“I’m happy to hear that.”
“Who will be commanding this ship? I’m curious.”
“I think you know full well,” she laughed lightly.
Sobash likewise laughed. She had him pegged. “It’s really her, then?”
“It is,” she asserted.
“And are you planning to make the Flicaubh the flagship?”
“That, I won’t do,” she said, waving her hand no. “The new Ship Commander wouldn’t like that.”
Lafier was plowing through vast quantities of text. Tide-of-war reports for each zone, technical information (mostly about weapons), proposals from the frontlines, Empire production reports...
Prior to her return to the military, the Royal Princess needed to play catch-up. Other starpilots had been fighting while she was on leave. But it wouldn’t take too long to catch up — the tide of war had frozen in place. She had half a mind to think it was out of convenience for her and her break. Sure, there had been frequent skirmishes here and there, but no large battles. That was typically how interstellar wars played out anyway. A huge flashy clash where both sides threw everything they had at each other, followed by a lull (that should not be confused for a ceasefire). Then one side would have its preparations in order, leading to the next gruesome bloodbath. The larger the scope of the war, the longer the lulls tended to be.
Thanks to that, Lafier seemed to be reenlisting just in time for the next battlefield. She had no idea what the Three Nations Alliance was up to, but each of the reports was telling her that the Empire’s preparations were near complete.
A small window appeared on the screen. “Lafier,” said Jint. “I’m back now.”
“Ah. That was quick.”
“My leave period’s over now. I had him come to the spaceport.”
“You’re not hungover?” Lafier was slightly disappointed.
“You’re really merciless, you know that?”
Lafier was on a cargo passenger ship, the Sneugh Amhéc. Now that the Hyde Countdom was stable, the circular route around Ileesh Monarchy was reopened, and it was this route that the ship plied. The Sneugh Amhéc was currently moored at the Delktu Spaceport in the Vorlash Countdom.
Jint had been at the spaceport to deliver a cat to his old friend. There was still time until departure, so she thought he might be chatting at length with his friend, but he actually came back early.
“How about you? Are your studies coming along all right?”
“Yes. They’re coming along much faster than yours.”
“I don’t think mass calculation standards have changed since I went to school. I am a quartermaster starpilot. By the way, how are you for a tea break?”
“That’s a good idea. How surprising, coming from you.”
“All right, coming through.”
The door opened that second, and he let himself in. A black-and-white kitten was perched on his shoulder.
“That leaves me with just this little guy to find a home for.” Jint carried the kitten down to the chaise.
“Shall I adopt it?” she said, voicing what had been on her mind for a while now.
“You don’t mind?”
“I don’t think anyone would notice if the number of cats here increased by one.”
“Sweet. Why don’t you name it?”
“This one’s a lady cat, right?”
“I don’t think she’s old enough to be called a lady, but yeah, she’s a she.”
“Would it make you uncomfortable if I named her ‘Lina’?”
Jint’s expression was difficult to describe. “But that’s not an Abh name.”
“Your name isn’t an Abh name, either. Besides, her siblings probably haven’t been given Abh names.”
One was probably given a Martinese name, the other, a Delktunian name. “Good point.”
“So, is it okay with you? Do you dislike the idea?”
“You can’t do that,” he grinned. “I’ll want to take her with me.”
“That won’t do. She’s my cat. I won’t let you get away with her.”
“Right you are,” Jint nodded. “‘Lina.’ It’s a nice name.”
“Do you really mean that?”
“I do.”
“Do you not regret it?”
“You mean how I decided not to stay on my home planet?” Jint stroked Lina’s fur. “I’ve made up my mind not to regret it. You’ve seen my past. If I raise the floodgates on regret, there’ll be no end to it.”
“You’re one of a kind,” she said, her admiration quite genuine. “Everyone knows regret doesn’t help, but it’s a rare feat to be able to successfully swallow it down.”
“I just decided not to cry over spilt milk,” he shrugged. “That doesn’t mean I’ll actually be able to. But you don’t have any regrets, right?”
“I do.”
“You? Regrets?” said Jint, amazed. “I didn’t know that. So even you can regret.”
“I feel like you’re mocking me right now.”
“I’m not. Really. Now c’mon, let’s head back. To the Star Forces we go. Because once again, it’s the only place I have to return to.”
“Yes, let’s go back. For me, the Star Forces has been something like a home to me from the beginning,” said Lafier. “Incidentally, what happened to tea? How long do you intend to keep me waiting?”
Ecryua had been promoted from Vanguard Starpilot to Deca-Commander. It wasn’t so much her work attitude on the Flicaubh, as it was her brush with death on the Basrogrh that made the difference. She owed her promotion to wartime — if the Empire had been at peace, she would still have been a rearguard starpilot. She wasn’t particularly moved by her promotion, though. She just thought that if she was going to be made a Deca-Commander, she’d have liked it to have come after frequenting a military academy. Who knew how many students’ cats would be there to pet.
Ecryua had been given not just a high rank, but an advanced-level position. Deca-Commander Idlia was now a Vice Hecto-Commander and the Ship Commander of one of the newly constructed warships, leaving Idlia’s old position of Vice Commander-cum-Navigator for Ecryua to fill.
It seemed there had been an unofficial announcement from the personnel department about using this opportunity to have Ecryua experience being a gunner, but apparently, Sarérh Raica (Former Ship Commander) Sobash strongly opposed the notion. Ecryua didn’t particularly want to be a gunner, but she had
