“There are the most recent progress reports from the yards, and the logs from our Squadron currently on deployment.” Kerak grumbled as he walked into Jutargs large office at the top of the pyramidal shaped Castle Caligar.
“You’ve been brooding for three days Kerak, are you really that angered over Brigadier Lahkat’s appointment as the High Command Garrison Commander?” Jutarg chuckled as he confronted his brother in law. It was a hot early summer on Caligar and though the rest of the Castle was climate controlled, Jutarg left his spacious office with an open air concept. The twenty foot long, two foot tall open slits cut out of each inwardly slanted wall along with a couple of fans in opposite corner providing the only ventilation.
“He killed you’re own cousin and personally insulted me on and more then one occasion brother, if not for our Houses new station I would likely challenge him to a duel and cut his guts open on my first day on duty.” Kerak said as he stared out the narrow slit along one wall that served as a window. It gave him a magnificent view over the large bay that the planet’s capital city was built around.
“Well, as much as the thought delights me, we can’t have that. Lahkat is simply a rank-seeking member of a minor House of little renown. And you are of noble blood of a Great and Noble House of the Empire,” Jutarg glared at Kerak from his chair, “a feud of that type would be dishonorable… then again, it would also be dishonorable for us to send you to serve under him, which may be why Toral’s lackeys made the appointment to begin with.” Jutarg smiled as he stood from his large ornate Davaronian silkwood desk.
“Indeed, their duplicity seems boundless at times.” Kerak replied, again without turning away from the window. He was referring to the Duras Faction as a whole that currently dominated the council and most leadership appointments in the KDF.
“This calls for a change of plans, old friend, I think we can trust Commander Ho’dak of the Ym’cha with commanding the guard. You will be much more useful to our House and me personally if you were to serve as my Seneschal and Majordomo here on Caligar instead… for Kahless sake take off your vestcloak and loosen your belt, its 46 degrees centrigrade brother!” Jutarg finally snapped, watching the beads of sweat drip out of Keraks hair and plop onto his polished black marble floor.
This got a reaction from his long time blood-brother as Kerak finally turned away from the view of the hover barges in the bay.
“You can’t be serious Jutarg. The House hasn’t had a Seneschal since the time of your grandfather, and no leader has appointed a Majordomo for Caligar in over a century and a half.” Kerak wondered if his wife’s mate was just trying to give him a cozy retirement job to make up for the news about Lahkat being named the Garrison Commander.
“Like with our new Negh’var that’s taking shape up in orbit, not having something is no reason to not make one if one is desired,” Jutarg grinned, “Besides I’ll likely be stuck at armament council meetings, sitting on review boards, and trying to aid our allies and earn new ones on Qo’nos for weeks on end starting next month. You know my plans for the ship yards and the rebuilding of our military might, and I know I can trust you to keep our true allegiances intentionally ambiguous.” Jutarg had purposefully distanced himself from the House of Koloth publicly since denouncing their status as a vassal of their former liege House back in 2396.
Following Jutargs years old scheme to see his house returned to its proper status as a Great House, they had broken with House Koloth but only as a manner by whichto shift their status from that of vassal to one of full blown ally in the long run. It had taken seven years for the plan to come to fruition, but a succesful string of deployments with the KDF and the sale of several BoPs to Houses allied with Torals regime had started to finally yield pay dirt. Ever since the Chancellor’s Decrees of early January, the ‘Koloth Faction’ could count on the support, however subtle, of their longtime friends on Caligar via Jutargs seats on the Construction and Armaments Council and the Academy Admission Board. Though Toral thought he had been elevating a neutral House that could help as a counter balance to the Koloth Faction, Jutarg would soon show how wrong the fool really was.
Two days later Kerak stormed out of his new office on the sub-penthouse floor of Castle Caligar and got on the lift and took the short trip up to Jutargs office.
“Are you aware of the massive shortfall for hull plating for the new flagship? We’re forty thousand tons short of duranium ore and another ten thousand tons short of tetraburnium. But you’ve scheduled the ships launch and commissioning for only nine months from now.” Kerak went and slid a datapad detailing the issue across his leige’s desk.
“Yes, the dockmaster mentioned something about it, that’s why I marked it as urgent and passed it on to you to deal with.” Jutarg chuckled.
“Consignments of ore that size need months of lead time and then our foundries still needed months to process it and turned it into hull plating.”
Jutarg stood, “I’m sure you’ll find a solution brother. How do I look? I’m due to preside over the opening of the festival to celebrate the Battle of Mahk’tog in less than anyone hour.”
Kerak grunted, “You look like an under-dressed Orion princeling truth be told.”
Feigning being wounded by the barb Jutarg gave Kerak a good natured shove as he walked by, “You’ve always been ignorant of courtly fashion brother, come, the problem with the hull plating can wait, it’s time to introduce the people of Caligar to their new majordomo.”
Kerak grit his teeth, “Yes my lord.”
