Captain Lattore had remained standing while his blunt honesty brought a rain of ire upon him. He gave no reply to the firey Cannoness after her razing, nor to the Eldar after his accusations of treachery, nor even to Captain Tyro who had basically told him to shutup and stick to the battlefield, which was ironically exactly what Leal wished he could do. There was no bad blood here, for all their fears were valid and needed to be addressed. Leal was at least appreciative of knowing where he stood. 

Despite the occasional touching of a powersword or white knuckling over a weapon, Leal did not yet feel there was any actual threat to react to and so made no threatening gestures. He was very mechanical in his demeanor. That was, until 3 ships appeared to uncloak practically on top of [i]Saint's Chariot[/i]. As alarms blared, Leal was triggered, yet with the apparent enemy outside and no knowledge of the ship's defenses, he was helpless. He grit his teeth. Fortunately, K'Vari quickly revealed that the whole thing had been a show, a display of an incredible xeno technology that was for sale. ... Thank you for the adrenaline rush, K'Vari.

It was fortunate that Gregori did not overreact to the situation. Leal was admittedly impressed by the present ruler-of-indeterminant-title of the new Imperium's calm. Perhaps... there was true potential in him. 

"Stand down." Lattore ordered to his four Relictors who all instantly had their ranged weapons trained on K'Vari. They lowered them obediently and returned their firearms. Leal's voice carried a hint of his disappointment at them for being so rash. 

Gregori then approached and addressed Leal directly. "Is it truly so important my title be changed within my realm for your convenience of opinion? That calling myself 'High Lord' and undermining my own power will help so much? Perhaps you are more short sighted and petty than I first thought..."

Again, Leal said nothing. His brow furrowed in consternation as Gregori walked by and addressed the others. He knew that this was a critical moment, that any action, any words he spoke, would be heavily scrutinized by these members of the new Imperium. Did it matter what title he was given? His role would be the same. Certainly it could lead to much confusion among the uneducated, yet it was correct for his rank. Leal struggled. 

Then, Lord Gregori grabbed everyone by the nose and in one smooth motion directed their focus onto their first mission, the Forge moon Amatheus. Leal half-turned to see the holograms. Who could deny the necessity of a foothold here? This, was what everyone wanted, a purpose, growth, hope, or perhaps a battle. So, Gregori already had plans and was already leading them. The draw to move forward was strong. Leal felt it. Bickering would only hurt their survival at this critical stage. Besides, even the former Imperium had its flaws. Certainly, moving forward was far more important. Another point for Gregori. 

"All of you but Master Alexius, Master Enyo and General Corbec as the holders of the largest part of my armies remain to discuss some preliminary strategy. The rest of you are dismissed."

Leal turned from the holograms back to Gregori. The others began filing out. He paused but for a moment, then brought his hands up over his chest in the sign of the aquila, thumbs interlocked in the symbol of the two-headed eagle. It was the formal salute. "Emperor." Leal spoke in acknowledgement, holding for a moment, before also turning to leave. He had given in.

After a few steps he stopped again and turned. "General Corbec." Leal got Gabriel's attention. "Lord-Militant." Leal corrected to the proper term, as the Lord Militant would be first in charge after Emperor Gregori in war. "You have my company of Relictor space marines at your disposal aboard the [i]Imperium Immemoriam[/i], the Ramilies-class starfort in orbit around Arexia Prime. I will be awaiting your orders there. Praise be to the Emperor." Again, Captain Lattore began to depart. He trusted that the issues of the newly formed government would work themselves out in time. It was not his place to question...