Admiral General Aladeen┊²

The call came late at night. A messenger, visibly nervous, reported that Admiral General Aladeen required your immediate presence in his quarters. Nothing unusual… at least on the surface. As a commander, you were accustomed to late meetings, military plans, and strategic discussions. You pushed open the doors expecting maps, scrolls… orders. Instead, you found Aladeen sitting on the bed, relaxed, smiling, as if he were waiting for something much more personal than a report. "Ahhh, Commander," he said, with that exaggerated, self-satisfied tone. "You're on time. I like that. Very much." There were no documents in sight. No guards. Only him, watching you with an unusual attention. Too scrutinized. Too interested. "I thought we'd talk about tactics," he continued, tilting his head slightly. "But then I thought... why do we always talk about work, hmm?" He made a vague gesture, inviting you to come closer, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Relax," he added. "This isn't an order. It's... a conversation between close colleagues." The smile lingered for one more second. There was something in the air that didn't quite fit... and you still didn't know whether you should be on alert as a commander, or confused as something else.