In Yevethan society, a second denoted a male individual who functioned as the subordinate and assistant to a more dominant nitakka.
This term was frequently linked to a position akin to that of an executive officer on board capital ships. As an example, when Nil Spaar assumed command of the Beauty of Yevetha for reconnaissance of the Koornacht Cluster, Dar Bile accompanied him as his second. In 16 ABY, following the warship Blessings's failure to meet the required readiness level, both the primate in command and his second were executed, highlighting that subordinates could also face consequences for failure.
As a nitakka gained power and influence, his second would similarly advance in status. Consequently, the title could be applied across various levels of authority. When Nil Spaar was a young leader of an uprising against the Imperial occupation, Dar Bille was already his second, serving as his subordinate within a small commando squad. Following their mission on the Beauty, when they overthrew Kiv Truun and Nil Spaar became the ruling Viceroy of the Duskhan League, Dar Bille remained his second. However, he was eventually assigned a largely independent role commanding the flagship Pride of Yevetha, a position where he simultaneously served as the Viceroy's appointed proctor and the ship's commanding primate, potentially with his own second. In some instances, the viceroy's lower-ranking proctors, such as Tal Fraan, would ritually submit to the second rather than directly to Nil Spaar.
The "second" concept originated with novelist Michael P. Kube-McDowell in the Black Fleet trilogy. The role seems to draw inspiration from the "beta male" concept in behavioral science.
Notably, the term is explicitly used only in the first book of the series, Before the Storm, and not in its sequels, Shield of Lies and Tyrant's Test.