The communicator buzzed three, four, five times before Elkay finally picked up.
“You know I have been on holiday for no more than twelve hours, yes?” the Vice General growled down the voice piece. “Twelve hours. Not even a full day. Actually, when you include flights and travel time, it’s not even half a day. What do you want?”
The young voice at the other end of the communicator choked a bit, partly scared. “I apologise, ser, but I felt this was important…”
“Itakay?” Elkay sighed. “I am sorry, I did not realise it was you. I thought you had shut the office down and headed off already.”
“I did, ser, well, I was about to but something came up. I wasn’t going to call you but this feels pretty important. Like, call the boss now sort of important.”
Elkay sighed again. He climbed out of the large pool he had been floating in and wandered to a small, plastic table where he had left his drink. “Alright. Out with it.”
Itakay hesitated before finally talking. “You sure? It could…”
“Just get on with it, Ksa.”
“Well, I picked up an unusual tracker signal on Portalia. You told me to call you if I saw anything. The Rethan in question is Psivee-En. He is currently stationary, in what looks like a Thanatian hospital in the jungle areas of Vriskera. Isn’t he supposed to be imprisoned?”
Elkay sighed. “No. He was set free after Kayel forgave him but quickly fled to the abandoned Trehan city in said jungles. The fact that he is at a hospital makes sense considering his ill health. Is that all, Itakay?”
Itakay gulped. “No. I spotted a… Blip. In the Dovgokul mountains.”
“A blip?”
“I think it was a mistake though. A glitch. That part of Portalia causes a lot of problems because of the magic affinity there.”
Elkay rolled his eyes. He knew Itakay was referring to his mother, Kayel, but didn’t want to ponder on the matter. Kayel had spent quite a few years of his life in self-exile in that Thraki-infested region. A tap on his shoulder distracted him.
“Ser, is everything alright?” Teekay diligently asked.
“Everything is fine. This is nothing we can’t deal with when I get back next week. Itakay?”
“Yes, General?”
“I want you to head home. You deserve a break just as much as everyone else.”
“Ser, I…”
“Don’t be like this, kid. You have some time off and some money to burn. Go buy yourself some nice armor or a massage or something. I know you can’t buy alcohol but you can still have fun doing other stuff. Right?”
Itakay muttered something about not being able to drink.
“You know why. Last thing we need are level 5 mid-Ksa telepaths running around drunk.”
“Ser, I am only level 4…”
“Still stronger than 99% of all Rethans, kid. Now hang up and go take a holiday.”
“… Yes, Ser.”
The communicator shut off and Elkay tutted loudly. “You Ksa really do not know how to unwind. At all.”
Teekay and Enkay both looked at each other and shrugged, while Veekay rolled his eyes.
“Of course we don’t, General. We’re programmed to serve and protect you all the time. That programming can’t be turned off, even if we were completely brainwashed.”
“And I thank you and treasure your dedication. It just seems such a shame that you are unwilling to try and have lives without me…” The current subject was bothering Elkay, so he decided to change the subject. Not to his mother though, he didn’t want to think about that little blip and whether it was real or not. Instead, the thought of food entered his mind.
“Hm. I fancy take away food. What do you lot want to eat?” Elkay asked as he reached for a local directory.