Chapter 14 #2
“To avoid potential conflicts of interest, the Veredians have decided to separate from the Sentinels,” Khel said. “Therefore, they have created a new division, a sister army to the Tuureans—but similar to the Sentinels—which they have called the Vigil.”
More murmurs welcomed his words. He gestured to his right, and every eye followed the direction he was pointing in.
“Vahleryon will lead the Vigil. A select few will be invited to join them from the start. But I will let Vahl speak for himself,” Khel said before taking a step back, although he remained near the podium.
Vahl glanced at Zhara, Rhadames, the Dervhen twins, Lenora, and the brothers Sylvius and Reyes.
They were the eight members of the Talabor training mission.
With a discreet movement of his head, he indicated for them to follow.
They marched proudly to the dais. Vahl stepped up to the podium while the seven other members of his team evenly spread out behind him.
“I will not bore you with long and pompous speeches,” Vahleryon said.
“We are entering troubled times, and right now is both a transition and preparation phase. As the general has stated, I have the honor of leading the Vigil. For now, I am only welcoming those who will be part of my core team. This naturally includes every member of my current unit, who have proven their ability to rise to the occasion in moments of deep crisis.”
He waved at the seven people behind him, spurring the crowd to cheer and applaud them. My heart skipped a beat when he turned towards us and locked eyes with me, just like his father had previously done.
“Which brings us to the Braxians,” Vahl continued. “They are the reason my entire team survived the attack on Talabor. On top of that brazen rescue, they have crushed the best scores in a majority of disciplines. For this reason, every single one of them has earned their place in the Vigil.”
As one, as if led by a hive mind, all eight of us slammed our fists on our chests before shouting our war cry.
“A-HOO!”
The crowd exploded into loud cheers and applause.
My companions slapped the back of my shoulder in a congratulatory fashion, their eyes gleaming with excitement and gratitude.
Then, they turned back to the crowd and puffed out their chests.
Many of them bunched their muscles to look even bigger and more imposing.
I didn’t miss the look of envy from members of the other units.
Thankfully, none displayed resentment or malice.
But the pride in Zhara’s eyes nearly did me in.
He waved us over, and I shamelessly strutted my way forward like a damn peacock. My companions also walked in as boastful a fashion as they could. We wanted to further underline why we deserved to be the first troop selected that had not been part of the original team.
To my pleasant surprise, as we approached, Sohr presented the box with insignias to Vahleryon.
Like his father had done with the other recruits, he pinned a completely new model on each of us.
How he’d managed to get one designed so quickly boggled my mind.
Then again, maybe the Veredians had been covertly preparing for what they’d known to be inevitable.
The possessiveness with which Vahl stared at me as he pinned the insignia on my chest fucked with my head.
It was both weird and wonderful. I initially hoped to earn his approval as a means to stay close to my mate without friction.
But in the short time I’d gotten to personally know him, I’d developed a genuine admiration for him.
To be claimed by the future general of the greatest army in the history of the known galaxy constituted a tremendous honor.
We took our positions on the dais behind the original seven members, my heart filled to bursting with pride. Once done, Vahleryon resumed addressing the crowd.
“For those who wonder, yes the Vigils and the Sentinels will be allies. We are an extended family,” Vahl said forcefully.
“This will allow us to perform whatever duty we require independently from Veredia or the Alliance. Many of you already wish to join us. Don’t be offended that you’ve not been invited yet.
It is not a poor reflection on you. A transition from the Sentinel to the Vigil will be possible later for some of you.
For now, I’m currently defining the full command structure. ”
It suddenly struck me that he indeed had an insane amount of work ahead of him.
The Vigil wouldn’t be able to share the same base or equipment.
We would need our own ships, weapons, armor, equipment, provisions, and too many other things to count.
And what about wages? While I didn’t doubt the Veredians—and likely other allies like the Sarenians and Braxians—would help, we had our work cut out for us.
“Rest assured that you will be the first ones informed once we open up our ranks,” Vahl added before glancing at his father to indicate that he was done.
People applauded as Vahleryon led us down the dais to his unit’s—our unit’s—previous position. My fingers itched with the urge to take Zhara’s hand, but I reined myself in to maintain the decorum. Even though everyone knew we were soulmates, that didn’t mean we should break protocol.
Khel stepped back behind to the podium.
“Regardless of the ongoing political changes, the Sentinels will remain. Whether it is part of the Alliance or not will become clear in the future,” Khel said.
“For now, it is time to celebrate and rejoice. Tomorrow, your training and missions will resume. So feast, dance, and be merry. Congratulations to all of you.”
More cheers welcomed his words before music started spilling out of the com system. A team of caterers walked into the training ground, followed by impressive hovering platforms laden with food and drinks.
Our new teammates took a moment to give me an extra-warm welcome.
Over the past two weeks of my recovery, they’d had the opportunity to thank my companions for contributing to their rescue.
Today was their first time seeing me again, and their first time getting to talk to me as we’d never met before that mission.
Zhara pressed herself against me, one arm possessively wrapped around my waist as she made the formal introductions.
No word could describe how fucking amazing it felt to be thus claimed by the embodiment of perfection that was my mate.
To think I spent so many years fearing she’d be disappointed—or worse still, embarrassed—once she finally saw me in person.
“I guess following your hybrid ass pays off after all,” Nolar grumbled.
“Of course, it does!” I said smugly. “So see that you keep doing it.”
“And that you get used to it,” Zhara added in a haughty tone. “In case you hadn’t noticed, more than half of our team is made of hybrids, including me.”
Nolar scrunched his face while the rest of the crew gently taunted him.
I laughed and smacked the side of his upper arm in a ‘hang in there’ kind of way before leading my mate towards the catering tables. I’d spotted what resembled chocolate ryspak torts and wanted to make sure she’d nab a few slices before they vanished.
We never reached the hovering tables.
First, Aunt Lee intercepted us.
“Well done, sweetie. We’re incredibly proud of you,” she said with a big grin.