The life of a soldier was, ultimately, one of boredom with an undercurrent of dread. Yes, there were moments of absolute terror, but those lasted minutes or hours in a year. The real life of the Auxilia was in waiting. Go here and wait. Go there and wait. Do this, do that, and then be sure to wait. The Vitrians insisted that the Auxilia's motto was 'Excellence in Empire,' but every soldier knew that it was really 'Hurry Up and Wait.'

Show business was alarmingly similar. Alarion was primed for confrontation, ready to battle the horrifying fiend of public speaking. But he had to wait. The lights needed to be adjusted, the microphones tested, and the cameras readied. A problem with the latter required a technician, which required someone to find the technician, and before long, they were an hour behind schedule. And all he could do was wait and wonder where on earth Lily had been dragged off to.

Still, the familiarity was somewhat comforting.

"And we should be ready!" Ella declared with a clap of her hands as she strode back onto the set. "Thank you both so much for your patience. There are always hiccups with a new set."

"Of course," Williams told her magnanimously, as though he hadn't spent the better part of the last hour muttering about incompetence under his breath.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked.

"Some water might be nice," Alarion answered.

"A fine idea. Let us all take five before we get started!"

The crew departed like lightning, some running for the lavatory, others darting to a table crammed with food and drinks. After spending nearly an hour under hot lights while the crew calibrated equipment, Alarion could have gone for either.

Or a shower.

Before he could do either, Lily stormed back onto the set like a woman possessed.

"Come with me."

"But I-"

"Now." The girl all but dragged Alarion from his chair. She pulled him toward a secluded corner of the studio and crowded him into it, putting her back to any onlookers.

"Lily-"

"Shut up and listen," she said, her words quick and precise. "This is not what you have been practicing for. I do not know whose idea this was, but it was not Williams."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because he does not have the clout."

Alarion's brows knitted together in confusion. "He is the governor."

"And she has interviewed gods. Plural," she whispered. "All those smiles, the 'darlings' and the 'yes, dears', it is an act."

"Like yours?" Alarion asked. He hadn't missed how Lily's polished exterior had peeled away before her overbearing mother. The woman beneath was a stranger, and that bothered him more than he cared to admit.

"Later," she told him sharply. "I have spent the last hour trying to get answers out of the crew about what she plans to ask, and no one has any idea. She is keeping it close to the chest, which means it is explosive. What are you hiding from me?"

The look Alarion gave her was positively incredulous.

"I am trying to help you," Lily insisted. "My mother does not do fluff pieces, and she does not do public interest stories. She is a shark. You are hot news, yes, but not nearly enough to bring her entire studio out to the provinces for a warm and fuzzy interview. She knows something, or she thinks she can get you to say something. So what is it?"

Alarion frowned. Even if he trusted Lily enough to tell her his secrets, and he most certainly did not, he wasn't even sure where to start. [Shared Burden] was his most recent secret, but Lily's mother should have no way of knowing that one. The truth about Sierra, perhaps? Or the Trinity Isles more broadly? There was the True Prophecy he had kept to himself, or the letter from Valentina.

Stolen story; please report.

With no answer to give, he stayed silent.

Lily exhaled through her nose and said, "Yes. No. I do not recall. That is a state secret."

"What?"

"If she gets close to anything touchy, those are your answers. Short, sweet, and to the point. Do not elaborate, and for Mothers' sake, do not lie."

"What if-"

"Canoodling on my set. With your client, no less? Lilith, I taught you better than this," Ella said, her heels clicking on the tile as she approached.

"Be careful!" Lily whispered, then turned to face her mother. "You did. You taught me to watch for pitfalls. I was just making him aware."

"Pitfalls? Oh, no, no, no. Lilith, you cast aspersions so readily. I am hurt."

"Can I review your questions then?" Lily asked.

Ella's smile only grew at the provocation. "Of course! After the interview."

"I would like to be alone with my client, please."

"Never have children," Ella told Alarion as she offered him a bottle of water. "They will grow to vex you so. We are starting momentarily, darling, so be quick."

Lily waited until her mother disappeared behind the set before she turned her attention back to Alarion. "Remember everything else I told you. This will not be broadcast live, which means she can murder you in the edit if you are not careful. The military will have final review, so do not bother trying to slander the Empire. It will not work, and you will still be punished."

"Mm," he nodded.

"She will respect you more if you show some backbone, so do not be afraid to push back if you feel you have solid footing." Lily adjusted his collar, and he felt her hands shaking. "But do not overextend. And make sure-"

"We are back in thirty," one of the crew shouted.

Rather than finish her thought, Lily gave Alarion's hand a squeeze and stepped out of his way. "Good luck."

The general hustle and bustle of the studio had died down to nothing as Alarion returned to his seat. With lights glaring in his eyes, Alarion saw most of the crew as nothing more than indistinct shadows hovering around various pieces of equipment. The curtain of darkness reminded him of Elena's [Void Arena], as though he had been plunged into a new world where only the three of them existed.

Someone in the darkness started counting down from ten. When they struck zero, Ella suddenly sprang to life.

"Nineteen years and thirty-six days. That is how long Vaal Lioric served as Imperator before suffering the Fate. Nineteen years. Just saying it aloud puts it in perspective for me. That is close to half my lifetime. It is the lifetime of my daughter, and more than the lifetime of my son. In the modern era, nineteen years is an outrageously successful run as Imperator, outdone only by Imperator Savase. Lioric's predecessor served seven years. Before that, three, then nine."

Ella paused to shuffle the papers on her desk, as if physically collecting her thoughts before she continued. "I am not a gambling woman, but if earlier this year you had asked me to place a wager, I would have expected Vaal Lioric to serve out his full term. With a firm base of political and financial support, Imperator Lioric looked unassailable. Until, much like the Imperial holdings in Ashad, he was not. Nineteen years to build, only days to collapse, and I am here tonight in the heart of Ashad to speak about how it all happened…"

Alarion had already heard the speech. Ella had spent most of the downtime rehearsing her lines, touching them up, and trying again. She spoke with conviction as she weaved together a narrative of politics, violence, and intrigue. Her story drifted to the east, to the massacre of Ashad-Sitri and the ongoing infestation still barely contained around Periai. She quoted military officials and desperate Ashadi alike, telling a tale of struggle and loss. Then she moved west, to Ashad-Veldi and the heroic sacrifices of the 3rd Vitrian Regulars. Only when she was finished singing their praises did she turn her head toward Alarion.

"… But none of that would have been possible without my guests tonight. The first, Brigadier General Williams, now Governor Williams, was instrumental in leading the 3rd Vitrian Regulars in their stunning defense of Ashad-Veldi. The second was already a household name. In Ashad, they now call him the Martyr in the West. His specialist title is Orphan, and his name is Alarion. Most of our audience would know him as Two-Thirty-Eight, the sole survivor of the Trinity Massacre. Governor Williams, Orphan, thank you both for being here with me tonight."

"My pleasure," Williams said.

"Mm."

"Governor Williams, let me start with you. What is your administration doing to alleviate…"

Alarion zoned out once again as the conversation turned political. The questions were important in the grand scheme of things, but they meant nothing to Alarion. Perhaps if the infestation lingered into the following year, and his company was deployed in the subjugation, but those were worries for a later time.

He kept his ears perked and his expression schooled, neither smiling nor frowning as he waited for the inevitable.

"Orphan, public reporting indicated you were injured quite severely during the subjugation of Carling Hill. Could you tell us a bit about that?"

"The destruction of the True Heart was difficult," Alarion said. This had been one of the questions Lily had prepared him for, and the answer slid smoothly off his tongue. "Two of us got separated, specialist Bergman and I. Together, we were able to locate the heart and destroy it. I lost consciousness after that, but I am told that a Vitrian soldier named Dimov kept me alive."

"A model squad by all accounts," Williams added. "Vitrians, Ashadi, and Godborn all working together. As their superior, I could not have been prouder. That is why we are assembling the remnants of the 13th Autonomous Section into the 238th Auxilia Company. If it works, it works."

"If only your predecessors had kept such an open mind," Ella laughed. "Moving on, I would like to learn a little more about what you intend to do about the economic situation…"

And just like that, she'd lost him yet again.

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