Title: Manipulated - Luna's view point part II
Author: Ree
Theme: Cats (Arts of war)
Genre: General
Version: Manga/Anime Silver Millennium
Rating: G

The cats and all their friends are all from the imaginations of Takeuchi Naoko. I'm not that creative.

Manipulated

Luna stared in shock at the Maun sitting in front of her. "Why?... Why are you withdrawing the job offer?"

The dark-grey Maun flipped nervously through a stack of papers before he answered. "It just is. Now if you will excuse me, Ambassador Joi wished to speak with you. Wait right here." He quickly left the room.

As Luna waited the tip of her tail began to twitch. She couldn't believe it. She had come in today to fill out the last of the forms before she started work, and now they have fired her before she had worked her first day. When the door opened she stilled her tail and looked over at the ambassador.

He started speaking in an overly friendly tone. "Ah, Luna! It is pleasant to meet you at last. I'm Ambassador Joi."

Luna felt herself filling with dread. She knew his voice. He was the one looking for an assistant. Remaining poised, she answered in a neutral tone. "It is pleasant to meet you, too."

Joi sat down on the other side of the desk and started flipping through the papers. Finding the one he wanted, he slid it out.

"I'm here to offer you an assistant ambassador position." He watched her face to see her reaction.

Luna almost rejected it out right, but decided she should at least listen to the offer first. Maybe this one was different. "Where would I be going if I accepted?"

Joi looked confident when he answered her. "The Solar system. You'll be based in the Moon Kingdom."

Luna tried not to let the horror she was feeling show on her face. 'The language for that place is horrible. It has no flow or melody to it. And it is so far from home, such a backwater little place. Why do we even need to send an ambassador there?'

The confident look on Joi's face was slowly fading the longer it took Luna to accept the position. He slid the paper closer to her. "This is the only thing the diplomatic corps has to offer you."

Suddenly Luna knew why her job was snatched away. She also knew that he was telling the truth. If she didn't accept this position then she would never work as a diplomat. Or at least not for a long time.

Joi watched to see if she comprehended her situation, but could not read her face or body language.

Luna hated that she was being manipulated into accepting this position, and she wasn't going to give in yet. "How long shall I be stationed there? The normal three years?"

"No. Since the distance is so great it is going to be for five years."

She looked at the paper he pushed in front of her. When she looked back up into his face, she knew that he had taken all the choices away. If she wanted to be a diplomat, this was what she had to do. 'I have been manipulated. Slowly but surely worked into a situation that I can't avoid.' One of the courses she had studied was the art of war. And one of the most important lessons she had learned was how to manipulate the powers to get what her world needed. 'And he has left me no choice. Well only one. To act defeated, or to accept and keep my dignity.' She chose the latter.

Keeping her voice calm, she finally answered him. "That makes sense. I'll be happy to go. Thank you." She signed the paper.

As she left the room, Joi wondered who actually won that battle.