It was time for Ruby's check-in with the Events team. With the Events fast approaching, she needed to make sure that everyone was on track to finish their duties so that things could go as close to according to plan as possible. She absolutely needed to stay in the loop with the Events; now that they were technically out of her auspices over in Thirteen, she needed more precise information than when they were in the Capitol so that she knew everything was going right. This was also the first time that Violet wouldn't be running the check-in meeting. That responsibility would fall to the Events Gamemaker from Thirteen, Soorim Callahan, because Thirteen was hosting the Events, they had taken over from Violet as the Head Gamemaker, while Violet had taken on the role of their assistant.
"OK, Soorim, where are we at?"
"Well, as you know, being the Head Gamemaker I've been responsible for a lot of communication with Thirteen. And they are not excited about doing a full pre-Events."
"What do you mean?"
"They just don't see the needs for the frills or spectacle that come with the Events. All they want to do is sponsor the competition in the same Arena as last year."
"Same Arena is totally fine with me, we'll just have to repaint the houses. But I'm not thrilled with the idea of totally eliminating the pre-Events. The interviews are so important for the audience to get to know the competitors, and the training days are good for the competitors to get some practice in before the Events begin."
"But that's the issue," Bellona Terminus pointed out. "If we don't want them to know what's happening before the Events, we can only do so much with training. And because of the participation aspect, and especially this year with the more direct team versus team aspect, the private sessions are completely useless. If Thirteen wants to get rid of training and the private sessions, I'd be all for it."
"Yeah, I agree," said Amper Helix, Five's representative. "I see no reason to have training for the Events, because the point of training for the Events is to learn survival skills or weapons skills, neither of which are useful for the Events. And you can kind of measure how well someone will do based on those skills – obviously if someone has no weapon skills, they'll really struggle to win. But in the Events, there are so many external factors that it's hard to measure anything."
Ruby began to object again, then checked hersef. "OK, so I'm ok with getting rid of training if we need to. But I really don't want to get rid of the interviews or the Opening Ceremonies so there's some sort of structure. Kids need structure."
Millicent quietly spoke up. "What if the Capitol hosts the interviews before the Events actually start, and then Thirteen does some sort of opening ceremony? I'm sure they could figure that out."
Soorim and Ruby looked at each other, then nodded. "That could work," agreed Ruby.
"So I'll see if Thirteen agrees to that."
"And in that case, we'll bring the competitors to the Capitol first, and then hovercraft them over to Thirteen for the Opening Ceremonies, and the Events will start the next day. If Thirteen is OK with that, that works. Now, let's talk about the Events themselves. Where are we at with them?"
"We're mostly done," said Soorim, looking at the rest of the Gamemakers for confirmation. "The structure of the Events, at least, is definitely set, and we're working on setting up an order of the days at this point. Here is a packet with the general structure of the Events." Soorim gave Ruby a folder, the contents of which she read carefully.
"You've told me a bit about this already, right?"
"Yes."
"Good, so I'm not going crazy. I like it overall, but make sure you know how to explain them very briefly to the Competitors the night before the chariot rides. Now, tell me about the individual challenges."
"Yes. So each of us has been spearheading the design of their own district's challenges, so I don't know all the details of each one yet; the final structural stuff is due in about a weeks so we can move on to nitty-grittys."
"One of Euodia's challenges is really cool," Bellona interjected, talking up her friend. "She's been working hard on it, and it's a really epic representation of karma."
"Oh, that sounds exciting! Do you have a writeup of it?"
"I do, actually," smiled the ever-prepared Euodia. She slid a piece of paper across the table to Ruby. "It's complicated, so I needed a write up early to start structural work."
"This looks really really nice! I'm quite excited about it."
"Thank you!"
"We have one other thing to run by you," Soorim jumped in. "Aviel, in addition to his challenges, has been working on something extra for the Events. We think it'll add a really awesome layer to the Events."
Aviel confidently slid a piece of paper and a box over to Ruby. She scanned the document, then peeked into the box. "I am not surprised to see what this says, but I like your thinking. Keep developing it and close the loopholes; we don't want there to be any problems with this."
"I can do that," smirked Aviel, taking the box back.
"This all looks good! I'm going to do one-on-one check ins with all of you about your challenges, just to make sure they're feasible and whatnot. Before that, I want to share the news with you that we're splitting the Games Fairness Council in half. So right now there are two people from each district on the committee, but in a few weeks, we'll split it up so that one of them takes a spot on the Games Fairness Council and one on the Events Fairness Council. I anticipate that you'll be in close contact with them as you finish preparations for the Events. As usual, I'll be overseeing both; Lavender, my niece, will remain the head of the GFC, and the second council for the Events will be headed by my daughter, Cerise."
Every time the mail arrived, Liana Klepper anxiously awaited a letter from her girlfriend in Two. Since the Events, they had seen each other only twice, during the Harvest Festival and during the Winter Holiday, even though they lived in adjacent districts, simply because of how busy both of them were. And while Liana could probably afford to buy them phones to actually talk in person, there was still something really lovely about getting a handwritten letter, and so both women had chosen to take that course.
Liana was honestly surprised that Ruby had kept her word and had not interfered at all with her relationship with Myranda. As a check, the first few letters exchanged between the two had been sealed with clear tape; not a single seal had been broken. And Ruby had even checked in with Liana at various government functions about the relationship between the two. Now, more than six months after the Events, Liana finally had reason to relax.
Until a purple envelope arrived in the mail.
Dear Liana,
We would like to offer you an appointment to a government position. Please report to the Games Headquarters a week from today to discuss your position with me. This meeting should be kept a secret from everyone, including your mother.
Thank you,
President Emerald
Liana was a little bit – OK, a lot a bit suspicious. But she couldn't quite say no; this was an official government summons, after all. So, one week later, she stood waiting outside of Ruby Emerald's office, preparing for the worst but somehow cautiously hopeful.
"Hello there, Liana," Ruby said, coming out of her office and locking the door. "How are you, dear?"
"I'm good," Liana responded curtly.
"Very good. Follow me."
Confused, Liana followed Ruby to the high-security conference room, where she found Garnet, Elizah, Amethyst, and another woman whom she didn't recognize. On the table was a locked briefcase. Nervously, she took a seat at the table, incredibly intimidated by the important people in the room with her. The door closed ominously behind her, after which Ruby pressed a button, covering all four walls with titanium sheets.
This could not be good.
"First, I want to reassure you that you are in no way in trouble. In fact, we are about to let you in on a massive secret, one which very few people outside of this room know about. This secret, however, is incredibly dangerous if it gets out, as it could be a matter of both national and your personal security. If you consent to being told this secret, we're going to inject a tracker into your arm that will blow up if you tell anybody about it. If you would prefer, however, you can opt out of knowing the secret. We will wipe the memory of your past half an hour or so, and there will be no harm done."
Liana thought for a moment. "Can you tell me the gist of what the secret is about?"
"It has to do with why I was so hesitant about your relationship with Myranda."
Liana's eyebrows rose. She took a deep breath, then stuck out her arm. The president motioned to an Avox standing on the side of the room, who stepped forward and injected the tracker into Liana.
It didn't even strike Liana that her life was now at the hands of someone who had almost screwed, and her girlfriend, her over before.
"OK, Liana. I'm going to begin by showing you a clip from the 126th Hunger Games." She pulled out a device and showed Liana the video of Tziporah Boronsky's death. "Does anything about this look odd to you?"
Liana studied the video carefully. "I mean, I have always wondered why the Gamemakers choose to set up traps when they do. But I never thought too much about it."
"Well, this particular Arena trap was very planned, because Tziporah didn't die. In every Games since the 121st, Sami and Amethyst have worked together to rescue two tributes from the Arena. These tributes have been brought back to a secret facility in the Capitol, rehabilitated, and sent back out into the districts as agents of the Capitol." Ruby paused a moment to let the information sink in. Liana was, after all, in a precarious position between being directly impacted by the Games and not being impacted by the Games at all ; after all, she might never have been adopted if Kylis hadn't died in the Games, but she had also grown up in an era where she was never at risk of entering them if she didn't want to. Liana looked a little surprised, but not incredibly shocked or impacted; when Ruby saw that the initial response had subsided, she continued.
"Up until now, this organization has been headed by Sami." Ruby gestured to the woman that Liana didn't recognize. "But, with Amethyst stepping down from being Head Gamemaker, Sami was the natural choice to take over that role. The problem is that the organization will then be leaderless, and we want you to take Sami's position. You'll have her support from above, and obviously also support from me. But we trust you to maintain secrecy and to lead this organization well."
"But why did you choose me?" Liana asked. "This was clearly not a random decision."
"Well, a few reasons. One is that you're government-adjacent, so it kind of puts you more out of suspicion than if someone of our direct progeny was in charge. The other is that… well, I felt bad for the things I kept from you and felt that you had the right to know the truth. And this was the only way that you could know."
"And I'm guessing I can't really say no to the government position."
"Well, I'll only tell you the reason if you take the position."
"Fine." Ruby pushed a contract from the briefcase; without even reading it over, Liana signed it.
"So. Has your mom ever told you about someone named Kylis Divola?"
"No…"
"Well, your mother was once in love with her. So much so that she volunteered for the Games to stay with her. Dania was picked for Garnet's Selection, but Kylis wasn't, and Kylis then died in the Games."
"Or so my mom thought."
"Precisely. We rescued her from the Arena that year, and then after her rehab period we sent her over to Two. Obviously, we needed to change her name, and she chose the name Dania Lidano. Dania, because it was Dania's name, and Lidano because if you rearrange the letters in Divola, but flip the v upside down, you get Lidano."
Liana started putting the pieces together. "Lidano like Myranda Lidano."
"Yes. Kylis, now Dania, was placed there because of the last name connection, as Myranda's long-lost cousin. How could we know that you two would be picked for the Events?"
"How could we know…"
"Now you understand the magnitude of why I was worried for you two to date. If your mother met Kylis, even with the alterations we did, she would know exactly who it was. It could be disastrous for your family life, and it could risk the exposure of the whole operation."
"But why didn't you just tell her in the beginning?"
"Because we were worried about word getting out. But think about it, Liana; if she had married Kylis and not you, you may never have been adopted."
Liana might not have agreed with Ruby's choices, but she now understood the magnitude of the situation. She appreciated all of the opportunities her mother and father gave her, ones that she may not have had if she'd been adopted by anyone else; if her secret got out, it could ruin the people who had done so much for her, not to mention that it could have side effects on her relationship with Myranda. Because of her curiosity, she had signed away her life and tied herself to the government for a secret that she may have been happier and less stressed not to know.
What had she done?
Well, that's a good way to end the prologues, don't you think? Thoughts on my picks for these important roles? Will Liana be able to keep the secret?
A final reminder that subs close on Thursday! As I mentioned, I'll be sending out PMs to everyone with the status of their tribute, hopefully on Friday. I'll be sending PMs to accepted subs first, but probably not with a district specified for most of them, and then once I have a set list I'll send out rejection PMs. But don't worry too much if you don't get a PM for a while; everyone whose competitor is accepted will have two weeks to accept, so it might take a while.
Hopefully, I'll be back next week with the first intros! I don't have them in any specific order, but I might change my mind.
See you soon!
goldie031
