Aigith~

We make it back to the Order base without any trouble, and I dock the ship. The whole crew, myself included, breathes a sigh of relief. It's been a tense few hours.

"Get the wounded fighters inside and make sure they recieve medical care immediately," I instruct the crew, "then get some rest. You've all done very well." I walk over to the doors, where Iri is waiting.

"Are you going to give a report to the Admiral?" she asks, and I nod wearily.

"Yes. I'll give her the details of the transport and let her know which fighters made it back." She squeezes my shoulder encouragingly, then goes to help the rest of the crew. I leave them to it and disembark the ship, entering the base. A guard stops me, asking for identification, but lets me pass when I provide it. I head towards the command room, which is where the Admiral can usually be found.

As I near the entrance to the room, the door opens, and two people exit. One of them is the Admiral, and the other is someone I don't immediately recognize, although I see he's a Cien.

"Aigith," says the Admiral when she sees me. "Any updates on the fighters?"

"They're all currently recieving medical attention, but they should make it," I respond. "I'm sorry about the three we couldn't retrieve." Pain flashes across her face, but only for a moment, then she's back in control.

"You did your best, for which I'm grateful."

I open my mouth to speak, then close it again. Then, throwing caution to the wind, I say, "Admiral, may I speak with you for a moment?"

She nods, and says, "Varjo, give us a moment? Go help Vice Admiral Phillip." The Cien, Varjo, leaves. "What is it, Aigith?"

Steeling myself, I say, "The mole in the Order, I think it might be-"

She stops me with a raised hand. "We know Varjo is the mole." My eyebrows shoot up, and she continues. "However, we have a mutual goal in this case. One of our best spies, Sihi Nayemnik, has been captured." I remember Sihi, and the news she's been captured isn't pleasant. "Sihi is his sister, and he's agreed to use his knowledge of the Council base to help us retrieve her."

I take a moment to process this news. I stand up straight, and surprising even myself, I say, "Admiral Zygo, I request permission to accompany you."

Sorry guys, I'm going to drop out of this.

If you don't mind (and since a couple of new charries have been added to this rp), I'm making another character. I came up with this charrie because I want Aria to change sides at some point in the roleplay, but I can't figure out how to do it without a character who has extreme coding skills. So:

Name: Gemini Stereim

Occupation: Medic/mechanic/programmer

Species: Geyjiri. The Geyjiri are often stereotyped as being the Council's mechanic/engineer slaves. The stereotype is primarily true, because the Geyjiri are the number-one Council labor employed species throughout the galaxies. Geyjiri most often populate the industrial/manufacturing planets such as Indari, Thaddis, Lin-jenni, and Vomo, where they also work. Geyjiri are humanoid with metallic-toned skin, most often bronze to copper hues, and grey or brown eyes. They have horns, usually ram- or ox- like, which grow as a Geyjiri ages. Their hair is usually braided or tied back, and some shave their heads for practicalities' sake. Geyjiri are often recognizable by the prosthetic limbs that they wear from work causalities. 

Home Planet: Geyja, the home planet for the Geyjiri species. When she was young, she and her family moved to planet Vomo, where they lived for a year, and then to Thaddis, one of the biggest industrial zones (and where Aria was created). Gemini's original home, Geyja, which was decimated by Council forces a few years after Gemini was born, causing her family to flee to Vomo. (I'm tying that in to @Kyoto's post about Jainnen Tuuli having a planet-destroying weapon? I thought that might be a nice link...) 

Abilities: Excellent programming/engineering skills, and she has fairly advanced abilities as a medic. She's comfortable and familiar around spacecraft of all kind, having grown up building them. Her prosthetic hand (see Appearance) has some basic tool functions, but nothing major. 

Appearance: Light bronze skin and green-grey eyes. She has very glossy black hair that she braids partially. Her left hand is a prosthetic, but she wears gloves to conceal this. Her horns resemble those of a ram's, and are a silverish color. 

Personality: Loyal, practical, slightly pessimistic at times. Comfortable with technology. Honest and open. She can be outspoken, and will defend others, but she is in general extremely mistrusting of all who follow the Council. She hates stereotypes and is trying to overcome the traditional image associated to a Geyjiri, which is why she wears gloves covering her prosthetic. 

Gender: Nonbinary, but registers by she/her pronouns. Kind of. I don't know. 

Age: 16. Geyjiri years are pretty close to human years. 

Alliance (None is an option, and this can change throughout the rp): She's highly pro-order, ever since she witnessed her home planet destroyed by the Council.

Weaknesses: Threats to the things/ones closest to her: her family and friends, and her various homes. 

Other: I wanted to add some backstory here. A few months ago Gemini escaped Planet Thaddis and sought work as a medic for the Order, hopping rides on interplanetary-bound merchant ships. Her true brilliance is in programming, but (as part of her dislike of stereotypes) she is trying to make a different repuation for her species. I was thinking maybe she just got hired by the Order as a medic? 

I didn't want this post to be too long, so I'm just going to write the narrative in a separate post. 

This post is mostly just to explain how the planet-destroying weapon works.

Jainen Tuuli~~

"Is Tambour in range?" I ask. The android looks up at me.

"Of course, sir." 

"Good. I'll tell you when to fire." Finally. After all these years, I've found something that would truly devasate the Order's Admiral--destroying her home planet. The files Varjo collected have come in handy. 

This wouldn't be the first time I've used this weapon. I've done it many times, in fact. But because of the way the weapon works, it's always been very easy to come up with a convient cover story. And nobody is ever the wiser.

Except for the witnesses, of course--but that's why we make sure they never talk.

The weapon is simple. It doesn't completely obliberate the planet--it instead renders it completely uninhabitable for the next several hundred years, and destroys essentially any life forms on the planet. It sends out a large nuclear blast, planet-wide. Anything that isn't killed in the initial blast or heat wave is killed by radiation. 

It's really quite effective.

I walk over to another android. "Have we heard anything else from Nayemnik yet?"

"Other than the files and coded message, no. But we currently have no reason to believe he's betrayed us, sir," The android says. Androids--a genius idea presented by one of my scientists. Unlike a spy, they will truly never give away secrets. They're coded to only speak to me, and a select few Councillors. 

I'd hoped that one day I'd be able to trust Nayemnik enough to allow him to speak to them as well, but seeing his reaction to the fact his sister might die dashed all my hopes. Unfortunately, Nayemnik wasn't ready, and I fear he never will be.

~~~ 

Is it ok that Gemini's home planet was decimated by the weapon? I posted my charrie sheet before reading that post, but I didn't specify anything about the weapon so I hope it's ok 

Artemis~ 

“Admiral Zygo, I request permission to accompany you.”

I glanced over to Phillip, who was finishing up helping the crew in. He wouldn’t be coming with us but he’d still be tracking us and helping from the command room. Plus, if anything happened to me, the Order would be in good hands. But I didn’t know if I wanted to add another person to the risk.

Before I could say anything, she shook her head.

“It’s by my own accord and I accept the risk. I’m not tied to the Order, Admiral,” Aigith quickly added.

I gave her a smile. “I’m not worried about the paperwork, Aigith. This extraction just isn’t going to be easy, and I don’t want someone that doesn’t have to be a part of this fly right into danger.”

“Please, Admiral,” Aigith insisted. “I know her. And you can use my expertise.”

I raised an eyebrow, but I was warming up to the idea. I did know what Aigith was capable of. “Are you saying that my fighters aren’t already experts in their field?”
Mild panic mixed with regret flashed across her face, but I gave a light laugh.

“I’m just kidding, Aigith. We have an open spot in the artillery. Go get ready.”
Her face brightened, as she began to move to the ship. “Thank you ma’am. You won’t regret this.”
I smiled to myself and made my way towards the Titan, finding Varjo looking up at the silver beauty.
Sensing me, he gave a surprised scoff. “How in the world do you hide something like this?”

“It can hold up to seven thousand crew members,” I replied. “But we’re going with a crew of less than five hundred today. We just need a good amount of people to man vital levels.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to take something...less conspicuous?” Varjo asked, still not taking his eyes off the ship.

I nodded. “Phillip and I talked about it before the meeting ended yesterday, and he’s going to relay the information to the command room. We’re gonna leave the Titan outside the planet and use a transporter instead. Then we’ll beam into the base from the transporter. Don’t worry, the transporter will be far enough away and the cloaking on it is good enough so we won’t be picked up by radars or scanners.”

“Okay,” Varjo responded. After a couple more moments of staring at the ship, he finally looked down. “Where did you even get this ship?”
“We have some very talented engineers that joined,” I said. “A lot of them came from the Council, so they know what tech works and what doesn’t. Others worked in different star fleets. We’re not a pitiful little organisation like you might have thought, Varjo.”

“I never thought that,” he replied. He then frowned, thinking. “Tuuli, yes. He consistently underestimated you. Me? I was afraid you would have tricks up your sleeves, and this,” he said, gesturing to the ship. “This proves that I was right. Tuuli would probably wet himself if he saw this.”

I gave a genuine laugh. “I’d pay to see that.”
Suddenly a crewmember came up to me, handing me two uniforms.

“Admiral.”

“Oh, thank you,” I said, inspecting them.

“What’s that?” Varjo asked as the crewmember walked away.

“Ship uniforms,” I responded. I looked up, handing him one. “Here.”

He looked at it, hesitantly picking his up. “I don’t think it’s my place to-”
“Look, Varjo, you’ve made it this far,” I interrupted. “Might as well look the part.”

His exterior was tense but his eyes showed gratitude. “Okay.”

“Admiral, are you ready?” I heard Phillip’s voice ask.

I turned around. “Ah, yes, the last of the crew has been seen in. Is everything ready in control?”
Phillip nodded. “We’ll be with you the whole time.”

“I’ll see you inside,” Varjo told me, and I replied with an “okay,” as I looked towards Phillip, who’s eyes followed Varjo suspiciously.
“You gave someone from the Council our uniform?” he asked bluntly, and I scoffed, slightly taken aback by his abruptness.

“Well I gave you the uniform, didn’t I?”

Phillip looked like he wanted to roll his eyes. “That’s different.”

I hesitated. Phillip noticed and looked at me.

I cleared my throat. “I...I offered him a place in the Order. After this is over.”

Phillip froze. “What?”

I sighed. “He’s not going to be welcome back to the Council, and once his sister comes back he’ll have another reason to stay.”

“Admiral, he was here to spy on us,” Phillip said, clearly unhappy.

“Yes, well, that was his given mission and he was just doing his job-”

“He was going to kill you! Let’s be real here,” Phillip interrupted, his voice slightly raising. “Admiral, I don’t want your naivety on these issues to get you killed.”

I took a step back, shocked. “Vice Admiral Phillip, you overstep.”

Phillip paused and looked down, huffing slightly. “Yes ma’am. I apologise.”

“Now,” I said, trying to diffuse the situation. “Get to the command room. We have more pressing issues. We’ll speak more on this later.”

“Yes Admiral. Again, my apologies.”
My hard stare softened. “I understand your concerns, Phillip. We’ll figure it out. I’ll see you when we get back.”

He nodded and turned to go back to the command room and I turned to go to the Titan.

My eyes involuntarily scaled the size of the ship. It was now or never.

I took a deep breath and walked in.

Yeah, it's fine. It probably makes sense anyways---it would mean all the genjyri would have to move off the planet, and go to industrial zones to find work, benefiting Tuuli. However--keep in mind that most people wouldn't think Tuuli was to blame for the planet's destruction. He probably made up a story about a radiation leak on the planet or something that caused it to become uninhabitable. Only the Genjyri would know the truth, and Tuuli has probably threatened to kill them if they tell people what really happened.

Varjo Nayemnik~~

Varjo exited the room and walked back towards the ship. The new uniform felt odd to wear--he'd been wearing a Council uniform for so many years now that the thought of a new one was something he'd never considered.

There was also something oddly symbolic about it--as if it were a representation of him cutting ties with Tuuli. Which was ridiculous--there was no real way for him to truly escape Tuuli's grasp. Even if he did join the Order, he was sure Tuuli would find a way to still control him.

Perhaps that was the real reason Varjo was so reluctant about joining the Order.

Varjo looked up at the massive ship. The name 'Titan' was rather fitting--it was truly a giant amongst spacecraft. He knew the Order was going to be more significant than Tuuli made it out to be, but he hadn't quite been expecting this. 

He walked into the ship, ignoring the slightly worried glances he got from the other crew members. The ship felt surprisingly empty--five hundred people on board was nowhere close to the ship's full capacity. It felt almost like a ghost ship.

The Admiral was waiting for him in the bridge, along with a few higher ranking members. "Varjo," She said in a terse manner, though it was not at all unfriendly.

Varjo had been on a great deal of spacecraft during his time with the Council, but the atmosphere on this ship was a lot different. There were more whispers of 'good luck', and less death threats if they made a mistake. He understood why Sihi felt such a strong connection for her fellow Order members.

"Are we ready for lift-off?" Someone sitting at a holo-screen asked. 

"Just a few more moments," the Admiral replied. Varjo looked out the large windshield at the front of the ship.

How ironic that he was going to have to put his life in the hands of his enemies.

~~~ 

Artemis~ 

“Everything is engaged and ready to go, Admiral,” the ensign at the holoscreen said.

I took one last look out at the landing docks, and the launch deck nodded.

“Then let’s get going.”

“Yes Admiral,” the ensign, Kurt, replied, working through the holoscreen. “Engines, engage,” he spoke through the com. 

The Titan hummed and came to life, hovering above the surface of the dock. 

I looked around to make sure everyone was seated and strapped in, and then I nodded to Kurt.

He nodded back, leaning in to the com. “Activate.”

The Titan slowly moved out of the dock and hovered above the area, before the helmsman, Yondo, activated the controls.
“Leaving Urbriva’s atmosphere now.”

The Titan shot out of the planet, and in the blink of an eye we were surrounded by darkness and the presence of faraway stars.

I examined Urbriva, the planet getting smaller and smaller every second that passed by.

“Setting warp speed coordinates now.”

I took a moment to look out the window at the planets in the distance. Space was just so vast, and I hadn’t been out of a planet in a while. I never realised how much I missed it.

“Activating warp drive.”

There was a quiet rumble as Yondo shifted the warp control forward.
“Warp drive activated.”
The ship jolted slightly as we were suddenly passing through to the next system, hundreds of overwhelming streaks of light racing past us. 

Then with a flash, the ship stilled and we were once again surrounded by darkness, ever so present and ever so quiet. 

“We’ll manually navigate from here so no radars pick us up,” Yondo announced. “We should be there by the hour.’

I stood from the captain’s chair, making my way over to the holoscreen Yondo observed. I heard others around me getting up as the deck rose to a hum, crewmembers trying to fix settings for the next part.

I glanced at the holoscreen. “Where are we in position to Tsikhe?”

“Only a few units out, at the northern point of the system,” Yondo replied, changing the screen. “I’ve sent the coordinates to the transporter, and the second helmsman, Aera, will take control.”
“Good. You’re in charge of the deck while I’m gone.”
Yondo did a double take. “Yes...Admiral, but you’re going with them?”

“I am,” I replied. Obviously needing further explanation as Yondo still looked surprised, I sighed. “Someone needs to make sure that those trigger happy Order fighters don’t blow up Tuuli’s base. Plus, we have certain allies,” I said, nodding my head subtly towards where Varjo stood. “That I need to keep an extra eye on.”

“Ah. Understood, Admiral.”
I gave him a small “thank you,” before heading over to Varjo, who looked quite out of place. It was almost amusing.

I smiled to myself. “Are you okay?”
He was still staring out at the stars when he noticed I was talking. “What? Oh, yes, it’s just...if you had asked me last week what I’d be doing today, I never would have thought I’d be storming the Council with the Order and their Admiral.”

I laughed quietly, and gave his shoulder a pat.

“C’mon, we’ve got to get to the transport. The base isn’t going to storm itself.”

Mahriel~

As I watched the sun fade below the horizon, I can't help but let my mind wander, I think of all the people I've known over the years, bounty hunters, fellow black market dealers, even spies. My mind fastens on one name: Aigith Rim, I haven't seen her in forever, I wonder what she is up to. She was a good friend, she had a heart, unlike most people in our lines of business, she was also quite good at what she did.

I remember one time when I bet that she couldn't steal a Grugan's drink right out from under his nose, well, I lost a few units that day, she was a good sport though, and fun to be around.

I get up and head to my ship, I was visiting Luzar, a planet famous for both its food and its sunset. But now it's time to head out again, and I have to hurry I have a deadline to meet, I have to smuggle a rare M'varrian trill, a kind of dog/bird mix who could both run and sing. A rich man had ordered it and, of course, when there is good money in it, what can I say but "your word is my command!"

Though I wouldn't like to run in to any M'varra, they don't like finding out that an inferior people group bested them.

I climb into my ship, the shadow. A fitting name, because like a shadow, it could slip unseen through any planet in the universe, or so I like to say.

My crew sets the quardinates, and were off speeding away from the last dying rays of a beautiful Luzar sunset.

I hope you like it! if you don't I can edit it, but I thought maybe she could run into Renjiro or something, and/or she could maybe join the order of light? And meet up with Aigith?

Varjo Nayemnik~~

"C'mon, we've got to get to the transport. The base isn't going to storm itself."

Varjo followed the Admiral through the white-paneled corridors of the ship.  Along the way, they met up with the other members of the extraction team. They all look a little surprised to see Artemis accompanying them, and none of them looked very pleased that Varjo was also there.

Eventually, the group made it into the docks, where the transport was waiting. "Ready?" An ensign asked, making a few last-minute preparations from their holoscreen station. 

"Ready as I'll ever be," One of the extraction team members muttered. Varjo couldn't help but agree.

"Yes, we're ready," Artemis said, after examining her teammates. 

"Good luck," the ensign said. The doors of the transport slid open. Varjo stepped in, following the Admiral. He could feel the tense stares of the Order members on his back.

The transport  disconnected its docking mechanisms, and there was a small jerk as it pulled away from the Titan. A few of the soldiers held onto bars that lined the roof, though Varjo managed to remain standing straight. It wasn't his first time riding a transport, and certainly not his first time on a mission.

It was the first time he'd been on a mission that wasn't extraordinarily immoral, though. 

The transport got close enough to Tsikhe that Varjo could see the swirling clouds completely covering the planet's surface. He'd seen the planet a great many times, and it was not a pleasant sight to him, despite its beauty. A few Council ships orbited the air, mostly cargo ships or transports. Nothing they needed to worry about.

Or, at least, Varjo hoped they didn't need to worry about them. Tuuli had a habit of disguising gunships as cargo ships. It was very likely most of the 'cargo ships' were actually full of guards patrolling the atmosphere. 

"We're ready to be beamed in," Artemis said, turning on a small earpiece.

~~~~~

Sihi Nayemnik~

The guards hadn't yet dragged me off to see Tuuli again. Part of me wanted to see him--just so I could make a decision and get this whole 'saving soldier's lives' thing off my chest. Being a prisoner for the Council made me worry about my own life enough--I didn't want to worry about anybody else's as well.

It felt weird to think that my brother had been one of these guards. I doubt he'd spent much time in the prisons, as high-ranked as he was, but maybe when he first joined.

I felt strange about Varjo, too. I knew he'd probably been acting as spy--or worse, an assassin. Yet, a part of me hoped he'd finally understood that he had a choice, that he could escape the Council and finally fight for the right side.

I was pulled out of my reverie by the door to the prisons opening. Ah--more guards. My heart sank, but then I saw the uniforms.

The Order had come for me.

My heart sank again, however, when I noticed who was leading them--Artemis Zygo. Typically, I'd be ecstatic to see her. But I feared that now Tuuli had her exactly where he wanted her.

My dropped even further when I saw my brother next to her. Tuuli was going to find some way to use him against us.

It was undeniable.

~~~ 

This is long ahh. Whoever's next, feel free to jump in at any point 

Artemis~ 

We had retrieved a fairly shaken Sihi and were about to be beamed back when a flank of guards rounded the corner.

“Admiral?” a panicked ensign asked, before a blaster fired and he dropped to the floor.

“Aera, beam us out of here!” I yelled into the earpiece as we moved into Sihi’s cell for some cover.
“I can’t! They put the deflectors back on. Adm-Admir--”
She cut out, and another blaster fired as another fighter dropped.

We tried to fight them off, but a pit in my stomach grew. Fighters that came with us were dropping left and right. There was a chance we wouldn't walk out of this one.

I tried my com again. “Yondo, get out of the system now!”

“Admiral, we--trying to get--you out--”
I hissed as a blast grazed my arm. “NO, just get out NOW! That’s an order!”

I then took out my earpiece and crushed it, firing at a guard, but they kept coming in from every side. Within seconds, they stood in front of the door, weapons drawn.

I looked at Varjo, and he looked just as confused as I was. But he didn’t look surprised.

A guard opened fire at another fighter, and I leapt forward. I managed to grab the blaster and shoot the guard down before I felt cold metal press up against my own head.
“Weapon down, mutt.”

I hesitated but let the weapon clatter to the ground. Slowly, I turned to face Varjo, Sihi, and Aigith. The only ones left. Before I could do anything, a swift blow to the back of my head made everything go black.

~

My head stung, and I gritted my teeth as searing pain followed by blinding light filled my senses.
“Ah, Admiral Zygo,” a voice echoed through my head. “You’re finally able to join us.”

I blinked my eyes a few times, and when they finally adjusted I jolted.

I was laying on the cold floor of a big room, and I struggled to get up, finding my hands in cuffs of some sort.

“Ah ah, stay down if you need. You took a nasty blow.”

Feeling the need to defy the order and wanting to figure out where I was, I forced myself to stand up, wobbling a couple of times and almost falling over. But when I finally stabilized, I had to stifle a gasp.

“So. We finally meet.”

Jainnen Tuuli stood with a smile, arms open. “Welcome to my office.”

I shakily looked at Varjo, who stood beside him with his arms behind his back, face unreadable. 

My eyes warily scanned for Sihi and Aigith, finding them handcuffed, gagged, and tied down to two chairs. Sihi nodded at me and Aigith glared at Tuuli. At least they were alive.

“Well, I figured I shouldn’t restrain an Admiral like I’d restrain a spy,” Jainnen said casually. “That’s no way to treat a distinguished guest.”

“Shut up,” I growled, the pain still present in my head.

Jainnen shook his head with a chuckle. “Now that’s not very diplomatic of you.”

I gave him a sarcastic smirk. “No, but I already have a headache and I find your voice annoying.”

Anger flashed behind his eyes, but he waved it off. “You know, I must say, I’m very impressed with the GSS Titan. Don’t worry, they did manage to get away, but you and I both know that was only a one time thing.”

He circled around his desk, walking towards me.

“I have some powerful weapons at my disposal too, however,” he whispered, now a couple inches from my face. "My turn for show-and-tell.”

He grabbed my shoulder with a vice grip so we stood side by side. I struggled but he didn’t budge. He used a remote to activate the window in his office, and soon we were looking out at space. I swallowed when Tambour came into view.

“Tambour, right?” Tuuli asked with a smile, reading my expression. “See, I know you’re from here due to the very helpful files Naymenik here gave us,” he said, gesturing to Varjo. I couldn’t even look him in the eye. “And now Tambour has been selected to be my first public showing of what this weapon can do! They ought to be grateful. I’ve used this weapon before, but now I fully claim it.”

My eyes widened.

“Wait,” I choked out, the vision flashing in my head. Slow panic began to rise. “Wait, don’t-”

“Think of this as a cleansing,” Tuuli said, ignoring me. “Isn’t that what your people are all about? Perfection?”

“WAIT, Tuuli, why are you doing this? You can’t just-”

The fake friendliness dropped suddenly from Tuuli’s face, like it had never been there, and he gave a slight nod of his head. “Fire when ready.”

“NO!” I screamed, as I struggled against his grip. “NO, STOP!”

I watched as a part of Tambour suddenly ignited, the shockwave visible from space slowly spreading over the surface of the planet. 

I cried out and tried to look away, but Tuuli forced my head to turn back. I was helpless to its destruction.

“See what happens when you attack the wrong people?” Tuuli asked. His voice sounded on the brink of a laugh. “Innocent people suffer because of it. Because of you.”

The screen switched off and he finally released me, taking a couple steps away and back to his desk.

I stared at the window where the image of Tambour just was, not knowing what to do. I’d never felt this amount of pain and grief, and it felt crippling. I struggled to breathe and had to fight the urge not to empty my stomach contents. The weight on my chest was unbearable. But I refused to collapse and give Tuuli another thing to be satisfied about.

Tuuli.

Sadness quickly turned to anger which turned into rage.

“You,” I hissed, heading towards him. “I will kill you so slowly-”
Suddenly an electric shock jolted through my body, and I yelled as I dropped to my knees. The cuffs glowed a slight blue and subsided.

I glared up at Tuuli, but he looked away to Varjo.

For the first time we’d found Sihi, I met Varjo’s eyes. They were unreadable, and in that moment something else inside hurt.

My voice cracked. “Varjo. Please.”

I saw Tuuli in my peripheral shift, surprised. “And what’s this?”

I ignored him, not breaking eye contact with Varjo. “Your sister’s still here. And someone that's not even in the Order. At least get them out.”

Varjo’s eyes quickly darted to Sihi and Aigith, and then back to me.
Suddenly Tuuli began to slowly clap, and Varjo and I both turned to look at him. 

“This is all very touching, really,” Tuuli said, putting a hand over his heart. “But let’s come full circle now and finish the job, shall we?”

Tuuli’s gaze pierced mine. 

“Naymenik, do me a favour and execute Admiral Zygo.”