[b][color=fff79a]Por Dios, La Patria, El Rey![/color] [/b] [i]There is nothing greater than God and nothing lesser than my land and my people. For these three things, my life is devoted to the good fight.[/i] Mariano never registered the gnawing pain of the wound to her right shoulder quite properly. She also couldn't bring herself to even accept the death of her last ally in this failure of a coup. Her older brother, Hernan, lay in her cramped, tired, bloodied arms. His broken arm still clutched his sister's ruined sleeve of a uniform. His fingers were still gentle. They were so gentle. The voice of Covenant, her NC, reminded her "My lady, you are suffering. I must be allowed to administer emergency medical assistance to you. We cannot let you die as the others did. For the sake of-" Her broken reply came tersely. Through lips dried from combat and fire, Mariano never meant to hurt her "sister" but at this time, she couldn't help it "Torpe, don't. I don't care. My brother is dead. We're all dead." "You still breath and your heart beats as fiercely as it did when you fought for Valencia and her people and your followers. Even as you took us to the embrace of the Mediterranean waters, your body did not break." "But my mind has?" Covenant could say nothing. The expression of the AI, which was shown on the digital face of her long gone sister, Consolas, remained concerned. It was as if she never cared about the attempts of her master to dissuade her. She was programmed too well to be offended. But she couldn't help her master as she began to, yet again, collapse on her brother's battered corpse, weeping loudly that if it were not for her remaining inside the tank, she would have demoralized her people. She had blamed herself. She had blamed thecorporation. She had blamed the people who still were loyal to the greedy. And most of all, she tried to blame God. For a day, she had not left her tank. For a day, her people could not see her dusty face, her body that shook with anger and grief, her eyes that burned. For a day, Mariano was entombed in the machine, her heart with her NC and fallen brother. She was all alone. Her family's hope and bloodline rests only with her now. The last of the blood of Don Carlos and Queen Isabella. --------------- Now in Australia, the lady of the Spaniards, the woman who held the names of the Carlists, the Alfonsists and the Spanish Catholics, the fury of Europe, the hope of Iberia, could stop her temper from taking her mind away but she could not stop her hands from shaking. She wasn't weak but she wasn't patient either. 851562 Spaniards who fled with her and more importantly, the countless inhabitants of Haven, some of whom were Spaniards, Filipinos, Americans and so forth, were looking to her and the pilots of this airbase. She almost failed to notice the rest of the squad and the master of the coffee house. Reminded gently by her NC, she raised her head, looked at all of them and said "AH! My apologies. My name is Encarnación Mariano. I'm a Spaniard who led my people here after we failed to save our country from Paragon. Hopefully with this invasion by Red Star, my countrymen and I can regain our honor." She then turned to the master of the coffeehouse, smiling as she shyly requested "Ummm, if it's all right, I'd like to eat some scrambled eggs, pancakes, a little tocino and a cup of warm chocolate with honey." After making her request, Joey accepted it as she requested and said "Very well, Miss Encarnación." "Thank you." Then she turned to Chelsea and the rest of the squad "It is nice to meet you all again here. I hope my presence will aid you in the defense of Haven and my people."