(Callie)
Callie climbed into the passenger's seat of Taniyas Sleek black Bileran, careful not to wrinkle her blue uniform. They followed directly behind the enforcers' mat grey transport van to the wealthiest area of the city. It was starlight boulevard, and unlike the high rises of most of the city, this part had single story or two story mansions that covered whole blocks.
"Who is the captain of the enforcers?" Callie asked, remembering the short enforcer with the five green stars on his chest.
"Thats Captain Delander."Taniya said, seeming lost in thought.
Callie glanced in her rear-view mirror, taking in the vast expanse of skyscrapers, towering like radiant trees behind her. The spires of metal and glass glinted brightly, reflecting the green light of Berdant's barrier. Callie watched the stunning view for a while until Taniya turned off the main street. They approached the mansion slowly, driving down the street going blastedly slow.
She couldn't help but be frustrated. Even in a city in space, the rich flaunted their wealth. It might not seem like much, but a single story mansion took up as much space as a fifty story high rise.
Callie shook herself, focusing as they followed the Armoured transport van through the ostentatious swirling steel gates. In the rear-view mirror a media shuttle pulled in behind them, its fresh paint reflecting the barriers green light.
Taniya parked behind the enforcers' van in a semicircle on the roundabout. On each side of the roundabout was a lawn of perfect looking green grass that had to be fake. Callie stepped out of the car, ducking to avoid the rising door. She grimaced. Being tall had its disadvantages.
Callie glanced towards the news van, watching as a man carrying a large camera stepped out of the back, followed by a gorgeous young woman in a form fitting purple dress. The woman noticed Callie's attention and smiled, revealing a set of perfectly white teeth making Callie's stomach do a flip.
This reporter was drop dead beautiful, just like the reporter for the Devali, Terri. Or was his name Larry? Callie shook her head. The man's name didn't matter. The reporter waved, her focus not on Callie but on Taniya. Callie glanced over her shoulder, noting Taniyas' friendly wave and slight blush.
The back door of the mat grey van opened and the ten enforcers, clad in their dark black armour, piled out. The large courtyard in front of the two-story mansion sported a single red and grey super car with a lawn of imitation grass. The super car was parked further along a narrow tiled path that led between the grass to the large polished doors of the mansion.
The golden raven of the empire glinted, and the captain of the enforcers gestured twice, signalling his troops to advance. Two groups of enforcers fanned out in separate directions from the short bulky captain, heading around to the back of the mansion.
The Captain, denoted by his five green stars on his chest, waved Callie and Taniya over. With the reporters in tow, Callie and Taniya approached the three enforcers."What do you think? Do we nock on the door and arrest him quietly, or breach the front doors?" Captain Delander asked.
Callie glanced over her shoulder at the news reporter, and the camera already trained on them. "Captain Delander, we are here to make an impression. If you can't nock down that door with spectacular fashion, I can do it for you?" Callie said, winking at the stern faced captain.
The captain adjusted his shoulder harness, keeping his pulse rifle pointed towards the tiled patio. His eyes narrowed at that challenging statement. The other two soldiers beside him gave Callie concerned looks, shifting nervously in their dark armour. After all, only an idiot would taunt a master artist.
"I can do it! Stand back so you don't get hurt. This is going to be loud!" Captain Delander said, approaching the front door.
The captain approached the front doors and raised a hand, the tall doors dwarfing his short stature. A shimmering green barrier formed in front of both Callie, Taniya, and the news team. The barrier was transparent with a light shade of green. Callie inspected the barrier, examining the woven pattern of power intently.
It was highly complex, with at least five layers of energy blocking several frequencies of sound, force, and some for light. Callie felt a growing respect just from her precursory inspection of the barrier. It was definitely as complex as many of her negative constructs, and the captain created it without even looking..
Then the captain raised a hand to the large double doors of the mansion. The air rippled and an awful racket, like a tree going through a wood chipper, washed over them. Both doors, each crafted of fine polished oak, simply dropped to the ground into piles of woodchips.
Wood dust billowed around the enforcer, crashing against the green barrier, taking several seconds to settle across the once pristine fake grass. The enforcer patted at his arms, shedding some of the wood fragments from his armour. All that was left of both doors was an ankle high pile of sawdust and a fine coating of wood shavings across the front yard.
If not for the barrier, Callie and the others would have been coated in sawdust as well. "What the hell is going on out here?!" shouted an angry male voice.
A portly man in a business suit was waving at the air in front of himself and choking, standing in the living room beyond the door. The barrier protecting Callie, the news team, the two enforcers, and Taniya fell.
"Well, let's go, that's our cue."Taniya said, giving Callie a worried glance, her eyes bouncing from Callie to the captain. That glance seemed to say, you are mad! "Dont give me that look, T, so what if he is a good lumberjack."Callie said, striding towards the captain.
The portly dust caked senator took in a deep breath, and noticing Callie in the official blue uniform of the Devali, approached her. He pointed a finger at her menacingly."How dare you! Do you know who i am?!" The man asked, his jowls shaking, his face red with anger.
"Oh, I'm sorry, we must have gotten the wrong place. But just to be sure, who are you?" Callie asked, uncertain if this chubby man was Senator Orlean. She only saw him at a distance on tv, and hadn't really paid much attention to him.
"I'm going to have you arrested. You can't just barge in to the home of a senator!" The man said, sticking his finger practically in her face. For many reasons, Callie hated when people got too close to her, and this slime ball was testing her resolve. She could have just asked Taniya or the captain, but this was more fun..
"Soo, judging by your outfit, you must be the butler. Lead me to the owner of this mansion."Callie demanded, speaking formally for effect. The man, almost certainly the senator, glared at her venomously. "I am the owner of this mansion!" The man shouted.
"Really? You don't look like it. With all that sawdust caking you, I thought you might be a carpenter, or a renovator."Callie asked, curiously. Taniya cleared her throat behind Callie, ruining her fun.
"Thats because you tore down my door!! Now stop your nonsense and get off my property." the portly senator spluttered.
"Can't you see we are on official business?" Callie asked, gesturing to her blue uniform and giving him a wide smile. "Official business? You broke down my door! I could take you to court for that?" the man said, batting at the sawdust on his ten thousand crown suit angrily.
"Really? If you are not the butler, then who are you? As far as I know, you could be an intruder in the senator's house."Callie said innocently. The senator spluttered, gaping like a landed fish. He reached into his dust covered suit angrily and pulled out a leather wallet with his ID.
"I am senator Orlean, and you are going to pay for trespassing!" The senator said, smugly, sensing victory. Callie nodded her head and gave him an apologetic look. " It was my mistake senator, I really thought you were the butler of this mansion."Callie said.
The senator gave her a furious look, his eyes darting behind her to the camera that was recording them both. "What do you want from me?" The senator asked, seeming to calm down a little at the sight of the camera.
Callie straitened up, towering over the portly senator with her height. "I am here to arrest you, of course."Callie stated. "Where is your warrant? I'm going to have your job for this unprofessional behaviour."The senator said, feigning calm.
Callie turned to Taniya, raising an eyebrow, keeping an eye on the irate senator. Taniya reached into her blue uniform and pulled out a small folder, handing it to the senator. The senator glanced through the folder, his eyes darting around wildly as though just noticing the group of three armed and armoured enforcers to Callie's side.
"In case you can't read, let me spell it out to you. You Orlean Karak are wanted for five counts of sedition, and at least two counts of treason."Callie said, her smile cold. "This has to be some mistake. I would never commit treason!" Orlean said frantically, his forehead beading in sweat.
The senator pretended to read further, but based on his tense stance, he was plotting a way to escape. He dropped the folder, and as she hoped, he ran back into his mansion. Callie lept forwards, not even needing to amplify her body with the positive art. She kicked the back of his right leg, and the overweight senator stumbled, crashing hard into the wall.
Off balance, Orlean tumbled to the ground. Callie strode over to the whimpering man and stepped on his back, forcing him face first into the plush carpets of the spacious living room. He struggled, but she kicked his ribs, receiving a pained gasp and then blubbering.
Callie pulled a pair of handcuffs from her uniform. "Put your hands behind your back, or I will make you."Callie said, her tone angry. It wasn't all that hard to act angry when she was still furious about her conversation with Villus earlier that day. The Senator whimpered, but after she raised her foot to kick again, he complied.
Callie slipped on the handcuffs, putting them on extra tight for good measure. He groaned, as she forced his arms behind him painfully. The man clearly didn't do even basic flexibility training. Callie grabbed him and forced him to his feet, the senator whimpering all the way.
As she dragged him towards the back of the grey enforcers' van, he struggle weakly. At first he demanded to be released, but by the time they reached the van, he was pleading with her. Saying he was the victim, and that he was forced to obey. Callie simply ignored the man's blubbering and handed him off to two enforcers in the back of the van. By that point, the senator was sobbing uncontrollably, looking nothing like the former proud senator from the news.
Callie walked from the line of sight of the camera and watched the van filled with enforcers and Orlean drove out of the mansion's front gate. Several enforcers stayed behind going over the mansion for anything else on the traitor. Despite that, Callie's job here was done. She was simply a prop in this play. Well, that was unless the major wanted help with interrogation.
The news crew relaxed, and the cameraman started packing up his gear in the back of the news van. Taniya was talking to that beautiful news correspondent, and seemed to be flirting. Callie couldn't blame her, and felt like trying her luck just the same.
She smirked at that momentary thought. Wouldn't that be nice to do normal teenager things? Sadly, that wasn't her lot in life. And well, she didn't do flings with strangers, anyway. That required letting down her guard with untrustworthy people, which she absolutely refused to do.
There was the faint tingle on her senses, only noticed by years of training. Callie turned to the captain, sneaking up on her. "You heard that, did you?" He asked, his eyes twinkling with curiosity.
His black armour shimmer slightly, a green barrier slightly distorting the surrounding air. "You have an interesting sound ward, but you need to tweak it a little, it's leaking energy, not sound."Callie said, unhappy with the fact she only noticed him ten feet from her.
The shorter mans stony visage cracked, and he smiled, seeming sheepish. "Well, to be fair, I haven't mastered the sound ward just yet. Been working to perfect it a few years, but I honestly have no idea how to improve it."Captain Delander said, shrugging.
Callie gesture to Taniya with her chin, "She might be able to help you. T is a specialist at distorting sound. Maybe she can figure out your issue?" Callie said. Captain Delander raised an eyebrow dubiously.
"And yourself? Word has it you have been mopping the floor with those navy scrubs?" Delander asked curiously.
"I'm surprised you heard about that? I didn't think the enforcers, and the navy cared much for each other."Callie asked.
"Well, we have our rivalries. But it's rare that a bounty gets put out on someone's head for a sparring match. It's probably just a joke to get soldiers to pester you?" Delander said, snorting in amusement.
Callie smiled," Well, it is a joke, but T over there is the one offering the bounty."Callie said. Delander gave her a searching look. "Does she hate you or something?" He asked. "Not that I am aware of. But I spar with her every day, and I think it's her way of trying to get me beaten up for once."Callie said, with a shrug.
"So the bounty of five hundred crowns is real?" Delander asked curiously. Callie nodded, her excitement rising. "Do you want to spar or something?" Callie asked.
"Why not? It could be fun. We could boost the morale of the soldiers and get in some excellent exercise."Delander said, smiling for the first time.
"Terms of the sparring match?" Delander asked, back to his usual gruffness. He stood ramrod straight, resting one hand on his rifle and the other behind his back at parade rest. "Lets make it exiting, everything goes. Besides lethal intent."Callie said, excitement filling her.
Delander gave her an uncertain look, his bright green eyes boring into her, glimmering with questions. "How does tomorrow at five thirty pm sound?" Delander asked. Callie nodded, "Alright, ill see you at the naval base."Callie said, giving the Captain a wave.
Callie gave Taniya a smile, and the young woman walked over to her, still slightly red. The news crew left the mansion, driving out of the front gates. Once they got in Taniyas' shuttle and back into the flow of traffic, Callie gave Taniya a mischievous smile. "So you and that reporter? Is that a thing?" Callie asked.
Taniya's cheeks flushed a deep shade of red and she focused harder on driving. "I'm not sure what you are talking about. She is just an old friend of mine."Taniya said, her voice cracking.
"So what's her name?" Callie teased. Taniya cleared her throat."Her name is Sara." Taniya said, her cheeks a deep shade of red. Taniyas' expression changed, and she glanced at Callie."So when are you going to ask Dustin' on a date?" Taniya asked.
Callie cleared her throat. "So, what did you want to make for dinner? We need to stop and get groceries."Callie said, ignoring that line of thought entirely for now. She had way too many things on her mind to even consider something so mundane as a date with Dustin. Not to mention that added serious complications to an already stressful and uncertain situation..
Also, she was uncertain if she even wanted to side with the empire, or just leave all together. She was certain, however, that she didn't want to be a part of Villuse's crusade anymore, but that didn't mean she was an ally of the empire.