Much earlier…
Location: Rose Kingdom capital Farbanti
Within the mighty fortifications of Sol Castle an audience had gathered in its great hall. The select few chosen to attend stood in the sidelines in quiet vigilance in their sworn duty to the monarchy. Orange and white banners stamped with the national and military symbols of the nation adorned the ceiling and columns, behooving all present a reminder of their allegiance. In the clash of light and shadow that filtered the air, neither good nor evil ruled this castle; only she did.
Slouched on the great throne, Tanager scoffed.
"... And pray tell me what exactly you have to offer to us that we simply cannot take for ourselves?"
Tanager leered at the figure in front of her with cynical eyes. Dark gray hair partially hid the stranger's face in a curtain of obscurity. Her attire bore no affiliation, draped instead with ambiguous gray leaving only sharp stripes of yellow as a hint of this person's character.
Ever since this stranger appeared, Tanager had yet to find a reason to like her.
Tanager continued. "You offer service, yet I have yet to gleam any use from you. You speak of power yet look around you, we possess it in excess."
"... If I may, I beg to differ," the stranger spoke.
Her temper flared. "You dare doubt our position of strength in this world?"
"From the way I see it, the world doubts so," the stranger explained, her voice soft yet reeking of malevolence. "This very land has seen great many conflicts, all ruled by those who thought as you did. Much blood was paid to restore this country's greatness, yet in the end it was you and your kin who lost."
Tanager's eyes narrowed into slits. "How… dare you -"
The stranger continued unfrightened. In fact, a small smile spread across her lips. "And do you know who prevailed from these debacles? Those living in your shadow. Those who have done little but leech off of your nation's successes and hard-working people. You know power - you savor in its taste - but you have yet to attain greatness you deserve. After all, you have all devoted your lives to obtain it. Why should your nation remain satisfied with hollow victories when the true triumph lies for the taking?"
Tanager glared at her. The seed of realization stayed her hand from smiting the offender. The truth had made this woman's smile all the more discomforting.
"Your point?"
Under the dull gray long coat, a seeming treasure was unveiling and presented before her. A gift.
Following the stranger's gesture behind her, all eyes went wide.
"Me and… my associates… can offer you the key to your very dreams."
Curious and attentive eyes gleamed into the kaleidoscope of dancing lights contained within the gift. In the shape of a cube, it resembled the familiar wisdom cube. Yet its aura remained otherworldly, alien in appearance and therefore function.
"Interesting. It shares the same design as a wisdom cube but rather than contain information within its seed, there's something else," murmured a girl, curious delight and youthful energy in her voice. Despite being head of the kingdom's scientific corps and dressed in a white coat, her orange two-piece bikini was flagrantly deviant to that image as was her lush dark gray hair that reached down to her feet, adorned with a protractor hair clip. Even the protective goggles she wore rested above her eyes.
Rose Kingdom Submarine
BEOWULF π
Next to her, her assistant agreed. "Yes, indeed it does, nu."
Like her, she too was a submarine; and like her, was as equally scantly clad. Under the white lab coat whose end was tied around her waist, this ship instead donned a blue one-piece. Unlike her peer, she had shorter dark cyan hair and a snorkel beside her ear was literally brimming with a secretive concoction.
But what mattered was that this person was as equally spirited in her service and sciences of the Rose Kingdom.
Rose Kingdom Submarine
BEOWULF v
"Analysis revealed that rather than acting as a vessel for data, it instead acts as a transceiver, nu," Beowulf v assessed.
"And according to our guests, it is set up to to transmit commands to autonomous drones hardcoded to a specific frequency. These commands can be transmitted across a remarkable distance regardless of obstacle," Beowulf π added.
Tanager raised an eyebrow, pieces of revelation coming together for her. The clearer the picture became, the more it intrigued her. Once she heard the submarines' assessment, nothing else seemingly mattered.
'So this is the supposed key she… they offered. Not wealth. Not influence. It was not power itself, but rather control. And control is the first means to...'
She blinked, waking herself from her daydream. Both Beowulves had concluded their cooperative report and now stood waiting for her reply. Rather than a word, Tanager plucked the object into her hand, bringing it close.
Gazing into the device - the Key - Tanager now wanted to return to that glorious daydream.
"... The key to our very dreams..." Tanager murmured. "True triumph lying wait for the taking..."
The chamber's air remained still, yet it seemingly held tight with anticipation.
Yet, despite the tension, there remained one who remained ice cold. Standing beside Tanager, prim and ardent as a draconian totem, was a humorless woman. Like her disposition, her gray hair was tied taut in a single braid that draped over her shoulder. Her form-fitting white uniform, creaseless skirt, and black tights tolerated no imperfection save for tightly-regulated orange trims and a single protective glove on her right hand.
A woman of precision, devoid of warmth and humanity.
Her opinion was as equally cold, yet commanding. "For one to gift us such tool for the intent purpose to aid us is highly questionable. There also lies another question of where such assets were acquired; neither they nor what they offered are of this world."
Rose Kingdom Aircraft Carrier
GEOFON
Tanager smirked at her advisor's input. How logical and blunt she was.
"Of course. It is indeed contrived, even beyond the grace of gods, for outsiders to approach us with such an offer. For interlopers to so curry us under a veneer of benevolence when their own eyes tell a different story. And yet..."
She continued gazing into the Key. Words from the past still echoed in her head.
Their so-called "benefactors"... They were unlike anything Tanager had seen before: in the image of man yet so alien. Their seeming amicability she knew too well was a facade. Only a fool would think to get the best of her with such trickery.
Yet, she could not find deception in their words. As much as she distrusted them, Tanager could not ignore the reality of their statements.
She'd be a fool to take their offer at face value. But she'd be a fool to reject it.
They had gifted her power for her to wield. The power to do as she pleased.
The power to do what she felt she deserved.
As if kindled by promising embers within the object, a fire began brewing in Tanager's eyes.
She smiled.
"Geofon," Tanager suddenly asked. Her carrier advisor did not so much as twitch in surprise; rather the contrary.
"Yes, my liege?"
Even though her master remained facing away from her, Geofon could tell what was written over her face.
"... What do you think will turn dreams into reality? Whims into manifestation?... A game into a real war?"
The chamber fell into uncertain silence. Many eyes turned to Geofon, her face barely insinuating even the subtlety of emotion. A tense second passed before she made her reply.
"Do you perchance speak of concepts such as 'desire' or 'drive', my liege?"
The smirk on Tanager's face did not recede. "Ah, close but not quite. You see it, but the answer I seek encapsulates my thoughts more artfully: ambition."
Rising gracefully from where she sat, Tanager continued. "Imagine, my aides. Imagine paradise: a world in which all can pursue their own whims, desires, and ambitions unhindered by obstacles, by man or by nature. An arena where all can live and fight for causes truly their own. Yet as you awake and look around, you will realize this world is far from that paradise. The lives and futures of all strong enough to seize destiny are weighed down by the anchors of morality and ethics, dictated by the ambiguous few who have willingly disconnected themselves from the realities of all mankind.
"These nebulous few have seen fit to chain us down under the name of just law, but in actuality it is because they are afraid. Afraid to admit that deep down they too view the world as the hunting ground for the fit, afraid of admitting weakness! By giving in to their fears, they have rendered this world soft, ruled by decadence and deception. But we of the Rose Kingdom rule by might, not fear!
"Now, my subjects. Imagine, but this time imagine that your lives are at the mercy of another. Why am I to suffer you ask. The answer is not because it was for our deeds or our sins, but because they possess ambition, the drive, to do or take as they please! Is that not reason enough, to help oneself by taking from others? Is that not life in its simplest, most purest form? Ambition exists so that we may live in paradise! The world today lacks that drive - but we do!"
Spinning to face the captivated congregation, she held the gift high into the air, the light reflecting off its opaque surface like a divine commandment.
"So we shall use our ambitions, my fellow knights! With our glorious dreams and the very means to achieve them, a single will, a single resolve can mold and shape the world however we see fit! The meteors so many years ago were a mere test, a trial of greatness born only from adversity. And you, my fellow subjects, have all passed that test! And now… reward awaits us!"
An ovation was not given, but in their captured silence its implication was enough.
Tanager beamed. Even though such rhetoric was spoken by the same mouth, many felt disarmed by its charming smile.
"Gather my fleet!" she ordered, turning around to seemingly vanish behind that mantle of hers which proudly bore the Rose Kingdom emblem.
"We are headed to war!"
What many failed to see was Tanager's grin, but now shrouded in darkness.
From the dark recesses of the chamber, the figure shared Tanager's smile.
She herself was not one of charisma and she found little joy in life. But the one thing that did were moments such as this.
"I take it she took the bait?" The woman turned to see a pair of yellow orbs staring into her.
The same grin was etched on her face.
"'Took the bait'?" the woman teased. "You really do think of her that way..."
Observer Alpha looked at her with an amused look. "Then what else do you view her as if not a subject of experimentation?"
"Simple: a client." the woman slyly answered. "We did sell her an invaluable tool to use her for our own needs after all."
The Siren smirked. "So that is how you think of her..."
"Problem?"
"Unlikely. Our interests align after all."
The woman reflected on that notion. "Hm. They only align for as long as we deem it necessary. But until that day comes..."
"Of course," Observer murmured, her voice now a whisper of death. "Now… I look forward to the ensuing results."