The Iron Star

Chapter II - Lavender

THUMP THUMP THUMP

"President Marigold!"

Her blurry eyes opened.

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

"Hold on.. Hold on..." she said wearily, stumbling to the door.

THUMP THUMP THU-

She opened the door. A clenched fist hung in the air.

"Marigold! I am so, so sorry to wake you like this. There's an emergency."

She looked down slightly to see a bearded figure, shadowed by a straw hat. His face bumped like the broken roads of the city and his eyes reflected the murky water that surrounded it. Marigold rubbed her eyes.

"Oh... Hi, Lemon, is everything okay?"

"You need to go down to the docks as soon as possible. We have visitors."

Before she could even register what had just been said, Lemon took off down the cracked road, toward the docks. She supposed her suburb construction would have to wait.

A strong wind blew through the fallen seaside streets of Frisco. What were once rooftops now formed a collection of crumbled concrete islands. Before her, a stretch of wooden land reached out into the ocean. Boats tied to the platforms rode the highs and lows of the waves below them. Frisco didn't have a very powerful navy, and thus the majority of vessels were small solar sails. Looking around for Lemon, she spotted a ship that dwarfed that of the Frisco's. A Paradisian yacht, patched up with scrap metal and wooden planks was parked alongside the harbour. Lemon, who had somehow become even smaller, stood beside the vehicle, conversing with a stranger. As she drew closer she could make out a crown of flowers atop the young woman's head. From the yacht marched a squadron of three guards, the middle one carrying a tattered emerald green flag with a blood red pentagram at its center. There was no doubt about who these people were. Marigold stormed towards the crowd.

"Your majesty." A stern expression befell her.

The woman turned to Marigold and smirked. "Ah, President Marigold. This young man here was just telling me about your inauguration. Congratulations."

Marigold didn't have time for this. "What are you doing here, Lavender?"

"Well, other than coming to visit an old friend..." she pivoted to face the rightmost guard, who handed her a handheld radio. She extended the wobbly antena and fiddled with the dial until its aging speakers emitted a constant, otherworldly groan. Lemon screwed up his face. This wasn't something either of them had heard before. "Come on! Ask me what it is." she chirped.

She hesitated for a moment before inquiring. The young empress was not trustworthy by any means, and Marigold had enough of a history with her to know this could simply be an elaborate scam. Reluctantly, she spat out the question.

"What is it?"

"Ohohoh. I'm so glad you asked. May I invite you aboard? We can discuss this over a cup of tea" she exaggeratedly gestured to the yacht.

Marigold scoffed at the prospect. "This is ridiculous, Lavender, I don't have time for your games. Get out of my harbour." She motioned to Lemon that it was time to go and started off back to the city.

Lavender's act suddenly dropped, and as she watched the Friscans walk off, she began desperately flipping through the stations. A series of static buzzes and muffled voices echoed through the docks before she found the right frequency.

"This is Herbert Rosemary of the Syndicated Covens of Monterrey. We are under attack." Marigold and Lemon froze in their tracks. "Countless of our settlements have been attacked by a rogue United Nations Ant Queen. The machine has been modified with energy cannons. It has been decorated with Silicon flags and colours and we believe the Empire responsible for these attacks. Our communes are scattered and torn apart and we request immediate assistance from anyone able to help. Please. Act quickly." The message began to loop as Lavender adjusted the volume. The Friscans

"A few hours after this message was broadcast, Santa Barbara was attacked. 23 of our people were murdered but compared to the Syndicate we were hardly touched. We don't know where it is now but I've come to ask for your help."

Marigold became stone while her mind raced with a million thoughts. She'd never seen the Empress this serious, let alone asking for her help. What did the Silicon Empire want with an Ant Queen? Why would they attack Monterrey?

Lavender lowered her voice, presumably hoping not to alarm her followers. "I know we've never been the best of friends and our peoples aren't exactly allies, but we have no one else to turn to. California still sees our Coven as the ruthless state it once was under my tyrant of an uncle. This Ant Queen business is beyond us and our people! We need to show California who the real enemy is here."

She stared at Lavender, both mystified and horrified. This obviously wasn't a trick, but she still didn't entirely trust the young Empress. That probably wasn't the most of her problems though, considering the giant killer robot that was apparently on the loose.

"Okay."

"'Okay' you'll help?"

"'Okay' I'll help."

The forests of burning anxiety were extinguished behind Lavender's eyes as the words fell from Marigold's mouth. The President turned to one of the Friscan soldiers guarding the port.

"Go to the Council, inform them of these events and tell them to instigate emergency protocols and arm the border with the Empire. I will return by sundown."

The soldier nodded their head and ran off towards the city centre. Marigold oriented back to the Empress.

"Alright, your majesty, lets see what we can do about this Ant Queen."

Marigold boarded the Barbaran ship with Lemon and a Presidential guard following close behind.