Sector B

28

The day was going to be full of heavy hearts and difficult thoughts. Decha knew it the moment he arrived at the Agency. There, he was to go into an auditorium where a serious discussion between the council members would be held.

While walking down a long and wide hallway, Decha saw various janitors cleaning and preparing decorations for the memorial later. Jax was standing in front of the doors, eyeing some of the pictures on the wall.

Decha could sense Jax's hesitation to enter. He couldn't blame him. Any Astellian man would do the same if they were in Jax's position. He was about to take on a heavy load.

A trial period.

While inheriting the position of a Council Member wasn't the usual tradition, Jax had more than enough star pins to take on the role. Jax had 14, which is twice as much as his father had.

Succession wasn't immediate. Jax was going to be put on a trial, an event that would measure his abilities, physically and mentally. He'd have to be monitored constantly until he takes Strout's place.

Decha sighed. He wasn't usually one to show pity, but something was stirring in him to do so. "Are you alright?"

Jax kept his eyes on his father's photo. He'd never thought he'd see him up on the board for the fallen officials. Not anytime soon at least. "I'm fine,"

"You don't look it," Decha teased. "You look like you rolled out of bed, skipped a shower, and stepped in dog crap on your way here."

Jax finally shifted his gaze to Decha, before pressing his lips together. "When did you become so thoughtful?"

"Surprisingly, I've been a lot more of that lately. But that's beside the point. You should head inside and take everything head-on. Generals don't cower in halls, N9899."

Jax nodded. There was the blunt and emotionless Decha he knew. But he did notice there was a change in Decha's aura. He didn't reek of murderous energy, as usual.

He had a theory as to why. "How are you? You seemed in pretty bad shape last night."

"It was just a headache. I've been on my feet much longer than my body could handle, I guess."

"I dunno, fainting from exhaustion doesn't seem minor." Jax snorted, and then thought of what he saw on the cameras the night before, thanks to Decha's mom. He never thought he'd see Decha embrace a woman the way he did.

Decha always seemed like he hated women or was disgusted by them. He was oblivious to flirting, always hanging around men, and focused on work. Jax thought he had a thing for men.

But after seeing him with the Bracket woman, it was enough to confirm that he liked women, he was just reserved about it. "You seemed very tired, which made me nervous. I don't think many Generals have ever seen you so vulnerable."

"I wouldn't call it... vulnerable. Just not at my best."

"You even try to mask it in front of the Bracketer in your care. But last night you were too weak. I would've waited until I was down the hall to faint." Jax snickered.

"That was something I couldn't control, unfortunately." Decha rolled his eyes. After hugging Rory, he felt tired. Whatever spell she has in her touch did that to him. He didn't like it.

"Do you try to act so strong in front of the Bracket woman because you love her?" The question made Decha stiffen.

"What?"

"I'm just curious about what you think of her."

"What is there for me to think about? I'm currently her legal guardian. My job is to keep her safe and taken care of until she goes back to Sector B."