Aurelius sat in the war room, the report trembling slightly in his gloved hand.
His silver mask hid his expression, but his clenched jaw beneath the half mask already revealed all that he was feeling about what he was reading.
The parchment detailed the unthinkable. Two Rank 9s that had slipped past Carthage's net, Gaia and Atreides, had been sighted joining what was essentially Death's army.
The sound of the parchment crumpling quickly filled the quiet room.
Aurelius' hand crushed it into a tight ball and flung it across the room. It struck the wall and fell, a small and pathetic sound that seemed to be mocking the rage building inside of him.
His gaze rose, cold and burning all at once. The generals standing before him flinched as his eyes flicked to them. Not one dared to meet his gaze.
"Gaia. Atreides. And now Death." Aurelius said slowly, every syllable dripping venom. "An army of strays… monsters… and opportunists at his back."
