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"There's a certain procedure to these things. Operational security demands--"

"Opsec takes too damn long. The situation is still fluid, and we're trying to help as many as we can, aren't we? So cut the bullshit already." Then he closed the file and looked at Hector. "Kiddo. You want your prince back. He may not technically be in our custody, but I'm sure we can still make that happen. So Jackson, what do you want in exchange?"

Jackson clenched his jaw. "It's not that simple."

"Of course it is. You want something done. Ask Hector here to do it for you. Then he gets his prince back. Nice and straightforward."

"This is not a hostage negotiation, sir. If Atreya wants a member of its royal family back, then they have every right to go through the proper channels and make their demands. And though I only have a quick summary of their situation, it sounds as though Intar will have little choice but to acquiesce, so there is really no need for what you are suggesting."

"Yeah, sure, that's the slow, boring solution. Submit a request, and then when everything has calmed down in however many days or weeks, your prince will be safely returned to you, after your worries have been alleviated already. How wonderful."

Hector felt the need to clarify. "Again, I only want to meet with him in person, at the moment. I don't necessarily need him to return home, yet."

"Be that as it may," Sermung went on, "you'll have to deal with Andeyal bureaucrats in order to make that happen, regardless of whatever is agreed upon between us here. But do you know who happens to be the best in the world at dealing with bureaucrats?" Sermung pointed at his marshal. "It's this guy! Honestly, that might be his best quality!"

Jackson did not looked pleased by that compliment whatsoever.

"So if you happen to be a big fan of the act-first-ask-permission-later type of approach, then he'll be the greatest friend you ever have."

"Please don't say that ever again. You're giving Hector the completely wrong idea about me."

"I'm giving him exactly the right idea. Listen, Hector: people hype this fellow up all the time. The Radiant Sentinel. The Star of the West. The Nicest Guy You'll Ever Meet. But they don't know the truth. Beneath it all, he's a rule-skirting deviant! A master manipulator of many machinations! A paper pushing puppeteer of proper power! If you only knew--" His hair burst into flames.

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When the Crystal Titan indeed remained silent as he flipped through the file, Hector decided that perhaps now was a good time to bring up his own reasons for coming to Intar.

"...So you already know that I'm from Atreya, right?"

"Yes," said Jackson.

"I came here to Andeyal in order to retrieve some of my countrymen. Specifically, Prince David of House Lumenbel, along with his bodyguard."

Vito Sebolt wasn't actually his countryman, of course, but Hector made sure to keep that thought firmly tucked away. As laidback as these two appeared to be, he could tell that they were also very serious men, deep down. He could see it in their auras.

No matter how friendly this encounter seemed to be, he still had to be extremely careful here.

"Ah," said Jackson. "And you would like clearance to escort them back to your homeland, I take it."

"Well, maybe, but not necessarily."

Jackson raised an eyebrow.

"Mainly, I just want to confirm that they're both okay. And if they want to stay, then that's fine. But if there's some sort of problem, then yeah, I might want to take them home."

"Have you been able to contact them?"

This conversation was going down a difficult road, Hector sensed. "Technically, yes, but..."

Jackson just waited.

Agh. How to put this diplomatically? "...It was clear to me that they were not behaving like themselves."

Jackson held his gaze, expression unreadable.

And now it was Hector's turn to wait. He didn't want to push and give away too much, and he was also quite curious about how the Radiant Sentinel was going to respond.

But all Jackson said was, "I see."

Perhaps he would have to push, anyway. Hector considered his next words carefully. Other than a sliver of goodwill, he didn't have a whole lot of leverage here, nor did he know Jackson particularly well. It seemed like a bad idea to just--

"What're you hesitating for?" came Sermung's voice. "You already know they're being manipulated. And I bet you know it's for their own safety, too, don't you?"

Aw, fuck.

"Just say so," said Sermung. "Jackson's a big boy. He can handle it."

Hector's face felt like it was trying to scrunch in on itself.

And Jackson's looked much the same, actually. "Commander, please don't just go spouting--"

"What? Let's skip the meandering and posturing. We're not politicians here, are we? Just lay your cards on the table, and let's figure out the best way to resolve things."

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"It's the latter, I'm afraid," said Jackson. "I have scouts on the ground who have laid eyes on his encampments."

"Could be illusions," said Sermung.

"Illusions who also attacked my scouts?"

"Mm. Less likely, though still not impossible."

Jackson paused for a curt sigh. "We have no reason to believe that Jercash has such capabilities, at the moment."

"You have no reason not to, either."

"Now you're just trying to annoy me."

"I was trying to do that earlier, too. Could you not tell?"

Jackson squinted and rubbed his forehead. "Oh, how I've missed you," he said with a tone that very much suggested otherwise.

"Where are the other marshals?" said Sermung, sounding entirely unbothered. "What're they up to?"

Jackson's struggling posture did not change. "Please do not make me answer that in front of Hector here..."

"Oh, come on, it'll be fine. He's trustworthy. Isn't that right, Hector?"

Despite how useful that type of information might be, Hector felt compelled to take Jackson's side. "You don't have to answer that, Mr. Sentinel."

"Excuse me, but I'm the High Commander here, not you."

"Don't listen to him, Mr. Sentinel. Don't let him win. He's a bully. And the Vanguard never lets bullies win, right?"

At that, Jackson actually looked up and snickered. "He makes a good point, Commander."

"Pah! Betrayal, that's what this is."

"I believe that is exactly the opposite of what is happening, right now." Jackson stepped closer to Hector and handed the folder he was previously reading over to him. "Here."

Surprised, Hector took and opened it. He eyes widened even further when he noticed that it was his own name at the top, along with several pages of text and attached pictures. Was that his yearbook photo?

"Is there any information in there that should be corrected?" asked Jackson.

Before he could respond, however, Sermung snatched it out of his hands and began reading.

"Ooh," the Titan cooed. "What do we have here? Finally, your meticulous recordkeeping is coming in handy."

"For my own sanity, I'm going to pretend you never said that."

Hector wondered why he was the one who had to utter these next words. "I feel like we have more pressing matters that we should be focusing on..."

"Yeah, yeah," Sermung, waving his hand as he read. "Talk amongst yourselves. I'm still listening."

Hector and Jackson exchanged sympathetic looks with one another.