General Unaki took a deep breath, and looked around. The crisp, autumn air of Finswedeway filled her lungs as brown, yellow, orange, and red leaves covered the streets like coloured-pencil shavings.
The sun was setting in the distance, but she only knew that thanks to her watch. The horizon was blocked by the heavy urban sprawl, going for nearly two kilometers. Following the second civil war, Chotyo became the largest city in the country, rivaling the Techoligian New Cogsport in terms of population and significance. Nanzhi was reduced to a rural backwater, as people moved out by the hundreds of thousands under the tyrannical rule of Zhiang.
Rei stood outside a military base near the centre of the city, though, admittedly, everywhere was the centre. Thanks to Queen Isabel's policies of development, suburban areas were practically nonexistent, as industry and population were concentrated to several distinct areas. To her left, she saw the industrial sector of the city, characterised by a thick gray smog hanging perpetually over it. To the east, she saw the more populated area, with retail and food stores lining the streets, each with a high-rise built on top to house even more people.
Just barely visible, due to the constant traffic of people walking to work, the House of Representatives. Watching over her and the city with a caring eye, but in danger of the popularity of the monarchy. Dismissing those stresses, she looks up to see a thin sliver of the sky, as the rest was covered by buildings. The sky was a colour like a mix of magenta and a vibrant orange, but the more she looked west, the darker it looked.
Rei fiddled with the molecular transit battery in her hands, typing in some coordinates. A screen lit up on the device, showing a map of the area she put in. Pax Athena. Took a deep breath, closed her eyes and pressed the button labeled, "Ryoko." Instantly, she was deconstructed on the atomic level, a feature since implemented after the discovery that memory loss was frequent with molecular relay, and reconstructed in an Athenian orphanage repurposed for military use. The building was in a state of great disrepair, compounded by the fact that it and the surrounding area was to now house two battalions of Suongo. Fortunately for the orphans, they were happily adopted by Suongo families. Unfortunately for the soldiers, this arrangement did not fit their needs very well.
In the camp centre resided a few Athenian soldiers, very young and quite nearly in rags; outdated weapons holstered in cheap leather holsters, and ruffled and scruffy military fatigues, clearly bought on a budget, all contributed to an image of Pax Athena almost literally scraping the bottom of the barrel for manpower. These soldiers were in stark contrast to the Suongo officers assigned to the platoons, who were adorned with medals shining in the moonlight and an aura of prestige that would make even Zhiang Konu-She sick to her stomach. It was clear that Suongo high command greatly favoured quality over quantity, a virtue taught by Daoist traditionalists and monks.
Rei approached the Athenian boys and handed them a small map of the Athenian Island, with areas marked in red indicating the tactics she would employ.
"This for you," she said in broken English, "we dig the... um... the trenches, and build the forts quickly" The boys look at each other and snicker quietly amongst themselves at Rei's display. One of them, who appears to be in charge, but that was not evident by his attire, takes the map and thanks her in a quick and modest "kunichoa," Awglikhan slang for, "thanks," followed by a brief bow.
Unaki turns away and blushes, slightly angry and slightly embarrassed. "Wao taoiaan Īnglesh," she mutters under her breath, "so many stupid rules."
besides, actions speak louder than words.
)