"Graugh! I bet you have missed the taste of authentic Kraktol cuisine while you've been away!"

Lord Drall sits at a small, rectangular table with his two daughters, Megla and Sapphire, as well as his half-daughter, Soren. Soren and Megla sit on one side, while Drall and Sapphire sit on the other. The small family throws several slimy, eel-like fish into their mouths and swallows them whole, laughing and joking as they devour the food, while a few other groups of Kraktol eat their food with noticeably less gusto, mostly from having eaten the same things for several weeks during their trip to Tarus II.

Megla's tongue slides between the cracks in her teeth, picking up a bit of meat that wedged itself between a pair of molars.

"Kyargh! You might not believe me, father, but the Admiral's ship can create food worth going to war over! Of course, there's something special about home-cooking I can't ever forget!"

While her sister wolfs down the slimy eels, Soren eats much more slowly and deliberately. "We would have eaten in the Bloodbearer's cafeteria, but Kisa's incident made us leave early. I suppose Salted Molwar is a fine alternative."

"You do not sound particularly enthusiastic," Drall says, as he slides another Molwar down his throat. "Graugh! Have you forgotten about your homeworld's delicacies?"

Soren sighs. She folds her claws in her lap, leaving the rest of her plate only half-eaten. "I'm sorry, Lord Drall. I'm simply not that hungry."

"You may call me 'father,'" Drall says. The Kraktol leader pauses his voracious eating to look his half-daughter in the eye. "I know you are an orphan. Still, you grew up in the same nest as Megla. I may not have sired you, but I cannot in good conscience leave you without a family."

Soren lowers her head. "You are too gracious... father."

"Graugh! See? Does that not sound better? Such a pleasant word, it rolls right off the tongue!"

Lord Drall resumes gorging, while Sapphire mimics Soren and pushes her plate away half-eaten. "Half-sister Soren, have you and the Admiral performed the Fatüri?"

"Cough, cough!" Megla gags, nearly choking on her food. "S-Sapphire! Must you speak of such matters at the dinner table?"

Drall chuckles. "Come now, daughter. Sapphire is a blunt and bold girl, like her mother. I find it to be her most endearing quality. You always know where you stand with her."

The blue and green-scaled Kraktol bats her eyes. "Well, Soren? Did you? Or maybe Megla? Perhaps both of you, at the same time?!"

"We did not," Soren answers, her expression even. "The Admiral has no reproductive interest in any species beyond his own."

"To lose out on his genes would be such a shame," Sapphire mutters, while looking away from the table, toward the galley's entrance. "The Kraktol are not like other sentients. We know that bodily power comes from the strong breeding with the strong. I want my future mate to defeat me in combat, one day. Father keeps introducing me to subpar males, one after the other, but all of them are weaker than me. Unsuitable."

"Your standards are too high!" Drall laughs. "The Börkon's third great-grandson; how did he not satisfy your needs? In appearance, physique, and temperament... he was every bit your match!"

"Being my 'match' is not good enough," Sapphire harrumphs. She tilts her head up proudly, exposing her soft, leathery neck. "My partner must be capable of overpowering me... holding me down, making me roar with frustration. I will not accept a stalemate. If he cannot dominate me, our spawn will be weaker than the sum of our parts."

Megla resumes eating, somewhat slower than before. "Kyargh! You are right, yes. A mighty partner will lead to mightier hatchlings. But there are only so many top-tier partners available, while Kraktol males tend to be weaker than us females. I think you may end up dying alone."

"Not if I perform the Fatüri with your Admiral," Sapphire answers, her tone firm. "That is why I asked if you hadn't done so already. If you haven't, then his seed will fertilize my eggs flawlessly. I cannot let this chance slip through my claws! Admiral Rodriguez took down Orgon the Betrayer, one of our best warriors; our strongest males. If my beloved José does not meet my qualifications, nobody will!"

Soren crosses her arms. "Your attempts will bear no fruit, half-sister. The Admiral... he will never accept your advances."

"How do you know?" Sapphire counters. "Have you tried pursuing him?"

"...I haven't." Soren answers.

"Well, there, see?" Sapphire laughs. "You won't know unless you try. The Admiral is broken and alone. His species is dead, and he has nowhere to call home. He requires a companion. Naturally, with some convincing, I will fill that role, while he will fill my-"

"Please, not another word," Megla says, gagging once again. "You're making it impossible for me to enjoy this delicious Molwar! Speaking of which... are you going to finish yours?"

Soren and Sapphire both push their plates toward Megla in unison. "Have at it."

"Kyargh! It's my lucky day!" Megla laughs.

...

Half an hour passes. The four Kraktol continue chatting about a great many things, mostly banal observations, musings on life and the galaxy, and occasionally some juicy gossip.

"Sister, have you met Kilgore?" Sapphire asks Megla. "He is our one-seventh Algaru-brother."

"Kilgore?" Megla asks, after burping from the multiple plates of food she's finished. "I don't know him."

"He is one of Father's favorite children," Sapphire explains, a pouty expression playing upon her face. "Even more so than me."

Drall bares a toothy grin. "Ah, finally, a discussion not involving female pursuits. Aye, Kilgore joined us on our journey. I worried your Admiral might blow our ship out of the air, and thus, bring about the death of one of the remnant Algaru... but luckily, cooler heads prevailed."

Soren cocks her head. "Speaking of which, what happened to the Algaru? I know the Mallali exterminated them during the Retribution War, but I don't know how. Could you elaborate?"

"I'd like to know, too," Megla chimes in. "I've heard rumors; we all have. But you fought on the frontlines during that era. Surely, you must know more than the asteroid miner-slaves."

Lord Drall continues to smile, but only for a moment. His expression dims noticeably, and eventually, the smile disappears.

"Brutal days, those were."

Drall lowers his head.

"The Algaru. They were our cousins. An adjacent species of sorts. We bred with them on occasion, and they, with us. We suffered in slave mines, the same as them. Though smaller than the Kraktol, the Algaru were fierce and brave. Self-sacrificing. Better than us, in many ways."

After pausing for a moment, Drall slowly reaches toward the sleeve on his right arm. He pulls it back, revealing the brand-mark of a Kraktol symbol, one symbolizing a star and moon.

"My blood-brother, Hataru. He was an Algaru. I saved him from a Kessu slavemaster's wrath, killed our master, and hid the body. He swore a blood-debt to me for saving his life. He paid it back ten times over, rescuing me from too many life-and-death situations for me to count. Even so, he always told me it wasn't enough. We branded ourselves with this mark, swearing to protect one another's families until we died."

The table's mood turns somber as Drall's daughters listen to his war-story. Sapphire, seated beside her father, reaches over and gently touches the brand.

"What does it mean?" Sapphire asks.

"The star represents the burning fury of the Algaru; their fiery hearts," Drall explains. "The moon represents the calm and placid nature of the Kraktol. Though we were not as fiery as the Algaru, that did not mean we were not cold-blooded killers capable of terrifying deeds. I performed many heinous, unforgivable acts during that era, yet Hataru never judged me. He knew what our victory or defeat meant."

Drall sighs. "The reason our cousins perished... it was a deliberate act of self-conflagration. Their reproductive speed was slower than ours. They struggled to repopulate, and thus, began to dwindle in number, while the Kraktol soared."

"That is why," Drall continues, "In a final brave, but suicidal act, the Algaru navy worked together to turn all of their ships into battering rams. They flew into one of the Mallali core worlds at sublight speeds, killing billions of our accursed enemies. It was the ultimate act of defiance. It signified their resolve; their commitment to never again walk as slaves. They would rather perish in a final blaze of glory than give up and surrender to their enemies."

Megla's eyes turn misty. She wipes away her tears and sniffles. "That... that must have been a hard day for you, father."

"It was," Drall acknowledges. "I lost my blood-brother; my best friend. In truth, the only person I've ever loved more than the Thülvik herself. Every night, before I lay my head down to rest, I turn toward the nearest star and pray for Hataru's soul. I pray that he found his way to the Forbidden Swamp."

"He did," Megla says, nodding. "Definitely."

"Mmm."

Drall falls silent.

Half a minute passes before he speaks again.

"Not all of the Algaru perished in that rain of fire. The adults left their spawn to us, their cousins. We raised those who remained as best as we could. But with only a few hundred left, their blood thinned over the generations. The purebloods died out, leaving halfbreeds, quarterbloods, and now, the distant descendants of our great cousins."

Drall spreads out his claws helplessly. "I did what I could, but my best wasn't good enough. Every day, I struggle, knowing I let Hataru down. I couldn't maintain his family line. All of his descendants have watered-down their blood. They have interbred with the Kraktol so many times that barely anything remains of their proud genes. What a humiliating end for such a brave... a brave..."

The Kraktol commander balls his claws together and strikes the table.

Bang.

"Some glorious leader I am."

Sapphire rests her hand on Drall's arm.

"Do not worry, father. Someday, we will punish the Mallali. We will repay them a hundredfold for the evils they've committed. The Kraktol Empire will unite the Rodaks, overturn the Mallali's rule, and reign supreme."

Megla and Soren glance at one another for a moment, then lower their heads.

"Father..." Soren mutters. "Regarding the Admiral."

Drall raises his head.

"Yes?"

"I cannot betray him," Soren says, looking Drall in the eye. "The Admiral is precious to me. I value him in a way I haven't anyone else before, not even Megla. I can't explain my feelings. You may see him as a tool; a weapon to empower the Kraktol Empire, but if you treat him as such, you will walk away disappointed. He is powerful, yet fragile. Unyielding, yet flexible. Cold and calculating, yet compassionate."

"Yes," Megla says, agreeing with Soren. "Our Admiral is not a weapon with which you may club the Mallali to death. Once you get to know him, I think you'll understand why we've chosen to follow him to the ends of the galaxy."

Drall gazes at his daughters stonily. "I have a war to win. Your friend, the Terran, might be the key to finally burying the Mallali once and for all. I will do anything to acquire his trust."

"And that is fine by me," Soren says, "so long as that is all you pursue. If you become his friend and he chooses to help you, I won't interfere. If, however, you steal from him, hurt him, or backstab him, I will become the Kraktol Empire's greatest enemy."

Megla glances at Soren for a split-second before nodding along to her words. "And the same is true for me."

"Haha..." Drall chuckles. "To inspire such confidence in his subordinates, I've no doubt the Terran is an ally worth cherishing. I've known countless charismatic Rodaks, many of whom I considered great leaders. None of their followers displayed half your zeal. I look forward to finding out what methods the Terran will use to turn me into one of his fanatic supporters."

A quiet moment fills the air. Megla and Soren exchange a long, meaningful stare with their father, Lord Drall.

Sapphire breaks the silence which a bemused snort. "Pfft! I guess the Admiral really did perform the Fatüri with both of you!"

"Kyargh!" Megla laughs. "Your mind is a slimy sewer, sister!"

Drall slaps Sapphire's back. "Just like your mother's."

.......................................

Three hours after the Admiral first entered Kisa's room, he finally emerges. Kisa follows behind him as he steps into the corridor, her head lowered shyly.

"There's no need to fear your father or your mother as long as I'm around," José says, after not seeing the other four Kraktol aren't in the crew quarters section anymore. "Just stay close to me."

"Y-yes..." Kisa replies, her scales flushing with color. "Great Precursor, Admiral Rodriguez, sir, can't I stay here on the Bloodbearer with you, Megla, and Soren?"

"I'm fine with that," José answers. He starts walking down the narrow corridor with Kisa behind him. "But you are the Malvik, which seems to me like a position on par with a Kraktol princess; the next heir to the throne. If your father doesn't give his consent, I won't allow you to stay. You have duties to fulfill for your empire."

"B-but, you didn't need his permission for Megla and Soren to stay!" Kisa protests.

"Yes, but they aren't the Malvik," José chuckles. "Different story, different circumstances."

"...Oh."

José finds Soren's location via a ping from Umi. He navigates the Red-Tongue's inner hallways like a pro, bypassing several Kraktol along the way. Each crew-member quickly retreats and clears a path for the Terran, saluting respectfully by putting their fists over their chests. He replies with a quick nod to each one, noticing how few of them pay even the slightest attention to Kisa.

"You're not very popular around here..." José mutters, after passing the eighth crew-member. "That must be hard on you."

Kisa sighs. "Not really. I'm used to it."

After a few minutes, the two of them arrive at the galley, where they find Megla and Drall both lazily leaning back in their seats, having stuffed their faces full, while Soren and Sapphire sit upright with more dignified postures.

As if possessing a third sense attuned to the Admiral's presence, Sapphire instantly swivels her head forty-five degrees to her right, toward the galley's entry door. She spots José the moment he rounds the corner and jumps to her feet. "José! Oh, darling, you have returned! Are you hungry?"

José stifles his urge to facepalm at her coy familiarity. "Did you just call me darling? Never mind. I already had a bite to eat with Kisa."

He steps into the cafeteria, allowing Kisa to make her presence known, behind him. When she rounds the corner, Sapphire's excited expression deflates visibly. The blue-and-green-scaled Kraktol slithers over to José's side and wraps herself around the Admiral's left arm.

"Oh, Kisa. I see that my darling José finally talked you out of your stupor."

Kisa meekly lowers her head. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to be a burden to anyone."

Drall rises from his chair, followed immediately afterward by Soren and Megla. "Graugh! All that matters is that you have finally come to your senses, my child. In any case... Admiral! Now that you've settled the matter with my daughter, I hope you'll explain to me what you intend to do next. My crew are all at your disposal!"

Soren walks over to José's side with a neutral expression. Megla follows her, but shoots a dirty look at Sapphire's clingy posture, who merely bats her eyes in return.

Unfazed by the seductress pressing herself against his arm, José ignores Sapphire's advances. "Lord Drall. We will not be able to attack the Demon Emperor on Tarus II today, tomorrow, or even for the next month. I recommend that first, you send a transmission back to your Thülvik telling her what you plan to do. After that, I'd like you to assemble all of your officers and take them to the Bloodbearer's holodeck. I'll run a performance evaluation on each one to assess their strengths and weaknesses, then decide on roles for them in the upcoming mission."

Drall nods. "Graugh! This Demon Emperor, Yama, what if he catches wind of our plans? Is he able to flee the planet?"

"Probably not," José replies. "Demons were, for the most part, incapable of using technology. They possessed no spaceships, and always had to rely on non-demons to travel between worlds. Of course, with the Buzor on Tarus II, anything is possible. The Kessu still had a 14th Era stealth craft within their grasp, so it's possible there may be other spacecraft we can't detect lurking within Yama's grasp. Either way, don't worry that taking too much time will allow Yama to flee. Now that I know a Demon Emperor exists, there's no place in the universe he'll be able to hide from me. I'll hunt him until the day I die, if that's what it takes."

Sapphire squeezes José's arm. "Kyargh! José, I look forward to fighting the demon right by your side! We will make a most excellent team!"

The Admiral smiles. He stares at Sapphire for a few seconds, then clears his throat. "Excuse me."

After a slightly awkward pause, Sapphire reluctantly releases his arm and pulls away, still maintaining a pleasant expression all the while. "You're so bashful, darling!"

José cracks his neck. "I wouldn't describe myself in such a way, Miss Sapphire. Soren, Megla, I want you two to stay here. After your father rounds up all of his officers, please guide them to the holodeck, then ping me. I'll join up with you later."

Soren cocks her head. "Admiral? Where are you going?"

"I didn't expect to have a thousand soldiers available for taking down Yama," José explains. "It changes my first strike capabilities significantly. I'm going to strategize with Umi, then meet up with you once I've decided on a plan of action."

"I see. That makes sense," Soren replies. "Megla and I will do as you command."

"Mmm. Good, I'll see you all in a couple of hours, then."

José turns to leave the room, only to nearly bump into Kisa, behind him. He pauses, realizing he almost forgot she existed.

Kisa practically becomes invisible once others start talking, the Admiral thinks.

After a momentary pause, he squeezes Kisa's shoulder. "You didn't get a proper tour around the Bloodbearer earlier. Why don't you come with me, and I'll show you my ship?"

Kisa nods quickly, but keeps her head bowed. "Y-yes, Great Precursor, Admiral Rodriguez, sir..."

He and Kisa exit the room, leaving the other four behind. After a few seconds, Sapphire gasps with realization.

"Kyargh! I was too slow!"

"Too slow?" Megla asks, baffled. "What do you mean?"

Sapphire slaps the top of her head, then beats her chest in grief. "That Kisa! She stole my darling from me! She was all alone with him in that cramped, narrow room of ours! I bet she melted into his arms while they performed the Fatüri, and then he took her as his mate! Drat! If only I had been a little bit quicker!"

Soren, Megla, and Lord Drall all simultaneously roll their eyes.

"Yes, sister..." Megla groans. "I'm sure that's exactly what happened."

.......................................

Kisa shyly follows behind José as he departs the Red-Tongue. They pass several other Kraktol along the way, but few of them pay Kisa any mind. All of their staring and adoration goes directly to José, the slayer of Orgon the Betrayer. Given his reputation as one of the mightiest Kraktol, Orgon's reputation, and therefore his loss at José's hands, gives José a proportional boost to his infamy among the Kraktol.

Once Kisa and the Terran exit the ship, they pause at the bottom of the ramp, while José glances around, reading several holographic imprints that appear inside his retinal scanners.

"Umi, show me a list of the Bloodbearer's weapon reserves. Sort them in order of likely lethality against the Buzor we encountered, as well as any monsters or demons we confirmed were living alongside Yama."

"Orders received, Admiral," Umi beeps from overhead. She transmits a series of images to his brain, making them pop up inside his retinal scanners. "Assuming a battalion count of nine hundred and fifty soldiers, these weapons are the most likely to deal extreme damage to the enemy types we observed. Please note that the Bloodbearer only has ten Titan battlesuits in its storage, and three of them are inoperable. You will need to personally assist the Kessu in their repairs, given the intricacies involved in their logistical operations. Alternatively, Crew-members Lele or Soren Mudrose would be capable of completing the repairs unassisted."

José blinks in surprise. "Lele? The kitten?"

"Affirmative. Crew-member Lele has the second highest intelligence rating among all of the Kessu and Kraktol onboard, excluding the newcomers from Lord Drall Brighteye's vessel. Her analytical and repairing capabilities are extraordinary, especially given her biological age."

Having only recently recovered his memories, the Admiral has already forgotten about Lele's surprising amount of brainpower. But, being less attached to her original image, he accepts Umi's explanation with ease.

"Alright. I'll take her down there and explain what she needs to do," José replies.

The Admiral turns to Kisa. "Uh... is there anything you're good at or passionate about? Any skills or hobbies?"

Kisa's scales flush with color. "I, um... I received the best education on Dragua, since I will someday take over as the Thülvik. I suppose I'm good with a lot of things, Great Precursor, Admiral Rodriguez, sir."

"You can just call me 'Admiral,'" José says. "Alright. I'll take you to the medbay and perform an evaluation. Hm. I should probably do that for all of Drall's crew."

While the Admiral ponders over his next move, Umi beeps again. "Admiral Rodriguez. I have received a Priority Green message from the Slipstream. Synthmind 4131 wishes to speak to you. Will you accept?"

José shrugs. "Yeah, sure?"

Having all but forgotten about the Slipstream and other such tangential things after his rebirth, José doesn't give much thought to the synthmind's request. He only finds it odd a random synthmind would attempt to contact him.

A male synthmind voice speaks from Umi's speaker system above. "Greetings, Admiral Rodriguez. I wish to inform you that as of [ONE] hour and [SEVENTEEN] minutes ago, I successfully finished assimilating [THREE HUNDRED] petabytes of scientific data. I scanned every ship in the Bloodbearer's hangar and proceeded to spend the last [SIX] months, [SEVENTEEN] days, [FOURTEEN] hours, and [SEVEN] minutes adapting their configurations to my learning network. As such, I have obtained [SEVEN] advanced transformations, [FORTY-ONE] intermediate transformations, and [ONE HUNDRED, SIXTY-THREE] low-level transformations. With assistance from Synthmind Umi's superior processing matrices, I have successfully upgraded my internal and external components to the [FIFTIETH] era."

José stares blankly ahead for several seconds.

"Upgraded... transformations... wait, are you- is your vessel a self-learning-type exocraft?"

"Affirmative, Admiral Rodriguez," Synthmind 4131 beeps in acknowledgement. "I am capable of adapting other vessel designs to my hull and upgrading my capabilities over time. Were I to study [FIFTIETH] Era technology on my own, I would have required several millennia to properly adapt them to my Biosteel Plating. However, Synthmind Umi was invaluable in providing me design mechanics to study and mold to my neural pathways. I believe you will find that my capabilities as a warship, a science vessel, and a mining exocraft vastly supersede any others currently inside the Bloodbearer's hangar bay."

"By the Divine Emperor..." José mutters, while stroking his chin. "That does, indeed, greatly interest me. Come along, Kisa. Let's go take a look at the Slipstream and see what it can do."

The Malvik nods. "Kyargh! Y-yes, Great Precursor, Admiral Rodriguez, sir!"

"It's just 'Admiral Rodriguez,' Kisa."

"...Yes."

The Admiral chuckles inwardly at Kisa's shy nature, then begins walking toward the Slipstream, a look of excitement on his face.

"An adaptive bioship. I don't recall hearing about more than five made in the whole galaxy. This is a development that could seal Yama's death."