Enkay leaned back in his deck chair, soaking in the low levels of sun. The skies in these Skyan territories were always pitch black, but the nearby stars still pumped out enough heat to warm one’s skin. Next to him was Teekay, who was lying on his stomach, watching some sort of show on a small, foldable screen. Between them were two small tables, both overflowing with snacks and drinks.
“This is so nice…” Enkay beamed, watching a ship fly above them.
“Yeah, it is…” Teekay muttered, not paying attention.
“If I’d known better, I would have got myself a Rethan servant years ago…”
Enkay’s inflammatory statement did nothing but make Teekay roll his eyes.
“Dude…”
“What?”
“He’s not a servant.”
“He’s totally acting like one. He cooked us dinner, he washed the dishes, he made us breakfast, he’s cleaning up after us… I have no idea what happened yesterday but we kinda broke him…”
Suddenly, Enkay fell silent. He had spotted Elkay approaching, carrying another tray of food. Teekay had noticed too and was now sitting up properly.
“Oh, hello…” Teekay stuttered. “You okay, dear?”
Elkay nodded. “I am fine.”
“You are spoiling us a little, you know… You not taking a break?”
Elkay shook his head. “No. I like making you both happy.”
“Why?” Enkay asked. “You’re like, a former head of state. And you’re walking around like you’re some sort of servant or something…”
Something vibrated, distracting Enkay. He reached for his communicator, realised he’d dropped it on the floor, then fumbled around with it for a bit until he finally managed to properly answer it.
“Ksa Enkay.”
“Ksa Veear… You do realise I am off right now, yes?”
“Apologies, Enkay, but this is urgent.”
Enkay looked at Teekay, rolled his eyes then turned his attention back to the communicator. “How urgent?”
“As in, very urgent.”
“That’s not helping. Listen Veear, I am not in the office right now, I am not at work in any way. I am in fact on the outer islands, chilling out with Teekay…”
“Ah good, then you can bring the former Ksa along as well. We need everyone in on this.”
Enkay rolled his eyes some more, helping himself to some of the snacks Elkay had brought out. Enkay always had a weakness for salted, shellfish-flavoured potato crisps.
“What are you talking about?” Enkay asked, intentionally chewing with his mouth open. He intended to take a proper holiday and had explicitly demanded that all messages to him be redirected to lower staff. “What is so important that you are calling me directly?”
“Because this is important.”
“I repeat, WHAT are you talking about? Why are you not talking to Geekay about this?”
“Because he is already here with me.”
Enkay hesitated, turning to Teekay again. Teekay leaned closer, confused and curious.
“What is the situation, Veear?”
A deep breath was taken on the other end of the line. “It is complicated and best explained if you come and meet us.”
“Tell us what the issue is!” Teekay suddenly shouted. “Why do the Arbiters suddenly need military assistance?”
“Something has happened at the Hall of Heroes…” Veear finally explained. “One of the graves has been desecrated and a body is missing. We need your help to keep the other Classes calm…”
Teekay and Enkay both sighed.
“Fine. Give us two hours and we’ll be there…”