September 14th, 2026. 16:30

It's been one day since the attempted assault on the escort plane by Zlocan forces, repelled by the brave Crusaders with every inch of their lives. Ever since arriving, the atmosphere is one can call "full of unease". Of all the escorted Warriors to the hotel that hosts the conference, security is tight for Amira. Every time she goes outside with the group, she has to cloak herself with robes to hide from the rest. It's true that she has committed herself to save people, and yet almost no one else has known or even heard of her. An unknown sight for something that was unknown to the humans until now. What can the presence of more life outside the Zlocu reveal to them?

What does it mean? What will it change? Amira wants answers to these questions, but there are only so many things that she can do about it right now. Especially with war striking on Earth for months and with everything still mounting to unpredictable results.

The room has one bed, with a mini-bar near the television screen, as well as two doors leading to the bathroom and the closet. She sits on the bed near a window overlooking the bustling urban landscape of Chicago. The city bustles with life below her, the streets filled with people going about their day. The buildings are tall and imposing, standing like sentinels over the city. The shoreline is a distant blue line on the horizon, and the sight of it is both mesmerizing and alien to her. She can see the people below, going about their lives, and the thought fills her with a sense of wonder. But even so, doubts linger in her mind even for all that she sees.

A person knocks on the door, Amira slowly gets up as she goes for the doorknob and opens it, revealing Sylvester and her other companions, still wearing their formal outfits in combat.

"The conference is supposed to happen twenty minutes from now, and time is crunching in. Why lock yourself in your room?" Sylvester asks.

"I do not think I am fit to be in here. I want to be alone for now," she replies with a whispery tone. Her head facing down, opposite from the direction of their faces.

"You don't need to be alone." Sylvester puts his hand on her shoulder, trying to get her mood up. Yet, her position remains unchanged. "Amira, security is all over the place to ensure you and your friends are safe."

"Even so...I do not feel it." Sylvester sighs. He knows that Amira isn't herself at the moment. They've spent the past few weeks working together on many missions, but for as long the scars from distrust remain on her, her path remains a locked one.

Logan comes closer, looking at her face. Though he saw what Sylvester was capable of, she still hasn't the full grasp of humanity yet. And the grasp of further alien life for the humans. "Come on, Amira," Logan speaks softly as he caresses her cheek. "The way to deal with this is to have some faith in us."

She looks up at Logan, then gives him a soft smile as she tries not to lose herself. "Logan...I know what you mean, and I do understand, but this feeling that I have, I cannot shake off. Not everyone is like you or even me." She turns away from him, facing the window once more. "It is what I have to live with, but I thank you for giving me some sense of direction."

"C'mon, Am-chan, it's gonna be fun in this greatly great reunion!" Tany says as she steps in. Seiner only groans in response. "Room full of cameras and questions, you'll get to be a goodie teacher for the other humans!" Sylvester lets out a chuckle before he grabs her shoulders and gets to face her.

"Yes, but it could be very sensitive, and some would put a raucous tone to it. Such are students, Tany," he replies with a cheeky tone. She frowns in response and pulls her shoulder away from him.

"Don't be a meanie too!" Sylvester chuckles in response to this. He doesn't seem to be that bothered with the implication.

"I know, and I do understand, Tany. But like I said, I do not feel like attending. As much as it is important for them to know, I fear that there are those who want to do something else. Something terrible, not just to me, but to all of us," Amira replies. Sylvester tilts his head to the side, a questioning look on his face. He looks over at Seiner, expecting to see a similar expression on his face. However, instead, Seiner looks back with a serious look in his eyes and mouth. After some silence, Seiner steps in as well near Amira and pulls a device from his bag.

"What is it, Seiner?"

"Well, technology progressed well enough to make sure everyone can attend every meeting they can think of, even if they're living somewhere like Tahiti or the West Indies." He unfolds the device, revealing a laptop-type computer as he hands it to her. "Therefore, I propose this compromise. You get to stay in the room safe and sound, and you'll also get to speak your mind to them. I'd say it's pretty easy, but eh."

Sylvester takes the device, holding it in his hand as he inspects it. He taps the screen a few times, and the camera and speakers come to life. "Alright, I believe this works well enough. What do you say, Amira?"

Amira looks at Seiner, nodding a bit. "I agree. If you could arrange it, I would appreciate that." He looks at her, a small smirk appearing on his face before he nods back, placing the device on the mini bar table.

"You can click on the app that hosts meetings. Once you click there, you'll be able to see and hear what the conference is, as well as listen to what you have to say to them. Understood?" Amira only nods in response. "Good. And if something happens, I'll call the guards to go to the room and help you out, OK?"

Amira smiles softly, looking at the screen as she closes the door, but not before letting out a wink toward her friends. They smile softly before turning away from the door. Sylvester sighs before he signals his hand to get the others to follow him. Even when hidden, she'll get at least a form of comfort to let humanity that she exists without any imminent danger coming to her. 

The Warriors and Sylvester walk down the stairs of the hotel, with some guards following behind them as they make the way towards the conference hall. They walk past the security guards stationed in the hallway, saluting Sylvester and the others as they enter the room. There are reporters everywhere, waiting for their interviews.

A tan-skinned female reporter walks up to Sylvester after walking through the large crowd of journalists and other invitees, taking note of the Warrior escorts with their suits and weapons. "May I ask why you guys are armed? Aren't you just going to have to be polite to strangers in front of all these cameras?"

"To be armed and ready, that's what a well-prepared soldier should do," Sylvester replies while Logan nods, Seiner shrugs while rolling his eyes and Tany gives double thumbs-up with a big smile on her face.

"So, you're prepared for anything, huh?" the reporter asks. "You know, I was hoping to interview someone who wasn't so cocky. Someone who has something to say, but not necessarily something to prove."

"It's not for our image," Logan replies. After a brief as the reporter processes what he told her, she glances at him again. "

"OK then." Sylvester and the Warriors then move to the center stage as chattering dominates the entire room between the reporters and other high-ranking invitees, including representatives of the United Nations and various military generals and astrologers from around the world. As they approach the conference table, a round of applause is heard, followed by various other cheerings as Sylvester and his Warriors take the podium, with the Warriors standing side by side near him, with four guards behind Sylvester.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, this is Colonel Sylvester M.B Walker from the US Armed Forces now serving as the commanding officer of all North American troops for the UEF. While the circumstances behind this meeting may not be the most ideal and even the most amicable situation for us, we are doing everything within our power to fulfill our responsibilities to defend the Earth as best we can, and keep the peace and trust amongst us all." He points at the three heroes standing next to him.

"Those three that you see are the reason why we haven't fully lost yet. Call us crazy but it all seems to be part of some miracle that answered our prayers, and it's thanks to them that we can see a chance of winning. That's what being a part of this force entails, no?" He pauses for a second, glancing at the gathered reporters and diplomats before looking back at the audience.

"As you all know, we have been called upon to serve and protect the Earth. It is a duty that we are more than willing to carry out, but we are also aware of the leaks over Area 51, which confirmed most of the suspicions and theories going around the base for many years, and yes, it includes Aliens." A fair-skinned male reporter raises his hand while the others chatter over this revelation. Sylvester gestures to his side. "Yes, you with the red tie."

"Colonel, if you could verify our suspicions, you said that aside from the three odd-looking people that you found, what about the Alien that you promised would come? To show that there are other species than the Zlocu?"

Sylvester glances at the screen in the room before giving a stern look at the reporters, who now all look at him with wide eyes and anticipation. He glances at the WCI device as it the video begins to play on the large screen behind all the reporters, with the Warriors standing around Sylvester in full view. Once it fully loads, it reveals the image of a cloaked figure staring in a rather familiar room.

"This is your answer," Sylvester replies as the figure removes the hood from the cloak, it's Amira revealing herself to the whole world for the first time.

As Amira observes the room and the crowd, she is met with cheers and applause from the audience. She smiles at them and gives a small wave before she takes a seat on the bed as she observes from afar. The applause grows louder as the people in the audience begin to realize the significance of this event. The people in the audience begin to murmur to each other, while Logan and others give smiles as Amira tries to formulate some words on what to say to the unfamiliar audience.

"My name is Amira Dhorian, the former princess of the Royal Family of Dhorian from the planet Sorania. We strived for peace and unity for all living beings until the Zlocu arrived. I am what you can call an alien, yet by our standards, you are considered to be alien to the other species because of how closed off you were." She notices some of the reporters raise their hands and question what she meant. She nods in understanding before speaking more calmly. "We did not mean to offend anyone, nor did we mean for you to perceive us as different from you. I'm sorry if you had felt threatened, but please, do not think badly of us."

"I have a question on behalf of NASA," a dark-skinned female reporter says as she raises her hand while picking up a microphone. "If the community that you hail from, which implies thousands of dozen of more lifeforms found on this galaxy or even the universe, care to explain the reason for the lack of contact? Is it because you underestimated us? Or something else?"

Amira tilts her head, looking at the screen before glancing over at Sylvester, who nods with a smile even if just a bit on her side. She looks back at the screen, putting a finger to her chin while thinking about what to say to the audience. "A good question. Well, to be honest, we knew that you existed for a long while. Your planet looks as beautiful and green like others that I visited before, and we did not want to disrupt it any more than necessary. Not after some rather tumultuous activities reported on your planet for many years." The crowd murmurs to each other once more, thinking over the implication of her words

"And second," she continues, "we were a little afraid of you, for the sole reason that you have a long history of squabbling and violence with each other, especially for what we have in regards to how a certain group of people were treated." The audience gasps slightly, hearing about what happened. Some of them are starting to understand the severity of the issue, and it seems that the others are starting to understand that too.

"But what I mean to say is, we do not hold hatred against any of you. On the contrary, we were afraid that if we established contact with you during any of those tumultuous times, we would have been forced to bear witness to another tragedy that would claim millions of lives, something not unlike seen during the infancy of the Galactic Committee." The same reporter raises her hand once more, with a bit of shakiness to her.

"Why need us now? How about during the times when others were also being oppressed? Or to shake off the corruption and authoritarianism in other countries? What other excuse do you need for why you didn't come to help even with your so-called advanced technology of yours?

She takes a deep breath, letting out a sigh as the audience starts to murmur and argue with the reporter and others over this statement before continuing. "I know we are here to establish contact, and maybe you are right." The crowd stops short as they hear her answer. "We were so afraid of our past...that it blinded us to what you were going to through. And even though I am the only one you see, I can still try to help you all work together as one. I heard many stories of the violence and hatred you had to endure for centuries, you were seemingly locked in eternal suffering, proving our suspicions correct.

"But despite some things I had to endure myself, I have something clear for all of you. Most of you are a great people, and you deserve to live in peace and harmony. But in order to do that, most of you will have to acknowledge that your sins are what held you back from establishing contact with others, and by looking deeper than that, you will see a world far bigger than you anticipated."

"And unite, we shall," Logan, Seiner and Tany say in unison as Sylvester watches as Amira makes her speech to the assembled crowd, nodding along with the others while Tany and the Warriors stand next to him, looking at the screen with a smile with the crowd slowly start clapping from the force of the statements. A promising start it seems.

Then, a fair-skinned male guard with a buzzcut approaches Sylvester from behind, leaning near him to reach his ear.

"Mr. Walker?" the guard asks.

"Yes," he replies.

"Our friends send their regards." Suddenly, he pulls out a knife from his belt, pushing it to Sylvester's back and stabbing him right in the left shoulder blade. He falls to his knees from the sudden blow, gasping for air as blood spurts out from his wound, followed by loud screams from the crowd below and everyone else watching. His vision starts to get blurry, and soon he falls to his side as he feels touches the wound as he breathes faster while clinging to dear life.

"Stop right there!" The other guards shout as they draw their guns, only for the rogue guard to draw his gun and shoot them with precision. But just as he aims at one of the Warriors, Logan kicks him in the chest. His eyes widen as Logan surprises him again with a punch to the face that sends him flying off the platform and landing on the floor far away. He finds a door behind him and rushes inside to escape.

"Sly boy will be fine! Curatio!" Tany says as she puts her staff near Sylvester's wound, sealing slowly as he starts breathing normally, but still feeling tense in his body.

"Get...him..." Sylvester whispers as other guards arrive to carry him away from the podium as Logan gives chase to the assassin. He runs to a hallway, as he sees him shoving people aside while heading to the room leading to the stairs. He pushes it aside, seeing the man running upstairs, as Logan does the same. His heart races as he pumps his legs as fast as he can, taking the stairs two at a time. The man is just ahead of him, and he can see the sweat pouring down his back. He's gaining on him. He can taste the victory.

He reaches for the rooftop, where the man stops dead in his tracks as Logan pulls out his green rapier and points it in front of him. The man's eyes are wide and he backs away slowly. Logan's sword hand is steady, and his eyes bore into the man's soul. The man knows he is going to die, and he can only hope that it will be quick.

"That's enough!" Logan shouts as the man raises his hands in surrender. "You're not getting away this time," he says as the man looks at him, yet he remains standing still. Seiner and Tany follow behind as Seiner puts his hand on Logan's shoulder.

"First...who are you? And why are you here?" Seiner asks he continues to restrain Logan. The assassin can only chuckle in response.

"My name or my mission doesn't matter. At the very least, you can take this as a warning that there's more than you believe," he replies.

"Did you do this on your own? Or someone hired you to carry the deed?!" Seiner demands once more.

"Someone did. He offered a hefty prize but I guess that doesn't matter now."

"Who? Is he from the Zlocu?" The assassin scoffs in response.

"Why should I even try to work for those freaks, anyway?"

"Tell me who he is, now!" The assassin stands near the edge of the rooftop of the building, as he lets out another chuckle while grabbing his knife once more yet he doesn't raise it. All while keeping the same slight smile on his face he has during the encounter.

"Sometimes, the truth is best left hidden." With those words, he then slashes his own throat, smiling even more the moment he does. He falls to the ground, blood pooling on the rooftop before his head falls back. The warriors stand in disbelief over this, a man so keen to keep the secret to even consider killing himself. A wasted opportunity it seems.

"We nearly had him..." Logan mutters as he disables his saber.

"Yeah, but I think we got a clue. Did you see that button with the balance logo in his jacket?"  Seiner asks.

"Oh, I think so, why?" Logan asks.

"Because I think I saw that symbol before. Back in San Diego when long-range rockets came to bombard the stadium."

"Oh, I think I know where you getting at. Berat once told me that they had to face some masked men who were said to be tasked with retrieving the Navigators. And like them, Yamja handed their butts to them." Seiner nods in response while Tany glances at both men over such discoveries.

"Wait, are you really for real telling me that the masked freaks Berat once said are what I think it is? You mean that-" Tany asks before Seiner cuts her off while raising his hand. 

"Yes. I think we may have a prime suspect in this."

"And wherever they are, we'll make sure that this truth doesn't stay hidden for long. We won't allow it. Also, is Sylvester OK?"

"Weak, but alive so far, all