"The Führer will see you now." The words were as crisp, clean and militarily precise as anything spoken by Riza Hawkeye, and were a welcome break from the monotony of the antechamber. The group had been slowly collected over the course of the last three hours, starting with colonel William and ending only a half hour ago with the arrival of Gail.
None of them were entirely certain what the meeting was to entail. Some knew more than others, private citizens such as Juanjo having traveled to central specifically to offer their services, but everyone knew the root cause; All traffic and information from "The Edge" had ceased over two months past.
Communication disruptions were nothing new of course. In the five years since the new province had been established it had been plagued by broken phone lines, scarred train tracks and other such misfortunes, but over the last two months not a single train had returned, nor a single call come through. Trains sent out with orders to return immediately upon reaching Edge City were never heard from again. Something was wrong, and they were here to help find out what.
Mustang's office was spacious and truth be told, somewhat more gaudy than the previous Führer's. Though the floor plan was much the same, a massive oaken desk set among blue and dark woods, much of the space on one wall had been taken up by a massive portrait of the man who was lying sleeping, a mug of coffee still steaming on the desk before him. Mustang had aged since the portrait, some of his boyish good looks faded in lines of stress about his eyes, and his uniform had lost its press and creases from recent wear. Even asleep however the man radiated a certain air of authority that was hard to define, a kingly disposition.
"I'm awake Lieutenant." He said briskly, even as the blond woman was storming across the room, vengeance in her eyes. "Just resting my eyes." With a dangerous motion Mustang pulled himself forward, blinking twice and taking a long sip of his coffee before he at last turned fierce, tormented eyes towards the group of them.
"Flowing Earth... Glad to see a face I recognize." He smiled briefly at William, before casting his eyes out over the group, his massive chair sliding silently back across the hardwood floor as he stood. "You've all heard bits and pieces, and you all know you're here about the Grand Eastern Rail, so let me lay down the facts. We haven't heard from Edge City in two months, we've sent trains, engineers and a full platoon of soldiers and none of them have even reported back."
"We have had our share of dissent since King Bradley, someone must be leaking information or there would be no way to stop all of the attempts. Since I can't trust the normal chain of command, I'm calling favors and volunteers I can trust." Mustang frowned, as though the taste of the words themselves was a foul thing. "There is a train leaving tomorrow evening. You are going to be moved on as cargo, then emerge to protect it once the train is underway."
"I have a radio operator I trust accompanying you. We've constructed a trio of new long range towers just off the desert border, their signal should reach halfway to Xing, so I want you in constant contact for as long as possible. Get there, figure out what is happening, and get back." He set his hands down on his desk then, a frown creasing his face. "We have absolutely no idea what is happening out there, and I want answers, before parliament demands I send a damn army to clear the route."
He gave a weak laugh at that, a hand pushing back through his hair as he looked over the assembled group. "This is obviously dangerous, if you want to back out, there is the door. Beyond that... any questions?"
None of them were entirely certain what the meeting was to entail. Some knew more than others, private citizens such as Juanjo having traveled to central specifically to offer their services, but everyone knew the root cause; All traffic and information from "The Edge" had ceased over two months past.
Communication disruptions were nothing new of course. In the five years since the new province had been established it had been plagued by broken phone lines, scarred train tracks and other such misfortunes, but over the last two months not a single train had returned, nor a single call come through. Trains sent out with orders to return immediately upon reaching Edge City were never heard from again. Something was wrong, and they were here to help find out what.
Mustang's office was spacious and truth be told, somewhat more gaudy than the previous Führer's. Though the floor plan was much the same, a massive oaken desk set among blue and dark woods, much of the space on one wall had been taken up by a massive portrait of the man who was lying sleeping, a mug of coffee still steaming on the desk before him. Mustang had aged since the portrait, some of his boyish good looks faded in lines of stress about his eyes, and his uniform had lost its press and creases from recent wear. Even asleep however the man radiated a certain air of authority that was hard to define, a kingly disposition.
"I'm awake Lieutenant." He said briskly, even as the blond woman was storming across the room, vengeance in her eyes. "Just resting my eyes." With a dangerous motion Mustang pulled himself forward, blinking twice and taking a long sip of his coffee before he at last turned fierce, tormented eyes towards the group of them.
"Flowing Earth... Glad to see a face I recognize." He smiled briefly at William, before casting his eyes out over the group, his massive chair sliding silently back across the hardwood floor as he stood. "You've all heard bits and pieces, and you all know you're here about the Grand Eastern Rail, so let me lay down the facts. We haven't heard from Edge City in two months, we've sent trains, engineers and a full platoon of soldiers and none of them have even reported back."
"We have had our share of dissent since King Bradley, someone must be leaking information or there would be no way to stop all of the attempts. Since I can't trust the normal chain of command, I'm calling favors and volunteers I can trust." Mustang frowned, as though the taste of the words themselves was a foul thing. "There is a train leaving tomorrow evening. You are going to be moved on as cargo, then emerge to protect it once the train is underway."
"I have a radio operator I trust accompanying you. We've constructed a trio of new long range towers just off the desert border, their signal should reach halfway to Xing, so I want you in constant contact for as long as possible. Get there, figure out what is happening, and get back." He set his hands down on his desk then, a frown creasing his face. "We have absolutely no idea what is happening out there, and I want answers, before parliament demands I send a damn army to clear the route."
He gave a weak laugh at that, a hand pushing back through his hair as he looked over the assembled group. "This is obviously dangerous, if you want to back out, there is the door. Beyond that... any questions?"
