The call for reinforcements had been denied for the second time by her Lady Majesty, but the Princess had not believed that there would have been anything that had come of their plea's. The great Queen was still weak after her pregnancy, and her daughter was hardly a month old, and if the forces from beyond their boarders sneaked past the outer ring, they would need all of them to protect their core. Still, it left a sour taste in Neptune's mouth as she set the missive down on her desk, and reached a pale, dainty hand to her glass of excellent red and took a generous sip. Leaning back against her chair, she lay her head against the back, her hair cascading down the chair in a long, collected wave, allowing herself to rest for the moment.
The situation was beginning to grow dire, due to many factors; the peace and wealth of their tiny kingdom in this vast galaxy was becoming far more common knowledge then Neptune was properly comfortable with, due to the fact that their Queen held a very solid view on fair, open trade, and continued to do so with their neighbours and beyond. It made them wealthy beyond belief, but it also sent word of their wealth and natural resources across the vastness of the intergalactic swells, and it made Neptune worried for the lovely prize that they presented to any and all that were bloodthirsty enough to try for it.
They had thrown back four invasions already this year, and it was not even past midsummer, which was twice as many ventures as last year alone. The universe knew that they were currently weak, and it was only a matter of time before they were faced with something that they could not handle alone.
The sound of her door opening without a customary knock and pause brought Neptune spinning back from her thoughts, realizing that she had already finished her drink. "They're not coming, are they?" a voice stated from her doorway, and Neptune slid her eyes towards the cabin's door, and gifted the Air Corps pilot at the entrance with a small, tired smile.
"No. They are protecting our Queen and her daughter, and will not be able to send the requested reinforcements. We are alone in our endeavor, though they plead us the best of luck, and swift winds," Neptune stated with a neutral voice, all her troubled thoughts and frustration collected inside, not a single drop of it passing her lips. She cared not to share these emotions with anyone, even her greatest ally in this fight, the Princess of Uranus. She cleared her throat, and placed her empty wine glass daintily on her dark mahogany desk before she set her eyes upon Uranus and her wind kissed cheeks. "What news do you bring?" she asked, offering Uranus what seemed to be a very welcome seat upon the small settee that doubled as a folding cot while away from home.
Uranus held up her hand to decline, but did lean up against a spare wall with a contented sigh, pulling out a flask of something a shy stronger than the fine red wine that Neptune had opened earlier that evening. "Our forces have flattened the invaders that have slipped in among Saturn's rings, and their Lady has not come to much ill at the invader's hands." There was a slight pause before Uranus continued, "Though she may need some time to recover from the experience." Uranus looked more amused than anything as Neptune looked back towards the blond, a slight confused look upon her own face. "It seems that she had fallen into lust with one of the boys that held her captive." Uranus smirked as Neptune's expression fell. "It appears as though she has lain with him, and she begs that we not put her wooer to the noose."
"By the Waves…" Neptune murmured darkly, much to Uranus' amusement, her fingers pinching her own brow a moment as she thought of how best to react to the news. "Well, if she becomes pregnant by him, we may have our reinforcements if his bloodline with the outer Galaxy is strong."
Uranus' eyes narrowed slightly, a smirk still pressed to her thin lips. "That is uncharacteristically optimistic of you. What have you done with my Neptune, and how do I keep it happening?" she asked, and Neptune rolled her eyes, refusing to rise to the jibe on her character. She was far above such teasing, and besides, she had more important things to do, even if this conversation was a pleasant distraction.
Instead, she waved a hand. "Come, let me see this new flyer of yours–I assume that since you are here, it is finished, yes?" Neptune asked as she got to her feet and stepped daintily away. Uranus took another long gulp from her flask before she put it away inside her jacket while Neptune looked on with a bit of a bemused look–Neptune was very particular that alcohol should never be consumed on the deck of her warships, and Uranus had more than one beverage spilled wastefully over the side when she had tried to test her. Neptune's highly polished boots thumped on the wooden floor of her Captain's cabin as she exited, venturing out into the crisp chill of the evening's solar rays, and her eyes looked about with a calculating streak as she stared aloft at the men and woman working the rigs, seeing all was well in order before she focused on the flyer that had landed on her deck. A soft noise that might have sounded a little like a snort escaped her throat as she looked towards it, eying the gaudy colouring that Uranus must have insisted on placing on the little flyer, raising a brow towards her companion as she caught up, the goggles bouncing upon the Uranian Princess' chest with every elongated step.
"What?" was all Uranus asked, feigning obliviousness at Neptune's questioning look, and Neptune did not even ask–she knew she would not get a correct answer at any rate. "She's twice as fast and much more maneuverable then anything that we've created so far, and her paint has a very interesting quality," she educated, picking up her mannish stride across the deck to her flyer, hopping up onto the wing and sliding fluidly into the cockpit, flicking a few dials and looking at Neptune in a smug manner. The paint shimmered and paled, becoming as shiny and reflective as a mirror, reflecting its surroundings almost perfectly. "With a current running through it, the paint takes on a reflective quality, and I'm already having it mass produced for our flyers. Want some for your ships?" she asked, looking superior as Neptune's face looked just the slightest bit impressed.
"I would like to have a sample, if you would. Our doctors will need to see how it reacts to the wood we use for our ships before we put it into a testing phase…" Eying Uranus' impatient look, Neptune sighed. "Three liters would be enough to start."
"I brought more than that with me, and I already had your men unpack it when I got here–it's in your hold, and you can do whatever you wish with it. If you want more, then just let me know." Her eyes turned from bored, then amused, to slightly pleading as she started upon another subject. "Now, would you do me the honours and co-pilot with me for a time? I would like to show you just how she handles in the currents."
Neptune frowned. "It is very kind of you to offer, but I must decline. I have to move the flotilla back to the boarder, with news of your success. But you are more than welcome to stay the evening and rest yourself before you return to your Wing. If you need to contact the commander you left in charge, you may use the radio we have below my cabin. If you'll excuse me," Neptune stated crisply, drawing a look of displeasure from Uranus.
"If you're still upset about that time–"
"I am not. I just have other things I must attend to," she stated, and bowed her head before turning her back on Uranus, calling for her second lieutenant, and asking him to make their ships ready for departure. She held up a hand as Uranus started to draw close once more. "I will not be persuaded to come with you, Princess Uranus, no matter how long you stare at me and try to plead with those eyes. It is very unbecoming. Now, you know your way around my ship, so I will bid you a good afternoon. If you need anything, Lieutenant Briggs will be happy to help you. Good day, Princess–Lieutenant."
Neptune was fooling no one, least of all Uranus. It was common knowledge that she was not fond of the tiny fliers, where only a small piece of molded metal lay between herself and the outer universe–she much adored her ships, and she would not be persuaded any differently… especially since Uranus had nearly lost her in the last flyer she had convinced her to go traipsing about in. The thought of a slow and painful death, wasting away in the solar winds of the black at the edge of their solar system, was not a pleasant one and Neptune had refused to allow herself to go up in any sort of flyer since.
Uranus crossed her arms over her chest, the leather of her faded brown jacket creaking slightly as she leaned towards Lieutenant Briggs, watching the Captain walk away from them with interest. "I'll get her one of these days. No one can resist my wily charms for long," she stated with such conviction that Briggs couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her.
"Very good, Ma'am," Briggs stated politely. Once their Princess Neptune had decided upon something, she never changed her mind.