Post by Alekshander on Mar 21, 2012 22:43:48 GMT -8
Lt. Commander Alekshander Kurov was in full dress uniform, resplendent in his tailored blue and silver tunic and ceremonial dress sword, but despite his elegant appearance he wore an air of apprehension about himself. He was attending a celebration on the planet Dreena for the RHN personal involved in stopping the Shattered Lance pirates the week before. The party was being held in one of the few settlements on the planet and despite the climate control and the cool night ocean breeze coming in an open window, Alek was uncomfortably warm. The grand ballroom at the planetary mansion of the Royal Governor of Dreena was filled to capacity with gowned ladies, well dressed gentlemen, and uniformed officers. From his position at the edge of the swirling mass of revelers Alek could see the tall form of Commander Al’Frisk surrounded by a trio of beautiful, well-endowed women. He grimaced at the sight, not in jealousy, but at the way the women were dressed. The current fashions were so immodest compared to his prudish, backwater sentiments.
Alek had tried to enjoy himself, but the mass of people and loud music did nothing but give him a splitting headache, so he moved to edge of the room and contented himself by watching his fellow officers and their antics. Second Flight of Second Squadron had pulled CAP duty for the evening, so Lieutenant Commander Manheim was absent, which was just as well considering his well-known voracious appetite for well-to-do women and his uncanny ability to ruin marriages during leave. It seemed, however, that other officers from the Azure Wind were making up for his absent; Alek had already seen a fellow pilot and a woman from engineering leave the party with partners on their arms, destined for some hidden room in the governor’s mansion. Alek let out a snort of amusement as he watched Al’Frisk chose one of the women and escort her from the ballroom.
The Royal Hapan Navy had only two hard and fast rules for its personnel and any relationships they might have: No relationships beyond the platonic with anyone in the respective command chains and do nothing to dishonor the service. Beyond this, anything was permissible as benefited such an enlightened society as the Consortium. The RHN even went as far to provide contraceptive implants for all of its personnel so that they didn’t have to worry about unwanted pregnancies. Alek personally avoided romantic interactions with the opposite hug, unlike his fellow pilots; mainly because he wasn’t a fan of the one-night stand and partly because he had a partially-developed and idealized notion of falling in love and settling down if he ever was discharged from the navy.
His thoughts were wandering down a trail similar to this when someone cleared their throat next to him. His eyes focused on the present and he shook his head slightly. A charming young woman in a jade green dress, more modestly cut than most Alek had seen that night, was standing in front of him with a slight grin on her face. By most standards in the galaxy she would have been considered beautiful, but in the Hapes Cluster where the women were almost all descended from slaves bred for their attractive looks, she was only average looking.
“Excuse me Commander,” she began in a soft voice, mistaking Alek for a higher rank, “Are you Grail? One of your friends was talking about you earlier and you looked lonely, so I thought I’d come over for a few moments.”
“I’m just a Lieutenant Commander, m’lady,” Alek corrected her with a smile, “And Grail is my callsign. You can call me Alek.” The women returned his smile.
“My name is Serena, pleased to meet you. You wouldn’t happen to be from Wert, would you?”
“Guilty as charged, m’lady, what gave me away?” Alek answered with a wiry smile.
“Your accent, my cousin is from Wert, Alanrest in particular. I visited her once, it is a…” she searched for the right word, the diplomatic word. “Quaint place. It felt very different from what I was used to. Those trees, it felt like they peer straight through me.”
“I hear that sentiment from many offworlders.” Alek offered with a chuckle. “Alanrest has its highlights, but none are coming to mind right now. I worked very hard to remove myself from that place and I do not have much intention of returning. Too many bad memories.”
“Well I’ll try not to dredge them up then.” Serena smiled. “So Lieutenant Commander, how long have you been with the RHN? You look fairly young for your rank. I suppose that means you are fairly good at what you do.”
“Something like that. I enlisted at seventeen, went through the Academy at Archais and have been serving shipboard since graduation. Through my years in the navy I’ve learned how to take care of myself.”
“I think you’re being modest, Lieutenant Commander,” Serena answered with a twinkle in her eyes. “I hear you were instrumental in defeating the pirate raid we had a few days back and you landed yourself a smuggler in the aftermath. Those actions seem quite…skilled to me.”
“I have been taught well, m’lady. That is all.”
“Of course. Well, in that case Grail, do you mind getting a lady a drink? I’d like to toast the brave pilot who helped defend the Crown’s possession.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “And I’d like to hear a little more about you, if you don’t mind.”
“It would be my pleasure, Serena.” Alek answered before heading off to the serving droid.
Alek had tried to enjoy himself, but the mass of people and loud music did nothing but give him a splitting headache, so he moved to edge of the room and contented himself by watching his fellow officers and their antics. Second Flight of Second Squadron had pulled CAP duty for the evening, so Lieutenant Commander Manheim was absent, which was just as well considering his well-known voracious appetite for well-to-do women and his uncanny ability to ruin marriages during leave. It seemed, however, that other officers from the Azure Wind were making up for his absent; Alek had already seen a fellow pilot and a woman from engineering leave the party with partners on their arms, destined for some hidden room in the governor’s mansion. Alek let out a snort of amusement as he watched Al’Frisk chose one of the women and escort her from the ballroom.
The Royal Hapan Navy had only two hard and fast rules for its personnel and any relationships they might have: No relationships beyond the platonic with anyone in the respective command chains and do nothing to dishonor the service. Beyond this, anything was permissible as benefited such an enlightened society as the Consortium. The RHN even went as far to provide contraceptive implants for all of its personnel so that they didn’t have to worry about unwanted pregnancies. Alek personally avoided romantic interactions with the opposite hug, unlike his fellow pilots; mainly because he wasn’t a fan of the one-night stand and partly because he had a partially-developed and idealized notion of falling in love and settling down if he ever was discharged from the navy.
His thoughts were wandering down a trail similar to this when someone cleared their throat next to him. His eyes focused on the present and he shook his head slightly. A charming young woman in a jade green dress, more modestly cut than most Alek had seen that night, was standing in front of him with a slight grin on her face. By most standards in the galaxy she would have been considered beautiful, but in the Hapes Cluster where the women were almost all descended from slaves bred for their attractive looks, she was only average looking.
“Excuse me Commander,” she began in a soft voice, mistaking Alek for a higher rank, “Are you Grail? One of your friends was talking about you earlier and you looked lonely, so I thought I’d come over for a few moments.”
“I’m just a Lieutenant Commander, m’lady,” Alek corrected her with a smile, “And Grail is my callsign. You can call me Alek.” The women returned his smile.
“My name is Serena, pleased to meet you. You wouldn’t happen to be from Wert, would you?”
“Guilty as charged, m’lady, what gave me away?” Alek answered with a wiry smile.
“Your accent, my cousin is from Wert, Alanrest in particular. I visited her once, it is a…” she searched for the right word, the diplomatic word. “Quaint place. It felt very different from what I was used to. Those trees, it felt like they peer straight through me.”
“I hear that sentiment from many offworlders.” Alek offered with a chuckle. “Alanrest has its highlights, but none are coming to mind right now. I worked very hard to remove myself from that place and I do not have much intention of returning. Too many bad memories.”
“Well I’ll try not to dredge them up then.” Serena smiled. “So Lieutenant Commander, how long have you been with the RHN? You look fairly young for your rank. I suppose that means you are fairly good at what you do.”
“Something like that. I enlisted at seventeen, went through the Academy at Archais and have been serving shipboard since graduation. Through my years in the navy I’ve learned how to take care of myself.”
“I think you’re being modest, Lieutenant Commander,” Serena answered with a twinkle in her eyes. “I hear you were instrumental in defeating the pirate raid we had a few days back and you landed yourself a smuggler in the aftermath. Those actions seem quite…skilled to me.”
“I have been taught well, m’lady. That is all.”
“Of course. Well, in that case Grail, do you mind getting a lady a drink? I’d like to toast the brave pilot who helped defend the Crown’s possession.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “And I’d like to hear a little more about you, if you don’t mind.”
“It would be my pleasure, Serena.” Alek answered before heading off to the serving droid.