“Hello, Kuta, are you busy?”
Kuta blinked as Taliv poked them in the side. The other seven 11th Legion Rethans in the room all fell silent.
“Kyr Kuta, the High General is speaking to you…” Taliv whispered.
“Oh… OH!” Kuta immediately got up and straightened themselves out. “Kyr Rethais, uh, why are you here, in the 11th Legion cave? And why did you not bring your four nice body guards?”
The High General smiled and put a hand on Kuta’s shoulder. “They are outside. I do not need them. Not when I am within the confines of the Kentron and have someone like you around. But to go back to my original question, are you busy?”
Kuta glanced at both Taliv and the screen they had been looking at. “Uh, somewhat, yes.”
“Would you mind telling me what you are up to?”
“I, uh, do not mind, but we are still assessing the situation.”
The High General paused briefly. “Is it… whatever it is… serious?”
“No, no, not serious, as far as we can tell. Just heavily unusual based on recent data and behaviour…” Kuta did their best to explain. “Back on the 28th of the Seventh, the Thantophor woke up from their coma and returned to their duties, as did the Lady of Light. However, Arkadin went back to cutting all ties with mortals, and no one has really heard much from them. That being said-“
“One moment, I apologise for interrupting!” Rethais blatantly interrupted. “You called Arkay ‘Arkadin’ even though you stated that the Thantophor likes that clearly Skyavok-like name.”
Kuta tutted. “Arkadin is Arkay’s slave name. The name he has gone back to using when the Thantophor went back to being the Lady of Light’s attack dog, rather than an actual deity. We essentially lost all contact with the Thantophor, and instead we have been getting correspondences from the Allbirther.”
“You explained all that in your Kolasi Report. What is going on right now?” Rethais asked.
“The situation we are looking at currently, we are getting reports from multiple sources that both the Allbirther and the Thantophor have been spotted in Palaestra, Portalia, near where the Thantophor used to live. And, annoyingly, most of our contacts in Palaestra are not responding, and the one that is, they are being a pain.”
“And who are your contacts in Palaestra?”
Another tut. “We have five contacts. The first is a Banikan House Fighter named Ct’Era, who is connected in some way to Kt’Ara, the leader of the Banikan Deitic Tracking Unit. The other four, one is a Skyan, one is a Temthan, one is a Spast and the last is-“
“You are using my sibling as a contact for tracking godly anomalies?” Rethais didn’t let Kuta finish.
“Um, yes, High General.”
“Why?”
“Because Retvik has met all the deities and helped kill a corrupted one from another universe?” Taliv helpfully suggested.
Kuta eyed Taliv, then sighed. “Essentially, yes. Except Retvik is currently in a gladiator match right now, Nyssi and Tenuk are preparing for a beast match and Kayel is not responding at all.”
“Is the situation dangerous?”
“I do not know-” Kuta abruptly stopped. They had heard something that Taliv and Rethais had not. Kuta swiftly made their way to a second monitor, then rolled their eyes. “Hmph. Situation solved. The K-D-Sub-Class has just managed to get in touch with Kayel. Allbirther is heading back to her labs and Arkadin is staying put briefly. They say they will send a report soon.”
“Wonderful. I shall leave you all to it. Kuta, may I borrow you for a moment?”
Kuta sighed, then nodded. “Of course, Kyr Rethais. Tessar, can you keep an eye on comms form the K-D-Sub-Class, please?”
Rethais watched as a rather young orange-plated Rethan made their way to the monitor Kuta had been working from. They then put a hand on Kuta’s shoulder again, before leading Kuta out of the room, out of earshot of their troops.
“I have not done something wrong, have I?” Kuta immediately asked as Rethais’s guards closed the door behind them. Sure, the High General was being friendly, but Rethais had a permanent imposing aura about them, which made predicting their mood and thoughts tricky. Kuta could have used their telepathy to work out what the High General wanted, but they hated doing so. It felt rude and invasive, doubly so because Kuta was well aware of just how powerful they were.
“Oh, no, not at all!” Rethais smiled. “I actually wanted to invite you to something. Something nice for once.”
Kuta thought for a moment. “Is this about your trip to the Lake?”
Rethais’s smile faded briefly. “How do you know?”
“After Ritlir and my allies in the 10th Legion, Lysar is the closest non-11th Legion ally I have…” Kuta quickly made up an excuse. So much for not using their telepathy. Sometimes Kuta couldn’t help it. “We talk on the regular.”
“Ah…” Thankfully, Rethais bought Kuta’s explanation. “Well, yes, you are correct. I am finally making use of our fancy resort for High Generals. Just for a long weekend. Traditionally, you invite the whole family along, but I have never spoken to my parents and have no care for them, but I am inviting my siblings… Vaguely related aside, do you know of your parents at all, Kuta?”
Kuta shook their head. “I do not know who they were and they did not seem to be registered Rethans. I only know that my mother’s name was Siona.”
“Did they name you ‘Kuta’ or was that chosen by Nursing?”
“I do not know, and I do not wish to talk about it. The fact that I have no traceable family is both a blessing and a curse. But still, why are you asking me about your trip to the Lake?”
“You are dating my sibling. Because of that, I am inviting you. But also… Retvik seems to be refusing my friend request on General Talks and I wanted to ask them directly. I must admit, it is quite a power move, to ignore a friend request from the High General of the Retha, but I do not know why Retvik does not want to talk to me. “
“May… May I be blunt and honest for a moment, High General?”
Rethais nodded. “Of course.”
“Well, Retvik’s disdain for you is understandable. From what he has told me, all things considered, he is technically the oldest of you three, he should have been the Bearer, but he sacrificed himself for you and Relkir. And, yes, originally, you just did normal Bearer things at first, becoming a General and all that, but once you became High General, you took your sweet time rectifying what happened, all the while hiding Relkir away. When you sent me to ‘check in’ on Retvik, I came back and told you that both Arkadin and Sini disliked the Traditions and it still took Arkadin stepping in directly for you to move your sorry ass and actually do something.”
Rethais raised a finger, then lowered it. “I would be angry, but you make a good point. Still, I wish to make amends. And I cannot make amends if I cannot speak to Retvik. Which is why I immediately had Retvik inducted into the 1000th Legion and made into a Captain, rather than having to make them work their way up a standard Legion like normal repatriated Rethans.”
“I am sure Retvik appreciates the gesture, but it did take over thirty years for Retvik to finally get back the rights he lost to protect you and Relkir. I will… I will speak with Retvik and ask him though. I… do not think Retvik has ever been to Phos or the local lakes.”
“No, probably not. We were raised in Vretania and Retvik was immediately shipped off-planet when they were exiled. Still, I want to make up for lost time, and I think Retvik would enjoy being around other Rethans for a change. And since us three Rethianoi all suddenly have poten-partners, I am inviting Lysar, General Gath and you too.”
“Oh. That… That is… nice… Thank you, Kyr Rethais!” Kuta smiled. “Question: do I have to wear my Below Twenty armour?”
“This is a casual thing, so no.”
“Ah good. Retvik likes it when I wear anything but my ‘scary black armour’. Very well, I will discuss this with Retvik, I am sure he will accept the invite.”
Rethais bowed slightly. “I appreciate that, Kuta. And, all things considered, I appreciate you too. There is more than one reason why I keep you around.”
Kuta bowed back. “Thank you, High General. May I return to my duties now?”
“Of course. Have a good one, Kuta.”
“You too, Kyr Rethais.”