Chapter 6:

It’s the weekend for Tzilpapali. She has one day off each week. During these days she can choose to either stay in her quarters and relax, go to a mechanic workshop and work on something, or take a morning bus to the city to walk around and find what to do.

Tzil decides to go to the city for the day. She gets ready early on and heads towards Otzin early in the morning. The first bus arrives at 8:00 AM, most of the people that choose to use that time to head to Otzin take the first bus in that direction. 

Tzilpapali is one of the first to climb inside, followed by a large crew of men and woman. She takes a back seat next to a window in order to spend the trip looking at the landscape. The road from Otzin to the military base consists of mostly plains. It’s summer by then, the grass is vibrantly green and well maintained with individual trees appearing once in a while. Few people live in small concrete and stone houses sitting by themselves. Most of these houses have one or a few dogs staring curiously at the street from behind a fence, the ones that don’t have a dog that’s either lazy or old.

The bus finally arrives in Otzin, and after a short while it reaches the center of the city. The city spreads out in the shape of an asterisk from its center. at the vertices of the asterisk, it starts becoming more chaotic, with sprawling unplanned streets.The center of the city is elevated compared to the rest, so heading in the direction of any one particular street will be a downhill walk. 

Tzilpapali looks around. The center of the city is a wide circle, with a promenade and a park. Services and cafes line up the edge. However, she isn’t interested in the supermarket or the pharmacy for the time being. Instead, she goes down one of the less traversed streets.

Constructions in the city are varying tones of pink and purple with white outlines. Tzilpapali enjoys the simple pleasure of walking after the week. She feels how her muscles begin to unwind, freeing themselves up from accumulated tension starting from the back. Observing her surroundings motivates her to move along further. And moving along further motivates her to observe more.

At the time she isn’t looking for anything in particular. She wants to keep perspective of the world outside the base and the Bluelight. Tzil finds that strange and unique places in less used roads tend to be her favorite things to keep her mind off things. 

This still proves difficult when she sees multiple smaller, tractor-like military vehicles. They are small and dark green, their size makes them easy to drive even through people-filled streets. A single man armed with a rifle mans each one of them, alerting people that they are being watched.

These are required measures in a city such as Otzin, which is not under as much direct surveillance as Iltzik, even if it does have an outer wall far past the military complex, same as any other protected city. The change in regions compared to her home state makes Tzil anxious. It’s still something that he isn’t quite used to yet.

While walking around, she stops, she’s heard a noise. A man is stealing something from a jewelry store. The man runs fast, downwards and away from the center, probably hoping to evade the military. He has no such luck. A man in one of those small, tractor-like vehicles stops in front of where the jewelry thief will be. He goes down from the vehicle, and before the man can get much further, he hits him in the stomach with the tail of his rifle. 

The man folds in pain.The officer hits him in the forehead, making him lose balance and fall to the ground. Soon after, other troops appear and apprehend the man, taking him away. An impulse inside Tzilpapali thinks of intervening, but she knows it’s not her place.

Somewhat shocked, she enters a religious store with the symbol of the goddess of water Tziluktani. One of the three major deities, and part of what constitutes the name of both, Tzilpapali and empress Tsuk’A. 

In an effort to keep her mind from what she just saw, Tzilpapali tries to recall what her mother had told her about her name. It had been years before her mother’s degenerative disease took her mind and forced her to an asylum. Back when her mother was still conscious, she explained to Tzilpapali that her name came from the part of the goddess’ name that represented bats living over water inside caverns.

By then, she’s forgotten the specific meaning of that symbol. Best she can come up with is echolocation, but Echolocation doesn’t necessarily fit right with something so ancient. However, she enjoys that thought personally. Thinking about that manages to take her mind off of what just happened, enough to leave it for the time being.

Meanwhile, the store clerk is standing behind a counter and looking outward, stretching out his neck. He is curious about what just happened, but he can’t exit the store just like that, so he contents himself with seeing as much as he can. Shoplifters are somewhat rare in Otzin, so there’s not much of a chance of seeing one getting caught.

Once that is done, the man goes back to working. He notices Tzilpapali and puts on a practiced smile, then says.

-Hello miss, do you need any help?

Tzil turns towards him the moment she notices she’s being talked to. Then she talks.

-Just browsing.

The clerk nods understandingly, and waits behind the counter while Tzilpapali looks around. She doesn’t intend to buy anything initially, but she figures that her salary is high enough, and that she owes one to the shop for taking her mind off of things. 

Upon seeing a small rubber necklace with a minimalist silver pendant of a bat, she puts it around her neck and asks for the cost. She buys it immediately after being told, then thanks the clerk and exits the store. Then she walks off.

While walking down, and away from the center, her phone begins ringing. She takes it, it’s Quixila. Tzilpapali answers.

-Hello

-Hi Tzil! Hey, are you in Otzin right now?

Asks Quixila. Tzilpapali thinks about lying in case that Quixila wants her to perform exercises of some sort. She resigns the idea before the words come out of her mouth and Says.

-Yeah, I’m here. 

-Great, I am here as well! I’ll be working for a short while, but do you want to take a bite after?

Says Quixila, puzzling Tzilpapali. She wonders why Quixila would want to eat with her, and if she has a specific question to make related to the R-Suit. With this in mind Tzil responds plainly.

-Ok, I’ll be going to the town center. I’ll meet you there I suppose?

Says Tzilpapali, uncertain.

-Sure thing, I’ll call again when I’m close. 

Says Quixila 

-I’ll wait at some cafe then.

Responds Tzilpapali.

-Then that’s that, see you!

And with that, Quixila finalizes the conversation. Tzilpapali was intent on going back to the center and exploring another street regardless. She doesn’t feel particularly bothered about going there and waiting instead. Yet she does so while remaining curious about why Quixila wants to meet.

Throughout the journey back up, her mind goes back to the shoplifter from before. She hadn’t seen something of the sort in Iltzik, where cameras were prevalent, and the only way to get from one place to the next would be through a transport station. Anyone who actually committed a crime would find themselves apprehended as soon as they left the next cableroom that they took. 

Once she’s back on the center of the street, she sits at an unassuming cafe. She sees a couple of street performers doing the warrior’s dance. A well known folkloric dance involving a winner dancer and a loser dancer. The winner dancer is usually dressed in red, while the loser dancer dresses up in black. The movements of the dance are meant to simulate a battle where the winner dancer is dominating the loser fighter.

Huitzlian culture hails the dance as its very basis. It is a war dance, frequently performed with modern variations. Whenever the Huitzlian empire wins a major battle, professional dancers are hired to make a version of the dance that demonstrates Huitzli’s victory against the opposing force. 

Tzil observes the dance. While she usually finds it in herself to enjoy it, at that particular moment, the dance reminds her of the man getting hit by the tail of a rifle. It’s still a fresh idea, one that could easily translate to what she is currently seeing. 

Her thoughts are not occupied for too long, a voice comes through to her, taking her mind off of things.

-Hey, I’m here!

Says Quixila from behind Tzilpapali, waking the younger girl from her own head.

-Thought you were gonna call when you were near.

Says Tzilpapali.

-I can still call you if you really feel like it.

Says Quixila, both of them laugh at that. Quixila takes a seat in front of Tzil, quickly making herself comfortable and ordering coffee. 

-So, what brings you here?

Asks Tzilpapali, finally expecting to get an answer to her question.

-I was nearby and figured that we’ve yet to hang despite working together for so long. That needed to be fixed.

The answer surprised Tzil. She was expecting Quixila to want something in particular from her. Seeing the other woman openly say that she just wanted to talk was far from expected. 

She takes a sip of her own drink made out of papaya and coconut milk. It’s sweet and easy to drink. The flavor brings a certain tranquility to the girl’s attitude. It translates to her body, which gets into a more comfortable position, and then into her words. 

-And here I thought you’d make me parade around like some metal inflatable balloon. 

Jokes Tzilpapali.

-None of that today, maybe someday, we can even paint it neon green and advertise tobacco or something.

Continues Quixila from that. The two keep on conversing for a short while and then move to a tlacoyo place, where they eat thick blue tortilla formed around a core of pork and cheese. Tzilpapali is shocked to find that the strict Quixila is fairly content with eating such a meal with her hands. And Quixila is happy to know that Tzilpapali can talk beyond responding to orders and explaining her R-Suit.

Eventually, the conversation leads to the topic of religion, since both of them follow the Huitzlian faith to an extent.

-I was born in the day of the volcanic rabbit and assigned a northern star at school. Supposedly that makes a soldier that isn’t quite a soldier, and I have no clue what that means.

Says Quixila.

-My mom told me something about the bat which is also my namesake. Dad took me off of school when I was 12 so I never got my star assigned.

Replies Tzilpapali, who’d been working on learning the theory and work behind making things since she got her first engineering suit at that age.

-Yeah, no idea how they hand those out either. Maybe it’s just random?

Says Quixila, who is light on beliefs in spite of following the faith.

-It might be, it’s somewhat fun to talk about I suppose.

Continues Tzilpapali.

-Speaking about fun, one of these days I’ll take you off road biking. 

Says Quixila.

-I bet that hurts.

Responds Tzilpapali.

-Just make sure that the first time you fall, you land on your head. You won’t have enough brain cells to process pain after that.

Tzilpapali tries to contain herself, but winds up snorting in uproarious laughter.

Soon after that, the two of them take a walk around the streets. Quixila has lived in Otzin in the past, so she shows her favorite spots to Tzilpapali. The latter feels relaxed the more time she spends with the Quixila that isn’t on duty. 

The two of them return to the military base on the same bus, and both head to their rooms after. Tzilpapali fixes herself her usual dinner and sleeps. The day left her even more well rested than weekends usually do. 

After waking up, her day starts out the same as every other weekday. It continues in this manner up until the moment in which she would usually start R-Suit training. Instead of that, two men wait for her outside the eating hall. 

-Someone wants to see you.

Says one of them, while motioning for her to follow. The two men guide her to the same truck that she’d usually take, and the truck takes the usual route to the training field. In the training field, she sees a large group of military vehicles of all kinds.

Tzilpapali steps down from the truck and sees Quixila who seems even more serious than she usually is before they start the drills. Quixila notices Tzilpapali, and her face betrays slight relaxation at the sight of Tzil. Her expression returns to a stern look not long after, and at the same time as it does, one of the vehicles, a large van in the middle, opens its doors.

4 Men head down, two of them stand on either side of one of the doors in the back of the vehicle, then wait for the person inside to open the door by themselves. From inside the vehicle steps down a woman in her 50s, somewhat light brown in complexion compared to many Huitzlians. With whitening, golden brown hair, dark eyes, and heavily rounded features except for the eyes. Her eyes seem focused enough to command authority with them alone.

Her outfit is what calls to Tzilpapali immediately. She’s got a multicolored cape that goes all the way to her knees. Her head is covered by a military helmet, covered in feathers. And in her hands is a royal dagger, with a two sided, obsidian, knife underneath and a jade skull for its pommel and a wooden hilt.

It’s empress Tsuk’A, the maximum authority in the Huitzlian Empire. And she is looking at Tzilpapali, who is currently using all of the skills she learned as a merchant to not break off eye contact. Tzil stands straight and sees the empress at eye level as best she can. When the empress closes in enough, she gives a direct up and down nod. 

-So it’s true that you are the youngest creator of an R-Suit. How does that feel?

Says the empress in a light tone. To Tzil, everything about her seems in control. Her tone however, is expressive and excited. 

-I am proud of myself your highness

Responds Tzil.

-Straight and proper, you remind me of Il’Ilo. Did he tell you that he refused to be my advisor?

Asks Tsuk’A

-No, he didn’t, any reason why?

Tzil pauses before saying

-Your highness.

-It was quite long ago. You need to be important in the military and much more to even get nominated, but he said he was better suited to Field Marshal work than helping lead a country. He found you, so he might’ve been right.

Says the empress. When she hears this, Tzil imagines how the situation went. It’s easy for her to think of Il’Ilo outright refusing to have to work on a job that didn’t involve leading the military directly. The man seemed deeply rooted into his workplace.

-Think anything of that?

Asks the empress.

-I respect Field Marshal Il’Ilo but haven’t been acquainted with him for long enough to know, your highness.

Says Tzilpapali.

-Straight answer again, I suppose that saves us time. I’ve already informed your superior that I want to see the full range of your abilities. So get in your suit.

Commands the empress. Tzil nods formally and heads to the already prepared Bluelight. She goes inside of it. Once inside, she finds that Quixila has already prepared a message for her.

-There’s 5 targets on the ground, they will be easily visible once you elevate yourself to 15,000 meters. You may elevate yourself as needed, however, avoid exceeding 25,000 meters. Destroy all 5 targets, the method is up to your discretion, however, you have to utilize a combination of long ranged and melee combat.

With the order ready, Tzilpapali takes flight. When she is high enough, she can  see the 5 targets spread off in separate directions into the distance. Since Quixila gave her full reign of how to deal with them, Tzil traces a route in her head. Then she starts.

She takes her long distance shotgun. A wide round of pure Rhydian energy is emitted from it. Without seeing if the first target has been dealt with, she has already defined the movements that she has to make to hit the second one and the third one, one to her left and one to her right. The Bluelight’s shotgun moves and settles confidently in place for each one of them, then shoots while focusing purely on the target that she is currently aiming at.

All 3 targets are destroyed, there’s 2 targets left. A thunderous sonic boom takes the Bluelight from the sky into the ground. It is holding its left hand in front. its left hand is emitting a continuous, rectangular beam of Rhydian energy longer than the Bluelight is tall. Tzil calls it the Formcutter, and she utilizes it mostly as a spear.

The Formcutter deals with the target before she even reaches the ground. Then, she retracts the Rhydian energy spear, and places the Bluelight’s feet on the ground. The adaptive propulsors below the soles allow it to easily maneuver through any kind of terrain while moving on land. The Bluelight quickly reaches the target. The exact moment it is within range, Tzil pulls out the Formcutter, thrusting through it immediately. 

Having done that, she finishes dealing with all the targets that were set up for her. Tzil closes in to the landing area for the Bluelight and drops it off there. Then she waits for the next order from Quixila, which is already prepared for her.

-Well done pilot, now head down. 

Tzilpapali heads down from her R-Suit. She is then taken from where the Bluelight is back to where Quixila and the empress are via a car, unlike the usual truck. Once down, she is escorted in front of the empress. When she gets there, the empress claps slowly.

-That was quite the spectacle. Fast too, good bang for my buck.

Says the empress.

-I am not sure if it’s proper to thank, but thank you for the compliment, your highness.

Responds Tzilpapali.

-It is to be sure, I like being thanked. You should feel proud. There might be a total of ten people capable of making one of those in all of Huitzli, and only 2 actually have. 

Tzil straightens herself, and lets a smile paint itself on her face. She responds to the empress.

-I am, your highness.

-Good, good. Now, here’s a question, and respond honestly. Do you think you can help the Huitzlian Empire?

Asks the empress, her expression hardens, and her voice lowers.

-Was I clumsy or slow? Your highness.

Seeing this, Tzil gets nervous. She is not sure of what the empress saw that she herself isn’t seeing.

-Not exactly what I mean. Tzilpapali, you are a mechanic, not a soldier, right?

-I am both now, your highness.

-Then I suppose I don’t need to say this. People die in the war, and people kill in the war. You could be on either side of this situation, do you understand this?

Says the empress. When Tzil hears this, her mind stops for a moment. She intends to answer that she can, but she recalls the scene that she witnessed in Otzin. It was difficult to see a man striking another. She wonders if she can bring herself to do the same. Tsuk’A notices that Tzilpapali is having difficulty answering, and she speaks.

-Il’Ilo asked you to be a pilot to prevent potential problems. But we can’t have an expensive toy doing nothing in a fight.

She explains to Tzil and then places both hands on top of the daggers pommel, and continues.

-I need you to understand, that as you are you are already useful to us, and you’ll have a comfortable life ahead regardless of what you do. I’ll need to hear your choice, and I’ll need you to look straight into my eyes when you say it. 

Says the empress with finality. She then motions for the guards to escort her to her vehicle. And once she is away, but still within earshot for Tzilpapali she speaks.

-I’ll be here until tomorrow afternoon, if you make a decision, you can ask your commanding officer to bring you to me at any moment. If you don’t decide, I’ll assume that your answer is no, and begin plans to have you replaced. Have a great day, and don’t make me wait, pilot.

And as she says that, she enters her van and leaves, then other vans follow, and soon there’s only the truck that will take Tzilpapali and Quixila to the base, and the one that will take the Bluelight. The two of them hop on the vehicle. Quixila slides to the opposite door, and Tzil gets in hastily. 

Disquieted, Tzil finds herself unable to either speak or notice when she is spoken to. A part of her tries to think of what the empress said as an affront to her. The side of her that is conscious, understands that it is not a slight, it is pragmatism.

When she constructed the Bluelight, she did not do so with the intent to make personal use of it. Thus, finding it in herself to refute Tsuk’A’s claims while remaining true to herself results in being a complicated task. 

She is pensive, her brow furrows and her jaw clenches, rubbing her molars against one another. Her body follows her face. And soon, she has contracted into a mess of tension and stress. It is only when she feels a knock on her shoulder that she’s brought back to reality.

-You look like you took a bite out of a lemon. 

Hearing this, Tzilpapali rubs her cheeks, noticing she is bruxing and forcing herself to stop. She shakes her head, and lets her body loosen up. 

-Here, complain about the empress to me, that will help.

Says Quixila. Tzilpapali nods, and finalizes her tension-relieving shake up. Her mind feels prone to communicating now. 

-Well, it’s not a complaint. But

Tzil stumbles on her own words, but finds it in herself to open up to Quixila.

-I knew what she was talking about, and it annoys me that she is right. 

Quixila looks at her thinking about speaking, but before she can, Tzil continues. 

-She would have said that no matter what I did.

At this Quixila responds.

-Yes, that’s her job.

Tzilpapali turns towards her.

-To tell people they are wrong?

Quixila shakes her head.

-No. The empress is trying to make outside communities a true part of Huitzli. To make sure that everyone’s protected, she has to face harsh and stubborn people daily. She thinks about the number of people she can help by doing something, even if it means hurting a few.

Says Quixila.

-And I am one of the few.

Answers Tzilpapali.

-Or the people who’d die if they fail to interface with the Bluelight.

States Quixila with confidence. Tzilpapali is silenced by her. She thinks of Tsuk’A against Il’Ilo, and ponders their differing styles of leadership. In a way, both of them are excellent at making it so that things get done.

For a moment, Tzil considers how she’d feel with the amount of power that either of them hold. She thinks of herself working in an office where every decision defines the course of a thousand lives. Even in that thought experiment, she imagines herself crumbling under pressure. By itself, concern of being hated would stop her in her tracks.

-And what do you think about me?

Asks Tzilpapali after taking a pause.

-If you move outside like you move here, you’ll be the best pilot we have in no time.

Tzilpapali laughs at the implication that she’d be the best out of two people. But she is happy about what Quixila says. She herself has been practicing, she knows that. The question is whether she can show what she has practiced.

Her answer waits for the night. The challenge in being honest has to start by being honest to herself. She understands that she has to manage at least that much if she wants to give a deign answer.

--------

After a day, Huicol’s team has one part of the campaign ready. Once it’s done, Il’Ilo is handed the project plans as well as the requirements. One part of them catches Il’Ilo’s eye.

While the main portion of the campaign involves seeing positives and giving in to the instinct to protect. The first part is meant to inspire people to recall the glory days. Both parts of the ad involve the city of Plin, where the Rioter R-Suit was defeated. Unlike the latter part which gives protagonism to the city over everything, the first wave of advertisements features Il’Ilo front and center. 

“A Living Legend” is the campaign name. It focuses on a conquered city’s progress and the man who made it possible. For those not in the know, particularly those in protected cities, it appears as an absolute positive, and romanticizes Huitzlian authority. It’s a simple message about how the military improves everything.

Il’Ilo himself knows of the emotions that such an ad arises in people. He got his start in the army with similar motivations. It took him longer than average to leave aside his naivetè. And it is hard to tell if he ever left his belief in the pride of armed forces. But he can tell that the black and white outlook displayed by recruitment campaigns is just a necessary lie.

The campaign doesn’t have a start day listed. Most likely as a result of Huicol’s reverence to Il’Ilo’s time. Following this, there’s a long write up that explains that the team is ready to start when Il’Ilo gives the order.

Turning towards his calendar, Il’Ilo notices that he doesn’t have free time in the following days, nor the days after. In similar reverence to Huicol’s effort as he had for Il’Ilo’s time, he decides to make a call. Rather than waiting, Il’Ilo resolves to utilize his weekend to go to Plin. 

The day after, he is en route to Plin. Armed men and a large crew of cameramen, lighting operators, boom operators, and more, follow along. Il’Ilo finds the long travel time and cramped seat to be troublesome to deal with. 

Nevertheless, he assumes that he made the right call in telling his wife that he had work for the day. Progressing in positive images in the early stages of the campaign could be instrumental in gathering people. And gathering people would enable him to follow through with better plans of action.

The train leading to Plin finally stops. Il’Ilo’s group, which lies apart in their own wagon, goes down after every other person heading to Plin has left the train. There, they are greeted by the local officer assigned to manage the defense forces that protect the city. He’s in his 30s, average in height, and unassuming in spite of commanding as much power as the mayor of the city.

-Field Marshal Il’Ilo

Says the man, bowing his head respectfully. 

-Raise your head Coloc

Responds Il’Ilo firmly. 

-With the job you’ve done, you’ve no reason to hold yourself below other men.

Coloc raises his head and remains levelheaded as he listens to this. His back is erect and he meets his superior in the eye with some effort. It is at this moment that he recalls his missitive. He recommences his speech.

-I won’t do so sir. Huicol told me about the campaign. We’ve readied some places for the crew to decide where they want to film and where they want to take pictures.

-Then we’ll mobilize now. 

Says Il’Ilo, eager to head back to Iltzik before the day ends. Coloc nods and goes forward, followed by Il’Ilo, with the unit of marketing men and Il’Ilo’s bodyguards behind. Their steps start out uncoordinated but gradually settle into a solid, syncopated, beat on repeat. 

Outside of the train station, there is a caravan of cars waiting for them. Spacious vans for the camera equipment, and sedans for the military men. The group head forward through the city.

Plin has less than a decade as an official Huitzlian protected city. It has stopped giving tribute to Huitzli and started reaping the benefits from taxes. The process is slow, public transportation is in its middle stages, and a majority of inner city travel is still done by car. The people are free to move between protected cities, however, which has turned Plin and its fertile soil into a prime trading hub.

Heading from the train station to filming spots within the city means facing traffic. The group takes half an hour to arrive to the first location. By the time they do, the temperature has risen. They exit their vehicles to find that the sun makes every movement seem stuporous.

Everyone except Il’Ilo removes their outerwear. In spite of the crew’s behest, Il’Ilo keeps his long sleeved condecorated uniform on. Sweat gathers on his forehead. He takes a big swig of water from his thermus and hands it off for a refill, then he straightens up his uniform and walks to where the director indicates. 

The first shoot is simple. A recently finished park with contemporary design stands ahead, while Il’Ilo seats at an angle where 3/4ths of his body are facing away from the camera. This is meant to convey progress, as both him, as well as the second floor of the park with thick glass giving a look at the trees below, are in shot.

Simple shots happen continuously, testing only the gathering’s thirst and fatigue. An hour later, the shoot is done, and the lot of them is able to move on. Coloc is impressed by the efficiency of it all.

-Feeling slow eh?

Says a now somewhat relaxed Coloc in jest. 

-Do what you enjoy well and what you hate better. We can’t leave until we finish this, and I need to return to Iltzik.

Answers Il’Ilo while the two of them walk towards their car. In spite of the disparity in their ages and attitudes, they manage to strike a conversation with relative ease. They share an understanding of duty, as well as respect for order and time. 

The next place is nearby. Traffic has lightened up, it takes them 20 minutes to arrive there. They are received by a populous area brimming with activity. It’s a bustling food bazaar. Half of it is designated for fish and the other half for fresh produce. While not precisely touristic, incorporating ingredients from Plin is a growing trend among restaurants all over Huitzli. 

For the purposes of recording, an entire hallway has been reserved for the crew. Stall owners there have been compensated for the earnings that they will miss that day, and some of them have agreed to work as actors for the purposes of showcasing Plinian salesmen.

The place is in and of itself unrelated to Plin’s incorporation to Huitzli. Nevertheless, its current popularity is owed to traders and merchants from other protected cities. The idea, as Coloc explains, is to display unity among new cities. The message is one of collaboration and the strength that comes with it.

The crew heads in first, then Coloc and Il’Ilo together with Il’Ilo’s bodyguards. There’s a large tarp above the bazaar, keeping it relatively cool. This makes the pathway towards the set relatively comfortable. 

To the sides of the path that the group is following, there is a steel barrier meant to keep people away from Il’Ilo and the crew, as well as away from the set. Salesmen greet Il’Ilo happily. Most of them are too young to remember Plin before it was conquered, and even some of the older ones enjoy their newfound success. 

Behind them, the shoppers at the bazaar have varied reactions. Some positive, while others glare impotently at him. A man outside breaks the silence.

-I bet you monsters feel real proud of yourselves!

When the man shouts, members in the crowd rally behind him with similar angry cries. On the other hand, merchants and people who are happy under Huitzlian rule answer back 

-Well you all are free to leave!

Other members of the crowd cheer on rambunctiously. It all quickly evolves into a shouting match. Those who are shouting don’t actually want to reach an agreement, they just want to say something. Similarly, those who are hearing are not actually listening at all.

While this develops, Il’Ilo looks forward and keeps walking. He finds it difficult to remember the last time that he went to a tribute state or newly accepted protected city without receiving hatred. Receiving those words wasn’t any easier than before. He had just grown accustomed to hiding their effect.

-It’s just for today, if you stayed a week they’d get bored of doing that like they got bored with me.

Says Coloc to Il’Ilo. It’s been years since Coloc was first appointed to manage Plin, and decades since the last time Il’Ilo was directly involved in seizing foreign land. Yet it is not in the time, but the experience that they find common ground.

They hear hard knocks from people pulling on the barrier. Despite being set up in one day, it is more than sturdy enough to hold people outside. However, Coloc takes the necessary precaution of bringing in armed forces to line it on the outside. While people are more than content to keep screaming, they do so at a safe distance.

-Think we should tell them to stop?

Asks Coloc.

-If we do, we prove them right. 

Responds Il’Ilo. He’s seen empress Tsuk’A deal with more than him. Yet her current efforts are in making every unprotected city into part of Huitzli, and that includes giving the people rights. One of which is the right of free speech.

Photoshoots start almost as soon as they arrive. The filming crew prepares while Il’Ilo appears in pictures involving him getting fruit from a vendor. He is shown looking around and eventually choosing. The seller is smiling throughout. The smile is genuine, the man is young and fairly wealthy.

Eventually, the photos stop. The director is ready to start filming Il’Ilo in the main portion of the event. The recording will form the spot that people will see in their computers and televisions. Other places are reserved for photographs, which are deemed more important due to continuous exposure.

Filming starts, Il’Ilo is supposed to walk forward and give a short speech about Huitzlian influence on new protected cities. Giving the speech proves to be too large of a task. The shouting crowd outside drowns out his voice. In the end, the lines talking about Plin’s calm and progress wind up having to be redubbed. 

For his own part, Il’Ilo is annoyed about having to take time from work while in Iltzik. His visage hides it, limiting himself to directing an askance glance at the director. He heads to his vehicle while the crew puts the equipment back in its place. Coloc and the bodyguards follow suit, Il’Ilo remains quiet during the way back.

When they leave, there’s only one place remaining. Plin’s financial district. Skyscrapers pepper the streets, with a dozen of them in sight, and two dozens more being built. It’s an aspirational place for office workers and young people.

Traffic towards the financial district is light outside of the morning, they take 10 minutes to arrive. When they arrive, Coloc speaks, noticing that Il’Ilo is calmer than before.

-Isn’t it great?

Asks Coloc.

-Thank yourself for that, it wasn’t too long ago that it was the most dangerous place in Plin.

Responds Il’Ilo.

-Thankfully, one time the folks here got a bit too dangerous for the rest of the city. Not anymore, not anymore.

Says Coloc with levity. Il’Ilo feels his heart sink for a moment. He thinks of what Tsuk’A would do in that situation. He realizes that she’d probably give the order in the first place. 

Il’Ilo grits his teeth for a second before letting his jaw slack, and focusing on keeping cordiality. They head down from their vehicles. Once out, they are greeted by a large white divider that keeps them from the rest of Plin. The barrier is lighter than the one in the market. People in the financial district have a positive opinion of Il’Ilo, and the place is already well guarded.

The shoot takes place with barrier in 3 sides, and a handrail in front. The handrail gives clear view of a line of a group of buildings. Il’Ilo is standing there, looking at the buildings thoughtfully.

Suddenly, the divider makes a sound as if someone is touching it. A young man, probably aged 17, falls to the inside of the set.

-Field Marshal Il’Ilo, I wanted to meet you!

Shouts the man while laying flat on his back. He stands up, and while he does, 4 bodyguards aim their guns at him, and one of them prepares to escort him out. The photographer interrupts the action.

-Wait, wait wait, he might be good.

Says the photographer before taking a hand to his face and saying.

The photographer turns to Il’Ilo and Coloc. They have a lengthy talk, the photographer explains that the kid would be useful for the image they want to project. And that showing young blood will encourage other young people.

Coloc, the only person with local authority, turns towards the boy.

-So, tell me, why exactly did you want to meet Field Marshal Il’Ilo Mr….

-O’Liktun, Field Marshal Il’Ilo is my role model. In a couple of weeks I’ll enlist in the army.

Il’Ilo had suspected as much. Oftentimes young men and women idolized him needlessly. In more than one occasion it had turned normal outings into uncomfortable ones. Coloc on the other hand was glad that they could go through with the photographer’s plan.

-Great, now, would you like to appear in promotional posters with Il’Ilo?

Says Coloc.

-That would be the best.

Responds O’Liktun. Crewmen bring a waiver for O’Liktun to sign, and soon after, him and Il’Ilo are posing together. Il’Ilo stands on the left side of the frame, looking down towards the boy. The boy is on the right side of the frame, saluting. Il’Ilo is a massive man and O’Liktun is shorter than average. As a result, there’s a perfect diagonal between the top left of the frame to Il’Ilo’s head, then to O’Liktun’s eyes, and then to the bottom right of the frame.

They continue taking similar shots for some time, then finish up and leave. The journey to the train station is practically immediate due to a lack of traffic and close proximity. Il’Ilo and Coloc say their goodbyes. Il’Ilo’s respect for the other man hasn’t diminished, but his opinion has changed.

During the ride home, Il’Ilo feels his stomach burning throughout. He tries to sleep, but he is unable to. He resolves to take a pill for the stomachache and then bear the following days. Work still awaits, and there’s no one else to do it.