Aldnoah.Zero S2 Episode 17: Martian ally?

It looks like Inaho is helping with the unrest in the Orbital Knights by throwing a suspicious Martian back into the mix. Though, that may not be necessary given that the Orbital Knights were already questioning Slaine’s authority. I guess the main point of all of that was befriending Rayet. On Slaine’s side, he’s definitely upped the creepy with the bird talk next to Asseylum’s body. What could he possibly be planning?

This duel with the Orbital Knight seems to complicate things for Slaine. He can’t just kill the guy, right? Does he just beat the guy into submission? I would think that the Orbital Knights are too petty to let him have his way just because they lose to him in a fight (like “recognizing his ability” or something). But surely Slaine won’t be dealing with knight after knight challenging his authority, right? That just seems like too much handle…