The previous night, after parting ways at the Raca-Rac Bar, Gristie had gone straight to Captain D’Brieck’s quarters. She relayed everything Jim had told her—the battle at Byre, the fall of Major Rowen, and the Neiter threat looming over the land. Intrigued, the captain had listened intently, a glint of curiosity in his sharp eyes. By the time Gristie finished, he had made up his mind.
“I want to meet this Jim Slavn,” he had declared, cracking his knuckles. “Let’s see if he’s as formidable as the tales suggest. Bring him to me in the morning.”
And so, here they were.
Jim, Jill, and Gristie sat in Captain D’Brieck’s office, a dimly lit room cluttered with stacks of parchment, discarded mugs, and a faint smell of burnt wood lingering in the air. The damage from the so-called "test" earlie
