Meta Phoenix

The first things one could notice upon entering were the sound of paper rustling somewhere within and a trace of dust in the air. The light was low in an attempt to enforce a platitude of calmness, but it didn't quite work. It forced the room to feel slightly dingy which it didn't really deserve, even for a war room. Earlier in the afternoon the effect wasn't as pronounced and was actually effective, but now, with the evening wearing on and the sun driving hard toward the horizon, the failure of the environment was beginning to show. This was the state of things when General Xoriet was finally revealed, papers strewn around the battle board in front of her, toy soldiers and fleet ships knocked carelessly aside. It was Small Huts who discovered her.

"What's…" he began to say when Xoriet whirled around in her swivel chair, drew her pistol and aimed for his heart which nearly stopped all in the same instant.

"Oh, Tush. It's you", the General sighed as she returned to a casual posture, holstering her weapon. "Don't sneak up on me like that".

"Obviously", gulped the Senator from Equilism. Small Huts was a formal name, but he was on familiar terms with Xoriet. They had met before at casual gatherings and strategy sessions. Both had tested each other's tactical knowledge only a little and were eager to do so again. Whether to ever be a formidable opponent or always a trusted ally, it was best to know the extent of another's abilities.

"So, if it won't get me shot, can I ask what all this is"? queried Tush.

"Applicants for The South Pacific Official Regional Games. I'm supposed to assemble a pan Regional team. I'll probably include The Solar System Scope, but the rest of these players… well, let's just say they're not exactly military grade", she casually dismissed as she handed one of the dossiers to Tush. It was getting too dim to make out the dark lettering on a darker cover in the darkest room. A bad choice for presentation surely, but there could faintly be discerned the shape of a stegosaurus. Upon opening it the applicant's name was obvious. Tush scanned the document quickly.

'Back in 2013, I google 'Brentsylvania' and nothing pops up. Great, I thought, no copyrights for my new YouTube series. But then I saw a nation on NS that ceased to exist, dubbed Brentsylvania. I looked at the game a bit, then decided to play it. That began the legacy. Of course, I was new that March, and the TSP Coup and Zombie Apocalypse overwhelmed me, but I got over it and my region was already on its way. By September 2013, I had a small, but comfy, region. It all slowed down, my region was near its demise. We couldn't keep the region alive. Then, came Z-Day 2.0. My region soon exploded! Doubling the population, our delegate went from 5 endorsements to 14 within 3 months! Along the way, I met a player called Fishhawk, a good flag designer who created my Dinosaur Tri-Colour. Then TSP had some Olympics, and I was already pretty involved in TSP myself, so I joined.'

"Yeah I know this guy", the senator said.

"You do"? Xoriet seemed astonished. "How"?

"Oh, I stalked him with a puppet a little while back".

"You sneaky cur", Xoriet said as her face lit up a little. She appreciated a little clandestine impulse herself. She needed more though. "His submission is pretty dry. I can't get much of a sense of him. What's he like"?

"He's well intentioned, a little impulsive perhaps. He needs…", Tush considered his words carefully, "guidance. Not a bad choice really. What else have you got"?

"Well there's this one. He's a South Pacifican and really gung ho. Have a read", she said with a smirk.

Senator Tush picked up the manilla dossier General Xoriet had pushed his way and began to read aloud, "In a universe where many nations rule, the race for ultimate South Pacifican authority has begun. Many will come in but few will conquer the unimaginable feats of knowledge, courage, valour, and teamwork". Tush looked up to get some reading from the general's face, but she had turned away from him, hiding her face and doing her best to contain her bemusement, but faring rather poorly. Tush knew what she was up to, however, and decided to make it difficult on her and play along. He read another segment, his voice slowly rising in volume and force as he did. "The Phoenix, the bearer of the flame, an eternal symbol of valour and intelligence represent this group. Many struggles have temporarily killed this bird but the fire in which it holds, has no end for it is fuelled by the will of its believers as long as they shall live, and as the team rises to the challenges the majestic Phoenix crawls out of its ashes determined to defeat its mortal enemies". By this point he had reached a feverish pitch of melodrama and Xoriet couldn't contain herself any longer. As she laughed her eyes caught what little light remained in the sun waning war room and sparkled. It was a rare moment and Tush knew it. She might have a soldier's poise, but Xoriet's heart was kind and joyful and there were times she couldn't hide that. Tush finished in a more pedestrian tone, sharing a smile with the general, "The UAEF, 'master of strategy and logic', eh"?

"Green as the hills is more like it", Xoriet corrected, "but eager, yes. He may not always hit the bullseye, but he always hits the target and he bloody always has your back. That's my kind of soldier, someone you can depend on. I'm inclined to take him on".

"Well good then", encouraged Tush, "how many do you need"?

"Ah, I hoped for at least a couple more, but these three are the best of the lot if you can believe it". Tush read the disappointment in Xoriet's voice and wanted desperately to hold on to the progress he had made in her mood. His eyes scanned the remaining dossier's on the battle board. Realising that she had already gone through them all and that suggesting that she do so again might drag her back to a gloom which paralleled the room's, he hesitated. Then he noticed something under his foot. It was the corner of an unread dossier. It had become lost and forgotten among the other submissions. He bent down to retrieve it and examined its contents quickly.

"What's that"? the general asked.

"Something overlooked", replied the senator and he began to read aloud again. This time he read without histrionics, but just enough colour to make it properly attractive. This could end Xoriet's concern if it were right, if it were well sold and if she were receptive. "It was to a piece of wreckage that Torchwood found himself clinging upon. His team's fortunes had not been there that fateful day when the fleets of the Phoenix engaged with them. A gamble that did not pay out. He had come so far as to see his work destroyed, the dissecting knife of fate descending upon his comrades. Many would have given up by this point. Become disillusioned or resentful, but not Torchwood. He was ironically enough closed within the ranks of his recent foe, and like the Phoenix, will rise from his ashes. With new wings spread he shall walk arm in arm with his new comrades to victory. Heeding the mistakes of Icarus he will fly with level reason, and perhaps to eternal glory". Tush let the moment rest in the stillness of the nearly blackened room.

"Poetic", Xoriet observed.

"Apropos", Small Huts added.

"Inspiring", the general admitted.

"Agreed", the senator affirmed.

"There's just one thing then", she confessed as the room's last shadow found her face before entirely falling into shade. A moment later the glow of ashen embers within the fireplace was all the light which the room could muster and Tush worried. This new concern threatened to extinguish the spark which he had managed to fan in her. What would he need to do now? Blow too hard and the tiny flame of hope might puff out, not enough and it might be starved of oxygen and extinguish itself. This moment held its tension in a tiny eternity until Xoriet spoke again. "I'm not right for this crew am I"? she concluded looking to Tush's eyes for confirmation. "Look at me. I'm pragmatic, a soldier and these… gamers… I don't know if I can lead them".

Tush smiled and breathed easily and in the right measure with his words. "Well, General, I know a little something about gaming myself, and I know a little something else about leadership too. Why don't you and I talk about how we might best move this team forward together at the E-Bar over a drink? They have just what you need there whatever it is you're looking for and Lady Hama is the best bartender in all of NationStates".

Xoriet rose from her seat and brightened as she did, "That sounds perfect". She gathered the rejected dossiers from the battle board and bestowed them on the fire in the hearth, fuelling its flames, dispelling the gloom, and, as they both headed for the door, casting their shadows on the wall in what might have seemed, for the briefest of instants, to be the vaguely discernible shape of a rising mythical bird. Neither of them could judge though, because neither of them noticed.

"You know what else we do well in Equilism"? Tush teased as he began to pull the door closed behind them.

"What's that"? Xoriet wondered.

"Breakfast".