12: In Royal Company
The makalvari home-world of Makvar was not unlike Earth, albeit with much more water upon its surface. Most of the landmasses were slim archipelagos and clusters of islands, with one situated near the warm tropics of the equator being where the capital of the Republic of Makvar was located. The royal palace, from which the Emperor reigned, was situated towards the heart of the city, a grand and lavish estate with vast and carefully-tailored gardens all around. Beyond the perimeter, the city began to earnest, its tallest structures joined by walkways that connected them all at various levels. Just about every surface was adorned with some amount of greenery where possible, from creeping vines to lush palms and tropical flower bushes. It provided a sharp contrast to the grungier industrial appearance some of the taller buildings provided.
Makalvari favoured heights and open living. Compared to the Calsharan capital, the makalvari one was much wider, with far fewer skyscrapers. Such spaces were instead taken up with rows of spacious houses with paved, winding roads between them. Towards the west of the city was where the sea began, the beaches covered with golden yellow sand, the waters a deep crystal blue. And further beyond, some miles out to see, was situated a large military platform in which the world's stargate was housed. A secure facility, wherein all use of the stargate was closely monitored and controlled.
It was from this platform Captain Kav'rak returned, the shuttle he had boarded dropping him off upon a landing pad on the roof of the royal palace. Adorned in his sleek dark green uniform, complete with a black sash on which silver lace was stitched, he emerged from the shuttle and onto the palace roof. He was met by a contingent of royal guardsmen, each one outfitted in the traditional ceremonial armour of the Emperor's bodyguard. This included a chrome chest plate and white uniform, and each guard carried a compact plasma carbine that also had the same gleaming chrome finish as their vests.
The guards were expecting him. Kav'rak was an advisor to the Emperor; or had been, until Emperor Crovakari III had died months before. Now, the throne remained unclaimed, with a Regent appointed until the line of succession could be properly determined. This is something that worried Kav'rak deeply, especially after having seen just what the Regent had been doing in what was a time of crisis for their people. The Calsharans encroached on their worlds and waged war. They needed a strong leader at a time like this, and the Regent was anything but 'strong'.
Kav'rak was escorted into the royal palace, traversing its familiar carpeted halls towards the throne room from which the Regent governed. The bodyguards halted at the open double doors leading into the throne room, allowing Kav'rak entrance into the large hall. There was a great deal of space before the throne, for ministers and associates of the monarch to gather and discuss matters of state. The throne itself was a large, intricately detailed wooden chair dressed with velvet purple cushions. Behind it, strung upon the wall was the flag of the Republic, along with a good two dozen smaller flags of various colours and emblems that each represented one of the nations of Makvar. Portraits hung on the walls at either side, displaying past Emperors (and the odd Empress who had made it into rule through the centuries). A marble statue of the first Emperor, the Republic's founder Cor'varsuk, was positioned in a corner some ways to the left of the throne.
The Regent did not sit in the throne, as he was not the Emperor. Rather, he sat in a less lavish wooden chair a few paces to its right. He was a frail old makalvari outfitted in a simple white tunic, the golden crest of the Republic pinned to his breast. His eyes were a pale blue, the feathers at his head having long since fallen away with age, leaving it bare and his wrinkled, pock-marked skin readily apparent. Regent Gorvol had not aged well, and Kav'rak sometimes found himself dreading getting old. He much liked his head plume, and he currently had it somewhat raised, giving him some more height and, he hoped, some extra attention from any young females he happened by.
The Regent was not alone. Kav'rak's commanding officer stood by his chair, leaning in close to the Regent and speaking to him quietly. Brigade Leader Tav'kar was a good thirty years older than Kav'rak, with sharp yellow eyes and grey skin, his head plume a blue-black in colour. He did not look up as Kav'rak entered, and instead spoke a moment more with the Regent before the two of them finally did set their eyes upon the visiting Captain.
The Captain approached the Regent's throne and gave a light bow.
"My Regent," he said. He turned to his commander. "Brigade Leader, you summoned me here?"
"Yes, yes we did, Captain." The Brigade Leader regarded his subordinate with a stern frown, a look Kav'rak had seen from him many times before. "A grave matter has come to our attention and we feel you may be the best officer to help rectify it."
"How was Earth?" The Regent suddenly interjected. The Brigade Leader glanced his way with an uneasy face, for he had not been expecting the question. The Regent's old eyes lingered upon the Captain, awaiting an answer.
"I was on Earth for mere minutes, Regent. That was days ago." He knew the Regent's memory was not like it used to be. It had not been terribly good to begin with. The man had never been a particularly smart statesman, and his appointment as Regent had come with much controversy. The ministers of the 'Makvarsum', the Republic's parliament, had been bitterly divided on the matter. Votes had been held, and controversy had arisen from those, with suspicions of tampering and manipulation. Kav'rak was loyal to the Emperor and the Republic, and that extended to any Regent who might be in power instead. He cared little for the politicking of the officials and ministers. They had always been at each other's throats, long before the Regent and the death of the Emperor.
"I have returned from our outlying outpost of Corvak III," Kav'rak added. "Earth was little more than a brief stop."
"The Captain brought us the data from the humans, Regent," the Brigade Leader said. The Regent nodded his head, even if the look on his face suggested he was not entirely sure what the officer spoke of. "That is why I summoned him here. Our initial decryption efforts have been successful, and they have revealed some very troubling information."
"Troubling, sir?"
"Indeed, Captain."
"What is Earth like?" The Regent asked, derailing the conversation once more. The Brigade Leader appeared pained, if only briefly. He did well to hide it, retaking his usually strong and stern exterior for the Regent.
"Earth?" Kav'rak narrowed his eyes, scratching with one clawed finger underneath his beak-like snout. A thoughtful gesture, as he attempted to think of something interesting to say about that planet. "Earth is a world I cannot properly comment upon, in all honesty. My visits there have been contained to an underground military facility that houses their stargate. They have been very careful as to what they have allowed me to see. Their paranoia and suspicion is almost on the same level as our own."
"The humans of Earth, can they be trusted?"
"Trusted?" Again, Kav'rak thought about this, silent for a moment as he sifted through what he had gleamed from those visits to Stargate Command. "Trusted, in the sense that if we help them, they will gladly help us. So yes, if we have anything to offer them, they can be trusted."
"And yet they keep out of this war," the Brigade Leader said. "No doubt they wish to see us and other rivals weakened before making a claim of galactic power for themselves."
"I find that unlikely, sir," Kav'rak countered. "Allowing the Calsharans to rampage across the galaxy would not be in their best interests. It would strengthen the lizards and put the people at Earth in a disadvantageous position. They stay out of the war because they see no reason to get involved, especially as they are more concerned about the ancient enemy."
Upon mention of this 'ancient enemy', the Brigade Leader's face morphed into a disbelieving scowl.
"Again with the old legends, Captain. We have spoken about this before. There is no threat."
"I saw something on Langara…"
"You do not know what you saw, Captain." Now the Brigade Leader's voice became much sharper, cutting off the Captain with the ease only an officer of his calibre could muster. "Do not speak of these rumours and hearsay before the Regent. That is not what I summoned you here to discuss."
Kav'rak straightened up his stance then, doing his best to hide the rising agitation within him. As much as he respected the Brigade Leader, the male could be stubborn and hard-headed at times. This was probably to be expected from someone who had spent much of their life fighting and ordering people around.
"And what did you summon me here to discuss, sir?" Kav'rak asked, his tone carefully controlled. No point being insubordinate, especially when standing in front of the Regent.
"You know as well as we do that the war is stretching our forces thin," the Brigade Leader said. He stepped down from his place by the Regent's chair, approaching Kav'rak, closing the distance between them by a few paces. "We are outnumbered and outgunned. We have been for years. The Calsharans have always had an edge over us."
"And why is that, I wonder?"
"Why?" The question got the outraged look Kav'rak had expected it to. This would not be the first time that he had heard the Brigade Leader go on one of his tirades, as the male was well-versed in the history of their people and, in turn, the rivalry that had existed between their species and the Calsharans.
"Familiarise yourself with the history, Captain. We used to be allies, until the great betrayal. It would be more than nine-hundred years ago that the Calsharans attacked us and destroyed our efforts to duplicate the technology found on their Visala's battle-station. An attack lead by one of her sons, no less. We have never been able to catch up to them, and attacks from the likes of the Goa'uld have only served to cripple us further. It is a wonder that this Republic has survived for as long as it has."
"I see no Emperor on the throne, Brigade Leader." Kav'rak narrowed his orange eyes. "Is it truly still a Republic when there is no Emperor?"
"There is a Regent, Captain. Do not speak out of turn before him." The Brigade Leader gave the younger officer a sharp, mean glare.
Kav'rak had to bite his tongue. He wanted to say more, much more. He wanted to tell the Brigade Leader how he could not accept this Regent, a man who was so far past his prime and had, in all his decades in the royal court, done nothing but take advantage of his power for personal gain. A Regent who had been appointed by the anti-monarchist elements within the Makvarsum, a puppet for them to control until they could finally engineer the end of the reign of makalvari Emperors. Kav'rak respected the Brigade Leader, but he also knew him to have an anti-monarchist streak. It was not surprising to see him standing by the Regent's side, speaking into his ear.
"What did your analysts find, Brigade Leader?" Kav'rak asked. The Brigade Leader appeared to relax then, now that the Captain had guided the discussion back on point.
"Something very worrying concerning developments on Dalabrai," the Brigade Leader explained. "This is what the Calsharan defector was no doubt trying to bring to our attention. Our pet project, that is, the one to do with subspace weaponry, is in some serious jeopardy."
"Dalabrai?" Kav'rak narrowed his eyes. "There is nothing to do with that research on Dalabrai."
"There was."
"Yes, there was." Kav'rak felt his heart skip then, when he realised just what had happened here. He did not want to believe it, but it was the first and most credible possibility that popped into his mind. "There was a special weapons research facility on Dalabrai, but I saw to its decommissioning five years ago, when the Calsharans first raided that world. The place was shut-down, and all research materials were either moved off-world or simply destroyed. Why would there be anything of note on Dalabrai, other than the fiercest fighting of this war?"
The Brigade Leader was not one to often appear uneasy. However, the way in which he looked then, shifting where he stood whilst his yellow eyes attempted to look anywhere but in Kav'rak's own, suggested that he was feeling a little awkward. It was fleeting, however, for the veteran was quick to compose himself as before.
"The facility was recommissioned in secret a year after you oversaw its shut-down," the Brigade Leader said. "It was done so on my order, as a means to accelerate research into the weapon."
"The planet was at risk," Kav'rak said, dispensing the usual military formalities. Now he found his anger was truly pushing the limits of his control, and he fought with it to keep himself from exploding in the throne room. All the while the Regent watched him, in a way that suggested that his focus was partially elsewhere, despite the way in which the old makalvari's blue eyes remained fixed upon the Captain.
"You recommissioned a secret weapons research facility on a world that was firmly set in our enemy's crosshairs," Kav'rak continued, his voice raising somewhat. "With all due respect, Brigade Leader, but what in the name of all the gods and goddesses were you thinking?"
"Captain, I did what I considered necessary for the safety of this Republic and our people," the Brigade Leader said, adopting a defensive tone. "The research had stalled, and the facility was already in place. There was no conflict on Dalabrai at the time."
"And now it is a planet torn apart by war," Kav'rak said. "What has happened that a Calsharan defector died getting this information to us? Just how much was being done at that facility, without my knowledge?"
"You presume too much of your position, Captain. The subspace project was under my supervision, you were always second-in-command. Compartmentalisation keeps such a project secure, and as such I could not tell you of everything I had done for the project. You of all people should understand."
"That doesn't matter, Brigade Leader. What matters is what has become of the facility." He leaned his head forwards, intent on hearing the reply. "You would not have brought me here if it was not serious."
"The Calsharans have taken the facility and the research. They work on it as we speak, there in the facility on Dalabrai. It is far from the fighting, and any attempt at an air strike is intercepted by their defences. Now, you know the place better than I do. You know Dalabrai as a whole much better than I. The facility needs to be destroyed."
"No doubt about that." The research into a powerful subspace 'bomb' of sorts had been slow going for years, and it was so far the only real edge they had over the Calsharans. The lizards were not delving into such theoretical weaponry, content as they were with the advantages given by what they had now. However, if they were to succeed in finishing the makalvari research into subspace weaponry, then not only would the makalvari lose this small advantage, but the Calsharans would potentially have at their disposal a device of far greater destructive power than anything currently known. Subspace was the fabric that held the universe together; a weapon that could interfere with that, on a level that no nuclear fission device could achieve, would be absolutely devastating.
"Our forces on Dalabrai are stretched thin. Our fleets as well. You will lead the mission to the facility." The Brigade Leader's voice was clipped, succinct.
"Are those my orders, Brigade Leader?"
"It is your mission. And the humans, they will want to know what we found on the Calsharan data-pad."
"But surely you do not wish them to know of our research?"
"They won't. The subspace weapons research is a Calsharan invention. That is what we will tell them, and that is what you will make clear to them when you deliver them this news. With that said, they will likely want to become involved. We will then encourage this involvement, as their continued interference in this war will drive the Calsharans into turning some of their attention to the humans of Earth." He paused, briefly, allowing the implications behind his words to settle within the Captain's mind. "Do you understand me, Captain?"
"Perfectly." Dragging the Earthers into the war would take some of the heat off the makalvari. And what better way to encourage their involvement than with news of a terrible new weapon, one being researched and designed by the Calsharans in a secret weapons facility?
"You will deliver them the encrypted data, albeit a version we have edited to ensure our involvement in the facility remains unknown. Request their assistance in putting an end to this facility. Given that we can spare little manpower on the mission, their assistance will be necessary. Not only that, but they can carry out the dirty work for us. They will antagonise the Calsharans through doing so, and hopefully the lizards will set their sights away from Makvar and towards Earth."
Kav'rak nodded in acknowledgment. It was a lot to hope for, of course. The Brigade Leader had dealt very little with the humans of Earth. They were smarter than he likely thought they were, yet with the doctored information taken from the encrypted Calsharan computer, the humans were more likely to fall for the tale the Brigade Leader had spun. A tale that Kav'rak would have to take to Earth, and he would be the one to lead this operation as he knew the facility well. It made sense, even if he himself dreaded the whole affair. Dalabrai was a warzone, and Kav'rak had perhaps spent too many months away from the frontlines playing diplomat. He had not been in the trenches for a long time, and the thought of going out into the fighting again filled him with a deep fear that he had not felt in years. He did not say anything to betray this fear. He fought to keep it from showing on his face, even if it would likely show in his eyes despite his best efforts.
If the Brigade Leader noticed it, he did not comment on it. Instead, he turned to the Regent, who had been sitting quietly in his chair by the royal throne.
"You see, Regent. We will have this matter settled soon, especially with Captain Kav'rak at the helm. And the humans will finally get properly involved in this war."
"The humans of Earth are not to be crossed, Brigade Leader." Kav'rak's voice was grave, for the threat the Earthers presented was not to be underestimated. The Brigade Leader turned to him, offering him a smile.
"Perhaps. But sometimes, Captain, I feel that you worry too much. Go to Earth, show them what we found, explain to them just how dire the situation is. They will help us, they would be fools not to. And maybe, at the end of this, the Republic will be better off."
"This would not be a problem, had you not recommissioned the facility." Kav'rak gave his commander a hard glare, not that the Brigade Leader appeared fazed by it.
"We do what we have to, Captain. You and I both." The Brigade Leader reached into a pocket on his uniform, retrieving a small blue data crystal. He handed it to Kav'rak. "That is the doctored information. Give it to the humans."
"When do I leave?"
"Shortly. However, I would suggest you go home and get some fresh clothes. Your uniform smells of a few days of travel. Be at the stargate facility within the next couple of hours. I would not want to think you have deserted your duty when it is needed most."
Kav'rak slipped the crystal into one of his own pockets. Swallowing his uncertainty, he stood up straight, saluted to the Brigade Leader and then offered a short bow to the Regent. And then, in a fluid movement, he spun about on his heels and marched out of the room. Deep within, he was fuming. Recommissioning that facility had been a foolish decision on the part of Brigade Leader Tav'kar. And yet, their angle to rectify the problem might very well benefit the war effort as a whole. Kav'rak was not entirely convinced of the plan, but he did hope it worked. He would carry out his orders to the best of his ability, even if he did not like the thought of what he had to look forward to. A trip to Dalabrai? A journey into enemy territory? He had had it easy for far too long.
Kav'rak's house was a modest two-floored brick home, modelled in an older style that incorporated vibrantly toned red-brown tiled roofs, whitewashed walls, a tall brick perimeter wall and arch-shaped windows. It had been his father's home, left to him when his father had died, and Kav'rak could see himself living in no other home. He may often spend months away from the home-world on military-related business, but at the end of the day this place was his home and it was where the fondest memories he had had been formed.
Here, as well as in the halls of the royal palace, when he had been a child growing up with a father who had been Captain of the Royal Guard. He had walked amongst the higher echelons of makalvari society his entire life. He knew he had it good, better than the majority of the population anyway and he did not once take it for-granted. He spent his father's wealth wisely, invested it carefully and used much of his own Captain's wages to pay for necessities.
The front yard was watched by a young male in uniform. His own personal house guard, a loyal and able sort named Tavola. He stood to attention as the Captain approached the property's front gate, before he opened the gate and allowed him entry.
"Good afternoon, Captain," the guard said.
"Anything I missed when I was away?" Kav'rak asked him, pausing out on the footpath. The street was a narrow lane, flanked by similar homes, tall, lush trees towering over the paved road and casting deep shadows across the pair of them. No one else was out on this street, as this was one of the quieter neighbourhoods, inhabited by many of the capital's high-society sorts.
"Nothing to report, sir," Tavola answered.
"Good. I have enough to deal with already." He stepped into the front garden, following the short brick path up to the front door. With a swipe of his ID card, the door unlocked, and he found himself within the pleasant space that was the entrance hall with an adjoining living area to his left. Light streamed in through the nearby windows, casting the spacious interior in a warm glow. Potted plants hung at most of the windows, adding thin, trailing shadows into the light. The climate control systems within kept the home at a pleasant and moderate temperature unless otherwise adjusted. Various pieces of family and clan memorabilia was on display, with one of the first things a visitor saw upon entering being a sleek, curved sword in a sheath set upon a mantel on the right-hand side of the plush carpeted hall. That was a piece that dated back centuries, carried by one of Kav'rak's ancestors who had taken up piracy on the high seas.
Kav'rak heard voices from nearby, footsteps as well. He headed into the living area, packed with cushioned furniture and expensive rugs. A portrait of the late Emperor Crovakari III hung upon the far wall. And there, in the middle of the room amongst a nest of cushions and blankets was a female of the species, with a slim frame and somewhat less obvious muscle on the upper torso. A female's head-plume was thinner and hung further back upon the skull, although they lacked the forearm feathers so common on the males. Even their facial features were a little narrower, less pronounced than those seen on the males.
His wife was a few years younger, daughter of a prominent minister and someone who had, much like Kav'rak, grown up among royalty. She was dressed in a loose-fitting purple robe, and she had seated around her three much younger and smaller females. At their young ages, they still carried the fluffier feathers the younger makalvari were born with, which covered their heads and arms. As they came of age, they would fall away, leaving them with the more silken and less chaotic plumes the adults had. All three of the children were in similar outfits to their mother, and all three looked upon the woman intently. She had been telling a story, and Kav'rak paused in the doorway for a moment to listen in. His wife was yet to realise he was there, so focused as she was on their three children.
"Kela'ruk challenged the bandit leader to a duel, a one-on-one fight. They fought with ceremonial blades, short curved weapons intended for such a challenge. And their fight, taking place before the other bandits, went on for nearly an hour as they gradually wore each other down. They punched and kicked and slashed at one another, before Kela'ruk finally got the better of his opponent. Down in the dirt, both bloodied and tired, Kela'ruk had the bandit leader in a headlock. He pushed the blade against his throat, ready to finish the fight then and there. After all, as agreed the bandits would disperse if their leader lost this fight."
"And what happened next?" One of their daughters, Tela'rai, asked. The three children were all from the same clutch, all born within minutes of one another. Kav'rak had secretly hoped for a son among them, but he loved his children all the same, regardless of sex.
His wife saw him then, lingering in the doorway.
"I'll tell you later," she said, and she rose to her feet. The children seemed disappointed, but when they turned and saw their father their gazes immediately lit up. Straight away they came running for him, practically jumping about him as he opened his arms wide and bent down so that he was more to their level.
"My girls, my beautiful girls." Kav'rak beamed a great smile, once again hit with that intense joy he felt whenever he saw his children after an absence. All the while his wife, Lina'rai, watched from nearby. She wore a more serious expression, eyes narrowed and set upon her husband.
"We missed you, papa," Tela'rai said. The other two nodded in agreement. Kav'rak held them close for an extended moment, before he slowly released them from the group hug and stood up straight again.
"Did you fight anyone?" Another of his daughters, Shina'rai, said.
"No, not this time."
"Will you stay?" The third of his girls, Sala'rai, asked.
"Not for long, I'm afraid. I have work to do, far away from here." Immediately, all three of his daughters looked disappointed. It was the kind of look that always made his heart sink, and he wondered how best he could make it up to them. Of course, he had learned a long time ago that there was no way to make up for his absence. He was either here or he was not, and he had experienced much the same when he had been a child. His father had been away for months at a time, and even as Captain of the Royal Guard he had been sent to far flung regions on the home-world on a variety of assignments at the behest of the Emperor and his ministers. One of those assignments had seen Kav'rak's father ambushed by rebels and killed, along with the handful of soldiers who had been with him. The rebels of that time had been promptly wiped out in retaliation, but not before his father's body had been strung up on the edges of a frontier town as a 'warning' to so-called 'pawns of the corrupt Emperor'.
"Girls, why don't you play in the backyard?" His wife said, as she approached the group. "Your father and I need to talk."
"Will papa come and play too?" Shina'rai asked.
"Yes, yes he will." She met his gaze then, and the look in her eye suggested that he had no choice in the matter. This suited him fine, as more time spent with his daughters was about the one thing he desired most of all. As the girls hurried out of the room, going for the rear door into the garden behind the house, his wife set a firm expression upon him. It was one that made him feel a little uneasy.
"What is it?" The joy Kav'rak had felt disappeared suddenly, when left alone with his wife.
"What do you think it is, Kav?" She said, her voice rising an octave. "We hardly talk, we hardly see each other, and you're hardly here for the children. Even during the days you are here, on the home-world, you spent most of them at the palace. I do not even know why we married."
"We've spoken about this." Kav'rak had heard it before, the same old argument about his absences. "I have duties."
"You have a duty to your children, to me. You may not love me anymore, but at least love your children."
Kav'rak swallowed. His feelings for Lina'rai had faded these past couple of years, there was no use denying it. He could not explain this, although it likely came from the fact that the love they had felt when they had married had been fleeting. The whole thing had been arranged by Lina'rai's father, who had sought an influential family for her to marry into. And Kav'rak, having been younger and somewhat more impressionable, had gladly agreed to it.
"I still love you," Kav'rak said. It sounded hollow, even to him.
"You don't show it."
"I'm not an overly-romantic person, Lina. You know that."
There was a pause. Lina'rai turned away then, walking over to the nearest window. There, she looked out onto the backyard, with its long grass and thick shrubs and flowered bushes. She watched their children, who were throwing around a small red ball and chasing each other, all smiles and sounding out with rollicking laughter.
"I spoke to Tiva'lal today."
Kav'rak's eyes widened, an action that he had not intended. He quickly brought his features under control, doing his best to appear stoic.
"And who is that, Lina?" He regretted the question as soon as he said it, and he winced inwardly.
His wife spun about to look at him again, and her face contorted with anger. Yes, it had been a mistake to adopt this tack.
"You know who it is. It seems you cannot even maintain a functional relationship with your mistress. You're about as absent from her as you are from here. I wonder what the point of that even is?"
Tiva'lal was a young servant girl working in the palace. That is, very attractive servant girl inexperienced in love who had become quite besotted by the dashing Captain. And Kav'rak had happily obliged her, just as he had happily obliged Lina'rai's father by marrying his daughter.
"You need to make a choice, Kav. Between me and that naïve servant you took advantage of." Lina'rai inhaled deeply, composing herself, the fire in her eyes fading. "Let me know, soon."
"And if I don't?" Kav'rak had to contain his own growing annoyance, something that was becoming increasingly difficult. "What will you do? Will you leave?"
"I'll do something, Kav."
"You can't leave. Your father won't have you back if you run out on your husband. And what of the children?"
Lina'rai shook her head. She seemed both disappointed and annoyed. Kav'rak said nothing, could think of nothing appropriate to say.
"I'm taking the children to my aunt," she said suddenly, her tone more resigned than anything else. "When you wish to make a decision, you come to me and you tell me, face-to-face."
"Lina, you can't do this…" It was bad enough that she wanted to take the children away from him, but in doing so she would be ruining her own life, her own status. At least here, in this household, she had a place and a comfortable life. Her aunt was of significantly lower status than Kav'rak. He had to wonder just what she could offer his wife and children that he could not?
"I would rather risk alienation from my peers than live a lie," Lina'rai said. "So, you either make a decision now, or I take the children and leave."
"I, I, well, ah…" Kav'rak stumbled over his words, unable to form a cohesive sentence. That was a first for him, as normally he was one always ready with a response. The only person who could leave him tongue-tied was his wife, which he supposed was unsurprising. Lina'rai had always been headstrong, more so than most other women Kav'rak had met.
"I will tell you, after I return from my newest mission," he said, after a long pause. "Just please, stay here. Don't leave. The children, they need stability."
"This isn't stable."
"We can make it better, for their sake." Kav'rak sighed. He could see that his wife had already made up her mind. As much as he wanted to tell her that yes, he wanted to be with her, he could not do so with complete honesty. The mission to Dalabrai would give him time to think, at least between bouts of being shot at.
"And if you don't return from this mission?" A valid question. Lina'rai watched him with additional scrutiny.
"I will return, Lina. I always have." He knew full well the risks in his line of work. A war was being waged and he was to head into one of the hotspots, as ordered by his superiors. It was his duty as a Captain and soldier of Makvar to do so, to protect the Republic and defeat its enemies. And, of course, further its own agenda by drawing the humans of Earth into the conflict directly.
"For the sake of the children, I hope you do." Her face was grim, the possibility of his death as prominent in her mind as it was in his. "They need a father, regardless of what I might feel about him."
