A small hatch opened in the glass wall beneath Bordox's nest. The hatch formed part of the main ground-level entrance. A soldier stepped out of the hatch, wearing a tight black jacket that stretched across his muscular shoulders. He wasn't as tall as some of the others, but he carried a certain confidence as he pushed his way through the lines of soldiers, barking at them to get out of his way. He was clean shaven with copper brown hair that was cut short around his ears. His sharp blue eyes took in the situation with a single glance.
'Okay, what's going on here? Who summoned Bordox?'
Major Young turned to face him. 'Commander, these are guildsmen. They are here to protest about... something. One of them taunted Bordox. I had to recall him. No casualties.'
'I can see that. Where's the Guildmaster?'
Baker stepped forwards. 'I am Guildmaster Baker, of the Carpenter Guild.'
'You're in charge of this lot?'
'Yes, they are in my charge.'
'Commander Richard Vanmarek.'
Baker reached out his hand in greeting, and Vanmarek shook it, good and firm before turning to face Major Young once more.
'I'll handle this.'
Major Young nodded, but he didn't make any effort to leave.
Vanmarek eyed the line of security forces and turned to Baker with an unblinking gaze. 'What can I do for you, Guildmaster?'
'We're here to protest,' Toby said, sounding out of breath after his long run around the Grand Plaza. He squinted with one eye while he tried to wipe sweat from his eyebrow.
Baker raised a hand in Toby's direction, pointing a warning finger towards his nose.
Toby pursed his lips and flipped his holocube onto double speed. The slogan flowed in red above his head, almost too fast to read.
Where are the members of the Council of Lords? ..... Where are the members of the Council of Lords? ..... Where are the members of the Council of Lords?
Vanmarek glanced at the scrolling message with an unimpressed smirk before returning his attention to the Guildmaster.
'The kid's right,' Baker said. 'He's too outspoken at times, and he still has a lot to learn, but he's right about why we're here. We're here to protest and to arrange a meeting to discuss our grievances with the Council of Lords. We have been ignored for too long and that has to change. Free elections must take place.'
A man in a brown shirt pushed through from the back of the guildsmen. He was tall and thin with a gap between his teeth. Another man followed. He was shorter than the first, and he was carrying some extra weight around his waist. Toby leant back, wafting his hand under his nose as they passed.
The men took position on either side of Vanmarek. 'Yeh, we've had enough of Central Command telling us how to run our business. You can't threaten us with your killing machines.'
'Is that right?' Vanmarek said.
Baker raised a hand to forestall the men. 'Please, do not interfere. This is guild business. You should not have come here.' He gestured for the men to go away but they pretended not to understand him.
Emma stepped forwards, addressing Vanmarek with her comments. 'We don't want any trouble. We came here to discuss our grievances with Henry Willow.'
'Who?' Vanmarek said.
Baker frowned. 'The Special Trade Envoy to Admiral Gail Thompson.'
Vanmarek tilted his head to one side, stretching his neck. His copper coloured eyebrows were barely visible against his tanned skin. 'Are you sure you have the right place?' he said.
Emma nodded. 'Guildmaster Gumptor spoke with him several weeks ago. We have been trying to invite him to our negotiations ever since, but he hasn't responded to our communications.'
'Admiral Gail Thompson is no longer here. I'm not sure who her Special Trade Envoy might be. I didn't know she had one.'
Baker glanced to the others with confusion. 'Then it is true that she has been exiled?'
'Yes.'
'I told you she could not be trusted,' Toby said.
Baker gave Toby another stern look, but he directed his question to Vanmarek. 'We heard that someone else has come to replace her? A general of some kind?'
'His name is General Alexander Markov,' Vanmarek said, shoving his hands in his trouser pockets. He pushed his shoulders back, stretching his jacket across his well toned chest.
'Then we need to speak to him.'
'I'm afraid that won't be possible. General Markov has just arrived. He's far too busy to be dealing with guild politics.'
'Commander Vanmarek, this is not guild politics. Our protest concerns long standing grievances that Central Command have chosen to ignore for far too long. This has gone beyond politics and disagreements. This is an urgent matter and requires urgent attention.'
Vanmarek looked Baker up and down and then gazed into his eyes. 'Give me a minute, Guildmaster. I'll see what I can do.'
He stepped away and tapped his jacket collar, speaking in a quiet voice. 'Operations room, can you tell me if we have a Henry Willow on our systems please.' He tilted his head, listening to an earpiece, and then nodded, looking down at his shiny black boots. 'Ahuh. Okay.'
When he turned back to Baker, he tapped his collar, disconnecting the comms link. 'Seems you're in luck, Guildmaster. There is a Henry Willow staying in Tower Four. He's a diplomat. I presume that is who you met before?'
'He's her Special Trade Envoy,' Baker said.
'Well, maybe. We'll track him down and see what we can do. You want a meeting with him then?'
'Yes, we need to speak with him at once. This is a matter of great urgency.'
'Okay. I understand.'
'Where are the Council of Lords?' the man in the brown shirt said. His thin face was red and sweaty. He curled up his lips and balled his fists by his sides.
'They are not here. Keep yourself calm there,' Vanmarek said.
The man lunged forwards, swinging his fist towards Vanmarek's head. A moment later Vanmarek was standing over him, holding his arm in a lock while he struggled and bucked on the ground. Another two men pushed forwards, trying to join the fight. The security forces intercepted them before they could break through. One man cried out as a Taser gave him a nasty jolt to the neck. He flung his arms out wide and fell onto his back. The other man ran straight into a black-gloved fist and crumpled into a heap on the ground.
'Stop this!' Baker said, holding up his arms. 'This is a peaceful protest.'
The other guildsmen fanned out, backing away from the fighting men.
'Alright, that's enough.' Vanmarek barked. He raised one hand and pressed a finger against his lips. His other hand pulled a lightning shard from his jacket pocket and fired it into the air. A bright blue light flashed above his head, and a loud crack of thunder resounded across the Grand Plaza. Everyone backed off.
'Those men were not with us,' Emma said. 'They're just trouble makers from the city.'
Toby crouched down and wrapped his arms over his head.
'Take these three to the detention cells in Tower Four,' Vanmarek said, gesturing towards the men that had attacked him.
Baker held his hands out in front of him as a placating gesture. His eyes still stared at the lightning shard that Vanmarek held aloft in his hand. 'Please,' he said. 'We are guildsmen. We do not want this.'
'You don't,' Vanmarek said, 'but some of these guys aren't so sure what they want.'
'They're not with us. Take them to your cells, but please listen to our message. Don't let it be lost among the noise of fools who tag along looking for trouble. I thought those men had come to support us in peace. I was wrong. I'm sorry.'
'Don't apologise, Guildmaster,' Toby said. 'I was the one that invited them. I didn't mean any harm. I should have realised they would cause trouble, but I didn't want the security forces to think that we were weak. We need to stand up and speak for what we want.'
'Okay,' Baker said. 'That's enough now. Please hold your tongue. We can discuss all this at the Guild Hall later.'
Toby fell into a deep sulk, his eyes looking down at his feet.
Vanmarek lowered his hand and slipped the lightning shard back into his jacket pocket. 'Remind me what you want,' he said.
Baker stood calm with his arms by his sides. 'I want a meeting with Henry Willow. Will you arrange it so we can negotiate our cause in peace, away from all this unpleasantness?'
Vanmarek nodded. 'Just keep your aggrieved citizens away from here, or they'll have far more to be aggrieved about. Understand?'
Baker nodded. 'Commander Vanmarek, those three men did not belong to any Guild.'
'I know that. Now go back to the city. Continue your protest quietly, and peacefully. I don't want to be sending out a unit to pick you up half an hour from now.'
Baker stared back with sombre eyes.
Vanmarek turned and strode back towards the White Spear. He was already talking into the comms unit on his jacket collar as the security forces moved back to let him through.
Major Young reassembled the security forces into two neat lines in front of the White Spear's entrance. Baker stood back and watched with sadness as a squad of troopers began dragging the three trouble makers away. Two of them were unconscious, but the third looked as though he still had some fight in him. His shirt had looked unwashed before, but now it had a few more stains to add to its collection. He started shouting as he tried to kick his captors. A trooper pulled out a stun baton and pressed it hard against his neck until his eyes almost bulged out of his head. He bit down on his own tongue and blood spilled down his shirt as he stumbled and fell back onto the ground. The trooper dragged his limp body away, pulling him by one arm. A few metres away, the security forces attached long-handled neck collars to the remaining captives and shoved them in the general direction of Tower Four.
Emma shook her head. Such men always gathered where they were not wanted.
'Aren't we going to protest?' Toby said.
Emma looked him in the eye. 'We are protesting, you idiot, but we have to do it in the right way. Their way only leads to further violence and antagonism.'
Baker leant close and lowered his voice, while the other guildsmen gathered around him to listen. 'You heard what the Commander said. He's going to arrange a meeting with Henry Willow.'
'What if that comes to nothing?' Toby said.
'Then we'll come back here, and next time we won't leave until General Markov deals with us himself.'