Two seperate parties arrived at Canberra Star City near-simultaneously. Two fighters touched down in the dock further from the sun, the weathered CLH Shamshir Utsusemi and QX Switchblade Dusk, each with the Mirage emblem on their right wing. The sunward dock saw a larger, more colorful group. A grey and pale blue Sunrider, a deep purple Waran, a red, black, and gold Eagle, and a silver and green Arrow. From the distant bay, one slender, pale Maltese woman and one unremarkable Kusari man, headed toward Siren's Second Call, a bar in a conveniently centralized location near the primary elevator. The larger party from the sunward dock arrived shortly afterward, consisting of one seemingly-unremarkable probably-Libertonian man, one athletic Kusari man, one quiet bespectacled blonde, another blonde and an albino woman holding her hand, and one pale Maltese woman with a rather improbable figure and hair an equally-improbable shade of red.
The two groups met at a reserved table in the corner, and sat down.
"So what's this about, Mystic?" the pilot of the Shamshir asked, looking directly at the Sunrider pilot.
"Wha-? You called... me... damn it Delacroix."
Natio Octavarium's Minister of Intelligence, Victor Delacroix, stepped out from behind a corner as soon as he heard his name. "I've been keeping tabs on the lot of you for a while, and I have to ask..." he paused, and looked over the crowd. "Why are you here?"
"Well-" Ayumu began, before his wife raised a hand to stop him.
"Sit down," she said firmly, looking over at Victor.
"I don't think that's necessary."
Tiana's expression hardened and she turned toward their 'host'. A subtle shift in her positioning revealed a mostly-concealed knife, and her voice took on a harder edge. "Sit down," she repeated. This time, Victor complied. "That's better. Continue, dear."
"As I recall," Ayumu continued, as though nothing had happened, "we're here because you apparently called us."
Victor signed and shook his head. "By which I mean, why are you not on Malta anymore? Why are you not with the Order anymore?" he added, looking over at Mystic.
"That's personal," Ayumu replied.
Victor let out a little half-laugh and smirked. "Your family was on Cambridge for a few years. You left Malta because of the cults and the politics. If I had to guess, I would say you developed a taste for civility. For a life not centered around murder and exploitation. That sound about right?" Ayumu didn't react. Tiana's right arm shifted slightly, but there was little else. He turned to Mystic and continued. "So. You're not with the Order anymore. Explain that."
Mystic leaned back in his chair and smiled. "No. Clearly you have all the answers, and you're looking for a way to 'prove' your superiority. Come then, out with it. What's the reason?"
"The LSF were closing in. You didn't know why, you couldn't chance it. You had to leave. You never re-established contact, the Order thought you compromised. You had to hide."
"It's really quite impressive how you can have just enough information to be completely wrong," Mystic replied, his demeanor unchanged.
"Oh?"
"Mhm. And I'm not going to correct you. You're right that I'm not with the Order anymore, but that's the extent of it. For the rest, well..." Mystic lowered his voice and continued after a pause. "You're in over your head dealing with me, Escher." His expression never changed, and he casually continued. "I'm in my element here, Delacroix. Maybe, in time, you'll find out what happened with the Order... but I doubt you want to just admit defeat. Figure it out yourself."
"Why not tell me?"
"Why tell you? I know your limits, I know some of your style, but I don't know enough about you to want you to know any more than you have to. And odds are, you called us here for a reason anyway."
Victor took a deep breath and explained. "Natio Octavarium needs skilled people. I was hoping you would be interested."
"There's something specific," the bespectacled blonde interjected.
"Yes there is, Alicia. And we're not sure what."
Ayumu looked at his wife, and Mystic looked at his group, Both nodded. "We'll stick around and keep an eye out," Mystic replied.
