[A/N] Let me just start right the bat by apologizing for the huge delay of this. I don't want to get into the details of my privates matters but let's just say there was medical crisis with one of my family members which caused more stress and strain on my will than anticipated. That, coupled with a full time job and university really crippled my motivation to write for a while or do my other usual hobbies. The situation with the disease got so bad I even had withdrew from the classes I was taking to focusing on it and I was falling behind anyway. But now. Now things have slowed down, gotten better.

Now to take a note from the author's notes of foldguy24's story. I won't make the mistake of promising delay deadlines again but let me again reiterate this, this story will be updated. If it's taking a long time just consider that I may have rl issues happening but don't worry it's not abandoned. That's foldguy24's policy and it's mine too. I appreciate the continued follows, favs, and comments over the break though.

Let me also thank Robo Reader 21 and evevee. Robo Reader beta read this story just before my rl crisis and gave me helpful advice on element and events to change. The chapter was way shorter then. User evevee helped out very much by messaging me about the delay as I had the old file open and mulling it over. He beta read this current version and suggested minor changes here and there as well as proofreading. His help inspired me to get back into things and make this chapter longer.

I would also posted this story on SpaceBattles if any of you are members there, as well as the comments here you can post ideas, suggestions, and critics there too. Here's the next chapter.

Chapter 4: Flawless Familiar

Halkeginia, Tristain 2558
Tristain Capital, royal palace.

The main road through the capital of Tristania was lined with cheering crowds and soldiers at attention as a royal convoy entered the city and made its way to the palace. At the center of all this sudden attention was Henrietta de Tristain, the crown princess of the Holy Kingdom of Tristain and daughter of Queen Marianne. She had been gone for a good while, having been in Germania making arrangements to marry the emperor and forge an alliance with the much more powerful nation. The throngs of people were glad that their princess was back safe and sound amidst the nation's current crisis, a crisis which had caused the princess to expedite her return from Germania. As they passed the massed garrison of soldiers and refugees outside the walls and entered the gates, Henrietta's personal bodyguard, Agnes, looked behind to the horizon.

"That's quite a view," she spoke while staring at the floating 'ships' looming in the distance.

The princess glanced back from own seat in the ornate royal carriage they were riding in and simply replied, "Yes it is… quite a view."

In the distance massive objects hovered ominously above the ground while formed in a circular formation around the largest of the ships which seemed to be grounded, and though the emergency messages described them as ships she still could not fathom them being so. The entire crew of her flagship was utterly shocked when the beings came into view on the horizon during the airship journey back and as they got closer to home the sheer size of the things became more and more apparent. Only a few hours ago they received another message from the palace briefly detailing an incident involving the academy making contact with them and discovering they are interested in negotiating. No doubt she would have to make preparations for the event as soon as she enters the court and she knew that she had a hectic few days ahead of her.

"Poor mother, I'm so sorry to have left you on your own for all this, but how could I or anyone else have predicted something this could happen? It's alright now though, I'm home," she thought to herself, concerned over her still grieving mother whose stress levels must be critical at this point. However, she would be lying to herself if she didn't admit that she was glad to have the excuse to get away from the Germanian emperor. The man could not have made the fact that she would just be a young trophy of a wife clearer. The whole time he looked at her as if he could not wait to consummate the marriage. "For Tristain," she reassured herself.

As if reading her charge's thoughts, Agnes spoke up with an annoyed expression, "If it weren't for the fact that it would've start a war, I would've knocked the smug look off that emperor's face as soon as we arrived in Germania."

Henrietta turned and smiled at her loyal bodyguard and companion, "Now Agnes, please do try to behave. He will be my husband in the near future and by the word of Brimir I must be a loyal wife." She looked off in the distance again after that last bit, not wanting to really believe it to be true.

Cardinal Mazarin, who was riding along with the princess and bodyguard, addressed her, "Well said your highness, you've grown so much to take this all in stride for the sake of the realm. I'm pleased that you choose not to be as hotheaded as others." Agnes shot him an accusatory glare, partly for that shot at her just then but also for his willingness to support this alliance with Germania. It wasn't that he actually did support this marriage of necessity, quite the opposite actually. His love for her majesty Queen Marianne and the royal family was no secret, not any sort of romantic love, but the love of a loyal and faithful subject that was second only to his love for Brimir as a man of the Church. Thus it should be no surprise that, like her mother, he had the young princess Henrietta's best interest in mind and wanted nothing but happiness for her. On the other hand, however, she would have to learn that being a leader meant making sacrifices for the sake of the country, and with the King's passing, Marianne counted on him to assist in assuring Henrietta grows to be the leader this country needs. With Reconquista's imminent and assured victory in Albion, an alliance with Germania was absolutely necessary as intelligence on Cromwell's intentions point to the use of an easy invasion of Tristain as a foothold in Halkeginia. Compounding these issues were the odd entities in sky that created Tristain's latest crisis.

Agnes continued her tirade against the Emperor despite Mazarin's previous jab at her. "Just say the word my Queen and I would fight off all of Albion and Germania myself if it would mean your happiness at not having to marry and bed some lecherous old man."

The princess smiled warmly at this and squeezed her protector's hand, causing the other woman to smile back. "How many times do I have to tell you Agnes? I'm not a queen… yet." Her thoughts then returned to the current events and the so called ships loitering in her country. "I hope Louise is alright, the academy is much closer to those things than we are and I would hate for her to be so close if things go awry."

"The academy professors and the Headmaster seem convinced enough of their peaceful intentions to suggest the royalty meet with them. I'm sure your friend Louise is just fine," Agnes reassured.

"She's correct," Mazarin said, "Headmaster Osmond is more than capable of dealing with this situation and I'm sure he would do nothing to put any of the students in any undue danger. Your friend is in good hands." He had a small nagging doubt about that though. The last time he had dealings with the old and powerful wizard he was showing signs of succumbing to mental deterioration that old age brings.

Henrietta replied, "That being so I will feel much more at ease as soon as we get back to the palace and start receiving some answers about all this."

Eventually they made it to the palace walls and entered the main gate while crowds of commoner refugees cheered believing that their princess would liberate their land from the 'invaders'. As the carriage came to a stop Agnes, followed by Mazarin, got out and took Henrietta's hand, assisting her in stepping down from the open side door. On each side of the walkway and steps leading to the palace doors Agnes' musketeer corps and royal mage knights bowed on one knee as the princess walked up the steps with her protector and faithful cardinal at her flanks and more knights from the journey in tow. Inside the first room they were greeted with the throne room where a court meeting was currently in session. Upon the entrance of the princess all discussion stopped and heads turned to the large decorative doors as trumpets heralded her arrival. Queen Marianne rose from her throne to greet her daughter. Henrietta gracefully strode forward and quickly wrapped herself in her mother's embrace whilst the other nobles and knights present remained respectfully silent.

"My dearest Henrietta, I am so glad to see you here safe and sound," Marianne said as she held her daughter in a tight embrace.

Henrietta disengaged the embrace slightly and looked up at her mother's face, "I too am glad to see you are doing well mother." She looked around the room at the assembled royal advisors and knights.

"I am so sorry you had to be alone through all this."

"Nonsense, you could not have known this would happen to our kingdom," her mother responded.

Henrietta was happy to hear her dear mother say those words but they did little to put her mind at ease. She knew her mother better than anyone else besides her late father, and it was clear to her that this sudden crisis was weighing heavily on the woman from just looking her in the eyes. She just wasn't in the right state anymore to handle things like this.

Marianne then turned and walked back to her throne with Henrietta in tow. "I should be apologizing to you my dear, for that was all the time for greetings and pleasantries we've time for. Now we must return to the more pressing issues at hand." They both sat down in their thrones and the royal court session resumed.

"Praises to the Founder for our safe journey home and the wellbeing of the princess and all are glad to see you home safely," Mazarin spoke as he took his place beside the Queen. The other nobles present said their praises to the Founder in agreement before Mazarin continued, "but as her majesty has stated you'll have to excuse the need to put news of your marriage arrangements on the backseat for the moment. Once we've finished here we will move on to your marriage to the emperor," he finished, bringing the topic back to the nation's visitors. The princess did not mind in any way the topic of discussion not being her inevitable marriage of necessity.

Turning her head to Henrietta, Marianne addressed her daughter again, "As you should already be aware of, the colossi that currently grace our skies with their presence are indeed airships, though of unknown make or origin. More importantly, the leadership or captains of these ships have requested an audience with us at a time and place of our choosing."

Henrietta took a moment to say anything; she was still in awe that those things were airships. "You say we will be meeting with captains, who are we dealing with then? What did the academy find out during their encounter?"

The captain of Tristain's griffon knights spoke, "According to the headmaster, our guests are from the military of something called the United Nations Space Command, or UNSC as they abbreviate it."

"United Nations…," the princess pondered aloud, "Are we dealing with multiple nations then?" She found the name of their country to be highly peculiar.

"We're not sure of the details as of yet, we only know what academy has learned from their first encounter. As for the 'Space Command' part of their name…"

"It is most certainly part of the ridiculous claim that they are some kind of visitors from the stars," the marshal of Tristain, De Poitiers, interjected.

Another noblemen and royal advisor spoke, "The academy's Professor Colbert must have misinterpreted some information during their meeting. Given the circumstances it is understandable that he was a bit overwhelmed when absorbing such information."

"Well given that their ships are unlike anything we've seen before we cannot yet refute their claims. We have much to ask and learn from these visitors," another noble stated.

"We also have the fact that eyewitness accounts from the local populace claim that the ships descended from the clouds," added Wardes. "In fact, many thought they were falling stars."

The Queen spoke, "As of now we should take care to not underestimate these UNSC people. I believe their military prowess should be of great concern. Marshal, would you kindly fill my daughter in on yesterday's events?"

Looking to Henrietta, Poitiers complied, "Your highness, yesterday the security force you witnessed outside the gates of the city went on high alert due to, according to the academy reports, a battle between the UNSC soldiers and an unusually large gathering of orcs."

"They were attacked by orcs?" Henrietta queried. She was surprised that orcs of all things would try to attack such people, but then again they are mindless creatures.

Agnes chimed in with an observation, "Of course, I noticed immediately that their ship had landed in the black forest, a most dangerous place. The orcs and other dangerous creatures of the woods must have fled when the colossus landed but eventually returned wanting their territory back." She would usually stay quiet during such session as she did not care for politics or politicians for that matter, not to mention most of the noble advisors and courtiers did not care for a commoner being given the esteemed role of personal guard to the princess.

Wardes, not having any ill feelings towards the blonde commoner, nodded at her and continued where the marshal left off, "Professor Colbert from the academy had firsthand experience with how the soldiers of this UNSC engage in combat and his report is quite troubling. He claims that their common soldiers as well as heavily armored knights used powerful weapons and magic to completely decimate the orcs in a matter of minutes."

"Can you elaborate further? What did he mean by 'powerful weapons and magic'," the princess asked, wanting to know as much as she could about these strange new visitors to Halkeginia. While never actually having encountered orcs in her lifetime, she had heard that a pack of them could give soldiers sent to save terrorized villages some trouble. That is, until a battle mage commanding them starts using spells, but a massive horde of the beasts being wiped out in minutes seemed like quite the feat.

The marshal answered her, "To be brief, their soldiers are reported to have been wielding magical muskets and other firearms capable of firing multiple times and in rapid succession with, as Colbert claims, a great deal of power and accuracy." Agnes' eyebrow rose skeptically as she took even more interest the discussion. "Among other magical feats they witnessed are horseless self-moving carriages, some kind of telepathic spell used for communicating with each other, unknown magic that creates spectral entities, unknown breeds of dragons plus other winged beast, and the list goes on. I should also mention that the professor believes that commoner levees were equipped with and using these magical weapons most efficiently while under command of the mage knights and noble captain."

The other nobles present in the court were a little disturbed by this new information and began talking amongst themselves, causing the atmosphere of the chamber to become noisy with conversation.

"What kind of nation or nations would equip and train commoners with magical weapons," a court noble exclaimed.

Another spoke, "I'm more concerned that they have the resources to equip their entire army with such artifacts and still be able to keep the commoners in line. Their nobility must be truly skilled and powerful in the use of magic."

"Considering these concerns, we are taking a risk inviting them here for a meeting your highness," the marshal continued, "we will have to take the highest precautions possible."

Henrietta looked to her mother wide eyed, "Mother, you want to invite them here? Are you sure about this?"

"I know the risk," answered the queen, "but their leadership was willing to risk inviting Tristain mages into their perimeter and then meet them personally, I believe we should show the same trust in order to keep things civil." Marianne did feel sorry that her daughter was essentially the ruler of the kingdom despite not being queen yet, meaning she would be bearing the burden of negotiating with these completely foreign people. "I know this will be hard for you Henrietta but I will be by your side through this."

The princess smiled warmly and nodded, "I will do my best for Tristain mother, thank you." She then seemed to think about the plan for a moment before voicing her opinion, "Mother, not to undermine your authority, but despite wanting to show trust, inviting these unknowns directly to the capital may be too soon."

Marshal De Poitiers agreed, "Her majesty Henrietta is as expected, correct. These UNSC are too unknown to allow early access into our nation's crown jewel."

The courtroom was then filled with the sound of more whispers and murmurs as the nobles present agreed, given the revelation of the nature of these UNSC and their soldiers. Fortunately Henrietta remembered one important fact, "How about we meet in the middle?" She addressed her mother and the court gathering. Having gained everyone's attention she continued to elaborate her plan, "I am scheduled to travel to the academy for the annual familiar exhibition festival to watch the students demonstrate the abilities of their new familiars." Many of the nobles sported thoughtful expressions and nodded in silent agreement, already understanding what the Princess was about to suggest. "How about instead of me going alone to the festival you accompany me mother," Henrietta asked as she turned to the Queen.

Marianne smiled at her again, "Very well Henrietta, the academy shall make an excellent neutral zone to hold negotiations. The festival will allow us chance to have a cultural show and tell."

"Ahem," Agnes coughed to gain everyone's attention. "As her majesty's guardian I would like to start making our plans for this visit and design the necessary steps in order to assure the safety of the crown."

"Yes, of course," said Mazarin. "We should send them a message detailing our plans and have them send a delegation to meet with the academy authority before the festival. I'm sure the safety of their leadership is just as important to them as it is for us to maintain the safety of the crown."

"If I were them I'd want to ensure the academy is free of any threats," Wardes stated in agreement with the cardinal. "It would be best for their forces to coordinate security with our own to ensure that no treachery is afoot from both sides. Given that their ship is grounded indefinitely I can only conjecture that they must be in a vulnerable situation right now, no matter how strong their ships are."

"You mean that monstrosity is stranded," Henrietta said, surprised at this new bit of information given to her.

Marianne replied to her, "Ah yes, we had forgotten to convey that information to you daughter. The largest of those behemoth ships you saw is indeed unable to lift off for the time being, or at least that is what the academy reports."

"How could that have happened then?"

"We…," Marianne shot the Duke de la Valliere a glance and he subtly looked to her. "We do not know the exact reason as to how that ship ended up in such a situation and we will not know more until we meet with them." Of course she had been discreetly briefed about the Duke's youngest daughter's possible involvement in this crisis via the familiar summoning ceremony. She remembered Louise as a sweet little girl who brought her own daughter much joy as a childhood playmate. For the sake of the Valliere family she had chosen to not bring up this fact until the official meetings though she knows that rumors will inevitably slip out.

Henrietta tried to hide her unease; if they wanted windstones as part of the negotiations then unfortunately Tristain could never provide enough to get a ship like that back in the air without entirely depleting the Navy's reserves. Looking around herself, she took a moment to reflect on everything while momentarily toning out the continuing debate and planning. She looked at the nobles of the court excitedly talking amongst themselves and making plans. With the entire royal family now planning to visit the familiar exhibition, which was itself unprecedented, they all would follow. It made sense; what influential noble family would not want to be part of the upcoming negotiations, considering that some of their own family territory has been seized. The exhibition and festival will turn out to be much livelier than what the academy could possibly have imagined. She turned to see Wardes excuse himself and leave to make preparations for the upcoming event. Letting out a soft sigh she tilted her head to Agnes and addressed her, "Agnes, as my personal guard I think it would be best if you went with Wardes and the other captains to coordinate security operation between the musketeers and royal knights."

Respectfully bowing her head to the princess, Agnes complied, "Right away your highness." With that she made her way out of the spacious courtroom to gather her musketeer corps, happy to have an excuse to leave a room full of stuffy nobles scrutinizing her every breath.

Halkeginia, Tristain 2558
UNSC Infinity, tertiary mess hall.

"We were surrounded by dozens of em', a hundred almost, low on ammo and no support."

In the mess the eccentric marine, private Locklear, detailed the previous days battle to a group of his fellow marines and crewmen. "I only had one mag left and I had to make every shot count. I took aim and bang, bang, bang! I dropped those pig nosed bastards one after the other, their heads popped like goddamn water balloons."

"Pffft…" His buddy Stark let out a huff of air while rolling his eyes with his arms crossed over his chest.

Ignoring him, Locklear went on, "Just as I ran dry on ammo one of those fuckers got past our line and came straight for me. Reacting faster than even that Spartan commander lady, I drew my knife and got ready to face it down."

"Bullshit," exclaimed a marine at the table.

"You seriously haven't figured out that all these stories are BS by now," asked another crewman.

Before he could continue with his wild retelling of his battle, Saito spoke, "Yeah right dude, I heard you simply got blindsided by one of those things and got whacked with a club. Then the Spartan commander had to save your ass, not to mention that literally everyone had air support. I was top of the ship at the time so I should know."

"As far as I know this idiot was the only one injured in the fight with those monsters," Stark mocked. "Given that you had air support and the friggen Spartan commander over there I don't know how you managed that Locklear." The others present had a laugh at Locklear's expense.

"Our big hero needs a Spartan to save him from some dumb ape wielding a stick," Saito chuckled at Locklear, earning more laughs from the others.

"Yeah, yeah just laugh it up Hiraga, at least some of us were out there risking our lives. What were you doing swabby, besides sitting up there chilling and watching the show?"

"Well, I was suspended by a wire rope over the ship's thrusters doing inspections, you know, stuff that'll get us off this rock. You wanna dangle in front of thrusters that could suddenly incinerate you to a crisp then be my guest jarhead." Saito was exaggerating somewhat as the chance of that happening wasn't really that high, but Locklear appeared to not know this.

"Risking your life, yeah right," another marine mocked. "I read the battle reports and like Stark said, you were the only idiot that was wounded in that easy ass engagement!"

Stark decided to change the subject from Locklear's failings as his red faced friend was about to fire back, "Speaking of those pig nosed monsters I've heard from the guys who were at Captain Lasky's meeting with the locals that they call them orcs."

"You gotta be kidding me," Saito said astounded by everything on this world, "first there were the dragons, then magic people in castles, and now orcs. When will the sewer goblins and fairies come out?"

A crewman spoke up with more information, "Yeah, I've heard talks that when the 'orcs' attacked the locals were using magic wands of all things and slinging fire and ice around. They even brought their pet dragons with em' too. They were tearing those things to pieces."

"The way I've heard it is that they thought the Spartans were some kind of knights in shining armor," said another crewmember.

"This shit is just completely nuts," Saito muttered under his breath. He still had trouble accepting the situation; sure he had been to different worlds and seen and even met aliens, but an unknown world with humans with magic fantasy powers and mythical beast would probably top the weirdest things he'd ever seen.

Stark continued, "And that nearby fort that had command all riled up happens to not be a fort at all but an academy, a magic academy if rumors of the meeting are true. They even called themselves mages, yeah mages, mages that were slinging around real deal magic."

"So that's like some 'Fantasy of Lords IV' shit," Locklear said, referencing the hit adventure fantasy movie franchise that is quite popular among Earth and the colonies.

"It was a professor and three female students from that academy place. From what I hear one of them had a real mean temper and tried to hit the captain." Everyone around the table perked up at that.

"Are you serious," Saito exclaimed, "How was she not splattered on road!?"

"Yeah it's true, pretty stupid move but the guys who were there said the captain just stood there cool as ice, not even flinching as the Spartans stopped her."

"That's Captain Lasky for ya," Saito thought. He liked the captain and thought of him as one of the more understanding and friendly of naval officers he had met before. Though Saito only ever met the captain a few times and only briefly, he had managed to leave that impression on the young sailor.

"Who's the idiot who would do something like that," a marine asked.

"I think the name was, uh, Liu, err Luis, no, Louise. The chick's name was Louise. They said they all had fucked up long names like Mary Anne de Florentine de Gertrud Augustus Ferdinand de la France Frenchie Fancy Pants III or something like that."

As the others began to laugh at the ridiculous name Stark made up while making up their own, Saito suddenly zoned out of the conversation. "Louise, Louise…," he thought. The name felt familiar for some reason. It seemed like he knew this girl even though he had just heard about her just now, why he felt this way he had no idea; it just seemed like déjà vu. "Louise…" It was like the name was calling to him. He knew she was familiar to him somehow but didn't understand why it was happening now. He shrugged it off as just his nerves and the situation they were in.

"Hey Hiraga you paying attention," a fellow crewmen inquired.

"Uhh, yeah, zoned out for second there…"

Halkeginia, Tristain 2558
UNSC Infinity, Bridge.

Inside the bridge of the UNSC Infinity the top officers of the small battle group gathered for a meeting to discuss the last day's events involving first contact with the indigenous people of this world; more specifically citizens of a nation called Tristain. The sudden assault by the dim witted hominid beasts the locals call orcs gave the UNSC forces in Halkeginia a clear picture of the dangers of this world not only in its fantasy-like fauna but the local Tristanians and their magical abilities. But the pressing issue at hand was anticipating the invitation of this nation's crown rulers to a meeting and negotiations.

"Well on the upside, Tristain has stopped sending scouts to snoop around us for the time being." Captain Lasky had created a report about their host country's seeming reluctance to send scouts, be it because of the orcs or the UNSC's demonstration of power. UNSC forces had noticed the lack of scouts as they spent the rest of last night clearing the surrounding area of any hostiles.

Captain DeSanta, who was leaning on a display with his arms crossed, spoke, "Well they're wary of our strength for now but the nature of this 'magic' of theirs is more than troubling."

"They'll be sending their message concerning the planned meeting with us soon, and given that their powers are more concerning than we thought we should plan to be extra cautious," Captain Robinson continued.

"I agree," Lasky stated, "As of now we can only assume that the powers displayed yesterday are stronger with more skilled mages."

"Those were just teenagers in some kind of magic high school," Spartan Sarah Palmer added. "I watched the helmet cam recordings and debriefed my Spartans on the battle. That pink haired one, Louise was it? She essentially blew those orcs away with the force of a standard issue HE grenade. These people can summon explosives out of thin air and need to be handled carefully."

"The others showed some disconcerting ability for being just kids learning the craft. From flamethrowers, flame bombs, and ice spears as deadly as a needle rifle, they seem to be extremely dangerous. The good professor was no doubt not using his full capabilities," DeSanta observed.

Commander West, a man in his mid-thirties and one of the commanding officers of the heavy frigates, offered his concerns, "What makes any future interactions with these folks who can wield these powers difficult is the fact that they can do all of it with just a simple inconspicuous stick."

The other officers nodded in agreement to this information. There was no doubt that this 'magic' was a new, dangerous, and still vastly unknown factor in the equation of the UNSC's safety on this world. "Good point," Palmer stated, "Roland, bring up Spartan Hoya's helmet feed from when he and Madsen scanned the professor and students for weapons."

Everyone turned their attention to a vid screen which displayed a recording of Hoya using a scanner on the academy's residents. When the Spartan was finished he declared that he had found no threats. "Next up is where we have a problem," DeSanta commented. Indeed the next thing to happen was the bright red headed girl name Kirche declaring it odd that the Spartan not be concerned over their wands to which Majestic leader DeMarco quickly had them relinquish the objects. Many recognized that the staff of the one named Tabitha was the same one she was carrying the night of her escapade, though now they could understand how she and her dragon accomplished the things they did that night.

"As you can see gentlemen, these wands do not show up on weapon scanners and something as simple as a walking stick or cane could easily be something far more dangerous," Palmer declared as the video was forwarded to the point where the mages joined the battle and Tabitha's use of ice magic to prove her point. "On the matter of security, well, as far as I can tell they couldn't use their magic tricks if they didn't have their wands. So to put it simply, their wands are just weapons, no different from a gun or blade and they should be treated as such."

DeSanta addressed her, "Except, Spartan Palmer, these are just small simple sticks that are far more concealable than any pistol or knife and pack a punch far greater than either. Just look at how they pulled out those wands earlier, I think that Kirche girl even had hers hidden in her cleavage."

"Well I don't think it would be too unreasonable for us to want to organize security with them for our official meeting," Richmond noted. "We should bring up our concerns with whomever the messenger is that they send."

Commander Clinton, a tall dark skinned soldier in his early thirties with a high top fade hairstyle and another commanding officer of a frigate, spoke, "On that matter, where they want to hold this meeting could be problematic. If it's that capital town of theirs then we face a dense urban environment in which they have a home field advantage should something go wrong. Even with our technological edge such a scenario could be problematic." He thought back to his days of fighting insurrectionist on their colonial home turf as well as how UNSC forces used their intimate knowledge of their own cities to try and gain some advantage over the Covenant.

"Wherever they decide to meet, we should roll in ground side as to not spook their security force with what they might perceive as winged demons," Lasky said.

The voice of the ship's AI, Roland, spoke through the speakers in the bridge, "A convoy of armored vehicles rolling through a city with people who think horse drawn carriages are top technology won't cause a stir among the populace?"

Lasky's eyes looked to his right as if glaring at Roland's non-existent personification before Robinson added his opinion, "Let's just take a frigate with us then, just to deter any treachery and instill some awe. As Commander Clinton says, if they do want to meet in the capital then going in with only ground assets could be a huge mistake on our part. A frigate can establish a position outside the city's airspace and hopefully not spook the city guards as you've stated."

"Agreed then, if we're stuck here for the time being then let's make sure we establish that we are not a force to be messed with." Lasky then thought for a moment, "I think it would be best if our frigates get groundside and to do this after our meeting to avoid spooking them even more with a prolonged strong aerial presence. Also, some ships should head up spaceside and give us a better tactical view of this planet as well as explore the local systems."

The frigate commanders tensed up at this, no doubt wanting to be the lucky ones to have a chance to get their ships space born and explore a new system. Roland then decided to add his two cents, "They also need to drop satellite probes to assist in mapping this new unknown space. Having a better idea of our situation will help us in the negotiations."

"And as for the topic of the upcoming summit in fantasy land and the manner of our being brought here," Dr. Glassman said, "if what these 'mages' claim is true then I have some theories."

"That would be the claim that the little girl, Louise, used some kind of magic to bring this whole ship here," Palmer asked.

"Yes, and for starters, even though this is wishful thinking, I think she might be able to send us back."

Lasky shook his head, "I wouldn't be too sure about that doc, the professor claimed that she was performing an annual ritual in which students summon a sort of pet as partners. I highly suspect that our being here, if Louise is responsible, is a never before seen occurrence for them and I already have a feeling what their answer will be if we ask them to send us back." He turned to Palmer, "Oh and I wouldn't call her 'little girl' if you ever meet her commander, she might not take it so well."

"Yeah I saw what happened during the talks," Palmer said while crossing her arms over her armored chest, "If she or any other of them tries something like that again when I'm around I won't be as nice as DeMarco."

Glassman continued, "Now if this Louise girl brought us here as theorized," he gestured to a still image of Louise on a monitor, "then that would mean that our being here is related to this 'familiar' summoning they speak of. It is quite possible that someone or something on this ship is what her summoning was trying to reach. Also, consider that everyone could be her familiar, or maybe the ship itself is her summoned pet and we're just along for the ride."

"What's the alternative to the theory that Miss Louise brought us here," Lasky asked.

"Then we'd be back to square one, having no idea how we got here other than some freak teleportation occurrence sending us to a seemingly different galaxy or even somewhere outside the observable universe."

"I believe the suspects are already narrowed down to three," said ONI officer Lieutenant Bauman. "The day of the incident two marines and one crewman were debriefed after having been first to discover the anomaly believed to have caused all this."

Lasky thought about it for a moment, "Yes that's right, those three soldiers you mentioned were the only ones to have witnessed the anomaly in person. Roland, pull up their information."

On three separate holo screens information on the personnel in question appeared. PO3 Saito Hiraga, PFC Francis Locklear, and Cpl Logan Stark. Along with their bios was a recording of them encountering the strange anomaly as it appeared in the corridor.

Roland gave a quick synopsis on the three men, "Corporal Stark was standing watch outside a bulkhead leading to the engines. He was promoted to corporal due to his superiors noting his potential for leadership. Private First Class Locklear was joining Stark in standing watch, he is noted to be a bit of a troublemaker with a long list of altercations and infractions; none serious enough to warrant a discharge. Lastly there is Petty Officer third class Hiraga. He's an interesting one. If you think he might look a little too young for his rank that would be because he has affluent parents who pushed for his promotion into a more prominent job in the Navy. Not to say he is not suited, reports on him say that he is extremely gifted and performs his duties in reactor maintenance and diagnostics well. He was apparently the first of the three to encounter the anomaly." A video recording showing Hiraga's surprised reactions to the green oval appeared as well as the two marines coming to investigate.

Glassman commented, "If my theory is correct then Hiraga being the first one to encounter the anomaly may make him our 'familiar'. Look how the anomaly appears in front of him when he's alone."

"And look at this part here," Bauman skipped to a part of the footage showing Hiraga reaching out to the portal as if in a daze before being yanked back by Locklear. "If I had to guess I'd say that thing was trying to lure him into it, somehow influencing his mind. Also being as how this coincides with the magic girl's summoning-"

"How the hell did we miss this," Captain DeSanta said incredulously.

"Roland, have crewman Hiraga brought here immediately," Lasky ordered. "We have some more questions for him but there's no doubt that he's our familiar."

"Aye aye, Captain," Roland responded.

Halkeginia, Tristain 2558
UNSC Infinity, tertiary mess hall.

A trio of armed marines entered the mess hall and scanned the room full of marines and sailors eating their military rations and socializing. At one of the tables they spied their target, PO3 Saito Hiraga.

"Hiraga Saito," one of them asked as they approached Saito's table.

"Um, yeah," Saito replied, already starting to feel nervous as they seemed to suddenly descend upon him.

"Captain Lasky needs you on the bridge. Now." With that the marines grabbed him and forced him out of the mess hall.

"H-h-hey wait a minute! What's this all about!?"

His peers looked on confused a Saito was abruptly hauled away.

Halkeginia, Tristain 2558
Black Forest, checkpoint Bravo-3.

Count Mott walked along the cobbled path leading through the Black Forest, a forest that was usually avoided by travelers due to its dangers but was now eerily quiet and seemingly devoid of any threats. It would seem these UNSC people really did pacify the whole forest in one night, something the Tristain army has never been able to accomplish, at least not fully. On his flank Professor Colbert escorted him to the point where the academy's first encounter with the UNSC took place. The purpose of his visit to this place was to deliver the crown's message to the newcomers that the planned meeting place shall be the Tristain Academy of Magic, merely a short travel away from their position. The soldiers at the upcoming checkpoint should already know and be expecting Colbert and his presence should keep him safe from the nervous soldiers.

"The roadblock is coming up right after this next bend," said Colbert as he reared his horse to slow down a bit.

"Are you sure we'll be safe Professor," Mott asked, doing well to mask his inward nervousness.

"Positive Sir Mott, they can be a bit brash but in the end they were more than cordial. Then again, we were both being attacked by orcs at the time, which may have helped our friendship along."

As they rounded the bend the checkpoint from before came into view and so did the armed and ready soldiers aiming at them. Razor wire still stretched along the path and into the woods as well as sandbag fortifications. The horseless carriage with the bizarre rapid cannon on it, the warthog as they call it, apparently came back from patrol and rolled up to a stopped. Colbert also noted some new additions such as a pair of bizarre looking cannon gun pieces mounted on legs behind the sandbags and large boxes stacked all around; likely storage and supply of some sort.

"Halt! Stay you there and state your business here!" a soldier shouted in mock medieval guardsman voice.

Mott and Colbert froze at the sudden command. Colbert, having already dealt with marines before, remained visibly calmer than Count Mott who now looked quite nervous. Colbert spoke up for them.

"This is Professor Colbert of the Academy of Magic and this is Count Mott, royal messenger of Tristain. He carries with him the message from the crown that your captain has no doubt been waiting for."

From out of the woods one of the knights emerged and approached the two nobles being detained at the roadblock. "No doubt he's been trailing us in the forests for some time. These knights are highly skilled warriors," Colbert thought to himself.

"Professor Colbert, we've been anticipating your return," the knight said. "If you have a message, the captain will want to hear about it right away."

"Ahem, let us get down to business then." Finding his nerves, Mott spoke up, "I am Count Mott and the crown's royal messenger, as you have guessed. I carry here a message from her majesty Queen Marianne and her daughter Princess Henrietta."

"Great, I'll patch us in with the bridge so you can speak with the captain immediately." Mott looked confused, not knowing if he was about to perform the telepathic magic Colbert spoke of in his reports. "This is Spartan Thorne to the bridge with a priority one report." There was a moment of pause while the knight seemed to be listening to someone intently. "Affirmative, broadcasting now." The knight walked up to Mott, towering over him and said, "They'll hear everything I hear, go ahead."

Brushing aside his astonishment at the wandless telepathic magic, Mott spoke, "Attention commanding officers of the UNSC. The royal crown of Tristain formally invites thee to the familiar exhibition festival for-"

Halkeginia, Tristain 2558
UNSC Infinity, Bridge, minutes earlier.

"You're saying I'm this familiar thing that the magic people told you about!?"

Saito, after having been summoned to the Infinity's bridge, had been briefed on the events of Captain Lasky's encounter with the local sentient life of this world. More importantly, the explanation of their powers and why the Infinity brought here was explained as well. During some ritual in which they summon creatures as pets called familiars the Infinity appeared after one of the students performed the ritual and the strange green oval he saw linked him to it all.

"Try to keep calm Hiraga, you're not in any sort of trouble or danger, we won't allow you to be." Captain Lasky calmed Saito down before he could have any kind of breakdown.

Pushing up his glasses Dr. Glassman inquired about his experience with the anomaly, "Can you remember anything about the green oval of light that you may have forgotten during the debriefing with the investigators?"

"Not that I can think of," Saito replied.

"Just think, there has to be something. When Louise did her ritual something should have tried to reach out to you. Well, at least that's what I've gathered from what they've told us."

"Louise…," Saito trailed off, saying the name as if it were familiar to him again.

"Pardon," Captain Richmond asked.

"I don't know why but that name feels so familiar despite never knowing about her until today."

"Can you elaborate further on that," Lasky asked.

"I guess what I mean is-," Saito paused for a moment, "Well, in the mess hall all the guys were yapping on about the reports from the first contact meeting, the name of one of the natives here came up. Louise. I don't know why, but a feeling of… déjà vu washed over me. I felt like I knew this Louise before, like there was something deeply familiar about her. I just got the same feeling a moment ago when you brought her up, I've never met this girl before so I don't know why this is happening. "

Nodding, Glassman tapped some commands into a computer console and made a video of the first contact meeting appear on a screen next to him. "This girl here," the video zoomed in on a pink haired girl, "is Louise and the one who may have brought us all here." The moment he heard her voice his memory was jogged about one key moment in his encounter with the anomaly.

"Wait now I remember," all attention was solely on Saito now. "That day when the oval appeared there was a moment when I felt like I was being pulled to into it, just before Locklear pulled me away." After a pause Glassman eagerly motioned for him to continue, "Well the thing is, I felt like there was a voice in my head whispering for me to come to them and that whispering voice sounds like-"

"Louise," Bauman finished, "I believe we have conclusive evidence as to why we're here now."

"What's that mean though!? Am I gonna be some little magic girl's slave!?"

Lasky placed a hand on Saito's shoulder, "You won't have to worry about that crewman, I've made it clear that no one under my command will be anyone's servant and I'll reinforce that during the upcoming negotiations. Speaking of that however, you'll be joining us whenever they contact us with a meeting place."

"That's right, being Louise's would be summon makes you an integral part of the negotiations. We need to know if you're technically still her familiar," Captain DeSanta stated.

"When is this meeting anyway," Saito asked.

"Like I said, as soon as they contact us we'll know."

As if on cue, Roland made a sudden announcement, "Captain, checkpoint Bravo Three reports that Professor Colbert and a royal messenger from Tristain have arrived."

"Good, I want to know what they have to say immediately," Lasky ordered.

"This is Spartan Thorne to the bridge with a priority one report," spoke the voice of the only Spartan currently at the checkpoint over the comms.

"Spartan, use your helmet speakers to allow the messenger to speak with us," Lasky ordered.

"Affirmative, broadcasting now." There was a moment of pause as Thorne approached the messenger and gave him instructions, "They'll hear everything I hear, go ahead," he said.

Along with audio, a live visual feed from Thorne's helmet played on the main screen showing Colbert and the oddly dressed messenger at his side. The messenger hesitated momentarily but got on with delivering the message. "Attention commanding officers of the UNSC. The royal crown of Tristain formally invites thee to the familiar exhibition festival for negotiations between our two nations and to share our nation's culture with you. Please assemble a party to meet at the Academy of Magic tomorrow morning in order to coordinate your own security plans with our armed forces in advance. Her majesty Queen Marianne and her daughter Princess Henrietta look forward to your attendance."

"Thank you messenger, inform your Queen that the UNSC will be at the academy tomorrow to make the necessary arrangements with her forces," Lasky replied via the Spartan's helmet speakers. With that the messenger gave a respectful bow and left to mount his horse.

Before leaving Colbert spoke to Lasky, "We will eagerly await your envoy tomorrow morning Captain. The headmaster will be pleased to be properly introduced to UNSC representatives."

"Understood Professor, we all look forward to being in attendance at the exhibition."

Colbert mounted his horse and rode off after Mott. "Looks like they're heading back Captain," Thorne reported.

"Affirmative Spartan, return to S-Deck immediately. Commander Palmer will be briefing the Spartans on our plans for the meeting." He looked to Palmer who nodded and proceeded to exit the bridge. "Marines, maintain your posts. Let nothing pass."

"I guess that answers my question," Saito noted.

Lasky looked to the young crewman. "You'll need to be briefed on the plans as well Hiraga. For the time being your duties on the engine deck are superseded by my authority."

"Aye aye Captain," Saito affirmed and saluted.

"On the day of their festival you'll ride with me. There's no telling how they'll react to you being this familiar thing but as a soldier of the UNSC and a citizen of the United Earth Government we won't let anything happen to you."

"Aye captain, thank you," Saito replied. His mind was flooded with thoughts and worries of the burdens of being the familiar of this Louise. He didn't want to be a summoned pet like some fantasy game. Then there was the fact that he would be a major topic of discussion and he did not like being the center of attention much. The thought of all those royal types staring him down was a bit unsettling. As he looked at the video images of Louise on the screen, one thing was certain. He had a strong desire to meet this girl, though now he understood why these thoughts were in in his head. "Alright Louise, let's see why you wanted to bring me to this world…"

Halkeginia, Tristain 2558
Tristain Academy of Magic, central tower.

Early in the morning at the Academy of Magic, a certain dark blue haired female was preparing herself for the day's upcoming events as the sun was just about to crest over the horizon. Standing in front a large mirror she inspected her musketeer uniform, which consisted of tough leather thigh high boots, comfortable black shorts which allowed for easy movement, a matching long sleeved top, leather gloves, and a green blouse on top. She began tightening belts and straps as well as flattening any creases where necessary, making sure that all pouches, holsters, and sheaves were secure. Looking over the armor plating on her forearms and lower shins she was pleased to find that they still maintained a flawless mirror shine despite the many dents and nicks on them from past action. Touching her hand to the pistol on her hip, she removed the weapon and double checked the readiness of the handgun. Although she had already made sure it was loaded with fresh powder she could never be too careful. Jamming the firearm back in its holster she unsheathed her longsword and held it out so the point was aimed at the mirror. With eyes running up and down the length of the blade she doubled checked her sharpening work as well, having spent the previous day honing the edges to be as sharp and deadly as possible with a whetstone. The planned meeting with UNSC forces to orchestrate security however had little to do with her over preparedness as this was the musketeer's daily routine when she rose from bed bright and early.

"It should be about another half hour before the noble brats arise for breakfast and class, I should head to the kitchens to eat something before the rush," she thought to herself.

She donned the final piece of the uniform's attire, a pure white cloak with the golden emblem of the Musketeer Corps on the shoulders. As she made to move to the door there was a knock from the other side. "Who goes there," she asked from her place in the room.

"Lieutenant Augustine," came the reply. "I've come to inquire whether you are ready Lady Michelle."

The musketeer now identified as Michelle opened the guestroom door, "Sir Augustine, I was just about to leave to make my way to have breakfast." She quickly looked over the man before her. Not much older than her, in his late twenties, Augustine was a high ranking member of the notorious Griffin Knights and like her was sent here in order to begin the initial security preparations with the forces of this UNSC. Sporting the attire of the knights, lightweight clothing for easy flying, sword wand at his side, and a cloak embroidered with the Tristain coat of arms, he offered her his hand.

"Would the gentlelady care to be escorted there?" His thin mustache curled up as he presented her a sly smile.

Scoffing at him, Michelle moved past him and made her way out of the room. "Not necessary," she said. The Musketeers, being a force of all female commoners, were not taken seriously by many nobles and even though she knew that Augustine's teasing was merely lighthearted joking she did not have the time for it at the moment. If she and her soldiers weren't being treated like some common infantry recruits by high ranking military nobles it was always being flirted to and courted by foolhardy young knights instead. As she moved down the dimly lit corridor Augustine addressed her again.

"Be sure to be quick about it milady, Sir Jean-Pierre expects our guests will arrive soon. We must do everything in our power to ensure the safety of the crown."

She gave a quick wave of her hand over her shoulder as she proceeded to walk away. To be honest she cared little for the crown and for personal reasons that she could not yet reveal to anyone she held a distaste for the royal family. Her drive to move forward is her devotion and loyalty to her superior officer, Captain Agnes, the swordswoman who came to gain her utmost respect and who gave her purpose in her most trying of times. As her second in command of the Musketeer Corps, Agnes had entrusted her to meet with the foreign UNSC forces in these initial stages of planning for the big event. The captain wanted to remain with Princess Henrietta, whom the entire corps were personal bodyguards to. Having heard the rumors about these newcomers to the land she would be lying if she said she was not excited to have a chance to get an early sneak peek at these reportedly powerful soldiers.

She eventually made her way through the building and past rooms full of sleeping students, professors, and staff to the kitchens next to the Alvis dining hall. As she made for the door a raven haired maid came out and was startled by her presence, "Good morning milady," she exclaimed as she stepped to the side and politely bowed her head low.

Michelle dismissed her with a curt nod and continued about her own business. She entered the kitchens to make a request for a quick breakfast from the head chef. Outside the maid closed the door behind her and let out a sigh, "What in the world is going on here," she muttered to herself. Having risen early with the rest of the work staff she immediately noticed the presence of royal knights and soldiers, all of whom had risen just as early and were out and about all over the campus. No doubt it had to do with those monstrous ships out in the distance. "Another hectic and busy day not doubt," she lamented inwardly as she carried on with her duties.

Halkeginia, Tristain 2558
Tristain Academy of Magic, front gate.

Two bored and tired academy guards stood watch outside the school's large walls. They were given the important task of watching out for the arrival of the UNSC's envoy on top of their usual task of watching for intruders.

"Sun startin' to come up, when are them fellas suppose ta show up," the guard to the left of the gates asked.

"Dunno, they said them suppose to come 'round daybreak, jus stay on yer toes," the other replied.

Just then they heard a faint and distant rumbling. Both guards straightened up and scanned the horizon and tree lines. Out in the distance and coming from the direction of the massive ships three of the horseless carriages from the previous day rolled out of the forest and proceeded down the road towards the school. It was hard to tell from this distance but they could see that two of the magic carriages were the same as the one that carried the professor and noble girls but the last was distinctly different.

Eyes widening the guard on the right looked to his companion and barked an order, "Oi! Don't jus stand there you sod, run an' tell them knights that ta foreign soldiers be comin'!"

Without a word the other guard opened the gate slightly and made a mad dash for the central tower to warn the soldiers and academy staff of the arrival of the envoy. Turning back around the remaining guard was surprised to see how fast the carriages were closing the distance, considering the small wooded area they had burst out of was usually about 15 minutes away on horse.

"Well shit…"

Halkeginia, Tristain 2558
Tristain Academy of Magic, student dorms.

Louise stirred in her bed as her mental clock told her body it was time to rise as she was used to every morning. Of course it was also in part due to a growing commotion stirring up outside in the halls… again.

"What is it this time," she mentally groaned.

Yesterday had been a pretty easy day all things considered. The second years were supposed to have a day off to get to know their familiars better. Of course pretty much every class year group had the day off considering recent events, in fact the whole school essentially had the next few days off as all classes were going to be just a series of study halls. As the others bonded with their summoned partners Louise had 'bonded' with hers by spending most of the day high up in one of the towers observing the results of her own summoning while reflecting more on her first encounter with the strange UNSC soldiers. She thought back on the odd soldiers called marines, the hulking knights called Spartans, and of the noble Captain Lasky and the words he spoke to her. That day was mostly spent up there in peaceful solitude where she could be alone with her thoughts. She did not want to be around other students to be continually pestered and interrogated anyway. All in all it was a restful and easy day, but now…

""Open the gates," came a muffled shout from outside.

Curious, Louise dragged herself out of bed and took a look out her dorm room window. Her eyes widened when she saw from her third story vantage point a courtyard full of royal soldiers and knights all standing in rank and file positions around the gates. How and when all these royal military men arrived was not her source of shock however, though it did contribute. Her shock lay with another small group of soldiers waiting outside the now opened gates. UNSC soldiers, like the ones she had seen before, stood just outside the gate's portal onto campus grounds. Some were having a discussion with Tristain soldiers, but she couldn't make out what they were talking about as their heads bobbed up and down while speaking.

"What in Brimir's Holy Ghost," she exclaimed.

Behind them more marines sat behind the reigns of those dreaded horseless carriages. Louise forcefully suppressed a shudder. She had been letting herself slip on the rule of steel as of late and would not let the memory of riding those damnable things break her nerves. From what she could see two were the so called transports and the last was the same as the one that ripped the orcs to shreds with its deadly cannon. Just then the soldiers finished their discussion and the guards and marines stood aside as the carriages slowly rumbled into the courtyard.

"You've got to be kidding me," she said aloud as she quickly tore off her nightgown and frantically put her uniform on. "That explains all the ruckus in the halls."

Having finished dressing herself and not bothering to straighten up a bit in the mirror she made for the door and opened it. "Yes Zerbst, I know what's going on," she shouted at the redhead who was just outside her room and was leaning forward as if about to knock.

"I – eh – what," Kirche stuttered out from her position, not knowing how Louise knew she was there before composing herself. "W-well I just thought we should…"

"Quit wasting time Zerbst, let's get down there." Louise cut her off as she grabbed the Germanian's arm and pulled her forcefully through the halls which were bustling with activity.

"Wait a minute Louise! Slow down a bit, you're hurting me here," Kirche protested as she found herself being dragged by the smaller Louise… again. "Now I know how Tabitha feels when you drag her around to places."

Getting to the ground floor and just before exiting the building Kirche ripped her arm from Louise's grasp. She looked at the blonde's face which looked to be in a state of panic now. "Come on, we've got to-," Louise tried to exclaim but was stopped by Kirche firmly placing her hands on both shoulders.

"Listen Louise, you need to slow down and relax before you go out there and do something stupid!"

Settling down somewhat, Louise's face reddened at her behavior and having once again forgotten about her rivalry with the fire mage. "This is just so sudden. All those royal knights are here and that could mean that her highness m-might be…" she trailed off as her heart fluttered with the thought of her best childhood friend being here along with these UNSC people.

"Look Louise, I doubt your kingdom's royalty would just appear here overnight to have a sudden and impromptu meeting with potentially dangerous otherworldly soldiers."

Breathing out a sigh Louise agreed, "Ok, let's just get out there and see what's going on."

Kirche smirked, "No worries, just leave it to mama Kirche to calm her dear little Louise down." As the feisty blonde turned a deeper shade of red and was about to start shouting at the redhead another voice joined their conversation.

"Difficult" came the stoic voice of Tabitha causing both girls to look behind them, "getting crowded outside."

Indeed news of the sudden arrival of the kingdom's knights and foreign soldiers was beginning to spread like wildfire. Students who were usually slow to rise and go to the dining hall for breakfast were now hurriedly rushing outside as they caught wind of what was going on. The three girls exited the dorms and were greeted with a small but growing crowd of students outside trying to get a look at the horseless carriages and foreign soldiers. Campus guards kept them at bay and royal griffin knights and UNSC marines stood watch outside a side entrance to the central tower. The three carriages were parked on the grass next to the academy walls in a neat row, Louise noted that the previously filled transports were now empty and the one with the cannon had a marine manning it. Two other marines not helping guard the side entrance were guarding the carriages along with two other knights to discourage curious students.

"Wow, those things look so amazing," exclaimed a first year student.

"I saw when they rolled into the courtyard, such amazing magic."

"Can you believe that Louise, Kirche, and Tabitha rode back in one of those? That so cool," another first year said.

"But remember how scared the Zero was though? Zerbst had to carry her inside, ha," a second year mocked.

Louise made to grab her wand in rage but was placated by a small hand grasping her forearm, she looked over to see Tabitha simply reading her book and not bearing any expression on her face. "Calm…," was all she said to Louise.

Louise just huffed. "Let's go already," she commanded. The growing crowd made room for the trio of girls who had found overnight popularity in order to see if they would have better luck getting closer. As Louise stepped forward one of the academy guards got in her way.

"Sorry young lady, this area is off limits to students and unauthorized staff until further notice," the tall man stated with authority.

Louise took on an indignant expression, "But we were the ones who met them earlier, why aren't we part of this!?" She had the attention of the other knights and soldiers now with some of the marines looking at the trio seemingly recognizing them. Some of them standing at the door pointed at them and started whispering amongst themselves.

"Ahem!" came a voice from behind the girls. They all turned to see Professor Colbert standing behind them. "I'm sorry Louise, but these orders come directly from the headmaster. The UNSC envoy is here to hold an important meeting and all students are forbidden from entering the areas near his office."

"B-but," Louise tried to argue.

"No buts young lady. You, Miss Tabitha, and Miss Zerbst should make your way to the dining hall before you miss breakfast." Turning around he addressed the crowd of students behind him, "That goes for all of you too, remember you still have class today!"

The students began to file out of the large grassy area with disapproving murmurs as they made their way to the dining hall. As Colbert made his way to enter to guarded side entrance of the main building he glanced back to see Louise still watching him. He gave her a stern look which conveyed the unspoken message of 'please don't try anything'. As she turned to walk away, he continued along his course. The planning session was about to begin.

Halkeginia, Tristain 2558
Tristain Academy of Magic, Headmaster's office.

The atmosphere inside the Headmaster's office was very tense to say the least. On one side representatives from the UNSC stood waiting, on the other royal representatives from Tristania. Osmond sat in the middle of the two groups with the head of campus security and Colbert, who had just arrived. The secretary, Longueville, sat at her desk on the UNSC's side. Two soldiers stood on each side of the door, one a marine and the other being a royal guardsman. On the other side two more soldiers stood in the same fashion to bar unauthorized access, not to mention that all corridors and stairs leading to the Headmaster's office were tightly guarded at the moment.

Spartan DeMarco, wearing the standard navy dress uniform, scanned the room. With him stood Commander Clinton of the UNSC frigate Gaia's Grove and the Infinity's weapons officer Lieutenant Austen, both also wearing dress uniform. He would have worn his armor but Lasky thought it would be too provocative to do so as well as pointing out that back in antiquity a knight wearing full set to a formal event would be a major taboo. No doubt that is how these people would see it since they mistook the Spartans for knights of some kind.

Looking to the group on the other side he made note of the three royal representatives who had introduced themselves as Jean-Pierre, commander of the royal palace's guardsmen, Lieutenant Augustine of the Griffon Knights, and Lieutenant Michelle of the Musketeer Corps who acted as the private security/military force of the princess. "So they didn't want to risk the heads of their big honchos either," Demarco thought.

"Now that we are all here let's get down to business," the old headmaster declared. "It is of utmost importance that we familiarize ourselves with each other so security plans for the upcoming festival and summit between our leaders goes down without a hitch."

"Obviously we won't be able to hash every little detail out in one day," Clinton said. "For now let's just settle how and where we'll disperse our respective security forces in and around the academy during the big event."

Jean-Pierre replied, "I believe that our current setup for our forces should be our model for security, that is having our soldiers and yours work together to keep watch over each other to assure there is no treachery afoot."

"The whole campus should be combed through and cleared of any potential security threats before the meeting as well," DeMarco suggested. "You have the major home field advantage after all."

"Understandable," Osmond said. "I would gladly allow for this before the meeting, under supervision of course. I do wish to assure you however that this academy is as secure as it can be, we take the safety of the students seriously here."

"Now on to how both parties here intend to secure their own leadership," Colbert said, bringing up the most important issue.

DeMarco looked to Colbert before answering. The man was quite surprised to find out he was the very same 'knight' who had detained him and his group during their first encounter. "Captains Lasky, Richmond, and DeSanta will be closely guarded by Spartans as well as a detachment of skilled ODSTs."

"ODST," Augustine asked.

"It's short for Orbital Drop Shock Troopers," replied Austen. "They're the elite of the marine forces."

Brushing aside his confusion over the odd name, something he could inquire more about later, Augustine continued, "Her majesty Queen Marianne shall be escorted personally by her griffon knights."

"The Musketeer Corps will act as personal guardians of her highness Princess Henrietta," Michelle joined in. "Of course it would be prudent for the specific forces mentioned to convene over the coming days to coordinate and learn about each other, like the standard soldiers will be doing, to assure there won't be any danger from each other."

"Ah, yes," Colbert said, "It would be best to familiarize us here with the nature of you strange weapons and magic." He was clearly excited about the prospect of seeing more of the UNSC's technology and 'magic' as he thought it was.

Michelle, also tried to hold her curiosity at bay over the rifles the marines carried. As a member of a force of musketeers it made sense for her to be interested in what she probably considered a strange musket.

Osmond made another observation, "Commander Clinton, I believe your envoy would like to echo a similar concern from your captains in regards to unknown abilities."

Lieutenant Austen spoke, "Our main concern is in regards to the nature of your magic with these wands, or foci as you call them, and the easy concealment of them. When fireteam leader DeMarco here," he gestured to the Spartan, "had his men scan the professor and those girls for weapons the wands were unable to be detected."

"So that magic of yours was actually a weapons search, just as I suspected. I knew it was odd that you would worry yourselves about cleaning us in such a situation," Colbert commented.

"These people just don't get it," Austen thought as he decided to brush off another case of the mages insisting that they use some kind of magic. He continued, "We have come to the conclusion that your wands are to be classified as weapons and since we plan on the actual meeting with our leaders to be a 'weapons free zone', we'll require willing cooperation with confiscating wands. They are highly concealable after all."

"Authorized personnel excluded of course," DeMarco chimed in when Augustine seemed like he was going to protest, "security personnel will of course need their weapons and… magic to ensure a mutually safe environment for all parties."

Jean-Pierre nodded approvingly. "Well, while some of the court nobles will not enjoy having their wands confiscated we can surely implement such a plan." He looked to Austen with a sly grin, "Of course we will need to ensure that your diplomats will not be carrying weapons and magic artifacts that may cause harm to our own leadership."

"Of course," Austen said with a nonchalant wave of his hand.

Headmaster Osmond leaned forward on his desk, lacing his fingers together under his eyes. "I believe you also wanted to tell us about a discovery your people have made in regards to the familiar summoning and the root cause of all this." The academy personnel and the royal representatives paid close attention as they waited for the UNSC to respond.

Commander Clinton looked to Austen and gave a slight nod for him to go ahead with the explanation as representative of the Infinity itself. Looking to Osmond, Austen spoke. "We have found concrete evidence that your student, the young Miss Valliere, has indeed brought us all here via her magic." Osmond and Colbert visibly tensed up. "More important, we have located the individual who is no doubt this 'familiar' she was attempting to summon…"

Halkeginia, Tristain 2558
Tristain Academy of Magic, Earth tower.

Louise sat in a classroom with her fellow peers, fidgeting restlessly in her seat as she thought about all that was currently going on. The usual class on earth magic was devoid of a professor as the lecture was cancelled and turned into a study hall instead, however the students were doing anything but studying as they gossiped excitedly about current affairs.

Louise tried to focus on the class notes in front of her but sheer curiosity plagued her mind, "They think I had something to do with these people being here, I should part of whatever discussion they're having" she rationalized to herself. Frustrated, she got up from her seat and went to look out the window. Out in the courtyard the knights and marines still diligently guarded the entrance that the guests were brought in through. Most of the other students and staff had encountered the corridors inside the main tower leading anywhere near the headmaster's office were cleared and heavily guarded. The frown on her face vanished and she jumped slightly when she felt a hand clasp down on her left shoulder. Turning around she was greeted with the tanned bosom of Kirche, looking up she saw the redhead sporting a devious grin.

"I bet you want to know what's going on in that office as bad as I do," she said quietly so no one else would hear them.

Louise turned back around and scoffed at her, "Well that should be pretty obvious Zerbst, you were there when we met those UNSC guys."

"Well I've got an idea to get us in close to hear what's going on."

Louise looked back over her shoulder with a skeptical look, "What do you mean Zerbst?"

Kirche adopted a look a mock sadness, "You love to hurt my feelings Zero, I thought we could be on a first name basis by now."

Louise glared at her, "Just tell me what you're talking about Zerbst, and quit playing around with me."

"Well if you're going to insist on being so unfriendly I'll just have to take my business elsewhere," Kirche said with a smirk as she feigned being about to walk away, "If you want to only refer to me as Zerbst then I'll only call you Zero, Zero."

"Kirche…," Louise gritted out, "what did you have in mind?"

"I'll be glad to tell you Louise," Kirche wrapped Louise in her arms happily while pressing the smaller girl into her chest. Louise struggled for a bit and managed to release herself from the redhead's grip.

"Watch it Kirche, don't try to smother me with those monsters of yours!"

"Oh Louise, I thought you'd be happy to get a hug from mama."

Louise's face reddened with rage, "KIR-" before she could finish shrieking the girl's name a tanned finger was placed on her lips, silencing her immediately.

"Let's sneak out of here to one of the empty rooms," Kirche whispered into Louise's ear, "and please try not to gather any more attention." Indeed several heads in the classroom turned to the pair at Louise's sudden yell but quickly ignored them and resumed their own conversations.

"Let's just go then," Louise angrily muttered. "This better be good."

As the pair slowly made their way to the door while trying not to gain any attention Kirche turned to look at Tabitha just before exiting the door. Tabitha who had been watching the two the whole time over the top of her book looked into her best friend's eyes. Just looking at her face she knew Kirche had something troublesome in mind and her eyes were silently begging her to come along. Sighing, Tabitha snapped her book shut and made her way out of the room unnoticed, following on the heels of the other two girls.

Inside a vacated classroom consisting of a desk for teachers and rows of long tables for students to sit at in order to conduct hands on magic labs, the trio of girls gathered by the window. Crossing her arms Louise spoke, "Ok Kirche we're here, what's the plan?"

"See that window over there," Kirche asked, pointing to a spot on the central tower.

"Yeah, that's the Headmaster's office."

"If you look next to it you'll see a ledge that's large enough to comfortably stand on."

Already knowing what she was getting at Louise voiced her opinion, "Alright I know what you're thinking Zer-, eh I mean Kirche, and I think it's crazy."

"Come on Louise! All I have to do is cast a levitation spell on you and float you over there, you'll listen to what they're talking about and signal me to float you back."

"What! No way! I'm not doing that, do you see how high up we are!?"

"Jeez, keep it down would you," Kirche shushed and then sported another devious grin. "Don't you want to know what our UNSC friends are talking about? What if they're talking about being your familiar and your future as a noble or not?"

"I-I… fine," Louise gave in, letting her fiery curiosity get the better of her. Kirche's words echoed some of her own concerns and thoughts. Looking down below at the courtyard she asked an important question. "Those guards down there are going to notice a girl magically dangling towards the Headmaster's office you know. How are you going to get me past them?"

"That's where Tabby here comes into play," Kirche said as she slapped a hand down on Tabitha's shoulder. The wind mage did not flinch but maintained a blank 'the things I put up with' expression. "She'll cast a gust of wind that'll kick some dust into the eyes of those guards and give us a window to get you over there."

Louise slowly opened the window and closed her eyes, breathing in slowly and letting out a breath she opened her eyes and said, "Alright let's do it."

Kirche got out her wand and helped Louise sit on the windowsill with her legs dangling out. Louise readied herself as Kirche wrapped her arm around Louise's waist to keep her balanced and lightly pressed her wand into the smaller girl's back. Muttering a spell, she felt Louise become weightless in her arms but kept a firm hold of her while waiting for Tabitha's signal.

Nodding, Tabitha pointed her staff down below and cast a spell that would seem like nothing more than a random errant gust of wind. "Go," the stoic girl signaled as the wind kicked up some of the dry dust from the ground and blew into the eyes of the guards causing them to start rubbing their eyes.

Louise in an instant found herself already halfway across the courtyard suspended in the air as Kirche tried to get her there as quickly as she could. At this point it was far too late for Louise to abort this silly plan and she now deeply regretted putting her life in the hands of her bitter rival, a Zerbst no less. Curiosity did kill the cat however as her older sister Cattleya would say, it didn't help her nerves that curiosity actually did kill one of Cattleya's pet cats when it wandered into the pen of her mother's manticore. Shaking her head Louise focused herself as Kirche quickly floated her over the remaining distance. Coming down on the ledge outside the Headmaster's window, she felt the weight come back to her body, she quickly pressed herself against the wall and looked around to see Kirche giving her a thumbs up from the window.

"This is so stupid," she admitted to herself as she crept up to the office window to hear the conversation inside without being seen. Inside she could clearly hear the conversation and her eyes widened when the topic of her familiar summoning was suddenly brought up, particularly a specific person she had tried to summon. Pressing closer to the wall and trying to creep as close to the window as possible she listened in intently.

Halkeginia, Tristain 2558
Tristain Academy of Magic, Headmaster's office.

"The intended target of Louise's summoning was a sailor, Petty Officer Third Class Saito Hiraga, an engine technician trainee," Lieutenant Austen announced.

There was a silence as Osmond thought about this new information. He had no idea what an 'n-gin tek'nition' was or exactly how military ranking worked among these people but he understood that this 'Psi-toe' person seemed to be an officer of some sort and possibly one of their noblemen. Leaning back in his chair he asked a question, "Can you share with us how you have come to this conclusion?"

"The day we were brought to this world three personnel encountered a strange glowing green anomaly on the ship, the first one to see it being Hiraga." Osmond and Colbert leaned forward as Austen spoke, they had never had an account of what the familiar spell looked like as it summoned a creature. "As we fired our slipspace drive the anomaly burst and manipulated the slipspace portal in a way that caused us to wind up in this strange place."

"Absolutely fascinating," Colbert exclaimed.

Curious, Michelle pitched a question of her own, "Before you go on, what is this 'slip space' you speak of?"

Commander Clinton answered her, "Slipspace is the method we use to travel extremely far distances in a relatively short amount of time. I won't go into the deeper scientific details but just imagine it as a tool that generates a portal from one place to another."

Impressed by such potent magic ability, Osmond made an observation about the situation, "So it would seem that Miss Valliere's magic somehow interfered with you own magic artifacts."

Austen continued, "Being the first one to encounter the anomaly, Saito was brought to the ship's bridge and questioned. As you've explained to us, your magic works by speaking incantations of sorts. It was discovered that Saito heard the voice of Louise through the portal and he almost fell into the influence of the cognitive trap the portal was luring him with. Two marines were with him at the time and one of them managed to stop him, that's when the portal burst."

Colbert had a notepad out and was frantically writing notes on the previously unknown means of how the Founder's familiar summoning spell worked. Osmond leaned back again in thought before speaking, "Fascinating, truly fascinating. What course of action should we take now, hm?"

"Since we filled Saito Hiraga in on the situation, you should probably fill in your girl Louise on it as well," the Spartan, Thorne, suggested. "She'll be just as important to the upcoming summit of leaders as he will be and it would helpful if they know about each other before meeting."

"Yes, I agree on that," Osmond stated.

Longueville, who had been mostly silent at her desk through all this, got up and went for the door, "I could go and summon Miss Valliere here Master Osmond."

Getting up himself, Osmond answered her, "No need Miss Longueville, I'll get her myself." Osmond walked up to his window and opened it, causing confusion with everyone else inside the room. Standing back he pointed his staff out the window and muttered a levitation spell. There was a high pitched shriek just outside the windowsill and a short moment later Louise de la Valliere was in front of the opening before slowly floating into the room.

All eyes were now fixated on the strawberry blonde as Osmond retook his seat. Face turning a deep shade of red Louise tried to say something, "Heh heh, um uuuh… hi?" She meekly waved at the occupants of the room.

"Louise," Colbert exclaimed. "What is the meaning of this!?"

Louise looked around the room and noted the occupants, a blue haired royal representative gave her an uninterested stare. A griffon knight seemed amused at her embarrassing situation and another noblemen next to him seemed less than pleased. On the other side of the room three uniquely dressed men whom she could only assume to be UNSC looked at her curiously, well except for one. The third one was fixing her with a deadly glare which unsettle her somewhat. At the door a marine and royal soldier stood on each side paying her no mind as they saw her as no threat. The Headmaster was not looking at her but instead was pulling out his pipe to smoke with. Colbert was giving her an equally deadly glare that promised severe punishment later. Before she could answer Osmond spoke.

"As she no doubt heard most of the details of her familiar summoning we can cut straight to the point. Don't worry, I assure you she heard nothing of our security planning."

"Headmaster," Longueville shouted in shock and disbelief.

Colbert slapped his palm to his face. "So you knew she was out there all along Osmond."

Looking to Louise, Osmond spoke to her, "I should not have to remind you Miss Valliere that the walls of this academy are magically enchanted and that being an earth mage I am always in tune with what is going on around this office."

"Yes sir, Headmaster Osmond, please forgive my foolish actions," Louise said as she bowed her head low.

"Mr. Austen, now that she is here, please fill her in on the rest."

"And please, don't make me have to break your wrist this time," DeMarco stated coldly.

Louise's eyes widened at the realization of who the man was and she took a nervous and frightened step backwards. Austen pinched his brow and said "DeMarco, don't frighten the poor girl," as Louise started to act like a spooked deer in the woods. "As you've already heard through eavesdropping, Saito Hiraga is a sailor aboard the Infinity which your summoning tried to take. The captain already said he told you and Colbert this but he just wanted to make this one thing clear."

Louise looked to him waiting for whatever Captain Lasky had to say about this. "Y-yes sir?"

"Saito will in no way, shape, or form be made into a slave or servant to you. He is a soldier of the UNSC and a citizen of the UEG and he will remain that way. Understood?"

"B-b-but does this mean that I won't be able to become a mage now?"

"Quite the opposite Miss Valliere," Osmond declared, "since you have successfully cast a spell and with several witnesses from both sides of the familiar summoning portal, you are without a doubt quite able in the use of magic. It will be very important for you to remain a student at this academy so we can further study your magic as I suspect no ordinary magic could have caused all this."

Forgetting how embarrassed and intimidated she felt, Louise's face lit up immediately at this news as a smile manifested itself rather quickly. "Thank you, thank you Headmaster!" Despite her current situation, she felt so relieved. The weight on her heart all week had finally been lifted and she resisted the urge to cry.

"You'll get to meet Saito during the Exhibition festival, or sometime before, depends on our finalized plans," Austen said.

Louise's mind was filled with joy over the thought of meeting the man who was technically her familiar, even if she was not allowed to bind him. Petty Officer. It didn't sound like a very high rank, but it didn't sound like the rank of some commoner pit dog either. Her thoughts ran wild with who this man with such a foreign sounding name was. "Hee rag ga… I've never heard any name like that before, maybe it's from Rub' Al Khali. No, no, no, they said they're not even of this world though." She visualized him as a handsome and finely dressed Officer commanding and drilling troops, then she envisioned him as one of those elite marine guys slogging through mud with a dagger clenched in his teeth while fighting elves, but lastly she had the realization that he could be a knight. Not just any knight, but one of those amazing looking Spartans and he would have the shiniest armor plus the strongest magic weapons at his disposal. Whatever he turned out to be, he was her claim to being a noble, to not being a zero, her familiar. Her strong familiar. Her amazing familiar.

Her flawless familiar.

Just then there was a heavy knocking on the door. Everyone turned their attention to it as Osmond granted the person permission to enter.

"Enter."

A campus guard opened the door followed by two students, Kirche and Tabitha. "Headmaster, these girls have something they'd like to confess."

"Ah, so that's how Miss Valliere managed to find herself perched on my window. You three girls are becoming quite the troublesome trio, wouldn't you agree Colbert?"

Letting out a tired a sigh Colbert spoke to them, "Miss Zerbst, please don't say anything as I know this was completely your idea, though I will commend you for actually coming here to help your friend of your own accord this time. This whole time Louise neglected to mention your involvement."

Kirche looked at Louise and gave her a slight smile. Louise tried to hide the slight smirk on her own face.

"I believe you two have something to say to the occupants of this room as Louise has already done so," Colbert said.

"Heh, r-right," Kirche muttered, looking up at everyone she bowed and apologized. "Please forgive our rude intrusion good sirs and madams."

"Sorry," came the monotone and stoic voice of Tabitha next to her.

"Miss Longueville, please find an empty room and keep the three of them there until we're finished here," Osmond ordered.

"Right away Headmaster." With that Longueville guided the three intruders out of the office and to a room to keep them detained.

With the girls gone, Osmond decided that they could continue the meeting. "Now, with that settled I believe your Captain Lasky wished to warn us about the landing of his ships, Mr. Clinton?"

Inside an empty windowless classroom for third year students, Louise, Kirche, and Tabitha awaited their eventual judgement with Miss Longueville standing watch outside to keep them from escaping.

"Um Louise, Tabitha," Kirche started, "I'm really sorry I got us in trouble…again. I understand if you-"

She was cut off by Louise jumping into her arms and laughing happily. "W-what are you doing!? What's gotten into you," Kirche asked as Louise spun in her embrace from the momentum of her impact.

"I'm a mage! I'm a mage! Osmond said I won't be expelled after all and that I can use magic," Louise buried her face into Kirche's chest as tears of joy trickled out of her eyes.

Kirche, for some reason, felt… relieved, even downright happy to hear this. Louise had always been an annoying Zero to her but now, she supposed now she felt closer to this girl who should be a family rival. Even Tabitha had to hide an ever so small smile behind her book at Louise's elation. Despite being glad for the girl Kirche could not let a good opportunity to do her favorite thing with Louise, which is to rile her up. With a smirk she held the smaller mage closer.

"Oh Louise, I'm so happy for you. Let your mama hold you close as you let it all out."

Snapping back to reality and realization that she was hugging and crying into the bosom of who should be her bitter rival Louise quickly jumped back.

"Damn it Zer-, I-I mean K-K-K-Kir-"

Kirche began snickering at the blonde enraging her more and Tabitha simply walked to the other side of the room. All the Germanian saw next was a flash of pink hair flying at her.

"Kirche!"

Halkeginia, Tristain 2558
Tristain Academy of Magic, eastern outskirts.

Michelle looked up at the orange sky as the last of the Griffon Knights flew overhead back to Tristania. The UNSC forces had boarded their magic carriages and had sped off at amazing speeds much to her shock. The royal guardsmen had left earlier and thus she was the only one still lingering in the area. She took this time to reflect on her first encounter with these UNSC people, the strange soldiers, the strange weapons, their way of dressing, and the dangerous aura the Spartan called DeMarco gave off. She was inwardly surprised when they seemed to have no interest in her corps being all female commoners, or if they did care they were good at hiding it. She had been told she would need to speak Albionian to them and though her skill in the language was not the best it was good enough for the job. She was shocked when they were able to understand the things she would mutter to the others in Tristanian thinking they would not know what she was saying. Apparently they had magic ornaments in their bodies which could instantly translate language, like a translation spell without an incantation. She could speak her own language and they would answer in Albionian which she could understand, though they did explain that if she had been wearing one of those things their own words would sound Tristanian.

"They were even more interesting than the rumors made them out to be," she thought. The day's meeting had left her with more questions about these newcomers than answers.

Looking past the academy the smaller but still massive ships began setting down in a circle around the large one as per the agreement they had discussed after the intrusion of the Valliere girl. That did remind her, Agnes wanted her to see if she could inquire about the youngest Valliere at the behest of the princess. Who knows how the young monarch will take hearing about the girl's actions today.

Letting out a yawn, Michelle decided to get going. She couldn't keep her captain waiting and she was eager to get back to her bed. Spurring her horse she set off with a gallop down the road leading back to the capital and the palace.

Halkeginia, Tristain 2558
Tristain Academy of Magic, staff quarters.

"Damn it! Damn it all!"

A green haired secretary ranted in her private bedroom, away from prying eyes and ears. The reason she was upset was due to the plan for the whole royal family to attend the familiar exhibition. This in turn made the whole thing an extremely high profile and high security affair. Then she had to factor in these UNSC newcomers and their strange magic and magic artifacts.

"All my plans out the Brimir damned window," Longueville lamented as she sat at desk digging her palms into her eyes. "The high profile Fouquet, the crumbling earth, making a move at an event like this would be suicide. Even if I managed to get out alive the royal manhunt would be relentless for putting the Queen and Princess at risk. If it was just the Princess and her band of gunwomen…" She angrily shoved the books and tedious notes detailing just that original plan off her desk.

Breathing slowly to calm herself down, the thief brought out a quill and paper to begin formulating a new plan. She would not let this hold her back, she simply had no other choice. "Sister... I'll do whatever I have to in order to keep you safe, I promised you. I'll figure out these UNSC people, I won't let them, the crown, or anyone stand in my way."