Jack Pine
Archduke of the NDC
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2021
- Messages
- 38
- Reaction score
- 22
Medusa Subsector - Sanctuary Star System
Sirris II - moon: Eshilgan - NDC mass lunar port
The Kingsglaive had returned sometime, his uncle bearing good news, and a follow up set of tasks as he rushed back to the palace to get certain balls rolling on course. Heinrich had stood there, waiting to greet him, before it was decided he would be taking a trip, something that was being expected of him despite the sudden rise of this request. With a sigh, the prince put in a call to home to let the rest of the family know he would be away. With the recording made and put through, the Vaigarin man turned to those assigned to attend them for this trip, including the captain of the light frigate they would be taking.
The captain in question, stepped forward with a bow to those present wards, “Lord and Miss Zhang, I and the crew of the Dawn’s Providence are honored to be acting as transport for this journey.” Leaning back up, the man would step back into line with the rest, even as the prince turned to the others coming along, “So, does anyone have any questions, concerns, memos, or otherwise notable opinions before we take this multiple month trip?”
Galestrix glanced over at Heinrich a moment. "Umm, yes. How many months will this trip be exactly, and is there a large space on the ship that is mostly empty?" She asked, thinking of the fact that well, she was gonna need the room to account for needing to go into her true form for two months, in about 4 month's time. Mostly because she'd not be able to hold the eggs properly in her humanoid form by that point in time.
She was sure that Heinrich would probably be blushing considering things, but... At least the summer heat was over. Hopefully the Elder wouldn't be overly upset by this turn of events with her and Heinrich needing to leave for the duration of this trip.
Zhang would just look about. Well this is more fancy compared to the ship that her niece was driving. Well the two of them did basically take what was essentially a retrofitted Aerospace bomber then left the Republic without notifying anyone properly. Once she’s back home…she’s going to have to explain a fair bit of what happened. Her audible sigh would be heard but then again she’s carrying the weight of negotiating diplomatic contact and allowing war support to the Republic to arrive.
She would then look at the Captain momentarily before looking down and looking back up at him. Her stress and tired state was a bit noticeable but of course she would have to play along with the niceties of the captain. “Hm, thank you for having us on your journey. I suppose the questions I have should be in regards to your medical facilities. As you can see, I am expecting so I just want to know how well are you able to manage half Ahasapa breeds especially if they give either egg or live birth. Other then that, there is some tech from the Republic I may need to integrate into your system if this is your first time going there.” She would say and present herself in a ladylike fashion but one that also wasn't overtly to feminine but more modern casual formality.
“We have facilities appropriate for all species. Normally matters of pregnancy haven’t been a normal consideration for vessels such as ours, but she’s undergone a retrofit to accommodate her new duty of ferrying diplomatic parties as needed. You will find this includes a full hospital suite, as well as upgraded dining space to more civilian standards.” The captain was quick to answer, a small sense of pride as they did, though the hint of a little mortification of being turned into a VIP ferry couldn’t entirely be extinguished.
Turning to Gaelstrix however, she was met with a similar bow as the one he had given before. “Lady Bahum, part of the refit has not been completed, as a VIP shuttle space was added but said craft and tools for such have not arrived from Noval Heavy Industries yet. That space can be made comfortable for you, if it will suffice,” they answered to the Vaigarin woman. A small part of him wondered to himself, why there were multiple pregnant women aboard for this trip, something the old sailor was sure to keep his gob sealed about opinions wise.
Zhang would nod and reply. "Thank you Captain, let's just hope that I won't be too much of a concern then." She would momentarily look at Matt seeing him carry all the luggage. Sighing before asking the captain. "...Can you please get my husband's and I luggage…I do feel sorry for him."
“No need to trouble the captain, my lady.” came a voice from behind them, accompanied by an audible pop. If anyone were fast enough they would spot a bubble of chewing-gum exploding and returning to the owner’s mouth. That owner was a fairly fit, knight-garbed young woman (the form unmistakable given its nature) though most of her face was hidden by the helmet she wore. All that showed of her was a slender, tan face, and impossibly blonde hair that hung out of the helmet as she moved over with military precision to assist in the lugging of… well… luggage she suspected of being mainly sex-toys and souvenirs.
No matter how bad an idea she thought it was, Aliset had dropped by and now stepped in from the corridor, her silver skin and red eyes marking her species fairly clearly. "Sorry I'm late. What did we miss? We still waiting for the Senti to show up?"
“Yes mom we are, though I’m surprised to see you coming on this trip? Father hadn’t mentioned it unless it was a last minute decision?” The prince had mostly been to the side observing the foreign element to the group, before turning to the knight he’d been notified was going to be taking up knee under him. Heinrich slipped an arm under Gaelstrix’s to link together, enjoying just having at least one of his wives along to keep him company. He could only imagine how much of an experience this was going to be for her, which led to his reply to her question. “It’s going to be a little over four month trip, both there and the same back, so we’re going to be gone for quite a while. Think you’ll be okay?”
Galestrix nodded to the Captain. "It should. Thankfully I will not be nearly as large as some of my kind can be." She said, both firmly and apologetically. Hearing the Knight behind them, Gale couldn't help but giggle quietly, recalling how they had been after the 'heat wave' that had inflicted the Heinrich Manor ended. The Knight certainly seemed to be well put together again. The Vaigarian woman gives the latest arrival a small bow, respecting her position as the Crown Prince's step-mother. As it was, she smiled at Heinrich. "I'm more concerned about the return trip than the way out." She admitted, patting Heinrich's arm after he'd linked his to hers.
Zhang would thank the person who took the luggage off from Matt as she would soon begin walking about. "Don't mind me, I'm just going to see the rest of how this ship looks." She would explain as she began walking about, observing the ship and what its features are.
"I'm just here to see you folks off. Sutes will be your translator, she's going to be flying in with Asteri. Anyone know who the Senti representative is?" Aliset gave a shrug, returning Galestrix's bow.
"You know you don't need to bow to me, Galestrix. And I think we will have no problem handling the young ones. I have some experience with children. I'll help out where I can when you folks get back. Anyway, my spacer blood was bugging me, had to feel the drive again, and the rumble of engines in the flooring. So I'll be running a short picket cruise along the rim. Mark needed someone to check up on the colonies."
~-~-~-~-~
Upon receiving the notification in her UI, Asteri blinked, and idly wondered what Belmes had to tell her. She opened the tab, and spent the next moment reading.
Shortly afterwards, Asteri barrelled out of the house, calling to the nearest maid: “ANGEELLIINNNNA! GET THE CAAR REAAAADY!”
"I'm right behind you!" A tall Senti woman called, her bags bouncing down the stairs.
~-~-~-~-~
The operator-knight lugged the luggage into the appropriate luggaging-location, and made a return-trip to continue her duties of standing guard. Whether she was annoyed or not was not readily apparent, but as the time went on, she did start chewing a new stick of gum.
~~~~~~~
A slight woosh sounded as a Stork shuttle made its appearance, with the noticeable insignia of the Mining Guild. The side doors opened, revealing Draco, who jumped out, and very slowly, with an energy field around her lowered to the ground, along with some luggage.
“Don’t worry mom, I’ll be careful!” she said to a hovering orb of dark hovering around her face. “I know, darling, but since the environment is unknown and the people there I worry. If your magic is affected, and you find yourself tiring out, stay close to Heinrich, or Gale” The voice coming from the orb said before it disappeared.
“such a worry wort, mom.. now then, next order of business is to meet up with Heinrich and the others” Draco murmured to herself.
“Apologies captain, but it seems more of my family are on the way, please forgive us for the delay”, the prince said with a small exhausted sigh at the updates. “Guess I should take it as a sign of how loving they are, that or they’d miss us on such a long trip.” Heinrich gave a small chuckle at that, before looking about at those assembled so far around them. This was looking to be quite the lively trip, though he felt a pang of disappointment as his mother wasn’t coming along. Sure he understood why, but the man had been looking for time to bond with his mother in law.
“I apologize to you as well Zhang, I know this trip is of the utmost importance, and you likely weren’t expecting to have an entire other family in tow for it”, Heinrich added with a polite nod to the republic diplomat, who Matt had rejoined at her side.
The wolfmod in question gave a sigh in relief as he was released of his burdens of carrying the luggage, opting to do similarly as the other couple, in linking his arm with his wife’s. “It’s been one thing of excitement after another. I don’t think I’ve ever had this much adventure or travel, in so short of a time, much less going outside of my homeland for a second time now.”
Zhang would momentarily be taken aback as she got dragged to link her arms with Matt. Collecting herself for a moment to reply to Heinrich. Well yeah…she wasn’t told it would be this many people tagging along. To be fair she kinda expected it but also kinda not, but eh what was running in her head more when it came to all of them was where would they stay and how to keep the media off their backs. Say the least she had a blank moment before speaking again.
“Hm? Oh right…well I guess it should be no issue oui… I will just have to sort out how you are going to stay over there. Might crash at moi family’s estate I guess. I just hope my Nephew isn’t too angry over it.” She would remark. “There’s also the fact there will likely be a good chance of media exposure in some capacity so just tell me if…well you don’t want too much. We will try to sort that out with the media clubs.”
A quick step and motion allowed Aliset to wrap her stepson into a hug, drawing him down to her level. "I know you'll make us all so proud. This is your mission. I'm retired. At least from foreign affairs. But I'm still your dad's xenopolicy advisor, and so I'm just a q relay away. If you need any cultural notes, call me when you have an ID on the representative and where they're from. Their suit should have a flag on their right breast. Left breast will have their service mark and rank. I've already sent you a list of Shuristan awards, so you should know which ones they have based on their right hip. Left hip's for ship markers. Don't trust anyone who has less than three crew patches."
Releasing him, she offered a smile. "I chose the best translator I know, who happens to be a medical professional. I read the briefings and the team selection. A medical professional who's familiar with your situation and your family would be far better than me. Especially how many on the mission are pregnant. Plus, I wanted you to take the diplomatic lead. She happens to speak most of the same languages as I do with nearly the same proficiency. And speaks Vaigarin better than I do. She'll have a bit more of a challenge with Republican Hassani because she's a doctor, not a linguist. But considering Zhang's coming with you, you've got the best team. Your selections are perfect. Well done."
The knight looked upon the utter chaos and despaired. Her dazzlingly red eyes flashed behind her visor, towards the captain, with worry. “Will this vessel have sufficient room for such a gathering, captain, or should we be looking for alternative arrangements?” The worry was natural, given the fact that they were already requiring such a large space just for the Vaigarin alone, and now with more and more passengers coming along, it was turning into an outright nightmare. Hell, even the security-arrangements alone would give her a headache.
Suddenly, there was a beeping on the comms; at the same time Heinrich would receive a fusillade of messages, all of them from Asteri. Though, the blurbs sent were all very short, because Asteri was basically sending out short phrases at a time. Regardless, the message was clear. Asteri was right outside the ship, and there was no way Heinrich was going to miss the birth of the next litter as well. And maybe some saucier messages after that. And also a little tidbit about how she got the people to approve her getting onto the ship. Oh, and Sutes was with her as well.
Galestrix merely nodded at Aliset as she said to not bow. "I mean, technically speaking, I do, since you are the step-mother to my Mate, and also the Arch-Duchess of the NDC. And I'm merely the... What was it again Heinrich, crown-princess?" Gale explained, rubbing her neck in uncertainty. She was still, even after all this time, trying to get the full sense and scale of what exactly she had gotten herself roped into with all of this. And sometimes the nuances of it slipped her mind. Despite being with him for almost a full decade officially.
~-~-~-~-~
Meanwhile, Asteri was pacing back and forth in front of the shuttle doors, though she definitely stopped from time to time to take a breath and lean against them, grumbling to Sutes: “Y’know, he almost missed the first batch, also with governmentaling stuff as well. And if he’s going to be gone for as long as he is now, that’ll be around a year with freaking Mrs. Tanna as a substitute for history. Sorry, but she is both absolutely dry and dismissive of the entire thing. And seems to think I only get good grades by virtue of being Belme’s wife.”
A cough after a muttered, “Shrew,” and the fox-mod sheepishly admitted: “And, well, Heinrich mentioned a republic in his text. I mean, who wants to miss a new nation being met! Or seeing them. Whatever you call it!”
Sutessetu had chosen to lie on the shuttle's bench, her hands folded on her stomach as she listened to Asteri. "And yet your grades are better than mine. As another of his wives. Far better in Armora's arcana class."
She turned her head, looking at the fox with a smirk. "First contact missions are a delicate process. Aliset told me to translate for the Senti representative. You realize this is my second first contact mission, yes? My first was ten years ago, when I met our husband. As duchess Aliset met hers. I was a medical advisor. These Republicans are also Hassani. Though the local dialect is odd. I'll need your help on the slang analysis."
“What, you think that they’ll even speak the same language? Ever since the Exodus, the NDC might as well be completely different from this Republic. Though, if anything is based on what Belmes told me, lots of people didn’t like the idea of the NDC leaving Hassan in the first place, so I’m just hoping there isn’t some sort of ancestral grudge against us...”
Asteri’s ramblings were cut off by the shuttle pilot who sheepishly turned around, and gave them the thumbs up- they had landed.
~-~-~-~-~-~
At some point the efficiency-minded knight’s limited patience ran out. “Oh for F’s sake, these boomers unfamiliar with clocks? Like Double-you Tee Eff?” she groaned, swallowing her gum in lieu of any sensible place to spit it out. “Don’t they know what a huge-ass safety-concern it is to have all these wee ai pees out in the open? Any rando with a deathwish and a rifle woulda been able to kick off a huge international aggro for the price of a few energy-drinks!” she was tensing up something fierce, the frustration having very few outlets but that gum she now regretted swallowing. Upon her insignia the nametag read “Dame A. Applebottom.” which only her immediate employer knew stood for Angel, since all others knew her as only Angie, or “Ms. Knight.”
“Gods’ sake woman, you need a hug or something? You’re the only knight I’ve ever seen lose their shit this easily. We’re in a military dock Angel, calm down, it’s just a schedule hiccup is all,” the prince commented, trying to calm the woman down some. This wasn’t exactly the thing he wanted their visiting diplomat to see, fearing it might make her seem like a risk in herself given the apparent temper. He had just been signaling the shuttle to come up for the other two to join them finally.
The craft in question had come in through the lower shuttle hangar, and was being raised while parked on lift to their level. The whine of said lift ended as it latched into place level with the rest of the deck, and the side ramp lowered for departure. “See, here they come now. We can get underway immediately,” Heinrich added as he grabbed the knight’s hand to pull her along with them as they all began to board. “Come Sutes, and Asteri, we’re running late!”
If the grab was intended to calm her down, it backfired spectacularly. Though admittedly by shifting the nature of her agitation into the realm of flustering. One simply did not just take a lady’s hand! Fuck! Yet she could not very well retract her hand (nor want to) so in it she stayed. “What I want, bossman, is to get the royals into the belly of this bullet-proof ship so no sniping rando can take ‘em out… though I suppose I’m getting that now.” with a small, if genuine smile. With a bulkhead between them and potential assassins, she’d breathe a sigh of relief.
Draco smiled as she approached Heinrich, immediately she hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. “My prince!” she said before she moved towards Gale, and this time, much more carefully she hugged her as well. “My princess! I heard two weeks ago that you were pregnant, congrats!” She said and before she could stop herself she kissed the other on the cheek, before she looked at Zhang. "You, I don’t know, but from what I see, congrats!” She said, but didn’t hug her, or kiss her on the cheek.
“Hey, Asteri! Congrats!” She said to her, but this time, she had more control over herself, but would accept if Asteri or Sutes wanted to hug her or more. Her hovering luggage shifted positions in mid air, with a jerk of a finger as she moved a little, and adjusted her glasses.
Zhang would momentarily get her act together soon enough. Remembering her arm was linked with Matt she would momentarily look at him and basically her look was enough to tell him that she wanted to go in. Soon enough she would begin dragging him onto the ramp.
“Let’s go! I wanna see how the ship looks from the inside now!” She would say as she began to pull Matt to get in. Well there’s a kid who found a new thing to mess with…let’s just hope she doesn’t hack the ship from the bathroom.
~-~-~-~-~
Asteri waddled out of the shuttle, and gave a stern look at Heinrich's way. “Well, we wouldn’t be late if you didn’t decide to embark on a diplomatic expedition at the last minute!” Her demeanor melted into a giggle, and as she made her way towards Heinrich, sticking her tongue out at him, though she was very suddenly stopped by Draco’s hug.
“Oh, uh, hi Draco! I suppose you didn’t hear about it when we ourselves found out six weeks ago?” Asteri extricated herself from Draco’s hug, grinning sheepishly as she commented: “Just be careful, alright? I don’t think I can stop myself if I tumble, unless you want me to become a roly-poly.” Chuckling at that, Asteri resumed her way to Belmes.
Once there, she stopped in front of him, sighing as she commented: “I swear, Belmes, it’s like you’re trying to train me to round up kids for school.” She then smiled, waved at Gale, before committing herself to give Heinrich a hug and a kiss. Even if he was holding someone else’s hand.
…Was Heinrich adding another one to their little community?
Eventually, however, Asteri released the hug, and a bit disappointedly the kiss as well. It would be inappropriate to make it what she wanted it to be. At least in public. With that thought, Asteri eyed Heinrich with a crafty look in her eyes, before shaking her head slightly, and beaming at him.
“Don’t worry about the house, either! I spoke with Miss Ebony, and she said she would have things handled! Something something about giving the maids a chance to broaden their horizons, and also a chance to…” Asteri paused, feigning a moment of confusion, before raising a finger and making an ah! sound. “Right! Liven up the house!”
She paused, and she also reassured him: “Don’t worry about the first batch too. I got a baby-sitter for the kits. [Insert something specific about the babysitter.]
Gale rolled her eyes. "Asteri, you coming along was last minute. It was going to be just myself and Heinrich but then we realized we needed someone to translate who wasn't the Archduchess, and you volunteered to come along to help out. As for the Knight, she was assigned to the position of security for this little thing." Gale pointed out, smiling all the while to show she wasn't doing it to be rude, just clarifying.
Turning to Draco, Gale nods and gives a small bow. "Thank you, though there won't be much to care for them until next summer." Gale said, smiling calmly. "Eggs are very light maintenance after all." She wasn't sure what to say to the Knight, Angel, since she was still getting used to the woman and couldn't be sure what would set her off further.
Sutessetu had made herself busy unloading Asteri and her own bags from the shuttle and stacking them neatly in the bay. But now that she had her neat little stack that could be moved at convenience, she approached the group. Wrapping Gale in a hug and stealing a kiss, she offered a smile. "How are you feeling?"
"Speaking of, you folks look pretty ready to ship out, so I'm not going to keep you," Aliset grinned wide.
"Don't follow my example and make sure you hit the gift shops while you're planetside. Bonus points for local handmade goods. My bags are already on the courier, so I'm going to go sweet talk the shuttle pilot into swinging me by my ship on the way back planetside," Aliset separated herself from the group with a pat on Heinrich's back. "And I brought a bunch of Sirrusian artisan goods for trading on the colonies."
"I don't plan on going to the sea, either. Have someone take a look at those iodine burns, Aliset. And don't let your husband drag you to a beach!"
The knight for her part let out a visible, deflating breath of relaxation as the bulkhead sealed behind them. This was her castle now, and she had made sure to get familiar with every single iota of it. There would be no external threats here. Internal however… remained to be seen. “Angel Applebottom, Knight first class. I shall be in charge of any and all safety-concerns you may have during the trip,” she rattled off the official statement she’d been made to practice, without her usual accent, perfectly.
“Translate? Huh? You’d think they develop another language. At least dialect. At least slang!” Asteri pulled an ear over her eye, before she shook her head. “Well, I guess you’re gonna just get all the expectant mothers to help you out, Belmes.” At that, she stuck her tongue out at him, before moving in to hug Gale after Sutes had hugged Gale. “Though, I wonder what exactly would be considered souvenirs?”
Shaking her head, she turned to face the knight. “Well, Ms. Applebottom-” at that, Asteri’s tongue swiped over her lips quickly, though it was slightly obvious that she was hiding a smirk- “I’m glad to see someone’s concerned about all of our safety!” The foxmod then winked at the knight. “Maybe the kits will even consider you a godmother!”
The knight had a laugh at this. “Ya really think I look old enough for that?” poking her tongue out at the fox. “Though p’raps I’d manage to pull off one of them fairy-dresses with all the frills. I hear they’re traditional.”
“You say that, but I’m a father of 16 at 25, and more on the way as you see, so never count age for measuring expanding family. Especially with the recent baby boom, which we.. may be doing more than our part on”, Heinrich chuckled in response to the current interactions between his wives, and the knight. Turning around, he returned the pat on the back with a hug to his mother, before waving her off. Then once he jogged back into stride with the others, began hugging and kissing each of his wives who had decided to join them.
“If only this could count as a family vacation, and no I haven’t decided to add anyone, but Gale’s recommendations for contacts the last few times seem to end up as much so. The elder, Tina, Lae, and well…. I saw the glint in her eye as she brought Mrs. Applebottom to me as a recommendation for our personal escort, so this should be interesting.” There was smirk with the chuckle that followed this particular swath of banter as they boarded, knowing Gale was always quite the matchmaker for their family, regardless if she would willingly admit to such.
So with an arm around Asteri, and Sutes, as well as his tail around Gale they walked aboard finally, to embark on their great journey. His wing would have to suffice for Draco, as it was one of the only two appendages left to embrace his entourage of lovers. “Careful Angie, my wife may try to rope you into more than guarding our lives. Now, my dears, let's get settled in for the long flight ahead.”
Gale chuckled, following Heinrich as she was led away to the ship. "We shall see just how this journey goes, and where our views of one another will stand by the time we return." She remarked, hugging her Mate as they walked. "As for you Mrs. Applebottom, I'm sure you will find yourself growing to know us quite well."
Draco allowed herself to snuggle into his wing, and she did so, she allowed a little bit of magic to occur, which warmed her body and to exude this warmth for her contact and for those closest to her. She followed everyone to the ship and as she did, she allowed her red eyes to take it in and figured due to the positions of those arriving, it would be luxurious to behold inside. Her hovering luggage was soon taken by one of the staff into the ship and would be placed in her cabin for her.
“I’m likely the most last minute addition to you all, aren’t I? Sorry I hadn’t arrived sooner, and potentially with notice. '' She told them as she continued to follow them up to the ship. She was only suddenly told by her father and mother that they wanted her to be a part of the trip after all. Then she couldn’t help but smile and giggle as the topic changed to their knight.
Asteri was about to respond to Angel, before being swept up by Heinrich, giggling all the while. “Dear Draco, Sutes and I didn’t even know Heinrich was leaving until half an hour ago! If anything, we’re the last minute additions!” Laughing for a moment, Asteri stuck out her tongue at Heinrich. “And besides, even if Belmes here says that this isn’t considered a family vacation, I’ll get him to do another beach episode with us in this Republic. Surely they must have beaches!”
The expectant foxmod was quiet for a moment, craning her head to look up at her tall husband, winking at him as she whispered: “My oh my, Belmes. Another one? At least let us test this one’s mettle!” Asteri broke off as a thought occurred to her. “It’s gonna be a very kettled mettle to settle. …Whettle? No, that’s not a word…” Shaking her head, ears flopping, Asteri nuzzled Heinrich again, before breaking off to raise a finger. “Now, where’s our bunks? Do we have bunks? Did you manage to get a giga-emperor bed for all of us, Belmes? …Can that even fit on the ship?”
Somewhat overwhelmed by the sheer abundance of swooning women on the ship, the knight steeled her own resolve, an icy front rising to suppress any and all of her own interest, and untangled herself from the mess. She was never one to hop on trends, and this smacked way too much like buying the latest shoes because everyone wore them. No… Applebottom had not risen to the rank of knight without paving her own way, and so, in the face of this all, she simply stepped away to find her own quarters.
Momentarily, Zhang would just look behind as she would see from afar on the ramp the place she was going to leave. I guess this vacation was pretty nice, but seeing how affairs elsewhere need to be handled, it will have to be cut short. Either way, she would continue to head into the ship before getting picked up by Matt and carried onto the ship with her. A whole new world awaits for the others, but for her, it would be returning home. Though the trip back home will certainly take a long while and with this happy crew, who knows what will happen.
Sirris II - moon: Eshilgan - NDC mass lunar port
The Kingsglaive had returned sometime, his uncle bearing good news, and a follow up set of tasks as he rushed back to the palace to get certain balls rolling on course. Heinrich had stood there, waiting to greet him, before it was decided he would be taking a trip, something that was being expected of him despite the sudden rise of this request. With a sigh, the prince put in a call to home to let the rest of the family know he would be away. With the recording made and put through, the Vaigarin man turned to those assigned to attend them for this trip, including the captain of the light frigate they would be taking.
The captain in question, stepped forward with a bow to those present wards, “Lord and Miss Zhang, I and the crew of the Dawn’s Providence are honored to be acting as transport for this journey.” Leaning back up, the man would step back into line with the rest, even as the prince turned to the others coming along, “So, does anyone have any questions, concerns, memos, or otherwise notable opinions before we take this multiple month trip?”
Galestrix glanced over at Heinrich a moment. "Umm, yes. How many months will this trip be exactly, and is there a large space on the ship that is mostly empty?" She asked, thinking of the fact that well, she was gonna need the room to account for needing to go into her true form for two months, in about 4 month's time. Mostly because she'd not be able to hold the eggs properly in her humanoid form by that point in time.
She was sure that Heinrich would probably be blushing considering things, but... At least the summer heat was over. Hopefully the Elder wouldn't be overly upset by this turn of events with her and Heinrich needing to leave for the duration of this trip.
Zhang would just look about. Well this is more fancy compared to the ship that her niece was driving. Well the two of them did basically take what was essentially a retrofitted Aerospace bomber then left the Republic without notifying anyone properly. Once she’s back home…she’s going to have to explain a fair bit of what happened. Her audible sigh would be heard but then again she’s carrying the weight of negotiating diplomatic contact and allowing war support to the Republic to arrive.
She would then look at the Captain momentarily before looking down and looking back up at him. Her stress and tired state was a bit noticeable but of course she would have to play along with the niceties of the captain. “Hm, thank you for having us on your journey. I suppose the questions I have should be in regards to your medical facilities. As you can see, I am expecting so I just want to know how well are you able to manage half Ahasapa breeds especially if they give either egg or live birth. Other then that, there is some tech from the Republic I may need to integrate into your system if this is your first time going there.” She would say and present herself in a ladylike fashion but one that also wasn't overtly to feminine but more modern casual formality.
“We have facilities appropriate for all species. Normally matters of pregnancy haven’t been a normal consideration for vessels such as ours, but she’s undergone a retrofit to accommodate her new duty of ferrying diplomatic parties as needed. You will find this includes a full hospital suite, as well as upgraded dining space to more civilian standards.” The captain was quick to answer, a small sense of pride as they did, though the hint of a little mortification of being turned into a VIP ferry couldn’t entirely be extinguished.
Turning to Gaelstrix however, she was met with a similar bow as the one he had given before. “Lady Bahum, part of the refit has not been completed, as a VIP shuttle space was added but said craft and tools for such have not arrived from Noval Heavy Industries yet. That space can be made comfortable for you, if it will suffice,” they answered to the Vaigarin woman. A small part of him wondered to himself, why there were multiple pregnant women aboard for this trip, something the old sailor was sure to keep his gob sealed about opinions wise.
Zhang would nod and reply. "Thank you Captain, let's just hope that I won't be too much of a concern then." She would momentarily look at Matt seeing him carry all the luggage. Sighing before asking the captain. "...Can you please get my husband's and I luggage…I do feel sorry for him."
“No need to trouble the captain, my lady.” came a voice from behind them, accompanied by an audible pop. If anyone were fast enough they would spot a bubble of chewing-gum exploding and returning to the owner’s mouth. That owner was a fairly fit, knight-garbed young woman (the form unmistakable given its nature) though most of her face was hidden by the helmet she wore. All that showed of her was a slender, tan face, and impossibly blonde hair that hung out of the helmet as she moved over with military precision to assist in the lugging of… well… luggage she suspected of being mainly sex-toys and souvenirs.
No matter how bad an idea she thought it was, Aliset had dropped by and now stepped in from the corridor, her silver skin and red eyes marking her species fairly clearly. "Sorry I'm late. What did we miss? We still waiting for the Senti to show up?"
“Yes mom we are, though I’m surprised to see you coming on this trip? Father hadn’t mentioned it unless it was a last minute decision?” The prince had mostly been to the side observing the foreign element to the group, before turning to the knight he’d been notified was going to be taking up knee under him. Heinrich slipped an arm under Gaelstrix’s to link together, enjoying just having at least one of his wives along to keep him company. He could only imagine how much of an experience this was going to be for her, which led to his reply to her question. “It’s going to be a little over four month trip, both there and the same back, so we’re going to be gone for quite a while. Think you’ll be okay?”
Galestrix nodded to the Captain. "It should. Thankfully I will not be nearly as large as some of my kind can be." She said, both firmly and apologetically. Hearing the Knight behind them, Gale couldn't help but giggle quietly, recalling how they had been after the 'heat wave' that had inflicted the Heinrich Manor ended. The Knight certainly seemed to be well put together again. The Vaigarian woman gives the latest arrival a small bow, respecting her position as the Crown Prince's step-mother. As it was, she smiled at Heinrich. "I'm more concerned about the return trip than the way out." She admitted, patting Heinrich's arm after he'd linked his to hers.
Zhang would thank the person who took the luggage off from Matt as she would soon begin walking about. "Don't mind me, I'm just going to see the rest of how this ship looks." She would explain as she began walking about, observing the ship and what its features are.
"I'm just here to see you folks off. Sutes will be your translator, she's going to be flying in with Asteri. Anyone know who the Senti representative is?" Aliset gave a shrug, returning Galestrix's bow.
"You know you don't need to bow to me, Galestrix. And I think we will have no problem handling the young ones. I have some experience with children. I'll help out where I can when you folks get back. Anyway, my spacer blood was bugging me, had to feel the drive again, and the rumble of engines in the flooring. So I'll be running a short picket cruise along the rim. Mark needed someone to check up on the colonies."
~-~-~-~-~
Upon receiving the notification in her UI, Asteri blinked, and idly wondered what Belmes had to tell her. She opened the tab, and spent the next moment reading.
Shortly afterwards, Asteri barrelled out of the house, calling to the nearest maid: “ANGEELLIINNNNA! GET THE CAAR REAAAADY!”
"I'm right behind you!" A tall Senti woman called, her bags bouncing down the stairs.
~-~-~-~-~
The operator-knight lugged the luggage into the appropriate luggaging-location, and made a return-trip to continue her duties of standing guard. Whether she was annoyed or not was not readily apparent, but as the time went on, she did start chewing a new stick of gum.
~~~~~~~
A slight woosh sounded as a Stork shuttle made its appearance, with the noticeable insignia of the Mining Guild. The side doors opened, revealing Draco, who jumped out, and very slowly, with an energy field around her lowered to the ground, along with some luggage.
“Don’t worry mom, I’ll be careful!” she said to a hovering orb of dark hovering around her face. “I know, darling, but since the environment is unknown and the people there I worry. If your magic is affected, and you find yourself tiring out, stay close to Heinrich, or Gale” The voice coming from the orb said before it disappeared.
“such a worry wort, mom.. now then, next order of business is to meet up with Heinrich and the others” Draco murmured to herself.
“Apologies captain, but it seems more of my family are on the way, please forgive us for the delay”, the prince said with a small exhausted sigh at the updates. “Guess I should take it as a sign of how loving they are, that or they’d miss us on such a long trip.” Heinrich gave a small chuckle at that, before looking about at those assembled so far around them. This was looking to be quite the lively trip, though he felt a pang of disappointment as his mother wasn’t coming along. Sure he understood why, but the man had been looking for time to bond with his mother in law.
“I apologize to you as well Zhang, I know this trip is of the utmost importance, and you likely weren’t expecting to have an entire other family in tow for it”, Heinrich added with a polite nod to the republic diplomat, who Matt had rejoined at her side.
The wolfmod in question gave a sigh in relief as he was released of his burdens of carrying the luggage, opting to do similarly as the other couple, in linking his arm with his wife’s. “It’s been one thing of excitement after another. I don’t think I’ve ever had this much adventure or travel, in so short of a time, much less going outside of my homeland for a second time now.”
Zhang would momentarily be taken aback as she got dragged to link her arms with Matt. Collecting herself for a moment to reply to Heinrich. Well yeah…she wasn’t told it would be this many people tagging along. To be fair she kinda expected it but also kinda not, but eh what was running in her head more when it came to all of them was where would they stay and how to keep the media off their backs. Say the least she had a blank moment before speaking again.
“Hm? Oh right…well I guess it should be no issue oui… I will just have to sort out how you are going to stay over there. Might crash at moi family’s estate I guess. I just hope my Nephew isn’t too angry over it.” She would remark. “There’s also the fact there will likely be a good chance of media exposure in some capacity so just tell me if…well you don’t want too much. We will try to sort that out with the media clubs.”
A quick step and motion allowed Aliset to wrap her stepson into a hug, drawing him down to her level. "I know you'll make us all so proud. This is your mission. I'm retired. At least from foreign affairs. But I'm still your dad's xenopolicy advisor, and so I'm just a q relay away. If you need any cultural notes, call me when you have an ID on the representative and where they're from. Their suit should have a flag on their right breast. Left breast will have their service mark and rank. I've already sent you a list of Shuristan awards, so you should know which ones they have based on their right hip. Left hip's for ship markers. Don't trust anyone who has less than three crew patches."
Releasing him, she offered a smile. "I chose the best translator I know, who happens to be a medical professional. I read the briefings and the team selection. A medical professional who's familiar with your situation and your family would be far better than me. Especially how many on the mission are pregnant. Plus, I wanted you to take the diplomatic lead. She happens to speak most of the same languages as I do with nearly the same proficiency. And speaks Vaigarin better than I do. She'll have a bit more of a challenge with Republican Hassani because she's a doctor, not a linguist. But considering Zhang's coming with you, you've got the best team. Your selections are perfect. Well done."
The knight looked upon the utter chaos and despaired. Her dazzlingly red eyes flashed behind her visor, towards the captain, with worry. “Will this vessel have sufficient room for such a gathering, captain, or should we be looking for alternative arrangements?” The worry was natural, given the fact that they were already requiring such a large space just for the Vaigarin alone, and now with more and more passengers coming along, it was turning into an outright nightmare. Hell, even the security-arrangements alone would give her a headache.
Suddenly, there was a beeping on the comms; at the same time Heinrich would receive a fusillade of messages, all of them from Asteri. Though, the blurbs sent were all very short, because Asteri was basically sending out short phrases at a time. Regardless, the message was clear. Asteri was right outside the ship, and there was no way Heinrich was going to miss the birth of the next litter as well. And maybe some saucier messages after that. And also a little tidbit about how she got the people to approve her getting onto the ship. Oh, and Sutes was with her as well.
Galestrix merely nodded at Aliset as she said to not bow. "I mean, technically speaking, I do, since you are the step-mother to my Mate, and also the Arch-Duchess of the NDC. And I'm merely the... What was it again Heinrich, crown-princess?" Gale explained, rubbing her neck in uncertainty. She was still, even after all this time, trying to get the full sense and scale of what exactly she had gotten herself roped into with all of this. And sometimes the nuances of it slipped her mind. Despite being with him for almost a full decade officially.
~-~-~-~-~
Meanwhile, Asteri was pacing back and forth in front of the shuttle doors, though she definitely stopped from time to time to take a breath and lean against them, grumbling to Sutes: “Y’know, he almost missed the first batch, also with governmentaling stuff as well. And if he’s going to be gone for as long as he is now, that’ll be around a year with freaking Mrs. Tanna as a substitute for history. Sorry, but she is both absolutely dry and dismissive of the entire thing. And seems to think I only get good grades by virtue of being Belme’s wife.”
A cough after a muttered, “Shrew,” and the fox-mod sheepishly admitted: “And, well, Heinrich mentioned a republic in his text. I mean, who wants to miss a new nation being met! Or seeing them. Whatever you call it!”
Sutessetu had chosen to lie on the shuttle's bench, her hands folded on her stomach as she listened to Asteri. "And yet your grades are better than mine. As another of his wives. Far better in Armora's arcana class."
She turned her head, looking at the fox with a smirk. "First contact missions are a delicate process. Aliset told me to translate for the Senti representative. You realize this is my second first contact mission, yes? My first was ten years ago, when I met our husband. As duchess Aliset met hers. I was a medical advisor. These Republicans are also Hassani. Though the local dialect is odd. I'll need your help on the slang analysis."
“What, you think that they’ll even speak the same language? Ever since the Exodus, the NDC might as well be completely different from this Republic. Though, if anything is based on what Belmes told me, lots of people didn’t like the idea of the NDC leaving Hassan in the first place, so I’m just hoping there isn’t some sort of ancestral grudge against us...”
Asteri’s ramblings were cut off by the shuttle pilot who sheepishly turned around, and gave them the thumbs up- they had landed.
~-~-~-~-~-~
At some point the efficiency-minded knight’s limited patience ran out. “Oh for F’s sake, these boomers unfamiliar with clocks? Like Double-you Tee Eff?” she groaned, swallowing her gum in lieu of any sensible place to spit it out. “Don’t they know what a huge-ass safety-concern it is to have all these wee ai pees out in the open? Any rando with a deathwish and a rifle woulda been able to kick off a huge international aggro for the price of a few energy-drinks!” she was tensing up something fierce, the frustration having very few outlets but that gum she now regretted swallowing. Upon her insignia the nametag read “Dame A. Applebottom.” which only her immediate employer knew stood for Angel, since all others knew her as only Angie, or “Ms. Knight.”
“Gods’ sake woman, you need a hug or something? You’re the only knight I’ve ever seen lose their shit this easily. We’re in a military dock Angel, calm down, it’s just a schedule hiccup is all,” the prince commented, trying to calm the woman down some. This wasn’t exactly the thing he wanted their visiting diplomat to see, fearing it might make her seem like a risk in herself given the apparent temper. He had just been signaling the shuttle to come up for the other two to join them finally.
The craft in question had come in through the lower shuttle hangar, and was being raised while parked on lift to their level. The whine of said lift ended as it latched into place level with the rest of the deck, and the side ramp lowered for departure. “See, here they come now. We can get underway immediately,” Heinrich added as he grabbed the knight’s hand to pull her along with them as they all began to board. “Come Sutes, and Asteri, we’re running late!”
If the grab was intended to calm her down, it backfired spectacularly. Though admittedly by shifting the nature of her agitation into the realm of flustering. One simply did not just take a lady’s hand! Fuck! Yet she could not very well retract her hand (nor want to) so in it she stayed. “What I want, bossman, is to get the royals into the belly of this bullet-proof ship so no sniping rando can take ‘em out… though I suppose I’m getting that now.” with a small, if genuine smile. With a bulkhead between them and potential assassins, she’d breathe a sigh of relief.
Draco smiled as she approached Heinrich, immediately she hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. “My prince!” she said before she moved towards Gale, and this time, much more carefully she hugged her as well. “My princess! I heard two weeks ago that you were pregnant, congrats!” She said and before she could stop herself she kissed the other on the cheek, before she looked at Zhang. "You, I don’t know, but from what I see, congrats!” She said, but didn’t hug her, or kiss her on the cheek.
“Hey, Asteri! Congrats!” She said to her, but this time, she had more control over herself, but would accept if Asteri or Sutes wanted to hug her or more. Her hovering luggage shifted positions in mid air, with a jerk of a finger as she moved a little, and adjusted her glasses.
Zhang would momentarily get her act together soon enough. Remembering her arm was linked with Matt she would momentarily look at him and basically her look was enough to tell him that she wanted to go in. Soon enough she would begin dragging him onto the ramp.
“Let’s go! I wanna see how the ship looks from the inside now!” She would say as she began to pull Matt to get in. Well there’s a kid who found a new thing to mess with…let’s just hope she doesn’t hack the ship from the bathroom.
~-~-~-~-~
Asteri waddled out of the shuttle, and gave a stern look at Heinrich's way. “Well, we wouldn’t be late if you didn’t decide to embark on a diplomatic expedition at the last minute!” Her demeanor melted into a giggle, and as she made her way towards Heinrich, sticking her tongue out at him, though she was very suddenly stopped by Draco’s hug.
“Oh, uh, hi Draco! I suppose you didn’t hear about it when we ourselves found out six weeks ago?” Asteri extricated herself from Draco’s hug, grinning sheepishly as she commented: “Just be careful, alright? I don’t think I can stop myself if I tumble, unless you want me to become a roly-poly.” Chuckling at that, Asteri resumed her way to Belmes.
Once there, she stopped in front of him, sighing as she commented: “I swear, Belmes, it’s like you’re trying to train me to round up kids for school.” She then smiled, waved at Gale, before committing herself to give Heinrich a hug and a kiss. Even if he was holding someone else’s hand.
…Was Heinrich adding another one to their little community?
Eventually, however, Asteri released the hug, and a bit disappointedly the kiss as well. It would be inappropriate to make it what she wanted it to be. At least in public. With that thought, Asteri eyed Heinrich with a crafty look in her eyes, before shaking her head slightly, and beaming at him.
“Don’t worry about the house, either! I spoke with Miss Ebony, and she said she would have things handled! Something something about giving the maids a chance to broaden their horizons, and also a chance to…” Asteri paused, feigning a moment of confusion, before raising a finger and making an ah! sound. “Right! Liven up the house!”
She paused, and she also reassured him: “Don’t worry about the first batch too. I got a baby-sitter for the kits. [Insert something specific about the babysitter.]
Gale rolled her eyes. "Asteri, you coming along was last minute. It was going to be just myself and Heinrich but then we realized we needed someone to translate who wasn't the Archduchess, and you volunteered to come along to help out. As for the Knight, she was assigned to the position of security for this little thing." Gale pointed out, smiling all the while to show she wasn't doing it to be rude, just clarifying.
Turning to Draco, Gale nods and gives a small bow. "Thank you, though there won't be much to care for them until next summer." Gale said, smiling calmly. "Eggs are very light maintenance after all." She wasn't sure what to say to the Knight, Angel, since she was still getting used to the woman and couldn't be sure what would set her off further.
Sutessetu had made herself busy unloading Asteri and her own bags from the shuttle and stacking them neatly in the bay. But now that she had her neat little stack that could be moved at convenience, she approached the group. Wrapping Gale in a hug and stealing a kiss, she offered a smile. "How are you feeling?"
"Speaking of, you folks look pretty ready to ship out, so I'm not going to keep you," Aliset grinned wide.
"Don't follow my example and make sure you hit the gift shops while you're planetside. Bonus points for local handmade goods. My bags are already on the courier, so I'm going to go sweet talk the shuttle pilot into swinging me by my ship on the way back planetside," Aliset separated herself from the group with a pat on Heinrich's back. "And I brought a bunch of Sirrusian artisan goods for trading on the colonies."
"I don't plan on going to the sea, either. Have someone take a look at those iodine burns, Aliset. And don't let your husband drag you to a beach!"
The knight for her part let out a visible, deflating breath of relaxation as the bulkhead sealed behind them. This was her castle now, and she had made sure to get familiar with every single iota of it. There would be no external threats here. Internal however… remained to be seen. “Angel Applebottom, Knight first class. I shall be in charge of any and all safety-concerns you may have during the trip,” she rattled off the official statement she’d been made to practice, without her usual accent, perfectly.
“Translate? Huh? You’d think they develop another language. At least dialect. At least slang!” Asteri pulled an ear over her eye, before she shook her head. “Well, I guess you’re gonna just get all the expectant mothers to help you out, Belmes.” At that, she stuck her tongue out at him, before moving in to hug Gale after Sutes had hugged Gale. “Though, I wonder what exactly would be considered souvenirs?”
Shaking her head, she turned to face the knight. “Well, Ms. Applebottom-” at that, Asteri’s tongue swiped over her lips quickly, though it was slightly obvious that she was hiding a smirk- “I’m glad to see someone’s concerned about all of our safety!” The foxmod then winked at the knight. “Maybe the kits will even consider you a godmother!”
The knight had a laugh at this. “Ya really think I look old enough for that?” poking her tongue out at the fox. “Though p’raps I’d manage to pull off one of them fairy-dresses with all the frills. I hear they’re traditional.”
“You say that, but I’m a father of 16 at 25, and more on the way as you see, so never count age for measuring expanding family. Especially with the recent baby boom, which we.. may be doing more than our part on”, Heinrich chuckled in response to the current interactions between his wives, and the knight. Turning around, he returned the pat on the back with a hug to his mother, before waving her off. Then once he jogged back into stride with the others, began hugging and kissing each of his wives who had decided to join them.
“If only this could count as a family vacation, and no I haven’t decided to add anyone, but Gale’s recommendations for contacts the last few times seem to end up as much so. The elder, Tina, Lae, and well…. I saw the glint in her eye as she brought Mrs. Applebottom to me as a recommendation for our personal escort, so this should be interesting.” There was smirk with the chuckle that followed this particular swath of banter as they boarded, knowing Gale was always quite the matchmaker for their family, regardless if she would willingly admit to such.
So with an arm around Asteri, and Sutes, as well as his tail around Gale they walked aboard finally, to embark on their great journey. His wing would have to suffice for Draco, as it was one of the only two appendages left to embrace his entourage of lovers. “Careful Angie, my wife may try to rope you into more than guarding our lives. Now, my dears, let's get settled in for the long flight ahead.”
Gale chuckled, following Heinrich as she was led away to the ship. "We shall see just how this journey goes, and where our views of one another will stand by the time we return." She remarked, hugging her Mate as they walked. "As for you Mrs. Applebottom, I'm sure you will find yourself growing to know us quite well."
Draco allowed herself to snuggle into his wing, and she did so, she allowed a little bit of magic to occur, which warmed her body and to exude this warmth for her contact and for those closest to her. She followed everyone to the ship and as she did, she allowed her red eyes to take it in and figured due to the positions of those arriving, it would be luxurious to behold inside. Her hovering luggage was soon taken by one of the staff into the ship and would be placed in her cabin for her.
“I’m likely the most last minute addition to you all, aren’t I? Sorry I hadn’t arrived sooner, and potentially with notice. '' She told them as she continued to follow them up to the ship. She was only suddenly told by her father and mother that they wanted her to be a part of the trip after all. Then she couldn’t help but smile and giggle as the topic changed to their knight.
Asteri was about to respond to Angel, before being swept up by Heinrich, giggling all the while. “Dear Draco, Sutes and I didn’t even know Heinrich was leaving until half an hour ago! If anything, we’re the last minute additions!” Laughing for a moment, Asteri stuck out her tongue at Heinrich. “And besides, even if Belmes here says that this isn’t considered a family vacation, I’ll get him to do another beach episode with us in this Republic. Surely they must have beaches!”
The expectant foxmod was quiet for a moment, craning her head to look up at her tall husband, winking at him as she whispered: “My oh my, Belmes. Another one? At least let us test this one’s mettle!” Asteri broke off as a thought occurred to her. “It’s gonna be a very kettled mettle to settle. …Whettle? No, that’s not a word…” Shaking her head, ears flopping, Asteri nuzzled Heinrich again, before breaking off to raise a finger. “Now, where’s our bunks? Do we have bunks? Did you manage to get a giga-emperor bed for all of us, Belmes? …Can that even fit on the ship?”
Somewhat overwhelmed by the sheer abundance of swooning women on the ship, the knight steeled her own resolve, an icy front rising to suppress any and all of her own interest, and untangled herself from the mess. She was never one to hop on trends, and this smacked way too much like buying the latest shoes because everyone wore them. No… Applebottom had not risen to the rank of knight without paving her own way, and so, in the face of this all, she simply stepped away to find her own quarters.
Momentarily, Zhang would just look behind as she would see from afar on the ramp the place she was going to leave. I guess this vacation was pretty nice, but seeing how affairs elsewhere need to be handled, it will have to be cut short. Either way, she would continue to head into the ship before getting picked up by Matt and carried onto the ship with her. A whole new world awaits for the others, but for her, it would be returning home. Though the trip back home will certainly take a long while and with this happy crew, who knows what will happen.