11-23-2021, 08:35 AM
As the newly married couple led the group of guests and family to the private area of the Palace where the reception was to be held, a buzzing noise was heard. As the Empress and her new husband looked up, they witnessed a curious sight. Several drones were flying over the Palace grounds. Hanging from the bottom of each drone were banners insulting the Empress and her husband, wishing the married couple ill, and demanding freedom for Xiomerans. Calhualyana's eyes narrowed.
Gesturing quickly to the head of her personal guards, she ordered them to redirect the guests and family members down a different path to the reception hall. Once the crowd was out of sight, the Empress took a rifle from one of her guards. As if she were skeet shooting on a pleasant afternoon, she blasted each drone out of the sky.
After the shattered machinery clattered to earth, Palace servants quickly cleaned up the mess and hid the rude banners. Any guest or family member who asked about the sudden gunfire was blandly informed that the guards were firing a salute to the married couple as part of the ceremony. Nothing to worry about, nothing to see here.
As the Empress handed the rifle back to its owner, she hissed at the guards commander. "Find out where those drones came from. The culprits cannot be far away."
---
The culprits were, indeed, not far off. A pleasant vacation home in Montelin, not far from the Palace, was currently vacant. Or, at least, it was supposed to be. It was a perfect base of operations for the drone operation.
Eyatzin slammed his headset down on a table in frustration. "I lost signal to all the drones. They either jammed them or just destroyed them."
Maloxili laughed. "Don't worry, we'll replace your precious robots. They served their purpose."
"It would have been better if they had bombs on them," Margaxi said pragmatically.
"They're drones. Not robots," Eyatzin said plaintively.
"Yeah yeah. Grab your stuff, we need to move before the police show up," Maloxili said. "Off to phase 2 of Ruin the Royal Wedding."
Gesturing quickly to the head of her personal guards, she ordered them to redirect the guests and family members down a different path to the reception hall. Once the crowd was out of sight, the Empress took a rifle from one of her guards. As if she were skeet shooting on a pleasant afternoon, she blasted each drone out of the sky.
After the shattered machinery clattered to earth, Palace servants quickly cleaned up the mess and hid the rude banners. Any guest or family member who asked about the sudden gunfire was blandly informed that the guards were firing a salute to the married couple as part of the ceremony. Nothing to worry about, nothing to see here.
As the Empress handed the rifle back to its owner, she hissed at the guards commander. "Find out where those drones came from. The culprits cannot be far away."
---
The culprits were, indeed, not far off. A pleasant vacation home in Montelin, not far from the Palace, was currently vacant. Or, at least, it was supposed to be. It was a perfect base of operations for the drone operation.
Eyatzin slammed his headset down on a table in frustration. "I lost signal to all the drones. They either jammed them or just destroyed them."
Maloxili laughed. "Don't worry, we'll replace your precious robots. They served their purpose."
"It would have been better if they had bombs on them," Margaxi said pragmatically.
"They're drones. Not robots," Eyatzin said plaintively.
"Yeah yeah. Grab your stuff, we need to move before the police show up," Maloxili said. "Off to phase 2 of Ruin the Royal Wedding."
<t></t>