Kislev, 3 Days Later
The Empire of Kislev was nowhere near the level of prosperity it had enjoyed before the Exodus,
even when it had been waging its long-running feud with Aveh over anything and everything. Of course,
that war had ended after the Kaiser died of a heart attack. At the time, the Regent took over for a short
while, but relinquished the throne when the Kaiser's son returned. Ricardo Banderas, the demi-human
battling champion, and one of the eight heroes, absolutely hated his new position, though he stuck on
to restore his home nation.
Currently, he was bored out of his skull, listening to an old man talk about grain yields in the
eastern farms, but that suddenly changed when two guards entered the small antechamber. Rico
normally worked alone in the small room, taking time for the occasional meeting just so he could keep
abreast of the situation in the city he had been raised in, but only under the most unusual or dire of
circumstances would the guards enter the room.
"Hold it Seignur. I need to do something." Rico stood up slowly, his seven-foot height easily
towering over the guards, and he slowly clenched his hands into solid fists as he walked over to the only
window in the room, which looked out to the south. Looking outwards at the night skies, Rico frowned,
making his bestial visage turn from sour to outright surly.
"Let me guess. An unidentified airborne object is heading into national airspace, and you want
permission to activate the SAM sites to swat it out of the skies." The guard nodded looking nervous as
Rico turned and glared at the man.
"And, has it even occurred to you that the only thing left on the entire planet that is large enough
to register a warning on the radar system is a Sky Cruiser? Return to your post, and let the ship through.
I'll be down in ten minutes to greet them." Rico turned away from the window, his keen eyes having
picked out the fast-moving dot that was steadily growing towards the city. The guard saluted, turned
and left the room.
Rico took a few seconds to relax, visibly exerting himself to relax his hands, which were still
clenched into steel-hard fists. He looked over at the older minister whom he had been speaking with, and
smiled slightly. "I guess I'll escape the rest of the report. It's not often that my old friends show up, and
I'm wondering what the occasion is. Maybe Em's finally surfaced."
The minister only nodded, also glad to end the meeting early, as Rico had a tendency to make
his displeasure known by bending a chunk of metal taken from his first gear, then straightening the
slightly curved piece of solid metal. Notwithstanding the fact that the piece of metal was as big around
as one of the guard's wrists, it was still an impressive feat of strength. Rico waited for the minster to
leave, then smiled tightly. "Em, you'd better be on that flying piece of scrap. I want a rematch in the
arm-wrestling competition."
Twenty minutes later, Rico was disappointed, but didn't let it show on his face. Instead, he swept
Bart into a rib-creaking hug, causing the younger man to groan in pain before Rico let go. Rico then
shook Billy's hand, the ex-etone grimacing under the crushing grip of Rico's still-formidable strength.
"Yeesh Rico. When will you not crush my hand? I need the fingers working after all." Billy
grinned as he flexed feeling back into his hand, then laughed at the emotionally crushed look that
flashed across Rico's face. Rico chuckled as well, nodding at Jesiah, who responded with a sketched
salute using three fingers, then paused when he saw Margie and Primera standing together just behind
Bart and Billy.
Rico actually took a few seconds to remember the last time he saw the two young women, then
he smiled and bowed deeply, causing Bart and Billy to trade grins at the sudden change in behaviour
from their big friend. "Well, if it isn't Marge and Prim. How have you two been doing?"
Margie giggled, then hugged Rico, her tiny arms barely able to wrap around his thick neck. "I'm
doing great, you old bear." Rico mock-growled at the term of endearment, then chuckled.
"I'm fine. Bored out of my skull, and sick of baby-sitting ministers who should know better, but
otherwise, I'm okay. So, What brought you guys to my not very humble abode?"
Bart couldn't help but interject. "Well, other than seeing how your vocabulary's expanded, we'd
like your help."
Rico smiled at Bart, which would have sent many lesser men scurrying away from the sight.
"Well, as you can see, it hasn't degenerated to your level. So, what do you need my help with? Em?"
Bart nodded. "She just reappeared in the Zeobim ruins, then promptly disappeared again. We
checked out the Merkava wreckage, but found nothing there. Our next stop is either Bledavik or Lahan,
and we'd like you to come along."
Rico thought for a few seconds, then nodded. "Yeah. Just let me tell the regent that he has his
old job back and I'll be ready to go. See you in ten minutes." He then turned and walked off, a spring
in his step.
Bart looked over at his friends and silently placed one finger to the side of his head, twisting it
slightly. Everyone else cracked up.
The Empire of Kislev was nowhere near the level of prosperity it had enjoyed before the Exodus,
even when it had been waging its long-running feud with Aveh over anything and everything. Of course,
that war had ended after the Kaiser died of a heart attack. At the time, the Regent took over for a short
while, but relinquished the throne when the Kaiser's son returned. Ricardo Banderas, the demi-human
battling champion, and one of the eight heroes, absolutely hated his new position, though he stuck on
to restore his home nation.
Currently, he was bored out of his skull, listening to an old man talk about grain yields in the
eastern farms, but that suddenly changed when two guards entered the small antechamber. Rico
normally worked alone in the small room, taking time for the occasional meeting just so he could keep
abreast of the situation in the city he had been raised in, but only under the most unusual or dire of
circumstances would the guards enter the room.
"Hold it Seignur. I need to do something." Rico stood up slowly, his seven-foot height easily
towering over the guards, and he slowly clenched his hands into solid fists as he walked over to the only
window in the room, which looked out to the south. Looking outwards at the night skies, Rico frowned,
making his bestial visage turn from sour to outright surly.
"Let me guess. An unidentified airborne object is heading into national airspace, and you want
permission to activate the SAM sites to swat it out of the skies." The guard nodded looking nervous as
Rico turned and glared at the man.
"And, has it even occurred to you that the only thing left on the entire planet that is large enough
to register a warning on the radar system is a Sky Cruiser? Return to your post, and let the ship through.
I'll be down in ten minutes to greet them." Rico turned away from the window, his keen eyes having
picked out the fast-moving dot that was steadily growing towards the city. The guard saluted, turned
and left the room.
Rico took a few seconds to relax, visibly exerting himself to relax his hands, which were still
clenched into steel-hard fists. He looked over at the older minister whom he had been speaking with, and
smiled slightly. "I guess I'll escape the rest of the report. It's not often that my old friends show up, and
I'm wondering what the occasion is. Maybe Em's finally surfaced."
The minister only nodded, also glad to end the meeting early, as Rico had a tendency to make
his displeasure known by bending a chunk of metal taken from his first gear, then straightening the
slightly curved piece of solid metal. Notwithstanding the fact that the piece of metal was as big around
as one of the guard's wrists, it was still an impressive feat of strength. Rico waited for the minster to
leave, then smiled tightly. "Em, you'd better be on that flying piece of scrap. I want a rematch in the
arm-wrestling competition."
Twenty minutes later, Rico was disappointed, but didn't let it show on his face. Instead, he swept
Bart into a rib-creaking hug, causing the younger man to groan in pain before Rico let go. Rico then
shook Billy's hand, the ex-etone grimacing under the crushing grip of Rico's still-formidable strength.
"Yeesh Rico. When will you not crush my hand? I need the fingers working after all." Billy
grinned as he flexed feeling back into his hand, then laughed at the emotionally crushed look that
flashed across Rico's face. Rico chuckled as well, nodding at Jesiah, who responded with a sketched
salute using three fingers, then paused when he saw Margie and Primera standing together just behind
Bart and Billy.
Rico actually took a few seconds to remember the last time he saw the two young women, then
he smiled and bowed deeply, causing Bart and Billy to trade grins at the sudden change in behaviour
from their big friend. "Well, if it isn't Marge and Prim. How have you two been doing?"
Margie giggled, then hugged Rico, her tiny arms barely able to wrap around his thick neck. "I'm
doing great, you old bear." Rico mock-growled at the term of endearment, then chuckled.
"I'm fine. Bored out of my skull, and sick of baby-sitting ministers who should know better, but
otherwise, I'm okay. So, What brought you guys to my not very humble abode?"
Bart couldn't help but interject. "Well, other than seeing how your vocabulary's expanded, we'd
like your help."
Rico smiled at Bart, which would have sent many lesser men scurrying away from the sight.
"Well, as you can see, it hasn't degenerated to your level. So, what do you need my help with? Em?"
Bart nodded. "She just reappeared in the Zeobim ruins, then promptly disappeared again. We
checked out the Merkava wreckage, but found nothing there. Our next stop is either Bledavik or Lahan,
and we'd like you to come along."
Rico thought for a few seconds, then nodded. "Yeah. Just let me tell the regent that he has his
old job back and I'll be ready to go. See you in ten minutes." He then turned and walked off, a spring
in his step.
Bart looked over at his friends and silently placed one finger to the side of his head, twisting it
slightly. Everyone else cracked up.