Under the smiling gaze of every guard, Commander Tealis dragged Kohn into the castle grounds with a red face. Everyone they passed saw the two and instantly spawned grins filled with white teeth. Eventually Tealis brought him through the castle maze to a courtyard where various soldiers were either cleaning and maintaining their equipment or sparring in the open space. Most gave a firm greeting to Tealis, but none of them stopped what they were doing.

“So,” Kohn began “you’re a commander?”

Tealis turned to him, capturing his eyes with her own. “I’m THE Commander.” Thinking for a moment, Tealis called out without breaking her gaze. “TEG!”

A heavy set man with long brown hair and a full beard came running out from inside a room before snapping to attention. His gut swaying back and forth. “Aye Commander?”

“Teg. Tell the Earthling Kohn here who I am.”

“Aye Commander!” Clipping his heels the stout man spoke not at Kohn but into the air. “Commander Tealis is the only living recipient of the King’s Promise. A medal she received for her loyalty and devotion to King StoneTooth during the Founding War. Commander Tealis also commands the Three Armies and has the highest authority second only to King StoneTooth himself!”

Teg hurriedly continued when he glanced at Tealis and received a glare in return. “Commander Tealis devised the Three Orders herself years ago and laid down the foundation of each order and how they should work with each other in order to inflict the highest amount of damage to the enemy while keeping casualties to a minimum. Thanks to her ingeniousness, the World Eaters and the Jzanna have been diverted from Agossomore member planets nearly twenty times now.”

Kohn was very impressed with the credentials of the old woman who only minutes ago was groping his backside. Tealis herself seemed pleased with Tegs explanation, but unfortunately the fat man took her smile as a sign to continue. However, he had pretty much run out of professional things to say about her and fell to more personal details.

“Commander Tealis is single and considers herself to be a bachelorette.”

“Wait Teg, that’s too much.”

“She sometimes follows the men into the baths when she thinks she can get away with it.”

“Teg! No!”

“Once she kidnapped a man that caught her fancy. If it wasn’t for her daughter finding Commander Tealis’s hiding spot we probably still wouldn’t have found him.”

“STOP TEG! NO MORE!”

“When we asked him what she did to him he only shivered in horror and spoke the promise she made him swear by-” Before Teg could say any more Commander Tealis had superman jumped into his face, both her hands holding his lips shut together.

Kohn couldn’t see her face, but he imagined her eyes to be wide open with the tiniest of pupils. Red veins crisscrossing like a web of blood as she whispered terrifying threats with her face only an inch away from Tegs.

“That should be enough Commander.” A woman spoke out from the room Teg came out from. “Your indiscretions are already public knowledge so you shouldn’t make a big deal out of it if Teg decides to speak about it.”

“Teagan!” Tealis cried out like a little girl caught by her mama. “I thought you were going to call me mother?”

Teagan walked out into the courtyard with all the air of a chivalrous knight from back on Earth. Her silver shoulder length hair and golden skirt sashayed with each step she took. The skirt touched the ground, but the front lifted in an upside down V to reveal golden Greeves.

“Mother? Why should I call you by anything other than your rank Commander? You have not yet shown me that you deserve to be called a mother.” She stood tall with her head kept up straight so that she was looking down on Tealis. A golden metal circlet adorned Teagan’s head to keep her hair out of her eyes. Her arms were crossed over a breastplate that did nothing to hide her ample assets. “My childhood is filled with memories of you constantly chasing after men while I took care of my brothers and sisters at home.”

Confused, Kohn leaned over to whisper at Teg while the mother and daughter pair argued amongst each other. “If she’s single, how can Commander Tealis have children?”

“Oh, during the Foundation War she had her womb removed and turned into an Artificial Mother.” When he saw that Kohn didn’t understand Teg continued on. “Basically the womb is turned into a magical device that can become impregnated and give birth to children. All of Commander Tealis’s children came from her own Artificial Mother and given the first two letters of her name as their own.”

“Huh? So everyone with a name that starts with TE is her child? Are you her child?”

Teg nodded solemnly at Kohn. “Unfortunately Commander Tealis went through a phase where she couldn’t be bothered to think of a name for all of her children so she just started adding random letters after TE.”

“So, on Earth we have first names for individuals and last names or family names. Would that mean that your first name is G and your family name is Te?”

“By your planet’s standards I suppose that is how you would see it.”

Kohn rested a hand on Teg’s shoulder in sympathy. “I am so sorry for you.” Teg nodded in solemn thanks.

“And Teg!” Teg and Kohn snapped back as Tealis and Teagan finally ended their familial spat. “While it may be public record of Commander Tealis’s indiscretions, it is not your responsibility to become a trouble making gossip child. So stow it!”

Teg snapped a crisp salute at the reprimand he received. “Aye Major Teagan!”

The Brace of Words clearly translated her rank as major, but as Kohn watched his lips move he figured that her actual alien ranks was roughly nine syllables long.

“And you! Earthling! Kohn was it?”

“Ah, yes Major!” He stumbled trying to respond after being caught unawares. His own salute wasn’t practiced and was missing the crooked bend of the little finger.

“Practice that salute Earthling! You haven’t yet joined any of the Orders, but in each one salutes are an everyday occurrence. And in the Kingdom we generally add the person’s name after rank.”

“Yes Major Teagan!”

“Any way. We brought your prototype suit from your room. Equip it.”

“Uh, huh? Why?”

“Because we are going to test the goods you brought to the capital. This suit of yours that can fly around in space.”

“But we’re on a planet. How exactly do you plan on testing it?”

She chuckled and grinned at him. Amused at the obvious answer to his stupid question. “Don’t be daft! I’m going to fight you!” With a wave of her hand a bright sparkling light appeared on her body. Instantly her armored, yet attractive attire was replaced with a full set of feminine scale mail armor. Golden and silver scales covered her shoulders, arms, and legs while what appeared to be fangs and claws covered her chest in a V, passing on either side of her neck before disappearing down her back. They met below her waist to cover her crotch.

Commander Tealis angrily crossed her arms while muttering out of the corner of her mouth. “She accuses me of having no shame when she fights in that thing!”

Kohn had never really been too interested in women’s clothes, but now he found it incredibly difficult to keep himself under control. “Now, when you say fight, you mean with weapons right?”