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Kaalijorn snapped their toothplate in distaste, but at least the Praetor had finished his little powerplay and was ready to continue.

“The Prisoner is being held in a solitary, impenetrable cell,” Kaalijorn stated, remaining calm, “her condition is stable-”

“Stable? I will be determining that for myself,” Karakt again interrupted, sweeping himself across the platform to better intimidate the Councilor, “and once I have decided she has been treated accordingly, then we can discuss the terms of exchange,”

Kaalijorn sighed, unimpressed with the Praetor's antics.

“Agreed,” was all they said, knowing that Karakt wasn’t going to listen beyond that, “Knight Commander please escort the Praetor, I shall lead the procession,”

Kaalijorn nodded his head before breaking conversation and gliding over to Jasmine and her Captain, their attendants staying close and quiet.

“You are free to return to the engineer's wing Namegiver,” Kaalijorn lowered their voice, it was sincere and offering the human a moment of respite away from the overwhelming lord, “we will organise another discussion soon,” but the human's anger had not dissipated, only deepened to a simmer.

“Councillor,” she responded, “ever since I arrived in council space, I’ve been compared to a ‘princess’, even going so far as being addressed as ‘Your Grace’ without prompt,” Jasmine’s blue eyes were hard and sharp, she did not avert her gaze, “I want to see this other Princess,”

Kaalijorn could feel the once gentle sunrays begin to sting, and while they shouldn't have agreed to the alien's request, they didn't want Jasmine's wrath redirected at themselves.

Better that they allow the resentment to grow naturally towards the Praetor and let the council be the voice of reason.

“Then you may walk by my side,” Kaalijorn offered, his attendants silently shifting to one side. Jasmine gladly accepted, motioning Rynard to follow as she walked in sync with the Councilor.

The councilors attendants all walked very close, a secluded huddle shielding them from outside forces, she thought it was interesting the councilor didn’t need to order them to do so.

“Letu, walk in front,” Jasmine instructed, “ Rynard, at my flank,”

“Yes ma’am,” Came the replies and Kaalijorn noted the hard edge Jasmine had taken on.

“You would let your Captain walk beside you?”

Usually, Jasmine would be happy to engage in more curious cultural exchanges with matched curiosity, her anger prevented her from doing so.

“I trust my captain to ‘have my back’” she replied curtly, recalling the ‘backstabbing’ insults from conversations with Xant, “and I want as much distance between me and that beetle bastard.”

Kaalijorn was surprised at just how much negativity the human could pour into such words, or how her native tongue seemed to have a description for the Praetor so succinctly.

“I would not let the Praetor hear such an insult,” Kaalijorn warned, “the Arvas nobility take linage very seriously,”

Jasmine scoffed.

“Councilor, if he gives me a reason I’ll be calling him worse things than a bastard,” she hissed, eyes firmly on the arvas soldier in front of them.

The long walk to the prison cells was a tiresome one, Jasmine wondered why they couldn’t take a small shuttle or something, but then the thought of having to be closer to Karakt brought fire to her breath. Of course, just as she thought it, Rynard hand extended out, offering her the ride she gladly took.

“You did well,” Rynard repeated, his voice a whisper in comms.

Jasmine shook her head.

“No I didn’t,” she replied bitterly, “I fell right into a trap, I shouldn’t have let my guard down…”

Rynard let out a low growl, he didn’t agree with her sentiment at all, if anything he should have been more vigilant. Jasmine had allowed him the luxury of being lazy, but he really couldn’t afford that now, maybe after, when everything was settled and they had a nice planet somewhere in the inner systems, but not now.

“You didn’t know he was gonna do that,” he reassured her “No one expected him to do that,”

“No, the councillor did warn me,” she admitted, “Not to let him ‘overpower me’ now I know what he meant,” the overwhelming weight that hit her body, the impenetrable, unreasonable wall that wouldn’t take no an answer. She wasn’t sure how to deal with it if she were faced against it again, how did you defend against it?

Jasmine looked forward to Letu, walking ahead without a feeling or thought in his body.

She supposed that if you didn’t find a way, you were simply crushed by it.

“Ryn,” she asked, “What happens with Letu now? Is he really… mine?”

The captain looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“You made him swear an oath, he can’t break it and now he’s yours to command,”

Jasmine involuntarily gagged.

“Ugh, mine to command, he’s a person, not a pawn,” she shook her head, Rynard replied with a snort.

“That’s exactly what he is,” he stated, reinforcing the thought, “he’s closer to a second pair of arms than an independent unit,”

Jasmine rested her hand on the sword she took from her new unwanted ward, it wasn’t Letu’s fault he was ‘empty’, just as it wasn’t Rynard’s fault he was a ranger or Xant a scientist.

“Could I ‘free’ him of his service?” she asked, “let him decide for himself?”

“Only if you plan on disgracing him and dishonouring yourself in the one go,” he answered with a shrug, “dunno how that would go for intergalactic relations though,” the captain raised a claw to scratch beneath his chin. “Even if you did let him go, I’m not sure he could decide for himself…”

Nako was worried, the encounter he had imagined between the Namegiver and The Praetor had failed to materialise, instead he had found himself unable to salvage anything from the situation without fear of upsetting either party...

However, the Praetor seemed quite pleased with himself.

“You don’t approve of my actions,” Karakt mused, watching the young man twitch furiously in thought, his statements inviting Nako to share his opinions out loud.

“It is not my place to approve of your actions-” Nako replied curtly.

“Of course it is! You’re a Knight Commander! It’s one of the few perks of your position,” Karakt provoked, finding fun in the reactions of others.

Nako looked incrediously towards the Praetor.

“Your actions are confounding, I present to you an alien maiden, a civilised alien maiden and you go out of your way to sour relations before they’ve even begun.”

Nako snapped, “I’m beginning to doubt the tales of Praetor Prince integrity and chivalry,”

“Ah, yes, disillusionment, I know it well,” Karakt nodded his head, letting out a deep, laboured sigh, “I was not trying to sour relations, my goals simply do not align with the Galactic councils..”

Nako frowned.

“And what exactly are your goals Praetor?”

“To better serve the Imperium of course,” he answered with a sly grin.

“And you’ll do so by endenturing your son to an alien maiden?” Nako scoffed.

“My son?” the Praetor had to laugh, “he is one of my sons. From my 9th brood, unlikely to be presented at court, and probably will end up a soldier in an unmemorable battle.” Karakt cast a glance over to his remaining sons, silent soldiers the lot of them. “They have little more to learn from an aging husk like me, I'd much rather him be remembered as a noble defender of the Namegivers entourage, "

“That’s if she decides to keep him as a part of her entourage,” Nako retorted “the Namegivers are not ruled by Freq, there will be others Letu must again approval of,”

“Others?” Karakt chucked, “I would so love an audience with them, are they as entertaining as our maiden?”

Nako irked his shoulders back, every push he felt the Praetor give him was more an annoyance he couldn’t brush off

“They are easier to provocation, less likely to trust and do not care for being tested, ” the Knight commander remarked. Karakt pulled back slightly, not willing to ruin his fun by teasing Nako too much.

"That is unfortunate, because you can learn a lot about the enemy by how they react under pressure," he answered nonchalantly, "the Namegiver only conceded once her captain fell to their knee, she was all to eager to argue the point with me otherwise, group mentality, a trait held by tribal races. She gifted me music, a trade of luxury and when demanding an oath from Letu, she demanded courage and brotherhood,” he side-eyed the Knight commander and rubbed his mandibles delectibly, “which means they find value in conflict, but not over fivorlous reasons, such as receiving an outrageous gift…”

"Did you set out the upset the namegiver on purpose?" he asked, momentarily forgetting his place, which the Praetor seemed to encourage.

“Prehaps,” Karakt replied with a smug grin, “one has be prepared when there are rumours about a new species on the galactic stage, ones so powerful they could overrun a progenitor company while unarmed…”

“How did you hear about that?” Nako hissed, the Kyu-Kage Corp operation was still on a strictly confidential contingency. Nobody outside of the military elite circles should have heard about the other aliens they had on board…

“Its not every day corporate reaches out for military aid, news like that doesn't just stay on corpnet… and then I hear about a certain remarkable lieutenant commander who pulled in a Rajavan ship all by himself, even a hatchling could draw the line between the events.”

Nako was a little chuffed the praetor called him remarkable but worried about how to handle his new sphere of influence. He had spent so much of his life demanding to be noticed, now it was beginning to burden him with expectation…

"so you requested to see me, in hopes of getting closer to the alien?" Nako asked, looking for the prey among the herd. Karakt chucked, patting his chest as he did so.

"now, now young Prince, I'm still delighted to have met your acquaintance, I don't know if you could tell, but I am sorely lacking in robust conversation…"

Nako had noticed how quiet the other attendees were that followed in his thrall.

"with a presence as strong as yours I'm sure many fall to your whims without any resistance at all," it was a rather backhanded remark, but Karakt seemed to enjoy the verbal spar.

"but you haven't," katakt replied pointedly, "I dare say we can talk as colleagues, and truly, your potential is wasted on these council drones," as they drew closer to the cells, the praetor needed to get in one last poke to the knight commanders senses, “should you grow tired of this bureaucracy, we can talk again and reward you properly…”

The section was isolated from the rest of the station, for the first time since landing Jasmine couldnt feel anything past its walls, an entire square was blank from her extra perception.

Another dozen or so high ranking knights stood outside the cell doors, acknowledging the Councillor as he drew closer, Rynard sent out a small Pulse for Jasmine to stop.

‘We better stand back,” he whispered “The princess could be volatile,” Jasmine agreed, motioning over to one of the further corners of the hall as the Praetor and Nako passed them. Karakt tried to give Jasmine one last dose of interaction, but she shut it down quick, turning to face away from him and choosing not to acknowledge his presence at all. An action which confused the large insectoid, and he tried to approach her again, only for Rynard to give a warning growl,

“Another time Praetor…” was the warning, karakt paused before slowly turning away. There would be other times to speak again.

As the councillor spoke with the guards the automatic door opened slowly, revealing two people inside. The massive and intimidating Zenthi solider, former knight commander kotorn and an even larger figure under his arm.

Dark red shell shimmered even in the dim light, broad shoulders covered in spikes, arms and legs tied together with mechanical cuffs. She was even larger then the Praetor and Kotorn struggled to lay her down before the arvas official.

“The red ash admiral,” Councilor Kaalijorn presented, Karakts exuberant nature once again turned dark and serious.

“You’ve sedated her…” he growled.

“Better sedated then stiffed or Jitterjacked, she was not accommodating once captured,” Kaalijorn informed the Praetor, the unspoken truth that she would likely be much worse off if they hadn't.

Karakt drew closer, looking Kotorn up and down, measuring himself the Zenthi as an equal combatant.

“Youre the one who captured her?” he asked, his tone drenched in disgust and disbelief.

Kotorn gave a snort.

“I and a fleet several dozen ships strong,” the zenthi growled, allowing a bonfire to burn in the Praetors presence, unafraid, challenging even.

“Tsk,” came the saddened reply and then Karakt turned his attention to the Princess on the floor. Scuff and scratches littered her body, her breathins shallow and seemingly unresponsive to the world around her.

“Aralukia,” karakt spoke softly, sweetly, “your light has faded,”

A shiver could be felt through the room, a ripple of cold air before an irruption of fury brought the prisoner to her knees. Wings torn but outspread, five eyes wide and her jaw unhinged as she roared at her would be saviour.

“DEFILER,” was the accusation, with as much venom as the red ash admiral could muster, “Corruptor! suffocator of stars! Wretched simpering maggot eater! Your seed has soured every brood!” Aralukia thrashed, Kotorn and several other Galactic council Knights rushed to restrain her, all the while Karakt stood there and suffered the onslaught of insults, “I will tear your exoskeleton apart and make your limbs into sheaths! I will suck out every one of your eyes and spit them into the void! I will rip the geneseed from your shell and boil it in acid! I will unmake you and cast you into the abyss! I will burn you, destory all you feel until you cannot but scream and beg as you die beneath my step!” every insult was a low blow, the utter contempt and hatred on display was so potent, everyone struggled to remain calm. Jasmine could feel her body reacting to the rage, her eyes saw red, her hands shook and her jaw clenched. The knights restraining her tried to be gentle but the princess fought with all her strength, “you are everything I hate, everything I must destroy, defiler, corruptor, backstabbing blood of a weak drone… I will NEVER be brighter then the day you DIE…” Aralukia’s voice choked at those last words, the pain and heart ache grew tight in Jasmines chest.

She knew that feeling, the horrible sinking of betrayal…

Finally, the princess had no more fight, she slumped into the arms of the knights as engineers and med techs rushed to monitor her situation.

Karakt stood stoic.

Kaalijorn approached slowly, dataslate in hand.

“Her Grace has been tormenting the reclamation for [years] and has cost us dearly due to her piracy,” the councillor flicked through the holographic figures, “in compensation, for her destruction of property, asset and projected restoration delays. The galactic council is asking for three habitable planets, with populations no less then 300 [million],” Kaalijorn waited the Praetors response, expecting pushback on such an egregious request, handing the dataslate to Karakt, “place your counter offer-”

“Granted,” came the reply, a simple button push and the terms were met.

Kaalijorn was shocked, but delighted.

“Very well!” they stated, turning to Kotorn to give orders “Rangers! Escort her Grace to the Praetors ship! Gently!”

The praetor turned and silently made his way back up the gangway, the Rangers and Knights carrying the prisoner after.

Jasmine watched on as they carried the princess past her, hazy eyes opened, and widened when the princess noticed the human.

“Void.. singer…?” Aralukia croaked, “Your kind… can..?” but her voice was too far gone.

Jasmines, however, was loud and clear.

“STOP!” the human commanded, running from the safety of her captains shadow to speak with the prisoner, her speed and frame allowed her to get close as the Rangers involuntarily obeyed her commands “LET ME SPEAK WITH HER!”

Jasmine’s hands gripped Aralukia’s face, lifting it up so she could see.

“You called me Void singer?! You have a name for humans?! you know about humans?! How?! Where are they?!”

Aralukia struggled to open her eyes and give an answer, Jasmine begged her, the flood of the ocean tide following her desperate cries, “WHERE ARE THE OTHERS?!-”

A swift and painful strike from a segmentor sword fell down on Jasmines forearms, knocking Aralukia’s face from her grasp. An arvas knight sent by the Praetors whim and the weight of a mountain fell ontop of her.

“You have no right to command my daughter, maiden!” Karakts voice boomed. Jasmine cried out in pain and Rynard charged through the ranger blockcade to reach her, Letu, true to his oath, raised his blade to the knight he once called his brother.

Blood was ready to be drawn before a wall of ice fell between everyone.

Nako, both swords drawn, flew up and landed in the middle of the scuffle.

“That is enough!” the knight commander demanded, “I will not have war on MY station,” he raised his blade to the Praetor “You cannot strike a citizen without consequence, you crossed a line Praetor, and you-” he raised his other sword to Jasmine, “ and you should know better by now Namegiver,-”

“But Nako-” Jasmine tried but was quickly shut down.

“If you have business with Her Grace then you need to speak with the Praetor…” he said harshly, cold, unfeeling as the frost of his freq, “now then, if we are all ready to be civilised, I will withdraw…”

He slowly pulled back his swords and both parties obliged.

“Namegiver,” Karakt spoke, a dark smile on his face “if you wish to negotiate, I will happily await an invitation…”

Jasmine clenched her fist, ready to shout as Aralukia had done if not by the swift actions of Rynard. The captain scooped her up and made a swift retreat, going so far as to run past the holding cells, deep into the facility.

Once he had reached a safe distance, he let Jasmine down, her screams of anguish unleashed against a steel wall. Overcome by second-hand emotions the human struggled to regain control, the betrayal, the hatred, the ever-consuming need to inflict pain, tears rolled down her cheeks as she smashed her limbs against the stations hall.

Once her fists had beaten the metal enough to bruise through the suit, she slumped against Rynard’s leg, chest heaving, but mind clear.

“She knows…” Jasmine breathed, rising back to her own feet “she knows where more of us are…” she turned to her captain, then, to the empty arvas soldier sworn to her, “and you’re going to tell me everything.”

##Wiki/Chapter list = [First Chapter](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/ftp5nq/transcripts_disparity_prologuechapter_1_isekaid/ = Previous = Next

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##Book 4- Transcripts: Disparity

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##Wiki/Chapter list = First Chapter = Previous = Next  

Kaalijorn sat, head in his hands as his attendants recovered from the nerve searing damage they all sustained from the First Contact meeting.

It did not go well.

Not at all.

They had never been assaulted before. Blissfully secure in the inner planet space, even surrounded by knights the human had burned through their very being and forced information out of them. The lieutenant directed the small squad of medical officers, his bluster gone quiet and reserved.

“So,”Kaalijorn muttered as their arm was taken to be examined, “now you know what position the Galactic council is in.” Nako stood to the side, acknowledging the councillor.

"It is distressing news… but I'm sure your eminence had reason to keep it from the population."

" It is not something that we wish to burden the citizens with, it falls to us to ensure their safety. How can I call myself a counsellor if I cannot uphold that standard?”

"Do not speak of this outside of this room, it is an economic matter, soldiers need only focus on protecting the council space."

"Of course, councilor, it is not my place to speculate on foreign affairs."

"Not your place to speculate but happy to stick your feelers in?” Kaalijorn remarked, “You seem to have found favour with both the aliens and the Imperium."

"Councilor,I hold no love for the Imperium. They may have given me life and a sword but the council gave me purpose and a fleet,” Nako replied. “If I had not come under Galactic Council Rangers I most certainly would have died in an unnamed battle and gone unnoticed." Nako ushered the remaining medical officers out. "Only because of the Galactic Council that I will be meeting the Praetor, I will not deny I have listless thoughts of court, but that is a calling far beyond even my reach --even with the universe on my side."

Kaalijorn paused for a long moment before speaking, he sensed sincerity from the solider

"No love for the Imperium, but what are your ties with the humans? You had no problems claiming them under your beneficiary. Would you be willing to hold them if they reject citizenry?"

"Namegiver Jasmine is a civilised creature. While her subordinates are more difficult to deal with, I'm sure she will bring them in line as all Maidens do."

"You seem confident in this statement."

"Councilor, I have felt the full wrath of each one of these aliens. It is nothing our people can't overcome with tenacity and determination," Nako stood proud. "In fact I hope that they can put aside their differences and we can all step forward to a new glorious future.” The optimism of youth. Kaalijorn wished they still retained it. He could see now why Nako was such a protruding tusk to Kotorn. Bright, sharp and competent, which made him even more dangerous than first thought.

-*-

Kotorn was furious.

He came down swarmed by knights and ready to rip the wings off the lieutenant.

“The entire branch at your disposal to ensure the safety of the Councilor and you allow such disrespect to befall our dignitary?! Why are the humans not contained?!” The knight commander slammed his fist into the floor, the deafening sound of steel on steel shook the councilor and the floor beneath him.

“Knight Commander!” Nako shouted back. “My duty was to the councillor first! I was present in the room-- even if I had an entire squadron in here the negotiations turned sour too suddenly to react!” The lieutenant threw back his cape, puffing out his chest as he stood his ground. “There was no possible way to predict the human's actions against the councillor-”

“Too sudden to react?!” Kotorn roared. “They devastated a progenitor station! The humans are hardly an unforeseen threat and you should have eliminated that threat the second there was even a hint of councillor in danger!” The knight commander swung his meaty arm and an innocent table was sent flying across the room. Nako’s wings flared, his hands reaching for his segmenter swords.

He would not give in to Kotorn’s anger this time.

“They are not a threat!” The lieutenant retorted. “They are a creator-level intelligence with enormous potential to council and need to be treated as such!” Unsheathing this sword, and smacking it against the floor in warning. “I will not let you diminish this dynasty-defining moment because you can't see the herd from the prey!” Nako bellowed, ready to lock horns with Kotorn. Councilor Kaalijorn stood up, fins flaring in anger.

“Enough!” A wall of immediate silence broke the intensity of the room. “Is this how the 138th branch acts? Fighting as though deadly enemies?” Kaalijorn looked between the two officers and let his disappointment coat his every word. “Discourse such as this costs lives and I will not allow it to continue.” They stamped one webbed foot in as though to punctuate the order, their robes fluttering around them. “No wonder the humans were wary of us…”

The councillor dismissed what attendants remained and reached for a vial depressor chems to soothe his nerves. The pain of the injection was nothing compared to the relief it provided.The two soldiers stood in silence, begrudgingly turned to await orders. Their feud on hold. For now.

“Knight Commander Kotorn, you wanted me to review Lieutenant Tar Nako’s actions? I will do so now.” Kaalijorn stated, folding his robes from under his knees as he took a seat.

“Eminence? Here? Now?” Kotorn asked, confused.

“Yes.” Kaalijorn snipped. “Now.” A snarl snarl exposed his teeth as a low growl rumbled in his throat. Kotorn relaxed his form and folded his hands behind his back as he began to recounthis version of events.

"I had ordered the lieutenant to find and capture the Red Ash Admiral and her Armada. The pirates had been stalking our supply lines for [years] and were the highest priority on Branch. After one of his patrols, he returns with a Rajavan Vessel claimed under Imperial acquisition laws. It was only after that he brought the vessel in did I find out it was at the expense of following after the Armada.” Kotorn gave Nako a scornful look. “While he did provide me with coordinates of their last jump it put us weeks behind on their capture. I had to lead the exposition personally. I later discovered my following orders, to auction off the vessel and its contents, were only partially followed through. The Rajavan Vessel was still on Branch. The clumsy handling of the auction led directly to the damage of the Progenitor company and your assault by the aliens on board, Your Eminence.” Kotorn gave one final growl. “If Lieutenant Nako had followed my orders instead of his own ego none of this would have come to pass.”

“Those are some serious accusations…” Kaalijorn surmised and nodded his head at the lieutenant to speak. Nako’s bodystiffened, his voice low and contained a slight tremble of rage.

“The Knight Commander is glossing over very important details, Your Eminence.” he almost spat the words out as he tried to reign in his temper. “While the Armada was first priority at Branch, the patrol I was on was a glancing sweep at best in an empty sector. No routes, no station, no signal towers and as such I was only out with four ships under my command. When I did come across the Armada-- a completely unexpected event-- not only was I grossly outnumbered but I did in fact pursue it!” He took a step forward as he continued. “I led an ambush assault against the Armada but they scatter-jumped away. I'm not sure if you’re familiar with the term, Councilor, but there was no way I could follow the jump paths of more than twenty-five ships! Their combined Jump-Freq meant there was no way our navigators could even guess where they were headed!” He threw back his cape in disgust. “I wasn't about to send my fleet of four ships into the unknown jump path of such a fleet! The Knight Commander grossly oversimplified the predicament.” The young lieutenant felt the reverb of his emotions getting the better of him, pulled back his cape and bowed his head a little in reprieve.

“The Rajavan Vessel was still a high-value target. An almost completely intact Troop Transport --alive enough we could salvage the ship-brain and get information of other Rajavan cells in the area. When the preliminary scouts found questionable contents I thought to bring it in for further investigation.”

“Questionable enough you went through a third-party research company?” Kaalijorn queried. Nako nodded.

“The Rajavan pods were mysterious enough, they don't usually bother with ‘stealth-coating’ their stasis pods. I dare say, I was curious about the matter and I wanted to be thorough. Everything else we discovered thereafter has been alarming enough that if it had gone unnoticed it's no telling how long the Rajava could have kept it a secret.”

Kotorn scoffed, slamming a foot on the floor and countered Nako’s statement.

“So you agree then? The human cargo would have been better off on a science ship! If an underfunded company like Esaander could have discovered human sentience then the actually funded scientists would have discovered it eventually! You defied orders for your own personal gain!”

“I defied orders for the sake of the council!” Nako roared back in Kotorn's face, “I could have done a lot of things and we could argue the semantics for hours! Because of my actions we know now about humans long before even more damage could happen. If I had not sent pods to Essander, there would be no reference for human interaction and it would only cause more enemies and deaths. At least now we can send warning messages to the other companies who still have pods enroute!”

The councillor went deathly pale, his head nearly snapped at the neck when he heard the last sentence.

“What did you say?! Other companies?! How many pods were sent off?”

“Twenty two” Nako answered bluntly. “To seven different companies, most within more populated areas of council space. Not enough time to retrieve, but perhaps enough time to send a message out.”

“Why have they not been recalled?!” Kaalijorn stammered, looking at the Knight Commander. The thought of more of those creatures running around unhampered in council space terrified him.

“I was busy capturing the Red Ash Admiral,” Kotorn growled. “I had not been informed, councilor.”

“Not informed, you say?” Nako accused and raised his dataslate embedded arm. “Play file.” Nako’s voice played loud and clear for the councilor to hear, calm and confident in his words:

LC Nako: I have not lost my sight, I protect all civilized beings, even those the council has not yet recognised.

KC Kotorn: What have you been up to Nako?!

LC Nako: I am acting benefactor of the ambassador ‘Namegiver’ until the correct council members can be contacted-

KC Kotorn: WHY ARE YOU BOTHERING WITH THIS?! SHIP HER OFF TO THE CLOSEST COMPANY, WE ARE SOLDIERS NOT DIPLOMATS! DO THE JOB YOU WERE BRED AND PAID FOR TO DO!! I WILL NOT HEAR ANOTHER STUPID OPINION FROM THAT SWOLLEN HEAD OF YOURS, THAT IS AN ORDER!!”

LC Nako: … Acknowledged Knight Commander,

“End playback.” Nako ordered. “The Knight Commander knew of this, councilor, but didn't seem interested in a dynasty-defining find.” Kotorn’s back arched and the shock outweighed his fury. Nako ignored the commander and was swift to hand his dataslate over to the councillor. “Here is the full inventory list and the locations. If you send out the message, councilor, I'm sure we can avoid more intergalactic conflict.” Nako held out the dataslate but the councilor didn't take it immediately, their black eyes wide with the sudden realisation of how meticulously the actions had been laid out before them.

“Kotorn is a good soldier but can't think of a scenario when he isn't one.” The lieutenant added, prompting for the councilor to accept the device. Kaalijorn looked up at the young soldier, their hands trembling as they accepted the dataslate.

“I need to send these out immediately,” The councilor said “You are both to remain here until I have finished deliberating.”

It was an agonising wait, Kotorn simmering in a soup of despair and fury.

“You backstabbing maggot…” the Knight Commander's voice was hollow and gravely quiet, astounded at the audacity, “how long have you been planning this?” Nako turned his back on the old knight.

“Since I laid eyes on the Rajavan vessel,” Nako replied honestly. “I knew you wouldn't want anything to do with it, and then I knew I had to act.” Kotorn snorted, letting his heavy body rest as he sat on the floor.

“Pirate raids, rajavan cells, council expansion, alien consorts and in all this cacophony, how do you manage to make everything all about you?”

Nako did not reply.

Councilor Kaalijorn emerged from his assigned chamber with the attendants in tow, looking even wearier than he had after the encounter with the humans.Both soldiers stood at attention, awaiting the counsellor's decision.

“Knight Commander Ara’Vae Kotorn, for your years as Knight commander, immaculate of service and for the capture of the Red Ash Admiral, I hereby bestow upon you a position of Knight-Justicar on Clentessia.” Kotorn shook his head, eyes wide and ears flat.

“Cl-Clentessia??” he choked out.The councillor nodded.

“You are to return with me once the Red Ash Admiral has been handed over to the Praetor, a worthy position for a Knight such as yourself.”

The pair stood in shock, slow to act upon the councillor's words. Nako turned his head, unsure of himself as he uttered.

“Congratulations, sir.”

The councillor then turned to Nako. “As you are the second lieutenant, with Kotorn's absence, that leaves you as Knight Commander of Military Branch 138.”

Nako stood tall, he had imagined this moment so many times in the last few weeks but this was not how he expected to feel receiving the honour at all.

It didn't feel quite real.

“Knight Commander Nako,” Kaalijorn stated, “ready your attendants for the knighting ceremony, contact me when you are ready.” Nako bowed quickly, too quickly, but he didn't want to linger and let the councilor change his mind. As the trailings of his blue cape disappeared out of the door, the now bewildered Kotorn could only ask.

“Are you sure of this, councilor? An Arvas in charge of a council station? A rogue Arvas knight?”

The councilor gave a heavy and defeated sigh, returning to the stool to rest his weary body.

“Normally, very little of importance happens out in the reclamation,” Kaalijorn replied, placing the dataslate down onto the table, their eyes hovered over it worryingly. “Years, decades can pass without event, now that you have removed the Red Ash Admiral, there is nothing out here to confront. It is better he wields power out in the nothingness than to cause an uprising from being slighted. At least for now…” A fleeting life span was the Lieutenant's limitation, with any hope his mortality would cut short any ambition still burning within.

The council gave him a title, a fleet and power, the Imperium wouldn't have anything else to offer a common born like him.