Tiocfaidh ár lá (IC, Atlas only)

[Tenburg]

Capitol Airport, Port Pierce, Tenburg

Colin McNamara always hated the press.

And now, here he was, standing at attention, being forced to stare right at them in their droves, as the engines of the massive plane rolling in behind him came closer and closer, then stopped just in time to spare his ear drums from explosion. His shoes were shined to perfection, his medals, buttons, and helmet gleaming in the sun. It was all for the best; Tenburg's relationship with Elesar, while not historically old, like that with Acronius, was strong, having been forged in the fires of both the Zangara conflict and the Second Great War. This visit in itself was critical, as the relations between Elesar and Stasnov were rapidly deteriorating.

A voice came alive in his ear. "Lieutenant, they're rolling the stairs now."

"Roger," he replied softly, then looked to his left, to the other members of the Motorcycle Brigade. "Riders, mount," he ordered, then looking to his motorcycle, and straddling it, sitting down on the low seat. He cracked his stiff neck, then looked up at the absolutely massive Elesarian plane. As the staircase rolled up underneath the port-side front door, it slowly opened. At the base of the staircase, members of all three military branches stood at attention, surrounded sparsely by a security detail; of course, there was plenty more that couldn't be seen. As the limo and its flanking cars rolled up, the flashing of cameras began behind them, anticipating the Emperor's appearance.

[New Elesar]

-tagging-

[New Elesar]

Capitol Airport, Port Pierce, Tenburg

"Your majesty, it's time."

The voice of the adjutant woke Dmitri from a half daydream, half power fantasy. It was an odd thing to still have such wayward thoughts about massive power when you were easily one of the top five most powerful men in the world, but His Imperial Highness Dmitri II Antaryanov, Emperor of Elesar, couldn't really help himself. It was like playing a game in his head, a million little minions running about and doing his bidding. 'Reality's not that easy, though,' he thought to himself 'The daydreams don't have a bureaucracy, or ministers, or-' No. This was no time to be complaining. A state visit to Tenburg, arguably the Empire's most important ally, was no daydream, no power fantasy. This was real, and although it had been done oh-so-many times before, an official state visit was always a powerful occasion. A reaffirmation of international friendship between like-minded nations.

Straightening his tie, Dmitri stood up from his chair and left the plane's built in office, stepping out into the hall only to be met by the stern face of his eldest daughter (and high-ranking member of the Ministry of Defesne) Maria. Even though she was almost thirty years old, this was her first true international trip in a diplomatic role. After her graduation from university, Maria had risen quickly through the ranks of the Imperial Bureaucracy, attracting cries of nepotism from the few remaining leftist elements of the Imperial Duma. However, she had proven herself to be more than worthy of any position assigned to her by her father.

"Father, we need to get moving. We can't stay on the tarmac forever." 'Pushy as ever,' thought Dmitri. "We're moving now, Maria. The door's open, after all. Come now." The Emperor offered his arm to his daughter, and she took it somewhat reluctantly. Together they made their way to the open door of the aircraft, both taking occasional glances at the Tennish detail below. Maria stopped just before the door, a slightly worried look on her face.

"Father..." Maria almost whimpered.

'So she is worried then,' Dmitri thought 'not like I blame her though, I was worried on my first state visit as well.'

"You'll do fine, Maria. Remember, you're the best at what you do. It'll all come naturally." He reassured his daughter, and when the frown on her face transformed into a more neutral expression he knew he'd reached her. Maria had always been like this, a stoic outer shell that cracked only to the closest family and friends. It had lead to misunderstandings and temporary setbacks, but since she had turned twenty-five three years ago she had begun steady progress towards being a more open, outgoing person. Maria took his arm again and they made their final approach to the door of the aircraft. Taking their first steps outside, they were immediately greeted by a bright Tennish sun. Below them was a large cohort of all branches of the Tennish military in their finest dress uniforms, and behind them was a security detail holding back an ocean of press and flashing cameras.

Raising his free hand, the Emperor gave the people what they wanted and waved to the press, making sure that Maria did the same before they began their descent down the staircase that had been aligned with the plane. After what seemed like ages, they reached the bottom of the stairs. The state visit had officially begun.

[Tenburg]

The cameras began flashing like unending lightning as the Emperor and his daughter made their way down the long staircase. McNamara opened a button on his uniform coat and pulled out a shiny whistle, holding it in his hand as he watched the two reach the base of the staircase before putting it in his mouth.

PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

He, as well as the seven riders behind him, placed left leg on the kickstarter.

PEEP.....PEEP!

He kicked down with authority and the motorbike came to life, in near-exact unison with his subordinates. He gave it a quick rev to warm it up some, then gave another order on the whistle.

PEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeEEP!

What was first a single line of eight became two lines of four, as Lieutenant McGrath came up to flank him on the right.

"Wasn't expecting her," he said

McNamara popped the whistle out. "You didn't read the briefing close enough," he replied with a smirk.

His eyes moved back towards the Emperor and his daughter, who was by far the most popular figure in the Elesarian armed forces, as they were helped into the everything-proof limousine by a member of security.

Finally. Time to move. He popped the whostle back in for the order to move.

PEEP PEEP PEEP!

The eight Cumberland Model 70 motorcycles moved as if they were linked together, warranting even more bright camera flashes as they rolled away and headed for the limo. They navigated the three chase cars as they arrived, with McNamara and McGrath flanking the front fenders of the massive limo.

Ahead of them, the front cars began to roll away from the plane, and when the limo followed, so did the Brigade. The motorcade accelerated to the point that McNamara could feel the wind on his face as they approached the far gate, which was already opened. They slowed down some as the bump was lowered so as not to pop any un-armored tires--the Motorcycle Brigade in particular--before they accelerated onto the airports main road, which wound around the west side of the airport, heading towards the Highway 404 , which is one of the biggest and most used in the country. While it would simply destroy traffic patterns to shut the whole thing down, each exit and on-ramp would be shut down as the motorcade passed. As the Elesar and Tenburg were so close, the Tennish always made a point to keep security as tight as possible.

As they passed the various terminals on the way out of the airport, the riders noticed throngs of people waving Elesarian and Tennish flags. The Tennish everyman was as fond of Elesar and its people as the government was. Airhorns were sounded as the motorcade passed, and McNamara couldn't help but smile as he took a hand off the handlebars to pull the whistle from his mouth and slip it back into his pocket.

The motorcade finally exited the airport proper and merged onto the 404. The wind began to whip around McNamara's head as he looked across the median at the line of traffic. Checking his mirror, he saw signs of the same. Looking to the sky, the corners of his mouth pulled down ward as he noticed around five helicopters.

The press never relent.