Hilda
Hilda sat on in her command chair on the command deck of the ‘Jade Grip’.
“How are we looking Clement?” Hilda asked the aged junior captain.
“Good Ser,” The XO officer replied. “The fleet will be ready to depart in several hours.”
“Several hours,” Hilda muttered. They had been waiting for days. “It’s about time,” she said with a sigh. “Politicians, and nobles are worse than kids.”
The veteran captain of the King’s Guard Forces grinned. “You get use to it.”
Hilda let out a sigh. He was right, he had to be. He had been in the King’s Guard Forces longer than Hilda had been alive. He was almost guaranteed not to become one of the thirteen actual King’s Guard, but she had come to trust the aged captain, and like him as well.
“Still doesn’t change anything,” Hilda said in frustration. “We should be in Furia, not waiting to play escort. THe King has the royal fleet, as well as all the King’s Guard but for Lord Commander Knoll, and Ironstorm, and the all of us but KIng’s Guard Yield have our own warships added to the fleet.” She let out a heavy sigh again. “At least we were doing some good out there.”
Captain Atwood nodded. “We go where the King commands,” he said simply.
“I know,” Hilda said quietly. “I tried to convince the King, but he wanted to make a grand display as the court traveled the Commonwealth. He said he would have the Commonwealth Forces send several ships to continue the work we started though.”
“Sometimes that’s better than what we can do,” Clement Atwood said. “If the king can dispatch several ships to the Sector, it’s better that a single battleship… no matter how cgood it’s commander is.”
“Thanks Clement,” Hilda said with a smile. “Still, somehow with out guest in the brig, I doubt more forces will make much headway where it matters,” Hilda muttered.
Captain Atwood was quiet for a moment. “Did you inform the king?”
Hilda shook her head. “He knows we took prisoners, and that most were offloaded on Grimm Hearth, but that we have a few more on board for questions, but not who.” Hilda looked at the Captain. “I didn’t think it was wise to tell the King that members of the Faith could be plotting against him, not until we have proof.”
“You think there is a plot?” the Captain asked, and she could see the shock in his normally stern face.
“No,” Hilda said. “Not against his person at least. Against his authority, or just taking advantage of the chaos. In either chance, I can’t accuse the Faith, not with what we have, but there is no way a Bishop is attacking alone.”
“No,” Atwood agreed.
“King Oswald is a good man,” Hilda said finally. “But…” she let out a sigh again. “My mother use to say that it was not wise to put notices of threats, and fear in the minds of a king. That they have enough to worry about, and it is the duty of the King’s Guard to explore those threats, and ensure they are false or eliminated.”
“And the King’s Guard Forces,” Atwood said in agreement.
