Chapter 16 #2
“Good. First, no more training with them,” I said, pointing at the others.
“From now on, you will train like a Braxian. Based on your current size, I suspect you will grow to be as big as my father, or at least bigger than Ghan. That means you must do all the Braxians training modules. I expect the same high scores from them as you got with the previous sparring modules.”
“Understood,” Tharek said with determination.
“One more thing,” I said with a serious expression. “You will completely stop attacking Vahleryon. Your days of trying to kill him—even just as play—are over.”
He recoiled, and his temper flared again.
“That has nothing to do with you. It’s between my brother and me. It’s our way of bonding,” Tharek said aggressively.
“Absolutely not. This affects everyone,” I said in an imperious tone.
“The Great War is upon us. Vahl cannot waste his energy constantly defending himself from you. From this day forward, your role is to protect him and your siblings. You will be his greatest weapon. When Vahl sees you, he must feel safe, not stressed.”
Tharek gaped at me, all aggression bleeding out of him the moment I stated he should be his brother’s protector.
“You shouldn’t fear your shadow,” I continued. “And you are his, in more ways than one. You’re the one person he should always be able to count on having his back and not trying to stab it. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand,” Tharek said, still visibly reeling.
I took a couple of steps closer and rested my hand on his shoulder.
“This is not a game, Tharek,” I said in a gentle but firm tone. “You will play an important part in this war. You have to start acting with that mindset. Vahleryon will need all of us to lead us to victory. Be his safe haven.”
“I will be,” he replied, lifting his chin with a determined expression.
“Good. And if you really need to try to kill someone, attack me,” I added with a taunting expression.
He huffed. “You’re a Braxian. Your people are immune to negative psionic powers.”
“Exactly,” I deadpanned. “Now get to work. By the time we return from Dantor, I will expect significant improvement.”
He nodded and watched me walk away with a silly grin on his face. Rhadames gave me both a grateful and approving glance. He bowed his head in thanks before approaching his younger sibling. Zhara stared at me with a mix of admiration and embarrassment as she hastened to my side.
“What you did for Tharek was amazing,” Zhara said sheepishly. “He really needed that.”
“And what you did was terrible,” I said sternly but in a hushed enough voice that no one would hear as I marched towards a more discreet section of the training grounds. “Don’t ever do that again.”
Zhara flinched and chewed her bottom lip.
“I’m sorry if I upset you. But you were being quite harsh with my little brother,” she said in an apologetic tone.
I stopped next to one of the equipment storages, which hid us from view, and turned to face her.
“If Ghan had been the one doing what I just did, would you have challenged him the same way?” I asked.
She flinched again and shook her head.
“No,” she said with a small voice.
“Would Lee have intervened with him the way you did with me?” I insisted.
Once again, she shook her head.
“I cannot be Vahl’s First Officer only when it suits you, or if what I have to say aligns with your views,” I said in a serious but non-aggressive tone.
“You cannot undermine my authority like this. In case you haven’t noticed, you’re essentially the Titan Queen.
People look up to you. I don’t expect you to just agree with everything I do.
But if you have a problem with it, we discuss it privately. ”
Seeing her hugging her waist and bowing her head hurt my heart. I hated that my words were upsetting her. At the same time, we needed to set certain boundaries early on to avoid bigger problems later.
“In the future, unless Vahl is about to murder innocent people, I will shush in public and take things up with him afterwards,” I continued. “You must trust me to know what I’m doing, just like I trust you with healing.”
“I’m sorry,” she said in a miserable tone. “Please don’t be mad at me.”
“I’m not mad at you, Zhara. But this did upset me and hurt my feelings,” I said gently.
“This whole dating thing is new for both of us. We’ll have plenty of disagreements in the future.
But as part of Vahl’s leadership team, we must always present a united front.
I’m sure your parents have had plenty of fights, but they never hash out the serious stuff in front of you and your siblings. And they don’t undermine each other.”
“You’re right. I didn’t think and just reacted,” she said sheepishly. “When it comes to my siblings and those I love, I can be rabidly protective. That doesn’t excuse what I did. But I promise to keep myself in check going forward.”
“That’s all I ask,” I said with a smile.
“I’m going to fuck up a lot, right?” she said with self-derision.
I chuckled. “Actually, I’m probably going to fuck up way more than you will. A physical relationship is far more challenging than a long-distance one. But we’re soulmates. So long as we openly communicate and actively strive to separate our work and personal relationship, we’ll be fine.”
“Agreed,” Zhara said, carefully wrapping her arms around me.
I drew her into my embrace to make it clear all was well. She melted against me.
“Thank you for being candid with me and not giving me the silent treatment,” she whispered.
“I will always be straightforward and honest with you. I love you, Zhara.”
She beamed at me and rubbed her nose against mine. “I love you too, my gentle giant.”
The long journey to Dantor proved to be yet another eye-opener.
The business management training my father gave me came in handy.
Vahl had been right to worry about all the logistics and administrative workload associated with running his own army.
But for me, making plans for our future fleet, barracks, weapons, provisions, and staffing was a breeze.
As my father heavily involved me in the planning and setting up of our combat arenas on Venus Hive—among other things—I already knew how to handle large-scale projects.
In no time, I had configured and filled out multiple spreadsheets.
Granted, as suspected, the Veredians had already done a lot of the legwork for us.
They’d provided a vast inventory of ships, weapons, and various other necessities for us to pick from.
More importantly, it thrilled us to find out that the core planets of our growing alliance had created a fund, some of them individually, others jointly.
Those credits had been reserved specifically for Vahl’s army.
Once the Seers confirmed he had overcome the challenges that might have led him down a dark path instead of becoming the Great General, most of the allies merged those funds. They were now at our disposal.
We didn’t plan on tapping into it until it became necessary.
The work we accomplished during the trip remained at a high level.
It would require significant fleshing-out later.
For now, we were defining the foundation atop which we would build the greatest army of all time.
Vahleryon’s gratitude and awe at my contribution touched me deeply.
He knew how to make you feel seen, important, and valued.
Sometimes, a single look or a smile from him sufficed.
My respect for him grew exponentially. Vahl truly listened to his team.
He involved us in a lot of the decision-making processed, weighing the pros and cons of dissenting voices or alternative suggestions.
Before coming to the Western Quadrant, I dreaded that he might have a God complex after a lifetime of being told he was the prophesied Great General.
But he had no qualms about being wrong and admitting it.
He welcomed pushback, attentively listened, and decided based on merit and not ego.
The journey also gave me the opportunity to bond with the others.
It warmed my heart how welcoming they acted towards us.
I didn’t doubt that saving them from the Talabor mission played a role in it.
But there seemed to be genuine chemistry between everyone.
Even my boneheaded Braxian companions settled nicely with the rest of the team.
However, on the day before our arrival, I managed to get Trehvus alone on the crew deck so that we could have a heart to heart.
Although he’d shown nothing but kindness and respect towards me, I wanted to get a better sense of his true feelings.
Everyone always assumed that the older of the two Dervhen twins would become Vahl’s First Officer.
I didn’t want there to be any resentment.
Like most Xelixian-Veredian hybrids, he was ridiculously handsome. He’d inherited his Veredian mother’s brown skin and markings, and his Xelixian father’s crihnin, ridged ears, and silver eyes.
“Hey Trehv,” I said, walking up to him while he was grabbing a drink.
“Hey Gavin,” he replied warmly.
“I was wondering if you had a second,” I said.
His smile instantly vanished, and he studied my face with a hint of worry.
“Of course. Is something wrong?”
“No, not at all. I just wanted to have a quick chat,” I replied quickly.
“Okay,” he said, still looking a bit confused.
I grabbed a bottle of flavored water and led the way. We settled at one of the booths lining the edges of the room. A massive window next to it gave a breathtaking view of the void of space outside.
“I’m not going to beat around the bush and dive right in,” I said carefully.
“Please do. I like things straightforward,” Trehv replied calmly.
“I was wondering how you feel about Vahl asking me to be his First Officer,” I asked gently.
His eyes widened. It struck me then that this was the last question he’d expected me to lay at his feet.