“The High General does not wish to see you.”
The glistening, gold and red-armoured General stared at this short, white-plated Rethan standing in front of them, blocking their way.
“Move, child.”
“No. The High General does not wish to see you. You ought to leave.”
Revan Rethianos was not used to being told no. The General of the 166th Legion was used to going wherever they wanted. After all, the 166th Legion was in charge of exo-planetary explorations, working alongside the Lanex and the Temthans in travelling to new, strange and/or dangerous places and discovering what was there. Like all Rethianoi, Revan had learned of their bloodline heritage at the age of 18, and they had immediately decided to reach for greatness.
And, right off the bat, Revan made a name for themselves as an explorer, having discovered the ruins of an ancient proto-Vrekan civilization on their very first expedition. In fact, Revan was rather unique for a Rethan, they had absolutely no problem with water or swimming, and Revan feared pretty much nothing, as long as they got to continue being a famous explorer, going where no Rethan had gone before. For a brief while, Revan even had their own documentary show, where they travelled through an abandon-world ruled by a race of ancient Temthan Asides that had gone extinct.
Revan had been completely fine being the younger member of a Rethianos generation. Sure, it meant remaining chaste, but Revan didn’t particularly care, since they were famous and could do whatever they wanted. But when their older sibling Relkalis fell ill with ovarian cancer at the age of 50, requiring radiation therapy and a hysterectomy to cure, Revan was suddenly forced to be the Bearer. They had no choice but to be the mother of two kids, in order for the Rethianos Bloodline to continue. Revan hated that, so they did the absolute bare minimum. They quickly dated then married Trimes Kelofton, the General of External Rethan Finances (mostly because Trimes had a crush on Revan and they also funded most of Revan’s expeditions), got themselves knocked up, then waited.
Somehow, Revan ended up with triplets. The strain of laying three eggs at once had damaged Revan’s body, namely their womb and stomach muscles, and Revan found they couldn’t return to their explorations for a good couple of years. Their injuries made Revan hate their own kids. Especially since one of them was a horrible little runt with falsely coloured eyes. Feeling that these three kids had ruined their life, Revan refused to do any real child-rearing and let the Rethan Stratos deal with them. That was often the tradition with bloodlines anyway, but Revan didn’t even bother to visit, and they went back to their old exploration ways as soon as they were back to full health.
Revan didn’t even care when they were told that their three kids were nearing the age of 18, and one of them would be killed to preserve the bloodline. They were certain that Relkir, the smallest kid would be killed. After all, they were small and weak, even if they had Trimes’s sharpness and intellect. Trimes had tried to persuade Revan to care more, but they never managed it, and Trimes yet again failed to convince Revan on the eve of the execution. But even Revan was surprised when Retvik, the strongest of their three kids, sacrificed themselves for Relkir. This made Revan dislike their own kids even more. As far as Revan was concerned, Retvik’s sacrifice forced Rethais to become the Bearer, meaning that Rethais was to meet the same fate Revan did.
Revan was content to ignore their remaining kids. They expected Rethais to just get on with being the Bearer and for Relkir to fade away. Instead, hating what they were expected to do, Rethais worked their way up the ranks, somehow managed to become High General then used their power to end the Bloodline Traditions in their entirety.
Admittedly, Revan felt a little envious. They and Relkalis could have done that, if they’d tried. Realizing that their kids now wielded probably too much power, Revan had tried to smooth things over between themselves and Rethais (but not Relkir), but Rethais had stubbornly refused all communications.
Today, Revan was trying again, in person, but there was an annoyingly young Rethan with ugly eyes blocking their path.
“I want to speak to my kid. Move out of my way, child.”
“I am not moving. Firstly, the High General is busy preparing for a meeting with the Below Twenty Generals, secondly, they do not want to speak to you, thirdly, who even let you in?”
“I go where I please. You have no authority over me. Move aside.”
The white-plated Rethan tutted, then tapped their left arm, where they wore a General’s Insignia. “Of course I do. You are in the Kentron. Authority here is quite simple: the High General at the top, followed by the Master of Generals, then the Below Twenty Generals, then everyone else. You are not any of those.”
“You are but a child, I Revan Rethianos, of the Rethianos Bloodline AND a Below Two Hundred General, AND I am the universe-famous explorer and finder of vast treasures! I-”
“And I am General Kuta Tieridos of the 11th Legion, the only living Rethan capable of true telepathy. Which is why I am here, recommending that you leave, rather than having General Rethais catch wind of your presence and calling security.”
Revan inspected this strange person some more. “How… how old are you?”
“One hundred, on the snout.”
“You look like you are in your late thirties at best!” Revan snarled. “Are you lying to me?”
Kuta snorted. “Why would I lie? One of my larger duties has always been damage control. As I can sense thoughts and emotions, I tend to step in before things get too angry. And if Rethais discovers that you are here, forcing your way in, they will never, ever speak to you.”
Revan grunted, not accepting Kuta’s words. However, they were distracted by the presence of another Rethan, someone they did recognize.
“Kuta, we are nearly ready, why… What are you doing here?” Lysar immediately hissed as they spotted Revan and marched over. Kuta had to silently and telepathically stop Lysar from instantly getting violent.
“I am here to see my kid.”
“The kid you did not care about in the slightest until they outshone you?” Lysar’s anger was already rising. “You abandoned Rethais, you treated your own kids as if they were nothing! And now that you are getting weaker, you are crawling back? For what? Because I am certain it is not to apologize! Rethais told me what you said about them AND their poor siblings, and, in all honesty, you should be thankful that Rethais has not physically assaulted you yet, because I am definitely considering it!”
Revan crossed their arms and rolled their eyes, not at all threatened by Lysar’s words. “You will do nothing. Neither of you will. And if we are being honest? Rethais could do better than you, Lysar.”
Lysar growled and raised their hand, but Kuta stopped them.
“Now, now, Lysar, we are above violence. Rethais is normally also above violence too, and they would just have security throw you out. But I ought to tell you, Revan.”
“General Revan.”
Kuta tutted. “If we are pulling rank, then you ought to refer to both Lysar and myself as your superiors. Especially since I have been a Below Twenty General for three decades now. Either way, that is beside the point. While yes, Lysar and I are above punching colossal assholes like you in the face, as you deserve, there is one person round here who would absolute LOVE to hear what you have said about Rethais, Relkir and Retvik.”
Revan hesitated. “I… do not follow.”
“Simply put, if you do not leave now, I will tell the Keeper about all the horrible things you have said and done to and about Relkir. And I promise you, General Gath will tear you limb from limb.”
“You are threatening me!” Revan exclaimed, backing off ever so slightly.
“I am, yes!” Kuta smiled. “The Keeper has pretty much free reign to do whatever they want. They are in charge of the Legion of Heroes, you know. I am certain General Gath would love to hear the lovely things you have said about Relkir, and tell you what they think.”
Realizing this hideous little Rethan was being serious, Revan gave in and backed down completely. While they had clung on to their own fame in spite of Rethais’s rise in power, a potential feud with the Keeper would ruin Revan completely. Without a word, Revan span around and marched off, back the way they came.
“You stopped me from hitting them, Kuta…” Lysar eventually muttered, once the coast was clear.
“I did, yes. After all, when it comes to verbal insults, one should never throw the first punch. Let them dig their own hole first.”
“Hmph. You are right. Still, I wonder if we should tell Rethais about this.”
“We ought to. But I will let you do the talking, if you wish.”
Lysar thought for a moment, then sighed. “I will tell them. But we ought to get going. We are running late.”
Kuta put an arm around Lysar and led them down the hallway, towards the meeting rooms. “Of course, of course. And ignore what that asshole said. Rethais is lucky to have such a smart and well-meaning person as you. They love you dearly.”
“Thank you, Kuta. I appreciate that. And thank you for stopping me from getting into trouble.”
“Hah!” Kuta waved their hand dismissively. “That is what friends do. Come along now. We have work to do.”