"This is exhausting...not to mention unfair. We're literally facing a potential civil war and I'm still stuck doing paperwork," Jules muttered to herself wearily, as she leaned back in her seat and stared up at the ceiling.
It was the 28th of March, 1919, almost a week since the meeting. And thanks to the Knights being put on high alert and told to report anything even the slightest bit suspicious, Jules's workload had increased drastically.
She'd been kept busy over the last few days, having to think up and implement numerous countermeasures to deal with any further attacks from Exalt.
And one of the first things she did was move the Queen, Lyra, to a safe place. Only Jules herself knew where Lyra was, isolated in a secret location, along with a month's worth of supplies.
"I hope we manage to deal with this threat soon...Lyra hasn't voiced any complaints so far, but it can't be easy, being all cooped up by herself like this. I'd prefer not to keep her holed up in there for too long. But until we've eliminated Exalt, I need to keep her there, it's the only way to make sure she's safe...I can't afford to expose her to any risk whatsoever.
Unfortunately, we still haven't turned up any leads on where Exalt is hiding. Our only choice is to wait for them to make a move, and then hopefully capture one of them who's more likely to answer our questionsthan the last one was," She thought to herself, before glancing ahead as someone knocked on her door, "Yes? Who is it?"
"It's me, Commander. May I enter?"
"Oh, Tilda. Yes, please, come in," Replied Jules, before the door opened and Tilda stepped in, holding a tray in one hand and a folder in the other.
"You look exhausted, ma'am, maybe you should take a break," She remarked with a wry smile.
"Believe me, I would if I could...but with how much work I've got to do, I can't afford to take it easy. It'll just keep piling up," Sighed Jules in response.
"Well, in that case, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but...," Trailed off Tilda sheepishly, as she walked over towards Jules's desk, before setting down the folder and adding, "Here, I've brought the documents you asked for."
"Huh? I don't remember asking for anything," Frowned Jules uncertainly, while thinking to herself, "Well, this isn't good. Looks like I really do need some rest."
"It's a collection of reports from several of the Knight outposts. I'm sorry to add more to your workload when you've already got your hands full, but it seems that some of these reports are important," Replied Tilda apologetically.
"I certainly hope so...many of the reports I've received have been a little pointless, with nothing of particular importance. A part of me is starting to regret instructing the Knights to report anything that seems even a little suspicious."
"The rest of us can help you with that, you know, why not delegate a bit more?" Suggested Tilda objectively.
"Well, I'm already having Vice-Commander Siele go through about a third of these reports, so it's not like I'm shouldering the entirety of the burden alone. But I can't delegate too much...this is pretty mind-numbing work, it'd be easy to end up slacking off and just skim through them instead of reading them properly. Siele is able to focus well, so I know he can handle it, that's why I'm having him help.
There are a few others who I think would be able to handle this as well, yourself included, but I also have to consider the fact that we can't stretch ourselves too thin. Exalt could end up attacking at any given moment, so we need as many of our high-ranked Knights sharp and on alert. Once this is over, we should really set up a department within the Order to handle paperwork," Suggested Jules wryly.
"That's a good idea, it'll free us up a lot more, that's for sure. Also, you said you want our high-ranked Knights sharp, but you hold THE highest rank, so shouldn't you make sure that you're at your best before worrying about the rest of us?" Pointed out Tilda, before lowering the tray and setting a cup down in front of her, "Here, you should drink this. It's a special blend of tea that'll help relieve fatigue, you look like you could really use it, Commander."
"Oh, how considerate of you, Tilda. Thank you, I appreciate it," Smiled Jules gratefully, before flipping open the folder as she picked up the cup and took a sip, while Tilda stole a subtle glance at the clock in the room, narrowing her eyes as she took note of the time...
Meanwhile, in Garnet City...
"Just five more minutes...five more minutes and we're done for the day," Sighed Tacitus, as he checked the time while laying sprawled across a couch in the Knight outpost.
"You look like you're already done for the day," Responded Aster dryly.
"Yeah, well, it's more comfortable at home than in here. Despite my best efforts, I just can't relax as much," Muttered Tacitus with a shrug.
"Sure, sure, that's a good point...except, you aren't here to relax. You're here to work, you lazy ass...come on, we're getting paid pretty handsomely, at least pretend to work hard enough to justify it," Sighed Aster in exasperation.
"Come on, let me switch with one of the others...I'm sure Ravella, for one, would be more than happy to be here, so I'll switch with her and go to Opal Town, it's a win-win situation."
"First off, why Ravella in particular?" Muttered Aster, getting a bit flustered as his mind flashed back to the kiss, before shaking his head to compose himself and added, "Also, no...you only want to switch because you'll be able to slack off a lot more if I'm not around. Therefore...your request is rejected."
"Hmph."
"Hey, don't you 'hmph' me, you-..."
"Come on, we're just two minutes away from being done for the day, can't you save the nagging for tomorrow?" Grumbled Tacitus, as he took another glance at the time.
"Why, you-..."
"Captain! We've got an emergency!" Suddenly came a voice from the doorway, as a Knight burst into the building with a panicked look on his face.
"Oh, come on, of all times...," Groaned Tacitus in dismay.
"What's wrong? Has something happened?" Frowned Aster warily.
"Yes, sir...the city is under attack! Several hooded figures showed up and started attacking! I was on patrol in a group of three, the other two are holding off the assailants and sent me to report it. It seems they've cut the phone lines, and I think they're using some kind of radio jammer, our walkies weren't working!"
"He's right, Captain! The phones are offline!" Called out one of the other Knights in the building, as she picked up a phone and held it up to her ear.
"And I'm only getting static from the walkie-talkies!" Chimed in another Knight.
"They cut the phone lines, huh? So this is what it feels like to be on the other side of that," Muttered Tacitus, as he reluctantly got back onto his feet.
"Those assholes stole our tactics. Let's go make 'em pay," Growled Aster, his eyebrow twitching in irritation.
"Not just stole, but improved on it. We never had the equipment to jam radio waves," Remarked Tacitus, before averting his gaze as Aster gave him a narrowed side glance.
"Let's get going. Nile, you're with us! The rest of you, spread out and evacuate the civilians! Once you've made sure that they're safe, come back us up, just in case we end up needing it," Instructed Aster, as he began heading for the entrance, before adding as he glanced at the Knight who'd reported the attack, "How many of them are there?"
"I-I'm not sure, Captain, my apologies. There were a lot of them though, at least fifteen or so from what I saw."
"And were any of them strong?"
"Yes, there were a few who I recognized as former members of the Knight Order, though there were a number of others who clearly seemed like they weren't used to fighting. Oh, and they're to the west, around the area where the arcade is located."
"Alright, good work. You did well to notice that much in the heat of the moment. Go aid the evacuation efforts," Replied Aster as he patted the Knight's shoulder, before making his way out of the building, with Tacitus and Nile trailing close behind.
"They're gonna pay for making me work overtime," Stated Tacitus with a dark look in his eyes, as he cracked his knuckles.
"Not to mention stealing our tactics. Those pieces of shit...they go on and on about how superior they are to us lowly Commoners, and then they have the fucking audacity to plagiarize our way of doing things? I'm not gonna let that slide," Declared Aster with a look of determination.
"Uh...not sure you've got the right motivations there, Captain, but I guess it's fine if it means you're more driven to take them down," Responded Nile in bemusement, as the trio hurried through the streets...