Hiromichi Shino were first to step forward through the open access doors of the Kamome and down its ramp, where the station security detail were waiting to greet him and the rest of the GMG delegation. An old wound had left him with a limp, quite noticeable as he stepped down the ramp. As he did so, he and his party were met by a man wearing the uniform of an Rheinland Federal Police officer. The man introduced himself as Wachmann Thomas Müller and formally greeted the GMG visitors to Bonn. As Müller greeted them, Hiromichi took notice of the officers attempt at bowing in the manner of a traditional Kusarian. "Thank you, Wachmann." Hiromichi replied, "I for one, am glad to see Rheinland again." Instead of returning the bow, Hiromichi shook the Wachmanns hand in a friendly manner, "My name is Hiromichi Shino, Guild Master Katsuo-sama's chief security officer. If there are any security questions related to our visit, you may turn to me. We're not here to make your job any tougher, though we had to take certain precautions to guarantee the Guild Master's safety."
As Hiromichi ended his last sentence, he turned around to see the Guild Master catching up to the rest of the party. He turned to face the apparent station security chief.
"Mr Klein, we're ready to be shown to the conference room, if you would, please."
From aboard the Kamome transport, Jomyo Meishu observed the GMG delegation as they were escorted out of the hangar to their meeting with Kruger. He inputted a couple of commands on his PDA, and as a few seconds passed, he could hear the sound of doors closing echoing across the ship. He started walking and made his way towards the ship's bridge. After a few moments, he felt the entire ship tremble beneath his feet as the engines were powering up. The pilot must have finished with his checklists and would soon be ready to launch the transport back into open space.
Jomyo arrived at the bridge just in time to overhear Bonn Control clearing the Ohotsuku-kai for departure. "Ohotsuku-kai, roger that Bonn Control, launch at own discretion." The pilot responded. Jomyo walked up to the pilot's seat to stand behind him and looked out above the pilot's head. The docking bay had been cleared of any personnel and vented of atmosphere, and the gigantic hangar door were opening slowly, exposing the bay to the coldness of space. The Kamome carefully maneuvered itself through the open hangar door and moments later fully cleared itself of the station. The pilot flew the transport slowly past the Battleship Strausberg. Jomyo couldn't help by being awed by the immense sight, and he truly admired his predecessors who went up against such vast and powerful warships willingly for the Guild, often laying down their lives to cripple and destroy the Imperial fleets. Jomyo too, longed for such glory, and wouldn't hesitate to offer his life for his sensei and the Guild. "Course set for Essen.", the pilot said, snapping Jomyo back to the present. "Aff, but keep us within short-range comms of Bonn, so Katsuo-sama can reach us." "Hai, seibyou!" The pilot engaged the ship's cruise engines, and Jomyo could swear he felt the faint surge of it, even though he knew that it'd be impossible to feel it, at least while the internal dampeners were functioning properly. Jomyo looked out of the windows of the bridge yet again, into the emptiness of space. He was feeling anxious, though he wasn't sure if it was because of his own excitement, or the fear for his Guildsmen being left aboard the Bonn. He decided to remain calm and set aside those thoughts, and simply said to himself: "And now we wait..."
As the GMG delegation were being led by a security team towards the conference room, the limp Hiromichi Shino walked in front of the others of his group with only his thoughts to accompany him. He remembered his last time in Rheinland, during his brief stay with the RFP. He knew them to be professional and most diligent in their work, and he had no reason to distrust them. Few Guildsmen had. It was different with the military and Kruger, especially Kruger. Where none trusted Kruger, only a few would trust the Rheinland military. With the Sigma Trade Pact brokered between the Guild and the House of Rheinland almost five years ago, it had been the first step towards normalization between them in over a hundred years. But the Guild had remained cautious and alert, though for the most part cooperative towards the House. Hiromichi wondered if this meeting with Kruger would be another stepping stone towards normalization with Rheinland, but he had his doubts. He instinctively patted his chest slung PDW to assure himself that his sensei would remain safe for as long as he himself could still draw breath.
As the group approached the conference room, security officers held the door open for them. Guild Master Taro Katsuo could see Hiromichi Shino walking into the room first, followed by a pair of Katsuo's bodyguards and the rest of the representatives. Katsuo followed suit, with another pair of bodyguards directly in tow. The room was clearly divided, with the GMG representatives standing on one side of the table, a man and a woman on the other, unmistakably Kruger. Katsuo himself was dressed in a simple yet elegant gray suit, with the logo of the Guild sewn upon his chest pocket. The other representatives wore dull suits as well, with only the bodyguards in their bright white and teal GMG uniforms providing any distinctive colors in their group.
Katsuo wasted no time with false pleasantries and with only the slightest of nods, he addressed the lone man and woman across the room: "Why am I here?"