Reunion and Failure

Zaxton has already left for the current camp of Engania, to inquire about the research and console his subjects, while Emily and Mark stayed behind as his representatives.

Reimond was making other members of the Conglomerate aware of the situation and awaiting their responces, and in the meanwhile Emily and Mark patiently waited and drank tea.

Both of them knew that they had no say in the way Conglomerate operated, and what was needed from the two of them was information.

They had to tell the Conglomerate's members what they needed and could provide in return, as well as inform them of possible incoming dangers.

And while they were waiting for their time to shine, Zaxton was quickly moving towards the Granaut forest, where his people were.

[The quicker I get there the better. I have to calm people down in case there is any serious unrest brewing among them and clearly explain our situation. Next on the list, is properly organising people, in order to quickly and efficiently react to any outcome of the deal with the Conglomerate, peole have to be well organized, of course, while waiting for the result of negotiation this should also benefit the efficiency of gathering supplies from the forest.]

[In the meantime, we should also not disturb locals until we reach an agreement with the Conglomerate. These people have their own worries, and trying to get help from them might give our people bad reputation. After social questions are resolved, I should also visit my scientists in order to examine their research on Zegrahael.]

Thinking through his goals, Zaxton was rsther rapidly approaching Granaut forest, and after making a few more turns, he finally saw a sea of people in the distance.

He slowed down his steps and made his strides wider, in order to seem more reassuring and confident. His clothing may differ from the one he wore in Engania, but his hair and face reamained the same.

While approaching middle between the city and the crowd, he noticed that three people separated from the mass, and started approaching him. Whe he covered about two thirds of the total distance from the city, he met with his people face to face, and both sides stopped momentarily.

People who approached Zaxron were a combination of two soldiers and a police oficer. Once they recognised him, they lightly hit themselves in the chest with their right hand, and lowered their head for a moment.

Once the silent greeting ended and they raised their head, Zaxton nodded and resumed his approach. The three followed behind him, with the four people forming a rombus, Zaxton in the front, two soldiers behind him by his sides, and the police oficer behind Zaxton.

Finally, the group got close enough to allow people at the outside of the crowd to see them, and once they did...

- - - - - ----GREETINGS YOUR EXCELLENCY!!!

- - - - - ----YOUR EXCELLENCY HAS FINALLY ARRIVED, WHAT A RELIEF!

- - - - - ----Huh?! Is that?..!!! GREETINGS!

- - - - - ----Thank god you are also here!!!

Cheeres swept across the crowd, which actually wasn't as crowded as it seemed, and news started to spread quickly among the people, as they started to fall to their left knee, while pressing their right hand to their chest.

Of course, not everyone could see Zaxton, but as they witnessed the wave of cheers and people falling, they had no doubts and chimed in!

To every single outside observer this was a shock! How could they even presume, that this kid which was so confidently approaching this sea of people, even when they clearly dispatched someone to stop him, would make such a great impact without even saying a word?!

{[|Author's note: The emotional punctuation came up on it's own, and I couldn't resist.|]}

As people were delighted, and some were shocked, Zaxton waited for a few minutes, and, finally, they have arrived. Five people came out of the crowd, placed their fist in front of their heart and lowered their head. Once they raised their heads, all of them said the same, almost simultaneously.

- - - - -Greetings, your Excellency. We are delighted to see you again.

The Minister of Financial sector Mortimer, the Minister of Educational sector Karl, the Minister of Logistical and Engineering sector Thocola, the Minister of Medicinal sector Famel and the Minister of Cultural sector Claude. These people further separate the responsibilities of Emily, with every single one of them being in charge of a cruicial sector important to the stability and thriving of Engania.

Claude broke the short moment of silence.

-Your Excellency, please come with us. This may not be as comfortable as our accommodation back in Engania, but thanks to the combined efforts of our people we managed to create some extremely basic shelters for exhausted peoplpe to rest, I think we should discuss matters at hand there.

-Sure, please lead the way. I hope none of you slacked off while the people were working?

Mortimer was the one to reply.

-Of course not. All of us, along with our subordinates, helped as much as we could. Thocola helped design and construct, Famel helped injured, Claude and Karl helped keep up people's spirit and, along with me, helped around with gathering and constructing.

Zaxton gave a nod of approval.

-This is great. Thanks to efforts of all of you our society managed to keep itself somewhat stable. Right now Mark and Emily are negotiating with some of local authorities about proper shelter. Once we recieve an answer, we can make further plans. Can someone tell how is the situation with organisation of people? How efficient is it in the current state?

This time Karl was the one to give a responce.

-Usually Mark would be the one to respond, but since he's not here, and other's who helped personally have already spoken out, I guess I'll be the one to respond. We managed to split all of the people into tems of nine. Six civillians, two soldiers and either a police oficer, a soldier of higher rank or one more soldier.

-Thanks to the fact that basically all of people are armed, we needed some people with military discipline and experience in every single of the teams, for organisation. Thanks to that, we were able to create quite an effective system. Although I think that another important fact that contributes to this system, is the fact that basically the entire population is divided into teams.

-And also, thanks to the fact that teams gradually had higher-ranking soldiers incorporated, there still is some kind of subordination among them, allowing us to convey orders to more people through way less. And, funnily enough, thanks to the fact that 500 002 people were transported the only people that are technically not assigned to any team are ministers and her Excellency Emily. Oh, you are also here now, so it's 500 003, right?

When he said it, they finally reached one of the shelters that were constructed. It was just a place to lie or sit down, made out of two or three thick logs and covered with leaves, protected above with a canopy made out of thin branches and covered by leaves as well. Extremely simple indeed, but does the job.

Zaxton answered after he inspected what he saw.

-No, I wasn't transported. Technically speaking, all of you were a part of my dram before, and now you are on reality, so no, it doesn't... Wait a second, do you mean that aside from Mark and Emily there was exactly 500 000 people?

All five ministers were stunned by a sudden revelation made to them, and Thocola subconsciously responded while still processing what he heard.

-Y-yes...

All five ministers quickly sat down to calm down.

While they were apprehending what they heard, Zaxton thought to himself as well.

[This is strange. I thought they were telling me approximate values, but to think that they were actually exact? This is unbelievable! I wonder what exactly happened. Anyways, it's not like I can do anything about it right now, I should be going to the next point, and that's...]

Suddenly, he heard a voice from behind him, calling out to him.

-Your Excellency! The Research department of Engineering Bureau is here with a latest report!

Zaxton turned around. He saw fifteen people wearing lab coats standing in front of him in five rows in a triangular shape. The research department. People he was going to meet next.

The person in front of him was holding a stack of paper sheets, consisting of seven separate smaller stacks.

[The research on Zegrahael!]

-Hello Hash, I assume you brought me your collective's research on Zegrahael? Emily has reported that thanks to your luck you managed to save it. I'm impressed by the fact that you managed to complete it so quickly! Now, please, let me take a look at the result.

Zaxton held out his hands, awaiting the answer. And the papers.

Hash, the head of the Research deparment, smiled as he put the stack of paper into his hands.

-Of course, this was the exact reason we came! Now, if you'll excuse us, we still have to help around with shelters.

Holding the papers in his hands, Zaxton closed his eyes, smiled and nodded in approval.

-Sure, go ahead. I have to read through these anyways, so do your best!

Scientists lowered their heads in responce, and left.

Finally, Zaxton was left alone. One-on-one with the research on his precious Zegrahael.

Slightly shaking with excitement, he went to the nearest empty shelter, and started to flip through the documentation, memorising everything as well as he could.

A the same time, in the middle of the city, in the meeting room of the building of Enean Conglomerate, a heated, but at the same time calm discussion was going on.

Reimond was sitting at the round table, with Emily and Mark standing behind him.

With his fingers interlocked, he was obserrving as almost every other member of the Conglomerate was rejecting his request. Even after hearing the information form Emily and Mark, they remained suspicios and unmoved.

No matter what argument he offered, they would find flaws and irregularities, rejecting it. He was worried about the future, however he didn't show it.

Mark and Emily on the other hand, were completely calm. They put their trust into Zaxton, and were going to follow it until the end. Until now, no matter what happened in Engania, he would find some kind of solution, and they believed that he will be able to come up with something even now.

Finally, the last member of the Conglomerate finished his speech.

-...and as such, I am afraid that this "source" of information is too unreliable. We can't put our trust in them, and I believe we should reject their plead.

-And so, it comes to seven against two, I believe this concludes our meeting. Have a good day, gentlemen, I have still have buisness to attend to.

Saying that, the deputy head of the Conglomerate stood up and left, after throwing a glance at the only member, aside from Reimond, who wanted to support the newcomers.

The negotiations have almost completely failed.