At the Android Task Force headquarters in Nibra, Jenius idly inspected the orb that now sat upon his desk, while Tescadji stood at attention before him. Even though the ranks of the ATF were informally managed, decorum was a habit from their days in the military that he had never been able to let go of.
"Even after all this time, it still feels like a dream," Jenius said. "The dragon, High elves, a living tree, those pictures in my head … I guess it doesn't feel that way to you, seeing how you visit them so often?"
"I merely try to keep them abreast of the goings on in the world," Tescadji said. "Even though I've told them that everything's calmed down, Skori insists that they lay low for awhile. And frankly, I don't blame them. Having a mob of humans coming after your bum is nothing if not a little traumatic, I imagine. The only times they ever left were when they came to HQ for Skori to get his repairs, and then to Gheed to get Alaema re-programmed. Now they stay at the house, and only leave to go to Skainhart, where they say that there's a garden that they tend to. And that they try to do only at night, when no one is around. The only one who ever leaves is the human, Garen. He's married to the short one, named Noroa. He took a contracting job in Gheed, but he returns home to her every night. They have a kid now, a girl. Cute as a button, if I do say so myself."
"Well, it's all for the best that they stay where they are, in my opinion," Jenius said sagely. "From what I've seen, the situation is far from normal. Even now, after all the dust has settled, the Republic is facing an inquiry by the National Alliance concerning its quality of enforcing of the Android Rights Act. My head may very well be on the chopping block very soon."
"But that's unfair!" Tescadji said defiantly. "You did the most for this organization! Before you came, getting assigned here was only a joke job! We were under-funded, underpaid, and the people who were sent to us were racist, and were as corrupt as corrupt can get!"
"I know, Tescadji," Jenius said, calmly, holding his hand out to placate the man, "as does the Alliance. You don't see me clearing out my desk, do you?" He chuckled as he leaned back in his leather chair. "The problem rests in the people; not the programs. As long as attitudes remain the way they are, with humans and elves alike, and as long as the public refuses to understand love, then the events of a year ago are bound to happen again. Whatever it was that Aldrec did merely 'knocked some sense into them,' as you humans say, but it's a temporary fix at best. Sure, there's more of an effort to forge peace and understanding between the races here in the Republic, but there has to be an overall change of attitude, like there was in Lemsram and Garushnit. That's why the reactions in those countries after that broadcast were far less severe. The Republic, however is still a powder keg beneath the feet of its citizens, and we all hold the match." He sighed, as his gaze drifted away into space. "I sometimes wish I'd quit the Force long ago, and had gone to live in Lemsram or Cires as my wife suggested. But I wanted to continue to make a difference here."