Madden for those of you who haven’t met her. She’ll be a part of the team from now on,” she says. I struggle to keep my eyes level and my cheeks from flushing as everyone turns their eyes to me. I send out a brief salute before turning back to Myra, who smiles knowingly at me. I resist the urge to glare. Her assistant stands and gestures for our attention.
“Alright then, I’m sure we’ll all get to know each other soon enough. As you know, this task force was brought together due to the new threat of Harpy insurgents. We have Intel that a member of the Family is recruiting Harpies in an effort to create an army. We don’t know how many are part of the group already, but we do know that that number is rising every day,” she says. A few mouths gape open at the mention of the Family. That being the royal family; the rulers of the Harpy Empire. She slides down a projector screen and flicks the lights from a remote in her palm pilot. An image flashes across the screen of a young Harpy with light auburn hair. His wings are a tapestry of tawny browns and his eyes are jet black, his mouth set in an angry chant as faceless Harpies mill around him.
“The Prince?” a female Hunter chirps. The assistant shakes her head.
“The younger brother, Gabriel. The Prince, as far as intelligence tells us, has been missing for a little under a year,” she states.
“So the Empire is threatened with anarchy,” Tor chimes in. Myra steps up once again.
“That’s right, Mr. Nelson. Thank you, Annie,” she says, dismissing the girl, who immediately buries herself back into her digital structure. “With the inherent missing, many of the Empire’s citizens are becoming uneasy with the possibility that if the Empress dies, there’ll be no rightful heir,” she says. This time one of Tor’s cronies jumps in.
“So why wouldn’t the younger brother take his place as heir?”
Myra shakes her head slightly, almost in a tsk . “The only way the heir can be overthrown is if he is killed. Harpies are almost medieval in their strictness to their ways. With the heir missing, Gabriel cannot take over the throne, though whether or not he is trying to start a new wave of revolution is yet to be known. Gabriel is harsher than even the most ruthless Harpies, with an un-relinquishing bloodlust. If he were to become Emperor, we’d be caught in a full scale war. For this reason, Gabriel cannot succeed if he wishes for the throne. Our job is to obtain more Intel on the group’s plans, and if possible, to terminate the rebellion before any wide-scale damage is done.”
The heaviness of the situation hangs in the air. No one wants a war with the Family. No one wants war, period, especially due to the constant, daily reminders of what the past war did. No one’s jumping in, offering themselves up for missions. It’s like grade school all over again, with the teacher waiting expectantly on a mill of students who will never raise their hands. I was never one of those students, and I won’t be now.
“Orders?” I ask. I ignore the stares of my colleagues as Myra smiles tightly with her eyes. She motions for her assistant Annie to take notes.
“Piper Madden and Grier Lan, you’re in charge of reconnaissance of the area. I want a complete report of our boundaries, weak spots—and of course, if you see any Harpies, you are not to take action. Report any sightings directly to myself or Annie,” she says.
My shoulders slump. Recon? And no action?
“And if a soldier determines reason for action?” I ask. This time, the room goes silent, with all eyes on me. It’s Tor who finally speaks up, though he keeps his voice soft.
“Piper, things are different here. We don’t shoot until we consult Director Elder,” he says.
My face reddens as Myra nods.
“It’s a policy that must be upheld above all things. Are we clear?” she asks. I nod, trying to hide my distaste. She moves on, assigning tasks to other members of the team; research,
“Alright then, I’m sure we’ll all get to know each other soon enough. As you know, this task force was brought together due to the new threat of Harpy insurgents. We have Intel that a member of the Family is recruiting Harpies in an effort to create an army. We don’t know how many are part of the group already, but we do know that that number is rising every day,” she says. A few mouths gape open at the mention of the Family. That being the royal family; the rulers of the Harpy Empire. She slides down a projector screen and flicks the lights from a remote in her palm pilot. An image flashes across the screen of a young Harpy with light auburn hair. His wings are a tapestry of tawny browns and his eyes are jet black, his mouth set in an angry chant as faceless Harpies mill around him.
“The Prince?” a female Hunter chirps. The assistant shakes her head.
“The younger brother, Gabriel. The Prince, as far as intelligence tells us, has been missing for a little under a year,” she states.
“So the Empire is threatened with anarchy,” Tor chimes in. Myra steps up once again.
“That’s right, Mr. Nelson. Thank you, Annie,” she says, dismissing the girl, who immediately buries herself back into her digital structure. “With the inherent missing, many of the Empire’s citizens are becoming uneasy with the possibility that if the Empress dies, there’ll be no rightful heir,” she says. This time one of Tor’s cronies jumps in.
“So why wouldn’t the younger brother take his place as heir?”
Myra shakes her head slightly, almost in a tsk . “The only way the heir can be overthrown is if he is killed. Harpies are almost medieval in their strictness to their ways. With the heir missing, Gabriel cannot take over the throne, though whether or not he is trying to start a new wave of revolution is yet to be known. Gabriel is harsher than even the most ruthless Harpies, with an un-relinquishing bloodlust. If he were to become Emperor, we’d be caught in a full scale war. For this reason, Gabriel cannot succeed if he wishes for the throne. Our job is to obtain more Intel on the group’s plans, and if possible, to terminate the rebellion before any wide-scale damage is done.”
The heaviness of the situation hangs in the air. No one wants a war with the Family. No one wants war, period, especially due to the constant, daily reminders of what the past war did. No one’s jumping in, offering themselves up for missions. It’s like grade school all over again, with the teacher waiting expectantly on a mill of students who will never raise their hands. I was never one of those students, and I won’t be now.
“Orders?” I ask. I ignore the stares of my colleagues as Myra smiles tightly with her eyes. She motions for her assistant Annie to take notes.
“Piper Madden and Grier Lan, you’re in charge of reconnaissance of the area. I want a complete report of our boundaries, weak spots—and of course, if you see any Harpies, you are not to take action. Report any sightings directly to myself or Annie,” she says.
My shoulders slump. Recon? And no action?
“And if a soldier determines reason for action?” I ask. This time, the room goes silent, with all eyes on me. It’s Tor who finally speaks up, though he keeps his voice soft.
“Piper, things are different here. We don’t shoot until we consult Director Elder,” he says.
My face reddens as Myra nods.
“It’s a policy that must be upheld above all things. Are we clear?” she asks. I nod, trying to hide my distaste. She moves on, assigning tasks to other members of the team; research,
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