The Continuing Adventures of Kelvin Bladeheart; Two Admirals

Credits; Krell, Rea,
"Admiral, We've found the cultists on Haranthor.  Your information was spot on, but it seems the cult has its fingers deeper than we'd realized."
Admiral Elizabeth Casat, fourth commander of the line and de facto ruler of its constituent worlds and citizenry, was..well she was not normally the most expressive person so it was hard to tell how she was actually taking the news. 
"And how is that any of my concern?  You think I have time to worry about a cult with the quarantine regulations and the labor restrictions and all these visits to parties thrown by local aristocrats?"
"Haranthor's military is under the thumb of the death cult!  If you don't act then none of it will matter and your great-grandfather's work will have been in vain.  You must act before they do, or it will be to late."
She curled over her desk, tracing the grain of the wood absentmindedly.  She was thinking, and doing so in such a way as to make it clear she wasn't thinking hard.  "Very well Master Bladeheart, I will consider your analysis with the utmost deliberation.  How long do you think we have?"
"Months, maybe a year if we're lucky."
"Come back in two months, I will have my men gather as much information as I can in that time and if I find the threat sufficent you shall stand at the head of my men in battle.  In the meantime there is a matter of some local importance I'd be much obliged if you'd attend to."
"Will it make you more likely to act?"
"It will free up some of my men at the very least, and some of them may feel grateful enough to help you regardless of my verdict on the situation on Haranthor."
"What's the job?"
"I hired some workers to fix up the eastern portion of the base a few months ago.  It turns out that someone in personel buggered up the screening process and I've got a bunch of Secloran troops running around my base.  They've got mages and have been teleporting reinforcements in.  My men have been able to contain them easily enough, but if someone could eliminate the mages we'd be able to wipe them out.  It would be a vaulable service to the empire if you would be that someone."
"Say no more, by her majesty's honor, I will defeat these foul magicians."
Kelvin charged off without another word.  The Admiral turned to her secretary. 
"Jennen, make sure to direct him into the simulation chamber.  The men know the program, have them run it on it full drill."
"Yes Sir."
"Ma'am, Jennen, Ma'am."
"Sir."
"I'm not hitting you."
"Yes Ma'am."
Jennen left to attend to his responsibilities.  Krell and Rea watched as the door locked itself behind him, a series of enchantments activated as soon as it clicked.  Clearly Lizzie had every intention of keeping their conversation private. 

"Pervert.  Father, and forgive me for assuming, Miss?"
"Miss Rea, young maid for a very long time."
"Could have fooled me, I don't think I've ever met a tight-moraled assassin before."
"What makes you think I'm an assassin?"
"I've killed a few before, you learn to recognize a Ukown when you see one."
Rea laughed.  "Trained and equipped yes, but never a member.  Dad saw to that."
"If you insist, I'll make no move against you unless you move first.  After all, playing host to interesting travellers is one of the few pleasures I have around here.  So what is Kelvin going on about this time?"
Krell spoke up first, not that Rea's determined stare would have been broken long enough for her to answer anyways. 
"I ran into a relative of an old enemy and fullfilled an old oath.  I justified it to Kelvin by telling him that General Tange was a member of the cult he thinks he's pursuing, instead of just being a student of the philosophy he's actually pursuing."
"So you finally caught up with the last of them?  Good for you old man, nice to know it didn't take you a full thousand years."
"When a man swears an oath, he better be ready to do whatever it takes to fulfill it.  Not like its the worst thing I've done anyways."
"What is the worst thing you've done?"  Rea piped in.  She may have jested with Lizzie, but ever since he'd killed the General she'd been giving him this look.  It was hard to describe, something between curiosity and disdain, but with a definite non-violence that made him worry.  Hatred, being despised, those he was used to; having someone want to not-hurt him, now that was reason to fear. 
"He killed a lot of people, got his soul burnt out by the Empress, and had to kill even more people for her to prevent her from doing the same to his family.  At any moment the Emperor could choose to call him back into the service and do it again, and because they use his soul for a seat cushion he has no choice but to do it for the rest of his unnattural life.  Why do you think he became a priest?  He feels genuinely bad about having to live forever and being an unstoppable weapon of death and destruction."
"Why Father, you never told me you were a Lich."
"Just lich actually, the last Lich rules a nice little settlement/colony/space station thing called Star's Rest with Katrina, his wife.  They have several children and most of them have gone on to lead prominent and succesful lives.  I'm just a lich, a being with his soul bound to a physical object to prevent its own death.  If my body is destroyed I regenerate at that object and get to go try whatever it was again.  Its not fun, it hurts like you won't believe..."
"I would."
"...And frankly I didn't know it could even be done to you against your will until my best friend's 'whatever it takes' daughter went and plucked me out of a happy retirement and sent me back out into the field."
"That would explain Lizzie then, Admiral Krell Casat of the Last Living Fleets."
"Sod off you runty little immortal.  At least I knew better than to try and live forever, messes with the natural balance of things."
"Well, at least your heart is still in the right place.  Maybe one day it can invite your soul over for tea and scones, wouldn't that be luverly?"
Before Krell could come up with a witty retort Rea had left.  She probably headed to the ship, if not to her room here on base.  Lizzie had already arranged quarters for all of them.  He felt bad for having lashed out at her like that, but she was being disrespectful.  Besides that, he'd been going out of his way to keep people from knowing who he was, and it was aggravating to know that she had figured it out so quickly.  He went ahead and took his leave of his Great-Granddaughter and headed to his own room, contemplating how he could either get back at Rea or make it up to her.