The West Sea

Chapter 15: Vathalla

The Marshall's assistant, Ms. Aberdeen Maurilio, took out a hardbound ledger from her purse as Dara, Trio, and his mother Teodora, watched her intensely while the woman browsed her booklet.

"Gatdula and Teodora Agapay. Owners of multiple businesses here in the Metro as well as in the Caltar Province. Estimated net worth of 3.8 million credits. Not bad for retirees, I would imagine. Relatives, none. Children, one Matrio Agapay. And here, let's see..."

The Marshal's assistant quickly turned a few pages and stopped at the marker with a 'P' letter on top.

"Palilia. Ah here it is. Ms. Daralene Palilia. daughter of Viktor and Marlina Palilia. Businesses, one. Paltec holdings. Estimated net worth, 1.6 million credits. Relatives, also none."

"What does that have to do with anything?" asked Dara. She was confused as to how the woman knew her family's details.

"Well, for one thing, if you don't drop the matter about the 'accident' right now, all future businesses inside the Metro relating to you and your families will cease to function immediately," insisted Ms. Aberdeen. Trio made the first remark towards the obvious blackmail.

"You can't do that! Who do you think you are to..." Trio was cut short by the Marshal's assistant.

"Me? I'm just an assistant. But it seems to be a matter of urgency for the Marshal. You see, Maximo Sakai is a very powerful man and I for one wouldn't want to be in his bad side. Especially regarding his son, Marcus."

The room was silent once more. Even Lieutenant Andreus de Sol succumbed to the room's quiet atmosphere. He personally knew what kind of man Maximo Sakai was, and was hopeful that the assistant would leave immediately so that his own blackmail was to be kept secret from the group.

"I guess that would mean our business here is done?" Ms. Aberdeen tucked the ledger back to her purse and headed towards the door.

"You won't get away with this, " Dara blurted out, still fearful for her family's safety.

"Darling, we can get away with a lot of things."

"No you won't, I don't care what happens. The brat Marcus is going to pay for what he did to my son!" shouted Trio's mother as she started walking towards the Marshal's assistant and grabbed her by the neck. Unintimidated, Ms. Aberdeen proceeded to lecture the woman holding her.

"Are you sure about that? Just say the word and with just one call, I can excommunicate each and every one of you and all of your... " The assistant took out her dataphone, it's microphone pressed against her red lips.

"That's enough!" Captain Gatdula Agapay entered the room forcefully. He held his wife's hand softly as she lets go of the assistant's red neck.

"Tell the Marshal we'll comply. That should be the end of it," Mr. Agapay stated while he helped his wife take a seat by the side of his son. He looked at Trio and kissed him in the forehead.

"Hello, son. I'm so glad you're okay. Don't worry about today. I'll make this right."

Trio saw his father's face clearly. A bit bruised and beaten up but his father's smile was as clear as day.

"But honey, I..." Mrs. Agapay wanted to stand up but the Captain hushed her wife back down.

"Everything's going to be alright, I promise," whispered the Captain as his calm demeanor suddenly switched into fierce confidence.

"That is the end of it," exclaimed Captain Agapay as he looked at the nonchalant woman by the door.

"Well, I should be off then. And for the record, you all making such a big deal out of this. I mean, this boy will recover and get back to training, so what's the problem?"

"Because Arman got expelled because of your master's idiot of a son," complained Dara once more though she knew there was nothing anyone could do about it.

"What? That slum kid? Who even cares about that. I'm sure he has way more better things to do than train in that camp." remarked Ms. Aberdeen, mocking the group in front of her as she grabbed the door knob.

"You're absolutely right, miss..." a familiar voice crept through the open slit of the door as the boy behind swung it open, bumping the assistant from behind as she fell on top of the sterile floor.

"I'm not going back to the Aseatic Division Camp. Not 'that' camp anyway." Arman stood steadfast beneath the room's entrance. He looked at the Captain who just smiled back at his mentor's successor.

"Tell Marcus that I'll be seeing him soon." Arman looked down on Ms. Aberdeen with such intent that the assistant mistook it for a joke.

"Pfftt... In your dreams, slum boy," the visibly irate assistant stood up and rushed out of the room, stomping her heels with every step.

Lieutenant de Sol, seeing as he'll be taking the brunt of the recent exchange walked out immediately after Ms. Aberdeen. He glanced at Arman as he stepped out of the room and whispered to the boy, "I'm sorry."

"You're not coming back, Arman?" Dara stood away from her corner of the room and approached the expelled recruit.

"Hey Dara. Yeah, I figured I won't be able to pass the camp with Marcus there so I've taken the Captain's offer," answered Arman as the Captain laid his arm on top of the boy's shoulder.

"He'll be training with my old squad. They don't take much recruits but when I told them who Arman was, they couldn't say yes quick enough. I'll handle his Metro Citizenship tomorrow before we ship off to Caltar," bragged the Captain in front of everyone, which still left them confused.

"You're also going, dad? And also, why would it matter to your squad who Arman was? What is that suppose to mean?" asked the Captain's son while adjusting the pillow behind his head. It was a hectic day and the conversations was making him light-headed again.

"I'm just dropping him off. Anyway, You don't tell your friends much about yourself do you, Arman?" said the Captain.

"Well, it didn't really came up," replied Arman so the Captain took the opportunity to introduce the expelled recruit from the slums to the others in the room.

"Armando Bruno here is the son of Jira and Alana Bruno, Commanders of the Knights of Vathalla. Arman is the son of the Knives of Senaya."

The collective awkward shock of Dara, Mrs. Agapay, and Trio left their jaws hanging. The stories about the Dual Commanders Jira and Alana Bruno were all but stripped from history as they were formally disavowed by the New Republic. But still, their greatness was in fond memories of those who have heard their tale. Dara was the first to break their silence.

"Now 'that' is a legacy," Dara commented as she walked over to Arman to give him a well deserved hug.

***Thank you for taking the time to read my work. It would really mean a lot if you could leave some comments as I would like to hear what you have to say about the chapter. You can also vote and share this to your friends and help spread the story of The West Sea.***