Laapis Azura was hatched by Azura Tikarast, an obsessive and a very emotional Aquatic Drone. Already as a Hatchling, Laapis had the tendency to bite each and every one. No matter if Drone or Hatchmate, which earned her the name Shark after one of the many predatory fish living in the Pool she was hatched in.

Her aggressiveness had earned her quite some suspicions. As rumor has it, Azura had thought his little runt was a Queen Mother, but the blood test indicated that she was a normal Aquatic Drone — at least considering her biology. Despite that, or rather because of that, Azura started to spoil her. Calling her his little princess and even following her onto land to the Terrestrial Drone she was to be taken to.

So, you’re telling me she’s a spoiled brat?

I wouldn’t call her that. As it’s whispered among the Fleet, she grew quite resentful of her Aquatic Drone. And who wouldn’t be annoyed if there was someone constantly fawning over your every step and making sure everything remotely challenging got removed?

Much to the dismay of Daggard Amonil, that’s the name of her Terrestrial Drone, Azura also constantly interfered with their lessons and made it almost impossible for their Morphlings to really learn anything. Most of them were of different Aquatic Drones, since Azura didn’t bother much with his clutch once Laapis was cleared from being a Queen Mother. At one point, too much was too much and Daggard snapped.

Wait. I think I remember… I have heard something about that during one of the advanced trainings I needed to attend to become an Interviewer. If I recall correctly, it was about a case where a Terrestrial Drone had beaten up an Aquatic Drone in front of their Morphlings. It was used as an example of a complex offence with multiple laws broken, but the ruling favouring neither. But there were no names given.

It really has become a study for legal matters?

And here I was thinking that you knew everything.

Never said that, Flextruth. But back to the story. You might find that the case wasn’t probably adapted one on one.

I’m all ears.

So Daggard beat up Azura and faced a charge of aggravated assault on an Aquatic Drone on duty. This is usually a death sentence, but Daggard had an unlikely ally. As already told, Laapis wasn’t a big fan of Auzra and despised him. Something Azura himself couldn’t fathom. After all, Laapis was his precious princess and could do no wrong and would never let any harm befall her Aquatic Drone. Oh, how wrong the bastard was.

Anyway, long before the Interviewer and a squat of Executioners arrived, Azura showed his nasty side and intimidated the Morphlings. Telling them that he’ll kill them if they as much as whisper anything negative about him, and what had led to Daggard’s outburst. I heard one of the poor things even died of Mental-Stress-Syndrome due to his antics, but I doubt that’s really the case.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

And once the Interviewer and the Executioners came to investigate, everything went according to Azura’s plan. Well, almost everything. The moment the Interviewer was about to warp up their investigation, Laapis stepped forward and ratted her Aquatic Drone out without batting an eye. At first, the Interviewer didn’t want to believe her. She was still a Morphling, barely out of the water. Maybe she was mixing things up. Yet once she spoke up, all the other Morphlings did so too, which earned Azura a spot in the Fleet. They cut his fins then and there, as the official ruling was just a formality at that point.

You don’t know, per chance, how he’s doing?

Heard he’s got himself killed by insulting a high-ranking general.

Remarkable.

Rather, expected.

But what about Maurus?

I’m not done with Laapis.

Then stop faffing about.

Then let me continue telling my story, Flex.

So, after Azura had been taken care of, things calmed down for a bit. I don’t know a lot about how her education went, but what I do know is that she met Maurus among the other Morphlings of Daggard.

So, they grew up together? From what I know, she’s fairly distant with him. At least from what I read in the dossiers.

They were Bondmates until Laapis became the Second Steward. Put her carrier first. Still, he insisted on becoming one of her immediate agents and succeeded. Very much to her ire.

Don’t Stewards usually choose their subordinates? She could’ve easily forced him to transfer to another branch.

That’s true, but she didn’t. As an Interviewer, you should know what this means.

Quit grinning like this, or I’m going to rip out your teeth one by one and very, very slow. And, considering that Laapis kept Maurus around, means that she still considers him a Bondmate of sorts. This could be exploited…

Exactly my thoughts. But I wouldn’t go after Maurus. The likelihood to successfully blackmail her isn’t very high, considering her trying to detach herself from him. But Maurus? He’ll do everything we want him to do if we take her and make him understand that he has to work for us if he wants to save her.

To have a mole is always a good thing, but first we need to get our hands on Laapis, which isn’t a viable option at the moment.

Right.

I also would like to know more about Maurus. If you want a mole, you need to know as much about them as possible.

Sadly, there isn’t much to know about Maurus Serdan. Beyond his close Bondmateship with Laapis Azura and a few of his, often remarkable, accomplishments, I can’t offer much about him. He always kept a low profile and never made his opinions known to others.

Odd.

Indeed, but once we've Laapis, we can force her to spill all she knows about him. Should be easy for you.

Don’t try to flatter me, Scargrin. Besides, is there something to eat on this ship?

Try the cabinet in the back. There should be some snacks. I’ll wait until you return to your seat.