Shikaen ((tr'Radaik))

[Kelton tr'Radaik 0]

Dartha, ch'Rihan

 

"Koval!"

 

Koval tr'Radaik looked up from his desk, switching off the message he had been perusing, and eyed his second-youngest brother with irritation. "I have told au, I am working, Dhael, what is it that au could na wait until the evening?"

 

Dhael, used to Koval's dismissive nature, didn't blink, merely gestured vaguely upwards. "The Talon has put into port."

 

Koval folded his hands across the desk. "Really," he said, his cool tone taking on a hint of surprise. "I had thought to be rid of the boy a deal longer."

 

"I do na believe it was their plan to return this soon, brother."

 

"And what has interfered?"

 

"The Galae is close-lipped on the details--"

 

"Hang the Galae!" barked Koval with abrupt, explosive impatience.

 

"Ie, Koval," Dhael responded placidly, "but our own sources of information do not work so quickly as to tell us information before it is known. Not to mention that we would be hastily disowned by our particular brand of political cutthroat if au were to be heard saying such a thing. Calm auself." Dhael folded his arms, watching as Koval sprang out of his chair and began to pace.

 

"If the boy's crew has failed -- if our plan to put him out of mind has led instead to his dishonor..."

 

"There is na word of dishonor, Koval. Au would be the first to know. But the crew is being...questioned. We have na been able to get a message through."

 

"How long have they been here?"

 

"A few days."

 

"I want him here," Koval growled. "I want to hear it from his own lips that this family may not be ashamed of him."

 

Dhael's mouth turned down at the corners. "Au always think the worst of him, Koval..."

 

"Perhaps one day he will give me less valid reasons."

 

The discussion was abruptly curtailed by the low whine of Koval's reinforced office door sliding open, and Aryal, second-eldest and as languid as Koval was rigid, slouched his indolent way into the room. "Message," he announced to no one in particular, his eyes sliding from Dhael to Koval and back again. "Kelton is in Dartha; he will be here within the hour."

 

***

 

Au have built this up to too much... Kelton chastened himself for his own discomfort as he rang the chime of the tr'Radaik'ir city house on the outskirts of Dartha. It had only been a few months since he had last been here, but even with the chaos that had characterized his time aboard the Talon, he could na but admit that it had been a relief na to live in this house anymore, and to have some decent work to do rather than listen by turns to taunts and orders from his brothers.

 

But to na make some sort of appearance, with the ship stalled in orbit indefinitely over ch'Rihan, would have been unforgivable in their eyes, and much as he disliked it, he knew that he could na afford to anger them entirely. The tr'Radaik brothers had enough power between them that any one of them could be quietly destroyed by the other three if it became necessary. His plans never coincided enough with theirs for it to work in his favor, however.

 

The door swung open and he was silently admitted into the house and silently escorted to the rear office; the door opened to reveal the three older men already waiting for him, and their expressions ran the gamut for a reception -- Koval's disinterested stare, Aryal's mildly curious contempt, and Dhael, who of the three was the only one to step forward and offer a sign of greeting.

 

"Welcome back, Kelton," he said with a half-nod, a slow inclination of the head. "Au were na detained long in orbit."

 

"Na, I was--"

 

"Ie...do tell us how au came to be arrested, maenek," Koval broke in, his bearing never shifting though his voice contorted sarcastically around the words. "In the hour since au were announced in the city, we have received na less than five communiques offering inquiries as to au...disgrace."

 

Kelton knew better than to flinch at the sharpness of the words; the news was na surprise, in any case. Rumor would of course have spread as to the Talon's activities once it was known to be in orbit, and he knew that Koval would na have been unsettled by such rumors anyway. Koval was a politician; he knew how to deal with rumors. "Questioned," he said calmly. "And for na fault of my own."

 

"There is word of a mutiny," Aryal commented, and Kelton favored him with an aggravated look. Aryal could occasionally be counted on to support him -- he had actually been the one to insist that Kelton finish his medical training before being packed into the Galae, on the grounds that 'fvadt, he must be useful' -- but evidently today was na his day.

 

"I had na to do with it. I kept my loyalty to the Galae. To the Empire." Kelton said the words because he knew they would relax Koval, and they did; some of the tension went out of the older man's high cheekbones and jaw and he moved to sit behind his desk.

 

"Very well."

 

Dhael, who had moved to lean against the wall as Koval took over the conversation, now stirred again. "Sit, Kelton, please. Will au eat?"

 

"Na, hann'yyo," Kelton replied with a shake of the head. Better late than never to remember I am na merely a guest. He took a seat across the desk from Koval, drumming his fingers lightly on the chair arms, feeling somewhat as if he was about to undergo another interrogation. Everything he could tell them of Galae activities was a bit of information they could and would somehow use to their advantage. "I will be returning to my ship shortly; I will eat there."

 

Dhael smiled faintly. "I do na think au ship will have much need of you for a while. Au are welcome to do more than pay au respects and leave."

 

He knows that's not true, and that I won't wish to anyway, but I suppose it's a nice gesture. "Hann'yyo."

 

 

****

 

Shikaen -- "family"

[KhreRiovtRex 0]

Waiting for the next installment!! Awesome log!