Are You Shaken? There is so Much Worse in Store.

[callmedelta]

Agent Ludwig Gruca of the Royal Gendarmerie took a drag from his cigarette, standing in front of the Pareau Police Department’s 13th Precinct. “Over-under on how fucked you think we are?” he asked.

“Aren’t you supposed to be the secret agent in the know?” Ophelia de Renard asked, taking a drag of her own, leaning against her car. She exhaled, the cloud of smoke hung in the air, still, much as the conversation was. “They called us, not the army.”

“The two of us both know that’s may not mean much in the end,” Gruca said, solemn.

“Has to count for something, I’m sure,” Ophelia commented.

“When did you become such an optimist?” Ludwig asked.

“Old Lehran must be rubbing off on me,” Ophelia said with a sly grin.

“How’s being in Foreign Affairs, anyways?” Ludwig asked, his mood lightening somewhat, “And you never did tell me how he managed to snipe you from us.”

“Can’t say I’ve done too much of anything, yet. Though I think that may change today. As for your second question.” Ophelia took another drag, watching the smoke drift away in the wind as it was caught by a gust of wind. “He promised me I could advance up the ladder. Not be tied down by who I am, in both respects. Make some real change, someday.”

Ludwig’s reply died in his through as another agent came up to the pair. “The Kumo’s about a minute out and counting, escorted by ten police officers. Crowd’s aren’t an issue yet but we can’t say for sure how long it’ll hold and the road to the Palace is working on being cleared as we speak.”

~

“This Kumo is an honored diplomat and guest of the Kingdom of Franerre. Please, clear the way and allow our passage without issue, for the good of the Kingdom. Any harm to the Kumo, or the party escorting her, will be dealt with harshly. This Kumo is…” Captain Guy Segal droned on, a cone to his mouth projecting his voice to the crowds ahead of them. The remaining nine members of the police party surrounded Kanaka, Marcel, Luc, and Andre trailing behind them. The three really wanted to make it not their problem anymore, but the Captain had insisted that they needed to get a full story of events at the station, so they tagged along.

The crowds parted around the group, giving them a wide berth, and reforming around them. The crowd had a near even mix of fear and disgust on their faces, only a scant few looking on curiously. Blessedly, though, the group had no trouble so far, but the crowd simmered with tension, so think you could cut it with a knife. It was only waiting for something to break.

But, it held, long enough for the party to arrive at the 13th. The front of the station was an island in the crowd, thanks to the work of a large crowd of police officers standing at barricades. They looked even more spiteful than the crowd.

A woman, tall, pale, with neck length black hair approached the party, giving a small bow to Kanaka. “My naam is Ophelia de Renard, und I am the Foreign Affairs women,” she said in flawed, accented, but still understandable Shusugiris. “What languages are you? My Shoosoogiris is very not good.”

[Sophie]

Kanaka felt like a parade float as oceans of people parted for her and the police. She thought back to the last winter solstice when she managed to get just up against the barricade when she watched the Empress riding a float, waving to gawking onlookers, some of whom threw flowers with tears in their eyes. Though, if Kanaka were to wave she was certain the crowd would throw much worse things than flowers. Anxiety built up in Kanaka's stomach. All her training was meant to keep her out of the prying eyes of the public. Now she felt hundreds of angry eyes bore into her skull. Kanaka's head spun, and her stomach churned as she pressed onward. She was even starting to miss the canning factory in Diria.

"Thank the spirits." Kanaka sighed loudly upon hearing someone speak with her in a way she could understand. Kanaka bowed at a forty-five-degree angle, "I am Fumika Kanaka. I work with the Kumosenkan Ministry of Foreign affairs. It is my pleasure to meet you." She continued in Shusugiris. "Do you speak Koian? I know that fluently."

[callmedelta]

"Damnit," Ophelia muttered. She turned to Ludwig. "She speaks Koian."

Ludwig broke out into a chuckle next to Ophelia. "Isn't that rich," he said in Franerri. "The diplomat speak Gaelian and Lusatian, and here I am with my Koian being a better diplomat than you."

"Hey, I learned Dirian too," Ophelia said, indignant, "And I have a Gaelian to Shusugiris dictionary in my pocket. Now make introductions and let's get moving. We don't exactly have much time to waste."

Ludwig calmed himself, cleared his throat, and spoke in Koian. "My name is Ludwig Gruca, also from the Franerri Foreign Affairs Administration," he lied, "Ophelia is meant to be the one leading this...diplomatic mission, let's call it, so I suppose I'll be acting as your translator. From what we've been told, you said you had a letter for the King, and that you were to deliver it yourself, yes? We've been authorized to take you as far as the palace grounds, but I don't know if you'll be able to go any further than that. Just..." Ludwig turned around to where the cars were parked, realizing that there was no way Kanaka would be fitting in there. It was a 30 minute walk across the city, there was no way something wasn't going to go wrong in that time. It had to be a drive.

"She's not going to fit in one of those cars," Ludwig said, back in Franerri this time to Ophelia and the small crowd of police officers listening to the conversation, "Does anyone know if we could get a truck for her to ride in the back of?"

"Could she ride on top of one of the cars?" Ophelia offered. "Kumos can produce a natural web to anchor themselves with. There's no way she should fall off, unless you crash the thing."

"I'll ask her," Ludwig said, "Though if anything goes wrong, it's on your head." He turned to Kanaka and speaking in Koian again asked, "We were going to drive you in a car, but I don't think you will fit. We could try to find a truck for you to ride in the bed in, but Ophelia has suggested that you ride on top of a car. I will leave the choice to you."

[Sophie]

"It is a pleasure to finally speak with someone in a language we can both fully comprehend," Kanaka answered in koian. "Again, I am Fumika Kanaka. Typically we would use much more official and professional channels to send a message like this, but I'm afraid we don't have any in place. As well, our diplomatic channels have been rather busy. I thank you for hosting me and for not having me immediately arrested." Kanaka again bowed. "And I apologize for not better learning your language. My phrasebook is from the nineteenth century. I fear I must insist that I had these documents to the King personally. At the very least I must see the letter be placed in his hands unread by prying eyes. I am willing to subject myself to any form of search and seizure to allow for this."

For once, she felt no pressure to try and keep up with the conversation as it switched back to Franerri. Once the question was posed, her face contorted. Tie me to the roof? What am I, a set of skis? "If... it's not too much trouble, I would rather ride in the back of a truck. I apologize that my size has caused such an inconvenience."

[callmedelta]

"Told you it was a dumb idea, she wants a truck," Ludwig said. "Somebody go and get us a truck! Tell anybody willing to offer to let us borrow one will have a cash reward waiting for them when this is all done," he shouted above the murmuring of the crowds to the police officers, who scattered as they began to search for one. Marcel, Luc, and Andre had been shuffled into the police station for their version of events, leaving the only people from the crowd the two diplomats and the intelligence agent.

Ophelia took a cigarette from her pocket, lighting it up and taking a drag. "Looks like it's time to hurry up and wait," she said, gazing around the crowd of onlookers. This was a police station, with plenty of cops manning the barricades. She was relatively confident nothing would happen here. Relatively. "Do Kumo's smoke?" She asked Ludwig.

"Ophelia's wondering if you smoke," Ludwig translated, "As for myself...I heard you came in on a cargo ship of some kind?"

[Sophie]

"I smoke," Kanaka confirmed with a nod. She reached a hand out toward the person identified as Ophelia. With a cigarette in hand, she placed the filter to her lips and leaned forward while covering it from the wind with her free hand. Kanaka made a face as she took her first drag. It wasn't her usual brand, but it'd been too long since she'd had a smoke. "Thank you." She smiled again before taking another drag, blowing smoke into the wind. "I paid passage on a Dirian Oiler to get here." Of all the cars present, Kanaka took note that there was, in fact, no truck.

"Does your office not own a truck? Am I putting you out here?" Kanaka asked, feeling even worse about her position mere meters away from dozens who would gladly see her head roll. With another quick drag, she offered. "I can walk if it's not too far. I wouldn't hate the exercise."

[callmedelta]

Ludwig translated everything Kanaka said to Ophelia. "Well," she replied, "It's a bit of an oversight on our end. Once we heard that there was a Kumo at the docks moving to the police station, we got straight here. Didn't even think to bring one. As for distances, it's a half-hour walk. It's not exactly that the walk itself is bad, but..." Ophelia let the implication hang in the air.

"I can understand paying for passage," Ludwig added on after translating Ophelia's words, "But why now try and go through one of our embassies in a neutral country and tell us to expect you? We have quite a lot of them, and you seem friendly enough with Diria to buy space on one of their boats."

[Sophie]

Kanaka looked out upon the ever-massing crowd and nodded. "I suppose it wouldn't be fair to ask you to close so many streets for so long just so we might have a leisurely stroll to meet your king." She agreed, finishing off the last dregs of her cigarette. "And I'd rather be on the street for as little time as possible."

Kanaka laughed a bit at the question. "What neutral countries exactly? Ashinara? That rattles its saber when our ships so much as dock in our own ports? Or perhaps a country that yearns for the decapitation of my Empress, be it Lusatia or our lifelong rival in the UKUG? I understand that this method of communication is unorthodox, and I apologize sincerely for putting you out. But our two nations' situation is unorthodox. That's not even mentioning the absolute urgency of this letter. It is not often the Ministry sends its own diplomats to hand deliver letters to foreign nations. We usually hire a courier service for that. Time took absolute precedence in this matter, and I must again express my gratitude for you and your people dealing with me in such a professional manner."

"I must say I have been decently impressed so far." Kanaka continued to lay on the praise thick. "Not many could handle an absurd situation with as much grace as your underlings have. Be it the dock workers and the people I met at customs. All the way to that police chief. I'm glad they didn't just arrest me. Or just, you know, shoot me. I was told there was a decent chance of that happening."

[callmedelta]

Ludwig was shocked to hear such praise from Kanaka, and so was Ophelia when he translated it. "Thank you, thank you," Ophelia said, "It's an honor to hear such high praise from a Kumo. I can't say I know much about Kumosenkan, but I've heard standards there are pretty high. I can't imagine the difference going from somewhere as advanced as Fuyonouso to all the way out here." Ophelia was just about to offer Kanaka another cigarette when the crowds slowly began to part for what could generously be called a truck, and less favorably be called a collection of rust and dents with a bit of old green paint on it.

A police officer slid out of the driver's seat. "It's not pretty, that's for sure, but it was the quickest we could find."

"Alright then," Ludwig said, "How about you drive Ophelia, and I'll sit in the back with our honored guest?" Ophelia nodded, putting away the cigarette as Captain Segal walked up to the trio. "Captain," Ludwig said in a lowered voice, "Do you think you could take these two cars and get a motorcade going? Without traffic, it should be a short drive, but I don't want to risk anything. The keys should still be in both." Guy nodded, turning to direct a few men.

As Ludwig almost climbed up into the back of the truck, Ophelia caught his arm. "I know you two were having some second conversation in Koian," she said, low and angry, "This is my job, and I've been trained for this. I can't have you fucking it up. Now spill what you were talking about."

"I lied and said I worked for the FFAA," Ludwig replied without a second thought, "I asked her why she was on a Dirian cargo ship of all things, and why not get the letter another way. She said that they didn't have better lines of communication and that it needed to get done quick. Happy?"

Ophelia let go of his arm. "As a matter of fact, I am." Ludwig climbed back into the bed of the truck as Ophelia slid into the driver's seat. The interior was just as beat up as the exterior, but with any luck this would only take five minutes. With everyone ready, the officers manning the barricades opened them and the crowds began to part, a group of three policemen in the first car, the truck in the middle, and Captain Segal driving the last car.

[Sophie]

Kanaka was pretty satisfied with herself so far. All of the plan choices outlined by the Kumosenkan Interstate Police included rather elaborate lies, and yet her plan of just telling the truth as often as possible seemed to be going reasonably well. She had to assume, of course, as the truck could end up taking her to some firing line of Franerri soldiers or a prison complex out in the boonies. Though if that was their plan, she doubted they would allow her to ride in such an open truck she could easily escape from.

She reached for the cigarette as it was being offered and cursed under her breath as Ophelia pulled away. She climbed into the bed of the truck and paid no mind to the side conversation the two diplomats had in Franerri. A bit rude. She thought, though that is to be expected of Toulians. Once in the bed, she decided against resting her exoskeleton against the rusted bed and instead braced each of her eight legs in a corner, firmly steadying herself in the center. With a thumbs up and a smile, Kanaka gave the okay to Ludwig. "Ready to go!"

[callmedelta]

Out on the comparatively open streets of Pareau, things were much easier for the motorcade. There was much less tension in the air, due to the simple fact that the news wasn't able to spread fast enough for a crowd to form like it had at the police station. The roads had been mostly cleared, though there were a few other vehicles beside them on the streets. Ophelia looked in the rear-view mirror of the truck, her arm resting where normally a back window would be, though judging by the rust here too, there hadn't been one for some time. "So," Ophelia said, raising her voice over the idle noise of the streets and the chug of the motor, "Where in Kumosenkan are you from, Kanaka?"

[Sophie]

Kanaka relaxed emotionally as the truck pulled away from the crowd of angry onlookers. Though her body had to work overtime to keep her balanced in the rickety truck. Her legs bent quickly in response to turns and bumps in the road, keeping her body almost perfectly stabilized above the ground. "I was born on the midway archipelago since my mom was a navy girl and my dad was a civilian administrator. But once my mom's contract ended, she moved us to the Attatyuki prefecture, where she got a job building warships rather than operating them. And since midway isn't exactly known for its schools." Kanaka spoke loudly and clearly so she could be heard over the wind. "How about you? Were you born around here?"

[callmedelta]

Ophelia mentally chided herself a bit. She should have expected the question to be asked right back to her. "I'm from a real small place called Barseau, just about right in the middle of Franerre," Ophelia said, "No more than three hundred people, almost all of them farmers. The area itself's pretty nice, though the people and I there never really got along." 'And I'd rather like to leave it at that,' Ophelia thought, focusing her eyes on the road.

Knowing how this was going to go, Ludwig chimed in. "I'm from here in Pareau. Well, it was technically Nanterre, but Pareau's grown so much that there isn't any room between the two anymore. It's on the complete opposite end of the city, though, so I can't say I know this area too well. Nowadays I spend most of my time at the office, or at a cafe, get a nice tea or a coffee if I can spare the expense. You have anyplace in particular you like to hang out when you're not working?"

[Sophie]

Kanaka wasn't exactly sure how to answer. For the past few years, she'd been in Diria, working in a canning factory during the day and meeting with her internal contacts at night. Any time she had free time, she wrote intelligence reports to send back home. "Not particularly. When I'm awake, I'm usually always working on something. Not to mention since I got my first foreign assignment, I haven't been at home for longer than a holiday weekend. I suppose I enjoy going out to restaurants every now and again. Though that's mainly to save time on cooking so I can keep working. I don't have a particular place I go to or anything." In fact, it'd be pretty bad if I did have a usual spot. I'd get yelled at, for sure.

"If you lived out in the boonies like that," Kanaka began to ask. "What made you want to be a diplomat, then?"

[callmedelta]

"See the world, do some good for it, make some real change," Ophelia said. Not all lies, not the whole truth, either. Still would be better than admitting she used to be an intelligence officer before getting poached, or that Ludwig currently was one. "I..." The comment died in Ophelia's throat, along with the truck's engine as the vehicle began slowing down, until rolling to a stop. "Merde," Ophelia muttered, turning the key to try and get the truck to start again. The car in the motorcade ahead of them stopped as well, the gap in between them much wider, and Captain Segal in the car behind them idled his vehicle a meter shy of Ophelia's.

"Everything ok up in there?" Guy asked, leaning his head out of his car's window.

"C'mon, c'mon," Ophelia muttered to herself, trying to start the truck again. "Start you piece of shit." No luck.

"Engine died," Ludwig answered, his eyes scanning the forming crowd. He ducked his head into the truck cabin. "How's it looking Ophelia?"

"Damn thing won't start, just up and died on me." Ophelia swore, giving it a good kick. Ludwig felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.