"Ah, sorry. Scuttlebutt is gossip, rumors, just general chatting about the state of things that are non-mission critical. Thank you for your answers, unless anyone else has anything to ask we should be good to meet with the Commander."
"Gossip...rumors...and chatting? I see..." She puts her hand on her chin in thought. "In any case, it seems there are no questions, we will go forward momentarily."
Maxine gives her response. "I see no reason to keep the commander waiting. Just point me to the Commander's office. And point the rest of my unit to wherever it is you want them to be."
"Your men can join you for the situation report....the room is quite large enough for everyone....this will reduce the amount of miscommunication.....Please, follow me everyone."
She turns around, walking on the wide-path toward the pyramid. Presumably, everyone follows along, the mechs careful not to step on anything (or one) important. The pace is swift, and the short walk is rather uneventful (save for the occasional flickering light appearing from such locations as under a rock, inside a hedge, and from the fountain). She stops several feet in front of the pyramid. At this distance, its seer size can be fully understood. To see the top, you have to stretch your neck up, with each block being at least the size of the alchamechs accompanying you. In addition, it is much more intricately detailed than the distanced view would have you believe, small symbols cover the structure like a book or scroll. Each brick indeed appears like a crystal, pure and almost see-through if it wasn't for the runes it would look more like a house of glass.
Once again, she turns around to face the group. "Please wait one moment..." She walks forward to the center brick. A hand-print rune marks the side, almost like an ancient cave painting. A series of lines surround it like blood vessels, each ending with their own runes. She places her hand over the drawing, quickly punching the runes in a random-appearing order before stepping back to the group. The massive brick is still for a moment, before slowly rising up in the same way the drawbridge had. Behind it was what appeared to be a large elevator-easily large enough to fit the group twice. It still appears to be made of ice, but thin and clear, making it appear for all intents and purposes as glass. The top was attached to the ceiling, along a large rail dug into the bricks above.
"Please follow me once again." Katyusha states, walking into the elevator while wait for the others to do the same. Once everyone was safely situated, she punches the side of the construct with her hand. The brick that had allowed your entry falls with a *Thud*, and everything is momentarily perfectly dark. A mechanical sound fills the elevator as you feel yourselves being lifted upwards, then to the side, then downwards-continuing to change directions for a good five minutes until the point everyone involved had completely lost their bearings. For those brave enough to put their face to the "glass" (or, perhaps, those blessed with improved eyesight) might catch a glimpse of lights traveling around darkness like will-o-the-wisps, apparently similar elevators on a second rail.
At last, you can feel yourselves falling, then coming to a perfect stop. Lights flick on from all directions, as a figure appears in the dark. A man is sitting at a pure white desk in a pure white room, behind a plate of glass that makes up the fourth wall allowing you to see all this. He is a middle aged man, clean shaven with opaque glasses covering his eyes. His hair is light black, much like his Alreona. His outfit almost blends into the room, a white jacket unbuttoned over a black shirt. His hands are clasped together with the index fingers extended upward, resting slightly forward.
"Welcome to 44th Armored Division. I'll keep this brief, we are all busy men here. Our orders are to push back the Ostanes advancement in this front as far as physically possible. The enemy still has five fortresses in the region, four recently built and one ancient. The ancient fortress is currently being used as headquarters, with the enemy leadership holing themselves up in it. While it would be a desirable target, it is impossible to assault effectively with the other fortress's placement. Within the next week, when the opportunity presents itself, we will assault the closest newly built fortress, capturing or destroying it before our next move is revealed. If there are any questions, ask them now, I doubt we will speak like this again for some time."