It was to be expected that what had happened within Ignis would not go silent in any response the Federation of Zivaland would make. Princess Leccamaradel Emma Araish was at Shepperd Airfield in north Zivaland and she spent most of the early morning trying wake herself up. There was a passing moment of confusion when she first awoke to the wailing of a plane landing. She was quite frightened when she stood up suddenly and almost fell to the ground. The night before she had simply collapsed within the private room the base had lent her in her business attire. The Office of Military and Federal Security was back to basics with providing a security detail to President David Harding and she was appointed as the senior field agent within the group assigned, and she was specifically requested by the president. Sleep deprivation was something she was never used to. Her former life as the princess and assassin never entailed her staying up late, less a ball or ceremony was being held in the evening. Not even her military time was spent doing night-time maneuvers as she was a tactical officer rather than an average grunt.

“Mr. President, good morning.”

On the other side of the wooden door that served as the entrance, Lecca listened to a flurry of agents trailing President Harding down the hall. Moving to the door she opened it inwards and looked down at the right-hand side, and there she saw what she had presumed. The army had tried to steal the protection duty, but the OMFS doubled down and now a bunch of wide-eyed and young agents were speaking to the President as he walked out into the foyer. Quickly gathering herself and cleaning up her appearance to make it look like she didn’t crash as soon as she stepped into the room, Lecca quickly gathered her belongings and stepped out with hands adjusting the pistol belt around her skirt.

“Give me a debrief,” President David said in return to the young female agent that was brightly following beside him.

“Of course, sir. Ship Master Westchester and Donovan are waiting for you,” the bubbly agent explained. President Harding was handed a clipboard full of documents from the Senate and the aging man looked at the fine print with weary and tired eyes. He didn’t want to have to deal with the legislative branch of the Federation as it was full of pushovers and so on, but if he was to enact Executive Order 13 it would be necessary to gain the supporters, he needed to pass it. He adjusted his overcoat and looked behind him as he stood in front of the door that led to the atrium. A warm smile grew as he spotted the silver-haired princess. The two had come to agreement sometime after Mike Randall had awakened in the presidential hospital. Although he would’ve preferred that the royal agent be put on leave, she insisted that she worked with the OMFS once more to bring justice to her people and to restore order in Zivaland. David knew he couldn’t argue against her, so he made a compromise that she would work on his security detail for at most a month before she was activated for field duty.

He too had a hectic morning ever since he woke up. Only a warm shower and a shave was able to calm his mind, and by the looks of it Leccamaradel was still trying to wake up as she maintained an unmoving apathetic face fighting the attempts to cast out a yawn. She was the very definition of casual-professional, her actions were as refined as the princess title she held, but her clothes were slightly disheveled, and her hair was messily held in a bun. The man chuckled to himself as he sent a silent compliment to Agent Randall, the staff sergeant had caught quite the prize.

“President on deck!” As he entered the room with his crowd of OMFS agents, the Chief of Naval Operations brought the entire room to attention with the three robust words he had bellowed.

“At ease, gentlemen.” President David moved to the front of the room alongside his entourage, and he shortly exchange greetings with Ship Master Westchester, Donovan, and the CNO before denying an offer for coffee from the pippy OMFS agent. He had always treated the caffeinated substance as a delicacy, so he wasn’t about to compromise his awareness for a short boost of energy.

“Mr. President, Two-Sixteen is waiting for you on the tarmac. The pilots are awaiting your arrival,” Lecca instantly recognized Donovan. He was still the very same business-like person he was when she first met him at the ball all those months ago. He brushed his dirty blonde hair as the president seemed amused that the man had spoken to him.

“Donny, I take it that you are still working with the army?”

“It wasn’t my first choice, sir.” The man said with a small smile on his face.

“I know, our Marine days are long behind. If you’re still up to it, I can probably scoot you into the Navy NOGS.” The now silent man shook his head as he briefly showed the president the papers he had tucked away under his left arm. David understood that his once fellow Marine had just denied his offer. The frown on his face presented as such. “As you were, Marine.” Was all the President said as he coughed into his hand and motioned for everyone to take a seat on the comfortable sofas that littered the dining facility and main foyer of the building.

A silence began to fall over the large crowd that occupied the room, including important figures such as the base commander, executive officer, and one of the many trained, precise diplomats of Zivaland waited for the president to begin the meeting as they all sorted through documents of events that had occurred over the last twenty-six hours. The objective of all these men being here was simple enough; gain a picture of the current situation within the Federation and develop countermeasures to a possible response to their invasion of the kingdom within the next seven days. Any markers had been made clear by flag officers and mission directives were being distributed to all members of the armed forces. Everyone was waiting for the moment of war to begin. The pounding of their hearts and sharp-witted minds were never clearer, and they all knew the consequences of this plan of action to declare war even if it was filled with lies and double-dealing with enemies of the federation.

“Good morning, everyone,” David began as he placed aside the report that was given to him by the young brunette agent. “Let’s make this quick; what do we know on the incident that happened with the 3rd Fleet?”

“We were able to recover an SOS recording from the skipper as the Silent Chord finally sank. As far as recovering any of the bodies from the ship or her sister submarine, no joy. But the records we have and the reports from the incident show that there were attacks—specifically five armed magicians, we’re cross referencing with the NIA and OHFI. We’re working on new measures to detect any magical persons or attackers—”

The CNO, Admiral Hays, was interrupted.

“What of who was responsible?”

Donovan stood up motioning for the room with a small nod. “OMFS has no word yet. As all evidence points—well, what we could recover, it was a third-party organization that attacked the two vessels.”

Whispers filled the room.

“And we’re sure that the Kingdom of Yondel did not initiate a first strike?”

“Negative.” Donovan shook his head. He was frustrated as much as anyone else in the room. “King Aldrecht did not order the attack, nor does his people have the capabilities to do so.”

Lecca eyed President David as he rummaged through his reports and consulted the notes that he had written down on a small notepad he always carried with him. “NOGS were working alongside Navy Divers and CID to uncover what happened in the wreckages. Reports said they found that magical residue was traced all the way back to a distant costal town, but upon further investigation no trace was detected. We’re dealing with professional magicians that can subvert our intelligence and investigative branches.”

Looking down at her lap, Princess Leccamaradel sat silently mulling over what was going to happen to her own people. The Federation—no Zivaland had suffered from the encroaching of her kingdom, and now they were at a boiling point where all their persecution would be solved with an act of retribution. The allies to the east had already expressed interest within the Kingdom of Yondel, more so the idea of gaining influence in the western regions and exporting valuable resources all the way through a transcontinental railroad system that had been in the planning for the last ten years. There was more to this conflict than revenge. This was also the prime opportunity for Zivaland to reintroduce itself to the world and claim its spot as an international power that could not be interfered on any basis.

Turning over her left wrist and staring at the slow ticking watch she was gifted by Captain Oliver, the princess silently stood up gaining the immediate attention of David.

“Mr. President,” Her bell-like voice made everyone go silent. The beauty she displayed was just her normal royal etiquette, but it was more than enough to solidify her claim as the First-Born Princess rather than any meager senior agent within the OMFS. “It is time for us to depart to Oceanus.”

“Thank you, Agent Araish.” David said with a kind smile as he tucked his reports under his arm.

“Mr. President, the CNO, and Ship Master Westchester will be joining you on this flight.” Donovan said as the meeting was quickly adjourned. David wore a conflicted smile as he approached his old friend and patted him on the shoulder.

“Are you sure you don’t want to see all the beach girls south-side?” The old man cracked a joke making his younger counterpart laugh as he pushed the man away.

“No thank you, major.” Donovan replied as the two shook hands and turned around to head to their respective destinations. Their amicable meeting was something the princess found interesting. Two warriors, Marines as they put it reuniting once more after a long stretch of time since they fought together during the old civil war. Lecca knew nothing of their history, let alone the history of Zivaland, but only bonds like that could be formed through blood, nothing else.

With the security detail moving from their posts, the OMFS agents walked in a diamond formation around President Harding, Princess Lecca, and the still unnamed OMFS brunette that was all over the leader of the nation. The two exchanged lighthearted jokes and were generally more comfortable than what Lecca expected, believing that the young girl was somehow a close friend or relative to David. It only took a second for the silver-haired agent to realize that she missed this level of interaction with her friends, her Reclaimers. Out of anyone she knew in her life, outside of Captain Orwell, they were the only people she ever grew close to. They were the only ones she could place her trust in, and trust was something she valued very much as a representative of the Kingdom of Yondel.

Yondel…

King Alrecht had sent her on a mission to survey the Demon Lord’s army and his main base of operations. Yet, she had ended up within the Federation, her second home. Was this his intention all along? What he said that night confirmed it, but as the days went on, she found it hard to remember what was exactly said. This entire mission was beyond her. The objectives had changed. The directives had been mended. It was her mission to simply return alive and bring peace between both the Federation of Zivaland and her home country. Gone were the simple days of parlaying with foreign nations, assassinations, and direct-action missions with her Reclaimers. The world balance was going to hinge on the actions President Harding was going to make in the next week.

“Climb aboard, Mr. President. We’ll be airborne within a few minutes.” The pilot for today’s flight, Wyatt Blues, was waiting alongside his copilot in the rear-entrance to the large plane sitting on the tarmac.

“Thank you,” David continued the conversation he was having until he stopped and turned to Leccamaradel who was standing beside him as he took his seat at the front of the plane, “Lecca, do you know what happened during the assault on Ignis? I understand that you were not only the one to kill Raven, but you also were involved as the response unit to the city and helped coordinate crisis management.”

Finding her seat as the plane began take-off preparations, the princess remained silent as she silently watched the tense eyes of the president. Was this a test? “Mr. President, I only assisted in the mission to eliminate John Hartman. Anything within due reason or speculation that I participated in the outside recovery of the city did not happen, that is as simply as I can put it.” Being direct would bring the reason why David had started this conversation to light. Harding had plans for his nation, they had been brewing behind the scenes even before she and her Reclaimers first entered the country. It was only a matter of time before she was involved, and now it appeared he had chosen this very moment.

“There was a whisper,” Somehow satisfied with the answer the princess provided, he sat back in his seat abandoning his pride as the young agent next to him watched with sharp eyes unbefitting of the previous “cute” attitude she was displaying earlier. “Something big is being formulated and planned within the Frontier.”

“The Frontier?”

“The Federation of Zivaland is in a state of shock and disarray,” Speaking in a formal manner and looking directly at Lecca, the previously bubbly girl spoke as if she were a diplomat on a trip to stop a war between two nations. “Right after you revealed yourself as the princess of the nation attacking us our hands have been tied. Some people have tried to take charge of this in the Senate, but there is the current issue of war on the horizon and a simple apology won’t solve this major issue that is our adversaries are accelerating their already swift moving plans.”

Who is this woman? That’s all Lecca thought.

“Forgive for not introducing her but this is my niece, Yuki Price. She is the National Defense Continuity Coordinator.” That answered a lot of questions the princess had. At least she knew who this person was.

“It had to be a deliberate act, ma’am.” Lecca countered, forming her suspicions about the girl.

“Did it really?” Price responded annoyed at the princess, “Don’t forget that in order to cover your existence we had to confirm that you were acting as a liaison to the OMFS. You put a lot of wrong ideas into the peoples’ minds. I can commend you for stopping target Raven, but now we are looking at a possibly insurgency campaign against Yondel, your home country!”

“I thought the president wanted that?” Lecca pointed out.

“This is indeed what the president wants.” David answered in place of Price. His voice was cold, and he shook his head, “The government is frantic. Newspapers and the radio are calling for heads. I merely answered and accepted their place, but if we are going to do anything it will be my way.”

“Due process isn’t an option. We are prosecuting the targets with extreme prejudice.” Price added on, “It’s how we deal with external threats.”

“That’s illegal,” Lecca resisted the idea.

“Magic is only a means to an end, princess. There is a true equalizer somewhere. And I want it. Vanguard will be the spearhead; they just need someone to act as their field commander.” David said as he withdrew a small card and held it across the aisle. “Vanguard is not illegal by any means; it’s just circumventing any barriers that the Senate has put in place. I want to stop this conflict, and now the only choice I have is force.”

Princess Lecca grasped the folded card and opened it as the plane took off from the air base. Vanguard Company, an official para-military organization created under the office of the president and the only other unit to answer only to the executive head was based at Camp Sheppard no more than fifteen minutes from the capital city. Vanguard was no special operations force by any means. They were professionals whose objective was to carry out the orders of the president no matter the cost. From what she understood this meant that the unit would be specializing in covert reconnaissance and deep penetration missions behind enemy lines. Plausible deniability was all this unit was created for. Both the armed forces and the intelligence agencies ground units could be traced back to Zivaland, but this was something that could be used for any mission at any time.

“I’ll think about it.” Was all the silver-haired agent could muster.

At the front of the aircraft, Wyatt silently worked on flying the plane with his copilot. His eyes snapped to the instruments as every twenty minutes an agent of the OMFS relayed critical information to them via a tap on the shoulder and a soft whisper. He and his crew who maintained Phoenix One-One, one of fifteen aircraft designated to carry government officials never knew any schedules and were not permitted to speculate on the movement of any of their passengers. Their only mission was to deliver their packages safely and without question. They had flown the MHI-22 plane over thirty times during their entire careers, and Wyatt had been around in the unit the longest. He enjoyed the thrill of being the biggest target in the air, and nothing could compare to flying alongside the Army-Air Force pilots who were to guard him, the civilian pilot. Sure, he would never be able to pull fast maneuvers or drop bombs on targets ten thousand below, but having the best being assigned to guard you was a perk within the job and it provided bragging rights. Unfortunately, that was all he and the other pilots received, bragging rights. The prestige of transporting government officials was never a highly publicized job, and only politicians, military officials, and the occasional guard ever got coverage during low-intensity operations. However, this job was different. Aboard his flight manifest was Ship Master Westchester, the CNO, NDCC, President Harding, and Princess turned OMFS agent Araish.

Unlike other war heroes he had transported before, this was different. Members of the executive cabinet, two admirals, one of them being the Ship Master of the 3rd Fleet that was recently attacked, and the so called “First-Born Princess” of the Kingdom of Yondel. Wyatt’s aircraft was a hot target and there was no doubt that someone would say something about today’s mission. Even if he couldn’t and wouldn’t say anything he and the rest of his pilots would be put at risk and perhaps even forced to retire due to the topics being discussed while in transit. If it wasn’t enough, flying in the cloudy conditions in the early morning darkness was more than dangerous. Unlike the boys on the ground within the OMFS, no night-vison capable goggles had been created and were still being attempted to be created by the nutjobs within R&D. He could not screw this up, else the whole world would be at stake.

The bladed wings held steady against the cold, frozen morning air. Though it was springtime within the Federation, frost was the largest threat for any airliner operating within the nation. It effected with all things, radar, communications, speedometers, and other instruments—this was unfortunately a side effect of having a nation in the northern hemisphere. He had exactly four hours left until they reached the destination. This was no simple flight, but it wasn’t going to be a challenge either. Clutching his controls tightly, the pilot watched as the princess of Yondel was awoken by a small tug from the agent sitting behind her.

Lecca awoke to the touch. She wiped off the small amount of sweat that had gathered on her forehead and she gently removed the blanket that had been draped over her as if shielding her from something. She had only slept for twenty minutes since the conversation with President Harding and Price had ended.

“You okay, princess? You were twisting and turning in your sleep.” The agent behind her whispered.

“Yes. Thank you.” She forced herself to reply to the man.

Over the past two weeks she hadn’t gained a second of pure sleep. Her dreams were more painted in nightmarish colors as she relived the horror of her past.

What had happened on the barge replayed over-and-over in her mind. Watching Staff Sergeant Randall, her Reclaimer simply slump over with his blood coated in blood was something that made her awake in agony and scream out her lungs. Despite him being alive, she couldn’t help but watch each night as he withered away after being shot. There was nothing that could compare to the pain of witnessing Mike collapse, dead in front of her.

She had to remind herself that it was nothing more than a nightmare. It couldn’t happen, after all the Staff Sergeant had survived the bullet to his left eye.

Over the last twenty-two years of her life, Lecca had yet to experience such a horrifying nightmare as the ones that surfaced after the barge incident. Mike was a fighter, but the thought of him being laid to rest, far away from his true home on Earth, or the simple thought that he would choose to reject her and wither away in the Federation with someone else by his side nearly made her mad the first two nights she had to spend all alone in a MP jail-cell. How many tears had she shed from that day? She had lost count after the first well had dispersed that same night.

Looking out the window, she could tell that the plane was around one hundred miles from the eastern coast of the Federation. If they had been flying for just over twenty minutes, then the plane must’ve activated its boosters that were only controlled by the pilots in the front. They were within the limits of civilian airspace, so not far away, the small dot of an interceptor grew close at a steady pace.

As the plane reached close to the passenger flight, Lecca was able to see the deep-grey color of the plane as it slowed and pulled behind and just right of the plane she was in. She stared at the machine gun ports on the front of the plane, and she looked directly into the concealed eyes of the pilot within the cockpit. The man flying the interceptor wasn’t bored, but he held a professional posture as he turned his head slightly seemingly staring back at the silver-haired princess.

“What the hell.” Wyatt cursed to himself as he and his copilot slowed the speed of the plane and prepared throttle the engines just in case of an incident. Slipping two switches above him, a pair of blue and orange lights appeared on either side of the plane and the pursuing interceptor pilot just watched as Wyatt picked up his radio and leaned back into his seat eyeing the grey-plane through a mirror on his side. “Charlie One-Two, this is Federation flight Two-Sixteen Bravo. Respond to priority one hail, over.”

Everyone in the fuselage went silent. President Harding remained calm as the others in the back moved to the windows to see the plane trailing them.

“One-Two responding.” As the pilot registered that he received Wyatt’s message, the pilot slammed his stick to the side and moved directly behind the passenger plane.

“One-Two be advised you are targeting Two-Sixteen Bravo, Phoenix is aboard! Do you confirm target designation!” Wyatt raised his voice as he let his copilot have the stick and focus on evasive maneuvers and a rapid descent to the nearest airport.

“Two-Sixteen Bravo I read you, over.” The strained voice of the interceptor pilot was noted as the plane continued to follow.

The back-and-forth continued until President Harding unbuckled himself from his seat against the advice of his security agents. He walked over to a window on the right-side aisle and was able to catch a glimpse of the silver-colored interceptor. His eye momentarily widened, but he regained control of his emotions as he stood up straight and addressed everyone around him.

“That’s a plane sent by the Senate.” He revealed in a calm, stoic voice. “They now have full control of the military, including all national defense units stationed around the country.”

“What?” Price barked clenching her fists.

“I tried to negotiate with them,” David reasoned. “Those bastards want to eliminate any executive power that stands in their way. You should know Lecca, this nation has a history with monarchs and the like. No one here likes a central figurehead that has power over the nation. When I took this position as president, I expected this to happen, but not the way they are going about the legislative process.”

“You can’t reason with them? This nation needs someone to lead them against Project Forerunner.” Lecca poised not understanding why the Federation Senate was so against the office of president.

David walked back to the window and stared at the silver interceptor. Her eyes narrowed and he took a sharp breath as he accepted the possibility of being shot out of the sky here and now.

“We’re beyond that point,” David acknowledged. “Let’s try to not get killed.”

Publicly Available Information: Branches of Government – Zivaland’s Struggle:

With three branches of government (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial) the Zivaland Federation is locked constantly in a three-way conflict between the powers that make up the federal government. Each branch has their respective duties, but all try to subvert and diminish the power of the other branches, with the Executive branch being the most targeted.