“Alright, good meeting, the rest of you may leave. But Lysar, Ritlir, Tessar and… you, Relkai, I want to speak to the four of you, here, in private.”
“Is… is something wrong?” Relkai asked.
“No, no. I actually want advice.”
“Is that why Relkir is not here?” Tessar grunted.
Relkai Skiaovoros was the rather young General of the 271th Legion, one of the youngest alive at the age of 36, one of the six members of the General Council, representing the four Rethan-controlled territories and two mostly Rethan-controlled neutral worlds. Relkai was in charge of the territories on Phantok, which the Rethans shared with the Lanex. But Phantok had been caught in the crossfire of the Sudden Dark and was hit by Corruption, and Relkai was only just getting back on their feet after losing most of their chest plating and part of their liver, just by briefly touching the Corruption to save an underling from it.
Tessar on the other hand was the new General of Deitic Affairs and was only a few days older than the High General himself. When they weren’t busy coordinating with other races, tracking the whereabouts of both the Lady of Light and the Whenvern AND the Twelve Anew, they had the job of wrangling Litvir, the Rethan member of the Twelve Anew, and Tessar admittedly wasn’t very good at it. They replaced death-honoured General Kuta, who had saved the lives of pretty much everyone in the building when the Corruption hit planet Threa. Tessar not only had massive boots to fill, but the only reason they got the promotion was because Taliv refused and no one else was healthy enough to take the position.
“Yes. Since you are all somewhat young, I appreciate your advice more than the older Generals. What I want to discuss is a… nice thing. About Relkir.”
Tessar tutted. “Is this about Relkir wanting to marry the Keeper? Because I get Litvir coming into my office constantly to ask me stuff, and I cannot keep on telling them to go away and ask either Relkir or Gath themselves, or to take it to the damn God of Knowledge.”
The High General nodded. “Yes. It IS about Relkir’s wedding. I am very happy that my little sibling is safe and sound and ever so fulfilled, but whatever happens, I want to make sure everything goes as smooth as possible. Which is mostly why I want Ritlir here.”
Ritlir shrugged. They were the youngest person here, and were the third youngest Rethan to be promoted to General, after the High General themselves. But thankfully, Ritlir’s overly friendly personality made them both easy to deal with, easy to learn from and made Ritlir very, very good at interrogations. “Sure. How can I help?”
“I want yout Legion of Hidden Internal Affairs to keep an eye out on things. While yes, the news of Relkir’s proposal is spreading across higher-caste Rethan circles, it has not seeped out into the public or out towards other races. I am not too worried about General Gath, they can look after themselves. But Relkir is a well-known public servant who has always been a bit of a bonus for those looking to harm us Generals, and I do NOT want Relkir getting hurt again, like during the assassination attempt against me last year. Ritlir, you are the best person to make sure Relkir is safe.”
“So, do you want me to set up a unit to follow Relkir around? Or would you prefer that I put Captain Trismit and my olanet tracking team on guard and have them look out for keywords regarding Relkir?”
“The latter is fine for now, but closer to the wedding, I do want units from both the Legion of Internal Affairs AND Hidden Internal Affairs to keep an eye on Relkir.”
Ritlir shrugged. “That is all fine by me. Consider it done. But I do not know why you have invited everyone else.”
A beep interrupted the meeting. Tessar rolled their eyes.
“Is that Litvir?” Ritlir asked.
“Of course. They get anxious and ask where I am if I have a meeting with them and am late. High General, I do not know why you are making me babysit them.”
Rethais eyed Tessar. Tessar knew their statement was a little out of line.
“Yes, Litvir is young and curious, but their desire to protect burns deeper than most, and we need to feed that desire by being kind and understand, even if Litvir does not always understand things. You are a General, you lead, you offer direction. Litvir needs your direction.”
“Also you are literally the General of Deitic Affairs!” Ritlir mused. “This is just part of you job.”
Rethais glanced at Ritlir, and Ritlir immediately shut up.
“Anyway, back to what I REALLY wanted to discuss. While my little sibling is happy, they are upset that their proposal was not technically official due to rank differences. So I want to find a way to promote Relkir to the rank of General, and I want suggestions from you lot.”
Everyone thought to themselves.
“Hm…” Lysar grunted. “I was going to say, just make them General of a below 200 territorial Legion, the same way you were before you became High General, but as smart as Relkir is, they would get bored. And the Master of Generals would insist that a military tactician do such a duty.”
“Denpsi is in charge of our territories on Thresisa! That is where General Gath is from!” Relkai added. “Denpsi is ancient and would probably retire or switch to a smaller territory if we offered them a platinum parachute.”
Ritlir immediately disagreed. “Relkir would hate that. Yes, we all now know that Relkir is stronger than they seem, but Relkir would get so, so bored.”
“Do you have a better suggestion?” Rethais asked. “Because my original plan was basically what Lysar suggested, but putting Relkir in charge of a new Legion or taking over the Legion of Universal Boundary Protection and Analysis. That would put them on Thresisa too, and Relkir has the analytical skills to deal with those sorts of duties.”
Ritlir smiled and nodded. “We cannot put them in a Below Twenty Legion, but the 99th Legion has been empty and untouched for years, since it was Photis’s original Legion. My proposal is that we make the 99th Legion into the Legion of Advisors, and make Relkir’s title of High Advisor actually fit for once. And we can go one step further and say that this is a strategic and political move, because, no offence, High General, if you win re-election in four years, that will be your final term in power, and Relkir will want to continue their duties as an advisor. It also somewhat deflects the nepotism claims Relkir has had thrown at them, because they will be a General for their own Legion of advisors, who advise more than just you.”
Rethais blinked. “Huh… I did not expect you to make such a good argument. Kuta clearly made a good decision when they promoted you… Hmmm…” Rethais thought to themselves for a moment. “This IS doable, and we would have to do it soon. The only problem is dealing with General Vaksavar.”
Again, Ritlir smiled. “You have the Master of Generals over a barrel. They owe you.”
“How comes?” Relkai exclaimed. “No one is above the Master of Generals. You are more of an equal than anything else, Kyr Rethais.”
“Relkir saved the Keeper’s life, plus the lives of a few 1000th Legion and 100th Legion soldiers. At the same time, Vaksavar was saved by our dearly missed Kuta. Who was dating the Lightbearer. Both your siblings have done enough to allow you to nudge General Vaksavar in the right direction.”
“Are you suggesting we… bribe General Vaksavar?” Relkai exclaimed. “That is insanity.”
Lysar smiled alongside Ritlir. “It is not a bribe. It is payment with pity points. Rethais, my dear, do you want me to go and speak to the Master of Generals? After all, poor Kuta saved my life and Ritlir’s life as well.”
Rethais shook his head. “No need. You can come to keep me company while I request the new Legion, but it is more important that we do this before Relkir and Gath start making concrete plans, because I want Relkir to feel their proposal was official. Or at least allow Relkir to propose again, properly.”
“We shall get it sorted!” Ritlir beamed.
“Why are you so excited about this?” Relkai asked.
Ritlir’s grin got bigger. “I enjoy anything involving getting vok together. The Lady of Life gave me my matchmaking skills, I really want to see things through and I like to follow Sini’s Blessings to make sure everyone finds someone.”
Relkai tilted their head to one side. “But you have been single for years?”
“Eh, I will get to matchmaking myself eventually. I am only 33 years old.”
With a deep breath, Rethais got up from the table, which was a sign that Rethais wanted to move on.
“Alrightl. Ritlir, you get on your tasks. Relkai, Tessar, thank you for your opinions and thoughts, you are now free to leave.”
Everyone stood up and bowed. Ritlir, Tessar and Relkai all went back to work, but Lysar lingered.
“Is something wrong, dear?” Rethais immediately queried.
Lysar shrugged. “I will be blunt, while I do not want to get married… yet, I am wondering how in the name of the Light we will approach us doing… marriage stuff.”
“You do not want to be my partner?”
“No!” Lysar immediately stuttered and tried to explain. “I am not ready for that, and neither are you! But when… uh… if we do become true partners, I want to do in private.”
Rethais frowned briefly, but quickly stopped. Instead, they took Lysar’s hand and held it tightly.
“If you want a private ceremony, that is what we will do. Anything to make you happy.”
Lysar giggled, then gently kissed Rethais on the cheek. “Heh, you really are sweet underneath all that stern plating. Unfortunately, I have work to get back to, so I will see you later, alright?
“See you later, dear…”