Skavit took a breath of fresh air, letting his lungs fill up with it. The cool sensation spread out through his nostrils, neck, and finally filled his chest. With a soft sigh, his body shuddered and relaxed, ears dropping while he kept his head tilted up towards the slow-moving internal fans of the AC unit at the upper end of the wall in front of him. It’s been months since the last time he could be in front of one of those. There weren’t as many air conditioners at the Forward Operating Base, and the ones they had went to the offices first.

  Then, the sound of the glass sliding doors softly whispering rang in the air, but the rodent just ignored it for now. He was at the reception of the Fhin Research and Medical Center, so of course, there was some constant movement in the spacious room. Until a distinct scent of wet dirt hit him.

  ?“” A chirp echoed, making Skavit’s ears perk up, and his eyes briefly widened. Quickly turning his head, the rodent sees another one of his kind, Djit. He had a brighter gray coloration to his fur and a more rectangular snout with a pink nose. Those large brown eyes glared at him while his brother in arms’ ears twitched slightly, tail taking a slow and amused sway. The gray rodent was wearing the same green uniform as him, just without all the extra combat gear. “” He squeaked, crossing his arms.

  Skavit suddenly became more aware of what exactly he was doing, eyes scanning the surroundings and taking in the view of a few people from the rows of seats. They were taking a few glances, including people from his own kin and some curious humans. “” He replied, whiskers furrowing as he properly turned to his good and old friend, his own tail taking a slow sway while his eyes narrowed. “”

  “” Djit replied, a couple of chirps echoing from him while Skavit closed in the distance and shoved the gray vermin’s left shoulder, letting out a couple of amused chirps himself.

  “” The interpreter asked, nodding towards Djit’s right shoulder, the whole reason he was left behind and spared from the last chunk of the combat training Skavit had to go through. He still felt a little guilty about it, though, not really his fault, but if the rodent were more prepared, perhaps that whole incident would never have happened.

  “” Djit replied, lifting his right arm up before doing some arching motions, showing off his flexibility, pointy ears standing high and proud as he did so. “” he began, but quickly shut himself up before taking a few glances around and letting out a small cough, correcting himself. “”

  Skavit curiously tilted his head to the side, nostrils twitching as he wondered if he should address the abrupt correction or not. “” He asked, reaching over his own head to take off his helmet.

  “” Djit replied, taking a quick look around the reception, glancing at the ones of his own kin who were around the room, bracing his teeth as he then leaned closer to Skavit. “” He explained with a few soft chirps.

  Skavit listened intently, right ear tilting down to better catch his whisper while his tail froze for a moment. “” he retorted, before having his mouth promptly shut by the other rodent with a hand, closing his muzzle shut.

  “” Djit warned with a hush, and the brown vermin finally understood it. ‘Angel’ was a word with a quite distinct sound and tone to it, so it wouldn’t be that hard to figure out. “”

  Skavit’s whiskers furrowed, eyes once again narrowing, now in annoyance as he respectfully slapped Djit’s wrist away from his muzzle. He’d stay silent for a moment, thinking while taking glances at the ground.

  “” The brown rodent asked, concerned. The humans were quite… contradictory, in a way. On one hand, they had flying metallic beasts, mastered light without flames, and reached the stars… but…

  They were powerful, but not all-powerful, and that was a very important distinction to make. Many solutions regarding problems faced by his kin were quite crude and simplistic, most being simple adaptations of their own gear for his kind so far.

  ?“” Djit replied in a hushed tone, the mention of these kinds of events seemed to always leave a sour taste on the rodent’s tongue. It was only fair, though; things like that only happened when someone was desperate. “.”

  Skavit’s pointy ears dropped, feeling that sour taste in his mouth as well. Taking an awkward glance around, his eyes landed on those sliding doors. “” He’d ask, trying to change subjects, ears slightly lifting.

  Djit stared at him for a few seconds in complete silence. His tail flickered against the floor, amused, barely able to hold itself back. That made it pretty obvious what was coming for the brown vermin, “.”

  “” Skavit squeaked, those pointy ears falling back down flat against his head before he sighed, turning towards the door. “”

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  “” The gray vermin replied, letting out a couple of little high-pitched chirps, grabbing the attention of a couple rodents in the room while the humans didn’t seem to notice it.

  ?The moment they pushed the sliding doors open and stepped outside, though, someone was already coming over to them. A tall, dark-skinned human with broad shoulders came over to them. He wore the basic green uniform alongside more specialized gear, most notable being a baton and a weird-looking pistol with lights on it. What really set him apart from others were a few red and white stripes and details over his harness and body armor. Alongside that, the human also had the recognizable red and white beret of the Military Police.

  ?“Hey, Skavit, correct?” He asked, taking a quick glance at both of them before focusing on the brown rodent. Both of them would nod before Skavit pointed at himself. “Right, you’re to report to the embassy.”

  The vermin would tilt his head to the side curiously, taking a quick glance at Djit. All he’d see was a look of understanding from him, with the gray rat using his furless tail to give Skavit’s one a quick bump, just signalling that the food could be set aside for later. With a quick nod, he took a step forward and followed the officer.

  ?

  Things were busy at the embassy, to say the least. It only had one floor at the moment, but there were signs that a second one was already in the workings, and over half of the building was under active construction. Oddly enough, the complete one was already being used, with constant movement in and out. Electronics and several other utilities were being brought over with wheeled cargo beasts towards the back of it before being unloaded by soldiers wearing yellow hats.

  Walking past more MPs and through the large doors, things were a mess. Tables, chairs, and more electronics were all being placed and organized in the lobby by more Marines. Shouts and orders echoed left and right alongside the sound of machinery running in the background as they walked around obstacles and people working until finally, all these sounds faded into a faint, muffled whirr in the distance as they turned a few corridors.

  “Go right ahead and turn right, she should be there in the room.” The officer explained, giving Skavit a small pat on the back, urging the rodent forward before turning around and disappearing from his view.

  The rodent took a deep breath before moving onward. After a turn down the hallway, he sees what lies ahead: a set of double metallic doors with two guards on both sides. They weren’t wearing the usual marine uniform, using ones with a darker blue while holding gear that resembled what the Military Police Officers had.

  Skavit didn’t even need to utter a word as he approached, one officer reaching for the door handle and opening it for the rodent to step in. Inside the mysterious room, there was a gargantuan rectangular table and a screen that covered almost the entire wall to his left. The table itself also had its own large screen that took over most of its middle, with the borders being plain old metal.

  ?Sitting in one seat was that same brown-haired woman he’d seen back at the Metal Beast. She wore a simple white shirt with jeans and combat boots, the protective gear that she had was now absent, exposing more of her tanned skin and giving more room for her brown ponytail to move.

  She was organizing a few papers while taking glances at the table’s screen, humming while doing so, until she finally realized the rodent was inside the room. Her dark eyes quickly scanned him, a small smile appearing on her face.

  “Ah! There you are.” She bluntly let out, beckoning the vermin closer with a hand before organizing her things. “Skavit, correct? Name’s Nila, I’m the… ‘Field Ambassador’ on behalf of the UNE. Apologies for the late introduction, I didn’t realize you were my interpreter for this mission.” Nila explained herself, taking out a rectangular device from her pocket.

  “Field Ambassador…?” Skavit questioned, tilting his head slightly to the side as he walked around the table and took a seat right beside her. He’d briefly panic as the chair spun slightly, making him grip both it and the table to stabilize. Those ears flattened against his head, his mind punishing him, already fumbling when the meeting barely started.

  “Oh, the guy in charge is still up there, in orbit.” Nila elaborated, ignoring the vermin’s small fumble as she got her papers together and neatly placed them down at the border before properly turning to face him. “To keep it brief, our President tells what the stance will be, my superior organizes it, and finally, I’ll execute it on the ground.”

  ?The rodent’s ears perk up at the mention of the powerful President of the UNE, striking his curiosity, before it turns into dread. Suddenly, the rodent felt… way too little for this job. He was just a vermin from a Lower Clan; he wasn’t qualified for work above the Royals! Besides, shouldn’t they have brought a Matriarch of a Family or another female of equal status? Diplomatic work wasn’t quite a male’s job to do.

  “But anyway, since we’ll be working together in the field right after this meeting, I opted to get more acquainted with you!” The diplomat continues with her explanation, making a couple of gestures before turning back to the table itself. She’d press a couple of things over the incomprehensible electronic, more numbers and images appearing over it, overwhelming him. “The Marines insisted on two different interpreters, but honestly, it would have been too much of a hassle to do that. It’s better to only have one, so we both can be on the same mindset, get me?”

  Skavit’s eyes widened briefly, now understanding where such a mistake came from. He’d take a few awkward glances around, thinking about what to say next as the incomprehensible weight of the task at hand fell over his shoulders while a knot built up in his throat.

  “I’m looking forward to working with you a lot in the near future, Skavit. The work you’re doing today is very important for the cooperation between Humans and Aidin.” Nila continued on, a few more clicks over the screen, while the poor rodent panicked, taking quick glances around until finally, a knock on the door froze them both for a brief second. “Oh! Should be the Royals from the Ziff-Tredan family. Let them in!”

  When these words left her lips, Skavit felt his guts sink inward and twist, the rodent immediately climbed on the table before gripping the human’s arm. “W-WAIT!!”

  But it was too late. The door was already opening, and with a glance, Skavit’s eyes locked with those of a figure who stepped inside the room.

  Gray fur at the top of her head and back that shifted into a gradient to white as it approached her snout and sides. A Grand Matriarch who stood perfectly straight as she walked inside the room, with long and loose red and white sleeves, the finely woven fabric perfectly engulfing the female’s body. She had pointy ears that drooped against the sides of her head, a sign of age, a trophy to show that she lived long enough to have the muscles of her ears fail her. Meanwhile, over half of the Matriarch’s tail remained covered by the same red and white fabric.

  Such a sight of authority and beauty made Skavit’s world shatter; he did not even care that he stood in a pathetic situation by screaming at the human ambassador.

  ?His eyes landed on hers.

  She looked back at him with those pink orbs.

  Skavit remembers his basic gun safety training from a few months back: “Never look down the barrel of your gun.”

  He still had it on his hip, and right now, that didn’t really sound like a bad idea.