"What do you make of it?" Holstag had never been one to mince words or spare opinions, but he was not a man that shed them without some serious thought on the matter. The Captain had little in the way of experience with Initiates beyond his direct history with the hitherto
Ralene Banick, now
Samantha Black, and her own ilk.
There did not exist an Initiate from the Academy that was not troubled in some way by the trauma of their upbringing and training. He knew enough of the torturous childhood and training Sam had undergone, horrendous and nightmarish in nature enough for her to not wish to hear more of the others. He knew as well that the two within her Squadron now, Wolf and Sol, had their own baggage of issues to deal with, but Sam had personally vouched for them and had thus far done well in managing their needs and integration into the Knights.
Davi's inclusion to the Knights had been unexpected, now this?
Holstag did not often dislike silence, but Sam had been curiously reticent since he'd called her in and shown her his own letter. The man looked at his protege with a furrowing of his brow,
"Black."
"Sir," the Dreadlord looked at him and he recognized the stoic nature of her own face as being deliberate,
"I do not know what to make of it."
The Captain sighed and set the letter she'd exchanged to him down on his desk, easing back into his chair,
"Sam," he said, garnering sharper attention for the drop of formality, "speak freely."
"I barely know him," she admitted and that earned her a curious look from her elder,
"growing up in the Academy together doesn't equate to friendship." Sam's thoughts of Sable were basic at best. She knew him as one of the few in her class capable of giving her a challenge when it came to brute strength. She knew him to be strangely chivalrous and had known him to offer a kind gesture to others like Chasmine. For whatever reason, Sable seemed to fashion himself a man of honor, and while there wasn't anything wrong with that it often seemed weirdly at odds with the nature of the Academy.
Whatever his noble bloodline and deeds earned him, it hadn't been friendship with Ralene Banick. She who had made no effort to strengthen ties with people who she had expected to one day face to the death just for the title of Dreadlord. They did not know one another well enough to warrant sticking up for each other. Sable had helped her pry Zael off that horrible Nurse, but he couldn't bring himself to defend her actions against Zael's harsh judgement, even when it was very likely Zael would not even be alive had she not carried him back to the Academy from the Blackwood.
Not that she had needed or wanted him to, but it spoke of what kind of relationship they had.
Now she was being asked to
vouch for him. To stick her neck out for
him. To put her own honor and good name and clout on the line for
him. All Sam could think of was...
why?
"It doesn't make any sense," Sam frowned, why would Kristen or the Proctor of all people pick her out of everyone they could possibly know? And since when had Sable become a
Ser?
"The General wants you to look into this matter," Holstag finally admitted, "so it will be done whether it makes sense or not. He has been impressed with my reports on your Squadron. Wolf and Sol have proven themselves well and I believe he sees this as an opportunity to further bolster the Western army."
"Then it's settled," Sam said,
"I'll leave in the morning."
"The decision on Pembroke's inclusion is up to
you, Black," Holstag reminded her, "even if the General is keen, I trust you to make the soundest judgement for the good of your Squadron. If you deem him fit for the role, I want him under your direct supervision for his probationary training and under your close watch. He'll have six months, just as Wolf did."
"Understood, Sir, but I'm afraid my flat is full..." and she'd hate to lose Cookie and his meals.
Holstag dismissed the issue with a wave, "Sparrow is due for a promotion ...overdue, actually."
That got a slow smirk out of her.
"Not a word... You will write to me your decision before you depart for home and I will see that everything is arranged, needs be."
"Yes, Sir."
"Dismissed."
~~~
Lord Tobias Pirian :
I will see you in ten days.
Lieutenant Dreadlord Black
