The feeling, now, was of something institutional and wholly unfair, something biased against us, that was now dragging us inch by inch toward something ugly. To my sister being made to lay hands on us, on me, all while being in the worst fucking state possible to handle her shit. And she hadn’t been handling it.

Aian squared his shoulders, moved his arm, and faced us. Yosef’s wife approached to stand beside and one step behind him.

When he spoke to address us, his voice was faintly nasal and insistent. His translator’s voice was normal, but the opening of each statement overlapped with the end of Aian’s.

“All but Militia will stay in a reconstruction facility, where you will join the rounds. Miss Militia will return to Gimel and explain the situation.”

The ‘rounds’—I only had to look at Miss Militia’s expression to know how things had gone. I didn’t miss her glancing at Kenzie.

“If I may—” Miss Militia started.

“You may not.”

“If I may!” Miss Militia raised her voice.

There were murmurs, there was chatter.

Aian ceded, his hand moving to motion her to come closer.

“A general can take the punishment for their men.”

“Are you a general? You dress as one but you insisted you were something else.”

“I am not someone who leads battles against humankind. I am someone who leads battle against monsters and fights to make humanity shine brighter. These people have fought under or alongside me.”

Aian answered. The translator translated, “Your Wardens, yes. Breakdown—”

Luis coughed a word. The translator corrected himself.

“—Breakthrough is not yours.”

“They are my responsibility. I will stay and I will take any punishment you see fit, as much as I disagree.”

“You will go,” the translator translated for Aian. “Because we want someone we can trust going between us and Gimel.”

“I will not see people, many of them not quite adults in the eyes of our government, punished for the crimes of adults.”

“Punishments with kind intent and purpose.”

Ashley put her hands on Kenzie’s collarbone, pulling her back into Ashley’s front in a protective hug.

“Unacceptable,” Miss Militia said. “Our memory is long when it comes to this sort of thing. You will hurt relations far more than you realize. I told you from the beginning, they’ve earned goodwill.”

“Then imprisonment until the trade deal is signed and new protections agreed to. We are insistent on having our presence and security affirmed. And if these parahumans cause trouble, they will bleed for it. The so-called Red Queen will ensure they don’t bleed too much.”

“That should be fine,” Miss Militia said. “It won’t come to that.”

“Do you say that because you know they’ll cause trouble and you’re at peace with the politics of it, or because you’re lying to yourself?”

“Being parahuman doesn’t mean trouble is inevitable. Have I caused you trouble?”

“You have the gall to ask that after raising your voice in here, threatening us?”