International Human Confederation
Tokyo, Japan Headquarters
18 November 2066, 11:40

"You're late, Captain Connellheim. I was expecting more from you. Much more." She rose from her seat, narrowed dark blue eyes glaring at the blonde-haired army officer, who immediately broke eye contact. Before the other could have the chance to explain himself, she cut him off with a wave of her hand, indicating that he sit while she continue with the scolding. "If I had known that you would fail to secure the blueprint and that you would lose an entire squadron on a simple night raid, I would've taken the matter into my own hands."

"Miss Lan Fang---"

"With all due respect, Mr. Tobita," she said, turning to address the president of the IHC, "I am well aware of Captain Connellheim's capabilities. But I'm certain those androids aren't more than we can handle."

Gallen Connellheim then interjected, "Your pride will be your downfall, Miss Lan Fang."

She let out a laugh. "Pride? Speak for yourself! Who refused to lead the night raid himself, saying that the androids weren't even worthy enough to kiss his feet? Your incompetence is embarrassing and intolerable, and your pride so much more!"

"That is enough." She shut her mouth before she could say anything more, and upon glancing at her superior, Takaya Tobita, she saw him take a deep breath to compose himself. It definitely wasn't the time to lose his temper, and that he was aware of. He then leaned forward and clasped his hands together, and at the gesture, Lan Fang remembered that she was still on her feet and then promptly sat down, muttering her apology as she did so.

He threw a side-glance at Yuhya Marino; the Australasian senator had been quiet the whole time. "The androids have officially declared war. That bombing in Washington is only the beginning of the terror that's yet to come. We need to act now. We can't afford to lose any more men --- or any more innocent lives." He felt his voice suddenly leave his throat. He had been fond of little Kouya.

"I say we go all-out."

The suggestion wasn't surprising at all, but the fact that it came from the android-sympathizing Senator Marino was. For the past months he had insisted on making sure their propagandas were within reasonable boundaries, but his little brother's death changed him drastically.

Lan Fang was glad he finally saw reason. Smiling inwardly at the thought that there was another android-hater in the IHC, reducing the number of sympathizers to a visible three, she cocked her head to the side slightly and locked gazes with her fellow Asian and nodded. "I second the motion." As she turned to address their president, her gaze hardened. "And as you know, my father would've, too. From the beginning he has fought for our lives in the battlefield, and having received a position here didn't change his way of thinking."

She allowed herself to scan the area, sweeping her gaze from one senator to the other and lingering a few seconds longer on the two pro-android officials, Harry Gamble of the European sector, and Gina Firestone of North America. I'd willingly bet that you two are abominations yourselves, she thought fiercely, before letting a smirk appear on her lips. She had rarely seen the two up close, but having looked into their eyes once was enough for her to conclude such a thought. What was left for her to do was to rig up a scanner inside their next meeting area to prove their stature as spies, as android covert agents.

"I don't believe this," she heard the blonde female snap from her seat. Was it just coincidence that she sat beside Gamble, or something much more? She couldn't help but dwell on that little fact. "We've been careful in the past, careful not to cross the line either way, and now we're going to force ourselves across theirs? What, then, was the use of our propagandas?"

"For crying out loud, the androids are killing machines, Gina!" Marino snapped from across the blonde, his chestnut-colored eyes ablaze as he slammed his fists on the table. "They won't listen to reason, because all that's programmed in their circuit-loaded heads are the words kill, kill, and kill! Why, did they think about the line they'd be crossing with us when they bombed that building in Washington?! I was there, Gina, I was there! I heard all their cries of murder, and I know that the slaughter session they had won't be the last!"

The Chinese female, who attended the meeting in place of her father, Ming Wu, the IHC Vice President, was about to cut through the conversation, when she saw Gamble reach out to stop Firestone from getting up and doing whatever she had planned to do to Marino. I know they're not a couple, she thought, processing what she had just witnessed, so they must be undercover agents. RS 'droids are said to work in pairs, and they specialize in covert operations…

She placed her hand on Marino's shoulder to interrupt him, as he was seated beside her. She then averted her gaze to the blonde-haired pair of senators across them. "Senator Gamble? Please, if she has something to say, don't stop her. This is what this meeting is for." She had the satisfaction of seeing him flinch, and then she pressed on, "I really don't have the right to pry into your private affairs, but it seems to me that you two have a hidden agenda. If it's not a romantic issue, would you please share it with us?"

Gamble scowled. "You just said it yourself, Miss Lan Fang. You don't have the right to pry into our private affairs." Then, he turned to the other female and said in a soothing tone loud enough for everyone else in the room to hear, "Gina, it's okay. I'm sure they will hear you out, but please, you have to calm down."

"Yeah, I've had enough of flaring tempers for today," Mohamed Ramzy, the anti-android senator representing the continent of Africa, said as he leaned back against his seat in a lazy manner. Yet he continued to look at Firestone, who by then had grown less tense at how the conversation was turning out. He flashed a teasing smile. "Gina, are you sure you and Harry aren't anything more than friends?"

"This meeting wasn't called to discuss such rumors, Mohamed."

"Hey, I was just trying to liven up the atmosphere and help reduce the tension. Geez… you guys are taking this way too seriously," he muttered, raising his arms up in surrender.

From where she sat, Lan Fang took note of everything that transpired in silence, down to the smallest details, just like how she was trained. She sure had a lot to report to her father, and while she was eager to do just that, she didn't want to leave without making sure that Marino's proposal to launch an all-out offensive against the mechanical pests would be approved and implemented. Once that project would be underway, all she would have to do would be to peel the disguises off Firestone and Gamble, and let them know that she was someone amateurs could not fool.

/To be continued…/

Notes: Kazie here. Phew, an update at long last. ::sighs in relief:: Anyway, I really don't have much to say about what's going on in the story and everything, as I'd want you to find out for yourselves... ::winks:: However, I would like to announce that since my co-author Mara has been too busy with offline matters to continue working with me on this project, I have a new partner-in-crime. Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to introduce her to you - the Angst Princess, Hareta! ::applauds:: Yay! This is going to be fun!