The man standing there was older, perhaps in his late seventies or early eighties. His hair and beard were almost completely white, with just a few specks of gray spread throughout. Wrinkles lined his face, a soft, tired expression showing through. Half circle spectacles sat on his nose, pushed all the way back. Upon looking over the group, his blue eyes grew wide when he saw Seth. A smile broke out over his face, the wrinkles creasing. However, there appeared to be a tone of sadness to it, almost as if it were forced.

“I didn’t believe the guard when he said that my little Ruby Hawk was here.” He had to shout to be heard over the pounding music. The man wrapped his arms around Seth, pulling him in tight. After a pause, he held the younger man at arms’ length, looking him over with inquiring eyes. He spoke quickly, the words tumbling over each other. “Mon petit faucon, je ne t’ai pas vu depuis que tu es un enfante. You have grown so much. Your father—”

“Please, Armand.” Seth shrugged off the man’s hands. He gestured to the room. “Can we talk inside? It’ll be so much quieter and safer.”

“Of course, of course.” Armand swept his arm wide and stepped aside, bowing slightly. “Make yourself at home.”

The room was bigger than Xaleyp expected. A series of lights lit up three distinct sections. In the first section was a small living area with a couch, two chairs, and a few bookshelves. A paper novel sat open next to a glass of what looked to be wine on a footstool in front of one of the chairs. Next was a small kitchen area with a replicator and fridge built into the metal countertops. Finally, a bedroom area with an elegantly covered bed and sitting chair was in the back. There was a single window at the far end, and Xaleyp could see that it faced the street that they entered from.

The man, Armand, moved to the living area, marking his place in the book and closing it. He set it aside and sat in an armchair, gesturing for the others to follow suit. Xaleyp and Mian sat side by side on the couch, and Seth took the other chair. As Seth sat there, he tapped his foot on the ground, repeatedly making a thumping noise. Redman moved to look out the window. When the door closed behind them, the music was dampened but still bled through the walls.

“Xaleyp, captain, girl,” Seth said, not knowing or not caring about Mian’s name, “this is Margrave Armand Chapuis. He was one of my father’s closest friends and advisors. He’s also my godfather, and a retired general of Hyperia.”

“I’ve been retired almost half as long as you’ve been alive, don’t forget.” Armand looked over each of them and bowed, his eyes resting for a second longer on Redman and the sword before flicking back to Seth. “Twenty-four years next month.”

“Yes, but you retired relatively young.” Seth shrugged. “You advised my father another ten years after that.”

“Seth, what are you even doing here?” Armand shook his head. “I’m sure you’re not just here to catch up. Not in today’s climate. Haven’t you heard? The Arcadian Governor is none too happy with the way Hyperia is running things.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Armand.” Seth sighed and clasped his hands together. He couldn’t look the man in the eye. Who even was this man? “I’m sure by now you’ve heard about what happened at Stariek.”

“Oh, yes. I daresay the entire galaxy knows by now.” Armand nodded solemnly. “The governor here declared himself Emperor of The Praes Dominion, whatever that means, shortly after the announcement. It’s a shame, really. People were happy, Hyperia was happy, the only one not was Delargivic. He never could leave well enough alone.”

Praes… Xaleyp recognized the word but was having trouble placing it. He did a search for it in the history book and found it within seconds. It was from his first history lesson at Vertyn, and he must have read about it too many times to count on their way to Arcadia. The Praesidium Union. The precursor to the Hyperion Empire. What made the Arcadians choose that name?

“Armand, I need your help,” Seth was saying. “You’re the only one right now that I can trust. You still have some influence here, right?”

“Eh, it comes and it goes. The current administration is not too pleased with me, but there’s still some people in there who respect my opinion. A few more owe me favors from the old days.” He glanced nervously towards the window and Redman. His hand shook slightly as he brought the glass of wine to his mouth and took a slow, steadying drink. He set the cup down, licked his lips, and looked them over. “Can I get you anything to drink? I’m sure you’ve had a long journey.”

“I’m fine, thanks,” Xaleyp said.

“No, thank you.” Mian shook her head.

“Alright then.” Armand looked back at Seth. “What did you have in mind, Hawk?”

“I need a place to set up where I can start undermining the government here. If I can destabilize it, then perhaps I can take back what is rightfully mine.”

“Those are awfully dangerous words, especially for me.” He took another sip of the wine, and his eyes darted around the room. “The Arcadians, they have been good to me most of the time. If I helped you and you failed…”

“I won’t.” Seth glared at the man. “If I set my mind to something, you can rest assured that I will succeed.”

“What kind of help are you looking for?” Armand spoke slowly, trying to choose his words carefully. “Tell me, and I’ll see if I can provide it.”

“I need two things in particular. Money and contacts.” Seth looked down as the man’s gaze lingered on him. “I may have bribed your guard at the door. I’m sure by now they’ve flagged my accounts, so Delargivic and whoever else he’s told know that I’m on Arcadia. That I didn’t die back at Stariek. I can’t risk using my own money again.”

“I am not that rich a man, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

“For contacts, I need people I can trust. High up in the government and military. People who can make sure that we stay a step ahead of Delargivic. I know you can give me that. My father told me enough about you when I was younger.”

“Your father was a smart man.” Armand smirked. “He also would’ve told you that what you are planning is a suicide mission.”

“My father would’ve beat me if I even suggested giving up his empire without a fight. I’d rather die doing what’s right than roll over and wait to die. Now, will you help me?”

“Mon petit faucon…” Armand closed his eyes in thought. “It’s time to come home to the nest.”

Seth looked directly at the man. He stopped tapping his foot at once. He stood and glared down, looking around at each of them, an expression of panic on his face. Xaleyp wondered what the words meant, why they could have had such an effect on him.

“What did you just say?” he asked. Armand didn’t answer, and Seth rose his voice. “What did you say?”

“Seth, we’ve got company.” Redman’s voice came from the opposite end of the room before Armand could answer. “Three police cars and it looks like two drones.”

Seth said nothing for a moment, his eye twitching. “Damn it, Yeter, respond. Shit. Yeter’s down. They must’ve gotten to him first.”

“They’re setting up a perimeter, sir. We have to move quickly.”

Xaleyp and Mian jumped up to run to the window. Sure enough, there was a police van blocking each road leading away from the Snow Raven. Metal barricades were being spread out to keep people from walking down the sidewalks. The officers stood behind cover, waiting for the order to move in. The music from downstairs had stopped. As they watched, two more drones came out of the parking garage. All four circled the building, disappearing and reappearing as each came in and out of view.

“How did they know we were here?” Xaleyp asked, looking at Mian. “Could they have tracked us from the ship?”

“They didn’t track us from the ship.” Seth scowled. “And they didn’t track us from my account.”

As he said the words, beads of sweat began working their way down Armand’s face. He took another swig of the wine, downing most of the rest of the glass in a single gulp. Seth looked at him, his eyes now piercing into the older man’s.

“Armand, what did you do?” He grabbed Armand by his shoulders and shook him lightly when he didn’t answer. Seth was almost yelling. “What did you do?”

“Seth, you have to understand. They knew how close I was to your father, how close I was to you. They came to me two days ago. They said…” He took a deep breath, trying to keep his rapidly deteriorating composure from disappearing entirely. He blinked a few times and wiped away tears. “They said if you came to me, and I didn’t tell them, and they found out, they’d kill me and my family. Please, you must understand my position. I couldn't do that to my little granddaughter, she just had her tenth birthday a week ago.”

“Of course, old friend.” Seth forcibly exhaled and stepped away. He rubbed his hands across his face in frustration then pulled the pistol from underneath his Fabric. Before any of them could do anything about it, he put it up against Armand’s chest. “Of course I do. Goodbye, Margrave.”

Three gunshots rang out, and the body of Armand Chapuis slumped in his chair, an expression of surprise affixed to his face. The glass fell from his limp hand, spilling the rest of the contents over the metal floor. Xaleyp and Mian stared at him in stunned silence.

“I’m sorry, friend.” Seth let his arm fall to his side. He tried to close the man’s eyes with his fingers, but they refused to stay shut. “But I’m afraid I can’t have any loose ends.”