Chapter 14: Meetings
Location: Government House
Five minutes later…
Entering the sprawling mansion, the group was greeted to a residence that overshadowed that of the Thorndykes. Standing within the foyer was a dark-haired man, dressed in a black suit that betrayed his profession.
"Greetings. My name is Wyn Eastaughffe, and I serve as Majordomo of the residence," he introduced, "Your assigned rooms are being prepared as we speak."
"Has the Deputy Prime Minister arrived?" Miss. Burlingame inquired.
"He called ahead and notified us that he should be here within ten minutes."
"Your Highness, if you'll follow me, please."
Sally did as was instructed, following the Prime Minister's Aide headed up the large staircase. Sonic and Geoffrey immediately fell into step behind the Princess, deciding not to leave her by herself. As they headed up to the second floor, Miss. Burlingame led the trio to an office that had been designed in the same architectural style as the rest of the building.
"The Deputy Prime Minister will be with you shortly. Please remain here," she instructed as she left the room, closing the door behind her.
"Well…so far so good," Sonic commented as he flopped down on a black leather couch that was against the wall next to the door.
"It could've gone worse."
"I have got to admit, I was kinda expecting their Capitol to be a little more high-tech," Sonic said placing his hands behind his head.
"I know what you mean," Sally admitted, crossing her arms, "The Daedalus was quite an impressive piece of Terran engineering, although ugly."
"I imagine they prefer functionality over ascetics when it comes to their technology," Geoffrey commented.
"Meh, guess you're right."
"Don't say that. I've been craving a Meh Burger since we left Westside Island."
Scanning the interior of the office, Sally's attention became fixated on a large map that had been mounted onto one of the walls. The Terran Republic appeared to consist of several landmasses, each with varying topography. Capitol City was located within the Mar Sara province, which was one of the nation's central-most region. There were several other provinces that neighbored it, each one with a distinctive topography.
"This place is huge," Sally muttered.
"That it is," Geoffrey conceded, appearing next to the Chipmunk, "I'm not sure that the United Federation has this much territory."
"That's debatable."
Comprised of several city-states, the United Federation governed most the remaining Human and Overlander settlements on Mobius. This meant that their holdings weren't centralized in one location, which granted them influence on every continent. Just then the door opened, forcing Sonic to suddenly spring into a sitting position as a man entered. He had oily dark hair that was slicked back and hawkish-like features, wearing a finely tailored black suit.
"My apologies for making you wait," he said, "I'm Maximillian Jorgensen; Deputy Prime Minister of the Terran Republic."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Sally said, shaking the Terran's hand.
"I know there's much you wish to discuss, but that will unfortunately have to wait until the Prime Minister returns."
"When can we expect to meet with the Prime Minister?"
"He's en-route as we speak, however, I can't give you an exact timeframe. In the meantime, I've brought your ID cards."
He immediately produced a bulky brown enveloped for within his suit-jacket, offering it to the Princess.
"Thank you for providing us with the necessary information. Please don't lose them as they are the only means of entering and exiting the estate grounds."
Sally accepted the envelope and opened it, pulling free several cards coated made of hard yet bendable plastic. Each one contained a small photograph with name, birthdates, residence, and country, while the emblem of the Terran Republic; an inverted red triangle with what appeared to be a black missile overlaid atop it.
"There are also gift cards courtesy of the citizens of the Terran Republic with a limit of five hundred credits."
"Hide Amy's," Sonic said jokingly, "She'll have hers all spent before we leave."
The comment went ignored by those present, leaving the Deputy Prime Minister to continue speaking.
"As per the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, you and your companions have been granted diplomatic immunity," Jorgensen stated, "Though I would strongly advise against committing any crimes."
Whatever the Deputy Prime Minister had said made little sense to Sally, who could only nod her head in agreement.
"I was also made aware of two individuals from Station Square."
"That would be Chris and Chuck," Sonic replied.
"I'm certain there's much to be discussed regarding our ancestral home."
"Admiral Gaskaville had expressed similar interest," Sally stated.
"I have no doubt. There aren't any who remember it. Other then that, there really isn't any more to discuss."
"I suppose there isn't anything to do until then."
"You've had an eventful day; I'd suggest you dine and catch up on some sleep."