Of Great Import (Closed / Attn Naxus Engineering)

[Anagonia]

Liberty International Airport
City of Liberty, State of Liberty, CSA
0830 Anagonian Central Time

The sun had already rose over the horizon of the city of Liberty, its tall skyscrapers creating an eerie shadow for several minutes, its citizens busying themselves with another day of their lives. It was on days that these that Titus Bond appreciated the amount of responsibility that had been placed on his shoulders. He had started his morning at the local Dragonbucks coffee shop, sipping his morning....dragonchino? Wasn't that what they called it? It had tasted good, whatever it was, and had brought alertness to an already tired mind as it observed individuals from all walks of life starting their morning. Folks running to catch the morning bus, driving to work, riding a bike to wherever their destination was. Individuals and, with some rarity, non-humans from the communities of the south no doubt adapting to a new way of life; both looked as confused as the other, one possibly being a tourist while the other possibly just left their native reserve. It had brought a sense to Titus of the magnitude of his decisions, the importance, and the impact.

When he had finished his "dragonchino", or so his mind recalled it as, he departed the fine coffee establishment towards the western side of the city where all the central government buildings were for the Confederate States. He had only a single guard with him that morning, a Lieutenant Davis - a tall, blonde haired man with a fine physique and proper uniform attire, attached to his retinue from the Confederate States Army. Davis had provided little conversation as the two took the bus towards their destination, which served Titus just fine as his mind worked over the days affairs. The most important, the most anticipated, and the purpose for his reminiscing on the responsibility of his position was the meeting with the expected arrival of the Naxus Engineering representative. Thirty minutes later he had arrived at his office, gathered his things and made himself presentable, then left for the airport.

Standing there now as individuals from all parts of the world moved to and fro the interior of the airport - with some satisfaction Titus saw the Confederate States Military Policeman standing watch - Titus waited by gate B45. Here he had been instructed would be the arrival of the representative, the final conversation to conclude a gargantuan undertaking to further protect Anagonian citizens for decades to come. Davis sat off to the side, watchful as he pretended to read a magazine. Titus waited patiently beside the gate, where the large pane windows were that allowed flyers to see out into the terminals and airport proper. The plane had arrived, a new 787 by the looks, with foreign livery.

This day marked the conclusion of the agreement between the Department of the Interior - of which Titus was head - and Naxus Engineering. The purposeful was to replace and/or update emergency warning systems across the country. With such outdated systems, much of which hailed from before the founding of the Confederate States, it had been imperative to Titus to find a dependable provider that could do the job. The Department of the Interior, while well staffed, just didn't have the manpower to work under such conditions on its own, or even hardly at all, with such an undertaking of a national scale. Titus watched passively as the 787 berthed with the gangway to inside the Terminal, looking off into the distance at the city for a brief moment before gathering himself mentally.

"All good things start with the simplest of mornings," Titus murmured.

[New Jeromia]

...And the winner of the Givozo marathon is... Diji- *BEEP BEEP BEEP* The alarm clock startled Dijiho Reboto from his dream. The sales manager moaned, with the clock reading 3:00 AM. Mr. Reboto had a big sale coming up, and needed to get to the airport quickly. Startled from her sleep as well, Mrs. Reboto mumbled something unintelligible, perhaps a goodbye, as her husband got out of bed. He got dressed in a black and white suit, with a dark purple tie, kissed his wife on the forehead, and then drove to the train station on the Givozo blue line to the airport.

The train ride was only 20 minutes, and there was only 1 person there, perhaps a homeless man, who was asleep. Looking at the man made Mr. Reboto nervous, not wanting to end up like him, with nothing left but stories to tell. He got off the train, leaving the man with $5 NJD. He then grabbed a quick egg, cheese, and sausage sandwich from a kiosk in the airport station, which was right inside of the terminal. Having paid for his ticket beforehand, all he had to do was wave a card in front of a sensor to get in. He then spent about an hour in the lounge, polishing off the greasy sandwich, and watching his favorite show, The Red Jay.

He eventually boarded a rather new 787, in a livery of the New Jeromian Flag, at 4:45 AM. The early flight would have him arriving in Liberty at around 8:45. Flying first class with Jeromian Airlines, he would be able to get some rest on the somewhat short flight. He sat down in seat #12, ready for the days of work ahead.

Mr. Reboto was able to get some sleep along the way. Waking up around 7:00, he called the attendant for a glass of capraccino, a type of coffee made with goat milk which is common in New Jeromia. The sour taste of the goat milk lingered on his tongue. “I will never understand why people drink this”, he thought. Besides this and a few bathroom trips, the flight was rather boring until the plane began its descent.

As the plane lowered its altitude and came below the clouds, Mr. Reboto could see the Anagonian mountains in the distance. The sun began to rise, making for a quite picturesque scene. He sipped on his coffee as the plane lowered further, exposing some of the cities along the coast. As the plane began its final approach, a bit of turbulence shook the plane, and he spilled some of his coffee, which barely missed hitting him, reminding him that anything could happen on these next few days. A minute later, the plane’s tires screeched against the concrete runway.

As black and white 787 arrived in the terminal, Mr. Reboto sat nervous in his first class seat, waiting for the doors to open. This would be his biggest sale yet, if he played his cards right. He looked out the window one last time, with the sun's reflection shining brightly on the wing, and the skyscrapers of Liberty in the background. "We have arrived at our destination. Thank you for flying with Jeromian Airlines", the automated voice on the airliner announced. The doors opened, and the first class was given priority to leave the plane first. As he grabbed his bags, Mr. Reboto took a deep breath, and entered the terminal.

My first time roleplaying on here!

[Anagonia]

Could of fooled me!

Titus did not stand out particularly well in the crowd. In a nation that requires mandatory service, a lot of the crowd had on similar BDU's to what Titus wore; camouflaged or plain BDU's, showing off little awards and simply name-tags with division badges on one shoulder and the battle flag on the other. The Chief General's uniform was somewhat unique, being the chief commander of all the armed forces. His BUD was camouflaged, with a service pin on his right breast to recognize his command authority. Nothing else seemed different with the exception of his division badge, which was essentially a combination of all the branches of the military surrounding the badge of his office. He had a mental image of the man he was looking for and calmly watched the departing passengers, waving to a few kids and nodding to a few citizens returning home. When he saw the man dressed in black with a purple tie, he made a second mental check to ensure clarity of the subject before approaching with his right hand extended for a handshake.

"Mr. Reboto," greeted Titus, "I am Chief General Titus Bond, Chief Secretary of the Council of the States and Chief General of our Armed Forces. I believe you'll recall our correspondences. It is an absolute pleasure to meet you. Follow me, we'll grab your luggage and be off."

As he turned, he allowed Dijiho a moment to collect himself as they started towards the baggage claim area - Lieutenant Davis trailing behind. Since this was neither a military installation nor was there an active threat, none of the soldiers around him saluted. There were exchanges of nods, but mostly everyone just got out of his way when they either recognized him or his pin, which would be universally recognized in the armed services. In a show of hospitality, Titus would be the one to grab the luggage for Dijiho once he would identify it. Afterward, the Chief General would turn to his guest with a smile.

"We have a couple of options available to us this early in the morning, Mr. Reboto," Titus said. "We can grab something to eat and start our discussions there, perhaps go to the waterfront to relax, or we can go to my office. I'm very amicable to whatever you think is best for this situation. How was your flight, by the way? Are there any lingering effects? We can hold off till morning if you need a hotel room, on me of course."

[New Jeromia]

Mr. Reboto walked down the corridor and entered the airport. Immediately he was swarmed by tons of people, many of which were wearing uniforms, making it hard to tell them apart. He didn't even notice General Titus Bond as the man began to greet him.

"Mr. Reboto," greeted Titus, "I am Chief General Titus Bond, Chief Secretary of the Council of the States and Chief General of our Armed Forces. I believe you'll recall our correspondences. It is an absolute pleasure to meet you."

"Ah, hello sir, I was worried I'd never find you in this crowd."

"Follow me, we'll grab your luggage and be off."

As they walked out of the airport, Mr. Reboto noticed that people were giving them little nods here and there, as if to honor them. He didn’t know much about Anagonia, but it seemed pretty good so far. They went to the baggage claim where the General kindly took Mr. Reboto’s bags and brought them to a black SUV outside. They got in the car and began talking.

"We have a couple of options available to us this early in the morning, Mr. Reboto," Titus said.

"We can grab something to eat and start our discussions there, perhaps go to the waterfront to relax, or we can go to my office. I'm very amicable to whatever you think is best for this situation. How was your flight, by the way? Are there any lingering effects? We can hold off till morning if you need a hotel room, on me of course."

"The hotel might be good for now,” Mr. Reboto replied. “I think I might take a quick nap. How about we meet for lunch at noon at the city plaza? You have one of those, right? Anyways, my flight was pretty nice, I ended up sleeping most of the way here.”

Mr. Bond told the driver to go to the Cadence Luxury Hotel in downtown Liberty. He said it was the best hotel in the city, but Mr. Reboto was distracted, seeing what appeared to be a half-lizard half-man humanoid riding a bicycle.

“I must be really tired,” he thought.

The ride continued, with them talking a bit about their jobs and about the proposal at hand, to replace the aging emergency warning system in Anagonia. Mr. Reboto kept looking out the window, taking in the sights of Liberty, with the sun rising higher and beginning to reflect off of the buildings. About 10 minutes later, they arrived at the hotel.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” said the woman in the lobby. “How can we help you today?”

“We need one room for this man, please,” said Mr. Bond.

The woman at the desk gave Mr. Reboto his keycard, to room 507, on the top floor of the hotel. He gave a quick goodbye to Mr. Bond, and took the elevator to his room.

“501, 503, 505, here, 507,” he said to himself. After unlocking the door, which took about 10 tries with the electronic key, he set his bags down, took off his shoes, and went to the bathroom for a quick shower. After coming out and getting dressed, he decided to take a quick nap. The blankets were very soft at the hotel, and he slept quite well. In fact, he slept too well. He ended up forgetting to set an alarm and woke up at 11:45.

Mr. Reboto checked the clock and panicked. He put on his shoes and rushed out the door, nearly forgetting his keycard. Luckily, he was able to catch a bus the second he left the hotel. Having a much better sleep now, he looked to his left, and saw another lizard-man. He was quite surprised, and he didn’t do a good job hiding it, embarrassing himself on the bus. Fortunately his stop arrived before things got too awkward.

After getting off the bus at the plaza, he spotted General Bond fairly easily. Once they greeted each other, Mr. Bond recommended a good Jeromian restaurant for them to try out. Mr. Reboto ordered some rice noodles in a lentil soup, a traditional New Jeromian dish, along with a side of Sweetballs, a dish similar to a jelly-filled donut, which is made by freezing jelly, dipping it in dough, and deep-frying the whole thing.

Over the lunch, they talked more about the work at hand...

[Anagonia]

Native Jeromian Restaurant "Of Great Import"
City of Liberty, State of Liberty, CSA
1230 Anagonian Central Time

The local restaurant Of Great Import was a semi-popular destination in the west end of Liberty. Most of the locals and tourists preferred the Gothic-centric eateries located on the east end, with the rest heading south for the popular Drekamythian and Rudavian eateries. Despite this, the Of Great Import made quite a profit. Liberty, as big as a city as it was, had a influx of citizenry and tourism at all times of the year. There was always bound to be someone needing somewhere more quiet and reserved to be entertained or to relax and get away from the hustle and bustle. Eating a table away from the open pane windows showing the streets - for security precautions as suggested by Lieutenant David, whom himself sat not too far away at a lone table watching the duo and their surroundings - Titus enjoyed some noodles and shrimp that were a famous dish at the Of Great Import. For a drink, he casually sipped some Anny Cola, an Anagonian equivalent to more internationally popular soft drink sodas.

"As I was saying," Titus continued their conversation from a few minutes past, swallowing his bite and taking a sip of his drink, "It's going to be a gigantic undertaking. I've already conferred with my top professionals in the Council of the States and they agree that without your help, we'd never be able to do this. The country is just too massive for us right now. It's primarily the reason our founding fathers designated an entire military branch dedicated to civil protection, because without that we'd likely not be able to protect the entirety of our country."

As he began to eat another bite, the Chief General took note that his words had mostly fallen on deaf ears - or so it appeared. Titus watched Dijiho carefully for a moment and then followed his eyes to another table on the other side of the restaurant. Partially obscured from several other people dining in was a Komodren, one of the various non-human citizens in Anagonia. As Titus knew, they typically kept to themselves in their own self-created reservations that the Confederate government agreed to respect. They had their own laws, police force, education, governments and military forces. These reservations were in practice their own territories within the Confederacy, however they had never applied for protection nor statehood nor did they wish to be completely independent from the Confederate States. At the level of sovereignty they expressed, the Confederate States Military still had rights to enter and offer their services in the form of the Military Police, which usually provided adequate comfort to those citizens living in such isolation from the rest of the country and world.

Titus observed the Komodren for a moment. If he would stand, he'd likely be between seven to eight feet tall. He looked for all means like a komodo dragon mixed with some human ancestor, either by some freak lab accident or act of Melkos Himself. His scaly dark green skin was modestly hidden by common attire typical in Liberty; a shirt, blue jeans custom made to fit his species, and what appeared to be boots. Occasionally when he blinked, one could catch the glimpse of his orange-hued eyes. Only once had those reptilian irises glimpsed in Titus' direction, however it appeared the Komodren was used to the stares; tourists always stared at strange things unfamiliar to them. Only when did the Komodren adjust his posture in his seat - casually using the movement to adjust his tail - did Titus get the hint he had become uncomfortable with the stare. Acting accordingly, Titus looked to Dijiho to redirect his attention.

"The Komodren are pretty common in liberty," Titus explained, grabbing the mans attention as he directed his eyes to the Chief General. "Not anywhere else, just here. They typically live on their own sovereign reservations to the south of here, have their own laws and all that, usually want to be left alone."

It was then that Titus went on to elaborate just how Komodren and species like them arrived in Anagonia. Over two hundred years ago, the Chief General explained, the government of Anagonia was far more different and far reaching into international affairs. One such affair was the genocide of non-human species such as the Komodren, and the United Republic Military - the reigning authority at the time - sent a task force to save them. After their experience with humans, the non-humans requested to be left to their own devices. An accord was written and they had mostly been forgotten about, only an occasional visit from civil protection services to check up on them. When the United Republic eventually fell due to a world war and the country was plunged into civil war, they had made an reappearance. They had requested protection and help from Tiberius Samsus who was, around that time, only beginning his cruise to unite the country under one banner again. Tiberius granted it, going on to become the first President of the Confederacy after unification. One of his first acts was keeping his promise to the non-humans, establishing into law the recognition of the sovereignty of their reservations and the protections of citizenry over them.

Sometimes, in cases such as the Komodren who sat nearby them, their children would choose to leave to enter life in the Confederacy. Usually there never was an issue with such things and, commonly, the government would grant the departing citizen some assistance in assimilating into Confederate Society, should they require it. They typically never joined the military forces and most commonly held jobs in either tech or service industry, making good money to boot. Still, they were a rare site anywhere outside of Liberty or the State of Liberty, and stares were common. As their population would eventually grow in the millions over the next fifty to eighty years from now, no doubt having such a population density would make such stares a thing of the past. Regardless if one knew about them or seen them, no one in Anagonia tolerated any form of discrimination towards them or anyone else. Popular culture reinforced that whatever Tiberius honored, so should a citizen - and Tiberius had neither been a racist nor speciest and did not tolerate neither when he lived, being an open proponent of diversity.

"They're just as much a part of this country as anyone else," Titus concluded. "Hope that explains things, I'm sure you've seen some Komodren or Drekamythians around. I assure you, they're harmless."

Eventually the Komodren would finish his meal and departed for whatever else they had planned for the day, leaving Titus and Dijiho to continue their meal without the interesting distraction. A few minutes would pass in silence as the two would eat, followed by the owner of the shop - a man with a few scars visible on his face - coming to check on them. There was a short, brief exchange between the owner and Titus, war stories shared, and appreciation exchanged. Titus ended it with a firm hand shake and a, "your service is appreciated by all", before the owner went back to his work. Afterward, the Chief General had a noticeable smile. It was always good to show appreciation to the veterans under your command, to see their service rewarded in some fashion. It was not uncommon for a war veteran to hit hard times, but it was uncommon for them to be in any form of poverty. Usually those that hit that hard time never did for long; the Confederate Government having established plenty of programs to ensure veterans of wars did not go unsupported.

The veterans of peacetime, however, were an exception. It was extremely common to find Anagonian servicemen and women who had never been to war, and as such were not granted the privileges that war veterans were. In a society that required service for citizenship, at least four years of ones life after the age of 18, there was bound to be a distinction between the peacetime forces and wartime heroes. It was a sad state of affairs, a hidden stigma on Anagonian society that those in the peacetime forces - those who served and never been to or in any type of action to qualify them for government incentives and programs - did fall on hard times. Not typically, not usually since the pay was great for the servicemen and women, but it happened. And when it did, there was typically no help for them, and they'd become homeless and sometimes forgotten. Thankfully a portion of society was working on civilian programs to address that, but progress was slow. There was still a taboo surrounding peacetime forces that went poverty, a stigma that they brought it on themselves either by diving into drug use or blowing their savings. It was not something the Chief General personally appreciated and desperately wanted to correct.

"So, I heard a report that your company has already sent off its workers over here to begin prospecting that building site we talked about," the Chief General said interrupting the silence. "I had some thoughts on that location but I'm quite hesitant to redirect their attention away from their plans. I want this to work out for us, for you and your company, so I'm going to treat and approach this carefully. My plan is to be mostly hands off with you. We'll monitor you, of course, we're required to for any non-citizen. An unfortunate side-effect of a populace that despises immigration laws, and unfortunately something the government has been having a hard time addressing. But I've ensured those in power, to what power that extends, that you are a guest of the Council of the States, you and your company.

I've already sent a notice to the States about this agreement. They'll see your company logo on vehicles and leave you be. That's a good thing too, because while the Military Police take control over national civil protection, there's no law against states hiring civilians as police. Usually - well, almost always - those civilians have military training, but they don't have Military Police training. It gets ugly with foreign tourists, has gotten ugly recently. If that damn Violetest cult hadn't come over and began grabbing Anagonian children for ritualistic sacrifices, the people wouldn't have demanded to enforce stricter laws. A side effect of an openly democratic society."

Another sip, his glance looking out the window that was not far off from their seating arrangement. It was a clear view of the busy street; folks walking, cars driving, big trucks honking. A typical day in Liberty.

"In all though," Titus said, looking back to Dijiho, "I'm hoping your presence offers a change to that too. I want the people to see foreigners doing good, doing real good things. I want them to get the feeling not all foreigners are different. You don't have to worry about any of that....what's it called, xenophobia? Yeah, any of that xenophobia in Liberty. This is a multi-national city, a tourist hotspot, the center of Confederate authority. It's the other places, and there is where I want your people to make the most impressions. If this plays itself right, by next October we may open the borders to formal immigrants again."

[New Jeromia]

As Dijiho Reboto listened to General Titus Bond and the talk of this big project his company would undertake, he felt that it would be rude to interrupt. With Mr. Bond talking about such a huge project, it was definitely an important subject, something they were taking so casually over lunch at the plaza restaurant. After finishing his last sweetball, Mr. Reboto chimed in with his thoughts.

“I think the first thing we have to do is make a plan. We have the budget laid out, so right now, we mostly just need to map out locations. Then we can get into the logistics of the installation process. We have a special software which will determine how many sirens are necessary and where the best locations would be. It’s pretty amazing actually, with factors of wind speed, heat dissipation, background noise, and a whole lot more. We will also use a similar program for determining the emergency broadcast tower locations. As for the indoor alarms, since your answer on those was unclear as to how many you needed and for getting the building floor plans, we can just supply your people with the devices and leave it up to you to install them, assuming you don’t want to have us do it ourselves.”

He paused for a minute, coincidentally hearing the old sirens being tested. The awful screech of the sirens in disrepair made him realize that this really was a necessity in Anagonia, since many of the sirens didn’t work correctly. His phone didn’t even give any alert.

“What a coincidence! Actually, we should probably discuss your existing system. Would you like the old sirens removed? This might be something we can do, as we might be able to use some of the parts, or refurbish some of the old sirens for resale as a cheaper option than new ones for countries on a budget. Either way, it shouldn’t cost you much to do, and depending on the calculated profits, we might be able to remove them for free, assuming they have some resale value after being refurbished.”

Again, he paused, waiting for a response from Mr. Bond…

[Anagonia]

Titus felt all at once embarressed and frustrated as he listened to the sirens doing their weekly testing. This had, honestly, been one of the reasons he wanted this project undertaken so urgently. The awful screeching of the old things mixed with their near-total uselessness had provoked more than an angry politician in Liberty. He grumbled under his breath after he finished listening to his guest, nodding all at once with an eagerness he hadn't realized he had been keeping in check.

"Absolutely," Titus said in confirmation. "That is something we can do, that we should do. Those old things you just heard are more than an eyesore for us here. When an actual emergency happens there are times they don't even work!"

Thinking a moment, the General continued his answer.

"The indoor alarms are something I was unclear about because I wasn't sure what type of program we'd need to distribute them to every possible home," Titus admitted. "I think if we can get with the local fire departments in each town we can get an adequate assessment of just how many of those things we'd need to buy from you. It's not all that hard to also mail them to homes, using the Confederate States Postal Service. They've been around for so long they can do runs anywhere we need them too, and they're our national mail service of choice, so that might be easier logistically. I'm free to consider a price on a good number to distribute for our first batch, since I know doing all at once would be impossible. Step by step seems more appropriate.

And like I said concerning the sirens - Absolutely! Whatever your men can do to take away those old things and put new ones in, be it scrapping the old ones or refurbishing ones that are still operable, I don't care. I'm open to anything we can do to get this process started on the right foot, with the right method. I don't doubt this is a huge undertaking, I think we both agreed on that, but any method that makes it more simplistic and reasonable is an option I'm very open to."

Sitting back, he awaited Dijiho's reply.

[New Jeromia]

As the last siren went silent, Dijiho Reboto responded.

"So I think over the next few weeks we can get the program started. I think what sounds the easiest is, after shipping is completed, sending the indoor alarms through the mail. These will connect to your emergency broadcast system and will make a loud noise inside buildings and homes where normally sirens are ineffective. The sirens will also be installed similarly. After all of the new sirens, alarms, and radio towers are installed, we can look into removing old sirens, which will require a consult at each location to determine removal costs. This will depend on the condition of the siren."

Mr. Reboto feels a sense of completion, and goes to shake Mr. Bond's hand.

"So I think that just about wraps things up. It's been a pleasure working with you, I am eternally grateful for this meeting we have had. Let me know if you have any questions!"

They depart and say their goodbyes. Mr. Reboto decides to explore Anagonia a bit before heading back to the hotel room for his final night there. After visiting a museum or two, and going to a restaurant for dinner, he realizes there is just too much to do here. He will have to come back with his family in the future, perhaps when the country is a bit safer from the emergency system overhaul.

After going back to the hotel room, he checks his email. There is a final message from General Titus Bond waiting for him...

[Anagonia]

After watching Mr. Reboto depart, Titus stayed behind and enjoyed another coffee. There was a new dawn on the horizon for Anagonia, one in which a multitude of past success would be built upon for future generations. A weight had been lifted from his shoulders following the meeting, one which he hadn't realized had been so blatantly there. While the Confederate States was a relatively peaceful nation, that did not detract from the many natural disasters that occurred there each year. For too long inadequate advanced warning systems had been overlooked, their functionality replaced by sponsored government early warning apps that provided very little warning in dangerous situations. With the help of Naxus and Mr. Reboto, all that was about to change, and the nation would prosper for it.

That evening after departing the little out of the way restaurant, Titus decided to send one final message to Mr. Dijiho Reboto. He sat down in his office and got comfortable, opening his laptop and began to type away. After a few failed attempts he finally managed to get something written out, observing it as he sat diligently in the dimly lit office.

TO: Mr. Dijiho Reboto
FROM: Titus Bond
SUBJECT: Personal Correspondence

Mr. Reboto,

Normally I'd use the formal government method of communication, but I thought this was more appropriate. I wanted to thank you, both yourself and Naxus for undertaking this initiative we have. You're saving a lot of my peoples lives just by agreeing to do this and I'm more than making up for decades of government neglect. You and your people are more than welcomed to make yourselves at home during your stay, and if you so wish, make yourselves a new home here. It's an offer, that's all it is. I know your company values a person like you, someone who can meet the challenge and face it with honor. Today you showed me that honor and I will never forget it. Again, I state clearly, you've helped my people - more than you could possibly know.

I'm not particularly good with personal letters, however I think I've said enough. I've given you everything I believe and if you should ever need anything, you can reach me at this email. It's my personal email and my system is tied to show these right away. I'll get back to you as soon as I see the notifications or become available to. Anything you or your people need, just let me know.

Thank you again for seeing me today. We should do it again sometime. Perhaps under circumstances not meriting professional dialogue.

Sincerely,
Titus

Satisfied, the Chief General hit send. Closing the laptop Titus sat back and sighed. He hadn't said exactly what he wanted to, but the words came out correct enough. No need to hammer down things on a personal message. Titus was sure - hoped he was sure - that Dijiho would grasp the context of the friendliness and thankfulness. If not, he would surely correct it in the future. Gazing out his window Titus looked over the city, the clear night and bright Milky Way stars just visible above the light pollution that dared to blind them from the citizens eyes. He took a moment to take it all in.

One step at a time, Titus thought to himself after a moment of appreciating the view. He rolled his shoulders, enjoying the new life that the agreement had given him, embracing the lack of metaphorical weight upon his body. Nodding to the skyline he turned from the window, heading out of his office. It was time for some coffee again.

THE END