Synaptic Rank: Unbound

Chapter 13 - Don't Lie to Me

Arthros

Psychosomatic Output: 10,000 Bio-units

Synaptic Rank: Unbound

Arthros stalked through the landing zone with his blood boiling. He didn't care to flatten the spines on his skin; he wanted them to be seen.

Was the general population so idiotic that they couldn't see how valuable his pilots were?

They were all incredibly gifted and excelled in every statistical category. Why couldn't the Sovereignty see their value? Why couldn't they understand how lucky they were that he got to them first? They fought for Hokku—that alone was a blessing.

He turned sharply down the corridor that led to the Admiral's office and wondered if Jericho would survive here. He had the mind and the spirit to succeed, but humans were notoriously fragile. If he wasn't careful, Jericho could die before reaching his true potential, regardless of his unbound synaptic ranking. He had to make sure that didn't happen.

"You're late!" a voice called from down the hall.

Arthros' spines twitched. He wasn't even in the room and he was already being yelled at. He deactivated Zero specifically for this conversation; the last thing he needed was her antagonizing jealousy distracting him.

He turned to the corner to see his old friend seated behind her desk.

"Admiral," he said, nodding at the decorated female sprawling in her padded chair. "It's good to see you."

"You're late, Arthros," she grumbled, drumming her fingertips on her desk. "You can add it to the long list of why I'm pissed off today."

"How long of a list?"

She gave him a flat stare, "You can't just leave the planet—you have a military occupation. This planet relies on you. I rely on you."

Arthros grabbed an empty chair and slowly lowered himself, "My vacation was overdue."

"You don't get a vacation," the Admiral snapped. "I need you here."

"I'm not the only one who can pilot a HWND, you know."

"Yes, but none of them have the same reputation you do. What am I supposed to do when you're requested personally? I damn near died of embarrassment when I had to tell them I didn't know where you were."

Arthros let out a low sigh, "So, it's about them."

"They tried to have you executed, do you realize that? They're questioning my ability as a leader because I can't 'control' you."

He snorted, "You never could."

"Arthros!" She gave him a look so cold he stiffened, "This is not a game; this is my career. I won't be able to hold them back much longer."

Arthros narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean? The Sovereignty doesn't hold any power over the Navy. We're autonomous."

The Admiral sighed and seemed to sag into her chair. "There was an announcement...they're pushing for a Sovereignty representative to earn rank as an Admiral."

"They–what!" Arthros bared his teeth, "When was this announcement? I didn't hear anything."

"Because you were gone!" she slammed her fist down. "Off on another foolish adventure. This is serious, Arthros. They don't want to be left in the dark anymore." She frowned and jabbed a finger at his chest, "They don't want you to embarrass them anymore."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"They're going to strip you of your rank and reassign you to the personal guard."