Fiat Justitia, Ruat Caelum (FT Closed)

[Dracoixa]

There was time when I hated the Von June's just for existing. So pretty in their large house and garden, eating good food and drinking great wine. Their children getting to play and learn with the best toys, books and teachers, wear the best clothes while they sit on the throne and rule over us all. I hated them so much. A Low class, a basic housing unit and a mother who only cared enough that Child Services never came to my rescue. Why would they? I'm low-bred trash, bottom of the pile, the leech of society that has perfected itself.

I hated them. I hated everyone above me, everyone that managed to 'rise' in the ranks by managing to marry some middle class or win a prize genetic consultation. I was stuck with what I had.

When my mom disappeared one day I was left alone at 11, and now I had to fend for myself. My hatred grew. Now I was living off what school could feed me, what I could earn by doing chores around the 'neighborhood', it was horrible. I grew up bitter through middle school and I was just about done with school, trying to hold down a evening shift as well so I could continue to live and maybe get a real job and ability to transport myself around...

And then it happened. The coup. At first when news had come out the Royals were dead, I cheered. Maybe this new ruler, with scars on his face and strange yellow eyes would understand our kind, he was no perfection, even if he was a 'lord' before hand.

I was wrong.

It became worse. As police began to be diverted from patrolling our neighborhoods to riot and crowd control, maintenance began to fall behind and trash pick up slowed, I watched the under-city of Dracoixa turn into a grimdark thriller movie, graffiti was everywhere, white pristine walls now canvas for young punks and drug addicts high of the latest and greatest thing. Houses were broken into and even I have managed to be mugged.

Life dragged on endlessly, after a year I was callus and cold to everything, digging through dumpsters or standing in line for food that might not be there. I was broken and I knew it.

One night, while heading to a dumpster behind a particularly nice restaurant I watched a young girl, maybe 14/15 with her parents, get attacked. The parents died, but given where we were the police were there instantly... but it was no help to the girl. One of the police, a scumbag of a man, singled her out and began dragging her away while laughing about how 'he was going to put her up for a while in his home'. I had no doubt as the others headed inside, indifferent to what was happening, he wasn't going to respect the girl. So I did what I never thought I would do. I threw a brick hard enough it shattered the window of a nearby car and the policeman let go of the girl in shock, his hand going to his gun as though someone might try to attack him. The girl wasted no time trying to run away, but I pulled her into the dumpster's alley and told her to stay quiet for her own good.

Eventually we managed to escape, and after taking about an hour of explaining to the girl that 'no I don't want to hurt you' finally I realized what had happened when I shut the door to my unit and turned on the lights.

The girl was a high class, top of the line. White beautiful golden hair and eyes so rich amber you could get lost in them. Her skin was a light tan with a few freckles and she was a petite thing for her age.

We were all equal now. Not in the way I wanted though. I wanted to be equal in a way where I could of walked into a five star restaurant as this girl had been going to and be seated the same as everyone, instead we had a world where even the rick and good looking were subject to attacks and rape. Her name? Gloria, and I was afraid of bringing her out for fear of an attack or that cop finding her again. Add wings and a halo she would of been an angel.

So now, two and half years later, I stand on a stage on an Army base, listening to a man droll on about how we were to serve the King and bring justice and peace while my new friend sat quietly in a back corner of the crowd, hair up in a bun and clothes just a touch dirty to make her look low-class.

I knew what I was doing was insanity. It relied on too much luck. But I, and my friend, Gloria were going to fight.

I was wrong to hate the Von June's.

King Othan is more of a threat then any high class sitting around drinking champagne.

---

Arcadia Star System
Tide, Tidespring
Queen Tatsua Von June IV, Protector of the Phoenix Nebula,
Dracoixa, and all of its Territories, Claims, and Wealth,
Lady of Tidespring, Lieutenant Commander in Her Majesty's Navy

June lay quietly on top of her husband, King and Lover, a little sweaty, a bit flushed and glowing with the pleasure of their activities. So she'd been woken up by Kelso in one of the best ways and right now, given that they didn't have much to really do (kind of a lie, there was always stuff to do, but eh Lords and Kings could get away with such dalliances,) They'd decided Tidespring would not fall while they enjoyed themselves.

To be honest, June was more then glad to wake up to such distractions. Every day was one step closer to going back to her world, every exercise or weapon prepared was one more to clash with Dracoixa under its false rule. She was nervous, not just of the fight, but for everyone involved, for everything that would happen. It was here, and there was no denying it. Queen Tatsua Von June IV was going home. There would be no stopping it. The dragon would spread its wings and take back its home, no longer satisfied with hiding under the wings of the swallow. (No insult intended to her husband, but it sounded nice in her head.)

"Must we get out of bed my King?" She complained, a bit jokingly, knowing that they would have to eventually, "Its so comfy, and not to mention how nice it feels when you wake me up like you did."

[The Kingdom of the Five Systems]

Alyssa Windtide
Tidespring, Tide, Arcadia Star System
24th Day of the Third Month, 376 AWU

Alyssa Windtide, Heir to Tidespring, yawned into her breakfast as she sat in her chambers managing a juggling act between eating her porridge and reading a book that Consular Jacque had given to her on the finer points of the Control aspect of the Force that she had been studying over the past few years. Next year, when she formally became a Squire and not just a mere page, she would advance to the Sense abilities, the more advanced Alter abilities. Teaching in that fashion was the most common means by which a Forceborn was trained and raised to the level of Knighthood, emphasising that a Force Knight had to have unquestioned control over their abilities before they could really be allowed to use them on the world around them. The vast majority of Force Knights focused on discipline to master their Control over their Force powers, however some used brute force to bend the Force to their will and control it that way, such Knights were the more violent and brutal, like the Ser Ivan that her brother had fought during the Tourney at the Capital. For Alyssa gaining the discipline had been the hardest part, she fully admitted that she was a wild child, but as she was growing up she had realised that she needed to gain at least some self-discipline.

Finishing the chapter, and her breakfast, Alyssa closed the book and placed it down, standing from her table and moving over to look out the window overlooking Tidespring. It was a beautiful spring morning; the sun was shining down upon the city, the sea was sparkling and the Swallow Waterfall almost seemed to sing as it cascaded over the edge. By the time she turned back one of the serving girls had slipped in and removed the finished bowl of porridge and removed it. Deciding that she could not afford to waste such a beautiful day she shrugged off the light shift and made her way over to the wet room, stepping under the shower she relished the cascade of hot water, her muscles still aching from the previous day’s training session. Running her fingers through her hair as she washed it she rolled her shoulders, knowing full well that she was about to get straight back into training; Ser Hannah was deliberately stepping up her training in preparation for the far more intense lifestyle of a Squire.

Padding across her chambers in a towel Alyssa dried herself off and pulled on some breeches and a light tunic; never being one for overly ladylike dress when she could avoid it, she was more than happy to pull on her swordbelt and fixed her slender blade into place. The only concession she made to her femininity was stopping before the mirror to ensure that she at least looked good, something she had only really begun to do recently, which Edward had picked up on when he dropped by early a few times, much to his amusement, although he said that he thought it was adorable. She had not spoken to him all day after that. Once she was satisfied, she pulled on her sea-blue cloak and secured it around her neck with her swallow clasp; it might be spring and a beautiful day but there was still a fresh, chilly sea breeze coming in and it would not do for a highborn girl to be shivering around the city. She loved the swallow clasp; it was the first overt sign of her membership in House Windtide that her brother had ever given her.

Alyssa made her way out through the passageways of the Keep, it was a busy enough morning; servants were going this way and that as they went about their various duties, keeping the Keep clean and warm, stocked and its inhabitants fed. She stepped out into the training yard, finding a very heavily pregnant Ser Georgina Forrester overseeing, but obviously not taking part, in the drilling of the Windtide Guards, as well as a few Knights and Squires, including Zane Jenson, sparring and running through their exercises. She really ought to join them, however her body was feeling like it would fall to pieces if she did any sort of strenuous activity this morning so she’d join in on the afternoon training session instead. Nodding her greetings to them she continued across the training yard towards the Forcewood; Consular Jacque had advised her that the best way to gain her mental discipline was to sit in the Forcewood and meditate, opening herself up to the Force and allowing it to flow through her. At first she had disapproved of this advice, however she now found herself doing it almost automatically, and enjoying the calm feeling that accompanied it.

She sat cross-legged in the Forcewood at the end of the deep pond and closed her eyes. The technique she had been using most often was the Meditation of Emptiness; in which the student was supposed to purge negative emotions and thoughts and allow the mind to be calm and at rest, allowing for deeper healing, for the duration of the meditation. It was an incredibly difficult meditation to perform correctly, requiring a great deal of concentration, however even the attempt instilled a great deal of mental discipline and it was this aspect that Alyssa was aiming for. She was maybe half an hour into her early morning meditation when a distraction that she could not ignore appeared in the Forcewood. This was just the sort of thing that she was supposed to try and ignore as much as was possible, the whole point of Meditation of Emptiness was to ignore even the most distracting things up to and until it became essential to respond to, such as danger. Never the less she did her best to keep her meditation up, or at least she remained still and kept her eyes closed.

Unfortunately, her efforts were completely scuttled when the distraction placed its hands on her shoulder and planted a kiss to the back of her neck. Her concentration was immediately broken as she squirmed back and found herself leaning against the chest of Edward Howard who looked rather pleased with himself as he wrapped his arms around her.

“I was meditating!” Alyssa complied, although her heart wasn’t in it.

“Clearly not well enough,” Edward smirked. “Not if something as little as a kiss can distract you so.”

“You know what your kisses do to me,” Alyssa hissed but never the less let her head fall back so he could kiss her gently.

“I do,” Edward smirked as they broke apart. “That’s why I do it.”

“Hedonist,” Alyssa grinned as she snuggled back against him. “No duties this morning?”

“Not yet, your lord brother doesn’t appear to be awake yet,” Edward commented dryly.

“Awake perhaps, willing to get out of bed with Lady June, perhaps not,” Alyssa replied wryly. “What do they even get up to.”

“I’ll show you in a couple of years,” Edward smirked.

“I’m sure you will,” Alyssa replied demurely as she elbowed her betrothed gently in his stomach. “Corrupter.”

“Only you, my love,” Edward smiled, leaning down to kiss her again.

Kelso Windtide, King of Dracoixa, Lord of Tidespring
Tidespring, Tide, Arcadia Star System
24th Day of the Third Month, 376 AWU

Lord Kelso Windtide was more than happy to lie in a satisfied afterglow the, comparatively light, weight of his wife upon him as their breathing slowly returned to normal. It was a fairly often pastime that Kelso had when he woke up before June, to see how much pleasure he could ‘inflict’ upon her before she stirred from her slumber, and was usually rewarded with a great deal of pleasure for himself as by the time she awoke she was usually rather wanton. Not that he had any objections whatsoever to that, aside from the pleasure he personally took from it he had played a significant role in encouraging her to be open and accepting about her sexual desires, at least when she was around him, and he always loved to see his handiwork first hand. For no personal reasons of course! Of course he enjoyed their cuddles and their general love just as much, but there were times when the sheer intensity of their shared want was overwhelming and mindblowing.

“That’s why I did it,” Kelso laughed as he kissed her gently on the lips. “And because of how wanton you get when I wake you up like that.”

Kelso kissed her again.

“We will have to get up soon, Sweetling, of the days in which we can stay in bed and do nothing but cuddle and make love this is not one of those days,” Kelso replied, remembering one of several such days they had managed to pull over recently months. “It’s not that they’ll send search parties, rather it’s more that we’ve got a lot to do and we can’t afford to put them off for too long.”

[Dracoixa]

Arcadia Star System
Tide, Tidespring
Queen Tatsua Von June IV, Protector of the Phoenix Nebula,
Dracoixa, and all of its Territories, Claims, and Wealth,
Lady of Tidespring, Lieutenant Commander in Her Majesty's Navy

June sighed somew theatrically. "Fine I guess I'll get up." She got off her husband and stretched with a happy smile. She turned back to the bed and pulled Kelso to his feet. "Now come on! If I have to take a shower, then I'm going to make it worthwhile!"

---

A while later, June was fixing one of her now numerous dresses, this one a more modest dress from the Kingdom with intricate stitchings, ficing her hair back in a braid and placing her black dragon jewelry around her neck. She closed her eyes, a hand resting on the dragon around her neck. A small smile on her face from her activities.

She could sense the space dragon in orbit. It was behaving itself, content to hang in orbit, watching ships come and go. She'd taken it out of orbit once, under heavy escort and had given it 'target practice' with some worthless asteroids. The dragon listened to every command she gave and did not seem phased by the Imperators. It didn't seem to like the battlecruiser all that much, but then again, considering Lord Howards flagship was bigger then the dragon, it was understandable that the baby spsce creature would not take too kindly to it. She always kept it in check, and if it ever came close, it was now content to 'glare' at it with bright red eyes.

"I think I should name the dragon, not terribly sure what though. I don't know if it has a gender so I don't want to name it and find out its a bad name because of what it is." She grinned, "Anyways, it would be nicer then just saying 'it' all the time."

[The Kingdom of the Five Systems]

Kelso Windtide, King of Dracoixa, Lord of Tidespring
Tidespring, Tide, Arcadia Star System
24th Day of the Third Month, 376 AWU

Kelso couldn’t help but smirk as he caught June’s small smile and it didn’t take a Force sensitive to be able to sense the source of the smile. Unable to trust himself to look at her for too long without wanting to take her again Kelso turned his attention out the window, looking down into the training yard. Alyssa and Edward had made an appearance and were joining in on the training session, albeit a very reluctant looking Alyssa was taking increasingly frustrated swipes at Edward who was, graciously, defending himself with effective parries and ripostes. Kelso couldn’t help but smile fondly down at them, they did make such a cute couple, both now when they were training together and in the quiet moments when they didn’t think they could be seen; the gentle, chaste, innocent touches and light kisses. Truth be told Kelso was relieved that the arranged match was proving to be so positive, that the arranged match had very much turned into a love match. Indeed Alyssa had confided in him only a few days previously that she wished she could marry Edward sooner than the several more years they were going to have to wait.

Alyssa really was on her way to growing into a fine young lady, she was taking her duties and her training increasingly seriously, and if she was still full of energy and something of a wild child the actual occurrences of her acting out was decreasing significantly. He knew that she was still disappointed that she was not to be allowed to join the Invasion of Dracoixa, however she had stopped making threats to sneak aboard the fleet and join the army anyway. He rather suspected it was because she was acutely aware that her betrothed would be in a great deal of danger during the campaign and that his coming back safe was far more important than her actually being allowed to go along with the army. Kelso knew that for all her early complaints if Kelso returned with Edward at his side then she would be happy. And Force he didn’t even want to consider what it would do to Alyssa if Edward did not make it back, so he would do everything in his power to ensure that didn’t happen.

“Giving it a name would be good, unnamed things are unlucky,” Kelso nodded sagely.

[Dracoixa]

Arcadia Star System
Tide, Tidespring
Queen Tatsua Von June IV, Protector of the Phoenix Nebula,
Dracoixa, and all of its Territories, Claims, and Wealth,
Lady of Tidespring, Lieutenant Commander in Her Majesty's Navy

June brushed out a wrinkle from her dress. "Not sure what to name it. I'll have to get all the officers together and get suggestions."

She looked out on the training yard and smiled as she saw Alyssa and Edward training. "Well don't they look sweet. I'm glad Alyssa and Edward have worked out the way they have. They seem to love each other very much."

[The Kingdom of the Five Systems]

Kelso Windtide, King of Dracoixa, Lord of Tidespring
Tidespring, Tide, Arcadia Star System
24th Day of the Third Month, 376 AWU

“Indeed they do, and they get along so well, it may have begun as an arranged affair, however it definitely seems to have turned into a love match, far quicker than I had anticipated,” Kelso agreed with a smile. “I’m glad I was able to persuade Ser Jonathan to allow Edward to Squire here at Tidespring, it’ll allow them to grow together, and their love along with them, rather than just being acquaintances until their older.”

Kelso smiled fondly down at his sister.

“I am glad she is developing more restraint and maturity as she gets older, not only for her future role as a Knight and as Lady of High Peak, but with regards to her relationship with Edward,” Kelso commented. “Of course it helps that Edward has a good head on his shoulders as well, that should prevent us from having to deal with any real problems between the two of them.”

[Dracoixa]

Arcadia Star System
Tide, Tidespring
Queen Tatsua Von June IV, Protector of the Phoenix Nebula,
Dracoixa, and all of its Territories, Claims, and Wealth,
Lady of Tidespring, Lieutenant Commander in Her Majesty's Navy

"She's growing up. No matter how much we dote on her and no matter how much my Uncle acts like he's going to praise the ground her walks on, she'll turn out to be a fine knight and Lady." She grinned. "After all she's related to you." June watched the two sparing for another minute. It really was nice to see that her fears that it would just be a match where Edward was respectful to Alyssa while they tolerated each other was unfounded. they loved each other, right now in a really young and innocent way, but they did like each other. They had their ups and downs sure, as young teens (or preteens in Alyssa's case) some arguments as hormones and tempers flares were inevitable, but they always ended up sitting next to each other and walking around together.

Despite that it still struck her wrong. For all the love shown between Alyssa and Edward, and other examples of this matchmaking working wonderfully, like Kelso's parents, or she was assuming Lord Howard the same because of the amount of children and grandchildren that surrounded him, it didn't sit right. What about the other women out here, maybe a few in this very star system, that were just tolerating their husbands? The ones who bore children and worked as a Lady because they were the prize that helped secure relations with a higher Lord. Here she goes again on this thought trail! It always struck at the worst of times! Maybe it was just her horrible experience with Amar and the other men her parents had attempted to foist on her.

It didn't help that her Uncle, the man who'd imprinted his values on her, turning her into the woman she was today, wasn't extremely pleased with it either. When the topic had come up, mostly through when Alyssa had introduced Edward as her 'betrothed', he'd of course expressed interest, and maybe a bit of concern as for why someone so young was betrothed in the first place. The explanation had gone about as well as it had with June the first time she'd heard the proposal to marry Alyssa off to Edward. Seems the reaction was genetic, as while he'd been very restrained in the presence of Alyssa, it had been obvious it had sparked the same disgust and anger, and concern for Alyssa, June had had. Lord Springwell had dismissed himself, taken a horse from the stables and went out riding until the next morning, when he returned a lot calmer then he had been. (At least this time no bridges had been dropped on anyone to resolve any tensions.)

So believe it or not June had been the one to calm him down. Showing him just how much Alyssa and Edward liked each other and that the more time they'd spent growing to love one another, the better off they'd be when they got married. While Walter Von June had still expressed doubts and worry for Alyssa, and Edward because this pairing wasn't one sided, he'd accepted it without taking his sword to Kelso's, or Ser Jonathan's throat for offering, and Kelso's for accepting, the marriage as a prize for winning back Tidespring. Of course upon learning of this not-so-fine tradition, he'd expressed concern for her future children about them being bargained off for political connections. So June had also said she didn't like the idea of arranged anything either, and she had absolutely no intention of allowing anyone to bargain for her children. She might be willing to let children play together and meet through dinners, play dates, whatever, but she would not foist someone on her children, not even if the King himself had a child he wanted to marry to her own. That had reassured him enough he'd dropped the matter and went back to fussing over Alyssa like he had with June. Amazingly it hadn't bother James-Tyler as much as it had Walter, maybe that was because he'd already known of the tradition from the people from the Kingdom that had been taken in by The Wall.

[The Kingdom of the Five Systems]

Kelso Windtide, King of Dracoixa, Lord of Tidespring
Tidespring, Tide, Arcadia Star System
24th Day of the Third Month, 376 AWU

Kelso smiled his agreement and looked down fondly at his sister and soon to be good-brother. The two really had bonded since they had met, certainly vindicating his decision to ask that Edward be able to Squire here at Tidespring. It was a well known strategy within the Kingdom to encourage political matches to develop romantic, or at least fond, feelings, by having them spend time together as a betrothed couple before they were actually married. Given that most betrothals , rather than straight marriages, were usually because one or both parties were too young to marry immediately, this usually worked rather well as was the case here with Alyssa and Edward blossoming love affair. It really was good to see, Kelso knew that Alyssa would likely have done what was necessary for the good of her family, but on a personal level it was damn good to see that she had been lucky enough to have fallen in love with the young man who she would one day be about to marry. It was also comforting to know that Edward was as madly in love with her as she was in him, and that he would love and respect her truthfully once they were married.

Of course the arrival of June’s family on Tidespring, in the form of Lord Springwell, had brought about a resurgence of the long-running cultural disagreement that surrounded the whole concept of political marriages. They were not true arranges marriages, in which those involved would have absolutely no choice in what was happening, rather it was ingrained into the social upbringing of every highborn child, male and female, that the good of the family, its success and its position, was of the upmost importance. That meant that any sacrifice had to be made for the House and for the family, whether that be giving up one’s life on the battlefield or agreeing to an advantageous match. Very few, if any, Lords of the Five Systems would force their offspring to marry against their will, however the consequences for refusing to do the will of the family tended to be their being shunned in one way or another. In a world as brutal, bloodthirsty and full of intrigue as the Kingdom, any and all sacrifices had to be made for the good of the family.

Over the centuries society in the Five Systems had grown to acknowledge this state of affairs, not only in that it was now expected that the majority of political matches be accepted by those who they were being imposed upon, but also the expected results of forcing someone to be with someone they perhaps did not love. The presence of secret lovers and mistresses was an open secret, in which a married couple may spent one night a month, usually the best for reproduction, then the rest of the nights in the bed of their lover. There would still be a scandal of course if this was ever discovered by the wrong people, however for the most part it was accepted as a necessary evil to ensure that even those in political marriages were able to feel love if they were lucky enough to find it. Indeed arrangements like the one that Kelso had managed to create, in which a young betrothed couple would spend time together, was a common method by which political matches were encouraged to fall in love, which was one of the reason why betrothal so young was an accepted practice, and only then if the actual marriage was postponed to a more appropriate age.

The disagreement had awoken in Kelso the same indignant that had been awoken each and every time he and June had fallen out over the matter. As June had, Lord Springwell had clearly seen only the most heavy handed, and most uncommon, examples in which the match would be arranged well in advance, rather in most cases matches were merely encouraged by placing the two individuals into situations in which love, or at least affection, could be allowed to grow, at which point a match would be suggested. Indeed that was what would, most likely, have happened if House Howard had not needed to make such a clear statement of support for House Windtide; Edward would likely have been fostered here at Tidespring anyway and both parents would have watched and waited for their obvious affection to grow on its own before suggesting the match. Ultimately, as was a theme with the entire ‘tradition’, the political necessity had come first, and in a place of intrigue, backstabbing and symbolism as the Kingdom of the Five Systems, this was unavailable. The social and political traditions and culture of the Kingdom had allowed it to stand for centuries, and Kelso was not about to allow outsiders, even those who were now his family, to be so callously indignant.

He had however, after their very first argument, already stated that he would not expect any children he had with June, if they were lucky enough to be able to conceive in the first place, to be ‘forced’ into an arranged marriage anymore than Alyssa had been, who could have easily said no. He’d be thrilled if they met and fell in love with someone advantageous, but their happiness, and June’s cultural sensibilities, were more important.

“She will,” Kelso agreed. “She still has much to learn, but she is showing great promise.”

Kelso paused and glanced down at her.

“She asked to be allowed to join the invasion again, last night,” Kelso commented. “Something about staying aboard the flagship where it was safe.”

[Dracoixa]

Arcadia Star System
Tide, Tidespring
Queen Tatsua Von June IV, Protector of the Phoenix Nebula,
Dracoixa, and all of its Territories, Claims, and Wealth,
Lady of Tidespring, Lieutenant Commander in Her Majesty's Navy

June shook her head. "Nice try, I'm not falling for that again. Alyssa needs to stay here. If she's going to be a knight and naval officer one day, she's going to have to accept she can't always be deployed where she wants. Even if she is a Windtide. It sucks but even as Lady Howard not everything will be fun and exciting." She said firmly.

She stepped away from the window. "It seems unfair, but I'm not flexing on this. She needs to stay here." She walked over to one of the corners of the room, staring down at the three swords there. Her prize swords, Amar's, DeJure's and the Queen's swords. If this had been the Royal Palace, she'd have then mounted on the wall in the Throne Room, but as this was Tidespring, she just kept them stashed here, safe away from everyone, and close if needed for some reason. She tilted her head. She'd been having some thoughts lately. Should she do what she wanted? With the invasion of her home so close should she take the risk she wanted to take?

"Kelso, can you go down to breakfast alone? I have something I want to do." June said, reaching out to pick up Amar's sword.

[The Kingdom of the Five Systems]

Kelso Windtide, King of Dracoixa, Lord of Tidespring
Tidespring, Tide, Arcadia Star System
24th Day of the Third Month, 376 AWU

“As you wish,” Kelso replied with a nod. “Just make sure you take a Guard with you, until we defeat Othan we remain cautious.”

Kelso strapped on his swordbelt, adjusted the hilt and his cloak, before kissing June gently on the cheek and taking his leave from their chambers. As he stepped out two Windtide Guardsmen took their positions a few steps behind from him. Unlike most Lords within their own castles during peacetime Kelso was regularly accompanied by his Guardsmen, as was June, Alyssa, Edward and all other senior members of the House at all times. Kelso had decreed that such would remain so until Othan was defeated, maybe then they would be able to assume a peacetime state within their own walls as should have been the case for nearly a year now since they reclaimed Tidespring. It was far from ideal, and it was frustrating after everything that Kelso had lost and sacrificed in order to retake his home that he and his family was not safe within the walls of their own Keep. He would never have changed anything that he had done, particularly for June, but it was so damn frustrating that he regretted that it would be unlikely to be him that had to pleasure of ramming his sword through Othan’s heart; that was June’s role.

On the way through the halls of Tidespring Kelso bumped into Ser Hannah Forrester, who was likely down in Tidespring to co-chair another joint planning meeting with the various disparate naval staffs that would be taking part in the assault; Windtide, Howard and Dracoxian naval forces would all be working together. Lord Springwell would commanding the Dracoixan contingent whilst Ser Hannah would be commanding the combined Windtide-Howard task force, after all strictly speaking this had to be a House Windtide operation in support of his wife and Queen, not House Howard interfering in a foreign war, even if its ships would be taking part.

“My Lord,” Ser Hannah said formally.

“Ser,” Kelso replied, inclining his head. “You look troubled.”

“Not troubled, my Lord, merely thoughtful,” Ser Hannah replied. “It’s about Jason.”

“You want to marry him,” Kelso said, stated rather than questioned,

“I do,” Ser Hannah affirmed. “I need your help though.”

“With your father?”

“Yes, I don’t think he’s going to be particularly thrilled that his only daughter his marrying a lowborn armourer,” Ser Hannah replied with a heavy sigh. “You know as well as I do that for as much as everyone know’s he’s been warming my bed, marrying me is another matter.”

“I’ll talk to your father,” Kelso promised. “After everything you’ve been through he can’t begrudge you your happiness.”

“Thank you, my Lord, I do appreciate it,” Ser Hannah smiled. “At least our family’s succession is secure through Georgina’s child.”

“There is that at least, as unorthodox as his birthright is,” Kelso agreed with a wry smile. “However the only people that know are the only people that matter and I don’t give a damn, that child will be a Forrester.”

“And I am damn glad about that,” Ser Hannah nodded.

“Indeed,” Kelso smiled. “Will you join me for breakfast, Ser?”

“It would be my pleasure, my Lord.”

[Dracoixa]

Arcadia Star System
Tide, Tidespring
Queen Tatsua Von June IV, Protector of the Phoenix Nebula,
Dracoixa, and all of its Territories, Claims, and Wealth,
Lady of Tidespring, Lieutenant Commander in Her Majesty's Navy

June grabbed Amar's sword from the group, she didn't have her sword with her, if she needed it for something she could have someone go fetch it, if she was in danger she could use her magic.

Soon she was joined by Major Iami, still looking fit and trim despite being quite far along in her pregnancy, though considering the child would be a magic user, that was of no surprise. When she, and Iami, had gone to ask James-Tyler about it, he'd confirmed that, yes, magic users pregnancies don't show, he mused that it was probably a safety thing, keeping the child hidden and the parent fit to do as they usually did meant that the mother was less of a target for evil-doers and doesn't have to worry about waddling around with a heavy stomach and getting sick. (No offense to those that were heavily pregnant of course.) James had little idea if that was just a natural state for magic users or if it was something unique to their (read: Dracoixan) magic. Given that they'd never encountered any other magic users, there was little to compare it too.

Iami looked a little suspicious but she said nothing as they walked through the Keep, obviously wondering what Amar's sword was for.

she would soon get her answer as she made her way down into the dungeon, nodding to the guards, and a knight, already there.

Perhaps it was a bit ironic, as she stopped in front of one of the cells and asked the guards to open it, that Amar Othan would end up locked up in the same cell that Alyssa had been kept in after being kidnapped. She considered it a bit amusing herself.

Despite loathing what this man represented from her past and what he might of done to her if she'd ended up marrying him and the way he'd been before he defected, she'd made sure he was treated at least with a little respect. Made sure someone would let him out of his cell every once in a while for some real exercise, regular showers and changes of clothes, and three good meals a day. After all he did risk his life to save Alyssa and so far he'd coughed up enough information that was truthful that no one had felt the need to run a sword through him.

Amar lept to his feet as the guard opened the cell and he realized who had just stepped in. He looked a tad nervous as he saw his own sword in her hand. "Your Majesty.... what a pleasant surprise." He sounded a bit weary and June was not surprised to hear Iami pull her side arm, just in case.

"Amar, I've been giving one of my thoughts a long time to simmer." She began looking down at "Ever since you rescued Alyssa, you have been nothing but helpful, trying your best to outline what you know even if towards the end of your freedom you were mostly here instead of on Dracoixa. You've told us some very valuable information, and while some of it had been proven out of date by Darli, I cannot fault you for that." She looked down at his sword and the sheath it was in. "You even willing placed your own sword at my feet, not knowing if I would spare you or not. Apparently, despite the weak way you started off in the Force, your grew quite powerful over your time training in Tidespring."

"Yes Your Majesty." Amar answered. "Why did you come to see me? I doubt it was because you wanted to talk shop with me."

"You're right." June said pulling his sword from its sheath. She took a moment to look it over. It was a fine sword, and it lit up blue when powered. She then reversed it, holding it out to Amar. His eyes widened, but he didn't reach out to take it, perhaps fearing a trap. "Go on, you may take it Amar."

Amar reached out and took the sword from her. Iami made a sound that sounded angry and in disbelief but June motioned for her not to shoot.

"Don't shoot him Iami, let me explain." June handed the sword's sheath to him as well and folded her hands behind her back. "Amar, very, very soon, we will be going to take Dracoixa back from 'King' Othan. It might be tomorrow, it might be in a week, but let me assure you its going to happen. It just so happens that after retaking Tidespring, we managed to find your set of powered armor and I managed to save it from being scrapped, at first I wasn't sure what I was thinking was a good idea, in fact its a pretty crazy idea in any respect? But, tell me, how loyal are you to Othan now?"

"Not at all. He left me here to die!" Amar said.

"Yes I know, And thats what has convinced me to give you back your sword Amar. You have armor, you have a weapon, you have training. You're going to come with us to retake Dracoixa." June said and she heard someone, one of the Guards she guessed, gasp in horror and disbelief. Even Amar looked a bit taken aback by the statement. "I have decided to give you a chance Amar. I still hate you for what could of been between us, so don't think I'm doing this because all of a sudden I'm warm and fuzzy to you. You had a home on Dracoixa like I once did, and I don't think you want to stuck in a jail cell for the rest of your life. Given your change of heart, I can only assume you can now see how wrong of a leader Othan is, how horrible he's been to our home."

Amar nodded, unwilling to speak.

June took a deep breath. "So I'll allow you to join the assult to take back our planet. Consider this your parole. If you manage to live through the experience, I will give you almost complete freedom to do as you please. You can get a job, a house, do some hobbies, stuff like that." She took a step forward, lowering her voice. "On two conditions. One, you will not be able to change your name. You will have to live with the burden of your legacy and any unfairness that is brought with it."

"whats the second one Your Majesty?" He asked.

"The second is that you will be rendered permanently sterile. I'll leave you with all your faculties to be able to enjoy yourself, I won't take that away from you, but you will not be able to reproduce. The Othan bloodline ends with you. No one will ever carry the title or name again. I won't even stop you from adopting if you can afford to raise a child, as long as he or she retains a different last name. If you agree, I'll get you a room and while you will have a permanent guard following you around at all times, you'll even be allowed free reign of the keep, even join us for training if you can talk anyone into practicing with you. If you decide its not worth it, you'll stay here while we go take back Dracoixa."

"I..." Amar paused, and then took a knee in front of her. "I will serve you Your Majesty. I understand your terms and fully agree to them."

June actually gave a small smile. "Good, now rise and come, its time for breakfast."

Amar rose to his feet and she exited the cell, telling the guards to stand down, he was with her, though she motioned one of them to join her, as she meant what she had said about the guard. As they walked through the Keep Amar managing to look a bit sheepish and small as he trailed a step behind his Queen.

Soon they were stepping into the place where Kelso and some of her people were already enjoying breakfast, chattering away while the clinks and noises of breakfast rose through the air. As she went to go join Kelso the room fell to an unatural silence as they realized who was accompanying her. Amar seemed to shrink back as she took her seat.

"Go find a seat and have some breakfast." She told him and he gave a small bow. She watched him find a seat, noting the way everyone made space to leave him in a island of loneliness. He knew that's probably what his life was going to be like from now on.

"Amar's going to be joining us for that retaking of Dracoixa. I want to get him a room or something, he's no longer a prisoner, consider him on parole. That set of power armor i saved a while back was his, so he'll be staying with us during the assult. I want a guard with him at all times, but other then that he'll be allowed the type of freedom one of my own people would have." June explained to Kelso as she watched the man begin to eat.

[The Kingdom of the Five Systems]

Kelso Windtide, King of Dracoixa, Lord of Tidespring
Tidespring, Tide, Arcadia Star System
24th Day of the Third Month, 376 AWU

Kelso and Ser Hannah had made their way down to the Small Hall where the Lord and Lady generally took their breakfast, often joined by their Knights and senior members of their household. There was also a room set aside just for the family, for private meals or for the children, however the relationship between a Lord and his bannermen was a vitally important one, and simply breaking bread and salt together was a highly effective way of building a strong rapport. After all these men and women were the people that Kelso would be trusting to have his back in a fight and to struggle and sacrifice for his campaigns and for his objectives, and it was Kelso that these men and women relied upon for protection and support in difficultly times. The feudal system at work in the Kingdom might seem old-fashioned to outsiders, but it had been in place for thousands of years within the Kingdom of the Five Systems, and its predecessor Kingdoms, and it worked well for them, as such the feudal bonds were strong, it was also this system which had given rise to political marriages, for good and ill, as the best way to cement a friendship was in blood.

Today the Small Hall was pretty full. There were a number of Windtide Household Knights, those Knights sworn to Tidespring and House Windtide and employed in various roles, as well as a few visiting Knights from House Hammond and House Forrester, as well as several senior officers from the Naval Forces. There was a gentle hubbub of conversation and the clutter of a room of men and women breaking their fast however silence fell onto the room as everyone realised who was accompanying their Lady and Queen into the Small Hall, it was not a pleasant silence, rather it was a deadly, weighted silence; for all that Amar had done to save Alyssa during the Siege of Tidespring he was still an enemy turn cloak, not to be trusted and generally to be treated with more than a degree of suspicion. Kelso had risen briefly from his seat, both to get a better view of what was going on and to subtly maintain control over the multitude of armed men and women who looked like they all wanted to murder the man, indeed the two Windtide Guardsmen near the door had began to move forwards as soon as they saw who was following their Lady, only Kelso’s intervention stopped them.

Kelso settled back into his seat as June joined him at the high table, leaning forward to take his cup of heated spiced milk and sipped on it slightly as she spoke.

“I see,” Kelso commented, clearly not agreeing with the decision but not openly saying anything against it. “I’ll have those arrangements made, but I will be forbidding him from some locations.”

[Dracoixa]

Arcadia Star System
Tide, Tidespring
Queen Tatsua Von June IV, Protector of the Phoenix Nebula,
Dracoixa, and all of its Territories, Claims, and Wealth,
Lady of Tidespring, Lieutenant Commander in Her Majesty's Navy

June nodded. "I know, I didn't expect any different. I want him with a guard at all times. Also he has two conditions for his freedom." She looked up at Kelso. "The first is that if he survives he will be unable to change his name. He has to live with his legacy for the rest of his life. The other condition is that he'll be rendered sterile, permanently. I know you don't like it, and just to clarify, I still don't trust him, but I decided to give him a chance to at least earn something better then the stone walls of a dungeon or getting shoved in solitary back on Dracoixa because of who he is. His punishment is no longer the fact that he's kept in a cell, rather he'll be exiled and shunned by everyone."

June paused. "The rich will hate him for disturbing the peace, low-class will see him as part of the royalty that made bad worse. His name is his ball and chain. His life will probably be miserable, and I do not envy him. But he accepted the terms and I intend on keeping to them. He will get no honor from this I think, maybe some satisfaction from striking back at Drake Othan. But nothing else."

[The Kingdom of the Five Systems]

Kelso Windtide, King of Dracoixa, Lord of Tidespring
Tidespring, Tide, Arcadia Star System
24th Day of the Third Month, 376 AWU

Kelso listened carefully and respectfully to what June was saying. He might not particularly like it, but he respected her opinions and her decisions, particularly when it came to ‘her’ people. The King’s Justice in the Kingdom of the Five Systems was definite, severe and immediate. Had Amar been Kelso’s responsibility he would have taken his head for his crimes, his service in rescuing Alyssa would merely have ensured him a quick death; however his life would have been forfeit for his earlier crimes; one good did not wipe out a lifetime of evil. At best he would have exiled the man, properly exiled him, sending him out of the Kingdom never to return under pain of death. He could see the benefit of June’s plan, enforcing a lifetime of being shunned and detested, however it was simply so far away from what he was used to that his initial inclination was to dismiss it outright. However between respecting June’s judgement and her culture, and the undoubted benefits of the punishment, he was prepared to accept it, although he would, as he had said, ensure that Amar was never in a position in which he could pose a threat to TIdespring ever again.

“As you wish, my Lady, it is not what I would do if he was my prisoner to deal with, however I respect your judgement and your decisions,” Kelso replied with a nod. “I will arrange to have a suitable watcher appointed… indeed I would prefer to have him ripped from the Force, his aura distorts and darkens the Force for some distance around him by his mere presence… it is unpleasant to be near him.”

[Dracoixa]

Arcadia Star System
Tide, Tidespring
Queen Tatsua Von June IV, Protector of the Phoenix Nebula,
Dracoixa, and all of its Territories, Claims, and Wealth,
Lady of Tidespring, Lieutenant Commander in Her Majesty's Navy

June looked over at Amar again, what she was doing in normal circumstances would of been considered cruel and unusual at its best. But as Queen she had the power to do such.

At Kelso's last comment she looked over at him and looked a bit uncomfortable. Now it was obvious that while she said she still hated Amar, perhaps after years of living in one hell of life filled with unpleasantness, perhaps she'd gain a bit of sympathy for the man. He'd been brainwashed, living around such a toxic man as Othan, it was a miracle Her Uncle had escaped with his personality in tact after training with him. She wanted to give him a chance because... It felt right. Kind of like all those people at The Wall, some of whom had unpleasant history (though never anything as bad as murder or crimes like that), who had turned out to be outstanding members of society once given a second chance. Amar has conspired to do much, much worse, and she was giving him a second chance.

"I don't know... It just doesn't seem right to do that." A few years earlier she probably would of agreed wholeheartedly, but now the hesitation almost seemed out of character.

Lord Springwell, sitting with them, seemed surprised. He'd been updated on some of the more.... Disgusting things she hadn't been willing to add to the story back on the wall, and obviously taking the Force from the man who had threatened her with such depravity in the past seemed like the kind of justice Amar deserved. "Why not?"

"It doesn't feel right okay? " she seemd a little off balance, like she wasn't sure why she felt that way. "I know that my punishment for him is a bit strange, but it feels right. You get to have your Force to guide you through some things in your life, and now I just have this feeling that this is right."

James-Tyler was sitting silently through the entire thing so far. The leader had adjusted well to Tidespring, and moved about the Keep with confidence with his enchantments to guide him. But he reached out and touched June. "Your Majesty, can you sense it?" When June shot him a look, despite not being able to sense it he gave a small chuckle. "You know James the Great wasn't kidding when he said he saw darkness in his nation's future. It's not all that clear and can be interpreted wrong. But it's there. I would of agreed from the way you described him in your stories, but despite the 'darkness' around him, I feel taking it would be wrong. I know leaving a man like Drake Othan's father alive seems stupid, a dark Force user, but even he serves a use." James-Tyler shook his head. "Look at it this was King Kelso, it's less a clash of traditions and more a clash of magic against emotion. The magic knows something and guides it's user to doing it, even if it seems out of character. Letting a traitor run around unchecked feels wrong emotionally but the magic, Force, or even both, want him to fight. Something needs him on Dracoixa like the space dragon needed June to hatch. We don't know what or why, but it wouldn't be done without reason."

[The Kingdom of the Five Systems]

Kelso Windtide, King of Dracoixa, Lord of Tidespring
Tidespring, Tide, Arcadia Star System
24th Day of the Third Month, 376 AWU

“As you wish,” Kelso repeated simply.

He had said his bit and raised his concerns, but he had also said that he would respect and support his decisions and he would do just that. It didn’t mean he had to like it, the King’s Justice within the Kingdom was definite and resolved, it went against the grain to allow one as dangerous as Amar had proven himself to be to go free, even with a great deal of security around him; in Kelso’s mind he would always be a threat. However he wasn’t going to contest the matter any further; June had made clear her decision and he had neither the time nor inclination to argue with her about it; ultimately it was her call and that was that. Besides, Kelso intensely disliked arguing with June in any way, so if he could avoid an argument by simply accepting something he could, deep down, accept if he had to, then he would do that without a moments hesitation. In any event, he might be her King, but it was very much June’s Kingdom not his, and he would respect her primacy in that regard just as he would expect her, deep down, to respect his own primacy as Lord of Tidespring.

He wasn't sure that he quite accepted what James-Tyler was saying. He believed in the will of the Force of course, he didn’t know any Forceborn who didn’t, but the Force was screaming at him to order the traitor’s death, where as June’s Magic was doing the complete opposite. Perhaps it was because they were so fundamentally opposed, not in terms of a light-dark alignment but in terms of their sheer nature, or perhaps it was something else entirely; Kelso simply didn’t know enough to form a true opinion on the matter. Likely once the pheonmanum became more wider known the Consulars of the Kingdom would take a great interest in it and, hopefully, be able to answer some of those questions. Until that point however, Kelso would be content with trusting those around him.

Determined to change the subject, Kelso turned to June again.

“How soon do you plan to launch the assault?”

[Dracoixa]

Arcadia Star System
Tide, Tidespring
Queen Tatsua Von June IV, Protector of the Phoenix Nebula,
Dracoixa, and all of its Territories, Claims, and Wealth,
Lady of Tidespring, Lieutenant Commander in Her Majesty's Navy

"As soon as Darling gets back with her report on Dracoixa." June answered. "After all I want the most recent information about the system and its disposition."

"You won't have to wait long." Walter said as Captain Darli walked in, dressed on a formal uniform, and approached the table. She gave a small bow to everyone.

"Welcome back Darli." June said with a warm smile, though when Darli didn't return it she tilted her head slightly. "What's wrong?”

"Nothing much Your Majesty. The scouting went as planned, but something has changed in Dracoixa." Darli took off her cap. "The Two Brothers have been decommissioned and disassembled. All that's left of them is some base structure and the power cores."

June looked a bit shocked, now why would Othan decommission the Two Brothers? Sure they had an obvious weakness, but Othan needed the firepower. He needed every advantage he could get.

"Strange..." Walter mused. "Did you see any other big construction going on, possibly to explain why he would do such a stupid thing?"

Darli shook her head. "Only construction I see are the usual ships. The Two Brothers weapons can't be recycled into ships."

June frowned and looked over at Smart. "Amar, come here." The man put down his fork and got up. Darli fixed him with a look, like she couldn't believe he was walking around out here with his head on his shoulders. "Amar, Darli said Othan decommissioned the Two Brothers, why?"

Amar looked over at Darli for a moment. "I have no idea." When he saw the look he was getting from June he took a step back. "Honestly Your Majesty. I don't know. I wasn't that important in his plans, I was just supposed to.. well..." he shrugged uncomfortably. "You know. But as stupid as it might seem, Othan would not do something like that without very good reason."

June gave an unhappy nod. " You can go back to your food Amar. Anything else Darli?"

"He's appointed some new Lords and Ladies, and he willed command of the dragon ship to one of them so he can 'focus on the task of ruling his great nation.'" Darli said, mocking Othan's voice. "I have downloads of the news if you want to watch it."

[The Kingdom of the Five Systems]

Kelso Windtide, King in Dracoixa, Lord of Tidespring
Tidespring, Tide, Arcadia Star System
24th Day of the Third Month, 376 AWU

Kelso listened intently to both the report from Captain Darli and the information that Amar was able to provide, and felt his frown deepening the more he heard. It made absolutely no sense why Othan would dismantle such an integral part of his planet’s defence unless he was expecting to not need them, and knowing that an assault by his enemies was imminent he would only not need the Two Brothers if he was planning something that would have made them obsolete. That alone was an unpleasant thought. More worrying even than that was the wildcard that it represented; at least before they had known what they were flying into, now they had a massive gap in their planning and it was unlikely that they would be able to fill that gap in any appreciable way in the time that they had; if they were going to achieve anything they would need to launch an attack sooner rather than later, in hopes that whatever Othan was planning would not be ready in time, otherwise their entire campaign would be thrown into turmoil. What had already been a difficult prospect had just got a whole lot worse.

Kelso didn’t like this one bit. As a now seasoned military strategist he would have been wary of launching a campaign without the full intelligence he needed to be able to plan properly, however something as fundamental and significant as this would have given him significant pause for thought, certainly to launch numerous further scouting missions… if he had the time. And that was really the issue at hand here; they had precious little time, which meant that sooner or later they were going to have to take a risk, and Force only knew whether that would pay off in the long run. The fact that whatever Othan was up to was being kept well hidden only increased his concerns, and his surety that something big was amiss.

The appointment of the Lords and the delegation of the Dragon Ship was to be expected really, Kelso knew from experience that running even two small moons required a significant amount of delegation, he could only imagine how much running an entire Star System would need, evidenced by the sheer number of Lords and Ladies sworn to Lord Howard. It was perhaps unfortunate that it meant that they would not be able to catch and kill Othan in a space engagement as Kelso had secretly hoped, however it would only be a reprieve, nothing more.

“There is certainly something amiss in Dracoixa, Othan is no fool he would not dismantle such potent defensive structures if he didn’t have something else in the works,” Kelso commented. “I do not like the idea of going in without knowing precisely what that something is, however we’ve got enough ships to overcome anything that Dracoixan technology would be able to throw against us… anything known anyway.”

Kelso glanced at June.

“This is worrying, my Lady, we do not want to allow Othan any more time than necessary to get ready for our assault,” Kelso added grimly. “If we are lucky we’ll catch him before he is ready.”

[Dracoixa]

Star System
Tide, Tidespring
Queen Tatsua Von June IV, Protector of the Phoenix Nebula,
Dracoixa, and all of its Territories, Claims, and Wealth,
Lady of Tidespring, Lieutenant Commander in Her Majesty's Navy

June sighed and then nodded. "You're right Kelso. We can't wait to see what he's planning. I'm willing to go as soon as we can mobilize." It still made no sense. With the draft he was running, there would be more than enough people to man the regular ships. With the stations decommissioned, that would free up a ton of personnel, but for what?

"I know I've said before Dracoixa's economy can't handle it... But when you have been backed into a corner, money and people means little. Perhaps Othan is building another dragonship?" She shook her head. "I hope not, but they are hard to build and train up. But as I said, we're backing him into a corner. I'm surprised he hasn't done something to hit back."

[The Kingdom of the Five Systems]

Kelso Windtide, King in Dracoixa, Lord of Tidespring
Tidespring, Tide, Arcadia Star System
24th Day of the Third Month, 376 AWU

“There’s nothing he can do and he knows it; he attacks us here in the Arcadia System and Lord Howard will call his banners and launch a campaign to remove the threat to the Kingdom, just like he said he would if there was another incursion,” Kelso replied with a grim expression. “And that assumes that the King himself doesn’t take direct action in this matter; he may call his own banners and join the campaign; Othan couldn’t stand up to just the combined forces of Arcadia, much less the entire Kingdom, and he knows it.”

Kelso sighed.

“I suspect that whatever he is doing he is doing to try and make the Dracoixa system as difficult as possible to take from his forces; he knows that he can’t remove the threat we pose by military action, his only option is to ensure that his position is as strong as possible when we do come,” Kelso shook his head. “As such we need to make sure that we don’t give him the time; even with two dragon ships we can muster enough forces; Lord Howard will give us all the Star Destroyers we need even without an incursion; as I said he wouldn’t have fully decommissioned the two brothers without a replacement in mind.”

[Dracoixa]

Arcadia Star System
Tide, Tidespring
Queen Tatsua Von June IV, Protector of the Phoenix Nebula,
Dracoixa, and all of its Territories, Claims, and Wealth,
Lady of Tidespring, Lieutenant Commander in Her Majesty's Navy

June closed her eyes for a moment, hoping that whatever was going on, if they got there soon enough, they would short circuit it.

"Captain Darli, go back up orbitside and tell everyone to start preparing, make sure snow fuel stores are topped off and any last minute requisitions are met to the best of our abilities. Uncle," she turned to Walter. "Make sure you have everything in order, especially your new set of armor. I don't want you killed again."

"Yes Your Majesty." He finished off his glass of water and stood. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a fleet to put in order."

June watched him and Darli leave go and turned back to Kelso, a murmur of excited tension riding from everyone in the hall who over heard the orders. "How soon can we get your people ready to go? I don't want to sit on this any longer then we have to."

[The Kingdom of the Five Systems]

Kelso Windtide, King in Dracoixa, Lord of Tidespring
Tidespring, Tide, Arcadia Star System
24th Day of the Third Month, 376 AWU

“Ser Samuel?” Kelso queried, glancing across at his Master-at-Arms.

“We’ve had the fleet mustered for some time, they can be ready to go within the hour; as for the ground troops it’ll take maybe six hours to muster them and transport them to the Star Destroyers,” Ser Samuel Hammond replied promptly. “I’d say we can be ready to go within six hours; that additional time will allow us to get more ships from Lord Howard, if we deicide we need them based on the new information.”

“I’d say that’s a reasonable estimation,” Kelso agreed. “Six hours will ensure we’re ready in every respect, without wasting too much time.”

[Dracoixa]

Arcadia Star System
Tide, Tidespring
Queen Tatsua Von June IV, Protector of the Phoenix Nebula,
Dracoixa, and all of its Territories, Claims, and Wealth,
Lady of Tidespring, Lieutenant Commander in Her Majesty's Navy

"Then six hours it is." June said, "The dragon is leaving the nest and going home." She smiled at Kelso. "No offense my dear husband."

As she watched everyone wrap up what they were doing to either get up to the ships or to help with the task of loading up supplies and troops.

"Your Majesty."

June looked over to where Lord-Admiral Jaques was sitting. "Yes Lord-Admiral?"

"I wanted to tell you that while I've been away from Dracoixa for a while, I had no idea he was planning to fully decommission The Two Brothers. As I said when you first picked me up, I was left out of loop for a lot of things, but kept on board because I knew what the hell I was doing with the things I did know. You know of the new build hobby ships, as well as the tigers. There might be ships they managed to design that we haven't picked up on yet, or improvements we can't see." He paused for a moment. "I'm not going to complicate your chain of command by tagging along. I'll stay behind and keep the home fires burning here for when Tidespring's troops come back. If you still want me as your sworn Lord-Admiral, I'm sure a courier can be sent to pick me up. Good luck and good hunting." He offered an hand.

"Thank you Lord-Admiral." She said as she stood and grasped the man's hand firmly. "We'll get our home back. Come on Kelso, we have a planet to go take."

As they began to walk to wherever they needed to go, June placed her left hand over her mark, feeling its power and energy, its link to the dragon above in orbit, and said. "Argonautica, I think the name shall name my dragon. An ancient epic poem from Earth, in contains a dragon who's teeth could be sown into the Earth to produce an army." She gave a small shake of her head. "Old stories were strange tales, but I believe the name will serve the dragon well, though I wish I could know its gender, I'm not sure I want to get close enough to find out."

[The Kingdom of the Five Systems]

Kelso Windtide, King in Dracoixa, Lord of Tidespring
Tidespring, Tide, Arcadia Star System
24th Day of the Third Month, 376 AWU

“A fitting name, my love,” Kelso nodded his approval.

As they made their way out of the Keep into the courtyard they could already see the massive amount of activity that had been kicked off by the orders of Kelso and June to get the assault underway at last. Men and equipment were being gathered and prepared for movement up to the transports in orbit as well as the Star Destroyers. The officers and Knights were busy shouting orders and generally turning what would otherwise be chaos into organised activity; there was an exciting atmosphere in the air as everyone was looking forward to finally getting at their other enemy. Over the past years everyone had become as loyal to June and her cause as they had been to their own Lord, it wasn’t even just because June had married their Lord, and made him her King, they had come to respect the Dracoixans and to hate their enemy, they all wanted to overthrow King Othan as much as anyone else and they were willing and prepared to give their lives in the pursuit of that cause.

[Dracoixa]

Arcadia Star System
HMS Stalcor
Queen Tatsua Von June IV, Protector of the Phoenix Nebula,
Dracoixa, and all of its Territories, Claims, and Wealth,
Lady of Tidespring, Lieutenant Commander in Her Majesty's Navy

It was those size hours later, June stood on the bridge of HMS Stalcor, looking down at the information on Captain Donnovan's displays. In theory she could take command of the ship, it was HER Majesty's Ship after all. But she had declined to mess such things up and remain the tactical officer. While both Moore and Donnovan were (or had been) trying their best to teach her the way of command, it was obvious now that her feet were firmly on the way to her throne, that's probably where she was going to stay. She mourned the fact that she would probably never truly reach Admiral's rank, or at the very least captain, because she was a Queen now. Had fate been different, she probably could of naturally reached command rank before having to retire and become queen.

She shook her head and turned her eyes up to the view screen of orbit where all the ships had been assembled. Argonautica, the space-dragon, moved a bit restlessly above the fleet, never straying far, probably out of fear of Howard's flagship, but obviously it knew they were going somewhere.

"Com, get my King Kelso." June said and the view of the fleet was replaced with the call connecting them to Kelso's flagship. "Is everything in order Kelso? Our side is ready to move, as you can see my dragon is obviously ready. We're not missing anything are we?"