The Systemic Lands (Dark Progressive LITRPG)

Amy

"Hello Amanda, I am Ed, the caretaker of the arrival records," the older man pulled out an envelope. Captain Mary was sitting to my right while her soldiers were outside this office.

"Um, hello. I really don't want to cause a fuss," I said nervously. I was really stressed at the moment.

"Not at all. I am just going to ask a series of questions. Answer truthfully and you won't be in any trouble." I nodded fervently at this. "Are you Amanda Victoria Decker?"

"Um, yes, but I go by Amy normally," I replied.

"Is your maiden name, Swartz?" he asked.

"Yes, it is," I answered.

"Have you had two children?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered. "Is one of them here?"

"I can't say that yet. Right now, I need to ask the confirmation questions, then once that is confirmed we will contact the person who arranged this as quickly as possible. Can your write down the birthdates of your two children on this piece of paper," he pushed over a piece of paper and a pencil.

I wrote them down without hesitation and then pushed it back over. "The dates match. There are no further questions." He looked over at Captain Mary who nodded at him.

"Break the seal on the inner letter," she said, and he nodded. I didn't understand why they were making such a fuss about me, but I couldn't help but feel hopeful that other members of my family were okay. Ed made a gasping noise and began to shake.

"What is it?" I asked hesitantly. He handed over the sheet of paper to Captain Mary whose eyes went wide.

"Speak of this to no one. You understand," she looked at Ed who nodded. She then turned to me. "Your benefactor is quite powerful. Say nothing until he arrives. Understand?" she asked me.

"Um, yes, but I don't understand," I replied.

"While incredibly unlikely there is a chance that someone might use you or attack you to get at the person whose name is written down. The government is going through several upheavals at the moment and your benefactor is not in the city and it is unknown when they will return. Your arrival has massive political ramifications," Captain Mary said.

"Whose name is down there?" I asked hesitantly. Captain Mary hesitated for a long moment.

"No one would dare do anything. Not to her," Ed said, and Captain Mary sent him a glare.

"There are dark undercurrents to the city as you know. This woman is a boulder hurtling at that river and will shake even the depths. You know we have to keep our heads down, while the troublemakers are driven out and purged," Captain Mary told Ed who nodded.

"What is going on?" I asked again. "I can handle the truth," I said nervously. After being sent to this place, I had trouble keeping track of everything.

"There are two pillars of the Empire. The Emperor whose power and combat ability are beyond everyone. Rumored to be at combat level 8. Then there is Supreme Governor Clarissa, who has control over the entire government. The Emperor is rarely in the city and the Supreme Governor has left and many people have been promoted after the recent crisis across the Empire. This is a trap, she is using to purge the ones who are overstepping their positions to sort out the governmental structure," Captain Mary explained.

"And this makes the city unstable?" I asked.

"Yes. The risk of you being kidnapped and used in some scheme is immense. There have been several terrorist actions in the last twenty days, and they are increasing in frequency. A false flag operation would be likely. Where you are captured, a rescue is attempted, and then you are killed during all of that. The Empire only stands because of the two pillars supporting it. If you are killed during this crisis, it will create a wedge between those two pillars. Since this office is part of the government and we fall under Supreme Governor Clarissa's authority," Captain Mary said.

"Wait, but that means, I am related to the Emperor?" My mind raced. I had thought his name was familiar. "My son?" I asked hesitantly.

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"Most likely. If you die or are hurt, then we are dead as well," Captain Mary said, and I blinked in surprise at that.

"What do you mean?" I asked and she shook her head.

"We can't keep her here. People will ask questions. The palace, the personal guards of the Emperor should be able to keep her safe," Ed suggested.

"It does seem like the best course of action, but also quite risky. But it is better than the alternatives," Captain Mary said and then turned towards me. "I need you to trust me. If anything happens, I will protect you, understand?"

"Um, yes," I said nervously while trying to follow everything was happening at the moment.

"Good. Wait here, I will arrange new clothing, and call up my entire detail. If I am going to make a public move, better that it not be questioned," Captain Mary said. I was soon in a new set of blue clothing with a golden dragon symbol etched onto the front and back.

When I left the office, there were ten soldiers and Captain Mary. "This is Amy, who is incredibly important. It is better that we die before anything happens to her, and there will be a constant three guard rotation, with one on rest, and I will be escorting her everywhere. She is never to be left alone. No matter what. Even for the bathroom, either I will escort her, or you two," she pointed at the female soldiers who nodded.

"Let's move," she said, and we left the building. They all surrounded me and nothing like this had ever happened before. We moved across the plaza to a massive building in dark blue with golden dragons. There was also a large flag hanging over the entrance, a white background with eight black dots on it in a circle.

"Halt! Declare your intentions," a soldier at the entrance called out and we came to a stop as Captain Mary stepped forward.

"Standing orders of Emperor Michael. Only his personal guard can be informed," Captain Mary declared.

"My orders refuse entry to all people not on official business," the other soldier responded to her. She then pulled out a letter and handed it over. He took it and opened it up and then back at her.

"You have authority to escort high priority individuals to the ranking individual of Purgatory. That would be Acting Governor Samantha," the soldier replied.

"The VIP will be escorted to Emperor Michael's personal guards. You are welcome to report to the acting governor, but my progress will not be impeded," Captain Mary declared.

"I am afraid, I am going to have to deny you entry pending detainment. This will be sorted out in due time, but the Imperial Palace is off limits," the soldier declared.

"Your name and rank then. Since I will be reporting to the Emperor himself about your dereliction of duty," Captain Mary said calmly. There was silence at that and nervous shuffling.

Captain Mary

I stared down at the captain who was trying to block my entry. It was test of wills and I wasn't going to back down. I knew that I would win no matter what, but there would be opportunists around every corner. Amy was not about to leave my sight no matter what.

While there were threats, I wasn't going to hand her over myself. The chance of getting a couple million points as a reward was not insignificant. There was turmoil in the bureaucracy, but Amy wouldn't be targeted, I would be the target. Amy was my shield against the massive shit storm she represented.

She would be the eye of the hurricane, while everything else got smashed around her. And I didn't want to get caught up in all of that. Better to ride this out until the end, and as long as she was unharmed I was confident I would come out of this unscathed.

"I will need to get the Sargent of Emperor's Michael personal guard on duty."

"I am more than happy to wait," I replied. Both our groups stood around staring at each other. We were getting looks from around the plaza, but nobody bothered us. Amy looked at me, but I shook my head. Now wasn't the time for questions.

Soon Michael's personal guard in blue and golden dragon armor stepped out of the Imperial Palace. "I was told that there is something that requires my personal attention," the Sargent asked. While I technically outranked the woman, she was part of Michael's personal guard. The unofficial rule was add on another rank to whatever they were.

"Yes, if we could speak privately off to the side," I gestured and walked over, away from both groups. She nodded and stepped over with me. Emperor Michael's personal guards only had to salute him. One of the many minor privileges they had.

"That woman we are escorting was on the VIP list, which I manage," I told her quietly. She looked over at the woman and then back at me.

"A relative?" she asked quietly, and I nodded slowly. "You want credit?"

"Yes," I replied, and the soldier nodded slowly.

"And her identity is confirmed?" she asked.

"I was there for the questioning myself. She passed it all," I replied confidently.

"You know if this is joke, it won't end well," she told me.

"I understand that, but I have complete confidence in her identity. I am willing to put my life on the line," I replied.

"This is going to be a mess. We can't move her to the Emperor's suite, that is off limits to all but a select few no matter what. We can use a guest suite and keep her there until he returns." She paused and went silent.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I can issue a recall order for emergencies. But something like this, it never came up," she replied and there was silence. I was confident in saying Amy was related to Michael, but beyond that I wasn't about to give my unqualified opinion on the issue.

"No recall order, and your group of people can be assigned as personal guards until the situation is resolved. Your post isn't abandoned?" the Sargent asked me.

"I will sort that out, once this situation is resolved. I can get some personnel temporarily reassigned to cover for my soldiers until Emperor Michael returns. I am Captain Mary," I introduced myself.

"Sargent Paulski. Alright, let's get inside and make sure Amy is comfortable," she said, and I nodded at this.