A'Ran said nothing, aware his forefathers had never made a threat they didn't intend to execute. The mines were rigged, and he'd never wanted to think he'd need to destroy his home in order to rid it of the blight affecting it. But to know even his most trusted advisor had lost faith in him enough to consort with the man who slaughtered his parents … "We'll talk later," he said, disturbed. Jetr said nothing but offered a small bow of his head.
Leaving the command center for his quarters, he glanced out the windows as he strode through the compound. It was mid-afternoon already, another day wasted with the Council rather than concentrating on preparing for battle. Part of him knew the Council was stalling him for that reason, though whether they did so to hinder his efforts or to maintain the appearance of their power over him, he wasn't sure.
He reached his quarters and opened the link to the command center, pausing before it to see nishani had already entered. She had her odd gifts with her and sat at the battle planner. He sat at the table opposite his bed and touched several glowing buttons on the table before him. The land and space battle sprung up before him and began to spin. He took in everything, noting the enemies had begun to encroach upon the neutral territory agreed upon in the cease-fire. He disabled the real-time mechanism, engaged the training program, and returned to the point where battle had been when nishani last adjusted the strategy.
He was curious to see how she would react. With there being no current battle, there was nothing to test her. He programmed the computer to respond in training cycle mode and glanced at the communication link again.
Nishani put her gifts aside and crossed her legs in her seat before flicking on the battle planner. Ne'Rin might possess the ability to plan, but it would take him days to do what A'Ran and nishani could do within moments.
Nishani studied the scene before her. Both hands rested in her lap as she studied it for two full rotations. He took in her perfect features once more, impressed again with his choice. Beauty hadn't been a requirement for a nishani, and his own mother had been far from beautiful. He had waited for the signs his father warned him against, intending to take on whatever woman that brought him. That nishani was beautiful was no great disappointment to him!
She was strong for a woman as well, which she'd revealed during their two training sessions. She possessed promising coordination and ability to learn at least the basics of the warrior's trade, skills no other nishani had ever needed. Initially fearing her to be brittle by her reaction to the world around her, A'Ran was more assured of her ability to withstand the changes in her life. She was tough but expressive, a combination he found odd but promising.