[Freebuild] A Gift Fit for a Princess

  Lara approached Hayk near the landing platform, with a one of the royal guards close behind. Even though Hayk figured that he and Lara were friends at this point, the guard looked ready to act in a moment's notice, and the rail-gun in her hand didn't appear to be for ceremony. He remembered his first visit to Hapes, and how the but of a gun like that felt in the small of the back... not too good. Lara raised an eyebrow as Hayk got closer, and he could see the guard shift uneasily.

  Hayk noticed all of these things, completely forgetting what he was carrying. Remembering, Hayk looked down sheepishly at the sword in his hands, and passed it to Lara.

  'I hear your people are joining the fight,' Hayk said rhetorically.

  'Yes. What is this?' Lara smiled slightly at the sword that Hayk had passed to her.

  'It's made of beskar-- some of the stuff that the Queenmother gave me after the Chandrila conference. Anyways... I figured that it may come in handy.'

  'I'm sure it will.' Lara replied with a sombre tone on the edge of her voice, but then giving a reassuring smile. Then her brow furrowed as she asked a question. 'How do you do it? Your people seem so strong, and confident when you face your enemies. Us Hapans... we often tend to fight by much more subtle means. How do you seem so stoic in the face of such a war as this?'

  'It isn't some secret I can tell you. I'd like to say it gets easier each time, but I'm as unsure or afraid as anyone else would be. The enemy we are facing is unlike others I've faced in the past, brutal and cunning in ways no one but themselves could ever dream. I'm afraid too, the only difference is that I choose to take courage. Even just by agreeing to help us, you have shown courage as well, and that's a good place to start.'

  The two friends stood there a moment, then Hayk said, reassuringly:

  'Just be careful. I'll try to watch out for you, but you're going to be okay anyways. ...Or else your mother would kill me, and I don't want to imagine that.'