you are still afraid, you should send your family out of the city. You surely own a nice house somewhere in the countryside if that eases your mind.

Angelica leaves the room without waiting for an answer. On the way home, she has a couple of things on her mind.

[They really could have waited until the morning. If they don’t even know if they have the money there was no reason to call me in, but the situation was bizarre. I should tell Marius to head out and tell the army to prepare. Tomorrow we will decide if that is all it will be. It would take up to a week to get them here. The navy might take even longer since some of the ships were damaged. I will have to check up if the repairs are finished. I believe I won’t be able to sleep a lot tonight.]