Marcus gazed out the window of the aircraft as it soared over another vast expanse of thick, boggy marshland, the saline pools of water below glistening under the cloudy, orange-pink sky of Sirtha Prime. Sitting on a luxurious, well-upholstered chair before a polished white table, the army officer rested his chin upon his fist with a pensive expression upon his face.

A fine plate covered in the remains of a meal lay before him, the taste of salted meat, spiced root vegetables and a sweet, yet sour, sauce still lingered upon his lips and tongue. The low hum of plasma engines, muffled by the hull of craft around him, droned in his ears, its pitch rising and falling as the ship manoeuvred through the sky. Gazing around, Marcus saw his surroundings - an impeccably clean chamber with white and silver walls, other tables and chairs placed in an aesthetically-pleasing manner throughout the room. At the far end of this cushy environ was a sliding door, a small black motion sensor embedded within the lintel overhead.

The room reminded him of his family mansion of Horus, where no expense was spared in creating an atmosphere that displayed the wealth of the property's owner. Clearly the Union had spared no expense in trying to give a good first impression to any who boarded this ambassadorial aircraft.

And no doubt, someone would be boarding soon. After descending from the starbase in orbit of Sirtha Prime, the local military attaché had taken them to this vessel and sent them on their way, flying the friendly skies towards Kenostros. And just a few minutes ago, after a long half-hour of waiting and constantly being offered more refreshment by the attendants, they had docked at an outlying landing platform.

To pick up some passengers. Amongst them, no doubt, Ambassador Vidal.

Marcus' eyes locked upon the environ outside, scanning the heavily-wooded bogs and frost-tinted swamplands that panned across the ground below him. To the untrained eye, nothing was amiss...

But the Horusan Major remembered... and more than that, he saw. He saw the lakes that had formed within the craters of artillery shells and mine blasts. He saw the mounds of vegetation that had sprouted up, their boughs and branches almost shielding the rusted wrecks of tanks from his view.

The scars of the Sirthon War remained, both within and without his body. But the soldier's fortitude remained resolute. He would do all he could to make sure that no more wounds were carved anywhere else in the galaxy...

It was then, with a beep and a hiss, that his thoughts were interrupted. The door to the room slid open, and another human stepped in, of average height but portly in stature. His face was round and smooth, with a slight double-chin hanging underneath his jaw. His dark hair was streaked with a few strands of silver, and a thin moustache adorned his top lip. Carrying a briefcase in his right hand, he wore a well-fit and well-tailored suit, its cloth coloured a light grey with black pinstripes, with a high-collared white shirt underneath and an automatic translation device clipped to his lapel.

Very fine attire – almost ostentatiously so.

Marcus immediately rose from his seat and stood at attention. "Ambassador Vidal."
The moustached man looked back at the Horusan and smiled warmly. "Major Winter."

Marcus held his chin up, then lifted his hand and gave a formal salute. "It's an honour to meet you at last, Ambassador."

"Likewise, Major..." the Union official replied in a friendly, yet professional manner. Stepping forward, he lifted his left hand in a calming gesture. "... and please, there's no need to be so formal. You can stand at ease."

Marcus responded by lowering his arm. He didn't sit down though. Not until the ambassador set himself down in the seat opposite to him and, with a silent gesture, bid the Orbital Commando to do the same.

Marcus did so, a slight smile on his face, and Ambassador Vidal smiled at him in kind. "I see you helped yourself to the complimentary cuisine my crew offered you!" the moustached man remarked.

Marcus nodded. "Indeed, sir," he replied, his eyes briefly flicking down towards the empty plate that lay before him on the table. "It was very kind of you to give this to me."

The ambassador smiled and sat with his hands clasped tightly together. "No trouble at all, Major!" the man replied, speaking with a strange lilt to his voice that Marcus wasn't quite familiar with. "It's the least I could do to thank you for coming here and aiding the Union's efforts to make peace with the Xan-Klar!"

Marcus nodded. "Indeed, sir." His mind flitted back to the reports he had read, and to his briefing from General Idriah several weeks ago. "So who will be representing the Xan-Klar during this meeting?" he asked.

Vidal suddenly made an 'ah!' expression, then reached into his briefcase, which he had set beside him as he sat down. Pulling out several sheets of paper, he lay them on the table before Marcus.

The first sheet was a personnel file, and it bore the face of a Xan-Klar. One with blue-green scales, shining eyes, and horns that curved backwards down its head, like those of a mountain ram.

"Lady Taneera Lasethri." Vidal said as Marcus looked at the file. "One of the Xan-Klar nobles, as the title infers. We'll be meeting with her on a landing platform in the upper parts of the city, and then I will walk with her to where we have been constructing the Union Embassy." As he spoke, Vidal gestured to another sheet of paper - a map of Kenostros - and illustatrated where everything would be taking place.

Marcus nodded, thinking ahead about how he would make sure that Vidal would remain protected.

A plan soon formed in his mind - teams of Commandos traveling along the rooftops, checking sightlines, while the rest of the company remained on the ground, keeping watch on ground level and keeping back any crowds.

"Anyways..." Vidal clapped his hands. "... to business! Now, since you are aware that the Xan-Klar wished to see you at this meeting, I thought that you might open the negotiations!"

Marcus' heart stuttered in surprise, but he kept his face calm. "Me?" he asked. "Are you sure about that, Ambassador?"

"Absolutely!" Vidal replied without a lick of hesitation. "After all, thanks to your exploits here, you do have a status amongst them as a Kormac Telgaiur." His moustached mouth twisted as he spoke the Xan-Klar's harsh guttural language. "Or, if you prefer, Unborn Brother. That means they respect you, and they'll be far more likely to listen to you."

Marcus looked at the Ambassador, but didn't reply.

He knew what Kormac Telgaiur meant. It was explained to him by the Xan-Klar who gave Marcus the title a year ago, after the Battle of Kenostros.

Thoughts of combat then made another thought snap into his head. Something that was integral to keeping this diplomatic meeting safe.
"Has there been any Hand of Reclamation activity in the area lately?"

Vidal nodded, but seemed to do so reluctantly. "Yes, there has been. But it's of little concern."
"What happened?" Marcus asked directly.

The ambassador's thin moustache twitched. "A minor and isolated incident. A few Hand thugs attacked and killed a Union spokesperson – Diana Lucan." As he said that, Marcus noticed the diplomat shivering slightly.

"Where did this happen?" the Orbital Commando asked, slightly alarmed.

Vidal looked back up at him, only to smile. "In Nastra, a small mining town on the other side of the planet, in Union Territory..." he said. "But fear not; the three individuals responsible have been apprehended and taken in for interrogation. From what they've told us, the killing of Lucan was their main plan, and they had been building up to it for a while. So we should have nothing to worry about."

Marcus nodded. "I see," he said grimly, the ambassador's words doing nothing to put him at ease.

Vidal promptly continued with listing his plans. "Anyways, once you procure Lady Taneera's trust, thanks to your status with their species, I need you to guide them towards listening to my words, and then after tha-"

Halfway through his sentence, the doorway across the room hissed again, and two figures stepped into the room one after the other, their arrival heralded by the clunking sound of power armour. Marcus looked up to see Jennifer approach the two seated men, followed promptly by Ferro. Both then snapped their legs together and stood to attention.

The ambassador suddenly seemed to cheer up as he looked up from the table. "Major, are these who I think they are?" he inclined his head sideways, gesturing to the two entrants.

Marcus nodded, a slight smile upon his face. "Ambassador, allow me to introduce Captain Jennifer Sakong and Master Sergeant L.J Ferro."

Vidal immediately got to his feet and told them, just as he had told Marcus, to stand at ease. As the two captains followed his instructions, a bright smile came to the ambassador's face as he turned to Jennifer.

"Captain Sakong!" he said as he held out his open palm to her.

Jennifer stepped forward slightly, and the two shook hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ambassador."

"I assure you, madame... the pleasure is all mine."

Jennifer smiled kindly at Vidal as he greeted her in such an open manner. Marcus smiled as well, happy to see that Jennifer had perked up after the speech he had made during their landing.

"If you don't mind me asking, Ambassador, how do you know about us?" Jennifer asked.

"I read your personnel files on the way here." Vidal briefly explained in response. "And it's always a pleasure to meet a fellow Earther. Tell me, madame, which constituency do you come from?" Vidal asked Jennifer.

"Korea." Jenn replied. "What about you, Ambassador?"

Vidal smiled. "France, madame. And please, call me Louis."

When he heard the Ambassador say that, something caught Marcus' attention. When he had read the man's name in the files, it looked as though it was pronounced lew-iss. But the Earther pronounced it lew-ee.

His attention was also drawn by Vidal's strange way of pronouncing 'madam', and by the glint that hung in his eye when he looked at Jennifer...

After finishing their handshake, Vidal let go of Jennifer's hand and turned towards Ferro. The Tartarusan had a plain, if unimpressed, look on his face as he and Vidal met gazes.

"And you must be Sergeant Ferro..." Vidal said, sitting in a relaxed position.

Ferro nodded. "Yes."

Vidal smiled brightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

Ferro rolled his shoulders, the plates of his Wyvern armour clunking as he did so. "Likewise," he stated simply.

Marcus watched carefully as the two shook hands – thankfully, Ferro was behaving. With a smile on his face, Ambassador Vidal offered both of Marcus' captains a seat. Then, as they sat in the nearest of the room's multiple chairs, he turned back to Marcus and continued talking.

"So, as I was saying, Major, after you speak to Lady Taneera first, guide her over to me and tell her that I'm the diplomatic official. I'm certain she'll trust what you tell her, and then I'll commence the walk to the embassy, allowing you to focus on the details of our protection."

Marcus affirmed his instructions with a nod. "Very well, Ambassador. Is there anyone else who'll be travelling with you?"

Vidal nodded. "Yes. One person."

Just then, the door slid open again, revealing a figure that made Jennifer, Ferro, and even Marcus stiffen in sudden alarm, their eyes wide as they saw who was on board...