As the heavy golden doors slammed shut behind him, Rethais was beginning to think that maybe he should have had this meeting over the phone. Standing at the gold-laced desk, papers scattered everywhere, was a furious High General Kenon, snorting in anger and frustration.
“So you want to betray me again.”
Rethais took a deep breath. “That is a gross misunderstanding of what I want.”
“You want to leave your job when I need you the most. That, in my eyes, is betrayal. No, I am not letting you go. You have work I need you to do. Now go out there and do it.”
The High General sat back down and patiently waited for Rethais to get up and leave. His anger began to boil up again as Rethais remained where he was, unmoving.
“You are not doing your job.”
“I do not want to do my job. Not right now.”
“We are in the middle of a crisis and you want to go on holiday?” the High General snapped. “Can you not understand why I need you?”
“You need the crisis specialists. Not me.”
Kenon stood up again, leaning over his desk and staring directly at Rethais. “I need both you and the crisis specialists. You do not need a break. You need to work for me.”
“I very much do need a break. In the last year, I took over as High General when our previous High General was killed by godly activity. I had to deal with other races mingling with godly activity and trying to make deals with the Thantophor. We had a small crisis in which there was no true time and the universe was dying because the Whenvern was trapped in a box…”
“How do you know about that?” Kenon snapped. “That is supposed to be-”
“You know that both my brother and my half-brother were friendly with the Thantophor, and that he can be talkative if you are nice to him…” Rethais grunted, then continued. “And THEN you decided you wanted an empire and kicked me out of power. I spent two months desperately trying to keep a group of estranged Rethans alive in a pissy swamp in Hertany, until you realised you needed us back. Since then, you have forced me into a wide array of diplomatic meetings with other races that are far, far worse off than we are, filling my moral conscience with dread. I think I have done enough to be deserving of a break. I am mentally exhausted and, if I am honest, I am amazed I have not made any catastrophic mistakes up until now.”
“I will not allow it. You just had a break, you do not need another.”
Rethais frowned, then sighed, crossing his arms in frustration. “I guess I will have to resign then.”
“I can not let you do that either.”
“Is there anything you will let me do?” Rethais sighed.
“I will let you go back to work.”
Rethais grunted, leaning forward so he was level with the High General. “I will be honest with you. I have been hiding my real reasons for a while. I spend my nights sleepless because I feel what the Rethavok are doing under your control is morally wrong. You are not building a union, you are building an empire, with Rethans at the top and everyone else underneath.”
“The other races will serve the Rethavok, in exchange for Rethan protection. Is that not what the old Vre-Rethan union did?”
“Everyone joined that union willingly. Now, everyone is flocking to you out of desperation, and you seek to make a profit off that. I have held my tongue for now, as I try to deal with my own affairs, but I do not have the heart to continue further.”
The High General didn’t say anything at first, but by the look on his face, Rethais knew he was in trouble. Before he could get up, Kenon leaped at him, over the desk, sending them both flying backwards. Kenon’s shadowy claws wrapped themselves around Rethais’s neck as the Void Lord picked Rethais and lifted him into the air.
“I do not care how you feel. You will help me, or…” Kenon paused, looking Rethais up and down. There was little fear in this Rethan’s eyes. Not for his own well-being, at least. “Let me put things another way. You all belong to me. The Rethavok are mine to do as I wish. Whether you agree with me or not. If you will not do as I ask you to, I will make you. Through pain and suffering if I have to.”
Rethais closed his eyes, sighing loudly. “I will just continue to refuse.”
“Even if I threaten your family?” Kenon smiled. “Do not imagine that I do not know about your dear partner and her escaping when I initially took over. Or how Revan and Relkay were funnelling money through to your little sanctuary on Thre-Hertany? And did you really think I would forget about little Trismit, your newly adopted kid, the one that was supposed to have been handed over to me?”
The High General continued to smile as the hope in Rethais’s eyes faded. He knew he had hit Rethais in his lone weakspot.
“You leave my family out of this. Our disagreement is between you and me.”
“Oh but they are a part of this, little Rethais. All Rethavok are. Your refusal to work for me threatens all Rethavok. And all of you Rethavok are, after all, my own extended family.”
Kenon let go of Rethais, letting him fall to the ground. But there was no smart answer from Rethais this time, just awkward silence.
“Get out of my sight and get back to work. I want that Vrekan report on my desk in a few hours.”
Rethais said nothing as the heavy golden doors opened, prompting him to leave. He did as he was told, leaving the room and the angry stares of the High General.
Once Rethais had returned to his own office, he quietly closed the door and pulled out his communicator.
“Lysar…”
“Is everything alright, dear?”
“I will be staying at the palace for a while. There is a lot that needs doing.”
“Did your meeting with Kenon not-”
“No. It did not go well. I will speak to you soon. Goodbye.”
Rethais closed the connection, put his communicator away, then sat down at his desk. With one last sigh, Rethais picked up a pen and went back to work.