The broad marble concourse of Border Plaza was bisected by a thick white demarcation line marking the sovereign boundary between Citadel territory and the Capital administrative zone.
Nox stood tall on the northern side of the white line, flanked by Yeda, Kendra, Jax, and Sir Owen, with their weapons sheathed in accordance with diplomatic protocol.
Across the marble boundary stood Chief Emissary Vorgan, a rotund government diplomat draped in silver-threaded silk robes and surrounded by twenty ceremonial honor guards.
"We have gathered on neutral ground to negotiate a peaceful resolution to this unfortunate jurisdictional dispute, Lord Nox," Emissary Vorgan began with an oily, practiced smile.
"Neutral ground means equal standing between two sovereign parties, not a forum for bureaucratic extortion," Nox stated calmly, folding his arms across his chest.
