Zeke walked into the tent while Pete waited outside. Gorgeous furniture set up a small office. A man sat behind the desk wearing the military uniform. It was black with 3 golden stars on the right side of his chest. When he saw Zeke enter, his face had no noticeable fluctuations.
"You must be Zeke Kingsman right? I've been waiting to meet you. Son of Great General Kingsman... ah- no doubt you'll achieve great things too."
Although Zeke doesn't know much about the military, he knows some things. Like, the stars on the general's chest represent their rank as a Great General. From one to five stars, each one is supposedly ten times harder to earn than the last. Out of the nine planets controlled by the Union, two were subjugated by his father. Thus earning him the rank of five star Great General, one of the most important people in the entire Union.
"Thank you for your kind words Great General."
The General waved him in. "You must be tired from the long ride, come have a seat. I have a lot of paperwork to do so just wait here for now."
Zeke thanked him and took a seat.
Just a minute later, a soldier shouted from outside the tent. "Great General, Captain Sinder has arrived.
The General stood up. "Follow me Recruit Kingsman."
They both left the tent in time to see a group of men yelling at Pete who was so scared he couldn't lift his head up.
"A page like you only brings trouble to his soldier! If I had to put up with a page like you everyday then I would rather not have one! Just wait 'till your soldier gets here, see how I deal with you!"
The General walked over with Zeke in tow. Zeke was shocked. What could Pete have done in the few minutes since I left him? He's already causing such a scene.
"Captain Sinder, what's the situation with this page?"
The leader of the group smirked, "Well, we were on our way to see you and meet recruit Kingsman when we overheard this page besmirching the good name of our soldiers. He said none of us would be able to stand even one move against his soldier."
The General frowned, "He did? All of the Union's soldiers put there lives on the line to protect the peace. Not just anybody can say things like that and get away with it."
"That was my thought exactly!" Sinder said. "So, I thought I would give him a good scolding and impart some morals to him while I wait for his soldier to show up."
"Now that we've shown up, and his page has made such a scene, I doubt anyone would take responsibility. His soldier is probably in the crowd somewhere shaking in his boots!" Said one of the men in Sinder's group.
When Sinder heard that, his smile turned mischievous. "How can a soldier of the Union not take responsibility for his actions. It's his fault he didn't train his page right and now look what's happened because of that. General I think we should take this page down to H.R. and find out who his soldier is. However, since we have to go through all this, they should both be punished severely."
The General nodded, "That's right. Causing such a commotion and wasting our time on such an important day cannot be tolerated. What more besmirching the name of the good soldiers who fought and died on the battlefield for the Union. If this page's soldier doesn't take responsibility and identify himself then I'm afraid I can only punish them both for the crimes of disrupting the peace during a military operation... with a dishonorable discharge."
This scene was unfolding in a direction Zeke had never imagined. Immediately after arriving, his page goes around talking trash to a bunch of soldiers. He was pushed into this life by his father, but deep down he was hoping for a fresh start. A fresh start from the troubles of his past and the bullying he had to endure. Now he has only two options to choose from. One- he can say nothing and let them find out that Pete is his page on their own. Which will then lead to his immediate dishonorable discharge. This gets him out of the military, but his father would not be happy. Even though he hardly talks to his father, he is after all the only family Zeke has so, he doesn't want to let him down. Two- he can own up to it and tell them that Pete is his page. This way he can stay in the military and not let his father down. However his reputation would take a huge hit resulting in some disdain and maybe even bullying from his fellow soldiers in the future, thus ruining the fresh start he was hoping for.
Zeke shook his head. Was this even a choice? He could never let his father down like that.
Just as the group of men grabbed ahold of Pete and started to walk away Zeke took a step forward. "It's me."