“Agreed,” says Councilor Rynn.
“Although the borders open tomorrow, we do not expect an influx of Mistveil shifters on our soil.” Reed leans forward a little, her eyes on me.
“That’s good to know.” I feel myself relax a little.
“There’s another important development you need to know about,” Vector continues, and just like that, my back goes up. “It’s regarding the Mistveil border specifically. The frontline, as we have called it for as long as I can remember.” He rubs his lips together, looking nervous for the first time in all the years I have stood before him. “Going forward, it will be governed by Mistveil.”
I narrow my eyes. “That’s a mistake.”
Reed clears her throat and widens her eyes at me.
“I mean that with respect,” I add. “But pulling Draig’s presence from the Mistveil border and handing authority over to them…it’s…we’re moving too fast. We’re assuming a level of trust that hasn’t been established yet. Do you really trust them that much after meeting with their delegates a handful of times? Surely not.”
“Mistveil made it a condition of the peace negotiations,” Councilor Arrow says from across the table.
“Of course they did,” I snap. “But we need to withdraw slowly…step by step. Not all at once.”
“How can any genuine peace hold if Draig forces are still patrolling their borders?” Reed asks, her eyes softening. She shrugs. “It sends the wrong signal.”
“I understand the politics,” I say. “What worries me is the gap between politics and reality. If something happens on or near our own border, we have no buffer. They’ll already be right on us.”
“They want peace. We are not enemies. We never were. The Mainland has been pitting us against one another, and it has to stop.” Vector hits his hand on the table for emphasis.
“I know the facts,” I tell him. “But it doesn’t change the past or bring back those who have been killed on both sides. Hate still exists…again on both sides, and that will spell bloodshed. This needs to happen in stages so that everyone can acclimatize. It needs to slowly become the new normal.”
“The new normal is here,” Vector says. “We have established working relationships with King Arctic and with the Mistveil Council. They insist that they are capable of governing their own borders. They have been, arguably, for far longer than we’ve been willing to acknowledge. You know this, Magma.”
I press my lips together for a moment, choosing my words. “Yes, sir. I hear you. You say they want peace, but there is a whole population of rogue Red shifter males who continually try to cross the frontline. What of them? Who will govern them?”
“Mistveil has contingency plans in place. They already govern their own border; it’s just a case of expanding to include the whole of Mistveil. They have assured us that they are more than capable. Keep in mind that our frontline will still be there,” Reed says. “Intact,butwithin the Draig borders. That hasn’t changed. What will change – and I’ll be direct with you, Magma, because I know you value that – is the flight guard division. The frontline fighters themselves. Over the next year, at a minimum, fifty percent of those positions will be phased out. That’s if all goes to plan, and we are positive it will.”
I had expected them to say this, but it still stings.
“Fifty percent,” I repeat, looking down at the table for a few moments.
“We’ll absorb as many of those guards as possible into other departments,” Councilor Ember says. “It won’t be perfect. But we are committed to our attempts at keeping them on board, just in a different capacity.”
“You’re asking me to trust a process that will take away half my air presence,” I say. “I need you to know I’m going to hold you to the absorption promise.”
“Noted,” Vector says. “And we expected nothing less from you. Your role is guaranteed as long as you can adapt.”
I nod once, my jaw tightening.
“Stand down from midnight tonight,” he continues. “The sea border patrols on the frontline surrounding our neighbors are done. We will continue to maintain a presence on Draig. That is where our jurisdiction now ends and begins.”
“And if there’s unrest? Once those borders open and Reds start moving freely through our streets? What then?”
“That is precisely why your main arm will continue to operate,” Councilor Thorne says. “We’re not asking you to be absent, Magma. We’re asking you to redirect. Tackle any incidents swiftly and decisively. We are drawing up protocols together with the Mistveil delegates. SOPs, should their citizens step out of line on our soil and vice versa.”
“In the interim, I will not accept anything less than stellar behavior. We have laws in place for a reason,” I tell them.
“Do your job, Magma,” Reed says. “Be sure to stick to the book. Security Central will be under a microscope.”
I nod.
“For now,” Vector says, “it is business as usual. Keep your people trained and ready. They need to be prepared for anything. We quite literally have no idea what to expect.”
I nod once.
