Page 43 of Stars in Umbra
She took note of their rank, visible through the stars pinned on their stiff collars, and the rows of medals on their upper chests.
She navigated the crowd with the ease of long practice, offering nods, handshakes, and the occasional friendly quip to those who earned it.
‘General Vel Korin,’ she greeted with a tight smile, clasping forearms with the Allorian military chief.
He was tall, gaunt, dressed in midnight-gray battle fatigues, his eyes sunken from too many sleepless nights.
‘I thought you’d be back home putting out fires.’
Korin gave a hoarse laugh. ‘I prefer blowing out flames on the delicious cocktails that every bar in Eden II seems to serve. Less likely to kill me in my sleep.’
She chuckled, thinking about how these conferences were often just junkets for men like him, a chance to let loose and go wild when off duty.
She passed Sartixia’s Admiral Dane Vastrik, his gold-trimmed navy uniform immaculate, his posture so rigid he appeared welded into place.
‘Colonel Mendi,’ he drawled, voice like frost, ‘I hope Dunia’s peace corps isn’t about to complicate our already tenuous supply routes.’
‘I’m working on a deal to free them up, Admiral,’ she shot back with a polite smile.
Next, she chanced on Rhesia’s General Amasi Jourdan, brisk, silver-haired, and notorious for her disdain of bureaucracy.
She caught Rina’s eye and tipped an imaginary glass in greeting.
‘You look like you need a drink, Colonel.’
‘You’re not wrong,’ Rina muttered, sliding into her seat.
The conference kicked off moments later, the lights dimming as the amphitheater’s holo-screens flared to life, casting a cold glow over the hundreds of delegates.
The mood was a palpable tension, a shared unease that hung in the air like a storm cloud. This was no ordinary diplomatic gathering; it was a military council convened to address the escalating threats to the fragile peace of the Pegasi system.
The major themes were clear: the defense of Falasia and the protection of the allied planet of Alloria, alongside the complex military issues surrounding the expansion of the otherworldly powers within Pegasi.
At the podium, the Rhesian Head of Defense, Marshal Drayen Sol Karthis, took the stage, a towering figure in a deep crimson uniform. His voice was a bellow, a weapon he wielded to command the room.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, we convene today as protectors of Pegasi’s fragile peace, stewards of its volatile borders, and defenders of our shared survival,’ he declared. ‘Let us not waste this gathering with posturing. We face threats far surpassing our egos. Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of defending our fragile and shared freedom.’
With that, the conference was officially opened.
Rina was a silent observer in a room filled with influential individuals.
The pomp and circumstance, the dramatic speeches, it all seemed like a hollow spectacle. She saw a collection of egos, not a unified front.
The discussions were already predictable, bogged down in bureaucratic jargon and military rivalries.
Her take was simple: they were all talking about defense, but no one was addressing the core issue. The growing rebel movements were pushing back against the very authoritarian governments they were here to defend.
She was witnessing a failure of perspective.
This wasn’t a matter of tactics or military might; it was about facing two interconnected threats: the rebels and the governments of Rhesia, Falasia, and Alloria, which were falling prey to hard-line politics.
The rebels and gangs, who were growing in influence, had no fear of death, a brutal advantage that the military minds in this room seemed to underestimate.
As she listened to the presentations, her mind replayed the sound of the protesters’ cries from just moments ago, a stark reminder that the real-world consequences of this meeting were already a blood-soaked reality.
The military solutions they proposed felt tragically insufficient.
They were planning to fight conventional wars against enemies that fought without rules, without mercy, and without a shred of what they understood as humanity.
