Nightfall ch1

	"I understand that sometimes collateral damage is 'unavoidable', but numerous witnesses in his own squad have testified that he killed a client deliberately! We cannot simply let him off without consequence!" the gray old man argued, pounding his fist on the table between himself and the two others in frustration, sending a bang throughout the large round room. Old King Feldin could not believe that this point was still being discussed.
	"I understand your position, Feldin," countered the dark and handsome younger King Jenner, ever keeping his cool and smiling. "However, we have a business to run, and the fact remains that David Orion is one of our top soldiers. It was an accident, accidents happen. Just-"
	"It was not an accident, Jenner, or are you calling your own men liars?" the old king retorted, cutting his technical equal off mid-sentence. "Honor dictates that he be jailed for his crime!"
	"With all due respect, Feldin, honor does not pay the bills. Bits do, and Orion's unit brings in plenty of money. It was an accident."
	"If I may, King Jenner," interjected the youngest in the room, Prince Kopin who was standing in for his father during his travels, "But if there were witnesses, wont word spread that he got away with killing a client? It might make others nervous of hiring out Thornian mercenaries if we don't police our own."
	"Word does not need to spread beyond those soldiers who've already heard if we silence the rumors," Jenner replied with some annoyance. After all, the longer it took for the rest of the council to agree with him, the more time the word had to spread.
	"Right," the prince agreed, "But wasn't the council discussing the evidence of information leaks in our ranks three weeks back? If word gets out via those channels that there was a cover-up, we could lose business, which would of course mean less income. Unless the leaks have all been plugged?"
	"You weren't present at that session, Prince," Jenner hissed, "How did-"
	"Even so, he raises a fair point," King Feldin interrupted. "If our leaks were all confirmed plugged, I was not made aware of it. Have they, King Jenner?"
	King Jenner had no response.
	"Then I believe Prince Kopin is correct. We must uphold the trust of our clients lest we lose them. And as you say, currency pays the bills, and clients hiring our mercenaries are the source of our currency. I propose that David Orion be imprisoned pending a trial to determine his sentence."
	"Agreed," King Jenner said, a smile having returned to his face.
	"Also agreed," Prince Kopin added, finishing the Council of Three's vote on the matter. "Anything else, sirs?"
	"Yes," responded King Jenner, turning his smile onto the prince of House Kopin. "As you were reminding us of leaks the question occurred to me, how did you know about the topics discussed in a closed session of the council?"
	"My father-" began the prince, before quickly amending himself after a sharp look from King Feldin, "King Kopin sometimes talks about the council’s meetings."
	"How negligent," Jenner responded with a tutting sound.
	"Enough," King Feldin said with a note of finality in his voice, "I am sure King Jenner is not suggesting that House Kopin may be selling information on the black market. Eliga is the crown prince of House Kopin, it is his right to know. Do either of you have any more topics to discuss today?"
	Neither Prince Kopin or King Jenner had anything more to add.
	"Then this session is ended," declared the old king. He made a gesture to a woman sitting on a bench in the first tier of seating in the council chambers, and the stenographer stopped her recording, bowed her head, and climbed the steps to the exit.
	As soon as she had left, the three members of the council visibly relaxed.
	"Goodness, Barret, you're in a mood today," King Feldin said with a laugh, clapping King Jenner on the back.
	"Sorry, Indred," the younger king responded with a sigh, "It's just that Orion is a member of my men, so his actions reflect poorly on me as well."
	"How can the houses be held responsible for every action their men take in the field?" Prince Kopin asked, "Shouldn't the responsibility fall to the ranking soldier when they're deployed?"
	"The world doesn't work like that, I'm afraid," the old king said with a sad smile. "We are accountable for all the deeds done by those under us. It is a matter of discipline." He turned his attention to King Jenner. "And that is why we cannot allow such acts to go unabated, no matter how it hurts our pride."
	"Yes, yes, you've made your point old man," King Jenner said, rising from his seat and cracking his back as he turned towards the exit of the council chamber. "Ah, I believe there is a beautiful woman waiting for you, Eliga. Best not keep her waiting."
	The prince turned around, and sure enough there was a tall blonde woman leaning on the door frame, her arms crossed. Eliga rose, bowing to the two kings, and headed up the steps to the exit.
	"Look at you, little brother, already a council member," the princess of House Kopin teased with a grin as she joined her brother in leaving the chamber.
	"Oh shush, Val," Eliga answered, a smirk evident in his voice. "So how long have you been here?"
	"Just arrived, actually," she answered, shrugging. "I have to say I'm glad you're the one filling in for father now, I got to sleep in."
	"It's one o'clock."
	"And it was very relaxing, let me tell you. Hello, Antoine."
	The guard outside the doors to the council chamber, Antoine, started at the princess's greeting.
	"Oh, good afternoon Lady Valdera, Lord Eliga," he responded embarrassedly, hoping they hadn't noticed him daydreaming.
	"New boots?" Eliga asked, eying the guard's feet.
	"Oh yes!" Antoine said with a smile, "They were a gift from my birthday, actually."
	"Well happy birthday," Valdera said with a small smile. "They aren't regulation."
	With that, the siblings left the embarrassed guard behind and stepped into the great hall of Gate Castle. The great hall was rather spartan in its decor, the most prominent features being fountains built into the walls on either side of the room and the fine rug that King Feldin had picked up from the other continent before Eliga was born. High above, perched on the catwalks that crossed the hall from the third floor, stood a sentry with his rifle, keeping watch over the castle's entrance and the people passing through the doors in the hall below.
	"So come on, let's do brunch. I'll treat," Valdera said, walking slowly towards the doors to the city of Thorn.
	"Kind of you," Eliga answered, keeping pace.
	"Well, we're celebrating your new responsibilities. So, discuss anything interesting today?"
	"Well the Unisan government requested that we clean out the Uniso outskirts," he responded after a moment of thought.
	"I had heard about that. But doesn't Uniso house a large portion of the Union army? Why don't they clear it out themselves?"
	Eliga flashed his sister a quizzical look.
	"Is this a test, Val?"
	"That is certainly a possibility," the princess replied with a smirk. "So what do you think?"
	"Well I think that the Unisan government is trying to cover its ass," Eliga answered with a note of annoyance.
	"Language, brother," Valdera said, still smiling. "Explain your reasoning."
	"Well," Eliga stalled, forming an explanation, "If they went to clear it out and something less than savory happened, the media would give them all sorts of bad publicity. However, if they hired us then any negative attention would be directed at us while the Union council would gain any good publicity from clearing the outskirts. In other words, they want to look good without jeopardizing themselves since it's an election year."
	"Makes sense," Valdera commented. "So are we going to take the job?"
	"I doubt it. House Feldin won't touch it, Indred wouldn't want to take the bad publicity that is essentially guaranteed to come from the job. House Kopin is still busy with that civil war in Geota. House Jenner might have, but I think Barret is going to avoid it since he's about to get hit with the backlash from the incident in Ona."
	"Incident in Ona?" Valdera asked, curious. Her curiosity seemed genuine.
	"One of Jenner's captains apparently got into a fight with an Onan client and the client got killed. Apparently he had too much to drink. The captain, I mean. Probably the client, too."
	"And we were against Ona in the second desert war...That's definitely going to be bad," the elder Kopin commented as she and her brother passed through the tall doors out of the castle.
	The two children of House Kopin stepped out into the midday sun and looked past the wrought iron gates and the garden covering the hill upon which the castle was built, down over the city of Thorn.