"Woah," Storm 01 exclaimed. They all marveled at the beauty of The Realm as they drove to the Prime Hall. Each squad entered different cars, while Chief and his Rain troopers were in one car.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIftOkSpLqR
People, looking elegant in expensive, fancy clothing. Huge and more advanced car than the one in Zoda. Tall, and some floating buildings. The Quantum Realm Corp building was the tallest. Spaceships flew around in the sky, but they weren't for picking resources, it was the transport means of those even richer in the Realm.
Rory positioned her forehead and left palm on the window, looking at the dwellings they pass by. She noticed a young girl waving at her, but the car drove by before she could return the salutation.
"Are you okay, Rory?" Sox asked.
Rory nodded. "Do you know that Winter Weir used to be one?" She started. "Before the uprising, before the first galactic war. There used to be no Underground, no Zoda or the Realm, just one big Winter Weir, until forty years ago after the galactic war ended. During the war, we thought we sided with the right people, but no, Winter Weir became a battleground. Spaceships and rockets were constantly crashing into the planet. I lost my grandparents then."
"Were you alive then?" Storm 01 queried.
Rory chuckled ruefully. "No silly, that was forty years ago, I'm eighteen not fifty-eight."
"Oh."
She sat properly and fixed her necktie. "I'm sorry I bore you with this story, sorry."
"You seem to know much about the galactic war or whatever you called it. I didn't even know that this planet was one before," Storm 01 implied.
"Maybe if you had paid more attention in class when you were younger. That's the basic knowledge you are taught in schools," said Sox. He rolled his eyes and then turned to face Rory.
"My mom used to tell me stories about it. Plus I stole some books from the training captain whenever he'll leave me in his office," she laughed quietly. "The war caused a lot of damage. Lives, homes, families, and some even their sanity. The Prime fled the planet after the loss."
"And the People?" Storm 01 questioned.
"The People had not been formed then," she answered.
"After the war, other planets, including the initiators of the first galactic war, and the planet we supported, Earth used the aftermath of the war to their advantage and tried to annex Winter Weir and other weaker planets. But a man named Prex Medivion and his small group stood up to fight for us. Some believe that was the foundation of Department H, the information isn't solid.
"They fought off the other planets that tried to attack Winter Weir with the little, unsupervised weapons left. While he was victorious, Prex feared that he could make decisions that others won't be most happy about, so he gathered people from the North, South, West, and East to sit with him whenever he was to make decisions, hence, the creation of 'The People'."
"What happened to him?" Storm 01 asked.
"Nobody knows. He disappeared and someone from his group took over, that was when Winter Weir got split into three as it is today."
They all were quiet. They listened closely as Rory spoke, not letting a single piece of information slip past them. The car came to a quick stop in front of a building, the Prime Hall. The building was unlike any other on the planet.
It was like a medieval-age castle, where kings and Queens reside. Two large towers of the same size and length were connected on each side of the main building. The front part of the building was designed to look like a square with three rows. Each row had interspersed windows planted into it at regular intervals. Behind the building, were large trees, so large that nothing apart from that blue sky could be seen. Though it had the structure of the back years' castle, being constantly renovated by brilliant minds tainted a little of the medieval age picture it was built with, making it look more modern.
"Looks like storytime's over," Percy said before getting down from the car, his eyes, still fixed on the building.
"This way." The man in suit led them into the building.
He led them through a large hall that was lit with bright blue light. Around the hall wall, there were large framed pictures of some individuals. Storm 01 looked back to see Rory staring at one of the pictures. He left the others and strolled up to her.
"Are you okay?" He asked but she didn't reply.
He looked at the picture she was looking at. It was the fourth from the first photo and a female. She had golden hair that stretched down to her back. Her eyes were golden like the color of her hair and a burnished skin with a flower tattooed on her neck just above the collar bone. She was young and beautiful.
"Who is that?" He asked.
"My mother."
He looked at the picture again and could make out Rory's face on it. At the bottom of the picture, "Grace Light" was written, which he assumed was her name.
"These are pictures of all the Primes that were after the Galactic war, from Prex Medivion to the current Prime."
"Wow," he exclaimed. "You didn't mention that your mom was once a Prime."
"I also didn't mention that she is a member of the People now," she shoots him a half smile. "Come on, let's catch up with them."
After what felt like hours, the man leading them stopped in front of a door and held it open for them to enter.
To add to the medievality of the building, the room was designed like the back years' throne room. It had a huge comfortable-looking chair straight ahead with a table in front of the chair. An elderly man looking about the same age as Chief stood in front of the table with a warm smile on his face. He wore a plain white T-shirt and green trousers.
Large windows behind the chair but the trees blocked the sunlight, leaving only the number of bulbs as the source of light.
Rows of chairs were arranged by the right and each was occupied by either a male or female.
"There she is, there is the hero of Winter Weir, Havishma Bubentres!" the man yelled as he walked over to Miss Havishma. He took her hand in his and kissed it.
"I'm also happy to see you too, Prime Conhresman," she said with a rather forced smile. "Please don't begin with your stories again, we need to head back to H.Q. ASAP."
She knew the Prime had the habit of narrating about her life whenever they meet with others.
He laughed. "Of course. It's strictly business today."
"Chief," he said, turning to face Chief who had just approached them.
The Prime looked over Chief's shoulder, peeling his eyes into the crowd, and didn't stop until he caught sight of Storm 01.
"Come here," he said, like a cranky old man ordering his child.
Storm 01 hesitated. He looked at Miss Havishma and she signaled for him to go on with her head before he stepped forward. The room was silent as everyone's eyes were on them. The Prime led him towards the window.
"If you don't mind, could you show me a demonstration of the powers you got from the experiment?"
"Here?"
"Do you want me to give you space?"
"You push the child too much, Prime Conhresman. And I believe we all have places to be," a lady from the People spoke, Grace Light.
"Sorry I got distracted again. Let's begin. Take your seats." The Prime retreated to his chair, while the others sat on some empty chairs on the left. Storm 01 sat between Rory and Sox.
The Prime cleared his throat before he began to speak. "No need for more pleasantries, I'll get straight to the point. We are gathered here on the proposed bill passed to let Department H depart yet another team out for the expedition which last led to the death of many members of the first released team and also innocent citizens of this planet and others. "He stopped for a few seconds and turned to Miss Havishma before speaking again. "Bubentres..." he then turned to Chief. "...Augustine? Got anything you wish to add?"
Chief looked at Miss Havishma. She stood up and walked to the center of the room.
"What is going on?" Storm 01 whispered to Sox.
"I'm not sure," she whispered back. "But I think the state isn't fully onboard with having the Storm squad's activities begin officially. At least that's what I think is happening."
"So Chief and Miss Havishma are trying to convince them?"
"Yes," Rory answered.
"How?"
"Well, it's pretty simple actually. Miss Havishma put in words on why she thinks it is a good idea. The members of the People argue against, or with if they are swayed. Then the People vote whether or not to agree to the decision and then the Prime pass the order."
"What? What about the Prime? doesn't he have a say?"
"He has 1/3 the voting power of the People."
"The People are basically doing everything then. They could all agree on something and the Prime won't be able to change it. They technically rule Winter Weir."
"Yes. That's why no one wants to be the Prime anymore," Rory mumbled. "Why be the Prime and rule for only four years without a say, when you can apply to be part of the People forever and have all the say."
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