After a whole morning of heated discussions, arguments and debates there was a relaxed gathering of the political, military, economic leaders, taking place outdoors in the afternoon, with many snacks and cold drinks to make the heat of the City of Flake bearable. 

Outwardly it might seem like there was harmony and amiability between all the people present. Everyone was talking politely and respectfully, making it hard to believe that there was a real bloody battle going on underneath those smiles and nice greetings. Admiral Carnage did not particularly enjoy these intricate power struggles but found it hard to stay neutral and uninvolved. He had put too much into building this country from ruins to be able to just let it rot again. 

After a row of insincere handshakes and pleasantries he decided to have a break with the pretext of picking something from the table. When he chose a refreshing drink and was about to turn away, he felt a gaze from the other side of the large round table and looked up to find General Feecel standing right there. The latter calmly gestured him with a glass in his hand as a greeting and smiled politely. Admiral Carnage found himself strangely happy that Silvano didn’t resemble this person at all, whether his personality or features, there was almost nothing in common. He responded with a small nod as it was the unspoken agreement they had: to keep things respectful publicly. But what surprised him was that General Feecel actually initiated a conversation. 

“How do you find the progress today, Admiral Carnage? I personally found it quite entertaining.”

“It might be because you were actually present today.” The Admiral said with a tiny smile. 

“Oho, I’m not sure when was the last time I’ve seen a smile on your face Admiral Carnage! Should I do a special ritual to commemorate this event?” This was a childish remark to which Admiral Carnage scoffed, barely audible on the other side where General Feecel was standing. 

“I know, the reason is simple! You’re finally becoming a human being, just like all of us, with flaws and desires, right?”

Feecel’s words sounded ambiguous but intentional, spoken with a mocking smile which actually kindled a suspicion in the Admiral. At first, he let this conversation start as he himself had the intention to attempt to start direct contact with General Feecel after identifying their animosity as one of the biggest issues the military strength of Nest 5 had. But now he caught a very foul smell. 

“Hm… I’ve always been human, as much as you and I can be considered as such, with a lot of my own flaws and mistakes.” 

Some more sensitive people who were close felt tension and secretly turned to see what’s happening.

“Weren’t you supposed to be unbribable, just and fair?” A tiny turbulence appeared in the General’s eyes. Yellow-green light flickered in their depths. The Admiral squinted his eyes trying to assess the hidden meaning of those words. 

“But even you are capable of wishing to possess something that is not yours.” 

The Admiral’s thoughts stopped, his eyes locked onto General Feecel’s. None of them smiled any longer. The General articulated the last sentence with a vengeful expression and hostility, as if fully prepared for a counterattack any second. It was a silent and dangerous staredown. 

“Are you sure that you are not mistaking something, Feecel?” 

“Let me ask you another question: What made you think that you could take something that belongs to me without any consequences?” 

While Jass was trying to figure out how much Feecel knew and how distorted the situation was in his eyes, there was an urgent notification indicating that Silvano’s pulse jumped to 182 bpm. At the same time there was an incoming communication from the mansion guards’ Captain and he noticed Military Assistant Bartel rushing to his side. 

The Admiral’s gaze lingered on the number 182 for several seconds. When he looked up again he noticed Feecel cautiously retreating with a sly triumphant smile plastered on his face. Admiral Carnage pushed a spot on the complex equipment attached to his left hand without taking his gaze off of Feecel. The anxious voice of his mansion’s guards’ Captain sounded in his ear equipment. 

<There are intruders in the mansion, Admiral Sir! We are currently neutralising them but several of them under the command of Commander Lourel have broken through into the inner garden.>

He made a number of intentional movements with his fingers along the surfaces of his palm and wrist all the while emotionlessly eyeing Feecel who stood at distance also looking right into his eyes emotionlessly. 

By then most of the people present had caught on that something was going on and could see things getting tense between the two high ranking military commanders. The two didn’t exchange any more words, they each just calculated their own actions. The ones who started to understand the seriousness of the situation were terrified as even one of those two individuals was enough to destroy everything in a radius of several kilometres. 

Gradually vibrations could be sensed all around them and now everyone began to panic because two of the strongest longlivers facing each other head on could become a high level calamity. Military Assistant Bartel reacted timely: he was the first to realise that the vibrations were not a result of either of them activating their abilities and swiftly cleared a space off of people just barely in time for a manicing metal mecha to land with a loud muffled thud. Many tables overturned because of the heavy landing and the sophisticated atmosphere from earlier was shattered to pieces by the presence of “Shadow Slaughter”. 

This mecha was not a stylized, beautiful army symbol or a sporty one that young rich people liked to show off. It was a brutal looking, agile and at the same time lethal machine, completely matt and in different shades of antracide, in a way unappealing, resembling a real shadow. It was not the aesthetically engineered mecha which was adorned with the Admiral’s accolades and the country’s emblem and was often depicted in the media. The high ranking officers present knew that this lethal monster was actually the Admiral’s favourite mecha for heading straight into battles. So its appearance here meant things were serious. 

The Admiral didn’t care about anyone’s reactions, when the mecha landed; he jumped into it with an agility that took many by surprise, then took off leaving everyone else on the land. He kept following Feecel with his gaze until the moment the cabin ceiling closed. General Feecel in turn was ready to summon his own monster if there was a need but let go his finger when the mecha in front of him changed its shape to an air dynemic mode and the Admiral took off without caring that everyone underneath got covered in dust and smoke. Bartel was neither confused nor unsure of his own actions, he first fixed the two strands of hair that escaped the order because of the Admiral’s take off, then assessed the situation, assigning several subordinates with specific tasks and in the end did the same as his superior. He landed his own massive mecha in the same spot that he had cleared previously. After making sure that everything was under control he took off as well, leaving a bigger cloud of dust and debris after him. 

Assistant General Bartel’s mecha was rather different from the Admiral’s, it was heavy and massive, known to be one of the largest combat mechas standing at close to 11 metres tall, whereas in comparison the Admiral’s “Shadow Slaughter” was considered among the smaller ones, only 3,5 metres tall. Those were two very different machines but known as perfectly matching during combat. Their tandem was feared all throughout the universe. Even the soldiers of the Mecha division were in awe and would spend countless hours researching documented battles involving both of those masterpieces. 

Bartel was initially educated as a commanding officer, but after serving his duties under Admiral Carnage took on a second specialisation. And became an outstanding mecha operator too, taking on this heavy mecha as his personal favorite. He chose it especially to develop as a perfect support for the Admiral to be able to go wild on the battlefield without having worries about the backing. 

As for the Admiral, he was feared and revered not only for his incredible accomplishments in commanding and leadership in interstellar battles but also for his individual excellence in close combat and exceptional knowledge of mechas and most of the military machinery and weaponry. 

Even if he was the one that started this, Feecel felt humiliated, because leaving him and rushing home in his opinion meant that Admiral did not take him seriously and was sure that he can be dealt with later, whenever it’s convenient. He was furious for many different reasons. He had always been narcissistic and possessive, never wishing to let go of what was his. But he had also in a way always admired Carnage as his lifelong rival, for the convictions he had and never betrayed. But it was never the other way round, Jass always openly showed his contempt toward him and his reluctance to fully accept his achievements. Making sure Feecel knew he’d never become a trusted ally in his eyes. 

For both of them this was a breaking point that would’ve inevitably arrived but they had been putting it off for the greater good or for the hope of a different outcome. Now that he had a reason there was nothing that was holding him back any longer.

… 

Silvano had reached his 7th point of the day’s agenda and was on a stroll with Lieutenant Colonel Gillian along the peaceful pathways enjoying the evening peace in the inner garden. Miss Melam had ended her shift and it was Thesa’s shift now. She stayed behind to freshen the room: dust the curtains and the furniture, change the beddings, arrange the clothes and prepare the next ‘concoction’ - nutrient rich smoothie for her dear patient. 

Suddenly there was a loud commotion coming from the hallway. Some distant loud noises could be heard, resembling gunshots and explosions, then rushed sounds and several guards with obviously tattered uniforms and bruises barged into the room and questioned the terrified lady. 

“Where is Mr. Silvano? Where is he, they seem to be after him!”

Thesa collected herself and said anxiously. 

“In the garden, he’s in the garden with Colonel Gillian!”

<Back up in the inner garde…uughh!…>

It was the Lieutenant Colonel’s voice in the guard’s receiver, hearing which they all rushed out. 

Gillian was putting a lot of struggles but eventually fell on the ground with convulsions all over his body. But even through this hellish pain he kept glaring at the intruder who was leisurely standing in front of Silvano’s wheelchair. 

“E..kuhh..ric bas..huuk…” he was trying to speak through his clenched jaws but futally. 

“Don’t worry little brother. I’ll take you home with me.” 

Eric Lourel - one of the strongest longlivers was standing in front of them with electric currents dancing on the palm of his hand and between his fingers. With his perfect blonde wavy hair and greyish blue eyes he looked both playful and domineering as if having no doubt that he was currently the strongest person in the territory. 

“Silvano, right? I’m Eric, Eric Lourel, your older brother.”