Liaison Between HTE and Paginista

[Holy Theocracy of the Endocrine]

"Where's Jinna, Halicon? I though she was on patrol duty."

The archangel retracted her faceplate, revealing the flashing emerald of her eyes.

"Jinna's on guard duty over at the Temple, helping the Oralcles move that boulder that fell onto the front steps. Sir, may I have permission to pursue this invader?"

"Of course. Proceed as you see fit, Archangel. Chairman, are you sure you aren't familiar with this sub?"

[Paginista]

"Not this individual sub, but i've encountered many of its same type. Either way we probebly have a well funded assasin on our hands... With your permission I would like to track this bastard down"

[Holy Theocracy of the Endocrine]

"Not this individual sub, but i've encountered many of its same type. Either way we probebly have a well funded assasin on our hands... With your permission I would like to track this bastard down"

"Be my guest. Halicon can help escort you through the forest, and you can help her track this assassin down. This is perfect timing, actually, because the Palace has a rather urgent need for me. I hope to see you shortly, chairman."

Sola boards the carriage, and with the crack of a whip, the horses set off. After mildly watching the carriage disappear into the distance, the Archangel extends a heavily armored hand towards the chairman.

"Rina Halicon, Archangel of Gynos. It seems that we have a somewhat of a manhunt, and that you'll be my partner. Greetings."

[Paginista]

The chairman smiles at his new companion in arms. "Indeed, greetings Rina Halicon. We do indeed have a manhunt on our hands. I suggest we get right on their tail before they slip away" he says looking at the tracks

[Holy Theocracy of the Endocrine]

Halicon withdrew her hand slowly, letting it fall to her side. She turned away from the beach, following the tracks in the sand until they crossed over the jungle boundary. Stepping to the thick vegetation, she called out for the chairman to follow.

"This way, chairman. It seems our visitor has little patience for subtle movements. We'll have to go slowly, though."

[Paginista]

The chairman smiled slightly, thinking to himself about what is most likely the outcome of this little expedition. Following closely he began to take note of the environment around him. The vegetation seemed docile enough for him not to worry. He also took note of the footsteps of the one they were tracking with great intrest.

"Indeed, we will have to move with a slow, calculated speed"

[Holy Theocracy of the Endocrine]

Halicon led the laborious traipse through the dense undergrowth, brushing and kicking aside the heavy vegetation with her every step. Her wings had folded as compactly as possible, but occasionally they would catch on the occasional vine or branch, after which they would violently tear the offending plant from its spot and continue on. Halicon, for her part, had donned the rest of her helmet once again, heavily augmented vision sweeping across the jungle floor as Archangel and chairman followed the path of carnage traced through the rainforest. Eventually, she spoke, her voice emerging distorted and digitized, but no less sharp that her ordinary voice.

"Seems like I crashed in onto you at a rather inopportune moment earlier. Tell me, how do you, foreign as you are, find our country thus far? Though I'm practically a Vistoran, I have never experienced that culture shock some do when arriving here."

[Paginista]

The chairman made sure to keep an appropriate distance from Halicon out of respect and knowlage that being too close could result in injury. From time to time he would take a leaf or bit of plant that had gotten shreaded by the massive armoured woman infront of him, either out of curiosity or some unusual love of plant life, he didn't know. When confronted with the question by his fellow he gave thought breifly.

"No, not really. This place reminds me quite a lot of Paginista before the nuclear civil war and my subsequent rise to power by leading the Steel Bridge city state to victory. The old days of the Paginisitan republic... Our culture around sex isn't exactly too far from what is seen here... Obviously it is more moderate. But even today public pleasure is still allowed and practiced. In some gated communities its even encouraged... Those were the days... and yes I agree it wasnt the best moment to knock down the doors"

[Holy Theocracy of the Endocrine]

"Heh, no kidding. I must've frightened the daylights out of poor Celica. I won't lie, being a so-called 'labianite' by birth, yet growing up in Vistora certainky gives me a unique viewpoint on things. At first, I hated this place. When I graduated from the VSOP academy with top marks, I never really considered how it meant I would have to return here. When I remebered, I nearly bit off my instructor's finger just as an excuse to stay. To me, this place was a nation of a hundred million people living under the sick, twisted wet dream of some satyromaniacal psychopath. I was revulsed. And yet, I returned. And as I spent more time in my homeland, I began to realize how oddly happy everyone here was. By and large, the totalian policies of the government were farces, mere shows of strength that were not enforced in the slightest. Weird, but a relief. As for Sola, I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to him. But, he hates violence and bloodshed and wishes the best upon his citizens, whatever that 'best' may be. What do you think of him?"

[Paginista]

"For a theocracy he isnt too bad a leader, it could be much worse. I'm subject to bias given how I rule Paginista with an iron grip... But I can understand why he does some questionable things in the eyes of others for his people. My own totalitarian policies aren't without reason... I'm not that evil, I just know things that must be kept from the world. As for your original hatred of your homeland it is disapointing. I know that in spite of some of the laws I would object to personally I would hae preferred to grown up and lived here. Serenity is somthing I wish I have on a more consistant basis"

[Holy Theocracy of the Endocrine]

"I think that whole component of serenity is what changed my mind. Sola originally concieved of us Angels so we could protect this nation without having to form any real army. We have never been asked to attack, only defend, and only when there was no other choice. Peace is an imperative to him, and I respect that. Anyways, living here is not so bad; the scenery is gorgeous and the people here are some of the nicest, and friendliest you'll ever meet. Even the most devout Erotisi seem completely devoid of the hatred and prejudice that plagues other religions. Speaking of which, it is quite odd, being an Angel. In a nation of over half a billion, we are the fifty sole individuals who are not considered Erotisi by default. Talk about a minority. Because of that, we are the only people Sola actually considers to be his peers. Just out of curiosity, what laws do you object to?"

[Paginista]

The chairman gave a quick sigh. "Im opposed to some of the less... Scientifically progressive laws in place..." he says "I have to guide my country away from what could be our doom from the inside out... It's something I cannot risk." he says. "Sometimes I wish I just left my country to die when we threw nukes at ourselves... to have come here." he continues sadly "But no, i'm stuck in my path to lead my country... at least untll I can get my linked clones to properly govern..."

[Holy Theocracy of the Endocrine]

"Yeah, I see what you mean. You can blame that part on one of his more... idiosyncratic personality traits. He says it's to reinforce the asceticism central to Erogenic doctrine, but I know that's not true. You see... he's a big fan of the fantasy genre. Yeah. Make of it what you will."

[Paginista]

"I can tell... Tell me how do people see Paginista? I honestly won't be suprised if its a mix of hate, fear and contempt... I've done things that I regret with my country."

[Holy Theocracy of the Endocrine]

Halicon let her fist fall slowly to her side. Though the narrowing of her eyes could not be seen, the hardness in her voice could be heard, even through the distortion.

"The massacres. The genocides. The war. The conquest. The blood. The death. My people know nothing of your nation, blissfully ignorant as they are. But I am not so. I've seen what happened. I may be a soldier, a warrior, and a killer. I may have done things that would make an ordinary person weep and vomit and faint. But nothing like that. I cannot condemn you for what you've done. After all, I'm sure you have your excuses and justifications, your means to an end, your tools towards a goal. I am no different. But still, I must ask; why?"

[Paginista]

"Because I fear for my people... They have ability and power that I don't dare unleash fully upon the world. Its no excuse for the billions of lives I have destroyed. I doubt I'll ever gain any form of forgiveness. There is also something within the old capital that even I can't defeat. Something that will always terrify me to the core... So we must fight, yet my generals are rebellious and tell soldiers to kill civilians and carry out ethnic cleansing... I guess that's my failure of being a leader. I'm too soft in some places, too harsh in others."

[Holy Theocracy of the Endocrine]

"However you came to... inherit your power, I suppose you can only do so much when the system has been rotten to the core from the start. When that's the case, it's merely a choice between evil and extremely evil. I regret to say that I can empathize with that. Imagine, all the defensive needs of a massive country, divvied up between fifty individuals. We stay out of fights as much as we can, but sometimes it is unavoidable. And when that happens, the bodies stack too high to count. We each have our different ways of dealing with it. Jinna pretends like it doesn't perturb her, but I know it's just a masquerade. Mercer has stopped talking entirely, Mila is in denial and acts like a child, and Kimbol drowns out the screams in drink and debauchery, goodness knows there's enough of that around here. Me, I just... cope. Sometimes it wakes me up in the middle of the night, but I have learned to fall back to sleep. I visit my sisters over in Vistora from time to time, which certainly helps, but...

*sigh*

The stains of blood just don't ever fade. Anyways, it's best to keep positive. There are a lot of things in this country to be happy about, and I'd prefer we talk about those instead. Is there anything you're curious about? There are a lot of things to be learned about this place, believe me."

[Paginista]

The chairman paused breifly. "I can understand why people deal with what's happened... Trust me. Ordering my home town levelled because it was a massive is hardly easy to deal with... but seeing my parents amongst the ruins of a hospital that was accidentally hit was almost too much for me... Those close to me haven't been able to cope. My closest friends are scarred or dead, Albert... the one person who I cared for enough to love blew his head off with a shotgun. My sister, gernia hung herself with a piano wire in the centre of the capital after losing her mind; Ivan set a pack of wild dogs on himself... Yet here I am, unable to kill myself. So the death continues and the bodies pile up. It's already cost me my arm, my ability to work as a normal person and my morality..."

[Holy Theocracy of the Endocrine]

Halicon's voice grew quiet, as the gentle rhythm of her heavy metallic boots falling upon the ground started up again.

"Three thousand, four hundred and fifty six. I'm sorry, chairman, but I lied to you. I do know how many people I've killed. Three thousand, four hundred and fifty six. You may have ordered the deaths of many millions, but... when I kill, I don't do it from afar. When I kill another human, I have to look them dead in the eyes, see the light fade from them like smoke off a candle. Every. Single. Time. Three thousand, four hundred and fifty six. But again, I'd rather not talk about it further. Please, ask me about this country. It'll help me take my mind of things."

[Paginista]

The chairman, knowing it would be futile to keep the topic without problematic repercussions. "I see... I've been curious. What exactly is education in this country like if at all here?"

[Holy Theocracy of the Endocrine]

"Confusing, at best, but well-meaning in its formation. Sola has a soft spot for children, so when he set up the Augury of Purekin, he was very careful and meticulous about its curriculum. Students are taught the arts, literature, culture, the history of our nation, English (the language everybody speaks), Endocrinosi (our supposed heritage language), and about Vistora. Interestingly enough, Sola absolutely hates the indoctrination of children, and he refuses to have it implemented. Children are taught about Erogenicism, but from a neutral and rather censored perspective. By the time the children turn sixteen, they are given a choice; they may remain and become full citizens of the Endocrine as well as Erotisi by default, or they can choose to move to Vistora should they decide it would suit them better. If they choose to move, they are given two year's worth of practical education to prepare for life in a nation so different from ours."

[Paginista]

"How... odd. It is at best slightly disturbing how this country is lead with such inconsistancies... However I also accept this isnt a place where I have any real power so I can't really critisize too much. It would be slightly hypocritical of me given my own past laws... At least you're not talking to a doom legionare. This place would be burned to the ground... the legions are the other reason why i've not just disappeared... they have to be restrained"

[Holy Theocracy of the Endocrine]

"An oddity at best, and downright lunacy at worst, I agree, but better than nothing. This whole place is kinda like that."

Halicon halted her march once again, raising a finger to her ear as radio chatter began to sound from the inside of her helmet.

"Vistora TACCOM, this is Archangel Halicon, designation HTE-A01, requesting permisssion to run a Satscan."

[Vistora]

Permission granted, Archangel. Uploading designator packet now. A satellite will move over your current position in T-minus seven minutes, eighteen seconds.

[Paginista]

The chairman raised an eyebrow curiously as his comrade began to communicate through her helmet's communications devices. Looking around suspiciously he took off his gloves and stared at the symbol on his left palm."what is going on?"