Agiel walked confidently towards the group with a smile on her face. Agiel was wearing a black military outfit that was similar to the Enforcers’ battle outfit, but this time she had an image of Earth printed into the left arm of the shirt where the Enforcers’ symbol would normally be, and Jason realised that she was currently acting as a representative of Earth and not just the Enforcers.
"What the hell is she doing here?"
Gina spoke up with a scowl from behind Jason, and Jason could literally feel the animosity flowing off Gina like a river! Agiel walked up to the Gaia agents and stood with them, and before anyone could ask any questions, a blitz of static appeared from beside the group, and Jason turned to see Cercei teleporting in. Cercei was wearing a well-fitted black suit, and he fixed up his tie calmly before he walked forward to join Agiel and the other Gaia agents, and Jason didn’t even need to ask before Cercei answered the unspoken question.
"I decided that it would be best if Commander Agiel went with you to visit the Council. Yes, I know this is unexpected, but I believe this is the best scenario. I’m sure you already know that Commander Agiel is not human; she came to this world with your father, Jason, and she has lived on Earth for most of her life. But even though she isn’t human, she has an unwavering loyalty to Earth, and that, paired with her knowledge of the Primordial Expanse and the workings of the council, makes her a prime candidate for accompanying you. Meanwhile, I believe you are already aware of the reason behind Katarina joining your party. I was informed that you volunteered to be her caretaker, and since you will be going into uncharted territory, I believe having a supporter of her calibre will be beneficial."
Jason frowned when he heard everything that Cercei had to say. In truth, Jason could see the sense in what Cercei was saying. Even though Jason only learned recently that Agiel wasn’t human, he could tell that she had a lot of knowledge about the world out there, and that would make it easier to work with her since he wouldn’t have to explain the things she might see when they leave Earth. And having Katarina would definitely make things easier if they ever got into a fight. But Jason didn’t like the fact that Cercei didn’t say anything about Agiel until just now. The least the bastard could’ve done was mention that he wanted to bring military personnel along!
"Does it really have to be her? Why didn’t you pick someone else from Gaia?"
Gina spoke up from behind Jason while giving Cercei a hard glare, and Cercei shrugged as he said that Agiel was the only member of the Enforcers with the particular skill set that would make her an ideal fit for their mission. Not only was she one of the strongest members of the Enforcers, but she was also knowledgeable about the Primordial Expanse and the laws in it, so she could contribute to the trial and make sure everything went smoothly. Gina was obviously not happy about this, and Jason could sense Gina’s irritation as she glared at Agiel. Jason already knew that Gina didn’t like Agiel at all, and he had to decide whether or not having Agiel on the team was worth the inevitable argument between the two women.
"You’re going to be facing the council, aren’t you? My mother had to face the council a few times when we had disputes with parallel worlds. If you take me along, I can help point out which council member is more likely to be on our side and which ones we shouldn’t try to appeal to at all. If we can get a majority vote in the council before the trial even begins, then we’ll have a better chance of winning this."
Agiel spoke up as she finally came to join the conversation, and Jason let out a calm sigh when he realised that the choice here was obvious. Agiel was going to be useful, so he would just have to talk to Gina and make her tolerate Agiel for now.
’Babe, she’s coming with us. Just ignore her until we’re done with this, alright?’
Jason sent a message to Gina through their mental link, and he saw Gina’s glare increase for a moment. Agiel was giving Jason a very heavy look as she waited for him to say something, and Gina felt irritation bubble up from inside her when she saw how Agiel was ignoring everyone else and putting all her attention on Jason! Gina wanted to wrap her hand around Agiel’s neck and just squeeze! But Jason called out to Gina again, and Gina let out a huff in annoyance and finally told Jason that she would try to tolerate Agiel. Jason thanked her with an amused smile, and he finally spoke to Agiel seriously.
"Alright, you can come along. But you’ll be with the rest of the soldiers. Try not to cause any problems, Agiel. This is serious."
Agiel leaned forward and whispered with a seductive smile.
"When it comes to you, I’m always serious."
Gina’s left eye twitched, and Jason immediately stepped away from Agiel and began moving towards Katarina. Katarina looked very out of place as she stood alone at the side. She was slightly pale since she had been in prison all this time, and there was an air of nervousness around her as she waited for Jason to approach her. Once Jason was close enough, he spoke up calmly.
"Are we going to have any problems?"
Katarina looked up when Jason asked this question. It was a simple question, but there was a lot of meaning in those simple words and Katarina realised that Jason was giving her an olive branch to see if he could trust her. Katarina swallowed and shook her head. Katarina knew that this was it. This was literally her last chance to change her fate and become a free woman again. If Katarina tried anything to go against Jason during this mission, then there was every chance that Jason would send her right back to prison! That would be the end of everything for Katarina because she was sure that she would never make it out of there again!
’I don’t want to go back to prison. I’ll do anything Jason tells me to; I don’t even care anymore. Staying in that metal room is so terrifying.’
Katarina felt a shiver go through her body as she remembered the dull metal room that she had been in for the past few weeks, and she couldn’t even imagine staying in there for the rest of her life. Death would be better than that fate!
"I’ll behave. I promise."
Katarina spoke up softly as her head fell again, and Jason could see the sincerity in her tone. Jason nodded to her, and he watched as a soldier from the SMD came forward and took off the superhuman-suppressing handcuffs that had been on Katarina’s hands. Once Katarina was free, she rubbed her wrists gently as Jason spoke.
"Just follow the group and keep your eyes peeled for anything out of place. If you have any problems, then come straight to me, but if not, then do exactly what I tell you to. If you do that, then we won’t have any problems. Understood?"
Katarina nodded again, and Jason finally turned to move towards Gina and Riyala on the other side of the group.