Chapter 13: The prince's whereabouts

FLOATING aimlessly on the vast Palioxis Galaxy was a huge warship. It was silver in color with a crest of a white wolf above two intertwining swords. This warship was called Beowulf. Any normal person who would see it would automatically tremble in fear. Because this was the warship of the White Wolf of Alluna, most infamously known as the Butcher of Orus, Wulfric de Lunaris – the only prince and heir to the Empire.

Inside the warship, three people were having a serious meeting. Or at least, they should have.

One of them had teal gray hair that was perfectly swept back. His pair of sharp dark green eyes were hidden beneath a pair of golden frame glasses. He had a severe look on his face, as if he couldn't tolerate any kind of imperfections. There's an epaulet of a lieutenant on the shoulders of his crisp military uniform. His name was Leland Brewer – the second in command of the warship Beowulf, as well as the Fenris squad directly under the prince.

The other one had red hair. The lower half of it was shaved and the upper part was tied in a bun. He was big and bulky, his muscles protruding from his military uniform. There were stubbles on his face, making him look gruff and scruffy. He was biting a tobacco between his lips. Its smoke floating in the air. He was Captain Slade Elmer.

The remaining one had flaxen blond hair with a slightly childish face. Amongst the three, he was even the smallest. His pair of amber colored eyes seemed to always bend into a smile, the same way his thin lips did. On his nose and cheeks were a smattering of freckles that looked like golden dusts. Amongst the three, he looked the most approachable. His name was Hildred Harlow, another captain rank.

The three had been with the prince since the other was only a Commander. They were with him during that bloody rebellion on the planet Orus. They, alongside another captain, were the core members of Fenris Squad. The elite squad under the direct jurisdiction of the prince.

And currently, these three people were in a bind. Well, truthfully, it seemed like only the lieutenant was in a bind. Because the other two didn't care that much.

"Don't the two of you have any idea where His Highness is?" Leland said. "The quarterly military meeting is about to be held. If he doesn't attend, the other generals would definitely throw a fit again."

Their general suddenly disappeared after going after a group of space pirates. But last week, they suddenly lost contact with him. He often did that, going off on his own and disappearing for a couple of days going to who knows where.

In normal days, Leland wouldn't really mind. But with the upcoming military meeting and with someone releasing the rumor about the prince missing, he couldn't help but worry. What if this was one of the plot of those factions against the prince?

"When you mean 'others', you mean old man Radcliffe, right?" said Slade, smirking. "Just when will he continue to be bitter just because Captain rejected his daughter?" he added, referring to the prince.

Rather than rejected, it's probably more accurate to say that his highness completely decimated the poor girl, Leland thought. "It's not just General Radcliffe. The others would use this to find fault on His Highness again."

Slade blew a smoke from the tobacco he was smoking. "As if their complain would change anything. As long as the Emperor remained unmarried without an heir, they wouldn't be able to touch Captain. Unless they plan to rebel. I wish they do though." Then he grinned, showing all his teeth. "That way, we'll have all the reasons to end them."

Leland frowned and gave Slade a disapproving glance. "Don't talk nonsense. The walls have ears. What if what you said reached the ears of the other generals?"

"Then vice-captain, that would be your fault," Slade shrugged. "Because it meant that you didn't clean up the ship thoroughly as you should."

"Hey, Sled, don't talk like that to Lele," Hildred said, calling the two in the designated nickname that he gave. "Lele, I'm sure Wulf is alright. He'll come back once he's bored with whatever he's doing right now. And didn't you receive a signal from his Terminal that he's somewhere around this galaxy? So, let's just wait for him patiently. Besides, haven't Ed already left to follow the signal from Wulf's Terminal? I'm sure he'd contact us immediately once he has news."

The 'Ed' he was talking about was the other captain ranked soldier that was also a core member of Fenris Squad – Edmund Barton.

"Hildred, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me such an embarrassing name?" Leland said disapprovingly to the smiling captain. "And also, don't call His Highness with such familiarity."

Hildred only smiled gently. "But Wulf doesn't mind."

Slade stood up. "If we don't have anything more to talk about, I'll go ahead and train." He was about to go when he seemed to think of something. He stopped and turned to Hildred. "Hey, Hil, wanna fight?"

Hildred stood up and said, "Sure."

Then he happily followed Slade.

Leland could only sigh looking at the leaving figures of the two. Sometimes, he truly wondered if these two really cared for the prince's whereabouts. If he could, he would be the one looking for His Highness right now. But he couldn't just leave Beowulf. If he did, he wasn't sure what kind of mess he would return to. So, he had to leave the search for the prince to Edmund. But that one was not really that reliable either.

He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, already feeling an incoming headache. [His Highness, please, come back soon.]