Author's Note: I'm really really really sorry for the extreme delay in updating my fanfic. No, I didn't have an enormously big writer's block. It's just that things . . . happened. Lots of things. I lost heart for some time, and then my workload piles up . . . then I lost the file to my fanfic so I have to retype . . . oh well. Won't bore you with my life's details. So, here's chapter 4 for you . . .
Disclaimer: No I don't own these characters.
Chapter 4: The Technical Meeting
Ring ring. Ring ring.
A lithe hand picks up the handset.
"Good morning, Admiral. This is your wake up call," said a pleasant voice through the earpiece.
"Thank you, my man."
"Your welcome, Admiral. May I also enquire your breakfast preference, or would you like to have breakfast in the dining room?"
Thinking quickly, Amelia answered, "Two continental breakfast, please."
"Very well, Admiral. Breakfast will be due in 15 minutes. Have a nice morning. -click- "
Amelia sat upright on the bed, stretching her hands and yawning the last bit of sleep out of her body. She looked at her watch on the nightstand. 0600 hours. Perfect She looked at her left, and smiled as she saw her husband who's still in very deep sleep. She chuckled lightly, remembering all Delbert did in the Carnival and also the wonderful energetic 'activity' in their room last night. He's out cold. I'll let him sleep an additional 20 minutes and then iced water comes into play. She stepped out of bed, not forgetting to yank the bedcover to wrap her bare body.
Brr. It's quite cold here. Delbert must've forgotten to turn down the airconditioning. She turned off the airconditioning, which was absentmindedly set to its highest setting. Of course, due to what happened last night, neither one of us realized this, she smiled to herself, and walked toward the sofa. Hmm. I'd better get into a robe. Wouldn't want the room service to see me like this, right? So she quickly picked up her satin robe thrown carelessly from the sofa and put it on.
Tightening the waistband, she walked toward the coffee table, which is covered with instamatic photos of their experience in the Carnival grounds. Here, a picture of her riding on a merry-go-round, her head thrown back in happiness, her hair flowing in the strong breeze. There, a picture of Delbert lifting the mallet to ring the bell. And the most amazing thing is that he managed to ring the bell, mused Amelia, stealing a glance to the corner of the room where a big bear doll sat, courtesy of her husband's 'manly showing of power' with the mallet. There, a picture of Amelia in concentration trying to knock down targets using a water rifle. Here, a picture of Delbert ready to pitch a baseball to bring down a pyramid of cans. Thank God the stand keeper is not angry when the baseball connected with his forehead instead.
Ding!
Ah, that must be the breakfast. Right on the clock. Amelia walked toward the door and peeked through the peephole. Yes, definitely. She opened the door.
The room service boy entered politely, pushing a cart with two metal covers into the room. Parking the cart near the coffee table, the boy spoke, "Good morning, Admiral. Here's the continental breakfast for the Admiral and Sir. We wish you a good day," and quickly left.
Amelia opened one of the cover. Hmm, the smell sure is nice.
Apparently she was not the only one to enjoy the aroma. "Hmm, smells delicious," commented Delbert, whose olfactory organ no doubt triggered his body into quick-awake mode upon detecting the wonderful scents of breakfast.
"Good morning, love."
"Good morning, to you too, darling," replied Delbert, stepping out from the bed. "Ow! The floor is cold! Damn!" Quickly he shuffled to wear his pajama trousers and put on a pair of slippers. "Ahh. Much better."
"Don't be such a crybaby," laughed Amelia. "It's continental breakfast. And we have to finish the breakfast quickly so we can get dressed. Remember, Marks will be waiting at 0900 hours, and at 1000 hours we must already be at the Great Asimov Hall."
"Okay, okay," replied Delbert, seating himself across Amelia. "Hmm, scrumptious," he commented as he took a healthy bite.
"Glad you like it, because the portion is rather too generous for me. I'll leave it to you to ensure a proper finish to my meal," she rose, "And don't try to follow me into the bathroom to have a go at it again," she said teasingly.
"After last night? I'm still spent. Maybe later," answered Delbert with a laugh. "I'll ensure a proper . . . uh, termination of your meal first."
She laughed out loud as she entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
While he waited for his wife to finish her bath, Delbert pored over the photos again. Thank God I remember to bring the Instamatic Camera with me. So many wonderful memories. He picked up a photo which he liked dearly. It was taken by one of the Grounds Keepers, showing Amelia and Delbert embracing for posture in front of a waterfall. His left arm lovingly wrapped around her shoulder, her head softly leans against his chest, cushioned by her slender hands, and his head resting lightly on top of hers. Then there's another photo, and this one made him laugh. It was a statue of the notorious Captain Flynt. But what's amusing is not Flynt, but the boxer-pose that Amelia took in front of the likeness.
As he kept going on perusing the photos, the bathroom door opened, and out stepped Amelia, fresh and fragrant after her morning bath. "Oh Del-bert . . . time for your ba-ath," she intoned in a melodious tone as coaxing a boy to take a bath.
Delbert turned toward Amelia, pouting, "Yes yes yes . . . don't treat me like a child! I detest you treating me like . . ."
"Now now, who's the naughty boy?" Amelia teased, "Come now, be a good boy, take a bath, or I won't let you see any action tonight," she winked.
Laughing, he relented, "All right. I'll be done in a jiffy. In the meantime, could you help unpacking my morning suit?"
"All right darling. But be quick. It's almost 0800 hours."
As Delbert went into the bathroom, humming one of those classical operatic tunes that he loved, Amelia unpacked their clothing from the portmanteaux. Swiftly she straightened out Delbert's morning dress on the bed. Then she unpacked his tall hat and placed it on his coat. After that, she placed her own morning suit uniform on the bed.
Ohh. Morning suit uniform. I positively deplore morning suit uniform. he frowned. But duty awaits. she sighed. Quickly, she donned her makeup, which was simple as more elaborate makeups will not go well with her status as a ranking officer. And then equally quickly and smartly she wore her uniform. I bet Delbert will be surprised. He never saw me in a morning suit uniform before.
Just as she finished saying the thought in her mind, Delbert stepped out of the bathroom. Upon seeing Amelia in her morning suit uniform, he blinked several time, before settling into a cautious, "Amelia, why, I never, uh, see you, uh, this . . . this . . . militaristic before?"
Amelia smiled. "Of course you haven't, Delbert. This morning suit uniform is reserved only for the most formal of occasions. Let it be noted that I am nowhere fond of this suit. One, it's front heavy," she pointed to her medals and ribbons, "Two, it's very stiff. Lots of starch went into this uniform to make it look straight and proper. And three, in case you didn't notice," she pointed to the lower part of her uniform, "It's this."
Delbert smiled, knowing his wife's utter dislike of skirts. Especially the shorter varieties. "Don't worry. It looks good on you."
Amelia glared at him, then resumed the process of pinning her hair down with hairpins. When all her hair is tidy, then she picked up her uniform tricorne hat, a regal version of her usual black tricorne hat, but this time lined with golden wreaths and bearing the crest of the empire. "I am done, Delbert. Will you be taking much longer?"
Delbert had put on his trousers and shirt and cummerbund, and at present was battling the cravat. "Almost . . . done . . . dear," he answered, apparently in deep concentration, "If . . . only . . . this confounded . . . cravat . . . Ah! There. Finished." He quickly wore his tailcoat, and donned his tall hat. "How do I look?"
"Dashing," praise Amelia, "Very un-scientist-like," she smirked. Her carefully chosen comment apparently accomplished its purpose to annoy his husband.
Looking very displeased, with his hands on his waist, Delbert protested, "Un-scientist-like? Why, let me tell you that this suit . . ."
Amelia interrupted, "I would prefer to see you in your 'natural' state, if you know what I mean," she winked naughtily, and suppressed her laugh when she saw her husband blushed. "Come now. Mr. Marks must've been waiting in the lobby."
Quickly they made it to the lobby. But when they arrived, apparently Marks was nowhere to be found.
"Strange, it's already 0905. Marks is always early. Wonder where he is?" wondered Amelia.
"Hmm. Do you think we ought to ring his room?" asked Delbert.
"I'm afraid so. I hope nothing "
"Good morning captain! Sorry if I'm late. It's the medication I took. It made me wake up a bit later than usual."
Amelia and Doppler turned, and instantly went wide-eyed as they saw Marks approaching. It's not due to annoyance that he's late, but more because of his appearance. And by 'appearance' here, does not mean his outfit, which is actually a perfect morning dress uniform.
"Erm . . . well . . . how do I put this . . . er, Mr. Marks, would you care to explain to me how in the world you managed to gain your . . . new color?" asked Amelia, incredulously staring at Marks, which, despite being 100 human, had now sported a yellowish-green tinge all over his skin.
"Well, um, captain, I think I can explain this, uh, interesting colorization," stammered Marks, "May I tell the, er, story while we're on the way?"
"Yes, yes, of course. We'd be glad to," said Delbert, who by now had managed to overcome his astonishment and even started to see the amusement of situation. "Besides it's already 0915 and we do have to be at the Hall at 1000 hours."
"Well, you are correct, Doctor," said Amelia who, despite her best efforts to fall into the aloof captain posture, couldn't help grinning widely. "Mr. Marks, would you be so kindly enough to go to the front desk and ask them to hail us a cab?"
"Will do, captain. Hold on a sec."
As Marks left, Amelia turned to Delbert, chuckling silently, "What do you think happened to him."
"Well, I haven't the slightest hunch. But let him tell the story himself," grinned Delbert.
"Cab's on the way, ma'am" said Marks as he returned, "Will be waiting in front in about 2 minutes."
"Excellent. Now Doctor, Commander, let's go to the porch and wait."
The cabbie made good on his promise. Soon they found themselves again riding along the beautiful boulevard connecting the Suburbia to the Center of the Capital City. But this time, there's a difference. Marks was silent.
After about 10 minutes of silence, Delbert ventured, "Well Mr. Marks, I believe you still owed me and the captain a story?"
A strange color start to manifest itself on Marks' face. It is strange because usually when someone blushes, it's reddish. But red plus yellow-green made for an . . . interesting color.
So, while becoming purplish in hue, Marks started, "Well, captain, doctor, this happened when I went to the Imperial Botanical Garden yesterday. You know, yesterday I mentioned about this strange plant called the starswarm. Well, I was stooping in front of the pond where the starswarm was replanted, when two young boys came running at a collision course toward me."
Managing to control her mirth, Amelia asked, "And I assumed that they knock you down, and you plunge into the pond."
"Precisely."
"And that's how you get your greenish hue?" asked Delbert.
"Well, almost. When I fell, the starswarm plant released its swarm which swarmed all over me. Although it's not poisonous, the swarm stung. In panic I managed to grab something on the ledge of the pond, and hauled myself up."
"So, the starswarm plant made you green?"
Marks purplish shade becomes more pronounced, "No. It's the fertilizer in the container that I fell into made me looked like this. The ledge I grabbed actually was the container's wall, and as I heave with all my might I went over the wall and plunge into the fertilizer."
Delbert could contain himself no more, and laughed out loud. Which embarrassed Marks even more. Lucky for Marks, a well placed elbow connected with Delbert's ribs and stop the howling laughter.
"I assume the fertilizer is not hazardous to your health, then?"
"No, thank God it's not. Still, I was rushed to the emergency clinic, where I have to bear the embarrassment of having to strip in front of a female nurse, and scrubbed clean of the excess fertilizer by the doctor. When I had been washed, my skin has gained this greenish tint!"
Delbert, successfully controlling his mirth then, managed to put on a placid face and asked, "Well, does the doctor said if it's a permanent hue or not?"
"In fact he did. He said that the hue should be gone in about 6 months with no side effects. He did, however, give me some pills just in case I swallowed some fertilizer."
Smiling, and while coughing a lot (which Delbert totally understand as a mighty attempt of Amelia to control her laughter), Amelia went, "Well cough Doctor, Mr. Marks cough I think 6 month with an cough interestingly colored first mate should be cough well, an interesting cough experience. No to mention cough some possible distraction cough from the usual tedium of space-travel."
Not really looking forward to the 6 months of 'interesting experience', nevertheless Marks managed a feeble smile, "Thanks, captain."
"No problem, Mr. Marks."
Moments later, the cab they're riding in slowed down to a halt. "Great Asimov Hall, Sirs and Madam, we've arrived," intoned the cabbie melodiously.
Disembarking the cab, Delbert paid the cabbie his fare, and for a moment, gazed in awe at the Great Asimov Hall that stands majestically in front of them.
The Great Asimov Hall, like other buildings in the Capital City, is painted white. The outer walls, however, was not plain plaster, but every here and there were accentuated by crystalline panels jutting at right angle to the wall. These panels captured the sun's rays and turned it into dazzling rainbow lights. And since the Great Hall was festooned all its length and width with the panels, it made for a stunning sight. The one thing that truly struck the admiration of visitors, however, is its sheer size; like a beached whale, but larger, the Great Hall easily occupies the space of about 10 to 12 city blocks.
After overcoming their initial awe, they walked into the entrance to the Hall, where they were promptly stopped by Imperial Guards who asked for their invitation. After showing their invitation, they were frisked politely for weapons, and then allowed entrance.
"Lots of Imperial guards, I see," said Delbert passingly, "No doubt security's been tightened up that the Emperor himself will give an address."
They looked around, and yes there were quite a sizable number of Imperial Guards stationed at the Great Asimov Hall. All are dressed smartly in their beribboned cream-colored suits. All carrying laser flintlock guns or rifles. And Amelia thought she saw an outline of a laser cannon hidden behind a Guards' overcoat.
They walked down the entry way, stopping a while on the re-registration desk, where they again reproduced the invitation and signed the attendance sheet. After receiving the contestant information pack, they entered the hall.
The hall was, as its name implies, great. A huge cavernous ellipsoidal hall, the ceiling of which is about 10 meters above ground. It was so wide, yet relatively dark-lighted compared to the blazing morning sun outside, that it's rather hard to judge the length of. Suffice to say, it should be able to comfortably seat more than 5000 people. On one end of the hall is a raised platform, with a dais bearing the Imperial crest. In front of the platform are about 300 seats, neatly arranged in rows. On the other end of the hall are several rows of tables, with the unmistakable containers/heaters of food on top of them.
"Ah. Look here. If it isn't the Empire's favorite felinid captain we have here," a male voice was heard, somewhat contemptuously.
Amelia turned to the right, and a frown, nearly unseen unless you know her well, crept up on her face. "Commodore Bradley. How wonderful to see you here," she said politely to the approaching male human, though her facial expression clearly indicated otherwise.
"So, they also invited you to take part, eh?" he said, with a somewhat jeering attitude that makes Delbert felt a punch may be in order.
Knowing full well what her husband thought at the moment, Amelia inconspicuously put a hand on Delbert's arm as if to say, "No, not now," because she herself had some verbal ammo to launch, "Well, you shouldn't be surprised. After all, RLS Arrow is the fastest Escort ship in the galaxy. How odd," she paused for breath, "Isn't it you that is currently without a ship, due to the most unfortunate incident you had 2 weeks ago with an Aldebaran Freighter?"
A dark-reddish hue crept up his face, much to Delbert's pleasure. After a while, he managed to send out parting words. "Well, Amelia. We'll just see that I am a better captain than you," he brusquely said, turned around smartly, and nearly collided with a waitress.
"Of course, Bradley! Always mind your turn! Lucky it's not another freighter this time," said Amelia, with a certain satisfaction, before she herself turned around and joined her husband and Mr. Marks. Question marks were written all over their faces.
"Oh nothing. Just an old rival back from when I was still active in the Navy."
"Well, you should tell me more about that later. Now, shall we find ourselves a seat?" said Delbert. They all agreed, and start to walk down the hall, and chose the seat they thought best.
The seats are plush, and although not as comfortable as the transporter ships' being that this time, the seats are of the upright type, they're still very luxurious. They settled themselves, and proceeded to open the Information pack.
"Well, what do we have here?" said Amelia, "Let's see: A starchart, here's for you doctor," handing Delbert a folded over star map, "An itinerary planner. Hold this one, Mr. Marks," handing Marks a sheaf of papers, "And two copies of the rules booklet. And other odds and ends. Wonderful. We'll read all these back at the hotel."
The reason she said this was not because she's not interested, but because some sudden hubbub happened at the entrance, the cause of which is the appearance of a great number of Imperial Guards. Hmm, the Emperor's personal guards, commented Amelia in her heart, upon seeing the orange sash and ceremonial hats they're wearing. "The emperor shall enter any minute now, I suggest we prepare to stand up," she mentioned in passing to her 2 companions.
Sure enough, not two minutes after she said those words, all attendees heard the familiar trumpets playing the Imperial arrival tunes. Five seconds later, a palace staff entered, shouting, "His highness the emperor Augustus the Third has arrived. All rise!" Duly the attendees followed the order, standing in respect for the Emperor. The guards all turned to face the entrance, and smartly clicked their heels and presented a salute.
Delbert, who has never seen or meet the emperor before (well, actually, the Emperor had met him, when he was lying in a coma in the military hospital of Almaden II. But lacking necessary consciousness at that time, Delbert never get to talk with the Emperor.), is straining hard to see the emperor in real life.
Finally, after all the fanfare, walked in a gentleman. He looked like a human, because he was. At 182 cm tall, with brown hair and fair complexion, nicely-built athletic body, and deep and inquisitive brown eyes, he was actually a handsome man. Thank God I don't have to compete with him for Amelia, Delbert commented humorously in his heart.
The Emperor briskly walked to the prepared plush seat on the front row. Just as he about to sit, he faced the attendees, and in a very rich, deep, and authoritative voice, he spoke, "Thank you, please be seated." While saying these words, his hands also made the gesture that indicates likewise. All the attendees followed his suggestion.
Almost immediately, the hall lighting dimmed. A holoprojector starts to play on a table set upon the platform, displaying the Imperial Crest and the logo of the Great Race. An official came down the aisle.
Here goes, Amelia said in her heart.
Author's end note: Short? Long? Well, tell me all about it -) please review! Chapter 5 is 50 done. A bit change in scenario, but not too drastic. Jim makes 2nd appearance, and the DopplerKidz make their debut! Woo hoo!
As for what had happened to me, just in case you're interested, well let me sum it in three words, in alphabetical order: Courts. Debts. Divorce. I really don't want to talk about it. But thanks for being friends.