"Well it appears we have some intruders in our midst men." Chadwick spoke aloud as he began to descend the catwalk. Sir Morton roughly dropped the pair onto the steel floor. Before the pair could recover from their fall they found themselves surrounded by knights, each pointing a deadly laser lance at them. The girls carefully stood up and placed their hands in the air. Chadwick approached them with an air of superiority and condescension. He examined their faces, puzzled as he tried to work out their identities.
"Ah yes, I remember you now." He said pointing a finger at Kai. "You were the meddlesome girl who thwarted my plan to get the sword alongside that accursed Ben Tennyson." Chadwick stated. Kai scoffed.
"If that's what you wanted to call it. You couldn't pull the sword out then and it looks like you still can't now. You also had more of an ugly gorilla thing going on back then." Kai said.
"Wait, gorilla?" Charmcaster asked confused.
"Oh yeah, he drank Dr. Jekyll's monster formula and turned into this huge purple monster but he still wasn't able to pull the sword from the stone." Kai explained.
"Yes well, Dr. Jekyll's formula has worn off and regardless it was a failure of an experiment anyway." Chadwick retorted. "Now though, the sword is in my possession and I have devised a way to utilize its power without drawing it from the stone. You see I am able to draw off its magical energies and store them in energy cells for me to utilize. However the process is slower than I would like but still progress is progress." He said.
"You can't use magic like that. That's incredibly dangerous." Charmcaster spoke up. Chadwick cast another look over her.
"I'm sorry who even are you?" He asked.
"Duh, greatest sorceress in the universe much." She said snarkily.
"Oh well now. It looks like we've found another source of energy to power my weapon. Guards hook her up to the machine. We will begin absorbing her magic at once." Chadwick said. Charmcaster and Kai gasped in worry and glanced at each other.
"What do you want me to do with the other one sir?" Morton asked.
"Oh place her in the dungeon, we'll take care of her soon." Chadwick said ominously.
"Charmcaster!" Kai shouted as the knights began to separate them.
"I'll be fine, I'm tougher than I look!" Charmcaster replied even as they dragged her to a large flat standing platform.
"We shall see about that once we've drained off all of your magical energy." Chadwick taunted.
"First off it's called Mana. If you're going to be messing with magical powers you should at least know the proper terminology." Charmcaster retorted as the knights began strapping her arms and legs to the table.
"You'll have to forgive me. I'm not an expert." Chadwick said smugly. The knights set about placing clamps and cables to Charmcaster's skin. "For instance, I wonder what would happen if we were to drain your 'mana'. After all up until now our only test subject has been inanimate." Chadwick said threateningly.
"I swear you're going to pay for this." Charmcaster said menacingly.
"I sincerely doubt that. Start up the machine!" Chadwick called.
Charmcaster struggled against her restraints. She could hear the machinery whir and whine and she knew she didn't have long before the cables would begin to suck her mana from her. She summoned her power, feeling it course through her limbs and gather in the palms of her hands. She could do this, she could escape and make this pyscho pay for daring to try and hurt her.
"Aaaaahhhh!" She screamed as an electric shock ran through her. Suddenly her power began to fade from her body. It felt as though her insides were being torn out through her skin. The pain burned across her body and caused her to writhe and spasm.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" She continued to scream as the machine drained more and more power from her. She tried to hold onto it, to summon her power back to her. But the harder she tried to focus her mana the faster she could feel it be ripped away from her. The pain was becoming unbearable. She could feel her conciousness start to fade. The last thing she could remember doing was screaming in agony before blacking out.
Kai sat alone in an empty brick walled dirt floored room. Her hands were chained above her, the metal chafing on her wrists and her muscles strained. She had been chained up here for hours now. The only sounds she could make out were the occasional screams of anguish from Charmcaster. Kai had tried everything she could to escape from her shackles but her captors were too cautious. They had confiscated all of her tech and gadgets from her person. They didn't even leave her any bobby pins she could use as lock picks. She could only slump helplessly against the wall as her friend suffered whatever torture the knights were putting her through.
She sighed heavily. This seemed like it was all her fault. Her and Charmcaster had made a surprisingly good team but her eagerness for the sword had blinded her better judgement. She should have listened to Max. If she had waited they could have sent an entire regiment to capture the base and apprehend the Forever Knights. Now all Kai could do was wait for the knights to begin torturing her as well. Unfortunately for her it would appear she did not have to wait long.
Kai looked up as light flooded the dim room. The open door opposite from her lit the room from outside. The figure of a knight clad in metal armor approached her. His silhouette cast a long shadow on her and Kai narrowed her eyes. The silent knight walked towards her, towering above her sitting form. Kai glared up at the knight as he stared down at her.
"If you're here to torture me let me save you some time. I won't break." She said defiantly. The knight stood silently for a moment before raising a hand. Kai squeezed her eyes tight, preparing for a blow. She was surpised though when she felt him mess with the manacles around her wrists.
Kai looked up in confusion. She watched as the knight inserted a key into the shackles, unlocking the rough metal from around her wrists. Her arms fell down to her sides and she rubbed her sore skin. She was surpised again as the knight offered his hand. Skeptical Kai stood on her own.
"What game are you playing at?" She asked. The knight withdrew the hand and began laughing in a high pitchd feminine voice.
"Pysch!" The voice shouted. Suddenly the cold grey metal of the armor began to melt and change color into a shade of deep mauve. The figure's silhouette resolved into a familiar shape. In another moment Lucy Mann stood in front of her.
"Lucy?! What are you doing here?" Kai asked, embracing her friend.
"Saving you of course!" Lucy replied.
"But how did you know where I was?" Kai asked confused.
"Duh we tracked your plumber badge's GPS." Lucy said. "Once we found you it was easy to blend in and infiltrate the base." She finished. Kai blushed sheepishly, she forgot that the badge would have tracked her every move.
"Nevermind that, we've got to go rescue Charmcaster!" Kai said and grabbed Lucy's hand to lead her back to the hallway. The pair looked out into the darkened hallway, scanning it for any enemy combatants. "I need to get my equipment back." Kai stated. Lucy pulled out her own plumbers badge. A blinking green light was present on the screen.
"It looks like it should be this way." Lucy pointed down the hall. The pair stealthily made their way down the hallway, sticking to shadows.
The pair followed the signal to a side room. The girls peered in and saw a number of knights milling around the room. Behind them rows of weapons lined the walls. The knights sat around cleaning their armor and performing maintenance on the weapons. At the far side of the room Kai spotted her plumber badge along with her blaster and other equipment. Kai exchanged a glance with Lucy and they nodded at each other.
Lucy and Kai stormed into the room taking the knights by surprise. Kai swept low and knocked one of the knights off his feet with a kick. She avoided a laser blast by somersaulting forward. She sprung up and grabbed the knight by the arm, flipping him over her head and onto the knight she had just knocked down. On the other side of the room Lucy avoided a laser blast by opening a hole in her chest and reforming after. She shot a torrent of slime at the knight, sticking him against the wall at the far side. She followed up by melting to the floor and sliding underneath the other knight in the room. Erupting in a geyser the knight was tossed hard into the stone ceiling and fell to ground unconscious. Having disposed of the knights Kai stood and collected her belongings.
"Alright, follow me, it's time to go save Charmcaster." Kai said.
The pair ran back out into the hallway. Kai retraced her steps back to the central chamber of the base, remembering the path the knights took to put her in the dungeon. In a few minutes they had reached the chamber once more. The only difference this time was that the cables which were previously attached to Excalibur were now hooked to Charmcaster. The sorceress was strapped to a table on the upper platforms. She appeared to be unconscious. The knights were fiddling with the machines that controlled the energy drain. The knights began flipping switches again and turning knobs on the control panels. Charmcaster screamed as white glowing energy surrounded her and fed up into the cables and to the battery cells. Kai moved to stand up but Lucy's hand held her back in place.
"Kai wait, we can't go in there without a plan." Lucy advised. Kai looked between Charmcaster's screaming form and Lucy's concerned face. She clenched her fist in frustration before sighing.
"You're right, that's what got me into this mess in the first place." Kai admitted. She surveyed the room once again. She pointed to one of the control panels on the lower level.
"I'll go cause a distraction, while that's going on you go rescue Charmcaster. Then once she's secure I'll grab the Sword and we'll get out of here." Kai said. Lucy looked unsure.
"Are you sure you'll be able to grab the sword?" Lucy asked.
"You just worry about Charmcaster and leave the rest to me." Kai said confidently.
With that Kai snuck off closer to the control panel. She ducked behind crates and large blocks of machines. Her smaller form allowed her to hide in between the machines and walls and easily avoid detection. She peered around a corner and saw Lucy snaking her way up closer to Charmcaster in her slime form. Kai waited for the knights to leave their stations unattended. Then she snuck out from her hiding place and swiftly headed to the control panels. She began flipping switches and turning dials at random. She pressed buttons haphazardly as she made her way across the control panel. Finally she ducked back behind another machine just as the alarms were starting to sound off.
She watched from her hiding place as knights rushed over to figure out what was going on. The sound of unstable machines whirring grew louder and louder. Flashing lights went off all around the laboratory. Kai met eyes with Lucy and gave a thumbs up. Lucy set about undoing Charmcaster's restraints while Kai ran to the center of the room to grab the sword.
"What is going on?" Chadwick's voice rang out over the intercom.
"Our systems are going critical." One of the knights replied.
Kai ran past the knights and set her sights on Excalibur. She reached the sword and grasped it's handle with both hands. She concentrated and pulled upwards on the handle. However the sword did not move. "Huh?" Kai gasped. She pulled at the steel weapon but it still did not budge. "What, but I thought…" Kai said in a depressed tone.
"Hey! The prisoners are escaping!" A knights voice broke Kai from her concentration. Kai was forced to abandon the sword and take cover behind a machine. Laser fire bombarded her position and she took aim and fired back from behind her cover.
On the catwalk above, Lucy had managed to free Charmcaster from her restraints. Charmcaster fell weakly and Lucy caught the older girl in her arms. She groaned in pain as she began to regain concsiousness.
"Hnng, who are you?" Charmcaster asked groggily.
"We're with the plumbers. We're here to get you and Kai." Lucy replied. She helped Charmcaster to her feet, one of her arms around Lucy's shoulder. "Do you think you can fight?" Lucy asked. Charmcaster struggled to hold up an arm and summon her magic but a faint flicker of light was all she could manage.
"They've drained a lot of my mana. I should be able to help a little but I need time to recharge." Charmcaster said. Kai's voice from below interrupted them.
"Lucy, I'm getting hammered down here. A little help!" She called. Lucy turned back to Charmcaster.
"Stay here and take cover. I'm gonna call in some reinforcements." Lucy said. She brought up her plumber badge and spoke into it.
"Coop! We need backup!" She spoke into the communicator before jumping into the fray. She jumped gracefully off the catwalk and landed on the floor below. In a split second she had transformed the ends of her arms into giant maces which she swung into the knights. The knights were thrown backwards due to the force of the strike and landed unconscious on the ground. She dodged more laser fire from the side and shot gouts of muck at the atttackers leaving them stuck to the wall.
"Have you gotten the sword?" Lucy asked. Kai ran back to Excalibur and placed her hands on the hilt once more. She tried pulling with all her might but the sword barely moved.
"It's not working!" Kai shouted.
"Of course it isn't moving." Charmcaster called from above. "I told you Excalibur chooses its owner." She finished.
"But I thought it chose me! Last time it moved!" Kai called back. They were interrupted as another retinue of knights entered the room from the far right hallway and began taking aim. Kai once again abandoned the sword and took cover behind the boulder, firing back at the knights.
Just as the enemies began to fire a large explosion sounded from the left side of the room. A group of plumbers came rushing in through the large hole in the wall, lead by Cooper. "Attack!" He called and the plumber officers opened fire on the knights. From there it became an open battlefield as the knights and plumbers began firing at each other with Kai and Lucy caught in the middle.
Cooper thrusted his arm towards a nearby machine and soon the metallic components began reforming around his arm. In a few moments a large robotic arm had formed over his arm and shoulder. A cybernetic headset then formed around his head and a visor came down in front of his eye. He surveyed the battlefield, the knights lighting up with targets as his eye passed over them. He raised the robotic arm and shot lasers at each of the targeted knights. The blasts of blue energy collided with the knights and ended in large shockwaves that knocked the knights backwards. But despite the advanced weaponry more knights still appeared crawling throught the woodwork to replace the downed soldiers. Cooper continued firing as best he could with both Kai and Lucy supporting him.
"Enough!" An authoritative voice called from above. On the high catwalk above the center of the room a large hulking figure emerged. Chadwick stepped forward wearing a large golden exo suit. Large clawed gauntlets laid over his hands and the suit was about twice his size. His head poked out from the center of the exo suit, disproportionately small compared to the rest of the suit. Cooper looked up and immediately recognized the armor.
"That's the Forever King's armor!" Cooper called out.
"Yes quite astute young man. I appropriated this armor from Driscoll after he passed and made some… modifications of my own design. Now through this armor I can channel mana and become the most powerful man in the world!" Chadwick laughed maniacally. Without wasting another moment Chadwick raised a large mechanical arm and a blast of laser fire shot forth from his palm. The laser blast impacted the ground around them and shattered the floor in a large crater. The explosion rocked the room and sent the plumbers clamoring for cover. Chadwick jumped from the catwalk and landed on the ground with an earth shaking thud as his armor clanked.
Chadwick began blasting the plumbers with barrages of magical energy, destroying the lab around him in the process. Whether he cared about the destruction he did not show. One thing was for sure though, in his magically enhanced exo armor he was a force to be reckoned with. Cooper began the process of assembling an exo suit of his own whilst Lucy shot globs of slime at him, hoping to slow the metallic behemoth down in some fashion. Kai continued to lay covering fire, aiming both at Chadwick and the remaining forever knights that were firing back. She glanced at the sword again, still embedded deep in the stone. She thought back to her last encounter, she knew for sure that when she had grabbed the sword last it had moved. She just wasn't sure why it didn't move now.
Her attention was drawn back to the battlefield as Cooper in his make shift exo armor finally tackled Chadwick. The pair locked grips and pushed at each other. They were nearly neck and neck as they matched strength. Suddenly Chadwick smiled and his eyes glowed with power as the mana he had stolen began powering up his suit. He managed to shift his grip to grab Cooper by the waist and toss him overhead. Cooper landed with a loud crash as his armor began to come undone.
"Coop!" Lucy yelled in shock. She ran over to help the technopath, dodging laser fire as she did so.
Kai watched in desperation as Chadwick began taking steps toward her. Their forces were beginning to be pushed back both by Chadwick's energy blasts and the remaining forever knight forces.
"Now it's time to get rid of you once and for all." Chadwick said menacingly as he raised a glowing hand. Kai was frozen in shock and fear. She needed to get away but the blast was charging too fast. She winced as the flash of light erupted. But as she waited for the inevitable impact, it never came.
Kai opened her eyes again to find Charmcaster stood defiantly in front of her. Her hands were held aloft and sweat ran down her forehead. In front of them both was a large forcefield of violet energy. Chadwick's energy blast was continuously firing against it and dissipating along it's surface.
"Charmcaster what are you doing?" Kai asked concerned.
"Saving you… what does it… look like." Charmcaster ground out with effort. Kai looked confused. She was certain that the villainess would have used this opportunity to escape.
"But why?" Kai asked.
"Because I would never hear the end of it from Gwen if I let you die." Charmcaster said back. She slightly turned her head to meet Kai's eyes. "Besides, you did the same for me." She admitted.
"Your shield won't hold forever Charmcaster. I've already drained most of your mana." Chadwick said as he increased the energy output. Charmcaster grunted as she was pushed back from the force.
"He's right! You should get out of here!" Charmcaster called back. Kai looked between Charmcaster, her allies, Chadwick and the sword. A million thoughts ran through her mind before she narrowed her eyes defiantly.
"No!" Kai called out.
"What?" Charmcaster asked confused.
Kai ran back to Excalibur, scaling the large stone boulder to reach the sword once again.
"Idiot, I thought I already told you! There's no way the Sword would have chosen you!" Charmcaster chastised.
"You're wrong Charmcaster! I know that Excalibur moved for me. I just forgot why. I wanted the sword so badly that I forgot why it chose me in the first place." Kai said gripping the handle of the sword. Her muscles tensed as she pulled upwards on the blade. The faint sound of metal scraping against stone began to emanate from deep within. "The sword doesn't choose you because you want it or because it deems you worthy." Kai continued. Everyone watched dumbfounded as the length of the blade began to emerge from within the rock. "The sword chooses you because you have to want to help others. And right now, I want nothing more than to help my friends!" Kai called triumphantly. At last Kai withdrew the sword and held Excalibur aloft proudly into the air.
"No, no that's not possible!" Chadwick said backing away slightly. Charmcaster dropped her shield and stared at Kai in disbelief before smiling.
Kai lowered the sword and examined it. Excalibur appeared no worse for wear. It's blade was still sharp and it's metal showed no signs of aging. Kai smiled as she examined it and then set her sights on Chadwick. She gripped the handle with both hands and adopted a fighting pose. She somersaulted off of the stone boulder and down in front of Chadwick.
"It matters not." Chadwick finally stated. "So what if you have the sword? I have drained off enough Mana to make me more than a match for you." He boasted. Suddenly he reared a fist back and punched down at where Kai stood.
However, the nimble plumber easily dodged the lumbering strike and slashed at the mechanical arm. Kai felt barely any resistance as the blade sliced through the metal of the exo suit leaving a large gash in the armor. Chadwick withdrew the arm in shock. He scowled and began firing off blasts of energy. Kai began dodging and weaving in between the blasts. She swung Excalibur, slashing deep into the mechanical armor.
"Wooh go Kai!" Lucy called from the side, holding an injured Cooper's head in her hands.
"I've had enough of this!" Chadwick called and began launching missiles and laser blasts from his armor. Kai's eyes widened in shock and she was forced to retreat from the assault. She took cover behind a machine. On the other side of the room she saw Charmcaster doing the same and concentrating her magic.
"I can't get close enough to hit him!" Kai called.
"You don't have to!" Charmcaster called back. Kai looked at the girl confused. Charmcaster rolled her eyes.
"The sword is magic! Don't just use it like a sword!" She explained. Kai looked at the sword in her hands again. Now that she mentioned it she did feel a faint hum of energy from the weapon. Taking a breath she ran out from cover.
Kai ran forward and swung the sword even though she was yards away from Chadwick. They were both surprised though when an arc of white light shot out from the blade and sliced through the air, impacting Chadwick's armor. The blast was powerful enough that it staggered the large robotic suit.
"You think you will win? I am the greatest mind on this planet. I will be the one to rule!" Chadwick screamed unhinged. He raised an arm to fire another blast but found his weapons unresponsive. Suddenly his arm swung to the side, haphazardly with a mind of it's own. Chadwick looked over to see Cooper's eyes alight and hand outstretched controlling his systems from afar. He tried to stalk forward but found his feet glued to the floor. He looked down to see his legs covered with thick viscous slime and a smiling Lucy standing next to Cooper.
His attention was turned back to Kai who continued flinging blades of white mana at him, doing further damage to his suit. He growled in frustration and shot blasts of energy from his other arm. Kai backpedalled but was saved as Charmcaster stepped forward and began throwing shields up to intercept the laser blasts. With her path secured Kai made her way forward continuing to shoot lances of energy from the tip of her sword. Immobilized and with his arsenal and energy source quickly becoming depleted, Chadwick could only watch in horror as the young girl approached with sword in hand. He gasped as Kai finally reached him, jumping into mid air with sword held high above her head. Kai swung Excalibur down forcefully and sliced through the middle of his armor.
Finally the metal exo-suit fell apart around him and Chadwick fell to the ground defeated. He groaned and got to his knees. He lifted his head up to see Kai standing before him, sword poised coolly across her shoulder and behind her head. Charmcaster soon joined her as well as a limping Cooper and Lucy. Charmcaster smiled before kicking him across the face. Chadwick fell to the side, unconcious.
With Chadwick defeated, the rest of the Forever Knight troops began surrendering. The plumbers began rounding them up and restraining them. Soon the entire base was under Plumber control and more plumber ships began arriving and taking inventory of the Forever Knight's caches of alien technology. Kai, Charmcaster, Lucy and Cooper all headed topside as the rest of the Plumbers took inventory of the base and its secrets. They saw Chadwick and his closest cronies loaded onto a prison transport ship.
"Never have I ever been so happy to be so wrong." Charmcaster said finally as she eyed Kai and her new weapon. Kai smiled and brandished Excalibur in the afternoon sunlight.
"I told you so." Kai said smugly.
"Yeah yeah." Charmcaster said dismissively although she did have a smirk on her face.
"Uh oh, guys look." Lucy said worriedly. The group looked over to see Max Tennyson stalking over to them.
"Magister Tennyson look! We got the sword and defeated the Forever Knights!" Kai called excitedly. However the smile on her face fell as she took in Max's expression. His brows were furrowed and a grimace rested on his normally jovial face. As he spotted Kai and came over his expression turned angrier and angrier. Finally when he reached her Kai began cowering slightly as the older plumber towered over them.
"Kai Green! Never in all my years as a plumber have I had an officer as talented, promising, and smart as you do something as reckless, fool hardy, and dangerous as the stunt you pulled today." Max spoke angrily. Kai clutched her sword to her chest flinched at Max's tone.
"Not only did you disobey a direct order, you took a dangerous prisoner from detention and went off grid." Max scolded. "You're lucky that Cooper was able to trace your badge's position and that we could rescue you." He continued. Kai looked to the ground shamed, her form shrinking in on herself as she endured Max's criticism.
"You put not only your own life but the lives of countless others in danger just so you could fulfill some power fantasy of yours. What do you have to say for yourself?" Max finished fuming.
Sufficiently admonished, Kai looked down sheepishly tears beginning to form at her eyes as she struggled to come up with a defense for herself. But the normally brash and outspoken girl had nothing that she could say.
"Magister Tennyson, I…" Kai tried to begin but failed to find any words.
"Don't blame her." Charmcaster's voice spoke up. The group turned to her in surprise, none more so than Kai herself. Charmcaster stepped forward and placed a hand on Kai's shoulder.
"I was the one who convinced her to do all this." Charmcaster pleaded. "She came to visit me in my cell looking to interrogate me but I did a little glamour spell on her to get her to do all this. I thought that if we worked together you guys would start to trust me more. I just wanted to help." Charmcaster admitted.
Max stared impassively at both Charmcaster and Kai for a second before sighing heavily.
"As good as a cover as that may have been I've been around the block too long to tell when a teenager is lying to me." Max said less sternly. Both Charmcaster's and Kai's faces fell at that admission. Max turned back to Kai again.
"Kai the only reason that I'm not having you court martialed is that this escapade did manage to lead us to the remnants of the Forever Knights and finally shut them down for good. Also it looks like you were right about that sword." Max finally admitted.
"Thank you Magister Tennyson." Kai finally said.
"Don't thank me. Unfortunately I can't let these transgressions go unpunished. As of this moment you are being demoted back to the rank of Lieutenant. Lucy Mann will take command of your unit as the newly promoted Captain. I want a full report on this misadventure and then you are to dedicate all your time to the Hammer case, no exceptions to leave the base unless acommpanied. Do you understand?" Max said. Kai frowned sadly but closed her eyes and nodded. She supposed she deserved nothing less than this punishment.
"Of course Magister." Kai replied.
"Good. As for you…" Max finally turned to Charmcaster. "From what I hear you actually were instrumental in helping our forces in this battle. If you actually want to help and start earning our trust then I'm giving you the rank of provisional Plumber Cadet." Max instructed.
"Oh um. Ok then. Wait does this mean I have to like do tests and wear that uniform?" Charmcaster asked. Max narrowed his eyes at the girl. Nervous, Charmcaster waved off her comments.
"I mean thank you sir, I won't let you down." She said with an improper salute.
Max let out a heavy sigh and rubbed at his forehead before walking away. As Max left and Lucy took Cooper to the infirmary, Kai and Charmcaster were left standing in the open field.
"Ya know you didn't have to stick up for me like that." Kai finally said to Charmcaster. The sorceress flipped her hair dismissively and turned her head to hide her blush.
"Yeah well ya know, I just needed an in with the Plumbers otherwise they would never have trusted me." She tried to justify.
"Mm-hm. Well now that you're officially a plumber cadet you know that still means I'm your superior and you'll have to follow all my orders." Kai said mischieviously.
Charmcaster's face fell and she sputtered before managing a single. "Aw crud."
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this little side adventure. Next chapter will have us return to our regularly scheduled programming. Also trying again to highlight in this chapter the similarities between Ben and Kai. Although I feel like Kai would take her admonishments a little more seriously than Ben would. Hence why I had to demote her in the story. Also in case any of you were wondering, although there is not much of an official officer ranking in the Plumbers I decided to make my own. It basically goes: Cadet, Private, Corporal, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Commander, then Magister