"I don't need a bodyguard!" Glimmer shouted from her throne at the Catgirl and two Horde clones kneeling in front of her, "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself!"
"This is only a temporary measure until we can be certain of your safety, your Majesty," Catra explained, gesturing to the clone on her right, "Tau Upsilon is a consummate professional with a long record in protecting high value targets. You won't even know he's here."
The clone grunted in recognition as Glimmer took a long frowning look at him from her throne. Tau Upsilon appeared to be one of the older veterans, judging from his stoic vigilant pose and the large number of burns and scars that adorned his bald and wrinkly gray head, one of which drew across his damaged left eye. Glimmer returned her gaze to the blue skinned clone with red eyes and the brown furred catgirl beside him.
"I don't care if he screams bloody murder at all hours of the day!" Glimmer argued, "I don't need some ugly Hordak creep hounding over my every movement."
"What movement?" Catra hissed under her breath, "The only times I've seen you get off that stupid chair are when you poof into royal kitchens to grab more snacks..."
"What did you say?" Glimmer asked loudly.
"I said that this is more important than just your own worthless life!" Catra shouted, getting up from her knell to stand proudly, "If a single runestone princess dies, then everything we went through will be for nothing; and we almost lost all of them in a single night because of our stupid carelessness! I'm sorry, Sparkles, but this isn't a request. You are getting a new babysitter whether you like it or not!"
Glimmer's fist slammed against the arm of her throne as she made a noise that could have possibly approximated a human being but more closely resembled a razor-toothed chippit from Beast Island. As Catra bent back down into her kneel, Glimmer closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Excuse me for a second," Glimmer said before disappearing into a cloud of pink dust.
The three Horde officers remained kneeling before the empty throne as they awaited their Queen's return. As Tau Upsilon examined the room in nervous confusion, Theta Rho's eyes narrowed at Catra who was staring silently at the chair in front of her.
"Are you certain that was the most... tactful method of communicating our intentions?" Theta Rho critiqued.
"Trust me," Catra said, holding a finger up to the general, "It's like ripping off a bandage. The sooner Sparkles realizes who's really in charge, the better it will be for all of us in the long run."
"The Queen does not strike me as someone who appreciates a loss of control in her life," Tau Upsilon commented, "It may be counterproductive to force this on her."
"She'll get over it," Catra groaned, "She's going to scream and yell for a bit on the roof where no one can hear her, quickly grab something to eat to calm herself down, think of some meaningless concession we need to give her in order to make it look like she has some choice in the matter, and then we'll have what we want. The important thing here is that I look like the bad guy that's forcing the two of you together so she thinks that you're being screwed over just as much as she is. Nothing brings people together better than a common enemy. So act like this assignment is beneath you, but you're following orders like a good soldier."
"Hmm..." Tau Upsilon growled, "I do not believe that deception would not take much effort to maintain on my part..."
"Good..." Catra sighed, "Less work for me then..."
An uncomfortable silence permeated the room until Glimmer finally returned, appearing in flash of pink and purple, right where she was sitting not a minute ago.
"Alright..." Queen Glimmer sighed, discretely wiping some icing off her cheek and into her mouth, "The Kingdom of Brightmoon will accept these *temporary* security measures for the continued safety of Etheria. But I have a list of conditions."
Theta Rho raised an eyebrow at Catra who looked back at him with a proud smirk.
"One," Glimmer listed, "He leaves the room whenever I tell him to. No watching me sleep, bathe or go to the bathroom."
"Absolutely, your Majesty," Tau Upsilon responded, suppressing a small shudder as he forced the picture out of his head.
"Two," continued Glimmer, "He's responsible for maintaining his own quarters while staying here. You are fortunate the guest room has just recently been vacated."
"That's the closest thing Brightmoon has to a dungeon," Catra whispered at Tau Upsilon, "I think you'll like it in there."
"And finally..." Glimmer groaned loudly, choosing to ignore Catra's snarking, "Whenever he is outside his quarters in the castle, he is to be accompanied by an escort of my own personal guards. You are to work with them whenever possible."
"Now, hold on a min-oop!" Catra called out, getting up from her kneel to point at Glimmer again before she was swiftly grabbed by the tail and pulled flat on her bottom against the floor.
"The Horde is perfectly willing to work cooperatively with Brightmoon in the interest of peace," Theta Rho interrupted over Catra's objections, before finally letting go of her tail, "We appreciate you taking the time to discuss this serious matter with us."
"Good..." declared Glimmer, "If there is no other business, you are all dismissed."
"Thank you, your Majesty," Tau Upsilon stated, standing up to respectfully bow to the Queen, "I will begin making preparations at once."
As the Horde soldier turned to leave the throne room, Catra and Theta Rho silently bowed to Queen Glimmer and followed after him.
"I must admit that she reacted much differently then I would have predicted," Theta Rho whispered to Catra, "At first, I was worried you had overplayed your hand, but it appears I have underestimated you."
"Yeah, I get that alot," Catra groaned wearily, "Don't touch the tail again. Ever."
"My apologies, Director," Theta Rho offered, bending over slightly with his claw over his chest, "It will not happen again."
"Alright then," Catra sighed, "If you'll excuse me, I need to prepare my squad for our operation into the Whispering Woods."
"What about the security arrangements for the other princesses?" Theta Rho asked.
"I told you," said Catra, "Glimmer is the key to keeping Etheria in line. Getting her to accept a handler was the hard part. But now that her protection has been dealt with, it won't take much to get all the other princess to follow suit."
"And the She Ra?" Theta Rho grumbled.
"I deal with Adora before we leave," Catra explained, "I just need some time to figure out how to smooth it over with her..."
~*~
First Analysis of the Brightmoon Queen for Horde General Theta Rho
Horde Sergeant Tau Upsilon reporting
-New assignment from Alien Care and Control, First introductions today
-Subject is resistant to a new overseer, exhibits signs of fear, aggression and a need for dominance
-Behavior suggests pacifying methods of integration would work best; avoid direct eye contact, allow the creature to be aware of my presence at all times and wait for it to approach me before interacting
-Possible diagnosis of an inferiority complex, will require further examination
-Compulsive eating disorder, may be able to exploit this in order to ingratiate myself into it's good graces
-I am somewhat confused by the Director's methods of diplomacy, will need to do further research into properly understanding Etherian culture
-So far subject has shown resistant but not actively antagonistic towards Horde control, will continue to closely monitor for signs of sedition
-Am expecting this assignment will achieve better results than my previous handling of the Zebesian Plasma Dragon, but remain cautious
