Martin was a nice and quiet boy. I loved him already. He was the joy of all who met him. The hero's hall was no different. All the Fojun knights were there and though he was cute. The Loko, Muro and Drak knights completely shunned him. Suzie mocked me for having a child with an NPC. I rolled my eyes as she played with him anyway and smiled. Finn also came to play with Martin. He smiled as he lifted him in the air. Martin gurgled happily. We had the day to ourselves, and we toured the city together and returned in the evening. Duke Bastion met with us on the next day. He smiled at us and said "Welcome to Greenhill City, my knights. I have a top secret mission I need a team to complete. This mission goes straight from the top. Take a look at the file and tell me if you will accept it. It is totally optional and therefore worth a high reward." I picked up the file and read through it. My mouth twitched into a smile as I read. We were going to do a false flag operation on a nation of a rival faction. I was very interested in the mission.
It was a super clandestine mission that needed at least four knights. Basically, a pair of us needed needed to attack a base in and Elite mecha. We would be disguised in the colors and mecha style of Umamu, a coastal nation on the border of Yejolli. They were the part of a five nation faction led by Humabi, a desert nation ruled by a very strong gerontocracy. The attack was on Cadini, another coastal kingdom. They were a constitutional monarchy that was the head of its own five nation faction. The Elite mecha would dive bomb the country and fire until shot down. The others would scoop in after the wreckage and make sure that the bodies were destroyed. For the Elite mecha pilots, it was a suicide mission. Even the Battle mecha pilots were not guaranteed to return home alive. I raised my hand in front of everyone. I said "I will pilot the Elite mecha in the Omega position." I could not resist the mission. This is what I was waiting for. Everyone except for Suzie looked at me like I was crazy. To them, I probably was. "This mission will lead to the glory of Wendalia. All I ask for is that I am promoted to baron when I return from the mission."
Duke Bastion said "I like that fire. I'll grant that wish if you return." The question was who was going to pilot with me. I looked to Suzie and she shook her head. "I'm going to be on cleanup duty. It's more hands on." she apologized. Finn raised his hand and said "I'll pilot with you." I nodded in gratitude. Finn was a loyal friend to me. Two more hands rose up for cleanup duty. That was five. Duke Bastion looked at us seriously and said "We captured a frigate a decade ago in a proxy war. The same with the mecha. They're a bit old, but we made sure it was in peak condition for this mission. You'll leave tomorrow and begin the mission. immediately. We want them hit hard and fast. While Humabi and Cadini are fighting, we punch straight through to the new continent. We can expand our influence and enrich ourselves from the resources their." I smiled and gave the salute. Suzie did the same and that made the others fall in line. Duke Bastion smiled and said "This newly minted Order of the Silver Ball will be the governors of the new colonies. I pray for your success."
