--Claridge's hotel, London, United Kingdom Sector, Earth--
Claridge's is one of the very few historical hotels that is still standing in the 31st century. Officially named Claridge's in 1856, the hotel was visited by Queen Victoria to meet Empress Eugenie of France in 1860 marking the beginning of its long tradition of royal visits. During World War 2, King Peter II and Queen Alexandra of Yugoslavia had their first and only child, Crown Prince Alexander II, during their stay at the hotel. Winston Churchill, the Prime minister of UK at the time, declared suite 212 Yugoslavian territory for a day and a box of Yugoslavia earth was placed under the bed so the Crown Prince could be born on Yugoslavian soil.
The hotel was rebuilt twice during 1145 years of its existence, but its tradition of royal visits remains unchanged. Today, Claridge's is still being used to accommodate foreign royalties when they visit Earth and the hotel makes sure that these royalties receive the highest standards of service and the best hospitality that humanity has to offer.
Three royal suites were reserved for Ava, Kind Duran, Pina and Hamilton. As per their request, Pina and Hamilton will be staying in the same suite. Pina is standing on the balcony staring out to the city of London night light.
"Their city is so majestic, so beautiful" Hamilton says as she approaches and hands Pina a cup of hot tea.
"It's also so clean" Pina replies "They are far superior to us in every possible aspect. King Duran was right, our arrogance blinded us and it might be the end of the Empire".
"Only if you fail, Your Highness, and you won't. I know it in my heart, I will give my life if it helps you succeed" Hamilton says.
"Thank you, my friend, I pray it will not come to that" Pina gives Hamilton a hug.
The room AI informs them that Ava is calling and a small holographic screen appears in front of Pina with the option to receive, mute or hang up. She touches the receive button then the screen switches to a video call with Ava.
"Hello, Commander, is there anything you need?" Pina says.
"No, I'm just calling to make sure you're comfortable and to remind you that the buffet is 6 to 9 AM. We'll be checking out at 10 AM then we'll take you to the prison world, Alcatraz II, to meet your people that we captured during New Ginza Incident and the battle of Alnus Hill, so be ready" Ava replies.
"We are perfectly comfortable, thank you for checking in and we will be on time, Commander. You would allow us to meet our people in your prison?" Pina says.
"Good good, and yes returning some of your people is part of the treaty so we'll let you meet them to help you decide who will be released. Of course, they'll all be released when the war is over. Anyway, I'll..." Ava's sentence is interrupted by a call from Ashely "Hang on Ash is calling".
Ava adds Ashley into the ongoing call with Pina.
"LC?" Ava says.
"Commander, Princess, Hamilton" Ashley greets them and then continues "You guys might want to see this, they just published new discovery about the gate from the data package in Norvea Castle".
Ava pulls up the article on the screen so everyone can read about it. The GIA has been decrypting the data sent back by the 5th SIF which contains a lot of information about the history of the planet and the research that the Prothean was conducting there.
"It says the control of the gate was a malfunction at around 400 BC Earth year and opened a gate outside of the city of Rome" Ashly says "the Roman send an army through the gate to conquer the new world"
"That's why their gods, culture and military doctrine are so identical to those of the Roman and the Greek, there was a big famine going during the 400 BC in Italy peninsula. In addition to political turmoil, it makes sense that the people migrated through the gate to start a new life and find hope" Ava says.
Roman culture was heavily influenced by the Greeks since the 8th century BC. Trading and colonization drives brought the Greeks to Italy looking for new commercial outlets and expansion.
"Hmm, I wonder why history did not record the event" Ashley wonders.
"Well, Herodotus, the father of history, the first person who did systematic investigation of historical events was alive during that time but he was in Greek. Before his works got popular and people started following his footsteps, historical events were largely vague, biased and inaccurate. Many events were lost and forgotten, the opening of the gate might be one of those" Ava explains.
"Wait, wait, are you saying we have the same root? That human on my world is actually from Earth?" Pina is shocked by everything she just learned.
"Yes, Pina, you came from Earth" Ava says with a smile.
"Princess, you can use this to convince the Senate that the UNE and the Empire are the same people and we should stop making war!" Hamilton holds onto Pina's arms.
"But would they believe me?" Pina replies.
"They have to! I'll help you convince them" Hamilton says.
"Pina, don't worry. You have your loyal friends and Viktor by your side, everything is going to be ok. Now let's get some rest, you'll get to meet your people tomorrow" Ava tries to reassure Pina.
Pina is laying on her bed staring at the ceiling and thinking of what Ava said. She thinks Ava was right, overthinking would cause her to mentally exhaust and lead to no good. Instead of worrying, she needs to keep her head clear and take one step at a time and give it her best. With thoughts slowly drifting away, Pina falls asleep, for the first time since the beginning of the siege of Italica she is able to sleep nicely.
--HSS Destiny Bridge, Alcatraz system--
Alcatraz system has 9 planets and 12 moons, is one of the 4 prison systems in the UNE. All 9 planets were terraformed into savanna class planets and their surfaces were made so that there are no mountains, hills, rivers or caves. The whole planet is a giant grass field with very few trees scattered. It gives the planets an artificial look but the purpose of the design is to give no place for prisoners to hide should they escape the compounds. The moons are where the management and prison guards stay but they never have to set foot on the prison planets as everything is taken care of by remote-controlled drones and automated prison drones.
When new prisoners arrive, they will be put in one-way drop pods and launched towards their designated compounds. Prisoners will be also put in one of these pods, when they are to be released, then put into a coma and launched into space to be recovered by a Police corvette. The pods will be recovered by the drones and then broken down into matters to be used in replicating machines. Because there is no traffic on and off the planets, it is impossible for prisoners to escape off-world.
For now, only one planet is being used as the crime rate in the UNE is so low and most of them are petty crimes, which do not result in a prison sentence. There are also Marikarian prisoners from the Marikarian Separatist terrorist group, who want to restore the old Marikarian Empire, being held but they are only a few hundred thousand.
The Destiny is now in orbit of one of the control moons and Pina with the knights are following Ambassador Noah to the hangar bay and board a D-20. Ava and the rest of the group are staying on the ship as they are not related to this matter.
"Ambassador, how many Imperial soldiers are you holding down there?" Grey asks.
Ambassador Noah pulls up a summary list in front of him and reads "239 officers and 64300 soldiers"
"That's it? 200 thousand went through the gate and 700 thousand at Alnus Hill, we estimated around 80 thousand escaped the battle of Alnus Hill in combination with the 65 thousand you're holding..." Grey pauses for a moment as the numbers sink in "All my years of conquests with the Imperial Army, I have never seen such high casualty rate and your people didn't lose a single soldier since the beginning of this war".
"We did lose 20 of our best men and women trying to find our people, other than that, a few dozen wounded" Ambassador Noah replies.
"If our roles were switched, the Empire would've never wanted to make peace" Hamilton comments.
"That's why we are the savages and they're the civilized ones" Pina mumble with a blank expression.
"I wouldn't say savage, but considering your civilization is like...a child who is learning and growing up" Ambassador Noah says, he then shrugs and continues "well, this child is a little mean but...".
The D-20 lands on the management moon of prison planet Alcatraz II. Unlike the prison planets, management moons were terraformed into paradise worlds as the job of the staff here is mundane so the government wants to create the best possible condition for them to stay in.
When the rear ramp opens, a DSA agent is waiting to greet them. Usually, visits are handled by police officers on the station, but since this is a diplomatic visit the DSA has taken over.
"Welcome to Alcatraz II Alpha, please follow me inside" the DSA agent greets everyone.
The agent leads them to a spacious empty room with a holographic pad in the center. A holographic image of Alcatraz II is being displayed, the agent zoom to the location of the compound where they are keeping the Imperial Soldiers. Over ten thousand 5m x 7m (16.5 x 23 feet) cylinder design houses in neat rows, each house 6 prisoners and have a toilet as well as table and bookshelves. The interior design looks like a decent hotel room.
"As you can see, this is where your people are being held. They are well and healthy, any wounds or detached limbs were fixed" the DSA agents explain, he then scrolls over to the rice and wheat fields and continues "This is where they will be working every day to produce food and then shipped off-world. We make sure they work from 8 AM to 12 PM and then 1 PM to 6 PM, after 6 they can do whatever they want from playing sports, signing up for musical instrument classes taught by automatic holographic tutors".
"This is what you call prison? They are living better than the Empire's middle class!" Pina is shocked by what she is seeing, the good treatment they're receiving from the very people that they wanted to kill is unbelievable.
"That is correct, Your Highness, according to our law, all prisoners are to be treated fairly during their time in prison" Ambassador Noah says.
"But if you make them comfortable while in prison then criminals won't be scared of getting caught and there will be crime everywhere. Please just call me Pina" Pina says.
"Being in prison is no picnic, Pina. Everything you do, every aspect of your life will be monitored and scheduled. You don't have the freedom you will have when you're free. Besides, the main purpose of prison is to prevent criminals to cause further harm and to give prisoners time to look back at their choices and show them that there's a better way" Ambassador Noah explains "As for crime prevention, we don't use fear to stop people from committing crimes. Instead, we try to improve our education system and make sure that everyone learns, from a very young age, that crimes are bad and you should try to avoid it".
"That's possible?" Pina asks.
"It does, with better education and an efficient system everyone has skills that they can use to make a living so there's no need to commit crimes. Our unemployment rate is only 0.4% because the galaxy is so vast, there are always job positions to be filled" Ambassador Noah says.
"So when I take over the Empire and my father tried in your court, he will be put in one of these place?" Pina asks.
"Yes, but he will have his own place instead of living with other prisoners," Ambassador Noah says.
"Right, when I can meet with the men down there?" Pina asks.
"The drones are gathering them into the camp's square, you'll talk to them from here when they're ready," Ambassador Noah says as he looks over to the DSA agent standing in the corner.
The DSA agent gives Noah a slight nod indicating that they're ready for the Princess.
After returning the nod, Noah tells Pina to step on the pad "They're ready to meet you, step on the pad when you're ready".
The Imperial soldiers are now standing, in orderly lines, in the prison square facing the main hall. Generals and officers in front, soldiers line up at the back. When Pina steps on the pad, her surrounding changes from the room to the prison square where the prisoners are waiting. A holographic image of her is also projected in front of the prisoners, the image is very real just like the Princess is there herself. As soon as they see Pina's holographic image, all of them immediately get on their knee.
"Princess Pina? Why are you here? Did we lose the war and they capture you?" Count Formal asks.
"Count Formal? Please stand up all. We did not lose the war...yet" Pina gives a short pause for everyone to stand up and then continues "The war is going very badly and the Empire is suffering tremendous losses, that's why I'm here. I'm here to try to make peace and save the Empire".
Pina looks around at the faces of the people in front of her. Many of them show sorrow, some are hopeful and some show disgust. Count Formal, however, give an expression of contempt like he knew this is going to happen.
"Count Formal, General Aurelius Caeso?" Pina asks.
"Your Highness, he along with most other generals refused to surrender and died honorably on the battlefield. Most of us here are legionnaires from various legions, low ranking officers and councilors like myself" Count Formal replies.
Count Formal's words make Pina's heart skips a beat because what he's saying is true then the only mean one thing "Most of the sons and husbands of noble families are dead?".
"Yes, Your Highness, when we were taken to this place, I did a thorough check and there are only 25 noblemen from 18 noble families are alive" Count Formal replies as he waves his hand signaling the noblemen to raise their arm so the Princess can see.
"18 noble families...there are 83 noble families that influence the Empire politics, 18 is not enough!" Pina holds her fists tight as her plan to use the released noblemen as means to convince the noble families to follow her is falling apart.
"May I ask what is not enough?" Count Formal asks.
"As part of the deal, the UNE is going to release 100 of you for me to bring back to Sadera to gain trust and influence. I planned to bring back as many noblemen as I can to gain the favor of their families but now..." Pina puts her hands over her forehead as she's feeling slightly light-headed.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness" Count Formal says as he bows slightly.
"I'll take what I can, 18 noble families will have to do for now. I'll also be taking you back with me, your daughter is waiting for you in Italica" Pina says.
"She's safe? Italica is safe? By the gods, thank you" hearing that, Count Formal falls on his knees while happy tears come out of his eyes.
"She is safe but Italica is controlled by the UNE now, we can tell you more once you're home" Pina says.
"Coward! Traitor! You call yourself Princess of the Empire, yet you're making deals with the enemy!" one of the noblemen yell while some others agree with him.
They start charging the holographic image of Pina before Count Formal could stop them. As soon as they make the move, sirens go off as security drones fly in a take them down with electric shock pellets. Once they're on the ground, medical drones come in and take them to the infirmary.
"Farewell for now, Count Formal. I will be meeting you in person soon" Pina says as the holographic pad turn off and the room reappears again.
"That went well" Grey says with a shrug.
"Now please follow me to the meeting room so we can finalize who you would like to bring back to Spes. After that, the paperwork should be quick enough" Ambassador Noah says as he leads the group out of the room.
It doesn't take Pina long to finalize the list as she doesn't know any of the soldiers down on Alcatraz II. Other than 25 noblemen and Count Formal, she just pick 74 random soldiers. The list of names is then transferred to the system to the paperwork can be done. In less than an hour later, everything is cleared and the drones are now taking everyone on the list to the launch tube for the releasing process to be started.
100 pods are launched into space and picked up by the police version of D-20s and transfer directly to the Destiny. The entire process only takes 2 hours for all 100 prisoners to be transferred to Destiny's brig. Pina is walking down the brig checking on her fellow countrymen, making sure that they are settling in ok. Each cell can keep 2 prisoners and has a force field as well as a palladium glass in case of power failure.
The Destiny makes its way to the Interstellar Gate to travel to the Gate Hub and then back to Uros. Although the short visit didn't allow the Falmartian to see the UNE in full, but they got a glimpse of how powerful their enemy or new ally is. Pina standing on the bridge looking out to the stars with a mix of feelings, she's hopeful but also doubting if she's making all the right choices.
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Author's note: Apparently, someone is copy-pasting my fanfic to their own website without asking me first. Whoever you are, I'm flattered but that's not very nice.