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The main dining room of the Auburn Order lair is big enough to accommodate all of the order’s members, but there is another dining room that is reserved for formal gatherings and celebrations. When Marfgad was named leader of the order, a special meal was planned with the family’s elder members and Marfgad sat at the center seat of the raised table before five round tables that the elders filled to congratulate her and accept her as the new leader. The formal dining room is generally off limits, though this is only imposed when the room is in use. The order does not keep secrets from one another and the point of the formal dining room is not to exclude anyone, but its use has evolved over the long time that the order has occupied the lair, and some might now characterize the formal dining room as the political center where all matters of politics are discussed and debated amongst the elders.
Whadgaf had only seen the formal dining room to clean it. Since her breakdown, Liuar had lightened her workload and Whadgaf was gracious for relief from the labor that made her wings seize up into cramps. Marfgad did not seize on Whadgaf’s breakdown as a victory when it happened. It was encouraging, sure, but Marfgad’s plans for Whadgaf called for her to swear allegiance to the order’s causes and anything short of that was an indication that they had more work to do to win the young woman to their side.
One afternoon Whadgaf was diligently cleaning the floor of the formal dining room, Marfgad and Liuar stood in the doorway discussing business.
“She just wants her family,” Liuar said, looking seriously at the girl who was being more cooperative.
“We can use that.” Marfgad said. “Move her to a different room, you know the one.”
Liuar bowed referentially and called for Whadgaf to follow him. She grabbed her equipment and shuffled across the stone floor with her head down and followed Liuar out. Marfgad watched, containing her excitement. The girl is only one part of her plan to subvert the Owning Class and if she was any indication of how successful Marfgad could be, things were looking very good.
Marfgad summoned an assistant and said to him, “Let our guests know that we are prepared to see them tonight. Notify the cooks that we will feast in this room.” The assistant bowed out and left Marfgad to contemplate the empty space. It was the location of her greatest achievement. To be named the leader of the order was unexpected; most leaders of the order’s history have been male and proved themselves to be expert military tacticians capable of countering the military might of the Owning Class. Marfgad spent a lot of time learning military strategy and she read countless books from throughout the universe on effective means of counterinsurgency and overthrowing military powers. She proved herself a capable leader despite her lack of combat experience because she devised many successful raids that helped to keep the order from exposure to the Owning Class.
Marfgad sat at the raised table, in the center seat where she acquired her position and she looked out at the room. She remembered the anticipation of her family, she felt their hope that she could be the leader to finally deliver the order their greatest desire; to restore equities in society sufficient enough for the order to reintegrate into society.
Later that day after Marfgad had changed into her formal wear, she waited with Liuar for their honored guests. Whadgaf stood next to Liuar with her head down, lost in her memories of her mother. She had been resolved in the beginning of her captivity when she would not let the memories of her home break her spirit to repel her captors at all costs. Her isolation had chipped away at her stone interior and by the time she was standing next to Liuar in the formal room, she had to use the mental picture of her mother as the light at the end of her dark tunnel of depression.
Marfgad had only asked five of the elders and Liuar to attend the meeting with her honored guests and when they arrived, Marfgad motioned for everyone to sit at the round tables.
“As you all know,” Marfgad started, “we are resolute in our mission to free the Hafjeran renting caste and provide equality to all Hafjeran citizens. We don’t all agree on the methods to achieve this goal, but our family has thrived for centuries because we agree to follow the orders of our leader who we know has the best intentions of the family in mind as they make decisions. This said, I would like you all to keep an open mind as we take counsel tonight with representatives from the planet Bromeran…”
There is an audible gasp in the room and even Whadgaf lifts her head in shock. The only enemy that the Auburn Order detests more than the Ruling Class are the Bromeris. Sure, the Ruling Class were self serving and cared only about their blood relation, but historically, the Bromeris had thought of the Hafjeris as nothing more than pets and that was a history that the Hafjeris struggled to forget. Not to mention the prohibition of the Bromeris species on the planet Hafjeran.
Marfgad raised a hand to refocus the group that looked around at one another.
“The Bromeris have no interest in conquest of Hafjeran. Most Bromeris are content to never lay eyes on us again, but the group meeting us today are very interested in the rights and dignity of sentient being throughout the universe. They have read accounts from renters on the planet and they know all about the atrocities that are perpetrated here, and they would like to help.”
“This is not right,” the elder named Feswar said. “We must defeat the Ruling Class, but not at the cost of kneeling to those horned beasts. There is no dignity in that.”
Marfgad nodded thoughtfully. She knew that this would be a tough sell. Most Hafjeris alive today have not seen a Bromeris in real life and don’t remember the time when the cultures lived side by side, but they are aware of the stories that have been passed down over years that portrayed the Bromeris as psychological manipulators and slave owners.
“Do you think this is wise?” Jalsad, another of the elders, asked. “Are you convinced that they only want to aid us? Why should we believe that they care about our dignity?”
“Because,” Marfgad said, “they have done this kind of thing before. And they are not representatives of the planet Bromeran. I implore you all to listen to what they have to say.”
“If it is somehow discovered that we are hosting Bromeris…” Jalsad starts.
“We are the Realfen, dear elder. No one on this planet sees anything unless we want them to. That is not a concern worth your time.”
The Bromeris visitors to the lair were impossible to disguise; the Bromeris species is a couple feet taller than the Hafjeris and they have very prominent horns. A group of twenty members of the Bromeris Revolutionary Organization arrived at the lair shortly after the elders met with Marfgad, and many of the order watched scared as the giants with horns moved solemnly through the lair to the formal room.
Liuar had sent Whadgaf to assist with the preparation of the feast when the elders sat. She was not listening to the elders’ conversation, but she followed the orders of the cooks who placed food on tables. When the Bromeris entered, though, she could not ignore their presence and she stopped what she was doing to stare at the imposing figures of the men and women who all wore the same uniform. Their clothes were dark, mostly black except for name badges on their breasts.
Whadgaf was instantly frightened and she remembered the horror stories she would tell with her siblings and friends in their youth about the harrowing Bromeris with horns that they used to rip things apart. She had never seen a Bromeris in real life and she was so frightened that she screamed. And all of the horrors of her present came rushing to her, and she screamed louder.
The line of Bromeris were startled to a halt and the elders jerked their heads to find the source. Marfgad yelled for Whadgaf to be removed from the room, but as they approached her, Whadgaf repelled them, flapping her wings in a fury, throwing her fists and her feet. She was hysterical and no one could put a hand on her. As the struggle continued, Whadgaf’s scream climbed to a high-pitched screech that brought the entire room to their knees in agony.
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