The senior officer’s diner in Syfis was filled with the typical lunchtime sounds of chairs being dragged across wooden floors, mixed with the clanking of plates and utensils of all shapes and sizes. Although there were many restaurants and cantinas around, enough to feed the entire Warden corps, currently stationed in the city, the ones that could squeeze in always preferred to try this one first, because the food was better. Not only that, of course, Aeris Tan thought to herself, while sipping her pint, looking around at the faces of the warriors around over its rim.

Being a part of the hallowed caste of AWA Wardens was in and of itself a huge honour and as such, it naturally attracted many an ambitious woman to its fold. And ambitious women, Tan had noted, were never content with already achieved goals. Instead, they spent their time in search of ways to secure their rise to the highest levels of military hierarchy. And what more elegant way to do that is there than by “accidentally” joining the high officers’ table for lunch?

Although he of course had no right to mock them for it at this very moment, she reminded herself with a wry smile. After 15 years of service in the name of AWA and Her Majesty the Ruling over Sea, Aeris Tan believed she had proven herself as a capable and loyal warrior and she had the medals and accolades behind her to show for it. Being a captain amongst the Wardens was not only a great honour, but a sure path to the very top of the command chain. Well, an almost sure path, as her experience had shown.

Perhaps other women in her position would wallow in desperation or give into bitter cynicism, decrying their fate and the injustice of the system, but not her. Not because she lacked ambition, mind you, but because she was one of the very few women on the planet who still valued the wellbeing of the nation and society as a whole over her own personal success. After all, she had managed to rise up through the ranks once before and she could surely do it again, although it might require more work this time.

“I am here to serve”, was the motto she had cried out together with the other cadets when they graduated the Academy and were swearing their allegiance to AWA and their adherence to the Code of War, before becoming full-fledged Wardens. These words ahd etched themselves inside her mind since the first moment she held the heavy tome of the lady Marina Fynn - the book which had for millenia symbolized the fighting spirit of the Twin Continents. How simple and at the same time painfully truthful was this book! Five thousand rotations had passed since her first edition and yet it was still just as valid and practical today as it was back then. Of course, some people might see this as a sad testiment to the fact that women on Alaiah and society as a whole had developed too little for such an enormous amount of time. But Tan didn’t see things that way. On the contrary - she chose to see in the ancient text a testament to the innate vallor and bravery of her people. And most of all - to their ability to learn from their mistakes without wallowing too deep in self-pity or jumping too high up in self-praise. “The truth”, the lady Finn wrote, “is always in the middle - between the path of total acceptance and total rejection of that which we, the thinking beings, out of convenience call reality. The true Warden is such only when she is capable of placing herself not in the background, but under the blinding light of criticism she receives both from within and without. Each and every one of us has been gifted by the just Goddess with the ability to see oneself as an object, rather than a subject and it is only when we distance ourselves from our internal biases and introspect regularly, can we allow the warrior within to be born to keep safe those to whom we have vowed loyal servitude, both from outside forces and foes, but so too from the darkness within ourselves.”

For the young Tan, these words were the base on top of which she had built her career, her name, but most importantly - her inner world. The defence of her home and her family depended on her ability to let go of the memories of the past or the vague promises of the future and to be alert in the here and now in order to be able to recognise the changes in her environment, which required her swift and adequate response.

She took another look around, while the new captain of the 4th Seniv battalion took a sip from her pint before continuing to boast about her sudden promotion to every Warden, willing to listen. Tan however focused her attention to the table just to the left. It was occupied by two women who had been conscripted to the Second Nightly North-western only half a rotation ago. The nightlies were far from the most prestigious or desired positions amongst the Wardens, although some seemed to believe (not without good reason) that this was a sure way to a promotion, mostly due to there being more work at night.

Because of this, or, rather, despite all this, the fact that such fresh recruits were settling into the Night Watch was in and of itself a bit suspicious, at least in Tan’s view. Of course, she had not shared her concerns with her colleagues, because among other things, she feared being labelled a xenophobe, and this was deemed an unforgivable sin not only in the Wardens’ midst, but in the society of AWA as a whole. After all, one of the founding principles of the Twin Continent’s alliance was non-discrimination based on age, race, religion, and in the past couple of decades - even sex. This was precisely why so many people from both the fire and earth parts of the Old Continent had decided to migrate to the other side of the ocean. Although in fairness, earth ladies were definitely a rare sight. Which was of course not a surprise to anyone, for the earth culture was nothing if not the complete polar opposite of the societal norms and ideals of AWA.

Even the Wardens themselves could not in all honesty deny that they have never considered the brown-skinned masters of the Earth gift as barbarians who were not only passed by modern times, but even more impressive - seemed to be proud of it. In their parts of Magmalia polyandry was not only allowed still, but encouraged by most of the autonomous ladies and what seemed to be the bigger issue - supported by the religious cult which passed for Alaianism south of Tyrannia. The women there called themselves righteous and orthodox with the vehemence and confidence, typical for all fanatics, all the while being completely blind of the irony which was intrinsically woven into their loud proclamations about their faith being the most recent and final word of the Goddess, even if that meant reverting the social evolution of the planet thousands of years back to the crude tribal structure of the uncivilized desert people, who used to place males in the same category as animals, slaves and personal belongings.

And still, there were some women from the Earth province who, for one reason or the other, had chosen to come settle in AWA, sometimes via the official migrant channels with Magmalia, sometimes as refugees and asylum seekers, running from the oppressive rule of the Fire Empress or some of the ladies of their native towns. Clearly the promise of equality and freedom were attractive to them as well, even though these same ideals were inevitably twisted through the strange prism of their traditions. Tan herself always felt shivers run down her spine, whenever she would encounter one of their men on the streets of Syfis. They were always covered from head to toe in their veils - strilins, she believed they were called - regardless of the current weather.

All these thoughts were running through her head as she was watching the women on the adjacent table and was trying to mentally distance herself from her prejudice, in order to determine if their presence was still bothering her. The younger of the two was chattering away on some mobile terminal, while absent-mindedly chewing her lunch, but of course she would turn her gaze away from the screen whenever the other one spoke to her, as was customary in their parts of the world, whenever an older woman is addressing you. Of course, the conversation was led in their native tongue, Tan noted and made an effort to keep her grimace on the inside, while trying to somewhat follow the intonation of the unfamiliar, guttoral sounds they were making. If nothing else, she could detect the overall emotional context of what they were talking about.

She was just about to call it quits, ready to conclude that it was most likely her subconscious xenophobia which was responsible for the distrust she felt for her new colleagues, when her hearing finally gave her something she could work with. She lifted her pint again, so she could watch directly above its rim the scene which unravelled on their table, and which, unfortunately, seem to grasp only her attention.

Tan knew, perhaps better than any other Warden in the cantina at the moment, exactly how rigid the social norms in the Earth province were. Their entire culture was built on taboos and hollow traditions from ancient times during which placed the tribe on a higher footing than the individual. Therein was rooted their inane obsession with respecting elders. And this was precisely why it was so impressive that, while the older woman was ranting on in her deep nasal voice, the girl next to her suddenly leapt up and started waving her arms about in agitation, trying to explain something on the screen of her mobile terminal. The older one, of course, reacted instantly by shutting her colleague up and quickly pulling her out of the dining hall by her arm, along with her gadgets and all their other belongings. Tan managed to lower her eyes just in time. so the woman couldn’t tell they were being watched. The ex-captain waited a few minutes after the door slammed shut behind the foreigners, before making up some excuse in front of her colleagues and made for the exit herself.

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Shankh looked around as she was pushing Zeb toward the exit of the cantina and was silently praying to the Goddess that none of the Wardens around had noticed her colleague’s sudden outburst. Not that she could blame her, mind, she herself barely managed to contain herself as she read the large red letters on the screen of the mobile terminal.

Finally some development! And what a development indeed! Admiral Tar was apparently not looking to waste time, which was understandable, as far as Shankh knew her. The Earth military leader was quite possibly the only servicewoman who despised the pseudo-culture of AWA more than herself. This was the moment they had been waiting for these last seven rotations of the Air moon. This is what they had been preparing for, ever since the glider spat them out on this strange foreign land. Finally, they had the chance to punish the AWA infidels for their repugnant ways.

She felt the door slam shut behind her back and stopped a moment, keeping hold of Zeb’s shoulder, as she took in a steadying breath.

“Do you realize what this means, lieutenant?” She asked.

“Yes, m’lady”, the girl nodded, barely managing to conceal the wide grin which crept on her face.

This was more than enough for Shankh, who just nodded and pushed her colleague again toward the street on the way to their quarters.

Luckily, the majority of the Wardens were still having lunch and the grounds around their barracks were almost entirely empty. Not that at this stage there was anything to worry about, even if someone did notice them. After all, the entire design of “Scarecrow” was such that it would be next to impossible to suspect the Earth nation’s involvement. Still, Shankh was mentally thanking the Goddess for the clear path back, because she knew her attempts at restoring the stone cold expression on her face were failing miserably.

She and Zeb burst through the apartment doors and immediately attracted the surprised gazes of the three women in the living room. They were just resting their eyes from the long night of looking at hours of recordings from the Syfis security systems.

“Praise be to the Goddess!” , Shankh shouted in their general direction, before they could salute. “The time for us to show the infidels the error of their ways has come, my sisters!”

She regarded with a slight smile the progression of expressions on the faces of her subordinates from surprise, through frantic consideration and finally - exaltation, which culminated in their triumphant cries, which filled the room. Yes, it was indeed a glorious occasion. Let the infidels enjoy their final nights of illusory safety. for the next days would surely find them trembling in terror before the might of the Goddess’ wrath, in the form of Shankh and her team. After all, the unsuspecting victim always tastes the best in the jaws of the predator.

And on the other side of the metalline door, Aeris Tan turned on her heel and stealthily made her way back to the stairwell, firmly determined that by this time tomorrow she would have found out what had excited the foreigners so much, that they would go directly to their quarters and start yelling about as though their sphere-kick team had just won the world cup.