There was a road network connecting several towns across the Imperial-Western Confederation border in this area. Besides a 'main' road which was reasonably wide and useful — at least by previous standards; the Empire had not paved these roads yet — there were also several minor ones. Some of them were little more than dirt trails, though most were a bit better fortified than that. It was one of those roads that Ada and the people with her were currently riding toward, since it was what the group of travelers they'd spotted had clearly chosen.

Probably because there was only a comparatively minor security checkpoint here. Given the current political climate, they weren't leaving any of the roads into the Empire unguarded, but there were more fortifications and higher-ranking personnel at the major road in this area. The latter might even be the more important factor. But that was why Ada and her current company were here (though it was technically Mia's decision, she supposed).

They could have gone there more quickly if they'd all used flying drones, but that wasn't a good idea for several reasons. For one, they didn't have that many flying drone mounts. Also, combining flying and ground-based fighters gave them more tactical flexibility. And besides, she didn't necessarily want to give the religious blockheads they were meeting more of a look at their real strength than she had to.

"Do you have any further orders, General?" the captain with her said. He was currently riding beside her, and she noted the way his hand was surreptitiously clenched around the pommel of his saddle. He was clearly a bit nervous to have her accompanying them.

She gave him a reassuring smile. Cecil was young and, unlike many other new officers in the army and especially the cavalry, not a knight or otherwise from a noble family. "Nothing in particular," she said. "I'll be here if I'm needed. You may command your unit on your own."

"Of course, ma'am."

Ada had never wanted to be more than a good scout, but she didn't really mind being a senior officer in charge either. Unlike Dan, who didn't make a secret of his feelings. Maybe that was why she was now higher-ranked. She glanced at him, but he was silent, staring straight ahead and probably focused on the psychic link. It was honestly overkill to have both of them here, but she supposed they might both be feeling a little anxious. At least Mia was doing the sensible thing and staying back.

The company and attached troops advanced in good order and at a fast pace, taking advantage of the road they had. Most of them had switched horses — or drone mounts — so their mounts weren't tired from the field exercise they'd just finished, although the soldiers might be. The flying drones up above were also fresh, still circling far enough up to deny the incoming men a good look at them. Ada quickly touched base with their commander over the psychic link, a young Drone Flier who hadn't had her first Evolution yet, but she wasn't operating on her own and only controlling some Swarm Drones anyway.

Unfortunately, even hurrying they didn't have enough of a head start. Looking through the scouts' eyes, it was clear the other group reached the border first. At least they stopped, clearly arguing with the soldiers stationed there. "Faster!" Ada called, urging her own mount on.

It only took a few more minutes. They galloped most of the way and then slowed to come to a stop at the border checkpoint. It was made of stone with a wooden gate, which was currently cracked open, although the foreign party wasn't through yet — two men were still standing inside the gate, Ada realized. She'd have to make sure those soldiers got commendations later.

"Captain!" Another soldier hurried up to them, clearly addressing the first ranking officer he saw, and saluted. He was a corporal given the chevrons but probably still the highest-ranking soldier here. "They are demanding entry, we've been refusing, but we didn't have the strength to hold them off."

"That's fine," Dan drawled, urging his mount forward. "We're here now. Let's keep the trash out."

The captain gave him an uncertain glance, before looking back at his unit. "Yes, sir. Keep the ranks, men. Don't draw your weapons, but be ready."

Ada stayed with him and they passed through the group to reach the gate proper. She let Dan draw ahead, mentally nudging him to take point for now and letting him know she was there.

"What seems to be the problem, soldiers?" he asked as they stopped by the gate, the two young soldiers scuttling out of the way. Dan stayed on his horse and she did the same for now.

"The problem is that they are not letting us in," one of the would-be travelers spoke up. Even without checking his System notification, she would have pegged him as a knight.

There were quite a few of them in the group, she noticed, taking a closer look at them. Their group was smaller than the company, of course, but a surprising number of them had good armor. Not all the same, of course. They weren't wearing uniforms, although it still only took a quick glance for her to identify them, or at least their allegiance.

They had a lot of violet in their color scheme, sometimes as armbands or even on cloth flapping from a lance. The Brotherhood of Violets. She didn't know where the title came from, although it must have some cultural significance. Beside that they were a male-exclusive martial order without strict requirements but aggressive recruiting, she didn't know much about them, and a quick check of the psychic link also didn't return much more information.

"We're only following orders," the slightly older of the two soldiers spoke, seeming a bit anxious as he looked at Dan.

"You are doing fine," Dan said, then turned to address the knights. He gave them a once-over with a cold look, drawing out the moment a bit. "You have been refused entry, sirs. I suggest you turn around and leave. We wouldn't want to risk getting your nice armor dirty."

The previous speaker sputtered, but another one inched forward to speak. He seemed more collected. Also older. "We have no ill intentions. On what grounds do you refuse us entry?"

"Because we will not let foreign combatants into our country." He gave them a don't-be-dense look.

"None of us are soldiers. None of us have ever even served in any military force. So on which grounds could you deny us entry?"

"On the grounds that you are armed fellows who look somewhat threatening, it's perfectly within our rights to bar you. The Empire is, after all, a sovereign polity who may decide who enters its territory."

"Ah, but that's not the case!" The man held up a hand. He wore robes and the System notification showing his Class as Water Sorcerer identified him as a mage, but he looked more like he was trying (and failing) to be a teacher right now. "By your own laws, immigration and travel are not under the purview of the military, and soldiers, while authorized to carry out border controls, may not interfere with either. We are not carrying any contraband and do not intend to stay, but are only here for a short visit. We even have proper paperwork identifying us."

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He pulled out some sheets of paper. One of the Imperial soldiers tentatively approached to take the stack and quickly handed it back to Dan, who shuffled through the pages and then handed them behind him clearly without actually reading them.

"That's not true," he said. "Civilian local authorities are allowed to control who enters through their borders. We're carrying out instructions."

"Oh?" The man raised a condescending eyebrow. "I don't see a local official here. Do you have a written and signed warrant for turning us away, perhaps?"

Dan frowned, but didn't immediately reply. Ada caught some glances among the soldiers. He probably shouldn't have even let himself get drawn into this argument, but now that he had, it wouldn't look good for them to lose. Especially since she had a feeling this incident would be featured in various reports and probably thrown at some Imperial diplomats.

Dan gave her a look and sent a silent plea over the psychic link, and she sighed, nudging her mount forward a bit. "That is actually not necessary, we have direct instructions from higher authority. You are right that normally, Section 10 paragraph 1 of Codex 3 of Imperial general law would grant entry to most travelers, but it does not apply in your case."

As if on cue — she suspected Dan was responsible — the Swarm Drone Mount she was riding sneezed a bit and shook its head. The horses of the men opposite her shied. There were a few exclamations and they had to spend a bit of time bringing them back under control. Her own cavalry's horses, who were accustomed to drones, were much more docile.

"What higher authority?" the older man finally asked. He frowned at her. "Are you a general, madam? Quite curious that the Empire would send one of its generals to this little outpost. What reason could you have?"

"I was simply along for a routine evaluation," she lied. She supposed the stars on her uniform jacket weren't that subtle, but it was still interesting that he recognized the insignia. Someone clearly considers himself to be a scholar of the Empire. She hid her grin at the thought.

"Not that it is any of your business," she added. "You have your answer, leave."

"You only said something about higher authority," the other knight piped up again. "That doesn't mean anything. You're just flouting your own laws."

Ada sighed performatively. "If I must educate you about Imperial law …" she drawled. "Immigration policy is an executive decision under the Empress' authority." So were most things, at least until they actually had a parliament. "Imperial authority may be delegated, under Addendum 2 Section 2 Codex 1, to the princes and princesses of the Empire. See also Imperial Edict Twelve-51-A. We are presently acting under the charge of one of them, and therefore have every legal right to do this."

Dan stared at her for a moment. Ada smiled. She had been looking into the psychic link to make sure her references were correct. Mia, who had clearly been watching, sent her a mental poke with an amused smile.

"What utter nonsense," the younger knight muttered. He glanced at the others. "How long are we going to stand around here listening to made-up numbers?"

The older man was frowning. "In that case, I challenge your claim, Madam General. Do you have any sort of proof of this supposed Imperial authority conferred to you? Anyone may claim they have spoken to a prince, but there is none here. Claiming orders you have not is flagrantly criminal and we will be acting to find the truth. And that is assuming your assertion is correct. No law gives a prince the authority to command generals or interfere with proper procedures of travel. I demand you produce proof of such, too."

Ada rolled her eyes. "I don't need to prove my claims — Paragraph 1, Section 10, Codex 1." Sapient drones in positions of authority were generally assumed to be using and also monitored by the psychic link, claims of communications received psychically were to be treated as accurate even without paperwork unless there was reason for doubt. "And you cannot circumvent or complain about their orders either. Princesses of the Empire are in possession of imperium delendum — which does incidentally allow them to raise and command an army of less than ten thousand troops except under specific circumstances — again see Addendum 1 to 2 Section 2 Codex 1 — and may not be censured by anyone except the Empress or under some circumstances the Crown Princess." Well, technically their 'diplomatic immunity' could be stripped if they were accused of a felony, but that required a parliament that didn't yet exist, or, again, their mother.

"I suppose you could file a complaint with the Empress," Dan added. "Except you'll need to do it from outside of our borders. In the meantime, her decision stands."

They glared at each other for a long, drawn-out moment. Ada watched closely as the younger knight's hand wrapped around the hilt of his blade. Several others were clearly readying their lances. The older man glanced around and had his horse retreating a few steps.

Cecil whistled, and their own cavalry moved a bit, spreading out further. She saw some of them hefting their weapons, too. Ada silently ordered the flying drones to swoop down closer.

"If you try to enter our territory illegally, we will be forced to take steps to prevent you from doing so," Ada said.

The younger Knight snorted and made his horse dance forward a few steps. Despite herself, she had to admit he knew what he was doing as a rider. Unfortunately, that meant he was also lowering his own lance and pulling up a small shield. "I will not let you tell me what to do," he said.

Ada sighed. A moment later, a small stone-sized object dropped down in front of his horse, just between them. As soon as it hit the ground, a minor shockwave erupted, the wind ruffling the hair of the horses and men. Dirt was kicked up. The knight's horse reared and turned aside, though he managed to get it under control quickly, falling back in their ranks.

"Major," Ada said.

"Yes, ma'am," Dan answered with a tiny grin.

"You are authorized to use lethal force in defense of our borders, should this turn violent." Then Ada turned and fixed a stare on the humans across from her. "Go home." Well done, she added to their flying unit.

The Brothers of Violets exchanged a few hurried whispers, before the old man raised his hand and gestured them back. He turned, and the others followed his lead, their formation shifting as they made to depart.

"This is not over," the Knight warned them.

"You're welcome to file that paperwork," Dan called after them.

Ada silently watched for a moment. "Captain, detach two squads to guard this outpost and watch for them, until further notice. We'll do the same with some Winged Drones as well."

"Yes, General," Cecil acknowledged, then turned to choose a sergeant.

Ada waited, staying quiet, as the order fighters retreated. She had no doubt they would try something, probably some kind of diplomatic attack, trying to make an issue out of this. She doubted they would succeed, the incident hadn't exactly gone their way and it wasn't enough to blow it up.

… Wait, actually, does that number of ten thousand troops include Swarm Drones? Mia asked.

The law is ambiguous, maybe deliberately, Ada said. It's for cases where, say, we're at war, a part of the Empire is cut off by the enemy army, but a prince or princess is there and can rally the populace to defeat them and reunite with the main government. Though such a case explicitly eliminates the limit anyway.

Oh, I take it the Empire isn't required to pay for a prince's privately-raised army.

No. Why, are you planning to raise an army and march on the capital?

Sure, Mia replied, deadpan. Let me just check my calendar for openings.

Ada had to fight not to smile. It was obvious why rulers historically hadn't usually done this, but it wasn't like Regina had to worry about her children rebelling. Although, come to think of it — only the Empress could name an Imperial prince or princess and there were few actual requirements beyond that. Janis is never going to raise up anyone she doesn't trust implicitly, Ada concluded.

As they moved back, Ada could still sense Mia's presence in the psychic link, distantly, watching over them. Most of her focus seemed to be on the base, though, or other parts of the psychic link. Maybe she was actually watching through the flying drones to evaluate their horses' speed, since they hadn't taken anyone captive or gotten a good fight after all.

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