Kayel sat in the dark, staring at the tiny screen of a pocket computer, noting things down. His hot chocolate drink had long gone cold, his small tub of ice cream had melted long before that. A half-empty bottle of water had been ignored for nearly a day now.
With a sigh, Kayel looked away. His eyes were going to regret that. Should have turned the light on earlier. But Kayel had been so busy scrolling through rules and regulations and advice and he’s gotten absolutely nowhere. He was trying to find out how a Rethan would be able to get either dual citizenship as a Thanatian or Thanatian Ally, or if that was impossible, just get Thanatian citizenship on its own.
Rethan citizenship was always easy to get. A handful of biometric scans, personal information, a few hours to cross check all the data you give them and you can become a citizen in a couple of days. Sure, it means going to a Rethan Administrative Office a few times but there’s at least one in every major city and town. When it came to Thanatian citizenship, Kayel was unable to find anything online. Just tidbits of information from various other beings who had managed to obtain citizenship.
Really, Kayel’s own experience was of no help. He’d been given citizenship in the city of Palaestra because he had nowhere else to go. He only managed to get Thanatian citizenship via his Thrakian allies and an Honoured Right from saving a Kshan village. This meant that, legally, Kayel was more Thanatian than he was Rethan. Then again, when it came to legal things, Kayel was supposed to be legally dead.
That wouldn’t work for the rest of the L-Class. There was no way he could fake the deaths of the whole team. That would be both really suspicious and almost impossible to pull off. He also didn’t want to ruin their reputation – after all, the L-Class were somewhat famous for their past successes. This all had to be done legally. And quietly.
Running out of options, Kayel decided to go through his contacts book. Maybe he could talk to someone. Normally though, he’d ask Phovos, the Raptor of Palaestra, the Thanatian who got him his citizenship. Helped him out when he needed it. But she hadn’t been answering his messages for a while now.
There was someone else he could call though. Lokmahro. Phovos’s assistant.
Kayel hesitated, before finally tapping the call button.
Three rings, and he picked up.
“Hello, Kayel.”
“Hello, Lokmahro. How are you?”
The Thraki grunted. “I am well. I assume you are in need of some assistance. You rarely call for social or pleasurable reasons.”
Kayel shrugged to himself. “Sorry.”
“It is fine. What do you need?”
“I am looking for some advice. I want to get some Rethans to have Thanatian citizenship. So they can live with me.”
“How many?”
“Eleven.”
“That is a lot…” Lokmahro mused to himself. “May I ask why?”
“The L-Class want a better life, free from Rethan restraints,” Kayel replied, intentionally being vague.
“Is this about your friend Veeyel?” Lokmahro asked.
“No. Not entirely.”
“Well, I think there is something I can do to help. I would need to meet some of your L-Class friends though. Whichever one of you is in charge of the L-Class, that is.”
“When can I arrange a meeting?” Kayel queried, his eyes lighting up.
“I shall speak to the other Thraki. Then I shall contact you. See you soon.”
Lokmahro abruptly closed the line, leaving Kayel slightly confused. Was there something going on back home that he didn’t know about? Or was Lokmahro always like that on the phone?
After some thought, Kayel decided he’d had enough. He turned off his pocket computer and decided to go to sleep. He could ponder all of this tomorrow. Perhaps with a mug of hot chocolate.