There probably will not be many spoilers for plot points in this stories except passing references to the books when I feel they are necessary. This story contains massive amounts of OCs and I will try to stay away from cannon characters unless referenced in passing.


Max yawned, quite a bit bored as he rolled over on his bunk looking over the side down at his bunk mates below.

In the past few months of whirlwind training, drills, meetings and other various things he was doing as the only Grayson officer aboard this ship, he had come to know the other five people in his room well.

Linea had been the first he'd met of course. That gym meeting had damn near given him a heart attack. But for some reason it had probably insulated him against anything worse. He still felt shocked and embarrassed anytime he was in the gym and he saw a woman strip near him, but unlike the total numb horrified shocked disbelief he had felt he just felt a bit... out of place he guessed. He would look away or focus on their face if he had to interact with them.

The other woman in the room he shared was named Charlette Capra. She was only about as tall as Max was, and he was average sized for a Grayson. Her light brown eyes and chestnut hair which was always worn up in a ponytail of sorts to keep it out of her face made her seem... cute. She never seemed to aim for the type of pretty look that Linea did. While Linea wore make up, sometimes a bit garish, especially when she was headed off ship, Charlette was content to keep what she had and never apply anything to it. Capra supposedly had a higher ranking relative somewhere in the service, and for the life of him he could never remember the man's name. But she, nor him, was a noble, so it wasn't like they were anyone high and mighty.

James Murr and Marshal Miller were like twins that had been separated at birth. Both were tall (taller then him at least) men, with a lean towards quickness one had to see to believe. The both of them had black hair and blue eyes, though James had a grayer shade of blue. The two hit off each other in a dynamic that worked great for just about any problem thrown their way. They always seemed to share the same shift, like and dislike the same things and generally always be orbiting around each other.

The last man was Alejandro Valdez, a large man that seemed to fill any room he walked into. With a muscle mass that was probably double Max's own, Valdez was a descendant of some of the those that fled San Martin when the peeps took over. His accent was a tad odd, it was Manticoran definitely, but it had an odd feeling to it, and every once in a while, while speaking his native language, the accent of San Martin would come back out. For such a large man, one would think he belonged in the Marines, but he was a brilliant sort when placed at operations, and he looked right in a navy uniform anyways.

Has he climbed down from his bunk and made his way over to the attached head he marveled how far he had come in the past 4 1/2 months. He still felt out of place looking at naked women in the same room as him, but he had come alone a lot faster then even the people back home probably would of hoped. After all he'd probably be selected just for his ability to adapt quickly and open mind. As he took a quick shower and just as he was stepped out to fetch the uniform he had left in his locker a sudden shrill sound cut through the air like a knife.

He threw himself at his locker and pulled out the skinsuit, (a Manticoran one with Grayson ranks stenciled onto it) pulling it on and wincing as he made the plumbing connections, grabbed his helmet and rushed out the door just as the other were getting up and starting to get to their skinsuits. As he rushed up to the bridge, wracked his helmet,noting that Captain Frazer was already on the bridge, and sat down next to Commander Cox, who gave an approving nod at how fast he had gotten up here.

He brought his own station online and began to help Cox with what he had been trained. In record time the tactical section was green and he felt pleased as he looked at the Captain. Then he looked back at the sensor data and realized the SD was still in Manticore orbit, calmly sitting there while small craft plowed back and forth between the ships and planet. He sat back in confusion as the rest of the officers, midshipmen and enlisted all rushed to their seats. He looked up and saw a faint smile on Frazer's face as he looked up from his command displays and gave Max a wink. He waited a moment until every last person was in their place before giving a small spatter of applause.

"Very good everyone, this unscheduled exercise was to test your reaction times, just because we are in the Home Fleet doesn't mean we get to be lazy. Good job people, you can go back to what you were doing."


It was soon after his shift that Max was walking down the passages of Hephaestus. He enjoyed the large space station, if he was assigned here he would of loved exploring as much as he possibly could, but right now that was not why he was aboard. He was aboard for the neat little getaway called Dempsey's Bar. He never did drink much before he came here. And in all honesty he still didn't drink much.

But away from his parents and the networked families who could report such errant behavior, he could drink more, and not be as suspicious of those around him gossiping that he'd had one to many beers. He looked up as he reached the bar and as he walked in and checked the window, he noted it was on Manticore. The sun shone 'bright' through the window, while the faint sent of a salt water breeze with a touch of what Max was sure was some sort of baking sugar candy flowed through the bar, replicating a boardwalk like feel for the patrons inside. He grinned a bit at that, marveling at the technology which could make it seem like he like could run outside and dive into the ocean...

Now that actually made him wince. He had very little desire to learn to swim, especially coming from a planet that would consider a swimming pool a waste of perfectly good water and swimming in the ocean would kill even a native Grayson. Maybe one day when he wasn't aboard a ship he would take the time, but for now that thought was distant and unimportant as he took a seat at the somewhat empty bar. The spacing was a bit odd and he was forced to sit only a seat away to his right from a young man..

Now Max... he thought a bit harshly to himself. You really need to stop calling everyone you see young. He's probably as old as you are, maybe a bit more so. Just enjoy your beer and stop acting like you are lord of all creation, the Tester wouldn't like that! He chuckled a bit before ordering one of his favorites beers, a brand called Old Tilman, a favorite here in the Star Kingdom. As his beer was delivered he saw the bartender bring the same back to the man next to him. He shrugged as he took a sip. Well it wasn't like he was surprised that someone else had ordered it.

"Do you mind if I can pay for your beer Sir?"

The question came from his right and he turned in a bit of surprise to the man he'd been forced to sit close to. It wasn't often people talked to each other here in Demsey's unless they were known friends. He studied the man, he was a thin man, with the look of a person born to a lesser gravity, definitely from Manticore itself. His hair was sandy blonde and eyes that were rich brown. His face looked a tad bit to perfect to be completely natural, but if he had any surgery, it wasn't a complete make-over.

"Why do you want to?" He asked in reply, and the man chuckled.

"I just got promoted to Lieutenant Commander and given a nice new slot as an assistant to a deputy constructor here in Hephaestus. So I decided to come down here and celebrate... might as well share the enjoyment... if you don't mind." The man replied.

"I guess I could do with a free beer." Max replied. "But now that we're talking, do you have a name Commander?" He said respectfully even though he wasn't in uniform."

"Lieutenant Commander Jacob Morgan, and please just call me Jacob. I highly doubt we are in the same chain of command and I'm not even in uniform." The man named Jacob replied as he turned a bit more to face Max.

"Nice to meet you Jacob." Max held out his hand and Jacob took it firmly. "I'm Lieutenant Senior Grade Maximilian Carson, I prefer just Max though."

"Ah a nice name," Jacob said, taking a sip of his own Old Tilman before speaking again. "Though I do have to wonder, I haven't heard an accent like yours before, where are you from Max?"

"Grayson." He answered and he saw Jacob's eyebrows begin to go up before he got control of his reaction.

"Ah," He said, turning to study the bar and its patrons. "I know we just signed the treaty, but what are you doing out here?"

"Its a... don't really remember what the brass actually calls it, but I simply consider it a 'reach across the stars' gesture. Manticore is going to loan us a boatload of your officers and rating to us to help our navy, so they decided to send me and I think a few others out here to serve in your navy to learn about your traditions and tactics and such." Max responded. After all this was hardly a classified project, his superiors said they hope to be able to do more in the future but for now they were limited in scope due to lack of warm bodies.

"Very nice! So how do you like it here in the Star Kingdom?" Jacob asked as he finished his beer and waved to the bartender for another.

"Its nice, though I've only been here about four local months. Haven't really had the chance to go down to the surface of any of the planets yet."

Jacob looked over at him as his new beer was delivered. "Really?" And when Max nodded to show that he wasn't jesting the Lt Commander shook his head."Then you should definitely get down to the surface of at least Manticore. Its beautiful, and if I remember the news right, your planet is high in heavy metals, correct?" Max nodded again and Jacob gave him a bit of a grin. "Well Manticore is as safe as they come, and its summer in Landing right now and boy is it beautiful. The beaches are lovely, and there are all types of tourist traps you could get into there."

"Beaches aren't really my thing... I'd have to acquire the taste after being warned many times to never go in water that isn't unfiltered." He said dryly. "But I mostly haven't gone down because time is limited, I don't really know what to do and my skipper likes to keep me busy."

"Heh I know the feeling." Jacob said as the bartender came back over. "Can you put this young man's tab on mine? I'm paying for his." The bartender nodded and went to go sort that out and Jacob turned back, tapping his beer thoughtfully. "Tell you what, if you go back aboard your ship..."

"The Tillingham." Max supplied.

"Alright, if you go back aboard her and take a look at your schedule, get some of the times you know you'll be free to go to the surface and I'll try and finagle myself some time off to show you around. Just ask com central to get you Lieutenant Commander Jacob S. Morgan in Vermeer's sector and you should be routed properly, sound like a deal Max?"

"Sure thing Jacob." Max said with a smile, glad to have made a yet another friend in this amazing kingdom.


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