A Ship and her Captain : An Isekai Story

by The Imperator 2 you

A Man working part time as a drink runner, finds himself reincarnated into the world of his space game after saving the life of a little girl from a train collision. A fan of nintendo games, he nicknamed his ship, Great Fox, and now finds himself as her captain. Gathering a crew of loyal friends and even love interests, what kind of life will he live in this new world?

5. Chapter 5

[Ship's Log T.Y 5.32.441]

[After landing upon the surface of Aquavram Prime we had since begun the process of locating the capitol city of Arquoovra Majesta. Due to recent dissident actions nearly the entire planetary population has taken refuge within its borders. While Arquoovra Majesta was at one point the focal point and home of the entire Aquavram Breed and people, this was only in early Aquavram history when the species barely numbered more than two million and they finally unified their government and culture following an industrialization period. In the five-thousand-year history since this time period, the population has since expanded to over one hundred million, and even though the capitol has grown it was 'never' intended to house the entirety of its planet's race.]

[The expansive capitol city has grown to such a degree that the various underground, or is it 'underwater', catacombs and caverns that make up thirty percent of its surroundings have been converted to livable bubble biomes for the population. It is a truly impressive feat that such a place exists... yet this has come with a massive downside, as the recent dissident movement has brought this city to the brink of ruin.]

[In order to sustain and feed the population, various farming settlements and townships were established over the centuries to help provide the food to feed Arquoovra Majesta. These centers of food production not only fed the capitol city, but also provided Aquavram Prime its largest and most renewable sources of galactic export, for many sectors delighted in trading for the edible sea food of the ocean planet. From Kelpweed to Gooper Fish, to even Klendura Crab, and a host of other aquatic fisheries established on the planet, aquatic food was a stable source of income for the planet when not taking into account the royalties of minerals and ores refined and processed, as well as exported from the Guntara Planetoids.]

[However, due to dissident action, the capitol city, now currently hosting almost the entirety of its planet's population, almost seventy-five million Aquavrams, faced imminent starvation from lack of food. Disease has also begun to spread rapidly through the city, without sufficient medical supplies, the Aquavram's weak immune systems are unable to hold off or fight any disease, especially in such a starved state. According to information I began requesting and investigating, I learned that King Gungadara instituted a city-wide war ration restriction on all foods, forcing all citizens and military to begin focusing food production efforts into war rations to ensure their supplies lasted as long as possible.]

[It was believed that aid would be arriving soon after the war broke out when the dissident fleets were dealt with in space and the rebellion was all but suppressed. Once the space of the Guntara Sector was secured, Belgan ships would arrive bringing food and medical supplies to aid the population and begin helping in reconstruction efforts, and help provide planetary security while local military forces quelled the remaining pockets of rebellious forces. However, this help never materialized after the sector wide conflict all but ended, and Freelance Captain Ships left, being called by more 'lucrative' job opportunities, and the assisting Belgan Fleets being called to other areas. The fleets were unable to provide support, due to their weakened position following the dissident movement outbreak, and thus could not provide sector security as the Aquavrams do not possess a galactic navy of their own, outside of their highly specialized transports. This has resulted in over a month and a week with the population surviving off of war rations, which have been... declining in quality... and quantity with every meal provided.]

[However, with the rescue of one Aquavram native, one Ikaria Garnetica Aquavara, we learned of the true situation of the planet's population, and just how dire it was becoming. With starvation imminent, disease growing out of control, no communications from the galactic world stage on help coming or if it was even considered, the population has begun to turn on itself and the ruling government. With her guidance as well as... some 'local encouragement' it seems... we have made a direct line to the city and were... after a brief outbreak of hostilities, ended swiftly before harm could be done, granted passage to the city to deliver our cargo of relief aid.]

[Captain Arthur has... become 'nervous' is the best way to describe it. While I understand his fear of his intentions being perceived as 'inappropriate' given the context of what he did, he only did so in acting to save her life. But... at his request... I have placed his personal Life Restoration Pod on standby should he find himself in a meeting with King Gungadara, and the king should find reason to... have him executed. While the probability is... negligible given his actions, even I cannot argue a key piece of his logic... it is a 'non-zero' chance that he may be killed.]

=Chapter 5 – The Battles for Aquavram Prime=

=The Politics of a Planet versus the Life of a Freelance Captain=

Arquoovra Majesta was an amazing underwater city, vast networks of bubble-barrier structures that allowed one to pass through from the interior of the biome within to the outer environment around it, as easily as a starship might exit and enter a hanger bay protected from the vacuum of space via a transparent shield with their starships. Within each of these bubble-biomes were variously crafted structures of different materials. In the more ancient segments of the city, dating back as far as three to four thousand years ago, buildings and locations were constructed of Coral, molded and shaped by nature and adapted to suit the needs of the populace. However, as the city expanded and as the years grew closer to recent times, the city's buildings were constructed of sturdier, more easily acquired materials such as the easily pliable Terran Concrete or just as commonly used Belgan version of Concrete, that they call Kunkrata.

As the city grew so did the bubble biomes, expanded upon and improved upon, the bubble biomes now could span almost a thousand kilometers in circumference and nearly just as high, filled with skyscrapers and structures as tall as any that had been seen in the ages of the galaxy. While this alone is an impressive feat for an aquatic species, what truly made Arquoovra Majesta a jewel of the planet, was the fact that the bubble biomes could be stacked upon one another, linked together by tunnels using the same bubble-like shielding that allowed them to establish water tight environments, allowing oxygen filled areas for the inhabitants of the planet to exist in an otherwise 'water locked' location. Protected by the surrounding landscape with only one accessible entryway from the surface, the city is an easily defensible location that at one time served as the primary bastion of security and care to the Aquavram Population, overlooked by the Coral Towers and structures of the royal castle itself, which serves as the center of living for the royal family and the political elite of the citizenry.

But for all the beauty and majesty that this city portrayed, deep within the many bubble biomes, the citizens starved and were being struck by sicknesses, plagued by a lack of attention from the galactic stage it seemed. Left abandoned, left to their own devices, left to suffer and die at the hands of their own inability to feed themselves following the outbreak of a civil war. The only word about help arriving, relief being provided, came from the Royal Court, from his majesty King Gungadara assuring his people that help would make its way and arrive when the dissidents were dealt with in space.

Until it arrived, they just had to hold out, to survive...

"Mommy... can we... ask for more food this time?" A young Aquavram boy asked his mother as they walked the refugee district to where the food rations were cooked and distributed.

"I'm afraid not... they can't give us anymore... then what we get already." She whispered quietly as she felt her stomach starting to complain.

She coughed loudly to disguise the sound, but she didn't need to pretend, she was suffering from a case of Arwoovra Bendox. It was an easily treatable disease, simple to cure, all she had to do was eat enough and get plenty of bedrest and drink water. But it was not so easy... since they were already stretched thin with food.

They were walking the streets to try and get their second helping of war rations for the day, but they were barely considered such with how little they had eaten. It was little more than... water' they were eating now for meals. Barely any Kelpweed to give it 'any' substance. Some days their rations would get bigger, if only slightly when the military scouts managed to bring something back, but it wasn't much more then say a tiny lump of meat or an extra serving of Kelpweed.

"When will the war rations end... I'm hungry..." Her son asked.

"I don't know... I... don't know son." She replied almost tearfully, as this had been going on for so long it seemed. Over three weeks since they started cutting their rations, in ever increasing increments daily, was this question asked, and each time she said the same thing.

She could tell her son was getting very weak, weaker by the day. She's gone a few days recently without eating 'anything', only drinking the ration water while giving any substance in it to her son. But it just wasn't enough, her son was so thin, even thinner than her. His immune system was even weaker than hers, and she was only grateful to the Ancient Swimmers that he had escaped disease so far. But that wouldn't last forever, not with how the city was growing filthier and filthier by the day.

Not for the first time did she contemplate... no, don't think... just... keep walking.

'Help will come, the king wouldn't lie... he wouldn't lie to us... it's coming... just hold on... like he said, hold on until it comes!'

They turned the corner of the street and began taking the most direct route to the ration distribution building, but she paused as there was a group of Aquavrams standing together around this one Aquavram, who seemed to be trying to rile them up, or even trying to start a mob.

"I'm 'sick' of being sick and I'm 'sick' of being hungry, how come 'we' have to keep having our rations reduced, while those elites who rule over us get to have full course meals served three times a day! How come 'we' barely get more than a single strand of Kelpweed served in a bowl of coral flavored-water, while THEY probably dine on boiled Klendura Crab meat served with wines on fancy plates?" The Aquavram yelled to those around him.

She could hear most were agreeing with him, but someone countered and said that we don't know if that's true.

"Oh of COURSE we know it's true, you think a DUKE of all Aquavrams would just accept eating one single strand of Kelpweed for breakfast, when he's used to fancy dinner parties? You think the royal FAMILY would settle for eating less than a full five course feast each day?" He shouted to those around him. "And where is this help that was promised, the King 'said' that when the dissidents were beaten in space, and the sector was safe to travel again, Relief would arrive from the Belga System. That promise was over 'three' weeks ago, and we're STILL. WAITING!"

She tried to ignore it, as she ushered her son around the group, trying to block out the words and avoid getting involved. But every word he said snuck its venomous fang into her mind, poisoning her thoughts with their own.

'Help is coming... the king wouldn't lie... just hold on... it's coming... he wouldn't lie!' She thought again, trying to believe, trying to have hope, trying to drown out those words as she tried to ignore the speaker.

"Face it, he lied to us, they don't care about us, the galaxy doesn't care about our people!" He shouted louder to approving yells, even as nearby officers began making their way to break up the mob before it became one. "For all we know, the Dissidents had a point, they probably only sent aid to the Guntara Planets, because THEY are filled with minerals and ores that the galaxy 'needs' to build their starships! Well, what about 'us', what about 'our' starships. Oh, the ones we don't HAVE? Because we don't 'need' a navy? FUNNY HOW THAT ARRANGEMENT IS 'MUTUALLY' BENEFTIAL!"

She could feel her son getting scared as he tightened his grip on her hand and walked closer, trying to avoid looking over, and all she could do was pat him reassuringly. But in her mind, those fangs, their words... kept sinking more of their venom into her mind. 'It's coming... it's coming... just hold on... he... he wouldn't lie!'

"We've had that agreement for over a thousand years, we get money but they get the ships, the ores, the minerals! They patrol 'our' sector in exchange for the money 'we' pay them and 'THEY' give us as royalties, for OUR PLANETS!" He shouted again as more began to join the group, while officers tried to push through and break up the congregation. "The king said that this agreement is beneficial to our planet, that they do appreciate us and that help is on its way! WHERE'S THE HELP THEN, HE SAID IT WAS COMING, SO WHERE IS IT? I'M TIRED OF STARVING AND BEING SICK, SURVIVING ON A SINGLE KELPWEED A MEAL, WHILE HE TELLS US TO WAIT, TO HAVE FAITH... WITH A FULL BELLY, EVERY DAY!"

Suddenly on 'every' viewscreen that was planted atop nearly every building, such that every section of the city could have a view of them and which were often showing various programs being televised across the city, a huge 'Emergency Announcement' message appeared.

[Attention all citizens of Arquoovra Majesta, this station apologizes for interrupting your day, but we have an urgent announcement from the Royal Family.] A mechanical voice declared. [We repeat, we have an urgent message from the Royal Family, all citizens please turn your attention to your nearest viewscreen.]

She and everyone on the street turned toward the screens nearest them, a silence beginning to fill the section she and her son were on, and they waited for whoever it was that would be speaking to them. This wasn't the first time a message like this appeared. She had seen several of them, most of them relating to how their rations were going to have to be decreased further... too many times. She was already expecting to hear such a message, and she prayed to the ancients that it wouldn't be, she didn't know how much more she and her son could take...

Suddenly, instead of seeing King Gungadara on the screen, a female Aquavram appeared, her cheeks were pulled in more due to hunger, and she looked slightly tired... but she seemed far healthier than what she and everyone else on the street looked like. In fact, her eyes were 'beaming' in joy and excitement.

[Attention Citizens of Arquoovra Majesta, this is Lieutenant Commander Ikaria Gartentica Aquavara, of the Aqavram Prime Naval Guard's First Division, second Royal Daughter in line for the throne. I come to you this day to make my first public, and probably the most important announcement I will ever make in my life. As of today, the Reduced War Ration Decree instituted by my father, King Gungadara the third, is officially at an end. THE RELIEF SUPPLIES, HAVE ARRIVED!]

At those last words utter silence was all that was heard, but slowly, from somewhere in the city she didn't know, a wave of cheering that was growing louder and louder began to sound which soon spread to her street and the neighboring streets.

She just laughed in joy as she knelt and hugged her son, hearing that from the royal family causing the venomous thoughts from before to just 'die' instantly. She looked up with him in tears as Ikaria continued to talk and the screen showed a second window describing what she was talking about.

[As of this moment, military personnel are unloading relief packages and are already taking them immediately to the ration distribution centers across the capitol city in every Bubble Biome. Additional medical supplies are being taken to hospitals and relief centers as rapidly as possible to treat the sick and injured. We have Captain Arthur of the starship, Great Fox to thank for successfully escorting these supplies from Belga Cinco!] She said as the window showed her next to a Purebred Terran handing a relief crate to military soldiers, and then it was replaced by an image of the Great Fox sitting outside the largest Bubble Biome with various bubble shields around its rear and mid sections.

[This Captain and his crew of brave pilots and personnel, bravely took up the job, having to fight their way through a blockade of Pirates that were intercepting any and all relief convoys attempting to make their way to our planet. Despite fierce opposition and even losing several transports which carried relief aid that is bound for the Guntara Planetoids, this ship persevered and pushed through the nefarious attempts of the pirate blockade to reach our planet as swiftly as possible. My own life was saved thanks to the captain forcing his ship to fly, through the heart of a surface thunderstorm, spanning six hundred kilometers of ocean water, taking damage from the electrical surges, and even fighting off a pack of Dissident Submersibles to rescue my life. All of this, to bring this aid to our planet. I repeat once more... THE RELIEF SUPPLIES, HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED!]

It was hard for anyone to hear her over the cheering and celebrating going on around the city as Aquavrams and Non-Aquavrams celebrated an end to the reduced war rations. While they still had to eat rations, the fact that they were now going to be returned to the 'larger', more filling state, was cause enough to celebrate as citizens hugged and celebrated, cried and cheered at the end to their sufferings. In the street where the mother and her son were walking where that mob was starting to form, everyone had forgotten all about their earlier griefs. Even after starting to break down in tears and even chuckling to himself about how 'stupid' he was for doubting their king, he happily got up and willingly walked over to the officers who had also forgotten about him, before surrendering and permitting them to escort him away without a fight.

Even as he was swiftly walked off under guard, the officers were laughing and saying he'd probably only have to spend a day in a cell until he 'calmed down'.

He just muttered how he didn't mind sitting in a cell for a day, he was happy to be proven wrong.

Across the city though, floating next to the largest Bubble Biome structure the city had which could connect to the Great Fox's cargo bays, the elegant warship had several of its cargo bay doors open allowing the Aquavrams to offload the heavily laden ship of its relief supplies for the capitol city. Unlike on Belga Cinco, the Aquavrams did not have dedicated equipment to offload transports except those found on their mobile spaceport, and since the relief supplies 'needed' to get offloaded as quickly as possible, they were having to offload everything by hand. The city's entire military was currently dedicated to the effort of offloading the relief supplies as quickly as possible to begin distributing them throughout the city.

Captain Arthur though, was just sighing in relief as he just had endured him and his ship being filmed so that Ikaria could make a public announcement on the broadband frequency used for emergency announcements throughout the capitol.

"Why do they have to make such a big deal out of it... I'm just a Freelance Captain delivering his supplies." He muttered to himself. "I'm sure if there were other captains out there who had a ship that could do the job, they'd have done it as well. I'm not 'that' special..."

[Captain Arthur, I would like to report that offloading is progressing smoothly, however due to the 'underprepared' nature of the offload teams, it will take approximately six days to fully offload the entirety of our cargo.] Great Fox told him in a warm tone, causing him to turn toward a camera which was looking at him. [That is of course, provided they are working around the clock, I will provide you an updated time-stamp if this calculation changes in the future. Furthermore, captain, Tony and his sons have finished repair work on the Heavy Cruiser Cannons, and have completed overhauling the maintenance work on the automatic reloading system for the heavy guns.]

He nodded as that was a good thing for his ship, now that the heavy guns were fixed his ship was at full strength again in terms of firepower. "Alright, so it will be about six days until we're free to leave if everything goes well." He proclaimed. "Is there any way we could speed the process up?"

[Negative, while we could improve the speed of offloading if we had specialized equipment, such as those that were used on Belga Cinco when we landed, without such equipment we cannot increase the time frame any further. As for the Aquavram Spaceport, while 'it' also has more specialized equipment to allow this process, the Mobile Spaceport they use is not located within range of the Capitol City, but it's also not staffed. Without coordinates for the spaceport, or an active staff to man it, we cannot improve our time stamp any further.]

He sighed as he accepted that and stared out at the underwater city, smiling at how beautiful it looked with all of its Bubble Biomes as far as his eye could see, or more accurately, as far as the windows along the ship granted him vision.

Seeing all of the biological energy barriers, or 'bubbles' protecting the interiors from the planetary ocean exterior outside of them was something special, it was a beautiful sight that he only ever saw in sci-fi movies and in pictures or on novels. The numerous shifting lights reflecting off of each other's surface, casting a beautiful glow and creating a picturesque image that he found very soothing to the eyes.

"You know Great Fox, while it feels like we take a lot of risks taking jobs, if there's one thing that I've come to love about being a ship captain... it's the sights." He said as he smiled as he stared out the window. "We get to see a lot of interesting locations, places that I've never seen before and its always a new experience no matter where we go."

[Yes... it probably does look interesting.] She replied as she also looked out the window via the camera. [So, what will you do now, will you stay aboard the ship or tour the city?]

He shook his head as he didn't know. "The city is filled with starving Aquavrams and its going to take time for them to get back on their feet, I would rather visit it when things are better... not when the city is still struggling to get back to normal."

[Well, as far as that is concerned, we will need to at least contact the local government to detail our plans and request that they begin setting up the mobile spaceport. As until it is on the surface, our cargo fleet is still waiting in orbit to land. Our mission isn't a 'success' until at least 'four' of the transports land, and they begin preparations to take the relief cargo meant for the Guntara Planets to them.] She stated politely.

"Ugh, damn I completely forgot about them with everything that's happened in the last few hours." He muttered. "Between saving Ikaria, that 'Ancient Swimmer' that rammed us, nearly getting blasted by the Aquavram's we came to save, and that photo shoot for the public broadcast... I almost forgot entirely about them."

[It is good then that I never forget anything, though I will admit... they did partially escape my 'focus' as well.]

He laughed as even his own ship admitted that it forgot about the cargo liners. "You also forgot about them? I didn't think that was possible for an AI to just 'forget' something!"

[Only 'partially', I never forget anything. The details were always lodged into my data core and I was always aware of the requirements for the success of the mission and their location in orbit!] The ship chided him, though it sounded almost defensive. [It is just, during the initial plunge into the water when my scanners were blind, defending you against the dissidents, and then being attacked by an Ancient Swimmer, and of course when we were momentarily surrounded by Aquavram Submersibles... they... were momentarily not my primary focus in regards to our 'current' situations as they evolved.]

He smirked as he let the ship have that moment, but he figured deep down it was just trying to excuse why 'it' forgot about the transports. Him forgetting was one thing, but as his ship AI it was not supposed to let that happen ever.

"Don't worry, I'm glad at least 'you' remembered, even if it was only forgotten for a micro-moment." He said with a smile to his ship.

The camera stared at him before it shifted to look toward someone who was walking over to him from down the corridor, who it turned out was Trishula as she was walking with her squad, some of them stretching their arms as they walked toward him.

"Captain, missed you after the photo shoot." Trishula said.

"We stayed a bit to help the Aquavrams offload some of the supplies, but when we saw how long it would take, we just stepped away and let them handle it." Vanessa said with a smirk.

"Great Fox told us that it would take six days to fully offload everything, four pilots helping out wasn't going to speed the process up at all." Yumi said with a sigh.

"So, we decided to find you and ask what our next plan is?" Katarra asked.

"At the moment I have no idea, I think we have to talk to 'someone' to get the Aquavrams to set up their mobile spaceport so that the transports can land safely and 'finally' offload their cargo, and so we can confirm the mission's success." He said with a nod. "Until at least 'four' of those transports land, we haven't fully succeeded our mission to Aquavram Prime, which means we aren't getting paid yet."

"Sigh, thought so..." Trishula muttered as she shook her head now. "Which means until the mission is 'completed', we aren't getting paid yet either. As standard fighter pilot contracts require that they be paid via the prize money acquired from completing the mission of the starship they're attached to or hired by."

"Yea I know, but until we get in touch with the local authorities and 'they' can contact the Belgans and confirm everything... we won't get paid the reward offered, right Great Fox?"

[Yes, and while it was your original agreement, I wish to state that standard Starfighter Pilot contracts always take precedent over additional agreements made between pilots and captains when it comes to payments.] Great Fox replied. [While they have a set daily wage per your instruction, a 'slightly reduced' pay rate until they fully pay you back, their current going rate is a standard C-Rank Rate, which is currently one thousand one hundred and twenty MPC per day, their pay rate per your requirement, is now eight hundred and sixty MPC per day, and will only be increased upon paying you back in full for the three million you paid to pay their debts off, or if they graduate to B-Rank. Until we complete the mission and are paid, they will not receive payment.]

"Oh... I didn't realize it affected you girls that much." He muttered as he realized he needed to get in touch with whoever was in charge sooner then he thought. "I promise I'll get you girls paid as soon as possible!"

"Oh, don't worry it's not nearly as bad as you think, we don't mind waiting as long as you promise to pay us, you see Standard Starfighter Contracts only require we be paid in 'full' regarding days where we 'actually' have to do our job." Trishula said with a smirk. "Isn't that 'right' Great Fox?"

[Correct madame, while they were actively defending the ship two days of our journey from Belga Cinco, and today they defended you from dissidents, we do not owe them the full payment for the six days. When a full day period has passed in which their services are not needed, meaning the ship was not protected and their skills not used, standard Starfighter Pilot contracts require they accept a heavily reduced payrate of twenty percent of what they are offered depending on rank. In this case, their current rate when the ship, or you are not being protected via their starfighters, is one hundred and seventy-two MPC per day.] Great Fox said intelligently. [In this case, we owe them a total of five hundred and sixteen MPC for three days of inactivity, and then we owe them two thousand five hundred and eighty MPC for when they defended us from pirates and dissidents for three days. In total, Trishula's Pack are owed 'twelve thousand, three hundred and eighty-four' MPC for their services so far. This will be deducted from the prize pool upon being paid for completing the mission!]

"Wow... I didn't... okay so since we're on THIS topic... how much do I owe Mevik, Tony and his family, and Kiandra so far?"

[None as they have already been paid daily for their services, which I have deducted from your bank account. Mevik has been paid the Four thousand three hundred and twenty MPC he was owed per your contractual agreement you made. Tony and his Family have also been paid daily, however his family when I contacted them about their payment contract to sign, agreed to a similar 'reduced payment' clause, until they have paid you back in full for the debt you paid for Tony back on Belga Cinco. Their current rate is forty-six MPC per hour, and as his family is... extensive... you are paying for fifteen individuals to act as repair crews and engineers, per day they make a combined seven thousand five hundred and ninety MPC, so far you have paid them forty-five thousand five hundred and forty MPC for their services. Though you need not be alarmed, while it sounds expensive, you have already saved over a hundred grand compared to a dedicated Freelance Captain Crew of Repair Workers and Engineers you would have to request at a spaceport for the work they've done in regards to ship repairs.]

"Alright... so how much does Kiandra eat out of my account?" He asked as Trishula leaned against him with a grin, knowing her talents were by far the most expensive since she was doing 'two' jobs for him.

[While Kiandra's paycheck is... large... by comparison when it comes to daily wages to your other crew members, I have informed her that she does 'lose' hours when she is sleeping and not performing duties associated to her positions. She says... and I quote... 'I don't mind, as long as my hours are clocked, and my ideas are used'. But for her services she makes two hundred and fifty-six MPC per hour, and so far, she has worked on average seven hours per day, because of long food breaks and routine naps that she sometimes takes in the science lab where she does nothing related to her work. She has been paid ten thousand seven hundred and fifty-two MPC for the six days she's worked for you. Though if she 'didn't' take naps and extensively long food breaks, she would be making two thousand eight hundred and sixteen per day, and you would have owed her sixteen thousand eight hundred and ninety-six MPC for the six days.]

Trishula nodded as she crossed her arms with a smirk, pushing her D-Cup breasts up. "See, while we want to get paid and we're eager to get it, we're a bit more patient with that since it's you." She told him with a wink. "We don't mind the wait because... well let's face it, you saved our hides... we would've been a bit more urgent about it before but thanks to you we are happy to play the waiting game."

"Plus, it's not like you can skip out on us." Vanessa said with a grin.

"We're living on your ship, can't leave us behind to not have to pay us!" Yumi cheered.

"I mean... he 'could' do that just... you know, he wouldn't... right?" Katarra muttered.

"No, I wouldn't just leave you on a random planet to rot just to avoid paying you girls." He said with a shake of his head.

"That's our captain!" Yumi, Katarra and Vanessa cheered with wagging tails.

After that Trishula told her fellow pilots to head on to dinner ahead of her since it was getting late in the day. Once they left, she was about to turn to start talking to him when from down the same hallway that they came from, a set of pattering feet sounded and they both turned to see Ikaria the Aquavram running toward them.

"Captain Arthur, I am happy to say that the city-wide transmission was received well, every Aquavram in Arquoovra Majesta heard my message!" Ikaria said excitedly as she stopped before them. "I think we stopped any potential rebellion from the population from materializing just in time!"

"Well, that's good." Arthur said with a sigh of relief.

He was afraid of his ship being in the middle of an open rebellion, he did 'not' want to get involved in politics, that was a can of worms he was unwilling to open as he knew what would happen if he even so much as pried open the lid!

"So, in any case, now that-" Ikaria began to eagerly say before Great Fox interjected.

[Captain Arthur, you have a transmission from the Arquoovra Majesta Quartermaster, wishing to speak to you. Official business, please report to the bridge.]

He nodded as he smiled apologetically to Ikaria. "Sorry your majesty, duty calls. Have a safe trip home." He said.

"Ikaria!" The Aquavram replied sourly. "It's Ikaria, please address me as Ikaria... not 'your majesty'... I don't care if it's the proper term... I would, prefer you call me by my name!"

"Oh, uh... alright, my apologies Ikaria."

She nodded happily as she addressed him again, "And as for... having a safe trip home, I was hoping I could... with your permission of course, to remain on board for a bit longer. You see... I'm... not exactly 'popular' at court and... I'm not on good terms with the Royal Family even if I'm the second daughter in line for the throne. So... if you are okay with it. Can I... 'stay' for a day or two before I leave?"

He was a 'bit' hesitant to be keeping Ikaria on board considering she is royalty, but he had no reason to deny her from staying on board other than him saying he didn't want her on board. "Alright, but if I'm ordered to by someone to release you from the ship, I'll have no choice but to oblige." He told her, to which she nodded and accepted the condition.

[Captain, please report to the bridge, we do not wish to keep the Quartermaster waiting.] The ship told him again.

"Alright I'm coming." He said as he turned and started walking to the bridge, leaving Trishula and Ikaria standing there alone.

"Damn, I was actually hoping I could eat dinner with him." Trishula sighed bitterly. "Of course, the Quartermaster would call us and want to speak with him. Being a captain sure sucks some days. Guess he'll be skipping dinner today."

"Is... is he 'always' this busy?" Ikaria asked as Trishula led the way.

"Only when we're planet side, during space voyage he actually has a ton of free time, provided we're not being attacked by pirates or engaging in combat maneuvers." Trishula said with a grin.

"Oh... I... see." Ikaria muttered.

"So, why do you want to hang around our ship when you could be in a fancier location, what with you being royalty?" She asked with a smirk.

Ikaria laughed a little as that wasn't exactly what she would picture her life in the Coral Palace. "It isn't that fancy of a life, especially since the dissident movement began. And to be fair, I'm honest when I say I'm not that well favored in the Royal Court, mostly because I chose to sign up for the military. My family didn't approve of me joining up, but even if they had an objection, I've made a name for myself and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander."

"Wow, what made you do that?" Trishula asked with a surprised eyebrow being raised.

"Typical politics... Dukes and Dutchesses, Prince and Princesses, Ladies and Lords trying to climb over each other to get to a higher position of power. Obviously, they're trying to get themselves or their heirs onto the Coral Throne, and only a member of the Royal Family who is a direct blood descendent can lay a claim to the throne or promote one to the throne via a political marriage." She said with a tired tone, already thinking about all the scheming going on without her being there. "Given there aren't any princes, since then they'd be my brothers and my elder sister is already First in line for the throne, I remembered talking to some sleezy guys and ladies trying to win royal favor and brag about their accomplishments for our people."

"Pfft, if they weren't using taking care of my people as an excuse to advance their own political lives and stations to try and reach the Royal Throne, they probably wouldn't have cared about them in the first place. That's why I don't want to spend time at the Royal Court, it's just easier being in the military, at least we have our priorities straight. Protect the people, root out the dissidents, police the public and establish safe and secured borders on the planet!"

"Sounds like typical politics alright... though at least when it comes to Belgan society the government tends to leave 'us' ordinary people alone and its mostly the military that handles the law stuff." Trishula agreed with her. "We have a constitutional democracy, though its nothing more than a bunch of political Purebred elites creating laws and regulating our lives from Belga Uno! It's actually our military that controls the planets and keeps everything in order. Most of us are happy to live as farmers or live around the spaceports and join the academy as pilots or work on the starships that make up our galactic navy. Besides, most of our system is under the control of one of the Major Factions like other star systems, same as your system. Provided our government pays its dues and support the Major Faction in control, we get peace, prosperity and their protection from both the internal and external politics of other systems."

They continued in silence as Ikaria thought about that, having never spent time on another planet and hearing how even other breeds have their own political systems where it seemed the elites ran the show and the military basically kept everything in check. But when it came to the Belgan System, they were permitted their own navy unlike her breed's planetary system. They were granted 'protection' just like the Belgans thanks to the Major Faction controlling it, which is why so many Freelance Captains signed up so quickly to shut down Lord Lumarinara's rebellion in the early days. The Major Faction called upon them and paid them all handsomely to come to their aid, but once the space vessels were silenced and only a pocket remained on Aquavram Prime, their service was done and they left as quickly as they came.

"What's it like... having a navy?"

"Hmm, I mean it's the same as anywhere else I guess..." Trishula muttered as she thought about it. "We have cruisers, corvettes, galactic transports, battleships and carriers... but they're nothing compared to what the Major Factions can pump out and what the Freelance Captains have access to. Our true power is just the fact that our navy outnumbers the Freelance Captains that pass through our system like ten to one, but their ships are of MUCH higher quality. The government regulates what ships are produced and given away to naval officers, as according to galactic laws only the Freelance Captains are permitted certain ship classifications. This ship is one such vessel... it doesn't even have a standard class, only Arthur... sorry 'Captain' Arthur is permitted to own it."

"She's beautiful..." She remarked as she looked around the vessel's silvery white interior.

It was such a beautiful ship from the inside, and even more stunning on the outside, it truly put her people's Submersibles to shame. It looked more like a floating palace then a battleship or a cargo vessel, and she blushed as she realized that only Arthur was allowed to have it.

"So... how did Arthur manage to become a Freelance Captain and get this ship?" She asked.

"Hmm... I, honestly don't know 'how' he became a Freelance Captain, but to become one takes a LOT of effort, like you have to know a ton of the right people, pay quite a few fees, be recommended by high-ranking military officers... a lot of stuff. But the perks certainly speak for themselves. As for how he got Great Fox, well I did some digging in the library and he purchased her back in the day before they shut down the factories that produced them on Dyleria One." Trishula said with a smile. "Come on, let's get something to eat, I'm starving and talking really takes it out of me!"

Ikaria followed behind, also agreeing with the idea of eating... she wanted more food now that she's had a taste of what this ship was able to serve.

Meanwhile Arthur just entered the bridge and sat down in the captain's chair as multiple holographic windows turned on. "Alright, contact the Quartermaster."

[Of course, opening channel.]

He took a deep breath as a holographic window appeared and he was soon met with another Aquavram wearing what looks like a deckhand's uniform and specialized sea shell armor attachments for his head fin and shoulders, and Arthur noticed that he was obviously suffering from the same levels of malnourishment that Ikaria showed when he first saw her.

[Captain Arthur, pleasure to make your acquaintance, I am Quartermaster Zurkaul of the Aquavram Prime Naval Guards for the city.] He said with a salute. [On behalf of every Aquavram in the city, I would like to extend my personal gratitude to you, your ship and your crew for safely delivering us from the brink of starvation. I don't think it goes without saying that without you... we might not have survived another week, not counting avoiding a potential rebellion from our own civilian population and even the military if aid didn't come soon.]

"I'm just happy we made it in time, as you should know by now two convoys attempted to make their way here but they were intercepted by pirates in the Hyperspace Lane. Since the Belgan fleets couldn't spare any ships to provide a military escort, they had to call upon my ship in an emergency request, as it was the only one with the necessary tools to provide protection to the relief to your planet." He said with a nod.

[Yes, Lieutenant Commander Ikaria told us that. Again, on behalf of every Aquavram here, you have our gratitude. It is for that reason that I am here to give you word as an official envoy from King Gungadara and the royal court, that you are welcomed to tour our city and even is planning on throwing you a social dinner party in the coral palace. You are cordially invited to attend with one other guest of your choosing, and the event will be held the night after tomorrow.]

"I see, well I can't exactly refuse such a 'gracious' request from a King can I?" He said with a halfhearted chuckle. "Alright then, return my acceptance to his majesty and inform him I'll be present."

[Of course, but naturally that was not all I called to talk to you about.] Zurkaul said with a nod. [As you know the offloading process is going to take us several days to fully complete. We deeply apologize, but while we could speed up the process by use of our mobile spaceport, the Depot Master reports due to how important these supplies are we request that you keep your ship positioned where it is until we are finished. The king also wishes it as your ship is very noticeable from multiple Bubble Biomes, and its presence adds a 'unique' image of security that we desperately need to reassure the population of things getting better. Until we can reestablish contact with the Belgans for star system security from their navy, your ship is the only assurance we have for now for our people to feel safer regarding our situation.]

He frowned as he shifted in his chair. "Why is that?"

[You see, even though the aid you brought is going to go a long way towards helping our situation, the supplies will only prolong our situation for another week and a half. With Ikaria's declaration, we have begun redistributing war rations at their first quantity and quality standards. But as we have to feed over seventy million Aquavrams and Non-Aquavrams currently residing in the capitol city... our situation remains 'dire' until the dissident movement has been fully quelled, and we can begin reconstruction efforts. To that end we have to wait on Belgan assistance for long term efforts toward relieving our situation and helping our people get back to normalcy. With your arrival we can expect assistance to arrive soon, so rest assured, while our situation is 'still' dire, it is not as dire as it once was.]

He nodded in understanding; they just wanted his ship to stay since now it had become a symbol of security for the city since it arrived carrying relief aid. "Talking about that mobile spaceport of yours, we need you to deploy it as soon as possible. I have ten cargo liners waiting in orbit that I escorted carrying relief supplies for the Guntara Planets that only you Aquavrams have the ships capable of delivering now. They can't land anywhere else on the planet, and they need to offload their cargo so it can be sent to the Gunatara planets soon before 'their' situation turns just as dire."

Quartermaster Zurkaul nodded in acceptance as well. [I will inform the King of your request, but until our people have had time to recover, we won't be able to staff it fully and be able to operate it properly, as well as gather the necessary Cargo Ships to carry these supplies to the Guntara Planets. But it should be within three to four days, rest assured, we won't let the people on those planets suffer in honor of your efforts.]

"I'm grateful to hear that eventually things will start to improve for your planet. So, was that all there was to talk about?" He asked.

[Almost, as Quartermaster for the Aquavram Prime Naval Guard, I was also asked by the Depot Master to inform you that, unfortunately we will be unable to provide you assistance in regards to resupplying your vessel.] He said with straight expression. [As you know, we have been suffering from civil war... all of our off-worlder supplies we would offer have already been exhausted to support Freelance Captains engaged in fleet actions against the dissidents in space during the opening days of the war. I'm afraid your ship's request for fuel and ammunition resupply is beyond our ability at this time to meet, as we do not use the same munitions or fuel your ship does, and thus our stockpiles are currently exhausted.]

He frowned as he was mildly upset about that, he was hoping to resupply here, he'd spent quite a bit of ammunition, and while he wasn't always up to date with his fuel supply, he didn't want to potentially be stuck in space with no way to move forward or back. But he was also a little confused 'why' his ship submitted a request for resupply, especially when the planet probably had little to offer.

"I guess that also means when it comes to food resupply, that's a big 'no' as well, considering if you had enough excess food for us to buy, you wouldn't have needed relief aid desperately, am I correct?" He asked quietly.

[That is correct, but... I will contact the Depot Master and... see what we can offer you, it's the least we can do for what you did for us. Take care Captain Arthur... oh and I assume that you are still playing host to Lieutenant Commander Ikaria?]

"Yes, for now her majesty... or 'Ikaria' as she wishes me to call her by, wishes to remain my guest at least for another day. Something about... not wishing to go to court just yet?"

Zurkaul nodded in agreement, [I know her quite well, she is not one to spend time at court if she can avoid it. She often spends more time in the Barracks of the naval base she's stationed at then she does at the Coral Palace. Again... take care captain.] he said with a final salute before the transmission ended.

"Great Fox, did you perchance try to request a resupply for us while we were here?" He asked the ship.

[Yes captain, you made it a standard procedure... however, I was not aware of just how... 'depleted' their supplies were... you always made it a habit to request a full resupply at every spaceport we landed at after completing our mission, and as such I was just following standard procedures to inquire about their inventory. I... apologize if I overstepped my authority as your ship AI, I was merely trying to ensure we were fully stockpiled.] Great Fox told him in an apologetic tone.

"Relax... you didn't do anything wrong girl, just should have read the room better and remembered that these people are only 'just' beginning to even attempt to recover from a civil war." He said with a chuckle.

[Read the room better... what do you mean by that?] She asked in a confused tone.

"It's a saying, meaning keep in mind your surroundings and the opinions of others around you... asking for supplies from a people on the brink of starvation and suffering disease, was 'not' the smartest idea. Even for an AI." He told her. "But, as the saying goes, all's forgiven... no harm done so no foul felt."

[I... accept your forgiveness, I assure you I will not make this mistake again.] She replied in a grateful and heartwarming tone.

He sighed as he leaned back in the chair again. "Though, on that note, how are our supplies looking?"

[Fuel remains at optimal levels, we can easily make a return trip to Belga Cinco if necessary to refuel and resupply, but otherwise we still carry six thousand, two hundred and forty Hyper Gallons of Raw Galemite liquid fuel to run the ship.] She replied in a pleasant tone, happy to talk about something 'other' then her mistake it seemed. [As for munitions, we still have a generous supply of two hundred thousand AFB plasma cartridge rounds for the AFB gun batteries. We still carry one hundred and forty-eight heavy cruiser plasma rounds from our original two hundred and fifty, and three hundred medium plasma rounds for the battleship turrets. Our primary guns were not used in the journey so we still have two hundred Titan Class Plasma charges. As for food, we still have a stockpile to last us six weeks if necessary thanks to our ship-side long-term preservation storage units.]

"Heh, I do like a well stockpiled ship... thank you for keeping us stockpiled Great Fox."

[My pleasure Captain Arthur.] She replied.

He was just stretching to get up when his ship began talking to him again.

[Captain, may I inquire as to what our 'next' destination is after this? It is highly doubtful that we will be offered any jobs from the Aquavram's given their current situation.]

"Hmm, after this... well I don't know honestly, I figure we'll find out after we get contacted by the Belgans to confirm our prize payment for the job being accomplished. After that, who knows, maybe we'll get another assignment or... we can head to another sector looking for work. Can you give me a list of the nearest systems?"

[Of course...] She said and a holographic galactic star map appeared in front of him, with a quadrant highlighted and zoomed in. [Currently we are in the Guntara Sector, as you know we arrived here from the Belgan Sector. The only other sector we can head toward from our current location without heading back is the Iktora Sector. However, it is not exactly recommended to head to this sector of the quadrant as it is a border sector for this quadrant that is under the protective control of one of the current Major Factions.]

"A border sector... hmmm, any reason why we shouldn't go there?"

[Border Sectors are often areas of space where conflicts between the Major Factions occur most frequently. As you know, each sector is controlled by a Sector Station where the Major Faction representatives reside and thus enact edicts and collect dues from the local sector governments. As for the Iktora Sector itself, the planets of the Iktora Sector are renowned as pirate havens and criminal organizations. The only planet that is even... 'remotely' civilized and safe to travel to and land upon is Iktora Two, due to its planetary proximity to the Sector Station orbiting Iktora One. However, if we are in need of lucrative job opportunities, we will find plenty on Iktora Two due to the 'nature' of the planet and the cold war stances between various Major Factions and the numerous border skirmishes that take place around these sectors.]

"Alright I will keep 'that' information in mind... I don't want to risk your safety in such a sector if we can avoid it... Guess we'll be heading back to the Belgan Sector then if we need to find work opportunities. If necessary, we can even head to other sectors from there." He said as he got up and stretched again before finally starting to head out. "Oh... fuck I forgot that dinner was already served... dammit, Ugh! I hate missing dinner... and lunch, and breakfast now that I think about it. Is there anything left of dinner Great Fox?"

[Apologies captain, however Mevik has already closed off the kitchen and started to open up the bar in the mess hall. Furthermore, Ikaria has asked me where she will be sleeping tonight, shall I assign her crew quarters until she has to leave?]

"Uh... wait on that, do we have quarters that are fit for royalty?" He asked suddenly. "She is second in line for the throne, do we have guest quarters or somewhere 'special' she can stay?"

[I'm afraid the only quarters that are... 'special' happen to be yours Captain Arthur. All other quarters are the standard crew quarters assigned to all those staying on board. The only 'unique' set of quarters are those assigned to you as you are my Captain.]

"I see... well in that case, direct her to my quarters for tonight, she can stay there until she departs." Arthur said to the ship.

[Very well... are you intending on spending the night 'with' her?]

"No, I was planning on giving up my quarters for her since she is royalty Great Fox... I'm already treading 'thin enough' as is with her father if he finds out what I did to save her life. I'm just 'lucky' she doesn't have a brother." He said to her. "Why did you have to make it sound so suggestive?"

[It was not my intention... where will you be sleeping, in one of the standard crew quarters? Or would you like to spend the night with Trishula in her quarters?]

Thinking about that he turned back to the chair and brought up another holographic window. "Trishula, Trishula can you read me?"

The holographic window activated and he saw Trishula standing in her bedroom wearing a night gown while brushing her fur which was slightly damp, indicating she had just finished taking a shower.

[Captain Arthur, how can I help you... or are you calling me 'not' as my captain?] She asked with a friendly smile.

"A little of both you see, I've recently given up my quarters for tonight to give to Ikaria so she can sleep in quarters suitable for royalty. And... I was hoping-"

[Arthur, you don't even have to ask, you're always welcome to visit my room... and spend the night with me in 'my' bed for a change. See you 'soooon'~. Don't keep me waiting~] She said with a sly wink, before she closed the channel.

He chuckled a little inwardly as he closed the communication's channel as well.

"Alright, Great Fox, please do me a favor and ready a uniform for me in 'Trishula's' room in the morning. I'll spend the night there." He told Great Fox as he 'finally' left the bridge at long last.

[Pleasant dreams, captain.] The ship told him in a warm tone as he left and the bridge shut down until his next time going there.

As he headed down to the living quarters, heading toward Trishula's room instead of his normal room. As he was about to walk up to it and knock on the door to announce his presence, he heard a platter of feet running behind him and turned to see Ikaria was heading in his direction, following the gold line that was lit up on the wall.

"Captain Arthur, are you also heading to bed at this time?" She asked with a smile.

"Yep, even a captain has to sleep from time to time." He chuckled which caused her to smile as well. "Well, in any case I'll see you and everyone else aboard the ship in the morning."

"W-wait, where are you sleeping... just... out of curiosity, where's your room?" She asked tentatively.

"Hmm, well normally that's my room." He said as he pointed his thumb toward his usual quarters, which is where the gold line Great Fox set up was leading her toward.

"Wait, 'normally'... why are you not sleeping there anymore?"

"Well, you're taking it for tonight. You see we have no 'guest' quarters that are any different compared to crew quarters, the only one we have that is... well 'fit' for royalty such as yourself are mine." He said with a smile. "So, for tonight I'm giving up my room so you can sleep there."

"O-oh, you don't have to do that, I don't mind sleeping in one of the crew quarters." Ikaria started saying but Arthur shook his head with a smirk.

"I appreciate the thought, but you are 'still' a royal princess, as Captain of the Great Fox, it would be inconsiderate to not offer you our best given your status." He told her warmly. "Please, use my quarters, I wouldn't have it any other way. Pleasant dreams your majesty!"

So, with that he turned and knocked on the door to Trishula's room and it opened up for him, allowing him inside and instantly closing behind, leaving Ikaria to sigh with a minor blush on her cheek as she glanced at where he stood, before finally relenting and accepting his wishes to spend the night in his room. After only a few moments she went to the door labeled 'Captain's Quarters' in gold writing, and it opened up to let her inside.

Inside the room she looked around in wonder and awe, it was so... spacious and so pleasant to stand in that she was surprised that this was the luxury a 'captain' was afforded on a ship. If this was what he was allowed, what were the standard crew quarters like if they were all the same by comparison? The bed itself looked very spacious, enough for multiple people to sleep comfortably on, some bookshelves and a few desks dotted the space, and even a large closet that, even though it was cracked open, revealed various uniforms that the captain wore apparently. Yet what truly captured her awe, was the amazing view of the outside of the ship, with a perfect view of the front of the vessel, or its animal-like head. The view of the ocean was also permitted, and she just stared at the shimmering waves of light that barely penetrated this deep under water, contrasting with the various colored lights from the city nearby.

Eagerly running forward, she ran to the window and grabbed a small desk to help her stare outside because of her small stature. She just stared in awe at how the city looked from this perspective. She's seen it multiple times through the view of a submersible, but... maybe it was just the fact that this was her first time aboard a starship... but the city, the water, the sky... everything seemed to look so much 'better', so much more 'peaceful' then when she was in a submersible or even swimming freely in the waters of her home planet.

"Wow..." She muttered in awe. "Is... this what it's like to be aboard a starship?"

[Do you have a question your majesty?]

She looked around and saw a camera pointing at her, a red light indicating she was being observed and watched by the ship AI.

"Uh... a little... maybe." She muttered as she climbed down and sat on the oversized bed, feeling very 'small' with the fact that this was obviously meant for breeds much taller than her and especially capable of being shared by multiple people. "Can you tell me... what it's like to be on board a starship?"

[That is a difficult question to answer, as I 'am' the starship in question.] The AI stated politely. [Perhaps you can ask the captain or one of the crew, they would be better suited to answer your request.]

"I see... I guess I will have to ask them then." She said quietly.

[Would you like your clothes cleaned, if so, you can remove them and place them in the bin nearby and they will be cleaned and ready for you in the morning.]

She looked over and saw a bin nearby and nodded, deciding that yea it would be best to have her clothes cleaned, no reason to say no when a free cleaning is offered. She stood up and began undressing herself, removing her panties since she didn't need a bra, and finally her military shirt and pants. Her breed rarely used shoes similar to other planet's breeds. Their feet had webbed skin that was tough enough to be able to handle 'most' non aquatic environments, since they often never left the planet and either swam in the oceans or walked around the city where the flooring was soft and kept as sterile as possible.

As for her armor, she also removed those pieces for her head fin, her arms and knees, and finally the piece protecting her tail fin, and just kept those on the table for the morning. All the articles of clothing she had were dumped in the bin and she stood bare naked. Subconsciously she covered herself up when she turned to the camera and asked, "Uh, you aren't recording this are you?"

[For security record purposes yes.] The ship responded instantly.

"Can... 'anyone' access those records?" She asked shyly.

[If you are... asking if Captain Arthur would ask me to look at the recordings of you getting naked... no, if you are asking if he 'could' ask me for the records, yes... but the sections where you are naked will be deleted to protect your privacy.] The Ship told her.

"Okay... I'm holding you to your word!" She told the ship as she walked over to the bed and started climbing into it.

[Would you prefer to wear some sleepwear for bed?] The ship asked as a slot opened up in the ceiling and a night gown her size was offered, hanging by a claw.

"No... no... uhm... I normally uh... sleep in the nude eh... in the coral palace, I just haven't been able to since... I spend so much time in the barracks and... I just prefer it this way, it's more comfortable for me!"

[Very well, pleasant dreams your highness.]

She nodded as she got settled into the bed, her head on the pillow and both her head fin and tail fin draping over the side as she slept sideways so she was comfortable. The entire time she was on the ship she'd been pretty comfortable, and all the while she kept on hearing the sounds of this ship, the sounds of everything subtly calling out to her. It was such a strange, gentle, welcome feeling to be on this ship and just hearing the subtle 'song' that the ship seemed to sing.

Whether it was the hum of its engines when it was in transit, the sounds of the air being filtered and the feeling of heat and air conditioning flowing through the ship itself, there were so many subtle tones and notes.

Her people were very song oriented in their culture, everything had a song and everyone had their own song whether they knew it or not. And she could tell, this ship had so many instruments creating a song that just 'called' to those within it that she was hearing, even if nobody else seemed to notice. From the beeping of instruments and consoles sounding as she passed by, to hearing the air conditioning blow cold air in the cargo bays, even now, listening to the sounds of water just 'flowing' around the ship as the currents above pushed the waters of the world along there was music that soothed her heart and made her feel at ease, and relaxed.

She felt... 'welcomed' aboard this ship, she felt like she belonged here for some reason.

Then she took a deep whiff of the bed and wondered if the ship had scented the bed or not, and wondered if perhaps the sheets, blankets, pillows and everything else smelled of her savior here. She felt herself blushing again as she breathed deeply, taking as deep a breath as possible, and again, thanking her savior for giving her his Breath of Life to keep her alive.

'Arthur... I wonder... what is he doing now?' She thought warmly as she began to fall asleep. 'Maybe he's with Trishula, or maybe he's on his own... either way... Arthur... thank you, I won't waste your Breath of Life that now flows through my lungs and heart.'

Within Trishula's room that was locked by Great Fox requiring anyone attempting to enter to talk to her first before she'd open it, Arthur was currently thrusting his dick into Trishula's sex as hard as he could go, hearing her moans and sexual cries driving him onward to please her more and bring her to relief. After leaving Ikaria in the corridor Trishula had waited until the door was fully closed to pull him into a hug and start making out with him, surprising him as he wasn't expecting her to suddenly get frisky.

But since she was in the mood after waiting this long since leaving the Belga Sector and finally having their ship not at risk of pirate attack, she was very much in the mood and wanted to spend some intimate time with him. So, she instantly lit an incense candle that Vanessa gave her and since lighting it, she was put in a 'heat-like' mood where the only thing that would settle her was a payload of starfighters delivered from her boyfriend straight into her starpot.

"Oh yea... fuck me Arthur... oh miertra... miertra dund Artruatra!" She cried as he shoved into her pussy, the mattress squeaking and shaking with their actions. "Ah~ Ah~ Ahah~ Oh my... my starport... my shields are down! Aha... hah... my shields... my starport... it's defenseless!"

"Fffuck... oooohya... oh fuck Trishula!" He muttered as he leaned forward and held her shoulders, thrusting harder into her pussy, the head of his dick battering at her cervix and sending shivers of pleasure through her. "I'm... about to cum..."

"Oh no... no... please merciful captain... don't release your starfighters... my starport... oh we're helpless!" She playfully begged with an erotic smile, panting excitedly as she nodded in understanding. "Please... don't attack us... our shields are down... we surrender... just don't attack my starport with your starfighters!"

"Ugh... hah... I can't... ooh my starfighters are coming... here they come... they're getting ready to launch!" He hollered as she wrapped her legs around him, feeling her fur against his skin and her heels tickling his jewels slightly.

He gripped the bed with his hands, letting Trishula's shoulders go as he no longer was pulling out, Trishula's grip on his hips now tightening him and forcing him to continuously batter her sex with his dick. Every inch of his member was being massaged by her walls, feeling them tightening and soaking his rod from the tip to the base, teasing it and coaxing it to release its payload into her body, both their organs ready for the moment and anticipating the coming release. Only one single barrier was seemingly halting this action, her cervix which was being battered down and trying to spite him with its minor resistance to the feeling of relief.

"Oh please, don't... ahah... hah... don't... we beg... my starport... don't! Spare it!" She pretended to beg, her breasts bouncing with each thrust as she leaned back into the bed, her back arching as she angled herself as much as possible to shove as much of his dick in, feeling it thrashing against her entrance and trying to 'force' its way in.

"Fuck... I... can't... here it comes... nnngh... hah... get ready my little starfighters... your target... is her starport... get ready!"

"No... no... oh muhn nuevoara... please merciful Caputara Artruatra... ooohya spare my starport... don't ooohua release your starfighters upon my starport. Have mercy~!"

"Hah... hah... attack... formation... ready... hah... hah hahahah LAUNCHING Hraaaarh ffffuuuck!" He yelled as he shoved as hard as he could with one final thrust, and 'forced' his way into her womb, exploding into his girlfriend and releasing spurt after spurt of cum into her.

"Haaaaah!" Trishula gasped loudly as she too released, feeling his wonderful seed flowing into her sex and she came all over his member, soaking it in her own juices and their fluids mixing together in an amazing concoction in her sex.

They both began panting as he collapsed onto her and they held one another, both their chests heaving after an extended period of love making. They both leaned into one another and began to kiss each other, even as his dick twitched continuously for a bit longer, depositing more and more of his seed, filling her body with his 'starfighters' and having them land in her 'starport'.

"Hmmhmmm..." They both whispered as they kissed each other and just embraced one another.

"Mhmmch." She moaned as she pulled away with a smile. "Sorry for the 'aggressive negotiations' captain... but that incense candle Vanessa gave me was a bit stronger than I realized. I just couldn't hold myself back any longer when I heard you walk in."

"You called 'that' aggressive negotiations?" He chuckled. "Something tells me your starport didn't exactly try to fight my starship 'or' it's starfighters."

"Heh... you just outnumbered what my defenses could handle." She chuckled as well while reaching over and using her fingers to snuff out the candle so it stopped enticing them further. "Thank you for restocking my starport... it's been empty since our 'last' visit, and I really needed a resupply."

"Well what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't make my girlfriend happy?"

"A pretty bad one..." She said as she gave him one more kiss before pulling herself away and sitting up to slip her panties on.

Trishula had been eagerly anticipating Arthur's arrival for a good ten minutes and lit that candle to get them in the mood, but Vanessa neglected to mention that 'her' candles were meant for 'mixed' Belgans and not 'Purebred' Belgans. Unlike her mixed cousins, or specifically her fellow pilots who were all mixed and only had a thirty percent count on Belgan genetics, a Purebred Belgan was far more susceptible to incense candles. This was because they didn't have as strong an effect on other species, like Terrans, and so the mixed genes gave them a stronger resistance to such scents that inspired such instinctual urges.

Purebred Belgans however, well such scents designed to draw out those feral instincts had a far stronger effect on them. For Arthur since he was a Purebred Terran, the candle gave his instinct to bed her an 'aggressive suggestion' that he could have ignored without much effort, but for her it was an outright 'non-negotiable demand'. He wasn't lying when he joked about her 'aggressive negotiations', she only calmed down and became her old self when she had his dick plowing into her pussy halfway through.

But as she stood up and pulled her panties on, she winked at him with a sly grin as she used one hand to keep her entrance covered until her panties were pulled up. At the same time, he was slipping his own boxers on and laughed as she was bent over to allow her tail to playfully smack his cheek as it wagged. After that they both lay back in her bed and covered up with a blanket, Trishula sidling into place and feeling him wrap his arm around her chest to gently cup her right D-Cup breast.

"So, this is what your room looks like." He commented as he looked around."

"Mhmm, like?" She asked.

"Yea, lot more stuff then in my room... all I've got are clothes that are uniforms and a few random books on a shelf or two. And they're probably just records from past missions or details about ships like in the dining room." He said as he looked around her room.

Unlike his quarters Trishula's, and probably everyone else's quarters, was only five meters in length, four and a half meters wide, and five meters tall in terms of its dimensions, making his room twice as large. For accommodations it had a small viewscreen, obviously used to communicate and for viewing entertainment. It also had a small queen-sized bed with silver white blankets, ocean light-blue sheets and matching pillows. There was a closet that was filled with various uniforms and other clothing articles, each with the Great Fox emblem of a fox's head, a folding table that was built into the wall and finally a window that currently was closed so Trishula had a view of the outside.

However, Trishula had placed numerous plush toys and various pictures and other nicknacks that she owned around the room. On the shelf and table and even the little stand next to her bed were various plush toys. Many of them were ships or animals, some baring a resemblance to animals Arthur knew, like a fox or a wolf, though with various differences like two tails or very long ears and with stubby legs. Along the walls were also pictures of various ships, starships and starfighters, some he recognized, others he didn't.

But there was 'one' that seemed to have been given 'special' treatment, and it was for 'obvious' reasons, as this particular picture that hung right above the bed showed a Finback Battleship Hull, the base model without any attachment modules or with the animalistic traits that Arthur had given his. As for the special treatment, while the others were just posters she pinned up, this one was framed in a special frame and laminated, with a special title card under it saying, [Never forget, Your Home is here].

"Eh, next time we visit a planet we can get some nicknacks for you to decorate your room with." She said as she leaned over and grabbed one of the plushy starships, one that was a starfighter that she had 'two' of apparently. "Here, you can have this... I have a spare as you can see. Keep it as a gift from me, a souvenir to represent Belga Cinco and 'me'."

"Oh, is it special?" He asked her as he took the little toy from her using her right hand, while his left continued to occasionally 'squeeze' her breast still, playfully feeling her erect nipple.

"Yea... it's actually what my squadron's starfighters originally looked like... you know, before they turned into slag heaps when we crashed and burned on our last mission."

He examined the starfighter in question and saw why she and her squad commented on how outclassed their old starfighters were when compared to his Great Fox's 'Bottlenose-D-Zentra' Fighters. The starfighter in question was a B-2-Gamma ZT-6 Belgan-Polecat Starfighter. It had a rounded forward-facing cockpit attached to twin engines attached to the rear and featured three wing-like extensions on its left, right and topside that each carried various kinetic repeater blasters, designed to take on pirate starfighters, and each had on either side of the cockpit a spacial-torpedo missile launcher meant to act as a secondary weapon for heavier targets like Corvettes and light Cruisers. It came equipped with a standard starfighter shield, and it was able to only take about a dozen or so shots before it became exposed to potentially lethal damage.

It was a standard 'NPC' fighter that he often fought against in various game events, very weak and only meant to be a nuisance rather than an actual threat. It only had 'two' benefits that were even remotely worth writing to your mother about if you had one in your hanger. It was 'cheap' and easy to produce, and it had a rechargeable shield that even 'if' the enemy punched through, if you could avoid taking damage long enough, would fully restore itself after a short period. But that second part was generally true for 'all' shield types. Even Great Fox, if any of its 'twelve' Station Strength shield generators ran out of energy during combat, provided his ship wasn't taking damage, could recharge themselves to full strength after a time period. Though, his ship's shields took a much longer time period to recharge compared to a lowly starfighter's.

Even the 'weakest' starfighter a player could get, a Galagar V-XY-22 Light Starfighter that was the go-to starfighter meant for scouting missions in fleet actions due to its high speed and low profile in terms of being picked up by scanners on heavy ships, could easily shoot it down in a one-on-one fight.

The only 'real' threat the starfighter Trishula and her pilots used before he gave them the Arwings posed was if they attacked en-mass against ill prepared ships, such as say Great Fox when he first purchased it. Even then, it only had about eight shots before its weak kinetic-repeater batteries became nothing more than a nuisance for heavily shielded vessels.

"Wow... a B-2-Gamma ZT-6 Belgan-Polecat Starfighter, not bad... I'm impressed that you could do what you accomplished using them." He muttered as he handed the toy back to her and she put it back, before snuggling back into his embrace and using her left hand to reposition his so it changed breasts, and reached with her other hand around him to get his other hand to tend to her other breast now.

She even adjusted herself so that she was sitting comfortably in his lap as they lay in bed and she could lean her cheek against his.

"If you're going to massage 'one' of my girls, you might as well tend to them both, don't leave them feeling lonely boyfriend~." She giggled with a smirk as she moaned at his caressing touches. "Mhmmm yea... we did our best... I'll admit, they kept us going, but they weren't meant to be used for so long. They were military issued, but they were cheap disposable ships, meant to be shot down or scrapped after a few missions when they became too damaged. Ooooh that feels good... keep going~."

She began laughing to herself as she turned and licked his cheek with a smirk before snuggling her cheek against his again. "But they were all we had... so we kept them going. Finding parts, fixing them, replacing what we could, welding and hotwiring... buying ammo and everything in between. Heh... oh... ooh yea... mhmm." She moaned happily. "My cockpit was such a mess of controls and buttons... I remember a few buttons sparked on occasion and I would see error messages from my weapons systems. A few of my space missiles would misfire... and they'd accidentally either go off mid-fight or I'd see them about to launch and I'd have to frantically turn toward a target, 'anything' so it didn't go to waste. Ooooh, I spent so much on ammo replacement, it is 'not' even funny."

"That's why... haaah keep that up and we'll be going again darling... I'm so glad to have your starfighters now... and I'm not just talking about the ones swimming in my starport trying to find their primary target~." She giggled. "Your starfighters are beautiful... and they are so amazing in their response times and everything about them just throws what my squadron had to use for years to shame. Literally 'nothing' about my old starfighter compares to your Arwings, they are faster, they have stronger shields, they carry more ammo, they respond better, they're armor is stronger, and they can be modified at a moment's notice. Plus, it's nice to just have a starfighter that 'works'... don't get me wrong, I loved my old starfighter, but it was a piece of junk at its best compared to what you gave me."

"Well, I'm glad I could provide. Just don't go crashing it like me." He laughed as he continued to squeeze and play with her breasts, his thumbs teasing her nipples constantly and making her sigh in pleasure and coo with each motion.

Eventually she turned to him and began licking his lips, successfully enticing him to turn and kiss her again as she gently stroked 'his' cheek now with one hand while his hands continued to play with her beneath the blankets.

"Mmmhm... mmhch if we don't get to bed soon, we'll miss breakfast, and wouldn't that be a crime?" He whispered to her.

"Who says you can't have 'me' for breakfast?" She whispered seductively with a nod and he 'finally' pulled away from her breasts so they could get comfy to sleep. "So... when can we go on another date? While I'm all for playing attack the starport in bed, I would enjoy some 'quality time' off the ship with you even more."

"Well... I 'was' invited to a royal dinner the night after tomorrow, and I was permitted to bring a guest. So, if you want, would like to go with me?"

"A 'dinner date' to a royal palace, who in their mind would turn down 'that' offer." She said. "I'll have to make sure I'm ready, I need to look for some good dress clothes, maybe we can tour the city tomorrow looking for stuff."

"Sure... but for tonight... we need to sleep." He said tiredly as he hugged her tightly and she cooed in pleasure from being embraced by him.

After a few minutes she turned over so she could snuggle closer to him in their sleep. After a brief moment the camera that was, as every room seemed to have one, observed the captain in Trishula's bed before a claw leaned down and gently coaxed the blanket that was ever so slightly sliding off them, back into a proper position to better comfort and cover them. After that the claw retracted back into the ceiling and sealed up, with Great Fox saying in a warm tone, [Pleasant dreams again, Captain...]

With that, the night went on and all was quiet, while in the various Bubble Corridors used to allow the work details to continue to offload the ship's precious cargo of relief supply. As the city continued to exist and live, the citizens soon began to feel the 'relief' being offered to them as their food offerings in war rations. By morning's time nearly every civilian and official had soon had their first fulfilling meal, and those who lived within range of the warship Great Fox were looking upon it with the same awe and reverence that Ikaria had when she saw how stocked it was on supplies in its cargo bays.

When the time came for those aboard the ship to wake up, the first among them were Arthur and Trishula who each took turns to use her quarter's shower to clean themselves up. Once that was done and they were both dressed in their standard uniforms, they both headed to his private dining room to enjoy dinner.

"So where would you like to go for our little excursion into the city?" He asked Trishula as they walked.

"I don't know, I've never been to Aquavram Prime, maybe we could just wander around until we find something interesting?" She said with a smile.

[Captain Arthur, apologies for the interruption, but I have an updated time stamp for you over how long it will take to offload our cargo.] Great Fox announced to him and Trishula.

"Alright, go ahead."

[Due to the constant changing of working personnel and with how frequently some of the members are given breaks, I am apologetic to report that it will take a further two days to fully offload our cargo. With your permission I would like to file a complaint with the Depot Master for this inefficiency, and furthermore request that they implement more 'effective' methods to assist in offloading efforts.]

"Hmhmhmhm." Trishula giggled as both of them smirked to each other at the 'annoyed' tone in Great Fox's report.

She obviously was not one to enjoy 'inefficiency' when it came to working on tasks related to her.

"I think they are doing their best Great Fox, remember... they only 'just' started being able to feed themselves better meals. Keep me informed though, perhaps they'll improve over time, and once the mobile spaceport is deployed, we can perhaps use 'that' to offload more quickly." He said with a smile. "Anything else to report?"

[Negative, other than multiple inquiries from some of the work detail over whether or not my systems are 'fully automated' or not. It seems Yumi was enjoying talking to some of the workers offloading about her hobby of Relic Starships, and would not stop talking about Great Fox's various capabilities, such as being a fully automated ship.]

"That sounds like Yumi alright." Trishula said with a roll of her eyes. "She just 'can't' help herself when it comes to gossiping about starships that she's crazy about. Once she gets going, she starts talking about system specs, starship speeds, weapon payloads and everything under the metallic hull of a starship that she can think of."

[Then you need to inform Yumi she needs to stop talking about my specs, there are certain details that are supposed to be classified... or at least, on a need-to-know basis. Captain Arthur does not need every Aquavram on the planet to know that we have thirty-two Heavy Cruiser Cannons divided between the port and starboard side, as well as sixteen Medium Cruiser Batteries positioned on the topside of the vessel, and 'also' that everything is loaded by automation.]

"Ah... so 'that's' why you sound so peeved." He gathered. "Alright, I'll have Trishula talk to Yumi and get her to stop gossiping about your specs."

"Got it captain."

After that they separated and headed to their different locals, Arthur to his private dining room and Trishula to the mess hall to talk to Yumi.

Inside the mess hall, Trishula saw everyone was already lining up for Mevik's breakfast dishes with Tony and his family talking animatedly while he happily served them hotcakes with a healthy dose of syrup, scrambled eggs, and lots of grilled slices of meat. The only one 'not' lining up was Kiandra who was still wearing pajamas and had messy hair at one of the smaller mess hall tables, and was currently eating from a dish of synthetic food.

"You suuuure you don't want a taste of today's breakfast?" Mevik teased as he happily slopped a helping of syrup onto Tony's large plate, as 'hotcakes' were his favorite. "It's deliiiicious!"

"Mevik only 'you' would try to tempt an Eldentran into eating something that goes against her species code of conduct." She shot back with a smug grin.

"You can't hide from me forever; I'll get you to eat my cooking sooner or later!" He shot back with a laugh.

"Aaaarh forget er Mevik, more hotcakes for me and me fam is all it means!" Tony laughed as he walked over to go and eat with his Belgan wife while their children were already chowing down. "Big hearty breakfast, best meal of the day as they say, nothing like startin off the day with a big ol helpin of hotcakes an scrambled eggs! Mhmm you've outdone yerself today Mevik!"

"You're too kind Tony!"

Trishula got in line behind one of Tony's daughters who was slower to get to breakfast then the rest of her family, and so she was the last in line. She picked up one of the larger plates that Great Fox offered and proceeded to head to where Mevik was serving food, watching as the ship automatically replaced the plate for anyone else looking to eat.

"What's on the menu today Mevik?" She asked with a grin as she handed him her tray.

"Ah, Trishula right on time!" The Gevkan said with a smile as one of his arms plopped a large spoonful of eggs onto Tony's daughter's plate before the others started to get to work on her tray now. "Terran Hotcakes with Scrambled Belufa Bird eggs salted and spiced with Yufara Herbs, and finally sliced grilled Rembora Boar meat! Mhmmhmm Nom Nom Nom! I've outdone myself this morning!"

"Ya got that right, mhmm this food makes me feel like a freshly built Corvette with a new set of engines and a fresh coat of paint right outa da factory!" Tony called.

Trishula just laughed a little as Mevik handed her plate back, the Gevkan had such an eager and cheerful attitude with his cooking that it was almost like a virus that affected them all, every time she and the others came to eat the mess hall was always filled with a cheerful chatter and banter. Just as she was about to turn and leave the mess hall so she could go to the room opposite and eat with Arthur, the door opened and they all turned to see the Aquavram royal daughter, also known as Ikaria, walk in almost hesitantly.

She'd been to the mess hall before with Trishula escorting her and helping her get something to eat. Yet the first time she walked in it was like she was 'hesitant' to go there, like she just didn't belong or so. Today was no exception as she walked in with this nervous step.

"Ah, you're majesty!" Mevik said with a warm smile as he bowed to her. "Will you be dining with us this morning?"

"Uhm... yea... you know you can uh, not refer to me as royalty, I'm not exactly the most favored in court and I prefer to see myself through my military rank, not my royal title." She said sheepishly as everyone nodded and started going back to their meals. "So... is it still okay for me to eat here?"

"Your majesty, or as you prefer 'Ikaria', as long as Captain Arthur says you are a guest aboard our ship, then you may dine here as you please." Mevik said as he reached over and grabbed a plate for her to start setting her up. "I only wish we had tableware that was fit for a guest of your status, everything here is standard dining fare and the only other location where one may eat is Captain Arthur's private dining room."

"That's fine... I'm used to locations like this... well not exactly like this... I always ever ate at the military base I was stationed." Ikaria said gratefully as she accepted the plate from Mevik. "The tables were always cramped, well... when we had food rations, before you arrived, we basically barely ate much long enough for us to 'warrant' sitting down to eat."

Trishula watched as Ikaria looked around the room and quickly walked over to her with a hopeful expression, "Uh, do you mind if I eat with you? I still... don't know many of the crew besides you and Arthur."

Trishula was a little annoyed that Ikaria wanted to join her here in the mess hall, since she was 'hoping' to spend that morning with Arthur. But she relented and nodded, the girl 'was' royalty and she was only probably going to be a guest for another day. It was only until she left, and she had to talk to Yumi anyway.

After leading the way to a big table where Vanessa, Yumi and Katarra were all talking and eating together, she sat down with Ikaria and was served by the ship a glass of ice water, along with another glass of ice water for Ikaria.

"And so, I got 'hit on' by a mixed Aquavram before we stopped helping out, he turns to me and winks with that cocky smile asking, 'So, would you like to go swimming with me later?', hahahaaaa oh that was the DUMBEST pickup line I've ever heard!" Katarra hollered, causing the other girls to chuckle.

"I honestly think he was being polite." Yumi said with a smile. "There were these three Aquavrams who were asking about Great Fox's specs, apparently, they were also starship enthusiasts. We had a lot of fun swapping stories about starships and this one Aquavram had an early issue of 'Relics Still Flying in Space' that I never knew existed."

"Yea, well Yumi, you need to stop sharing Great Fox's specs with every guy who asks you about your hobby." Trishula said as she finished swallowing some eggs and pointed at her ship analysist with a fork. "Great Fox and Arthur asked me to tell you to stop spreading her secrets to everyone that asks, they're supposed to be on a 'need-to-know' basis, not gossiped behind our captain's back."

"Haaah, sometimes I miss having a boyfriend." Vanessa said with a smile as she chugged her water down. "So, what brings you here to the mess today?"

All of the pilots turned to Ikaria who was slowly slicing up her hotcakes, eyes splitting between looking at the food with minor reverence, and then to Vanessa looking a little confused and worried. "Well... it's... mostly because..." She muttered sheepishly as she looked a little embarrassed. "You see, until our city can reestablish the various farming settlements, we won't be able to return to normal food options. In other words, all we have are war rations... and... I really like eating 'cooked' food after... over a month of just war rations... or war 'ration' when all I had to eat was a single strand of Kelpweed in coral broth soup."

She sighed as she felt ashamed for her selfishness. "I know, I'm supposed to serve as an example, I'm Royalty, I'm a Lieutenant Commander in the Aquavram Navy... I should be eating the same as my soldiers and people, and I 'did'... but now that things are getting better, I just wanted to eat normal food, especially 'non' Aquavram food for a bit longer before going back to War Rations."

"Heeeey don't worry about it." Vanessa with a smirk and patting her on the shoulder. "I was surviving off of MREs in the military before I joined up with Trishula's Pack. Even after there were times where we just ate whatever instant meal we could afford. No shame in wanting to eat something else after eating the same grub for years."

"It's more than that..." Ikaria whispered as she ate her hotcakes in silence while Tony and some of his family started to leave, having eaten very quickly.

"A'right, Donathon, Donbarbert, Donald let's get to work, you three head on with me to work on the automatic reloading unit for the medium gun turrets now that they're finally patched up. Dontera, Donpirus and Vanellope, you three are on the portside heavy cannons. Donbelbert, Donatellme and Galadria, you three handle the main guns, the rest o ya kiddies head on to the cargo bays with your mum, I heard some clankin and other weird noises comin from the air filtration and cooling units that I didn't like. We still got a lotta cargo that needs to be preserved until it's all offloaded, ahn uh dunt wanna hear the captain 'or' his ship givin me the grills if anything breaks down while we're ten thousan feet underwater!" Tony said as he walked out with several of his sons. "An don't 'you' give me a specific numba!"

Trishula chuckled as he pointed to the camera that was watching them in the room. She knew her squadron's Uncle Tony hated being underwater, he was a 'land lover', and preferred to be in space or on dry land to being underwater. So, as he and his family started to leave, trickling out one by one as they finished eating most of the chatter began to die down.

Kiandra was a slow eater as she ate her synthetic food, while Mevik was also a slow eater as he enjoyed eating what he cooked. As for her and her pilots, they were usually the second to last since their jobs were to be starfighter pilots, and only rushed when they were in space.

"Can I ask you guys... what's it like being on a starship?" Ikaria asked as she slowly chewed her eggs.

"What's it like, well it's pretty much like living at home." Yumi said as she swallowed the last of her hotcakes.

"Yep... and for us, Great Fox is our new home after we were hired by Captain Arthur to be his ship's private starfighter squadron." Katarra said with a smile.

"Really, uh... how much do you 'make' as a fighter pilot?" Ikaria asked idly.

"Normally we'd make one thousand one hundred and twenty MPC per day as C-Rank pilots, but since we're on a 'reduced pay rate' for our contract, we actually make eight hundred and sixty MPC per day." Vanessa said as she leaned back in her seat.

"You make 'that much'?" Ikaria asked in astonishment.

"Yea... but that's only if we're active on the job." Trishula said with an apologetic smile. "Otherwise, we only make one hundred and seventy-two MPC per day. Standard C-Rank Starfighter Pilot contract, if we're not actively defending the ship or protecting our captain while on duty then we only make twenty-percent of our daily pay rate."

"Not to mention we only get paid 'when' the captain completes a mission, we get a portion of the prize he gets paid as our pay." Katarra sighed.

"Meaning until the Belgan Sector acknowledges we arrived and delivered the cargo liners that are 'still' in orbit waiting the mobile platform your planet has, we won't get paid either." Yumi said with an equal sigh.

"Still, you make way more than 'me' in the Aquavram Navy..." Ikaria said with a sheepish mutter.

"But your royalty, aren't you like... loaded?" Vanessa said in a surprised tone.

"If only... I make five hundred and fifty MPC per day I'm on active duty, but often my CO tells me to do paper work... on account of me still being the second daughter in line for the throne." She said as she poked her remaining food. "I only get more when I'm doing work that is hazardous such as fighting Dissidents in my submersible or engaged in field combat. But since I'm stuck in the base sometimes doing paperwork or on light patrol duties, I don't get the hazard pay. Also... I uh... kind of cut myself off from the royal treasury... so... I basically pay for everything with what I make."

"You cut yourself off from the royal treasury... why?" Trishula asked in amazement.

"I hate the royal court... they're all just scheming behind each other's backs, taking bribes, donations, this and that... yea they take care of the people but they do so to enrich themselves! I've called out some of them many times over the years even 'before' I joined the military... I'm not popular at court, so I cut myself off so nobody can ever say I'm no different than those nobles and royals at court in the Coral Palace." She said with a frown. "Truth is... I envy you guys... you get to fly where you want, fight battles that matter... and you make more money than me... plus it seems like you 'really' like living aboard this ship."

"Yea, we do like what we do, and we do love living aboard this ship!" Katarra said in agreement.

"This ship is our home and we'll protect it with our lives!" Yumi declared proudly.

"Wouldn't trade this life for anything else, except maybe a retirement plan on some quiet planet." Vanessa chuckled. "But until then, pirates beware of Trishula's Pack."

"This is our life and we enjoy it." Trishula agreed.

"I see... so... this ship calls to 'you' all as well." She whispered under her breath as she finished the last of her food.

As Ikaria finished eating her food with Trishula and the rest of her squadron, Vanessa stretched as they all took their dishes and planted them in the middle of the table which lowered to take everything down to, wherever it was that the dirty dishes were brought to get cleaned. After that the chatter turned to plans for the day.

"So chief, now that we're planet side and somewhere that 'isn't' going to get shelled at a moment's notice, what are our plans for today?" Katarra asked.

"I wouldn't mind touring the city now that we've landed, if they let us that is." Yumi said as her tail formed a question mark again.

"Actually, the captain and I are planning on exploring the city for a bit, you see he was invited by the king to attend a dinner banquet tomorrow night, and he invited me to join him as a guest." Trishula said with a smirk.

"A royal banquet at the Coral Palace, now how come 'you' get to go and we're stuck being left to hang out and dry here on the ship?" Vanessa laughed. "Injustice, I've a mind to go and complain to the captain that you're getting special privileges!"

"That is so unfair!" Yumi pouted.

"Typical Trishula getting all the fun stuff!" Katarra fake moaned.

"Hey, I'm the Ace Pilot here and technically 'your' superior on this squadron, can't blame me for my station." She defended herself as Vanessa slid her chair over to lean and whisper to her.

"And I bet you wiggling him in between your legs has 'nooothing' to do with it right?" She hissed with a smirk.

"Gh... I mean it, he invited 'me', not the other way around!" She stammered. "I'm just going so he isn't alone, that's all! I mean it's not like he 'wanted' to attend, but he can't just 'refuse' an offer from a King, can he?"

"If you want, I can show you around!" Ikaria said eagerly. "I've already reported in to my CO and they don't have anything for me to do since nearly every member of the Naval Guard is currently assisting in offloading supplies and distributing them! I'm free today so I can show you all around my city."

They all looked together and shrugged, not seeing any reason to reject her. "Yea, we just have to wait on the captain in that case before we head out." Trishula said with a nod.

They didn't have to wait very long as Arthur was finishing breakfast at that exact moment, eating a bit slower than normal because he was reading up more starships again. Trying to see if the Aquavrams had any ships of their own kind, but after a bit of digging the only thing that the ship had to offer him were their Aquatic Transports that were capable of space travel, but weren't very well travelled themselves due to them never being needed except when it came to the Guntara Planetoids. They couldn't even traverse through the Transwarp Gates, since they lacked transwarp shielding.

After leaving his dining room he saw Trishula and her squadron as well as Ikaria leaving the mess hall as well.

"Captain Arthur, I heard you were invited to the Coral Palace for a dinner party?" Ikaria asked.

"You heard correctly, we may need some dress uniforms or clothes, unless Great Fox has some that we can use?" He said as he looked over at the nearby wall where a viewscreen was.

[While we have several unisex uniforms in storage, we also carry a few uniforms for both male and female members of the crew for formal occasions. You also have a dress hat for such formal occasions in your closet, I will search through the inventory and attempt to locate some for you and Trishula to use for tomorrow night's event.] The ship responded as it showed several clothing options for him and Trishula to wear.

Some looked like variations of formal military uniforms he'd often see on marines when they were being featured in commercials in his old life, and a couple like very old naval officer uniforms that 'again' looked like they came out of a movie featuring European naval commanders in some seventeenth century themed movie. They had variations between them where the men had long sleeves and an overall jacket that went to below the knee, while the women had shorter skirts and jackets that went only below the hip line. Honestly, they all looked nice to him, so he wasn't sure what to wear for such an occasion, he guessed that he and Trishula would have to try them out before the banquet tomorrow to decide.

"Very well, dig around then Great Fox and see what you turn up."

"Alright, with that decided, I also offered your pilots to show you around the capitol city and show you the sights!" Ikaria said excitedly. "It would be my pleasure to show you, my home! Though... we'll have to stay clear of the refugee sectors for now, as those areas are still being heavily policed by the Naval Guard due to the rising potential of citizens going against the government. It's not... exactly safe in those areas."

"Alright, any objections?" He asked his pilots, and seeing none of them object he welcomed her to lead the way.

They walked through the ship toward the cargo bays since that was the only area currently connected to the city via the Bubble Corridors the Aquavrams were using to transport supplies safely from the ship to the city, and from there the various sectors needing the supplies. As they arrived, he saw that the large cargo bay doors, at least the ones that were connected, were open and showing the Aquavram's currently on duty lifting the heavy boxes from the tightly packed bays one by one. The process was exhaustingly slow since they lacked vehicles 'designed' for this kind of labor and the only way they were able to move them en-mass were some mini transport submersibles designed to enter and exit the Bubble Biomes.

He also saw as they all exited that a scout submersible was currently moving to dock with the Great Fox's hanger bay. "Great Fox, why is there a submersible docking with you?"

[Kiandra made a purchase for an outdated submersible. While it is outdated, it still had various pieces of technology that she wanted for her research, including the bubble shield technology used to allow one to enter and exit the various bubble biomes without the need for a standard airlock mechanism found on all starships. It bears a similarity to the shield technology employed on all starships, often seen on Hanger Bays to allow starfighters to dock and depart in space without risking harm to the crew.] Great Fox told him on his HUD. [The submersible hasn't been cleared yet because she needs you to give permission to pay for it, as the price exceeds her current funds and she will need you to forward almost one hundred and ninety thousand MPC to help offset the charge for it. I was about to contact you about this payment when you contacted me.]

He sighed as he couldn't believe Kiandra was 'already' using him like a bank and just making purchase requests without telling him ahead of time. "Get Kiandra on the line..." He muttered with a shake of his head, and moments later Kiandra's smug face appeared on the HUD. "Kiandra, I take it you wanted the submersible for your research?"

[You betcha Captain Arthur.] She said with a salute. [Yea I know two hundred grand is a bit much for an outdated submersible, but that bubble shield technology intrigues me and I needed a sample of it and the Aquavram Submersible drive train for my Arwing Designs. They just so happened to have a piece of junk with those techs lying around and I figured why not get it to take apart and experiment with for my research. I told you I'd be treating you like the bank for my research! You don't mind helping foot the bill, do you? Honestly, we're getting a huge discount for it!]

He sighed in disbelief as he shook his head. "Fine... but next time warn me 'before' you make a decision like this alright?" He told the Eldentran. "Don't tell Great Fox to tell me 'right' as I'm about to leave the ship?"

[Deal, thanks chief... you can take the money out of my paychecks for the next few days to pay for the sub. Now if you'll excuse me, hehehehe... I have to go 'digging' in that sub!] Kiandra said as she pulled out some power tools and a safety mask. [Research stops for no Eldentran as they say! And that sub's insides need to be thoroughly examined for my work to progress more quickly! Buh bye!]

She hung up and he sighed as the sub began to be pulled into the hanger bay. "That Kiandra really is an eccentric maverick." He muttered with a smirk as they continued on down the tunnel, trying to stay out of the way of the working soldiers.

As they exited the tunnel and left the area where various mini submersibles were being loaded with supply crates and into the city itself, Arthur began to notice just how 'moist' the air felt and how clean the city was. While Belga Cinco's starport city was well kept and maintained, it still had its occasional litter, its graffiti covered buildings, pieces of trash and dirty parts that generally went ignored by those around.

But here in Arquoovra Majesta as Ikaria led the way to the city interior, or at least a deeper section of the bubble biome they were in, he saw just how 'clean' the city was. Not a speck of dirt, not a single piece of trash, not one dirty section of street wall or trash can could be found for his eyes. Everything was utterly and sparkling clean... almost like it was 'sterile'.

"Wow... it's so 'clean'... I've never smelled air so... wet and so clean or seen a city with streets and buildings so clean before." He muttered. "Where I was born... there was trash everywhere and... well the air wasn't exactly 'toxic fumes' but you had to basically be indoors to breathe air that was 'this' clean."

"Wow... it's so clean and... purified and everything here!" Yumi said in amazement as she watched a city worker spraying the sidewalk with a cleaning agent while another mopped and a third scrubbed behind him.

"Aquavrams have a very weak immune system as you should know by now, so to avoid potential pandemics and disease running rampant, every sector-biome of the city and other settlements have dedicated personnel whose job is to keep the streets, walls, floors, and everything else as clean and sterile as possible." Ikaria said as they walked around the working crews. "The same for the air, it's illegal to smoke in the city, anyone caught, especially off-worlders, are punished with local jail time, but if it's a citizen of the planet they are sentenced to two years for the offense, with it scaling if they are repeat offenders."

"Wow... not like we smoke but, wow... talk about not encouraging tourism." Vanessa muttered as they walked through the city.

"Is it really necessary to punish someone like that, I mean... some people do it so much that they forget how harmful it can be to others. They also might do it out of habit and not realize it's a crime here."

"Yea... we are... very assertive with our policies." Ikaria muttered before she turned to look at him with serious eyes. "Some have tried to lessen the punishments, or even dedicate entire mini bubble biomes within each district of the city centers to permit those who want to a place to go, but we really cannot risk 'anything' affecting the health of our population. Even a 'single' cigarette case from the Terran Sector could affect our breathing air here in Arquoovra Majesta to such a degree that any nearby Aquavrams would suffer potential lung cancer. Our Breed's immune system is just 'that' weak... that's why we use bubble-shield technology so much to protect our environments."

She then sighed as she turned and continued to lead them through the city, apologizing for her outburst and promising she won't do this the entire time.

"It's alright, I understand, you care for your people and you just want to explain why you can't take risks." Arthur clarified for her.

She nodded as she looked back to him before returning to lead the way and showing them one of their first destinations in this sector of the city. As they turned the corner of a street he and the girls went 'wow' in collective gasps as they beheld an 'enormous' sphere of water that continuously bubbled and flowed between two cone-like protrusions, with the structure as a whole held up by various frames. The structure itself was a huge one, almost two hundred meters in diameter and nearly five hundred in height from tip to tip.

The sphere itself was transparent to allow those outside a look inside which was filled with an azure blue liquid of some kind. There were multiple little walkways circling the structure both inside and outside, and it was divided into various sections. Extremely curious he and the girls ran forward to get a closer look as there were over a hundred Aquavrams going to this structure and lingering around it, and even some swimming around inside, but these Aquavrams were all wearing very specialized suits as they handled, with extreme care, various spherical objects that were laying atop soft waterproof cushions. Outside the structure on various walkways and even on ground floor were armed Aquavrams, some with spears and others with firearms, all with armor of varying kinds.

As they all got closer, they could see that these little cushions were all labeled and the workers were carefully, meticulously, taking various scans of the spherical objects and even taking samples of the water and examining them, all the while watching their steps and doing their absolute best to 'avoid' hurting the spheres on the cushions.

"Wow, what is this?" Yumi asked loudly as she pressed her face against the glass to look at the inside.

"What are those little things inside?" Katarra asked just as eagerly.

"This... this is the centerpiece of 'every' sector of the city, the Aqua Incubator!" Ikaria said proudly as she placed a hand on the incubator's exterior wall and smiled at the spheres sitting on their little cushions inside the incubator.

"Wait, incubator... then... those are?" Arthur said as he pointed at the... suspiciously 'egg-like' looking spheres inside.

"Are you saying those are... 'eggs'?" Trishula asked in awe as she made the connection too.

"Yea... every one of those little eggs, is a future child..." Ikaria muttered with a smile.

"Wait, why do you... why are they in a giant incubator in the middle of a city sector?" Yumi asked as her tail turned into a question mark again.

"Well... I guess you really don't know much about my people, understandable since we rarely leave the planet, but Aquavrams, as you know by now, we have bad immune systems, weak compared to even the lowliest child of another species. Even the most well-prepared immune system of an Aquavram pales in comparison to a child Terran's. Our people... we can't carry our young to term like you might because our body lacks such an environment to protect our developing young..."

They all looked over with Ikaria as she watched an Aquavram Couple walked past toward a small 'bubble-shield' that was built into the side of the incubator. In their hands was a very 'small' version of the enormous incubator structure they were standing on, and they waved down one of the swimmers inside it over. He came over as they slid the incubator in their hands 'through' the bubble shield and into his tender hands. After a bit he opened the incubator, and gently coaxed the egg inside onto an empty cushion, ensuring they were watching and could see what the label of the cushion was so they knew where the egg sat for the future. As it was gently nestled into place, they waved at the egg and made little baby noises as it, holding each other and just staring at the little egg.

"You see, when a female Aquavram becomes pregnant, the fertilized egg is immediately covered in a very special fluid that the mother's body creates, coating it in a sterile environment. But this is only temporary, until the mother's body senses that the surrounding environment is safe and sterile enough to release the egg freely. During the incubation period until the baby is fully formed and ready to be born, it's extremely susceptible to foreign contamination from its surrounding environment, even the 'weakest' bacteria could affect the growing baby in the egg in such a way it could be born with a genetic defect." Ikaria explained as the couple leaned on each other and just stared at their egg.

"Before technology advanced to this degree, we had to place our eggs in special areas for their sterile environment out in the ocean, but eventually we perfected this technology, so now we can ensure our young grow in the healthiest environment possible that we can give them." She explained as she pointed to the structure as a whole. "The water inside is a special chemical makeup mixed with purified ocean water, similar to those fluids found in the mother's womb when the egg is first fertilized, its regulated and kept in a complete sterile state, with multiple filters and cleaning agents being used to scrub everything clean to prevent 'anything' affecting the developing young inside. Even our workers who tend to the eggs wear sterilized suits and take regular readings and samples to ensure 'nothing' is wrong. If there is even the 'slightest' contamination every egg is moved to another incubator and the entire thing is shut down to be repaired. We also take 'no' risks in the safety of the eggs of our future children."

She then turned to the guards that were carefully observing their surroundings, some watching an outer perimeter and others protecting equipment at the base. She even nodded to a nearby rooftop, where Arthur looked and saw, to his surprise, various military Aquavrams posing as civilians but each had a weapon camouflaged and scanning the entire square with careful eyes.

"Wow..." He muttered in awe as he looked back at the incubator itself. "I've never seen 'anyone' go to such lengths to keep an area 'clean' like your people Ikaria. Sure... Great Fox keeps itself clean and Belga Cinco was pretty clean as well, but... your city takes the cake."

Ikaria smiled as she nodded, looking at the eggs inside the incubator and then leading them away from the structure.

"We do what we can... but..." She started saying as they turned the corner, and gulped as they came across the obvious signs that not everything was perfect in the city.

Arthur and his girls walked around the corner to see an Aquavram hospital, and saw that it was absolutely being 'stormed' and overrun. There were multiple medical tents, lines of citizens trying to get in, the image of people suffering from disease and the sights of nearly 'every' window being lit up to show rooms were occupied filling their visions. But... to show some relief, he saw several military Aquavrams were quickly carrying a large crate through the front door.

The crate in question, had the 'medical' symbol of a green cross outlined in a circle, one of the very same ones that was aboard the Great Fox, and another set of two crates were nearby, indicating that these had recently arrived and were being rushed in.

"But sometimes you just need a little help." Arthur said with a smile as he patted Ikaria's shoulder. "No harm in admitting it... you do your best, but you need help."

"No... you all don't realize just what a difference you made." Ikaria whispered as she looked forward, an almost depressed, bitter look on her face. "The lines are 'bigger' in the refugee sectors... they went for 'blocks'... there were so many... sooooo many sick... dying Aquavrams in need of medical attention... the hospitals could handle it at first, but within a weak disease began to run rampant in the refugee sectors and they were quickly overwhelmed. We tried to contain it but... it spread throughout the city in a matter of days, the only reason it's this short is because the hospitals have been running constantly since you arrived. You... have no idea how many 'lives' you saved arriving when you did."

She wiped her tears and smiled at them all before urging them to follow her and leave the hospital behind. "But anyway, would you like to visit some shops to get souvenirs while you're here. We don't have much to sell off-worlders since the whole civil war started, but there are a few locations that should be open now that things are improving."

"Souvenirs, now you're speaking my language!" Trishula said with a cheerful yip as Ikaria led the way and they all followed behind her.

They traveled from the bubble biome closest to where Great Fox was stationed towards another biome, travelling through a tunnel that was encased in the same bubble-energy shield as everything else in the city was. There was quite a bit of traffic going through these corridors, mostly civilian service workers who were carrying food parcels and medical supplies from one section to another.

As they walked citizens stopped and parted for Ikaria, some bowing to her as she was 'royalty' but it was 'them' who were receiving most of the attention. Once Aquavrams, both purebred and mixed, took notice of the obvious 'off-worlders' and noticed that they resembled the crew of the starship that brought relief supplies for them, many applauded and even cheered for them. A few even ran forward and hugged them one by one, some crying out of gratitude as they thanked him for saving their lives, even some mothers or fathers lifting their children so they could thank him personally for saving their city.

It was a bit insane to him and his group of pilots, they weren't expecting such a response and were feeling a bit overwhelmed as they tried to move through the crowd that was growing steadily larger as knowledge of them became public. The numbers of Aquavrams growing was starting to suffocate them, and try as he might none of them wanted to see him leave without having a chance to thank them for saving them. Ikaria managed to order the crowd to disperse and let her continue to show them around their city. It took her about half an hour to 'finally' get them away from the public's eye, but finally after making a quick detour and even ordering a few soldiers who were handling food supplies to slow them down and stall them, 'eventually' they broke away and were finally alone.

"Good grief, I was 'not' expecting that kind of response!" Arthur muttered as he took a breather, having run with the girls to get away from the crowd.

"Neither did I, should have expected that response but wow..." Trishula agreed.

"I was kind of enjoying being treated as a hero, but I'm just a starfighter pilot, I'm not that important!" Yumi muttered as she took several deep breaths.

"We 'did' save their entire population from starvation and disease; had to guess they would give us the 'hero's treatment'." Katarra also muttered.

"Maybe we should have stayed on the ship?" Vanessa chuckled halfheartedly. "We had more to fear from those people hugging us and suffocating us to death then pirates trying to shoot us down!"

"Yea... by the looks of it... you were better off fighting pirates!" Ikaria said with a laugh.

Ikaria started laughing as they were in an area that was quiet and devoid of the public, and soon everyone was laughing with her as they got over rushing away from people wanting to show their appreciation to the crew who saved their lives. After a few minutes of laughing Ikaria started leading them away so that they could get further away from the crowd and toward a shopping sector that was mostly empty.

Arthur saw by comparison that this shopping district was very empty, almost like a ghost town when he remembered how many Aquavrams were surrounding them at the tunnel who were probably heading to get food rations. Not a soul was around as they walked through the streets, some of them looking around at the closed shops, many of them were food related or food businesses. Some of these locations looked like they catered to locals and others offered foods and cuisines from other sectors of the galaxy, he even saw one that looked like a Belgan Establishment. There were a few places like libraries or entertainment establishments, and other places that looked like bars but not one was open to the public.

"Wow... it... really looks dead here." Yumi whispered nervously.

"This place used to be bustling with Aquavram locals and when we occasionally had ships staying in orbit and allowing their crews to tour the city, they would often visit places like this to spend their credits for a drink or food. I don't know why, but according to some of the soldiers at the barracks, this particular area was also 'very' popular among some of the male crew members of visiting ships and even some of the male ensigns and officers when they were off duty."

As they walked across a street where only a few cleaning crews were scrubbing the streets, Arthur and Trishula glanced down and blushed in unison as they saw a very... 'interesting' building. It was a building halfway down the street that featured an Aquavram female figure in neon lights posing seductively, pink and red lights being the predominant colors, as well as various signs of different languages describing the establishment, with a few more signs showing off drinks.

"I can guess why this area was popular..." Trishula whispered to Arthur as she realized 'why' Ikaria was confused about this place's attractiveness.

"Even on a galactic stage there's still a business for brothels..." He muttered to her as they quickly caught up to the group before anyone noticed them trailing behind.

Five more minutes of walking with Ikaria looking around for some place where the crew of the Great Fox could tour and perhaps spend credits to buy some souvenirs, she eventually excitedly saw that 'one' establishment was actually open. It looked like a OmniShop that specialized in various stuff for off-worlders. The lights were on in the building's lower floor and there was a sign up saying the place was open in Galactic Basic.

"Here we go, this place is open!" She said excitedly as she ran forward to draw them to it.

They all went into the building after she led the way, opening the door with Arthur holding it open until everyone was inside. Once they were inside, he looked around the establishment to see what kind of a place it was and was surprised to see that it kind of resembled a gas station instead of a tourist souvenir shop. There were little shelves that had various items liked plush toys, fake jewelry and even holo-books. Other shelves offered posters and pictures, frames and coral trees, and others still offered... well 'would' have offered snack foods and drinks that the Aquavrams enjoyed but they were sold out.

While the girls walked around to browse the store, the shopkeeper who was sitting behind the counter, an elderly aquavram who had a lot of wrinkles, nearest the door was looking at the large group with astonishment as if he wasn't expecting so many to walk in at once, if he was expecting anyone to walk in at all.

"W-w-welcome everyone, I'm... uh." He started saying before he looked at Ikaria and seemingly recognized her, as he quickly bowed to her. "Y-y-your majesty, this is quite the honor, welcome to my establishment!"

"Please don't bow to me, I'm only the second daughter... just refer to me as Ikaria, Lieutenant Commander Ikaria of the naval guard." Ikaria said quickly, seemingly not wanting to be seen as such. "Anyway, I'm showing these off-worlders around the city and giving them a small tour. They were looking for souvenirs while they're staying on the planet and your shop is the only one that's open!"

"O-oh, I see... well, I wouldn't have even opened it today but... well I've never left my store unopen for a day, I figured seeing it open would give locals a sense of normalcy." He said politely as he turned to Arthur. "So, is there something in particular you'd like?"

"Not really, I'm just browsing with the girls first." He said as he turned to head toward the shelves to look around and see what he wanted.

He could see Yumi was browsing some of the holo-books, eagerly looking around as she apparently found an issue of 'Relic Ships still Flying', one she hadn't read, and was looking around to see if any others were there or other holo-books she might want. Vanessa was happily lifting up a few coral trees and remarking how she was already growing a miniature 'family' tree on the Great Fox, and how she wouldn't mind growing coral trees in her spare time. Katarra was browsing shelves further in the back and apparently found some romance movies, and was talking to herself, asking if they had the entire series featuring a heroic Aquavram Male Pirate Captain and an Imperial Starfighter Pilot Belgan Female. Meanwhile as he walked over to Trishula, he saw she was looking at the various plush toys on offer, staring at the various dolls on display.

Most of them were novelty toys, stuffed submersibles of varying types. There were also a few starfighters, some he recognized like Trishula's old Belgan starfighter and even some fighters from various sectors of the galaxy. He also noticed a few cargo transports and some cargo liners, mostly Belgan because they were probably the most commonly seen on Aquavram Prime. But there were two lone little plush starfighters that drew his and Trishula's attention to them.

They were stuffed starfighters of the Dylerian-Centro VG-1 Post Beta Multi-Modular Bottlenose-D-Zentra Fighter, with the standard combat module attached to its body. They were very dusted and obviously had been sitting on that shelf among all of the other toys trying to attract attention and be sold, and apparently failing due to how few Aquavrams 'knew' of the starship.

They looked adorable to him and he and Trishula both seemed to have the same idea as she grabbed one and he grabbed the other.

"Can't believe they have Arwing toys here in this store." She said with a smile as she started grabbing some of the other stuffed toys so she had one of each for her room while he also grabbed matching sets for his room now.

"Yea, I'm surprised as well that-" He started saying as he picked up a cargo liner stuffed toy, when he uncovered a hidden toy beneath it.

It was stuffed plush of Great Fox, or at least, the plush form of the base form of the Dylerian-Centro VK-65-Galactica Multi-modular Finback Battleship Class Hull. If the starfighters were dusted, this toy was coated in the stuff and had been shoved into the back of the shelf from numerous toys being placed onto the shelf, pushing it back and out of sight. Despite how clean the Aquavrams boasted that they kept their streets and city, this toy was subjected to obvious neglect.

Reaching over he picked up the toy and had a little smile as he stared at what his ship 'used' to look like in toy form.

"Would you look at that, looks like it was the last one in the store." He muttered as Great Fox appeared on his HUD Headset.

[I still have a record image of my base model and what I looked like prior to my exterior hull modifications to assume my current look, if you are interested in reminiscing Captain Arthur.] She said warmly.

"Nah, you looked beautiful before but you look even more stunning now." He muttered as he turned the toy around to look at the little details it had, such as the oversized engines on the rear and the various outlines of the cargo bays and hanger bay doors.

[I see... thank you...] She responded in a very shy tone. [Would... you like me to clean the toy for you?]

"Yea, I'll put it in the bin in my room so you can clean it." He said as Trishula smiled at the little toy as well.

"Nice, now you have your own little collection of plush toys for your room to decorate it!" She said as everyone started heading toward the counter to make their purchases.

At the counter the old Aquavram owner started to happily ring up their various orders starting with the girls. Katarra had a new romance series downloaded to various datapads to watch on the viewscreen in her room. Vanessa had a collection of Coral Trees and caring tools to grow them and take care of, as well as a few 'movie downloads' that she made sure to keep covered, saying 'just scan and throw in the bag' before the others could inquire as to what they were.

Trishula tapped his shoulder to explain with a wink and used two fingers from one hand to make a loop, and quickly poked a finger from the other hand through it.

'Ah... her 'spicy videos' that she likes to watch in private.' He thought as he remembered what Trishula told him that her Weapon's Specialist enjoyed spending her money on.

[I have a record of every purchase your crew members make, if you are ever curious.] Great Fox offered the instant Vanessa had made her purchase. [As Captain you are granted permission to all knowledge of any purchases made and what items they are bringing aboard the ship. Since they will not receive payments until 'after' we receive the prize money for completing our mission, you are footing the bill for their minor expenses. Naturally I will deduct it from their pay upon payment being received.]

"That's okay Great Fox, I don't need to know what she bought..." He muttered.

After Vanessa came Yumi and hers was by far the easiest to figure out, she had purchased more starship textbooks and a few issues of 'Relic Ships still Flying'. Then came Trishula's pile of plush toys, and finally Arthur and his collection of toys. Everything was bagged and his eye was given a Retinal Scan for payment confirmation.

"Very well, that will be three thousand two hundred MPC." He said as he nodded and confirmed the payment was made. "Thank you for your business. By the way, out of curiosity, did you by chance escort that starship that recently docked with the city and is offloading the relief supplies? That ship and its crew are the talk of the city, not a single Aquavram isn't talking about them!"

Arthur turned to nod and say, "Yea, that's my ship and this is my crew. At least my starfighter pilots."

"W-wh-what?" The shopkeeper stammered in surprise. "W... you... why didn't you say so, oh I charged you full price for everything... if you had told me I would have offered you a..."

Ikaria intervened as she stopped him and spoke for the group. "They know, but that's why they don't want to be treated like heroes. They just wanted to tour the city and enjoy it as normal off-worlders. So please... don't suggest treating them differently. That's why I'm showing them around... if you'll excuse us."

Ikaria quickly ushered them out and led them away from the store before word could spread about their wereabouts. The next place they visited was a cultural center further into the city in another Bubble Biome. But just like the previous sector she had to rush them through, ordering soldiers to block them so that the public wouldn't crowd them, but it was becoming painfully obvious to Arthur that as word began to spread of the off-worlders that came to save them 'touring' their city, more and more Aquavrams would look for them.

"So, Arthur, what's it like living on a starship?" Ikaria asked as they walked through the new bubble biome district.

"What's it like for me?" He asked, stopping for a moment to answer her, causing everyone else to pause as well as Ikaria nodded. "Well... I... guess it's like being 'free'."

"Free?" She asked in confusion.

"I mean, I don't know if that's how everyone feels, but for me... living on Great Fox... its liberating, freedom, I'm not 'bound' anywhere or by anyone... I can go where I want and do what I wish. Sure, I have to accept jobs for money and I have to make sure my ship is cared for and maintained... but..."

He smiled as he looked to them and then stared up at the ceiling, where the various lights from the sky could 'barely' be glimpsed through the bubble shield of the city biome. Even as he looked up, he saw Great Fox's profile appear in the corner of his HUD.

"How to put it, before I became a starship captain, I lived a boring, dull, unfulfilling life. It was day after day... feeling like I was just doing the same thing over and over, life never improving, feeling like I didn't matter in the grand story of the galaxy. But... when I became Great Fox's captain... when I first took command of her, when I first paid for her... when we took off on our first supply voyage mission... it was like, a sense of 'freedom' I never felt... and ever since I woke up my first day as her captain... things have only improved for me."

He turned to look back at Ikaria whose eyes had a tiny glint of awe and wonder as she listened to his words, as if something inside of her spoke to him as well. Perhaps it was just him but, it was almost like... she was 'hearing' him on a whole different level.

"Wherever I go is wherever Great Fox goes, the two of us go together, she stays with me and I'll stay with her. But the one thing I've come to love most about being aboard her... is she is more than just a ship... she's a gateway to 'freedom'. All ships are like that I think, and maybe it's just me being a captain, but that's what I like to think at least!" He chuckled while Great Fox was just silent, before leaving the HUD.

It was a little weird she didn't say anything, but he figured she just wanted to hear what he was saying about her and that was it.

Ikaria however just listened to his words and thought about them, before nodding and thanking him for his thoughts. But she was hearing 'more' then that... she heard how happy he sounded, how happy he was being a ship captain, and from what he said his life was like 'before' it was something he was happy to have moved on from. She had to think to herself, was being aboard a starship 'really' that much better then living on the land or for her in the ocean? Was life so much better off aboard the Great Fox then whatever their lives were like before that everyone on board was all for going through the stars with no clear path in front of them besides whatever path the captain took his ship on?

Still, she had other things to think about as she led them further into the city biome.

"Alright... I think we... can't see much more then this unless we want you to be swarmed by citizens." Ikaria muttered as she led them toward a very open city square. "This is one of many performance squares in the capitol city, this particular one is called Ungara Palmesa Aquavara."

The performance square was a relatively empty place that resembled a circular outdoor theatre, only instead of everything being a circle and rotated toward a singular state in the center, it was all 'square' and featured multiple small levels where people could sit and observe whatever performance was going on. The square itself was about a hundred meters from one end to the other, and there seemed to be enough space for over a thousand or even two thousand to attend whatever show was being put on at the lowest tier platform. Dominating the entire square's feature were several statues featuring various aquatic creatures, but the largest and most decorated was that of an Ancient Swimmer.

The Ancient Swimmer was given a gentle, harmonious appearance and showed its majesty to everyone with decorative features like flowing waves carved out of coral beneath it. Obviously since there was no performance being put on, nobody was there, and all there was to admire were the statues.

"These squares used to always be populated, musical performances and singing quartets were 'always' put on by local performers, music and song was always heard from squares like these." Ikaria said sadly as she led them down the various steps and seating tiers. "But... then the civil war started and as food rations began to decrease in quality and quatity, and disease began to ravage our population despite our cleaning efforts, and even 'those' began to reduce in frequency... well, you can see for yourself what happened."

He and the girls looked around forlornly at the sad state of the square, obviously this area was well acquainted to the locals, but now it was silent and nothing more than a bunch of pretty looking statues to stare at.

"Shame... I would have 'loved' to hear some music and singing from your culture." He muttered. "Something tells me your people are very rich culturally."

"Eh... yea, yea we are great singing!" Ikaria said with a blush as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "I mean, if you want you can uh... take a seat and I can sing for you all!"

"Wait you can sing?" Trishula asked in amazement.

"I mean... not the 'best' like the performers and singers and... you know, but every Aquavram learns to sing growing up. I haven't uh... practiced my singing or my vocal cords for singing in ages but... I can give it a try if you want... you know, so you can get a taste of what we Aquavrams have to offer culturally." She stammered.

"I'm all for it if you're willing." Vanessa said with a smirk as she ran forward to sit in the front row of seats.

"Yea let's see what a princess can do with her singing voice!" Yumi cheered in agreement as she, Katarra and Trishula walked forward with him following behind.

He rolled his eyes at that statement as it almost caused him to laugh as he sat down in the front row next to Trishula with the rest of her squadron while Ikaria stepped further down to stand on the performing square.

Ikaria was internally screaming as she was 'only' suggesting that she could sing for them so that they could hear what Aquavram singing was like, not expecting them to 'actually' take her up on the offer. But as she stepped onto the stage and tapped the central dais to activate it for a singing performance, using the built in computer to play the music using the auditory system, she steeled her resolve so that she could show what her people were like before the civil war.

Lumarinara had taken so much from them over the past weeks, and now that they 'finally' had a ray of hope and a semblance of normalcy starting to return, she was determined to see things return somehow. So, as she picked up the microphone, she took a deep breath and stared around at her small audience. It may have only been five individuals, but it was a 'start' to show the city, however small, that things were going to get better.

"Alright... hope you all enjoy yourselves!" She said as she waited for the music to play.

Everyone gave her a round of applause to wish her luck, causing her to blush as she took a deep breath to prepare herself.

"So vast... so free... the deep blue oceans drown me in jealousy, I lost my head... somewhere between the surface and the coral bed!" She sang as she moved and swayed with the music, moving her hand with the music to emphasize the words, waving toward the sky before swirling toward the ground. "I'll staaaay beneath... where my voice makes no noise trapped in my body. But when I leave... I know that one day, tis an ocean I'll be! And they call it freedom... how can it be?"

She swayed her shoulders a little as she twirled and little lights shined upon her from the various little pillars surrounding the stadium from above. The song she had chosen was one of her favorites, sung not because of its ties to the ocean waters of her planet, but because she felt such a strange connection to it. And as she sang the words... she hoped he would also feel the same connection as she sang her song to him.

"When I live in a time that's unsuited to me... and they call it freedom, how could it be?" She sang as she opened her eyes and looked straight into Arthur's, and just stared. "When we all follow patterns and live on repeat, when we all walk the path, again and again!"

She hummed and sang, using her native Aquavram tongue to disguise the hymns of the ocean, the song of her people, the sound of her song calling to those around her. The sound of this tone from her voice, though untrained and not well practiced, was still something she was proud to show off to this small group of off-worlders who saved her life and saved her people from the threat of starvation.

"So vast and so free... these deep blue waters drown me in jealousy!" She sang to them. "I lost my head, somewhere between the surface and the coral bed... I'll stay, beneath... where my voice makes no noise, trapped in my body!"

She twirled around before she smiled and declared in her proudest singing voice, even if it cracked slightly, causing her to flinch in embarrassment. "And they call this freedom, how can it be? When we all follow patterns and live on repeat, when the path that we walk, is the same we repeat!" She then replaced the microphone so it sat in its little stand, and used both arms and hands to beckon to them and her surroundings to emphasize the final verses of the song. "But wheeeen I leeeeave... I know that one day, it's an ocean I'll be, well, I know that one day it's the ocean you'll see! And that day, when I sing, it's the ocean you'll hear!"

As the music started to come to an end she had to catch her breath, she was not a singer by normal standards and it showed. Her throat was extremely sore, and she was gasping as she pulled in air to settle herself down. But as the stadium slowly turned down and everything returned to its original quiet state, her audience of one captain and his four starfighter pilots all applauded her and whistled in congratulations.

It made her smile as she took a short bow, yes, she was only doing this to show them what Aquavram culture was like before the war, and it was only her out of practice singing voice that wasn't much to begin with combined with the square's pre-planned music selection...

But it still was nice to hear applause in the square again, with everything that happened it felt like things were 'starting' to return to normal in the city, even if it was just a small thing. A shop had customers again in a long time, her fellow Aquavrams weren't clutching their stomachs in hunger, there were excited talks and gossip, singing again... life was returning to her planet where before there wasn't much hope to live for. With that she hopped up and led the way up the stairs to take them back to their ship. Though as they walked, she realized this was probably going to be a harder task, as to get to the ship meant they had to walk through several city biomes, and judging by the fact that there was now a large crowd of Aquavrams being barred entry by military personnel to various streets, meant that word had travelled about the off-worlder's location.

Quickly thinking she asked if Arthur's transport was able to meet them at a special bubble-biome nearby that was specialized to accept small transports like submersibles.

"Yea, Great Fox, can you deploy Blue Fox and have it meet us?" He said as he called up Great Fox.

[Affirmative Captain, Blue Fox is warming up and will soon depart... I have set up a waypoint for you to follow. Blue Fox ETA will be seven minutes. Please arrive safely.]

He nodded and led the way for the girls, actually leading Ikaria who was surprised that he could find his way through the city without her help to guide him. But he then explained it when he held up his hand that was wearing the PPS glove. He had never left the ship without it before, and ended up taking it back to whatever room he stayed in.

"Great Fox downloaded a map of the city so she could help pinpoint where I need to go with a waypoint if ever I asked for it. She automatically does that for me whenever we land on a new planet." He told her as they ran down a street.

"That is amazing." Ikaria marveled as she had to memorize the city's layout by heart just so she could get around without needing directions.

"The toys a Freelance Captain gets access to!" Trishula simplified as she ran behind them. "Not even standard captains get access to a HUD Headset 'and' a PPS Glove. It's usually one or the other, and most often they get the HUD Headset since that has more utility!"

"Oh, I didn't know that Freelance Captains get access to both, I thought it was just standard equipment!" Arthur said as he was surprised to learn that information.

"I mean 'most' captains get a HUD Headset, but they usually pay for it themselves, I guess you just get everything for free as 'standard issue' since you are a Freelance Captain and your ship is a big ship like Great Fox!"

"You betcha, remember, the Dylerian-Centro-" Yumi started saying before Vanessa cut her off.

"Blue Fox, just simplify it girl, let's skip the whole long names for ship classification... only ship enthusiasts like you really care about that stuff!" She said in a complaining tone.

"Ugh, fine... 'Blue Fox', the transport, is standard issue with a Finback Battleship Class hull. A lot of rich captains and celebrity individuals have to buy them for an insane one Billion MPC because it's a luxury transport! However, when they were originally created, it was a luxury transport that was to be built in addition to the Finback Battleship, and they were always built in pairs, one transport produced alongside its battleship as they were standard issue. However, as Finback production slowed down and began to cease altogether, the transport was still produced since it could be produced for the rich to buy and use for recreational trips through space!" Yumi said as they turned down a street corner. "In fact, they were originally only given to Freelance Captains, since they were the most privileged and elite among captains, not even fleet admirals and fleet commanders, heck not even government officials had access to such a luxury craft until the Finbacks started to lose production! Even after, luxury transports varied in quality and price, but the Blue Fox's model was always considered the cream of the crop! Heck she's still considered factory new with how well maintained she is! Most don't have their original port and starboard engine extensions!"

"Wow... you're 'that big' of a name?" Ikaria asked in astonishment, never realizing how special her savior was.

She just assumed he was a normal captain, she never realized that Freelance Captains were 'that' important. She knew during the opening days of the war when the rebellion was in full swing, that multiple dissident aligned ships in orbit were destroyed by the Belgan military and Freelance Captains that were financed by the Major Faction controlling their quadrent of space. But other than that, she had no knowledge of just how 'big' Freelance Captains were.

"Yea... so I'm told, but in actuality I'm just a normal Terran, who just so happens to be a Freelance Captain." He tried to downplay with a nervous smile. "I'm not anyone important, I just happen to have a big ship is all."

"A big ship that has its own private luxury transport that happens to cost over one hundred 'million' MPC in pristine condition, as a 'standard issue' transport attachment to it!" Yumi hollered with a proud laugh. "The Arwing starfighters 'also' cost about two million nowadays in just as pristine condition as they are in, and you have 'six' of them, and from what the records said you had 'twenty' at one point. And I bet the Great Fox also costs a fortune I bet!"

"Are you just 'loaded'?" Ikaria gasped in surprise at hearing this information.

"No... I've been in the Freelance Business for a while..." He said as he slowed down and saw their destination ahead. "Alright here we are!"

The 'specialized bubble biome' was a raised platform that would have been floating in the water, attached to the main city via several connected metal rods, were it not for the large bubble energy shield wrapped around it. Connecting to the bubble shield was another bubble shield tunnel, allowing them to enter the platform. As they slowed down and approached the tunnel to go to the platform to wait for Blue Fox's arrival, they were suddenly called out by an Aquavram.

They turned around to see a male Aquavram, slightly taller than the average Aquavram, standing at about four foot four, but still very short compared to Arthur and the girls, but very much taller then Ikaria. This Aquavram had military equipment, sea shell armor along his head fin, his tail fin, his shoulders, knees and elbows. He wore normal Aquavram light clothing that was water resistant as he walked toward them waving to Ikaria and calling out to her.

"Lieutenant Commander Ikaria!" He said as he ran toward her and started gasping, seemingly trying to catch his breath. "There you are, thank the 'oceans' you are safe your majesty... I was so afraid for your safety when I lost track of you!"

"Ensign Polmer? Polmer!" Ikaria said as she ran forward and gave him a cheerful hug. "Oh, thank the ancients your safe! I was afraid that the dissidents had killed you!"

"Y-you're majesty please..." He muttered as he sheepishly pushed her away from him. "I know you hate being addressed like that, but please... remember your station, I'm only an Ensign..."

"An Ensign maybe, but you helped me many times during my days in the field and in the office!" She said with a smile. "Don't forget you bailed me out of a few situations where I would have been chewed out by the CO."

"A-ah... yes, I was just... uh, doing my best to help when I could... better an Ensign get in trouble then the... king's daughter you know!" He said with a nervous laugh. "Anyway... I was wondering, are you by chance returning to the base soon?"

"Ah... actually..." Ikaria replied sheepishly as she glanced at Arthur with a hopeful smile.

Arthur sighed in disbelief as he took the hint. "Her majesty has requested to remain aboard Great Fox for another night, saying she needed to help facilitate relations between the royal court and my ship's crew." He said in his most 'professional' voice as he knew the best way to make something sounded 'official' and important, was to use a bunch of long and overly complicated words to describe something that could easily have been summed up in five words or less.

"Yep, that!" Ikaria said, jumping on the idea and rolling with it.

"Oh, I see... what happened to... Rubara and Junber? I noticed they weren't at the base when I heard you returned..."

At the mention of her two ensigns that were assigned to her, she looked sad and depressed, as the memory of their sacrifices and attempts to buy her time resulted in their deaths.

"Gone... dissidents killed them, shot them down... I was the only survivor."

"I see, well at least you survived."

"So did you, how did that happen?" Arthur asked with a cheerful smile.

"Me... well, when I found out that the dissidents were jamming my signals I tried to get into contact with her majesty." Polmer said with a polite smile. "However, after ten minutes of getting nothing, I realized that if the Lieutenant Commander wasn't able to make contact with me, she would immediately turn back to the city. We were in waters controlled by the dissidents and it wasn't safe to stay out much longer without contact with my superior officer. So, that's where I went."

Arthur nodded at that, but he was thoughtful.

"Oh yea, about that... 'who' is the FOOL who ordered the Naval Guard to launch an all-out assault on the first starship to approach the capitol!" Ikaria snarled as she leaned forward to Polmer. "That idiot nearly got the relief supplies 'and' me destroyed! Whoever they are I'll report them to the CO and put them on latrine duty for the rest of their life!"

"Ehehehehe... uh... please forgive me?" Polmer said with a squeamish tone. "I... was only acting on the rumors I was hearing!"

"RUMORS?" Ikaria yelled angrily. "What 'rumor' could have possibly inspired you to order the Naval Guard to blow up the starship that was carrying our relief supplies? You better have a good explanation Polmer if you know what's good for you!"

"P-please Lieutenant Commander Ikaria, it was only a rumor, I swear, I was just... acting on rumors from the population. Rumors were spreading that the dissidents were planning to launch a surprise attack on the capitol, with a captured starship that was acquired during the opening days of the civil war. They were going to use it under the guise of a starship, carrying relief supplies and asking permission to enter... I swear, they were only rumors, but when I lost contact with you, and detected a starship moving through the trenches, I just acted on impulse! I only warned the Naval Guard to protect the city... I swear!"

"Hrmmmm?" Ikaria snarled as she glared at Polmer.

"It's alright... better your city be on guard then it relaxes its guard and was caught off guard." Arthur said with a friendly smile. "Besides, thanks to Ikaria we were able to stop anything happening, and you were only acting on rumors that seemed to be leading to a situation that looked like it was about to come to pass. Anyone who was hungry, just lost contact with their superior officer, was hearing rumors, and saw potential evidence of it occurring would act the way you did."

Polmer nodded with a sheepish smile as Ikaria seemed to accept it, but she still reprimanded Polmer and told him to handle all of her paperwork that she probably is late on.

"Alright... off with you Polmer, be lucky I don't report to the CO and tell them that 'you' almost killed me and almost destroyed the supplies our people needed!"

"Y-yes, thank you ma'am... I'll be off now!" Polmer said with a smile and ran away after giving a short bow to her. "Take care!"

With that he walked off as quickly as he could while Ikaria profusely apologized to him for Polmer's mistake. She swears she had no idea that her own soldiers were ordered to fire upon his ship, and claims she'd never let it happen if she were more aware of the situation.

"It's alright... now let's get going!" He said as he saw Blue Fox flying through the water, merge 'through' the bubble shield and began to land on the platform.

"Also, thanks again for letting me stay another night... I appreciate it... I really... don't want to go back to the base and sleep in a bunk... and do paperwork... and the usual work that I do yet."

"It's alright, you're still royalty and as I said, you're my guest while I'm here. I've got nothing against letting you sleep overnight again." He said warmly as they neared the transport. "But you explain to your father if he starts getting upset with me thinking why I'm holding you hostage..."

Everyone laughed at that comment as they started climbing the extended staircase Blue Fox had lowered for them. As he climbed, he noticed his transport was dripping water, indicating that while the bubble shield protected them from the water outside, it didn't necessarily keep 'all' the water from pushing through. If a ship or submersible passed through the shield, some water came along with it.

While everyone took a seat as Trishula and Yumi had a mini argument over who would pilot the Blue Fox back, Arthur made a declaration that he was going to the bathroom really quick and headed into the back toward the bathrooms, where each room had its own bathroom. As he closed the door and entered the bathroom, he activated the HUD Headset and contacted Great Fox.

"Did you get all of that Great Fox?" He asked her, knowing she did.

[Yes Captain, is there something wrong?] She asked as she appeared in the corner of his HUD.

"Were your scanners at full the entire time we were swimming through the trenches and valleys outside?" He asked as he felt the transport starting up.

[Affirmative.]

"I see, so did you by chance detect a submersible heading in the direction of Arquoovra Majesta after you drove away the submersibles attacking us?"

[Negative, while my scanners were 'limited' at the time, I was able to easily detect the submersibles once I registered their compositions and profiles. I was even able to track them until we flew fifty kilometers from the location due to our proximity to the various cavern walls messing with my scanners. I would have detected a scout submersible heading in that direction. However, the dissident submersibles weren't heading in that direction.]

He nodded as he went to the bathroom and thought.

"Do the Aquavrams have better scanning equipment compared to yours? This is their world, so naturally they might be better equipped than we are."

[Captain, my equipment is 'far' superior to theirs!] Great Fox, sounding almost 'insulted' that he even suggested the idea. [Even if my equipment is not up to date compared to the most recent models of battleships produced in the last ten years, my scanners 'far' exceed the Aquavram's. Now that I've compensated for the earlier issues, I can scan this entire section of the planet for one thousand kilometers in any direction. And I could scan further if we ascend out of the water and even globally if we enter space and maneuver around the planet! The only reason I cannot extend further is due to the nature of the surrounding environment around Arquoovra Majesta! The natural barrier and various elemental mineral properties in the walls protect them from being scanned and detected from orbit and on the surface!]

"Okay okay calm down, I only asked if it was possible, no need to defend your pride!" He said to soothe his ship. "Alright, do the Aquavrams have jamming technology?"

[Inquiring... this will only take a moment...] She said as she made several inquiries and communications.

As he finished his business, he exited the bathroom and stood in the bedroom, waiting while the ship moved on its own.

[Negative, Aquavram Technology is... 'outdated' in terms of such tech. While their submersible technology continues to update and they have space fairing technology, they lack such capabilities to 'jam' scanners. Even if they could, it would only be applicable at short ranges and would only be viable to block communications.]

"How short of a range?"

[Approximately one hundred meters minimum distance.]

He breathed deeply as he thought about that. "How long was it from when we rescued Ikaria to when we arrived at the capitol city, and how fast could a submersible reach the city from where we were attacked compared to us?"

[Approximately three hours. As for the comparison, if both of us were at maximum speed and flying 'above' the trenches in open water, we could have reached the capitol in fifteen minutes while her submersible would have taken one hour and ten minutes.] She stated as she showed a miniature map of the surface, pinpointing where they encountered the dissidents, to where he set her down, and finally where the capitol city was. [We did fly over a hundred kilomters in the opposite direction of the capitol, which extended our travel time, and we weren't flying in open water for the most part.]

"Alright... one last question... were we ever 'scanned' by the Aquavram submersibles?"

[Only after they were fired upon by the AFB gun batteries and after I fired off the first salvo from the Heavy Cruiser gun turrets! But their scans were interrupted as they made a hasty retreat. We were scanned no further, I would have had a record, the only possible scan I detected was from the Ancient Swimmer, and that was an underwater ping at such a low frequency it was almost undetectable until it was at a close enough distance for my scanners to hear the frequency.]

He nodded again as he put everything together. "So, Polmer loses contact with Ikaria and her two ensigns, in 'dissident territory', then decides to return to the city... detects our ship as its flying through the trenches... and after hearing rumors of a starship carrying a dissident attack force, warns the naval guard to open fire on us 'without' hesitation!" He said quietly.

[Are you... suggesting something?] She asked in an inquisitve tone. [It sounds like you don't believe Polmer's story. Given the information... it doesn't add up, but we have no reason to suspect him of dishonesty. He did seem worried over Ikaria's safety and well-being.]

"Yea because she's the second royal daughter..." He said. "Do some digging for me Great Fox, see what you can find about this Polmer... but don't make it obvious that its 'you' looking into the information for 'me'."

[Very well captain...] Great Fox said as a second portrait appeared over her first, this one of a fox with a sleuth outfit, almost similar to a Sherlock Holmes look, complete with a pipe and hat, while several windows appeared indicating she was making some inquiries to automatic databases for him. [Due to the 'stealthy' nature, these inquiries will take much longer to completely compile the data you ask for. I will inform you when I have enough information to warrant no further inquiries.]

He nodded and left the bedroom for the main seating room. Yumi was happily sitting at the pilot's seat and giddily flying the transport back to the Great Fox, where he could see it getting bigger outside the main window. Ikaria was checking out the ship now that she wasn't being carried or weak from hunger, admiring all the luxuries the seating area had, while Vanessa was reading a book and Katarra was in the co-pilot's seat. Trishula saw him return and wandered over to him holding a plus toy in her hand.

"Here, a little present from me to you, I swiped it before we left and you paid for everything!" She said as she held up a light corvette plush.

He smiled as he held it, it was a Peruvian HP-7 Mantis Corvette, and he recognized it as the first ship he 'ever' purchased and used in the game, a year before he worked and saved enough MPC to pay for Great Fox, grinding and trading ships, going from corvette, to frigate, to cruiser, to even a cargo liner and back to a corvette before 'finally' ending on Great Fox's Finback Battleship class hull.

"Thanks, brings back memories."

"Heh, I read a few of your records in the library, you went through 'eight' starships before reaching Great Fox." She said with a smile as he held the corvette for her, but after a few seconds of looking around to see if the others were looking, she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips really quick before winking. "I'll help you complete the collection; you got two, only seven more to go!"

"Thanks..." He muttered with a smirk before glancing at Ikaria and tapping her shoulder to turn her around. "Tell your girls I have a quick job for them tomorrow." He muttered.

"What is it?" She asked with a frown and in a hushed tone to match his.

"I want Yumi to 'volunteer' to help the military soldiers with offloading, and I want her to ask them some questions about rumors. Same with Vanessa and Katarra, I want them to go into town, in disguise, use their old clothes and tell them to hide their ears and tails if possible... ask the locals about rumors." He whispered. "I want to know, if there were any 'rumors' about dissidents planning to use a stolen starship to attack the city, pretending to be carrying relief supplies."

"Is this about Polmer?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not sure... maybe it's just me, but something was off about his story... just have your girls do that for me and report back if they hear anything. Tell Yumi to stop helping when they change shifts, and Vanessa and Katarra to return if anyone recognizes them. I'll have Great Fox give them PPS gloves and HUD Headsets so they can communicate and not get lost. Also... tell them they have permission to carry firearms for their own protection, but keep them concealed and only use if they must!"

She nodded as the Blue Fox entered Great Fox's hanger bay and came to a stop, with Yumi happily announcing that she successfully flew the ship.

As the ship opened up and they departed, everyone separated to head to their various rooms with Ikaria following Trishula and Arthur, as she had nowhere else to go and still wanted to spend time with the people, she was most familiar with aboard this vessel. They first visited Arthur's quarters with Trishula and Ikaria joining him as he emptied his bag of belongings he'd purchased and going about setting them around the room to make it feel more like 'his' room.

"So how was your first night here aboard the ship?" Arthur asked Ikaria as she continued to glance around at everything.

"It was pretty comfortable, your bed is... quite big for me." She said sheepishly.

"Yea, I don't think when Great Fox was originally built it had Aquavram's being on board in mind." He said with a chuckle.

"You can ask the designer Kiandra, she's the Eldentran who works with us and lives aboard the ship." Trishula said.

"Wait you have the ship's 'designer' working and living with you?" Ikaria asked in surprise. "How did that happen?"

"Well, I was looking for crew while on Belga Cinco, and after asking the Depot Master where I might find some quality candidates, he suggested putting out a job offer for a medical and science officer, and she was among the first to apply when it went live." He explained as he placed the various plush toys around on the shelves and table.

He placed his 'collection' of starship toys, first starting with the Corvette that he first purchased, and finally put the Finback Battleship toy and the Arwing toy in the bin that Great Fox told him to so they could get cleaned.

"She passed sixteen screenings before she was accepted as a candidate, and after a... bit of talking... I hired her. Since then, she's been working with us since we left Belga Cinco."

"Wow."

"Before that he hired us, my squadron of starfighter pilots. When we accepted his ship had to have us tested, so after we were introduced to his ship, the starfighters we'd use, and then got to know them we flew in a combat exercise against unmanned starfighter drones. His own starship AI even tried to cheat us by taking over four of them and use them to defeat us!" Trishula proclaimed with a laugh.

[It was 'not' cheating, I was merely increasing the difficulty spike to ensure we would not suffer difficulties or potential failures in future missions we may accept!] Great Fox interjected defensively. [You were only considered C-Rank pilots at the time, and the only information on your squadron's capabilities available to me were your past records. While... successful in most situations, the most dangerous mission you ever completed was a C-Rank mission where you protected a cargo liner carrying farming equipment and raw galemite liquid fuel.]

"Oh yea, that was when we had to fight a pirate corvette and three pirate starfighters off." Trishula said as she recalled that mission well, since it was the last one where her pilots had working starfighters, 'before' the damage from the battle resulted in them having to eject to watch them crash and burn into the starport. "Not our most shining moment... I'll uh give you that Great Fox."

[Meanwhile this ship has taken on S+ Rank missions, such as when we delivered high quality munitions and experimental ground-based war vehicles through five star-sectors while three of the major factions were in open conflict and over six hundred Freelance Captains were engaging in space battles and conducting military operations, and had to shoot down 'seven' Battleship class warships in conjunction with fleet actions as part of our quota for working 'for' one of the Major Factions before completing the delivery! The sheer volume of credits offered in terms of prizes between the two is substantial. I could not accept them without having 'quality' combat data.]

"Oh yea, I forgot about that mission... didn't we 'also' end up loaning out four of our Arwings to fellow Freelance Captains so they could participate in the operation while their ships were being built for the war effort?" He asked as he sat on the bed and grabbed a data pad from the nearby shelf to look up that mission's details.

[Yes... and we lost all of them over the course of two battles because they got too aggressive with protecting us. I believe 'one' of them deliberately tried to crash into the bridge of a heavy cruiser when he became too damaged to escape the vessel's AFB gun batteries. You also lost an additional three while attempting to help screen the ship with them as it retreated from combat situations that you deemed too 'intense' for the ship's safety.]

He flinched again as he recalled those days, it took him three days in real life, in his old life, to complete a mission for a faction he was working for at the time. He was having to carefully fly through various warring sectors and trying to keep a low profile to avoid being spotted. There had been numerous battles taking place and despite his best efforts they were constantly raided by not only NPC ships, but also other players. Two of his friends were missing their battleships as they were undergoing heavy repair work, and so asked if they could control his starfighters while he was on the mission so they could still participate in the war going on. He didn't mind, but they got 'too' into the fighting and after he concluded his mission, found himself missing 'seven' of his Arwings from his hanger.

"Yea... that explains where at least 'four' of the six Arwings I lost due to 'recklessness' went, and three of the seven I lost due to high profile conflicts I deemed too dangerous for you to participate in." He muttered.

[Yes captain, but that is again why it was necessary for the difficulty spike, I assure you, I was 'not' cheating.]

Trishula just chuckled as she nodded. "Yea, you weren't cheating, you were just 'jealous' that we were doing so much better than you anticipated for being lowly 'C-Rank' pilots."

[I will not deign that with a response Starfighter Pilot Trishula.]

He just chuckled as he could 'feel' his ship was trying to save face. Ikaria however was just staring in amazement and wonder.

Ikaria was just looking at the two of them, unable to believe the words she was hearing. These guys were able to fly through multiple star sectors while 'three' of the major factions were at war? According to the Belgan navy captains that she sometimes managed to talk to at the royal court, they weren't even allowed to leave their star system most times without permission from the central government, and even 'they' had to seek permission from the controlling Major Faction before they could engage in conflicts outside of their star system. Was that why they kept on talking about this sense of 'freedom' that the ship gave them?

Then again, as she thought about her own situation here on Aquavram Prime, she wasn't any better off than those naval captains and dignitaries that sometimes visited her planet in the past. She wasn't allowed to leave the planet because no ships belonging to her people actually existed, aside from the old transports they used to help the Guntara Planetoids. She was hardly ever allowed to leave the city sector or go beyond certain sections of the planet because of her position as the second royal daughter. Heck even her CO kept tabs on her location and often kept her from doing 'real' work out in the fields as a Lieutenant Commander, and instead made her do boring paper work so that so that she was kept safe.

But hearing Trishula talk and Arthur reminisce about their adventures in space and how happy they were with their lots in life, just made her feel... a sense of longing. It was again as she heard them talking to each other, that it was like she heard this 'song', however minor it was... a song calling to her.

[Captain Arthur, Mevik reports that dinner will be ready shortly.]

He nodded and asked if Trishula would like to eat dinner with him that day, and she happily agreed saying she would love to. Ikaria asked for directions to the mess hall, tentatively asking if it was okay for her to eat on the ship as well.

"You don't need to keep asking, it's alright, as long as you're on board the ship you're welcomed to eat our food as well." He told her, and she nodded in gratitude as she asked the ship for directions to the mess, while he and Trishula went to her room quickly so she could drop her own collection of plush dolls off.

Once she had finished placing her plushies where she wanted them, they headed to his dining room where Mevik was already placing dishes for them.

"Ah, captain, Great Fox told me you and Trishula would be dining here tonight." He said as he finished pouring them some drinks. "Enjoy yourselves."

As the Gevkan left he and Trishula sat down to enjoy their plates together. Today Mevik seemed to have made some kind of soup involving Klendura Crab meat, with multiple pieces of roasted vegetables and specially toasted bread with various seasonings to go with the soup. But as it was Mevik's patented cooking it looked as delicious as it smelled.

They both took their utensils and dug into their hearty meals, Arthur enjoying the taste of crab meat having never tasted it before. It had this sweet and tender feeling that was not dissimilar to the usual beef he ate, but it had a strange texture that was hard to describe. However, in the form of a soup, Mevik had combined that flavor with the various cooked vegetables and boiled fruits to give it a beautiful aroma that made his taste buds sing in delight.

"Mhmm... Mevik knows how to cook." He muttered as he took another spoonful.

"Ooooh does he." She muttered happily in agreement as she swallowed. "You know Arthur, you mind if I try something a little 'special' with you?"

"What do you want to try?" He asked.

She smirked as she put her spoon into the bowl of soup and got a helping of it before turning to him, "I've read in stories that Vanessa reads, you know her 'spicy' ones... that food tastes better to the individual eating it, when it goes from their mouth, into their lover's when shared in a kiss, and then pushed 'back' into theirs. I've always wanted to give it a try..."

"That's... a little unusual but... I'm not going to refuse such a 'tempting' offer from a beautiful lady like you."

She chuckled as she poured the spoon's contents into her mouth before plopping it back into the bowl, and then leaning forward with a smirk and planting her lips against his, slowly opening so that their tongues could dance with each other. He felt the warm lumps of crab meat, boiled vegetables and baked fruit pieces pass from her mouth into his, where their tongues rolled over each other and them, before he carefully shoved them back into her mouth. She gave a chuckle as she swallowed, and laughed at how embarrassed she was at doing that.

"Well... I don't think it tasted any 'better' then before... but... I have to admit it certainly was a 'different' way to eat." She laughed with him as she grabbed another spoonful of soup and was about to take the contents into her mouth when she smirked again, "I think I might need to give it a second try to see if it really tastes better... care to help me?"

With that they went for another two 'rounds' of kiss-eating, with them laughing each time as they swapped roles after each spoon was eaten and commenting on how it tasted ever so slightly different, but not really tasting any better. She commented that it was probably just a dumb idea that was meant to be used as a tool for someone to get into their partner's pants, and he replied that it honestly sounded like such.

They were just about to try one more round of kiss-eating when Great Fox declared, [Captain Arthur, Ikaria is standing outside of your private dining room and is requesting permission to eat with you and Trishula.]

He was a little bummed at Ikaria wanting to eat with him and Trishula as he was really getting into spending some quality time with her alone. Trishula however, was growling in frustration as they were interrupted.

"Ugh, I don't care if she is the second daughter in line for the throne, can't she eat on her own?!" Trishula complained loudly to him. "Just when we were having our quality dinner time for the first time since we 'landed' on this ocean planet."

"I know... but she probably has her reasons for wanting to eat with us." He muttered to her, but he too was wishing she hadn't ruined their private time together.

"Well, it better be, I was just getting into that..."

He agreed, but he had to reply to Ikaria before anything else, "Alright, let her in."

The door opened and Ikaria tentatively stepped in, looking a little nervous as she sensed she 'interrupted' something between them. She looked between the two of them before nodding gratefully and saying, "Uh... thank you... for letting me eat with you." as she sat down.

"It's alright your majesty, you're the captain's guest and-" Trishula said with a polite smile, but Ikaria shook her head as she took a spoonful of the wonderful soup the chef had made for the crew.

"No... I'm not a real royal at this point, I'll be honest... I'm not favored at court, I'm cut off from the royal treasury, I buy my own stuff using money I earn as a Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Guard. The only reason I even still 'have' that title is because I'm the second in line for the throne." She said bitterly. "But to be honest, I'll never ascend to the throne unless something 'insane' happens like... I don't know, a coup happens or my sister Inkara dies."

They just all ate in silence for a bit with Arthur thinking about her comments. "So... is the reason why you keep asking to delay going back to the base is because..."

"Yea Captain Arthur, soon as I have to head back to the base, I need to talk to my father and the rest of the Royal Court. I can delay it by saying I'm talking to you and briefing you about the situation on the planet, and saying I'm... as you put it... 'facilitating communications' between the court and the ship's captain. But the moment I go to the court, I'm going to be surrounded by Aquavram's political elites and... ugh, I just don't want to deal with them. They're going to talk, talk, and talk about inconsequential stuff when we should be focusing on dealing with the dissidents now that we have 'food' to feed our people. We should be crushing Lord Lumarinara's dissident movement while we're in a position of power over him now. Public opinion is on our side, the king's words came to pass, when will he order the general that replaced Bugnara to draw up battle plans to deal with the remaining dissidents and locate Lumarinara's base of operations to finally put an end to this civil war!"

She swallowed her food with a bitter expression as she thought about Lumarinara, the leader of the dissident movement.

"Tell me about this 'Lumarinara', I've only ever heard about him briefly when my pilots mentioned he was the one who started the civil war on your planet?" Arthur asked to which Trishula nodded.

"Yea, it was all over the galactic net-hub, a civil war broke out on Aquavram Prime, with the chief instigator being Lord Lumarinara who was leading the movement for Aquavram Prime's independence and trying to turn its people into a player on the galactic stage." Trishula said. "He was leading a movement that called for Aquavrams to end the mutual trade agreement that the planet's people enjoyed with the various star systems that used the Guntara Planetoids for their rich mineral and ore deposits. Nearly thirty percent of the galaxy's starships and starfighters use ores and minerals from the Guntara Planetoids."

"That sums it up nicely, but it runs deeper... he wants Aquavrams to build their own fleet, using the ores and minerals our planet's star system has. He says our people have stagnated on the galactic stage, saying we let our technology and research wane while the rest of the galaxy pushes on. He says we're the 'butt of the galaxy' and we're treated as nothing more than a stepping stone for every other galactic power out there. He wants us to be a power, he wants 'us' to use the Guntara Planetoids to become a force in the galaxy, a power worthy of respect! He points out that our closest allied system, the Belgan Star System, has fleets that operate in three different star sectors with the permission of the Major Faction, we don't even use our transports to visit the Guntara Planets in our own system!"

She sighed as she swallowed some more of her food with a bitter expression on her face.

"He doesn't get that nearly all of our people aren't interested in venturing into space. If you ask any aquavram in the city, they'll tell you that we don't mind staying on the planet or never venturing beyond our own star system. We don't live on the Guntara Planets, we can't even handle living on those gas planets, why would we care if other star systems mine the rich ores and minerals on the planets and give us royalties for each piece they take for their starships? Our planet gives us all we ever want or need. We're 'happy' living on Aquavram Prime only... the only reason my people even had thoughts like his, was because we thought we were being used and left to die by the galaxy because our planet isn't as valuable to them as the Guntara Planets. Now they know that's not true, they know that 'two' convoys tried to reach us but were intercepted, they 'know' help was trying to reach us and now it has."

She sighed as she spun the spoon in the bowl, slowly eating the food, enormously grateful to her hosts for their hospitality to her.

"Arthur, Trishula... my people are slow to adapt to the galaxy, we just want to live in our corner as we've always lived for thousands of years. Yea, we're not big players on the galactic stage... the most we contribute is sea-food exports with Gooper Fish and Klendura Crab, as well as Kelpweed and various exotic fish exports for pets or food, on top of our unfertilized eggs."

"Wait, you 'sell' your own breed's eggs?" Trishula asked in astonishment.

"Oh yea, we sell tons of them, its only like one in fifty eggs an Aquavram female has that can actually be fertilized when it comes to Aquavram procreation." Ikaria said with a nod. "Most times when a female Aquavram's body produce an egg it lacks crucial pieces to enable fertilization, so it gets pushed out of our bodies after only a few hours. But the eggs are actually nutritious and can be eaten in a vast array of high-quality galactic dishes. It's actually one of our 'biggest' exports in terms of commerce, for every egg we sell on the galactic market, we get about three thousand MPC. Even our other chief food exports, Klendura Crab, Gooper Fish, and Kelpweed, as well as other exotic marine life exports like Peluca Fish which is hard to raise and takes 'ten years' to mature into an ideal export individually only brings in at most 'thirty percent' of what our female's eggs brings in."

"So... how often does an Aquavram girl..." Arthur asked in astonishment that hours ago, she was showing them how much they cared about their young's development and health, was now talking about how any 'unfertilized' egg gets thrown into a crate to Belga Cinco to be turned into a dish on someone's breakfast plate.

"Well before the civil war, on average a matured Aquavram Girl's body would produce an egg every ten days, give or take. If it came out instantly, it was a dead egg. That was actually how 'some' Aquavrams helped get more income in the capitol city, the government incentivized the offering of these eggs so they could be turned into a trade export. When a girl took her egg over to the collection office, she was given about one thousand MPC as a payment." Ikaria said as she finished her soup. "Don't worry, no fertilized eggs are ever accepted, and no eggs that 'can' be fertilized are 'ever' offered, it's actually a crime unless it's being offered as a 'donation' for various reasons. We are actually able to tell if our bodies have an egg inside of us that can be fertilized or not, when that happens... well we make decisions and if we determine we don't want to raise a child, we wait until it comes out naturally and speak to the office about it to explain the situation."

Both Trishula and Arthur learned a bit more about Ikaria's people that they weren't expecting to hear.

"But obviously since the war... we aren't able to produce eggs. Our bodies only produce eggs when things are healthy, the environment is clean, and especially if we're well fed." She said with a sigh. "I haven't been able to produce an egg in over a month... and the eggs of the royal family fetch about three times as much as a normal citizen's egg. That was actually where 'most' of my money came from... I don't get paid a lot sitting in the base doing paper work..."

"Jeez, I just can't picture myself sitting in a room doing 'paperwork' day in and out." Trishula said as she leaned back. "I'm a starfighter pilot... I wanted to get away from my mother trying to get me to settle down with a purebred Belgan."

Ikaria nodded in agreement as she 'hated' just sitting around in the base doing paperwork, the few times she was allowed to leave were mostly because she was the 'healthiest' soldier on staff and had the energy to stay focused without getting distracted in recent days. That was also why she was picked to go on a food scavenging expedition that day, the dissidents had been quiet, so they figured perhaps the situation for them wasn't as good as the capitol city's position.

"Well, I hope you enjoyed eating, but Trishula and I need to head to bed, we have to attend a dinner party tomorrow at the Coral Palace." Arthur said as he finished the last of his soup finally. "Your father invited me and I asked Trishula to tag along with me, we need to get to bed so we can get ready tomorrow before the dinner."

"Oh yea, Trishula told me you two were heading to the Coral Palace." Ikaria said. "Uhm, in that case, I guess I'll head to the palace tomorrow morning... after breakfast if... you'll tolerate me on board for one more meal. So, I can also... get ready for the party... knowing my dad he'll want me to attend and well... I'm still the second daughter and I have to make sure I'm well dressed for the occasion."

"Alright, I look forward to seeing you there as well!" Trishula said with a warm smile as they got up and placed their dishes in the open slot and it closed, taking them to wherever dishes were taken to get cleaned on the ship.

After that they left the room and headed to the bedrooms while in the mess hall, apparently while they were eating, Mevik had already opened up the bar, as a sign was currently hung up saying "The Gevkan's Night Club, tonight's entertainment headliner, the Finals of the Mubara Racing Circuit!"

"Betting welcomed!"

They could hear music playing loudly in the background and the sounds of laughter and cheering were being heard through the closed door. Most of it seemed to come from Tony and his family as they were always the loudest it seemed. However, while Arthur, Trishula and Ikaria headed to the bedrooms, Trishula and Arthur heading into their current shared room while Ikaria went in alone to Arthur's room, at the back of the ship where all of the cargo bays were situated, stuffed full of boxes and crates filled to the brim with relief aid for the population of the planet, the crew of military personnel were currently getting ready to wrap up their current shift and let the next shift take over and resume offloading the warship.

Hundreds of Aquavrams were working in pairs, lifting the crates and boxes one at a time from the ship and over to various submersibles that were being used to ferry the supplies. It was the fastest way they could get them distributed, but even with constant helping of hands, the work was slow as they had to maneuver 'slowly' through the bubble shield tunnels in set patterns, two being used to transport them out while the others allowed those with free hands to return to the ship to help collect new supplies. It was a slow progress, one that was constantly raised by the soldiers as despite their efforts it would take a further seven days to get everything off at this rate.

After about thirty more minutes the foreman in charge called to everyone to finish the last crates and told them it was time to turn in. Many gratefully welcomed the end, proclaiming they couldn't 'wait' to get back to the barracks and eat a full meal before going to bed. As the last of the soldiers left, happy to let the next shift take over where they left off, the tunnels were left absent as any submersibles took off to begin distributing the supplies to the refugee sectors and other areas of the city that needed the supplies they now carried.

Yet, after a few minutes of silence in which the lights were shifted to a lower setting to save power and until the next group arrived to take over, several Aquavrams in dark outfits and all of them masked, quickly ran through the tunnel and toward the docked starship. They entered the open cargo bay doors, but the ones connected to the city at the moment were empty, the four bays being the first to be worked on and the supplies in them emptied as quickly as possible. The remaining bays were being emptied one by one as the soldiers boarded the ship and dragged the crates out one by one, through the ship's connecting corridors and walkways between the various floors.

These 'stealthy' individuals slipped into the ship, seemingly undetected as they looked around quickly before separating. Some entering the rooms on the floor they entered, and two heading to one of the upper levels on the other side of the ship.

But as they made their way, pulling out a weird device from the folds of their outfits and stuck it to the door, entering a few commands and waiting as the device beeped and booped, a camera slooowly turned to observe them. Once the device turned green, the door opened, and they rushed inside to see several crates in a very 'cold' room. The floor was coated with a chilling mist as this particular bay was filled with various meats needing to be kept in a chilled state for long term preservation. The two Aquavrams nodded and traded gestures, and they split up, still unaware that they were being observed by another camera.

After the separated they pulled out a few more objects from their folds, and began planting them on the various boxes and crates, and upon seeing these devices through the camera... the ship 'responded'.

The whole section of the ship began lighting up in red flashing lights, and various automated turrets revealed themselves, pointing at the intruders with miniature electric stun rifles, locked and loaded.

[Intruders... you are required to stand down! Do not attempt to resist!]

Alas the intruders didn't heed the ship's warning, and upon being detected, many tried to activate their explosive devices before they were stunned. Of the seven that broke into the ship, five were stunned before they could enter a single command. The two that were in the cold room however, quickly ducked and fired upon the stun turrets, one of them punching a button and booking it with his comrade.

[Initiating lock down!]

Seeing the device go active, Great Fox initiated a lock down of the cargo bay and its immediate surrounding, shutting the door the two intruders used to leave instantly, and putting up various force fields to contain the explosion... which occurred 'five' seconds later, and rocked the entire ship. As for the two intruders who escaped the cargo bay, they were stunned by waiting automated turrets the second the door closed.

Up in Arthur's room, Ikaria was almost fast asleep as she was so comfy in the bed, when the ship was rocked slightly. It wasn't much of a shake, barely more than a slight shift, but it was enough that it woke her up slightly. She groggily opened her eyes and yawned, asking in a tired tone, "What was that?"

[Nothing you need be concerned about your majesty, please... go back to sleep.] The ship told her in a polite tone.

She nodded and flopped back into bed, snoring as she was just getting comfy before that shake occurred.

Meanwhile in Trishula's room, Trishula's bed was squeaking and shaking due to her being lifted up and down on Arthur's fully erect member, moaning happily as she had play talked him into role playing a captain taking advantage of his 'pure, innocent pilot' and blackmailing her into doing the deed with him.

"Oh... not inside... anything but inside... you can ravage me... but just don't invade my starport with your fighters!" She moaned as she bounced up and down, her breasts being held and massaged by Arthur's hand as she rode him, 'reverse cowboy style' as he said this position was called.

"Oh fuck... that... nngnh I'm pouring 'every' starfighter I have... right into your port... uuugh yea..." He whispered as he teased her nipples as she continued to bounce up and down on his dick, watching her tail wag happily in a hypnotic fashion.

"No... no... ah...hahhaha... not my starport... please... I don't want... ahah... oh mevulratra... please mercafara captain... don't... ahah~" She panted in a playful mix of native Belgan and Galactic basic. "Please... I'm in heat... I'm not on a pill... I'll get Pregnahaha... pregnant..."

"Oh really..." He playfully said as he slowly leaned up and she nodded in understanding, turning over so she was on all fours and he was mounted behind her. "Well... I've always 'wanted' to see you with a big belly!"

"Ohhhooooh!" She moaned as he began pulling her into his waist while 'still' gripping her breasts, keeping them from bouncing freely and still using his fingers to squeeze and tease her nipples.

"Oh fuck... yea... fuck me I'm... bout to come... get ready little starfighters... get ready to make this girl a mother!" He play-taunted.

"No... no... please no not that~" She squealed in mock fear, winking at him. "Uah... hah... ah... I'm... about to come... please pull out, I'm begging you~!"

Just as they started getting rougher, with her turning herself over so he could shove himself into her more effectively and use the leverage the angle gave his body to push deeper, the ship 'ever so slightly' shook, but it wasn't noticed to them since they were already shaking the bed with their activity.

[Captain Arthur, I beg your pardon for the interruption but I must report that the ship was just attacked by unknown assailants!] The ship said in a rushed tone.

Arthur slowly stopped as he looked up at a camera in the room, and had to switch blood from his lower head to his upper head's brain. "W-what?" He panted as both he and Trishula turned their attention away from each other.

[Yes... I... know you will not like this, considering your current activity... but your presence is requested in the cargo bays. I have already alerted the Aquavram Naval Guard, and soldiers are already en route to the ship.] The ship told him in an apologetic tone. [I have at least subdued the attackers and have placed them into custody, they are currently under guard in the cargo corridor at the rear of the ship. I must also... regretfully inform you... that one of the cargo bays we were using to store our personal food supplies was destroyed by what appears to be an IED, an improvised explosive device.]

"What?!" He yelled as Trishula was looking 'livid', especially as he pulled out and quickly rushed to get clothes on.

"Are... you... fucking kidding me?" She growled in sheer rage as she 'also' got up and started dressing herself. "I was about to fucking... GRR whoever ruined my night is losing their SHIPYARD!"

He quickly put on his uniform as did Trishula, who was faster than him for some reason, though her uniform was put on sloppily as they left and she all but stormed toward the cargo bays, a line escorting them to where the attackers were being held.

"Who the 'hell' would attack us here, we're delivering relief supplies!" He yelled as he ran down a flight of stairs, trying to keep up with Trishula who looked absolutely livid and ready to commit murder.

"I don't know, but whoever they are, just 'fucking' ruined my night with this stunt!" She snarled.

After a few minutes of running, he and Trishula entered the cargo bay section of the ship, and saw that several turrets were extended from the ground, pointing plasma rifles at seven Aquavrams who were all wearing dark clothes and had their arms raised because of the gun turrets pointed at them. Upon arriving Arthur walked in front of Trishula to look at the individuals with a furious glare.

"Alright... you have about however long it takes until the Naval Guard shows up to take custody of you, to explain why you did what you did!" He said. "My ship has shown no hostility toward your people, we're here carrying relief supplies for your people. So 'why' would you try and destroy it when your people were on the verge of starvation before we showed up?"

They all only glanced at him before turning their heads away from him, seemingly wanting to say nothing to him.

"Are you with the dissident movement?" He asked, but again they just ignored him.

Trishula however, was in a very bad mood, and was not patient at waiting for an answer with Arthur's way of interrogating these fools. She's had her private time with Arthur ruined 'twice' today, and this time these idiots just committed the biggest sin... they 'blue balled her'. Now because of this stunt, he and she were probably 'not' going to be getting frisky for the rest of the night. So, when they turned to avoid looking at him out of spite, she snarled and grabbed the 'first' Aquavram in line and growled, baring her fangs.

"The next words out of your mouth better answer his question or 'else'!" She snarled as she could tell this one was male, and only 'two' of them were female.

"Pfft, or what... you'll shoot me?" He snarled back through the mask with a cocky look in his eyes.

"WRONG ANSWER!" She roared as she kneed her prisoner in the jewels with far more force then even what she used against the thugs on Belga Cinco that attacked her and Arthur.

He 'groaned' in so much pain that his eyes almost fell out of their sockets, but she wasn't done as she picked him up again and used the 'other' knee to deliver another blow to his groin.

"That move is what we 'girls' back at the Belgan Military Space Academy learned from our 'instructor' in self-defense class. It's a little number, called the 'nut-cracker'!" She snarled to him as she glared at the other captives, now suddenly having all of the boys undivided attention. "Now... as you can guess by the name... it's a 'painful' move if you're a boy. 'He' taught us that if we just so happen to find ourselves being manhandled by a pirate, and they hold us in a position where we have the chance to kick 'there'... two good knees with the force 'he' just felt... ensures not only will they let us go, but that he never will have kids ever again."

She looked to the eyes of the now crying painful tears Aquavram and snarled, before throwing him to the ground and letting him painfully grasp at his groin. She then looked at the two 'girls' and grinned. "It won't hurt you two nearly as much, oh trust me it hurts still, but it's not nearly as painful for a girl as it is for a boy! You better hope he's had a kid or two, because after 'that' move, I highly doubt he'll be having anymore for the rest of his life!"

She then bent down and grabbed the 'next' guy in line, easily lifting him up and glaring with murderous intent into his now 'terrified' expression. "You guys just ruined my night... because of you seven, I'm not going to get 'anymore' tonight, and neither will my boyfriend... I have to go to sleep after this and I'm going to be BITTER the entire time. And if there's one thing you 'DON'T' want to do... is piss off a Purebred Belgan, when she's with her lover in 'bed'."

The Aquavram she was holding was panicking as he looked into her eyes and then to Arthur's, seemingly pleading for mercy.

He however, was not in the mood for being nice, his night was ruined too, and honestly, since they tried to blow up his ship and cargo, he wasn't exactly keen on playing nice either. "She's right... you shoulda seen what she did to a couple of thugs whose leader punched me in the gut and threatened to kill me and do bad things to her. And they didn't get off any better."

"Ya... so we have until the authorities show up to take you away to get some answers. And I've got 'four' more sets of 'jewels' to crack to get the information my captain wants... for your sake... I hope you have kids to carry with your name... because if you don't answer him... well kiss your dreams of a family goodbye. Trust me, you seven are going to prison regardless, but if you start giving us straight answers, at least 'four' of you will still get to have their dreams of a potential family intact!" She snarled in a dangerous whisper as she wiggled her knee in between his legs. "Let's try again... are you with the dissident movement, yes... or no?"

"Y-YES YES!" He screamed in terror.

"Alright... who ordered this attack?" Arthur asked the Aquavram now.

"I don't know!" He yelled in panic.

"WRONG ANSWER!" Trishula screamed as she kneed him once, then a second time before throwing the prisoner to squeal in pain as he feebly clutched at his groin. "Say goodbye to any 'starfighters' you had in storage, and goodbye to the shipyard that produced them!"

She then reached down and grabbed the 'third' guy, who was now utterly terrified as she glared into his eyes while lifting him up. "Terrans have a 'saying', third time's the charm... same question!"

"We don't know I swear!" He screamed in fear. "The order was given to us anonymously, we received it over a communications broadcast in code. We were just told to destroy the cargo aboard the ship. That's it, I swear! We know nothing more!"

Arthur nodded as he saw several Aquavram soldiers walking toward his ship through the cargo bay door that was open, all of them heavily armed and armored. "Alright last question, 'how' did you get this message sent to you? What was the medium used?"

"The-the city-wide royal court messaging system they used to make political announcements across the city. We saw it on a public announcement stating that as of a few hours ago, the ration stations were now fully supplied and would all return to normal rations from the opening days of the war. It was delivered with a seal from a member of the royal court, a duke's, I don't know their name, only that it was a royal seal! I swear there's nothing else to tell! It carried a coded message that we deciphered, we were ordered to sneak aboard the ship, blow up the cargo and that's it... nothing more!"

Arthur nodded as his ship allowed the soldiers into the bay corridor. "Alright put him down Trishula."

She nodded as she did so by 'punching' the dissident in the face and giving him a black eye to match the clothing he wore as she flung him to the ground. She then finished him off by 'stomping' on his groin with the bottom of her shoe, causing him to yell in pain as he rolled around in agony. She huffed and watched as the soldiers, without any remorse picked up the three Aquavrams from the ground and led them out while the other four were also led out at the tip of spears and with rifles pointed at them.

"Relax, the last guy just got a good kick, he still has his... but he won't be using 'his' for at least a week!" She told the prisoners as she slowly turned and walked away. "Fucking belurara bamilva, mienda starportara fuktara eh looktra palfora tuema Artruartra's Starfighters swarming in tonight!"

The remaining soldiers glanced at him for an explanation as the dissidents were escorted out.

"She... got a bit 'rough' when it came to interrogating them for information." He said. "They were dissidents who boarded my ship, ordered through a message given in code via your city's public announcement system by someone important."

"What did she 'do' to them?" One of the soldiers asked as he was the last to enter and so didn't see her stomp the last prisoner with her foot while he was on the ground.

Arthur was about to answer when his fellow soldier leaned over and whispered to him, causing his eyes to go 'wide' and even shudder in painful terror. "Wha... what did... what did they 'do' to her to deserve 'that'?"

"Well... as you can see..." He said as he tapped the cargo bay door open and showed the damaged inside, lamenting how scarred the ship was now on the inside and seeing all of the remains of the food stored inside now ruined. "They tried to blow up my ship's cargo... and they... 'interrupted' the two of us. In short... they ruined 'our' night."

All of them shuddered in fear as they could just 'feel' without having felt it themselves, the pain dealt from Trishula's knee.

"I have a brother who unfortunately survived such an event. A Purebred Belgan was with her husband at a hotel while visiting the planet and spent the night away from their diplomat's ship." The other soldier said with an understanding expression. "He was drunk, it was one of those nights... he... interrupted them and ruined their romantic night before they could..."

He shuttered as he got ready to leave.

"Poor fool got into a fight with him and kicked him in the groin by mistake, after that, well she got 'protective' and defended him. He had to spend six months in a hospital recovering, doctors say he was lucky she let him off easy with that 'Instactireine' stuff running through her systems, if she had stomped him a few more times, he would have lost... 'them'. She wasn't even trained in the military like her husband, she was just a 'house wife' staying with her husband while he was working as a ship's ensign. Her husband apologized to him, realizing that he was drunk and not himself... but after he threatened him, she got protective. She never gets very physical except to clean their quarters he'd said."

He gave Arthur an understanding nod as he said, "You are lucky your girlfriend is a Purebred Belgan... I've learned 'never' mess with their significant others..."

With that they left and Arthur sighed as he ordered the ship to lock 'everything' down and keep monitoring every Aquavram that approached the ship. If they so much as 'attempted' to get access and weren't permitted to as part of the work force of soldiers to offload cargo, immediately stun and detain them. He also said, don't bother informing him if anymore Aquavrams attempt to break in, just tell the authorities and get them off his ship.

[Yes Captain Arthur... I apologize for... ruining your night.] She said in the most apologetic tone he'd ever heard her speak in. [I was... only doing my duty, alerting you as to the status of the dangers your ship was feeling.]

He nodded and accepted her response, saying it wasn't her fault. However, as he made his way back to his room, he requested that the ship give him a full report of the damage and what was lost in the morning.

[Of course, captain, I will make sure to compile a full list for you in the morning.]

With that he nodded as he wandered into Trishula's bedroom thirty minutes later, having walked more slowly than when he was running to the cargo bays. He was moving slowly because he was thinking about the information he was just 'provided' by the dissidents who tried to attack his ship. They wanted to destroy the supplies, not the ship or even the crew, they went straight for the supplies.

"Alright... Katarra and Kiandra said it probably was the dissidents paying the pirates to intercept and bring the relief aid from the Belga Sector to them on Aquavram Prime. And this all but confirms that theory." He muttered to himself as he was walking the hallway. "So, us arriving ruined their plans, and to try and get it back on track they launched a raid to try and blow up the relief supplies. And they were sent a message in 'code', from someone who was in the royal court. A duke perhaps... this complicates things for our mission, as we have to ensure our supplies are offloaded 'and' the transports can land safely, as only the royal court can issue the order for the mobile starport to be deployed."

As he neared Trishula's bedroom door he thought about what his next moves were. "Someone at the court doesn't want us completing our mission... but 'who'?"

Entering his girlfriend's bedroom, he could already see her settling herself into bed, getting comfy and with a bitter growl escaping her mouth. He understood her feeling, now that the ship had been attacked, she had to be alert and ready to get up and defend the ship should something happen from that moment on. He walked over to the bed and began removing his uniform 'again', dumping it in the clothes bin so it could get washed, noticing that Trishula had dumped all her clothes in as well, including her bra and panties.

As he stripped down to nude status, wanting to at least match her and give her 'some' form of pleasure for their night being ruined, he climbed into bed with her and she turned to cuddle him.

She gave him a sly smirk as he carefully slid his semi-hard member to her entrance, and pushed it in, causing her to coo in delight as she cuddled into his embrace.

"Mhmmm... thank you Arthur... I wish we could do more but... I can't let my starport be distracting me tonight, if I need to deploy in my Arwing to defend the ship or respond with my fellow pilots... I need to be ready." She whispered to him softly.

"I know... I just wanted to apologize for earlier..."

"Wasn't your fault... damn dissidents ruining our night, right as I was getting into it..." She responded bitterly as she wiggled to give his member some stimulation, not to get it excited and moving, but to at least feel him push a little deeper into her starport. "Well... spaceport Trishula apologizes to Mini Arthur-1, but we have to keep our hanger bays closed to all starfighters attempting to disembark. All we can offer for you tonight... is a minor maintenance cycle... free of charge for our failure to assist in your 'combat maneuvers' simulation earlier..."

"Mini Arthur-1 to Spaceport Trishula, we understand your grievances." He whispered softly to her with a soft kiss, to which she reciprocated and they both snuggled into bed, while her sex continued to twitch and massage his member the entire night, keeping it in a semi-hard state due to constant stimulation.

In the morning hours, Mevik was the first to wake up and leave his room to head to his kitchen to get started on breakfast. Yawning after a long night of drinks and laughter from the exciting finals before, he started getting his kitchen ready to make breakfast, calling up the pieces of food he would need. Deciding today he would make his special 'Pumara Omlettes with seasoned Berluva Boar Sausages, he punched in commands on a nearby console he used to have the ship deliver his supplies from the cargo bays they used to store his personal food requests.

Unfortunately, when he entered the command to call up a small crate of his Berluva Boar meat, the system gave him an 'error, unable to comply' message.

"Wha... Great Fox, what is the meaning of this message?" He said as he tried entering the command again, but the error came back again.

[I apologize for this inconvenience, however last night several dissidents attempted to board the ship and destroy our cargo with IEDs.] The ship told him. [While the relief supplies were protected, one of the cargo bays we used to store our personal food supplies was hit. The damage was minimal and the blast was contained to a small section of the bay... but your stockpile of Berluva Boar Meat was sadly destroyed in the blast.]

"WHAT?" He yelled in shock as he ran out of the kitchen to the cargo bays. "Please let there be some left, please let there be some left, PLEASE let there still be SOME left!"

Minutes later he arrived at the cargo bay door which he knew contained the Berluva Boar meat, and it was as the ship said when he opened the door to check inside, scorch marks and explosive remains covered the walls and ceiling while a forcefield was put up to protect the rest of the bay and the supplies it carried and minimize the damage done. However, the remains of his precious Berluva Boar Meat he'd special ordered from Belga Cinco's port authority before they left littered the floor. The crates that contained them was busted open and incinerated meat littered the floor and walls. Not even a single portion remained for him to use.

"My precious BERLUVA BOAR MEAT!" He screamed in horror. "That stuff costs an arm and a LEG to get meat of that quality, only high-class restaurants can afford it! I considered myself LUCKY to be able to request it for the ship's crew because Captain Arthur is a Freelance Captain! They would 'never' have supplied us with that meat if we had any other captain!"

While Mevik moaned at the loss of one of his best meats, the rest of the crew slowly woke up and made their way to the mess hall to wait on breakfast. But when it came time to eat Mevik was solemn as he came out not carrying what he 'originally' planned to make, but hotcakes and bacon slices.

"Ay what's wrong Mevik, ya look like someone who just had their jewels crushed by an angry Purebred Belgan girl." Tony asked as he stood in line behind his wife, who happily jumped and accepted her plate of food.

"Hmpf... apparently a group of 'Dissidents' boarded the ship in the dead of night, and BLEW UP one of the cargo bays!" Mevik complained bitterly as he plopped some cakes onto Tony's plate. "They were trying to blow up the relief supplies, but the only cargo that was lost was in the bay they blew up, that contained the 'ship's' supplies for the crew. My precious Berluva Boar meat was caught in the blast... not even a small crate survived."

"Ooooh that is a crying shame... explains why yer makin hotcakes for the second mornin in a row." Tony muttered in understanding. "That stuff be costin an arm an a leg. I should know, I'm missin one of each! Hahahaha!"

"Hmpf, well I 'hope' they received the most painful justice this planet can give them. I'm going to lodge a complaint to the Aquavram Government, I'm going to demand financial compensation to the ship and its crew for the food we 'lost'!" Mevik roared with an angry fist as Yumi, Katarra and Vanessa yawned while walking in.

"Don't worry Mevik, I'm sure the captain and the ship will be compensated. At least it was only the Berluva Boar Meat that was lost right?" Tony's wife said apologetically.

"Yes, but that meat is expensive, and I was planning several dishes with it today!" Mevik moaned sadly. "Now I have to change my menus because of those dissidents!"

"Hrnng... dissidents attacked the ship last night, well that explains the rocking I felt last night!" Katarra muttered bitterly.

"Yea, ship said that the situation last night was being 'handled' by Captain Arthur and Trishula." Yumi agreed as they got in line behind Tony's sons.

"Hopefully we can finish up here on the planet and leave." Vanessa agreed. "I don't like staying on a planet still in the middle of a civil war."

"Say, where's Trishula, normally she joins us to get food before heading off to eat with the captain?" Yumi asked as Ikaria walked in that morning, yawning slightly as she waved to the pilots, feeling a little more comfortable around them.

"Yea, hey Great Fox, is Trishula on her way here or is she already dining with the captain this morning?" Vanessa asked.

[Ace Pilot Trishula and Captain Arthur have elected to skip breakfast this morning, on account of having to stay up later than usual last night in response to the dissident assault on the ship. Furthermore, they will be spending most of the day preparing for the royal banquet later in the evening.] The ship informed Vanessa.

"Oh, I was kind of hoping to eat with them again..." Ikaria muttered a little sadly as she stood in line to get breakfast with the others behind the pilots. "Wait, dissidents attacked the ship last night, and I wasn't notified?"

[Affirmative, it was not in need of your attention, as their objective seems to have been the destruction of the relief supplies. Fortunately, Captain Arthur and Trishula were still awake and able to tend to the situation and even interrogated the culprits before handing them over to the Aquavram Naval Guard. Though... Trishula was not in the most... 'pleasant' of moods when the event occurred. According to medical reports, at least 'two' of the dissidents suffered extensive and 'irreparable physical trauma' to their pelvic region...]

At that nearly every guy in the room 'flinched' and sharing a collective groan of pain, with Ikaria not aware of what everyone was talking about and looking confused why all of the boys were acting the way they were.

"Uh... am I missing something."

Vanessa however, rolled her eyes with a grin as she heard the 'real' message. "It's a Female Purebred Belgan thing, you wouldn't understand." She said with a chuckle. "Oh well, guess you'll have to slum it up with us 'normies' then your majesty!"

While Ikaria ate with the pilots of Trishula's Pack, Trishula herself and Arthur were enjoying a kiss in her bathroom, gasping for air as she had her legs wrapped around his waist while the water ran over them, both leaning heavily against the wall of the shower while tiny trails of leaked juices trickled down and onto the floor from where their two sexes were joined.

They had 'just' finished up a hot session with each other, with Arthur pulling a reverse card on Trishula and actually teasing 'her' into sex and being the one to take the initiative. Even 'with' feeling his dick in her pussy the entire night she had been frustrated and was expecting nothing that morning since later they had to go to a fancy dinner party. However, when she felt Arthur slip into her bathroom since she woke up first and was first in, thinking she'd get ready to go and brief her squadron, she found herself being teased from behind, her breasts being groped and felt him pull her into a kiss.

Not expecting the sudden show of affection, she just said he was 'bold' to assume she wanted sex first thing in the morning, and saying that it was a dangerous game to play with a Purebred Belgan to approach them naked in the shower. Especially when they weren't thinking of being intimate with their partner that morning. His response...

"I've learned a lot about Purebred Belgan girls since I arrived on Belga Cinco, and I think it's more dangerous if I leave my ace pilot frustrated for too long after both of us were blue balled last night." He said with a somewhat playful tone. "Now get ready... because my carrier's fleet of starships are getting ready to launch into attack formation, and this time... they won't be stopped until they 'land' in your starport!"

"Oh... a 'fearless' carrier and its 'brave' captain, along with an army of courageous starfighters are daring to attack 'my' starport and its powerful defenses?" She asked as she gave him mini pecks on the lips, feeling him reach down and lift her legs and helping him position his dick while holding onto his shoulders tightly. "Do your 'worst'..."

And during that morning while everyone was eating breakfast, he plowed her sex with all the strength he could muster, before delivering the payload of 'starfighters' that failed to launch last night, and that morning's batch, overflowing her womb and actually causing her to feel 'full' with how much he came in her.

"Haaah... haah..." She moaned happily as she slowly let herself down and leaned into his chest. "I fucking needed that release this morning Arthur... oh fukara meluvra... you gave me what I needed."

"Oh, you are 'not' kidding, I needed that so much I actually feel better now." He agreed with her. "But what can you expect... when you spend the night with the most beautiful Purebred Belgan Girl in the galaxy naked in your arms and feeling her pussy massaging your dick, you'd be frustrated to from lack of any 'activity' going on."

"No kidding, I woke up seeing you still asleep and was half tempted to start riding you! I was so frustrated I was 'actually' mad at myself for pulling you out and heading to the shower first."

After sharing another kiss, they started to clean themselves off, or more cleaning 'each other' as she teased him and asked him to clean her breasts while she 'cleaned' his starship with her hands. But eventually they were finished and actually left the shower to put on clothes and get on with the day. Trishula said she'd go and brief her squadron in his private dining room and he told Great Fox to alert them to head there after eating. Meanwhile he went to the Bridge to take a look at the full list of damages done and what was lost from inventory.

"Let's see the damage Great Fox." He said as he sat down and various holographic windows appeared.

[Very well, as you see Cargo Bay F-4 was the only bay damaged. Fortunately, all of our cargo bays are divided into sections. Despite how large they are individually; each cargo bay is divided into smaller sections to make it easier to store large quantities of cargo and secure them for preservation purposes. This also makes it ideal to minimize potential damages inflicted to the ship and the cargo.] She said as she brought up the images of the damage done to the bay. [None of the relief supplies were damaged, although Cargo bays D-6, R-2, D-2 and K-3 were threatened, only Cargo Bay F-4 was damaged. The IED only did damage to the rear section of the bay, so only about twenty meters of space was affected. However, Mevik's entire stockpile of Berluva Boar meat, and a few crates of Porkulvra Borkrus meat was lost in the explosion, as well as the cooling system used in that compartment. We have lost at least two days' worth of meat, and Mevik has already filed a complaint with the Aquavram Government demanding financial compensation for the food we lost. While I am 'sure' he has good intentions, I have also filed a complaint requesting financial compensation for the damages the ship suffered, under our mission contract. We have already been approved by the Royal Court, and payments have been made in the form of six hundred thousand MPC. However, they cannot affect repairs for us, so Tony and his family will have to handle the job. They are already aware and have begun fixing the damages done.]

He just 'sighed' at that.

"How did they even get on board in the first place?" He asked the ship now.

[I was monitoring them as they entered the cargo bay corridor, and began noticing them breaking into the cargo bays themselves. While I would have immediately demanded they halt as intruders, I was unsure of their intentions or motives, and as such... I waited until I could have a reason to issue a 'citizen's arrest' against them, and placed them into custody.] The ship replied, but it sounded very apologetic. [I apologize deeply, but until they gave me reason, I was hesitant to engage them for fear of using the wrong level of force for the situation. If I had been aware they were going to attempt to damage the ship in any way, I would not have hesitated to use lethal responses. I will not make this mistake again.]

He nodded as he didn't blame his ship at all. It needed a 'reason' to respond, otherwise it was hesitant to respond without understanding the situation. "Don't worry Great Fox, in the end everyone was safe and sound, and you probably stopped more damage from occurring with your response. If you instantly recognized them and tried to stop them, they might have escaped and then we'd have no knowledge of them or proof of them." He said to the giant spherical computer below his chair. "Besides, you're safe... that's all that matters to me as captain of you. If you're safe, then so is everyone on board, and that's all that matters."

[Thank you... I... appreciate your words.] She said in a heartwarming tone. [I will... still strive to never let this happen again though. You have my word.]

He nodded as he got up and left the bridge, "Alright, well I need to do some clothes trying in my quarters now. Do you have some formal outfits for me to try?"

[Affirmative captain, I've collected multiple articles of clothing that would suit your needs for a formal occasion.] She replied warmly as he walked out and headed back to his room. [I will prepare the outfits for you and they will be ready for you when you arrive!]

Minutes later he found himself in his room as various clothes hung from slots in the ceiling for him to try and peruse. They were all variations of his standard captain's uniform, but obviously more 'dress-like' and meant to be for formal occasions. His first fit was a light blue shirt with a dark blue overcoat that had broad shoulder pieces and leathery frills along the rim of the jacket that went to just above his hips. It also came with a set of white dress pants that had tiny belts along the pockets and even a miniature 'pocket watch' strapped to one of the belts.

"Hrmmm... Ugh, this is where I wish my mother were here to tell me I look handsome and I'm worth a million bucks... er... 'credits'." He muttered as he examined himself in the viewscreen which created a reflection of him to look at while trying out the outfit.

[I could tell you that if you require it captain.] The ship told him warmly.

"Alright, give me your best impersonation~!" He said with a halfhearted chuckle.

[You look so handsome, like your worth a million credits!] The ship told him a loving tone.

He laughed so hard with how 'silly' his ship sounded to him. "Ooooh thank you Great Fox... but it just doesn't have the same ring as if my mother told me." He told the ship apologetically.

[I apologize... I did my best.]

"No problem Great Fox, anyway, it's more of a 'mother' thing, moms always tell their sons they look so handsome in a uniform and they love seeing them dress up." He said as he got out of the clothes and placed them in the bin again. "Alright, let's try the next one."

His next outfit consisted of a light purple dress shirt with cloth frills along the cuffs and around the buttons, giving it a very 'flowery' appearance from the front. It came with a dress coat and dress pants as well, the dress coat being an azure blue while having little shoulder straps, tuffles along the cuffs and going to just below his waist. As for pants, they were similar to the white dress pants before, but along the sides were little floral decorations.

"Hrrm... I don't know, what do you think Great Fox?" He asked as he turned around and looked at his reflection.

[You look stunning, like a well admired captain!] Great Fox told him in a proud tone.

"Hmhm, almost sounded like my mother for a moment there." He muttered. "Eh... too many flowers decorating me. Flowers aren't exactly my thing... alright onto the next one."

The next outfit was a very light blue dress shirt that again had floral decorations along the cuffs and rim, but no frills. As for the dress jacket to accompany it, the jacket was dark navy blue that seemed to have frills along the cuffs, rim, and hem of the entire thing to compensate for the shirt's lack of them but it was short sleeved and only went to his waist. And, just like the previous two outfits, it came with a white set of dress pants that only had light floral patterns etched into them.

"Hrmm, well I like the colors at least, too many frills... your comments Great Fox?" He asked as he turned around.

[You look amazing, like a magnificent captain worthy of respect and admiration!]

He smirked as he at least had 'one' fan no matter what he wore. "Thank you, but that uniform has 'way' too many frills for my liking... colors are great, and I like the shirt but the frills... too many." He said as he began to change again for the next outfit.

Every time he changed outfits it took him almost ten to fifteen minutes to take one off and put on a new one with how difficult they were to get into. And Great Fox seemed to have pulled 'several' outfits, far more than what he was expecting or even imagined she was capable of carrying, something he felt was very odd all things considered. He was at it for so long that he'd actually skipped lunch as he looked at the next batch of outfits hanging for him.

"Great Fox, how many outfits do you 'have'?" He asked as another set was lowered for him to try, having gone through nine so far and astonished that she had another 'five' ready and waiting for him.

[I have several pieces stockpiled in the outfit's storage room, however there are many pieces of clothing that you have been repeatedly wearing but in various combinations. I figured if you couldn't find one particular outfit that fit your tastes, you would eventually find a 'combination' of pieces you liked that would suit your interests.]

He snapped his fingers in understanding now. It all made sense, he was 'wondering' why some pieces looked similar to ones he already tried on, she was just taking the outfits he didn't like and separating them from the ones he did like.

"Well, keep it going then, I'm sure I'll find a set that I adore and I look good in." He said as he grabbed another set and started putting the outfit on to see how it looked.

Outfit after outfit he tried, but still he just didn't see one he liked, causing him to growl in frustration as he just did NOT understand how girls could go about this ordeal. How come 'they' have the patience to try on fifty outfits and find the enthusiasm to keep going, while he was almost 'done' with trying on outfits after 'seven'. But he kept at it, knowing that he had to look his best if he was going to be showing up to the Coral Palace. Eventually though, he found the combination of pieces that he found himself looking his best in.

The light purple dress shirt he first put on more resembled a simple dress shirt, but there were little waves etched into the cuffs of the sleeves with little gold buttons along the front folds. For the jacket he wore a light blue dress jacket that had little shoulder clamps and slightly shorter sleeves that permitted the shirt's sleeves to show through, but the jacket itself went to his knees and only needed three buttons to close it up. Finally, he just accepted having to have white dress pants, but these had a more animalistic pattern along the leggings, the image of a fox jumping from the bottom of his feet toward his waist.

Turning around he looked at the back and found himself liking his outfit more and more, but to complete the image he went to the closet and picked up the captain's dress hat to wear. Putting it on, he smiled as he stood at attention and gave pretend salute to a random officer in front of him.

"Alright Great Fox, your rating?"

[A solid eleven out of ten captain, you look well refined and highly noble among all Terrans.] The ship said in a proud tone. [The Royal Court will be jealous of your appearance!]

"Hmhmhm, something tells me you would have said that regardless of what I wore." He said as he nodded in agreement. "But I won't reject a compliment when given to me. Well hopefully I... oh fuck me..." He said as he suddenly remembered one 'important' detail about this formal party at the Coral Palace that he completely forgot about.

[Is something wrong Captain?] The ship asked in a worried tone as he sat down on the bed.

"I just remembered... I have no clue on how to dance... or how to act at a formal dinner!" He muttered as he held his head. "I haven't been to a formal dinner or 'anything' like that since I was a kid... the most formal thing I remember last attending was my College Graduation ceremony. I don't know how to 'dance'! Uuuugh I'm going to make such an utter FOOL of myself, what was I 'THINKING' accepting the invitation!"

He stared at the camera that was Great Fox watching him in the room with an utter dead expression, "I don't suppose it's too late to fake my death so I can get out of going?"

[I am sorry captain, but I am afraid that your presence is 'expected' in a few hours at the coral palace.] The ship told him in an apologetic and worried tone.

"Oh lovely... and I am probably going to be expected to 'dance'... Oh sure I can bullshit my way through a high-profile conversation, but a 'dance'? I can't dance... I don't know how to dance! If I end up having to dance, 'especially' with Trishula I'll embarrass her AND me!" He moaned as he held his face with the palms of his hands. "I don't mind embarrassing myself, I can take people laughing behind my back... but not Trishula, I don't want to make her look bad by 'me' being an idiot and looking 'stupid'..."

He was feeling utterly hopeless, he had just a 'few' hours until he had to go to the Coral Palance and present himself before the Royal Court with his guest Trishula, and he just remembered the 'biggest' detail about formal parties that he forgot about and had no knowledge about. All the while the camera continued to watch him intently.

"What am I going to do, I never even had the courage or 'hope' to get a date to my high school prom, let alone a girl I could dance with before Trishula? I'm going to embarass her so badly... maybe I should tell her to stay behind... no she's looking 'forward' to going out with me, I can't do that to her..."

He took several deep calming breaths as he tried to come up with a solution, trying to think of a way out of this predicament. [Captain?]

He looked up at the camera as all of the remaining outfits that were still hanging were removed since he had selected an outfit it seemed.

[It may not be the most 'ideal' solution, but if you wish I can attempt to at least, teach you how to do the Waltz. A common Terran dance often done at Formal Occasions. While Trishula may be more familiar with 'Belgan' dances, considering her Purebred status, there is not nearly enough time to instruct you on the more common dances she may be familiar with regarding her Breed and customs. However, a simple... and brief tutelage of the Terran dance known as the Waltz, should be sufficient... at least for this party.]

He actually was taken aback by the fact that his ship knew how to 'dance'. Considering she was... a 'ship AI', it seemed very unusual that she would need to have information about such a subject when it had nothing to do with managing or running the ship. "I was unaware you could actually do something like that, when did you learn how to dance?"

[I am knowledgeable of many subjects, while they may never be brought up, my database includes a multitude of topics, subjects, information and details regarding areas that are not just related to maintaining ship functions and operations.] Great Fox replied as two mechanical arms lowered from the ceiling, little clamps flexing to simulate hands. [As time is of the essence I suggest we begin your instruction now, let us begin with the first basic step... first... bow to your partner-]

Not wanting to look a gift offered to him and turn it away, Arthur got up and started listening to the instructions offered by his ship and trying his best to memorize them so he would not both embarrass himself and Trishula at the royal party. Meanwhile, Trishula was in her room undergoing similar instructions, unaware that the ship had chosen to teach them the same dance for the same party for the exact same reason as the other. As he was tutored by the ship, he vowed the next chance he could get to thank Kiandra for her impeccable foresight with Great Fox's ship AI.

But hours later arrived and it was 'time' for him to finally leave with Trishula aboard the Blue Fox to head to the Coral Palace. As he left his room feeling at least a 'little' more confident about the night, he was met by Trishula as she too left her room wearing her formal dress for the occasion. Her outfit was a military dress styled along the standard uniforms he and his pilots wore aboard Great Fox, but where the two deviated was the fact that instead of a vest, she wore a beautiful light jacket-like vest that was completely open from the front and wrapped around the arms and went down to her hips and curved backward, ending in a gown-like cape that extended all the way to just above her heels.

The jacket-vest was silvery blue in coloring and featured a stitched outline of Great Fox's emblem with the star peaking over a horizon and had light frills along the edges going around the cape and gown. She wore a stunningly pretty emerald-blue dress shirt that had a light v-cut that was just tight enough to keep her D-Cup breasts from sticking out, but still showed off her feminine curves and a bit of her cleavage to the world. She wore a second dress piece that resembled the lower half of a dress that was cut in a reverse U shape and split off toward the bottom, showing off the combed fur of her legs and revealing her wearing special dance shoes that had little heels on the end. Around her neck she had a simple metallic string necklace whose centerpiece was a stylized jewel cut into two heart pieces, one blue and the other pink, where the pink heart was a full heart, while the blue was the outer heart encasing the first.

As she walked out, she turned to see Arthur in his dress outfit as he saw her in hers. "Captain... how do I look?" She asked as she did a little twirl to show off her entire figure.

"You look 'very' beautiful..." He said with a smile, unable to believe that the beautiful Purebred Belgan in front of him was his girlfriend, and counting his lucky stars that he could go out with a beauty like her.

"Thanks... and you look handsome~." She said as she walked over and wrapped her arm around his with a smile. "You look very refined and amazing in that outfit."

"Thank you..." He said with a smile as he glanced at the necklace. "What's the necklace, where'd that come from?"

"Oh this?" She asked as she lifted it and held it in her hand. "It's... the only piece of jewelry I have, it's a gift from my father that he sent to me at the academy when I finally moved out of my mother's home. It's a common jewelry piece, it's called the Intertwined Hearts Necklace." Trishula smiled as she gently stroked the main piece with her thumb. "It's made by smelting two pieces of gemstones of different colors, one to represent the heart we have, the other to represent the other heart every Belgan is looking for that resides in the one we're destined for. When I moved out, dad sent it as his way of saying, no matter who you love never forget what truly matters. He didn't want me to just marry some random Purebred because my mother wanted me to, he wanted me to be happy with whoever I ended up with... he wanted me to find my 'other heart' out there."

"Wow... wish we had stuff like this where I was from... we have rings and necklaces and jewelry but nothing this decorative." He said as he looked at it.

"Yea... like I said it's a common piece of jewelry, at least half of Belgans get a variation of it as a necklace, a ring, a pendent or even a bracelet." She said as she let it hang again as she looked to him now. "So, shall we get going?"

He nodded and together they started leaving toward the hanger bay. As they exited into the Hanger Bay, he could see that Blue Fox was undergoing a final shining from the ship, various mechanical arms spraying various liquids to clean it down and making it sparkle and shine. "Wow, I never noticed how much Blue Fox could sparkle." He muttered as the ramp extended and the arms were retracted.

[Since you are attending a formal dinner party, you should arrive in a ship of pristine quality. A good shining is the least that can be done.] The ship told him proudly.

He and Trishula entered into the transport and both elected to sit down in the standard seating instead of in the pilot's and co-pilot's seat. Once they were both seated the ship sealed up and Great Fox began the takeoff procedure. They were slowy turned, positioned and placed outside of the ship and into the water of Aquavram Prime, and once they were let go the ship started on its way from the vessel and toward a very far Bubble Biome on the other side of the vast chasm.

As they approached the largest and probably most important bubble biome of Arquoovra Majesta, Arthur began to notice the large coral-palace that dominated and ruled the entirety of the planet and every Aquavram in the capitol city. It was a vast structure of multiple buildings linked together by coral-structures, contained in the largest Bubble shield he'd seen on the planet thus far. The various architecture flowed and shaped from coral gave it a very 'wavy' appearance and it was a stark contract compared to the rest of the city where structures seemed made of more 'modern' materials like concrete and steel that he recognized, and the closer one got to the palace the more obvious it was how old the city was as those structures were made entirely of coral and built into and out of the world around it as a whole.

"Wow, they weren't kidding when they used the words 'coral palace' to describe the location." He said to her.

"Yea... definitely a 'coral palace'." She muttered as the transport slowly approached the biome and passed through the shield.

After they entered the biome, the transport slowly lowered toward a large platform made entirely of coral and set down, eventually Great Fox set down and informed them they were free to depart. Arthur smiled and held out his hand for Trishula to take, and with a smirk she accepted it and they left the transport, walking down the ladder and headed toward the palace entrance that was guarded by several Aquavram Guards in very ornate shell armor. Each guard they passed bowed lightly, maintaining a stoic face and allowing them to pass by without incident. He was surprised that they weren't even asking him for a retinal scan.

As they passed through the main gate and entered the royal courtyard they were treated to an elaborate garden of coral trees, fountains, statues of various aquatic creatures and beautiful sculptures made of pearl, marble, coral and other aquatic-themed stones and elements. The pathway they walked on toward the palace itself was of tightly packed stones placed in a very shallow river of water that flowed over the grounds and was either ejected out into the ocean or flowed 'from' the ocean itself, creating a beautiful illusion of an endless river that they were barely floating atop.

But as they entered the palace and even more elaborately armored and even 'armed' guards, carrying spears and decorations on their persons, a magnificently opulent gate of marble opened to allow them entry.

Walking into the palace they were greeted by an Aquavram servant who wore a dress and a necklace made of pearls. She bowed them in and welcomed them on behalf of his Majesty, King Gungadara the Third, and Her Majesty Queen Inkamaria of the Royal Family and the Royal Court.

They were led down the main corridor past various paintings made entirely of coral, through various archways with statues of pearl, marble, coral and natural lightings from bioluminescent structures and other 'modern' lighting instruments. For several rooms they walked, taking almost ten minutes until finally they could hear various chatter from a gated room that had multiple guards stationed outside, and upon his and Trishula's Approach, the guards all bowed and opened the double doors for them to 'finally' enter the banquet hall.

The room was a mixture of Coral, Marble and Pearl with various light-like chandeliers hanging from above casting a heavenly glow upon the floor below where over two hundred Aquavrams ranging from different colors of blue, light blue, dark blue and aquamarine hues, all wearing dresses and suits and other outfits ranging from so many different colors and fashions and various pieces of jewelry upon them, mostly the ladies though as Trishula and Arthur noted. Around the outer section of the room were numerous tables and chairs each topped with an ornate marble statue of a random Aquatic creature as the centerpiece as well as various plates. Ringing the perimeter on a series of raised platforms of shells high above the crowd were various musicians playing instruments they couldn't make out, but they created a musical tone that sounded reminiscent of classical music one would hear at a 'fancy royal ball' he remembered seeing in some movies, and at the head above a raised dais where four thrones made entirely of coral a maestro was waving a pair of sticks directing the musical score being played.

The various 'political elites' currently there were talking animatedly to one another in high-society sounding tones and occasionally laughing at something their peers said, until the doors were opened and a 'butler' lifted a thing piece of coral with writing upon it, and said in a very loud voice, "Presenting... His Royal Highness' Guest of Honor... Freelance Captain Arthur Smith, of the Starship Great Fox... and his guest of honor, Ace Pilot Trishula Belga Uno-Galara!" the Butler finished with a short bow, to which every Aquavram in the room applauded him and Trishula.

Both Arthur and Trishula bowed slightly as they were greeted and stepped forward among the thralls of Aquavram Social Elites who returned to their conversations. Arthur noticed that several of these 'nobles' were obviously well fed, indicating that they weren't suffering 'nearly' as badly as the people were. It annoyed him a little that even in a galactic setting, the rich elite felt 'none' of the common people's problems, even in the midst of a civil war, but he ignored it as he smiled and joined the groupings closest so he could join the talking with Trishula, and not stand out with her nearly as much since they were the only 'non' Purebred Aquavrams in the room.

"Oh Arthur Smith, I must say... you look ravishing this evening!" A 'dutchess' said as she held up a pair of tiny spectacles to her eyes that were situated on an elongated stick. "And your guest, I must say dear, your dress is 'most' striking, tell me who designs it."

"Why thank you ma'am, you flatter us." He said with a chuckle as he bowed his head slightly and shook her hand.

"Indeed, thank you... as for my dress, well I have to admit, it's a custom design, it's a mixture of Eldentran and Belgan designs." Trishula said as she too smiled.

"Ah, I see... I must say if you pardon my saying, I would not peg Eldentrans to be such masterful dress designers, perhaps since I've not had the chance to meet one in person, but I would 'never' have guessed they make such lovely dresses." A duke said now as he addressed the two.

"Well, 'I' happen to have met an Eldentran, quite the learned scholar, one of the most brilliant minds of the era, if I may say so myself." Another duke declared proudly, his 'triple chins' rolling with each word as he shook Arthur's hand now in greeting. "Tell me Arthur, in your travels have you ever 'been' to Eldentra Magnus?"

"I... have to say no, I am afraid not... as a Freelance Captain I never get the chance to visit any system freely... as soon as I am finished with a job, I get hired for another. It... doesn't leave much time to sightsee." He said with a smile.

"Nasty, I say, everyone should spend 'some' time every week for one's self, it is beneficial to their mental and emotional health I daresay!" Another dutchess declared in a pompous voice.

"We will try our best to take your words to heart..." Trishula said with a nod.

"Yes... say, you said you happen to have 'met' an Eldentran, eh what was his name by chance, perhaps I've met him?" Another Duke asked from behind Arthur.

"Erhoho yes, yes... if I recall correctly, his name was Klenduthara Tiamortara-Veniklara... quite a fellow, and quite the philosopher I daresay!" The Aquavram said proudly, gently tapping his large belly with a hearty smile. "He was of the opinion, that the true reason one is ever 'born' is to achieve a greater good through their deeds in the service of his or her peers' individual needs and not in service to the galactic state! He said, if you'll pardon me the time to say this in full, that when we ignore the individual's life in ignorance of the galactic whole, we become leadened to the weight upon the individual's shoulders, in favor of our own, forgetting that our burdens are just as heavy as the individual we meet upon the street. Yes, yes indeed he said, if again you will pardon me for a moment of your time, he declared to me... and again this is in the simplest of terms mind you, for he was a 'very' orally spoken individual even among Eldentrans, that 'life' should not perpetuate a state of suffering for another if it permits the beneficial offerings of life to the individual... that is to say, again if you will permit me your time-"

Arthur and Trishula continued to listen to this Aquavram Noble talk and talk to them and his fellow colleagues of a philosophical debate he had for five minutes. After they all nodded and started agreeing and even adding other points to the discussion, they tried to make an excuse to leave the group before another, a Dutchess this time, began talking to them all about the beautiful art of ship design, mentioning how Arthur's vessel was quite a stunningly beautiful vessel to the naked eye. She went into this long oration about how artistic beauty should not be shuttered and stifled with ship building in favor of streamlined effectivity, and was even, since that morning, spending 'all' day painting the Great Fox in an ocean background and telling Arthur his ship makes a magnificent centerpiece for her art collection.

Again, they tried to slip away, but mere 'moments' after the Dutchess finished talking and butlers offered them water beverages and wines, which Arthur and Trishula only accepted the waters since they didn't drink, another Duke began going into a long narration about music. He said that he was planning on a new opera once this 'nasty civil war' was finally over and done with, and mentioning how thanks to Arthur's ship, he had a perfect emotional orator for his opera and even asked if Arthur would accept royalties in exchange for the use of his ship's name. Arthur politely declined, saying that he was free to use his ship in his story, provided they didn't lie about certain details, to which the duke proudly declared he would keep his word as an honorable gentleman.

Finally, after a bout of laughter from when one of the other dukes proclaimed a joke that got everyone to laugh, Arthur and Trishula made the excuse that they wanted to go and mingle with the others and finally got away from the group to walk around, pretending to socialize with each other.

"Arthur how long have we been here?" Trishula asked in the quietest whisper as she used her drinking a sip from her glass to talk to him.

"How long Great Fox?" He whispered to his HUD Headset.

[You have only been present at the palace for twenty minutes Captain Arthur, I hope you are enjoying your time~.] The ship replied in a pleased tone.

"Twenty minutes." He replied.

"Twenty minutes?" She whispered again out of the corner of her lips, using her glass and pretending she was smiling. "Uuuugh... I'm 'actually' wishing we were back in space fighting pirates. To think Vanessa came from a family that went to parties like 'this'."

"Yep... just endure it... if we can endure a huge armada of pirates, we can endure a social party." He told her in agreement.

"I have more to fear dying of boredom here, then I do against pirates in starships..." Trishula muttered. "To think I skipped lunch to practice for this..."

"I skipped lunch too; hope they serve food soon. By the way you made up that story about your dress, right?"

"Yea, first thing that came to my mind... seemed accurate enough..."

"Ah Arthur Smith!" A warm voice called out, and both Arthur and Trishula turned to smile and bow as another Aquavram noble beckoned him to join his social group.

"Hello there sir..."

"I am Lord Morpha, fifth in my line to be in charge of sector Quartara-Arquoovara Majesta. That is 'my' sector that your ship is currently docked in. I was recently told by the Naval Guard that your ship had a nasty run in with dissidents." The Lord, a very 'portly' individual said as he wore a patch over one eye and had a special neck piece placed over his gills, to which Arthur and Trishula nodded that indeed they did have a run in. "Nasty business this civil war, I do apologize that your ship was assaulted, but rest assured I made it a rush and a heavy priority of myself to inform his majesty the king that you should have been compensated for your losses and the damages your ship took. Nasty business I must say, but all's well that ends well. I was just telling my wife, my lovely lady here, that these dissidents are being a trife rude, attacking a ship bringing relief aid, oh how rude I said, and she was in agreement with me, weren't you my sweet? Anyway, as I was telling her, those dissidents should have put aside their disagreements with the government and just let the supplies be offloaded without any attempts to hinder the workers 'or' the ship escorting them. Because you see-"

Arthur and Trishula both smiled as politely and friendly as they could while internally both were 'screaming' for the dissidents to bomb the palace and create a distraction to save them from the overly long talk they were now being tortured with. On and on they went from one group to another, every second they weren't able to escape from the numerous nobles of the royal court and were subjected to whatever topic of discussion they were going on about with their peers around them. From Lord Morpha talking about how it was 'pathetic' of the dissidents to attack his ship, to Lady Muathara admiring Trishula's necklace and then going into a long 'ten minutes' talk with her fellow Ladies and Dutchesses about all the various types of 'off-worlder' jewelry she has in her family's collection. On and on and 'on' it went for over an hour. Arthur could see why Ikaria did not 'want' to come to the royal court for as long as she could.

'If this is what she had to endure her life, I could see why she would rather stay on board my ship or live in a military barracks and base. This is cruel and unusual torture.' He thought while taking another sip of water to stave off his boredom while smiling and having a lovely 'talk' with another Duke and his friends about whether or not Terran Music was as romantic as Aquavram vocal opera.

But eventually, they were 'finally' saved as the music suddenly died down, and the butler from before stepped forward and proclaimed in a loud voice, "Attention Members of the Royal Court, please welcome, His Majesty, King Gungadara the third, Her Majesty Queen Inkamaria, and their Royal Highnesses, Princess Inkara and Princess Inkaria!"

From around the room everyone stopped and began to give a light clap as four Aquavrams entered the room from the main doors and all parted to give them a direct line to the throne. In front was tall, for an Aquavram, five-foot four male who had very ornate shell armor and wore special lavender clothing with a bejeweled crown atop his head indicating he was the King. Next to him and following slightly behind wearing a thinner, bejeweled crown and wearing very slim decorative shell armor as well as a pastel lavender dress was the Queen. And behind them wearing a small bejeweled tiara and wearing a silver-blue dress that was cut halfway between her legs, was the 'first' royal daughter. Yet Arthur had eyes on Inkaria who followed behind her sister and parents.

Inkaria had mostly worn military clothes to Arthur's memory, so seeing the Aquavram girl in an azure blue dress with ocean-like etchings of waves and coral patterns that hugged her feminine form tightly, showing off her near hourglass figure that he'd never noticed due to her previously recovering from starvation, but now that she'd had several meals, she looked like an entirely different girl. She still had a feminine physic but she also had some muscle to her arms and legs that he began to notice now. As for her face, now that she wasn't dying of hunger her face was now womanlier and portrayed none of the features of hunger and starvation. She still wore 'some' shell armor from her uniform on her head fin and tail fin, unlike her sister who had 'none', and she wore a small necklace of an ancient swimmer with a bracelet on her arm that had a garnet jewel as the centerpiece.

She certainly could turn eyes, as many of the nobles, specifically the 'younger' ones that he began noticing around him were paying a lot of attention to Inkaria. But he also noticed that Inkaria looked 'dead bored', like she just didn't want to be there or even 'cared' about being there as she walked behind her sister and parents. However, when she passed Arthur and Trishula who were applauding at the same volume as the others in the room, she glanced over and smiled more animatedly, winking at the two to show she spotted them and thanked them for being there as well.

"Someone sure is happy you're here." Trishula whispered with a chuckle.

"She's just happy she recognizes the two of us at the party is all." He whispered back just as quietly.

"Nah... she 'definitely' winked 'and' smiled as she saw you, not just me." Trishula whispered to him.

As the family moved through the crowd and took their places upon the coral thrones and sat down, everyone bowed to them again. Arthur noticed that while everyone was busy addressing the family another table had been moved in directly in front of the thrones with an extra set of seats. He was surprised by how fast the servants of the palace could move as the table hadn't been there when he and everyone bowed.

After a few minutes of constant applause during which Arthur started to wonder if his hands could go numb from clapping, the King stood up and everyone stopped clapping finally.

"On behalf of the crown, I King Gungadara the third welcome you all to tonight's dinner banquet, this dinner is being hosted in honor of the Freelance Captain who braved the horrors of the Space Pirates, who attempted to bar his path to deliver to our people the relief aid that was so promised and was delayed. Tonight... we welcome and honor among us, Captain Arthur Smith... of the starship... Great Fox!"

At that everyone turned and applauded him, causing him and Trishula to smile slightly as the spotlight was placed upon them.

"Not ONLY... did he and his valiant crew, push through difficulties, they also came to the aid... of my own family. For it was not just our people that were saved when he touched down into our planet's waters... no..." The King said with a proud expression as the applause began to die down. "For my own blood, my second daughter, Ikaria... was accosted by dissidents in a treacherous ambush of the most profane kind, leaving her alone and on the verge of death. But thanks to the quick attention and actions of this noble Terran, her life was saved, his own Breath of Life... flows through her now, giving her a second chance to live among us. For his actions, and the actions of his crew in saving her life, fighting off dissident rebels seeking to capture her and do who knows what to her, on top of bringing the promised relief aid and saving our people from starvation... I honor him tonight... with this feast! So let us eat, drink... and be merry!"

At that everyone began to separate to their various tables, even the royal family stood up and walked to their table in front of the throne. Arthur and Trishula were beckoned by a maid to join the royal family as numerous butlers now walked out carrying multiple trays of dishes from a side door to walk amongst the tables and deliver them.

As the two non Aquavrams sat down at the royal table they felt a little out of place as they did 'not' know what to say or do, other than sitting down and waiting patiently to be served.

"So, Arthur Smith was it... what brought you to accept the task of bringing Aquavram Prime the relief aid?" The elder daughter asked him as butlers placed various dishes before them on the table.

"Er well, my ship was the only one that had the specifications needed to actually complete the task." He explained as he looked at the various forms of sea food before him and Trishula, while the butlers began to slice off various portions of food and place them upon their plates to eat. "You see, two convoys were attempted before mine, but both were destroyed in the Hyperspace Lane. It seemed pirates had infiltrated the freelance starfighter pilot pool on Belga Cinco where the supplies were being gathered and sent off. So, they were being destroyed from within. They needed someone they could trust who had a ship that could carry the supplies needed to relieve your people, while also being able to protect their remaining transports that were carrying the relief aid to the Guntara Planets."

"Oh, those poor ships... tell me what happened to the transports that were in your protective custody?" The queen now asked now.

"They're currently in orbit over the planet, we need your people to deploy the mobile starport so they can finally land and deliver their supplies. After that your people have to deliver them to the Guntara Planets, as your people are the only ones with ships capable of reaching the miners and refinery workers still trapped and running low on food and medical supplies." Trishula explained.

"Ah... yes, yes, I was 'informed' of that..." The King said as he took a small bite and everyone began to eat and music resumed. "Rest assured, the mobile starport will be deployed within two days. Once we assign members of the Naval Guard to its protection detail and gather up the work crews to staff it. As you know, most of the Naval Guard is currently assisting your ship in offloading of the supplies."

"And whose fault is that?" Ikaria said with a frown. "Father, General Bronarva should not be assigning our soldiers to this task, perhaps in the first day yes it may have been required for security reasons, but now we should be asking for civilian volunteers to help so that the military can focus on the civil war."

"Sister, did you 'not' see what happened last night, dissidents 'attacked' the ship carrying our supplies, and attempted to destroy those supplies." Inkara said with a frustrated frown. "Until we can be assured of 'who' we can trust within the city, we should keep the task of offloading those supplies to the Naval Guard who are 'sworn' to protect the city and its people!"

"Those dissidents were 'all' members of the military, who worked in the civilian branch as officers!" Ikaria low growled to her sister. "We should be focusing our soldier's efforts on locating Lord Lumarinara and his dissidents and squashing them out once and for all. Once the civil war comes to an end, we can end the refugee policy father implemented and we can begin to rebuild our citizen's homes in the multiple townships and cities outside of the capitol city on the surface!"

"Can we 'not' have this discussion at the dinner table?" Inkara growled back with a glare. "Especially in front of our father's guest of honor? Who just so 'happens' to be your savior?"

"I'm sure 'he' would agree with me!" Ikaria snapped back.

"Enough you two... such talk isn't 'meant' for the dinner talk... but it does raise a point." King Gungadara said as he turned to Arthur and Trishula, who had barely managed to eat a few bites. "As you are outsiders to our planet and know little of the civil war then what is publicly known, what is your opinion on the situation? Do you feel as my daughter suggests, that we should have our forces attempt to stamp out the rebels?"

"Er... well..." He muttered as he did 'not' want to get into politics, but was now being forced to get into it. "I won't pretend to know the whole situation without knowing it firsthand... but it does sound like if the dissident's leader were defeated and captured, it would bring a swift end to the war."

"It 'does' sound like that would be the best course." Trishula said in agreement and Ikaria smiled as they had agreed with her.

"It 'would' and if it were so simple, we would probably carry it out!" Inkara told them in a huff to which Inkaria frowned at her. "However, we 'cannot' just send our soldiers out to find and defeat Lord Lumarinara's dissidents. You see he still has supporters in the city mixed among both the refugee and military population, so we dare not risk an open battle with his forces at this critical juncture. If we dedicate too many of our soldiers, we risk leaving ourselves weak to a potential assault from within! It is 'easy' to suggest such actions when one has been stuck behind a desk in the military and isn't aware of the deeper logistics and dangers of such military actions, that are best left to her superiors!"

"It's also easy to suggest being passive in the face of an enemy who has kept us under siege without even being within a hundred kilometers of the city! Starving our people into submission, and breaking their spirits and hopes in the galaxy, while she dines on fine food every night!" She retorted.

"You will 'not' ruin this dinner for father with your attitude, keep that 'out' of the dinner table while his guest of honor happens to be sitting here!"

"I've been keeping this 'attitude' bottled up for 'weeks' I'll have you know, while you get... delicious cooked Gooper Fish and Klendura Crab meat served on plates of exotic vegetables from the Belga System three times a day, I was surviving on a single strand of Kelpweed served in a coral cooked broth soup twice a day! Starving like the 'rest' of our soldiers and citizens!"

"Enough... please... not at the dinner table tonight." The King said in a polite, but 'stern' fatherly voice before he turned to Trishula and Arthur with an apologetic tone. "I am sorry for this heated discussion at the dinner table."

Arthur smiled and gently tapped Trishula's hand as he said, "I seem to have come down with a slight case of deafness and could not hear what was said prior to what you just apologized for." He said in a polite tone. "I only wish to apologize for not describing how delicious the food is tonight, right Trishula."

"Oh yes, it is very delicious." She said as she sliced a small piece of cooked fish meat and ate it.

But internally both were agreeing that the disconnect between those of the royal court and the citizens and military was even worse than they imagined. Everyone in the Coral Palace 'knew' of the war and the struggles, but it barely affected them it seemed. Instead, Ikaria took the hint that they didn't want to cause strife or trouble and just quietly ate dinner with everyone else at the table. After a few minutes of eating in which Arthur had to force the food down, not feeling hungry with how overly 'lavish' the food was prepared, and especially not feeling hungry as he remembered how starved Ikaria was and how grateful she looked when she was served that simple bowl of soup the first time she ate aboard his ship.

It was also clear to him that Ikaria was not enjoying herself, she ate the food yes, but she was only 'faking' enjoyment, eating because it was required of her.

"Well, let's move on the topics to more friendly natures, tell me Arthur, what other star systems have you traveled to." Queen Inkamaria asked politely.

"Yea, please tell us of some of your adventures!" Inkara asked as well.

"Er... well, give me a second and let me recall some, most of my recent ones have been in the Belgan Star System and those were all just food and fuel deliveries." He said as he pretended to place his finger on his head as if to thin, but in actuality he was tapping the button to call Great Fox and signal her to help him out. "If I recall, there was 'one' adventure I remember... er was it in the Indara System..."

[You accepted a request from the Major Faction nine years ago at the time to participate in a series of combat engagements. You skirmished with up to thirty vessels, including six Titan Class battleships and two Super Carrier Class vessels. You were involved with fleet actions and provided multi-functional support and even engaged in a one-on-one broadside exchange with an imperial class dreadnaught that ended with them fleeing the field after allied heavy bombers assisted you.]

"Yes... yes... it's all coming back to me, I was part of a fleet action for the Major Faction at the time that was trying to take control of the sector." He started saying with an animated face as he began to recall that event as well.

"You were involved in a fleet action?" Ikaria asked in amazement. "How many ships was it?"

"Hmm... if I remember it was about 'thirty' ships, six Battleships, all Titan Class, two additional Thor Class Battleships, eight Heavy Cruisers, seven Corvettes, two carriers and the rest were Frigates with mine being the only Finback battleship." He said as he remembered it all now. "We were just approaching Indara Three, scanners were being blocked by multiple veil blankets, we were spread out wide over six hundred thousand kilometers and my ship was in the vanguard position at the front next to two Titan Battleships. Then, just as we began to approach the orbit of Indara Three, looking for the enemy fleet-"

He then began to recount for them all the events of the encounter, describing how they were ambushed by several Titan Class battleships and a fleet of two hundred starfighters, with six Heavy Cruisers mixed into the enemy fleet. The veil had dropped and they appeared from behind a moon to catch his vanguard forces off guard. Fortunately, the rest of the fleet he told them, were able to render assistance and launch a counter attack to save the vanguard ships. But as he pulled away to take up a rear position following the fleet admiral's orders, he was forced to engage an Imperial Termina class Dreadnaught.

"We exchanged heavy gun fire for a full fifteen minutes... our shields were being whittled and drained, starfighters zipping around both ships. Then... as I was loading up the last rounds of Heavy Cruiser Ammunition my ship had left; the rest being used up with how long we spent trading broadside shots... a team of Eclipse Bombers from my fleet's Super Carrier came in and blasted the Dreadnaught's engines, sending the vessel 'careening' away, smoke trailing behind it as it limped away from the battle!"

"Didn't you chase after to finish them off?" Ikaria asked excitedly.

"Couldn't, the rest of the fleet was getting hammered by their Titans, my guns were almost all spent, I didn't have my Titan Class heavy guns at the time. I had to provide cover to the fleet so we could retreat to a fallback position and rearm ourselves. We lost most of our starfighters in the exchange and several of our Corvettes were lost so I was the only ship that had anti-fighter capabilities. Great Fox screened the fleet as it made its retreat to friendly space. A Dreadnaught is not something one messes with, I was down on ammunition, I was practically outgunned, and heard the Admiral's call to retreat just as the bombers saved me. I did not want to fight any further, I didn't want to risk my ship with further battle, especially with so little ammunition. It was a long three-month conflict for the system... we had to play the long game while the main fleet was preparing to assault the Major Faction's primary sector station."

"I'd heard about the numerous battles between the major factions." Trishula said. "How many 'ships' were in the main fleet?"

"I believe they were amassing ships from over their quadrant, if I remember, over six hundred Freelance Captains were participating in the final assault. I forget... the 'exact' composition of the fleet." He said as he idly tapped his chin to try and recall what he remembered seeing. "But I definitely remember seeing about three hundred Titan Class ships and at least a hundred Heavy Carriers..."

It was very laggy seeing so many ships gathered together in one location on his screen when he passed by the transwarp gate there were gathering near to warp into battle.

Ikaria just 'stared in shock alongside Trishula as he told them that number and just 'casually' saying it like it was not a huge deal.

"Three Hundred 'TITANS'?" Trishula stammered, utterly speechless that he could casually say he saw three hundred of the most powerful class of battleship the galaxy knew of, not counting Dreadnaught class ships, just 'gathered' together in a single fleet. "How do the Major Factions even 'afford' to equip Freelance Captains with so many ships?"

"Oh yea, that wasn't even the whole of the fleet, that was just the first wave, they were gathering another fleet to reinforce halfway when numbers thinned out. I believe they had fifty Dreadnaughts included in the first wave in the rear guard, with another hundred in the reinforcing group with a further two hundred Titans, a hundred Heavy Cruisers, and two hundred Medium Carriers with about two thousand unmanned starfighters and five hundred unmanned starbombers. I think I read in the aftermath as I had left the Major Faction in pursuit of being a rogue freelancer, just to stay out of the conflict, that they lost over half their force and only 'barely' won the battle."

"W... was it... a 'major' conflict?" Ikaria asked in astonishment.

"Yes... by the way you put it, it sounds like a conflict of epic proportions to warrant so many starships in one location." The King said in amazement.

"No... actually it was just a border skirmish by comparison to some of their more 'major' conflicts. The Major Faction was looking to expand its territory." He said.

"So many vessels for what you label as a 'border skirmish'?" Inkara said in disbelief. "Do... do 'all' the major factions just up and decide one day to launch such aggressive displays of force against each other?"

"Honestly, I don't know... but the sector wasn't even worth such a show of force or the loss of so many ships on both sides." He said as he knew of the sector they were fighting over. "It was just a minor farming sector, it had little in the way of refinable ore, and almost no deep fuel deposits to fight for. The only value it had was that it was a gateway sector to four other planetary star systems! Controlling it basically focused their enemy to assault 'one' sector whereas they could assault multiple locations whenever."

"Ah... so it was more to 'control' the transwarp gates then the sector itself..." Ikaria said in amazement. "But so many ships... how can you just see so many vessels about to attack a star system and just... brush it off so casually?"

"Well, I've been in multiple conflicts like that, sometimes I was only in a starfighter and other times I was in a minor fleet action being paid by the Major Faction I was working with at the time."

"To think I was a little terrified of a small armada of pirates in starfighters and three cruisers... when you flew past fleets consisting of three hundred 'Titan' battleships." Trishula muttered in disbelief.

Suddenly the music started to increase in volume, and from around the room various nobles, Lords and Ladies, Dukes and Dutchesses began to get up and congregate upon the floor to start to dance. Unfortunately, the music was 'nothing' similar to what he and Trishula was expecting. It sounded all classic and very noble, but as the Aquavrams began to dance he could see their dancing was very different compared to what he and Trishula practiced. The Aquavrams were performing similar twirls and motions compared to the dance they practiced, but even after a few motions they began to trade partners, rotating around the room to the point where they were no longer with their original dance partners after three minutes.

"Ah, would you and your guest care to dance among the royal court?" King Gungadara asked as he and his queen got up to join the thrum.

"Oh, no... you see, I'm afraid when it comes to dancing, I am unable to dance... being a Freelance Captain, I've never been instructed or given the chance. But I am grateful for the opportunity still. I assume the same is true for you Trishula?"

"Yea... being a starfighter pilot, I'd only ruin the experience for everyone, and I don't want to ruin the party and embarrass my captain or myself." She said with a nervous chuckle.

Both the King and Queen nodded as they left to join the dancing royals, even the first princess joined the party, and with some 'minor' hesitation... Ikaria got up and approached the dance floor as well, leaving him and Trishula alone at the table.

"I'm sorry Trishula, I just didn't want to dance and leave you with some other noble that you weren't familiar with..." He muttered.

"I don't blame you... I'm starting to wish I didn't ask to join you today." She muttered as she pushed her plate away, unable to eat anymore with how miserable of a time she's had so far.

"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly.

"I figured tonight would be a nice night for us to go on a date... fancy party, dancing, free food... royalty... but so far, I just don't like my time. Honestly... I'd rather be eating Mevik's food and joking with you in your private dining room, then here." She told him. "I wanted to dance... I was actually kind of looking forward to it, but... sigh... all these uptight royals ruined it for me."

"What's wrong?" He asked as he moved his chair over to hold her hand, making her smile a little as she sighed and shook her head.

"I'm... this just isn't me... I prefer to be on a starship, flying in space, fighting pirates, battling thugs. Not... not wearing an overly formal dress, pretty as I look... and... I did like hearing you say I was pretty." She said with a smirk before she sighed again. "This just isn't me... I was more relaxed when you were recounting your story of the battle when you were involved in a Major Faction conflict. Hearing how many ships were involved, the play-by-play moments of the battle, how you came face to face with a Dreadnaught and you only escaped because your allies saved you!"

She then sighed as she pointed at the food and shook her head. "This food is too 'formal... too well prepared for my taste, I like a good meal but... it's just... too 'elaborate' for me to stomach. Everything is overly fancy; everything is too ritualized... hearing these nobles talking about stuff that is so... utterly boring, the music is too... too 'fancy'. I just... I want to head back to the ship, eat a meal from Mevik, cuddle with you, listen to more of your stories... and just spend more time with you."

Arthur was a little upset that Trishula was not having a good time, not that he could blame her, he wasn't having much of a good time either. Even as the music ended and another song started, he and Trishula remained seated until they too stood up and just slowly edged away to get away from the dance floor to be together. They stared out of the window of the ballroom that allowed a pretty unobstructed view of Great Fox in the distance, the large vessel dominating the sight of the city.

"I'm sorry Trishula, I honestly thought it would be a good thing to attend, I mean, we were being invited as thanks for saving the people of the city." He explained to her.

"Don't be, it's just a difference of taste." She said as she smiled at him with a wink. "Besides, once we're back on the ship, we can bug Mevik and see if he has any leftovers!"

They both chuckled at that, but suddenly the music began to die down as two voices began to shout from the room.

"I can't believe that you would even THINK to consider opening peace negotiations with Lord Lumarinara!" Ikaria yelled at the top of her lungs. "I don't care if you 'are' Lord Lumarinara's second cousin Lord Umbara, he should be executed along with his coconspirators for starting this civil war, or at the very least thrown in prison for the rest of his life!"

"And you, my dear, are as uptight as ever, always acting recklessly aggressive and not considering more peaceful solutions!" Lord Umbara shouted with just as much fury. "We need not risk our soldier's lives if we can end this civil war peacefully! We have already lost enough from this pointless power struggle, so why not open peace negotiations!"

"Peace Negotiations, as if, he just wants to take power for himself! You heard what he was like 'before' the civil war, he always was arguing with the royal court and especially with my father over many, MANY of his key policies!"

Arthur and Trishula just stared at the two Aquavrams arguing, seeing just how much Ikaria hated the royal court with her tone. The dance had only been going on for about twenty minutes and it seemed at some point Ikaria separated herself to be away, and got into a discussion with one of the lords. A discussion that seemed to have turned heated.

"That is why we should be talking to him 'now' instead of later when it will become harder. Our fight has all but ended, the civil war is all but won for us. The only reason he had to continue was the unending strangle hold he had on our city's population, a hold that is now 'broken'. Even if you disagree with his ideas he is 'still' an Aquavram, he is still 'family', he and his followers are still Aquavrams who even at their worst, still care for Aquavra Prime, and the Aquavram People as a whole."

"Oh sure, they cared about us, cared so much that they poisoned our Kelpweed farms, blew up and slaughtered the Gooper Fish herds we raised, and drove away the Klendura Crab Swarms and every other edible fish within range of Arquoovra Majesta, starving our people to the point where they were just 'words' away from rising up against us!" Ikaria yelled with an enraged face on her face. "Indela Aquamarina, Watrella Vitara, Gendra Town, Gungadara City... all of these places were the first to be targeted and raised, driving our people to the capitol for safety and security. Are you going to say that the dissidents cared about our people 'then' when they all but wantonly slaughtered our people as they fled in their way?"

"Grrg... I will not 'stand' for this insolence any longer!" Lord Umbara snarled as he turned to the King. "Your majesty, I 'respectfully' request that you remove your daughter from the hall! She has proven to be nothing more than an offense to this royal court!"

"O-offense? Well, if I'm the offense then you're even worse Lord Umbara, because you have the GALL to pretend that your cousin, Lord Lumarinara, is 'still' worthy of his title!" She yelled out accusingly. "He instigated a civil war, paid 'pirates' to intercept and destroy the relief supplies our people were depending on, paid even more pirates to launch orbital strikes upon our planet and even the Guntara Planetoids, he led assaults in wiping out our people's food supplies and all but starved our people into rebellion! And you think he deserves a second 'chance' to rejoin us in the Royal Court?"

"Peace is the 'only' option now, this civil war has gone on for long enough, over a month is already too long. If he 'truly' were as evil and vile as 'you' say he is, 'child'... then why has he restrained himself for so long since his space allies were destroyed?" Lord Umbara declared angrily, before again turning to the King. "I 'respectfully' demand, your majesty... that you remove your daughter... and 'discipline her'... for this, egregious display of social misconduct, ruining the night of every noble here in your presence, especially in front of your guest of honor!"

Both Trishula and Arthur glanced between the King who was looking at his daughter, but he didn't seem to be fuming or upset, instead he looked a little 'conflicted'. He looked like he wanted to appease the lord but at the same time he wanted to let his daughter's words stand. But Ikaria saved them all the trouble and say in a 'polite' but still very angry voice, "I'll save my father the King the breath needed for his words to send me away, I'll take my 'leave' of this dance!" She yelled, but as she turned around, she glanced at Arthur and Trishula. "At least I know 'some' in this room agree with me..."

She then turned on her feet and walked out, the crowd parting way for her as many began to mutter and talk as she left. Most of the words were among the kind that she was such a rude little lady, and she had no right to maintain her ties to the crown let alone the throne.

Meanwhile the royal family was just watching as Ikaria left the room through the double door, walking out in a huff as she was bid farewell by the guards. They had mixed expressions, the King looking upon her with a disheartened expression that looked torn between two feelings, the queen looked distressed and saddened as she watched her daughter ridiculed even as she was still in the room, and the eldest daughter looked disappointed with her younger sibling for not keeping her temper in check.

"Hrmm talk about a family that doesn't stand by its own blood." Trishula muttered as the music resumed again. "Ugh... how much longer do we have to stay; this party has already lost all interest for me boss."

He was about to respond when a lady walked over to them with an apologetic tone in her voice. "Oh, I hope you do forgive Ikaria for that outburst; she is normally ill tempered when at court but she normally can contain herself." The Aquavram lady spoke to Trishula.

Trishula had to put on a forced smile as she began talking to her, but it gave Arthur a chance to do something he had an idea for. Calling up Great Fox he asked her to put him in touch with Mevik. After that he asked if Mevik had finished making dinner and if he could do a favor for him, and then asked Great Fox to send the Blue Fox to pick him up and then bring it back to the Coral Palace. He then also asked Great Fox to put him in touch with Tony, and asked if he and his wife had any plans that night, and after everything was set and ordered, he closed the channel.

"Oh, I was unaware that Belgan Society values were so different than other societies." The Aquavram Lady said with a cheerful laugh. "To think that in Belgan Society females are more protective of the males. Every dignitary and diplomat that I've ever spoken to has always come from a male dominated background. Even the few 'male' Belgans I've met told me of how protective they are of their lady friends, hohohoho, I can't wait to tell this to my social circle. They will be aghast when they find out just how different our two peoples are after all this time!"

"It's mostly just the Purebred Belgan females who are the aggressive protective type, that trait tends to get lost in our children when we procreate with a non-Purebred Belgan." Trishula corrected. "For example, most mixed breed Belgans tend to lose that hyper protective attitude that Purebred Females have, and its diluted down to a more 'overly protective' nature rather than the 'hyper aggressive protectiveness' that we're known for."

"Ooohohoho, my, I 'really' misunderstood your breed, I must go and tell my social circle this information. Ooooh they will never live down this humiliation!"

"I see~." Trishula chuckled with a halfhearted smile.

"Trishula, sorry to interrupt you my lady, but my ship just informed me of something important, and we need to return sooner than expected." Arthur declared as he stepped over to the duo.

"Ohohoo I see, is it terribly important?"

"Yes, apparently a few Aquavrams attempted to board the ship through the outside, my ship suspects potential dissidents attempted to break in and perhaps damage the relief supplies still needing to be offloaded." He said as he tugged Trishula away by her hand.

"Really, come on can we 'please' not deal with dissidents again?" She muttered bitterly as she walked alongside him.

They were stopped only a second time when King Gungadara politely beckoned to him, asking why he was leaving so soon. But a quick explanation from him explained the situation, and the King nodded, granting him freedom to leave and rush back to his ship to ensure its safety. With that they were granted their leave to part from the party, and soon left the palace after asking a guard to escort them to the entrance. Outside and away from prying eyes and ears in the garden, they made their way to where the ship was to meet them.

"Ugh, dissidents, can't we get a 'break'?" Trishula muttered bitterly.

"There were no dissidents, it was a lie so we could leave." He told her quietly.

She looked to him in surprise and raised an eyebrow to question him.

"I saw you weren't having a good time, and to be honest I wasn't exactly comfortable among all those 'nobles' and listening to those conversations and trying to talk to them, but not having anything to really say besides... well dumb stuff that just 'sounds' like I'm fluent in the topic." He said with a nervous chuckle.

Trishula however nodded and whispered her thanks as they resumed walking, but about halfway through the garden, they both saw an Aquavram girl on a low bench sitting in front of a fountain surrounded by flowers and statues. It was Ikaria, and she just had this 'air' of frustration and anger as she stared at the fountain in front of her. Looking at Trishula she shrugged her shoulders and nodded toward her, telling him she was also interested in seeing what's up. So, they walked over to her, and after a few moments he stepped over and sat down on her left while Trishula sat next to him on his other side.

"Are you alright?" He asked her, causing her to look up in surprise, but she relaxed as she saw it was them and then shook her head, sighing in furstration.

"No... stupid Lord Umbara... of COURSE he would want to try and save his cousin, he only got his title because he married into Lord Lumarinara's family!" She shouted in frustration as she picked up a stone on the ground and chucked it at the statue in front of them, which they realized featured a very 'heroic' male Aquavram in a proud pose.

"I'm guessing, that's Lord Lumarinara?" He asked her.

"Yea, every single Lord in the royal court has a statue in garden surrounding the Coral Palace if they are a current Lord. If they have passed away, they have a minor statue representing them in the castle itself." She explained.

There was silence as he and Trishula were unsure of what to say to her, but it seemed Ikaria had a way to extend the conversation as she sniffed a little.

"Idiots... don't they get it... talking is what 'got us' into this stupid war." She growled. "Lord Lumarinara 'talked' and 'talked' and talked to the court, constantly bickered and shouted, fought and exploited the Royal Court's lackadaisical nature to find their weaknesses so he could take over! He gathered his allies, and when he was ready, he and those loyal to his cause attacked, destroyed, and brought our people to the brink of starvation, plague and open rebellion against the crown!"

She sniffed a little as she shook her head.

"He... he doesn't deserve a second chance... he was willing to starve us all, he was willing to let us all 'die'... he was willing to rob us of 'hope' to see relief from the galaxy, to make us believe that the galaxy thought us inferior, that we could just starve and die because all they wanted were our system's gas giants and the resources that they had. And... and... they want to 'talk' again? Why don't those idiots get it, some Lords don't... don't deserve to be given power and titles!" She moaned. "I... I was with the soldiers, I heard their complaints, I suffered with them, I starved alongside them, my stomach growled as loud as theirs and I... but those nobles, those in the Royal Court... they don't realize the 'suffering' Lumarinara caused... the sicknesses, the hunger, the cries of our people begging for salvation? All they care about are their own little lives and social circles... they don't 'really' understand the suffering that was caused by Lumarinara's actions. And they want him back in a position of power? Just so he can do this all over again but with more 'experience'?"

She cried a little as she closed her eyes, trying to ignore the anger in her and the tears growing, but it was very hard for Ikaria to do. She 'knew' it was going to be like this, she knew the Royal Court, that was why she was so against them and so against being there. But she was the second daughter, she couldn't just skip the party and save everyone the sight of her arguing with a noble. She had to be present, and what happened, ended up happening. And here she was, in the best dress she could find, wearing her best jewels and looking her prettiest because she wanted to impress Arthur, and what did that get her? An argument with Lord Umbara and ruining the night for so many, including her savior it seemed.

"I only came... because it was expected of me, I'm the second daughter... I had to attend... and... and... I just... wanted to look pretty for you two, to show... I'm not just a 'soldier'... that I can be fancy and... but this isn't me..." She said, crying at long last and just crying in silence from then on.

However, instead of just silence, after a few moments she felt someone wrap their arm around her and pull them into a slight embrace to lean against their shoulder. Looking up she saw Arthur had leaned over and pulled her with one arm to hug her, letting her lean against his shoulder with an understanding smile.

"It's alright... I know... some people don't deserve second chances." He muttered as he remembered his own life, and of all the jackasses and fools who got special privileges, just because they 'knew' people. "You can't change the system, try as you might, it's next to impossible unless the system itself wants to change. All you can do, is the best you can..."

He and Trishula looked to her with understanding smiles.

"If it makes you feel better, know that we understand you, and we agree with you. This Lord Lumarinara sounds like he deserves to be imprisoned for the rest of his life for what he did. And if we can help somehow before we leave the planet, maybe providing evidence proving stuff to get him from coming back, I'll help however I can. And... if my date will forgive me for saying this in front of her, you do look very pretty Ikaria."

"I think I would have not forgiven you if you 'didn't' say that to her." Trishula chuckled with a smirk. "Even the strongest girl in the world wants to be told she's pretty by those around her."

He nodded as he turned to Ikaria's face that still had tears flowing from her eyes, and gently used his finger to wipe them away, removing the stains from her pretty face. Even though he really liked Trishula and would never 'dare' look at another lady besides her, even he had to admit how beautiful Ikaria was for an Aquavram Female. A lot of the ladies he saw at the court were on the 'plump' side and while some were thin it was obvious they didn't take care of themselves like Ikaria did. She had spruced herself up this night for them, and as he wiped away her tears, he could see that he also removed some of her make up, however minor it was from her face and revealed her true face. Her true pretty face that was no longer marred by signs of hunger and famine.

"There... a pretty face like yours deserves to be seen by all, not covered by tears."

Ikaria blushed a little as he called her face pretty, and even that minor compliment made her smile a lot more than before.

After that they separated and stood up, and were about to leave together, Ikaria mentioning how she had to return to the barracks, and Arthur and Trishula returning to Blue Fox to leave, when a guard approached them, bowing to Ikaria and handing her a small data pad.

"For you Your Highness." He said. "A message from Lord Umbara."

"Ugh... what does he want now..." She muttered angrily as she tapped it and looked at the message, written in the Aquavram Language and was illegible to Arthur and Trishula. "Hrmm... wants to meet me in private, wishes to apologize... thought about what I said and... blah blah blah yea right, whatever... I'll believe it if I hear it. Probably just wants to downplay his earlier statements about bringing his cousin back immediately to court to something like, 'oh we can settle our differences' and whatever."

She turned to him and smiled, saying she will just go see what Umbara wants before heading back to the barracks, and thanked them for their time and for letting her stay as long aboard Great Fox as she did. After that she finally parted ways and he went with Trishula to where Blue Fox was to meet them. However, instead of Blue Fox being there, the space was empty, causing Trishula to look confused.

"Okay that seems to be a 'waste' of fuel..." Trishula muttered as she looked and saw Blue Fox making its way to them now through the water past the bubble biome shield. "You need to tell Great Fox to stop taking Blue Fox back and then sending it back, it's so inefficient, I thought your ship hated inefficiency."

"Actually, I sent it back for a reason." He told her as they waited.

"Wh-what for?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You'll see... you'll see."

They waited for a few minutes as Blue Fox sored over to them and passed through the bubble, dripping slightly from water residue. But as it landed before them and lowered the staircase to let them up. Inside, instead of heading toward the seats, Arthur instead beckoned her to follow him toward the staircase downstairs. The ship began to fly and rise, surprising Trishula as she wasn't expecting that, but as she stepped downstairs and was joined by Arthur, she saw sitting at one of the tables were Tony and his wife, wearing a suit and a dress and enjoying a glass of wine together.

"Aaaah there ya are, was wonderin when you'd join us!" Tony called out as he toasted them before going back to his wife and talking to her.

"Wh... what the?" Trishula said in surprise, very confused as she turned to him.

"Well... I figured... since... you know, we were still 'dressed' for the occasion, and we kind of are going to miss the rest of that dinner party, and we didn't exactly eat dinner 'or' lunch... and Tony and his wife haven't had an evening to themselves in years... and well, everyone keeps pointing out I 'have' a Luxury Transport just 'wasting away' doing nothing but simple transportation jobs half the time... and getting shot at the other half." He said with a sheepish smile as he kept listing off everything. "Why not... you know, host our own private dinner party... maybe a little dinner, get to know Tony and his wife, swap stories... maybe dance the night away before we head back to the ship while orbiting the planet in a luxury transport. Some music... little food... stars and the planet in the background while we eat? I have this ship why not put it to good use and finally have it do its job that it was designed to do?"

Trishula just smiled as she stared at her boyfriend, and leaned up and kissed his cheek, before winking and whispering, "Thank you..." in the most heartwarmingly grateful tone she could whisper.

With that he took her hand and led her to the table that Tony and his wife were sitting at, while off in the little kitchen they could hear the sounds of cooking and the smell of food being prepared.

[Attention guests... Blue Fox is now breaking free of the ocean surface...] The ship spoke loudly, and the ship jostled slightly, causing everyone to shift in their seats but it was quickly corrected. [We will be entering the orbit of Aquavram Prime in approximately five minutes... please enjoy the ride. Welcome to the Blue Fox 'Social Dinner Party', this is Great Fox, your Ship AI host and I will be providing you updates as they occur. Tonight's opening background music is Mariage D'amour, by Paul de Senneville, we hope you enjoy yourselves this evening.]

He sat with Trishula, pulling her seat back to let her sit first and then sitting next to her across from Tony.

"Aah, look at you two, aww you look like the sweetest most charmin planet and prettiest star the galaxy eva did see." Tony said as he smiled at the two of them. "Ah haf ta thank ya lad, I haven been able to spend a night alone with me little Bonneh honey in soooo many years. Just having the time to sit an enjoy a night off wif her at a dinner table, with friends... ar tis been a looong time commin huh dearie?"

"Oh, it's been so long... I think the last time was when we had Donatellme and we 'finally' got time away from work honey!" His wife Felucia said.

"Oh, wow it 'has' been a long time, how old is he, like seventeen or something?" Trishula asked.

"Eiiighteen and he still dunno wha he wants!" Tony said with a huge laugh while slapping his knee. "Aaar but he found himself pickin up the family trade, and he really takes after it, just like his oooold family!"

"Oh, I'm so proud of him too!" Felucia said. "But let's talk about you two, Trishula dear, how is your life with your boyfriend, I heard from Tony that you and the captain are dating now!"

"We are and he is the best boyfriend I could have asked for." She said with a little shy smile. "We... think we may have rushed a few steps... but... I don't mind obviously because-"

"OOOh don't feel that way, I was all over Tony just the same, course he was so damn shy about it when we met!" Felucia said with a laugh. "Shoulda seen him, oh he was so much younger and he was suuuch a sweetie. Took him a 'week' to get the courage to ask me out on a date. I already decided I wanted to marry him after that, and when he 'finally' popped the question after like two years... oh I just jumped up, screamed yes, and then yelled at him saying 'what took you so long'?"

Tony just patted her head and scratched her behind the ear with a nod. "Well can ya blame me, da first time I asked you out we hada spend it in the lunchroom on the cargo liner we were attached to on a 'week long voyage', not exactly the bestest place to be takin a sweet little thing like Felucia to for our firs date!"

"Oh, I woulda gone out with you to the flippin bathroom by that time." She said with a smile, then she whispered to them, "It's hard finding a mechanic boyfriend when you're a mechanic girl, not a lotta guys are interested. But I wanted to start a whole 'family' of mechanics, and he was just 'perfect' for me!"

"You 'wanted' to start a family of mechanics?" Arthur asked in amazement.

"Haaah sometimes you just 'have' to keep the family tradition going. I come from a line of mechanics as well, and let me tell you, I was the 'only' one of my family to want to be a mechanic like my father. Oh, sure my sister wanted to be a model and my brother became a librarian, you know 'clean stuff', but I wanted to get down and dirty, fixing wires, pulling plugs, turning wrenches and smacking hammers to get things working on a starship!"

Both him and Trishula laughed at the idea of a Belgan viewing living as a mechanic as the perfect job for her because it was 'dirty'. They continued to talk about some things, Tony commenting on how starships he's had the pleasure to do some work on, talking about various starfighters, a few cargo ships, but he admits that none of them can ever compare to his time so far aboard Great Fox. As for Arthur, they asked him about how he and Great Fox came together.

"Well... I first saw Great Fox's model when I was looking into my first starship purchase after becoming a Freelance Captain." He said as Mevik walked out from the kitchen carrying a fancy suit and several trays laden with food.

"Mhmm... welcome all, I am Chef Maestro Mevik, and I will be your food maker this evening as well as wine server tonight." He said as he planted the trays of grilled meat, steamed vegetables, sliced fruits and seasoned bread on the table. "Enjoy~!"

They all thanked Mevik as he returned to the kitchen with a short bow.

"Ehehehe, I was wonderin why Mevik wasn't plannin on stayin in the mess when he served dinner. Also, thanks again cap'n for givin me and Felucia the night off to let us join you n Trishula." He told him with a smile. "So, how did you n Great Fox come together?"

"Well as I was saying, I first saw her hull model on sale when I was picking a ship to buy, but unfortunately, she was too expensive at the time. When I saw her original hull, saw how expensive she was though, I knew I needed to work hard to get her." He said as he ate his food and spoke in between bites. "So, my first ship I purchased was a Corvette, and after that I started working for various factions, taking jobs and doing what I can to save up enough money for her. I worked my way up the ship ladder. I got a light cruiser, then a frigate, cargo ship, back to a corvette and kept trading until I earned enough from saving, to eventually sell my 'final' ship before her, a heavy cruiser... to have enough money to purchase her hull."

He swallowed a bite of his food and continued to eat in silence so they could all eat.

"But there was one problem... I purchased her with only enough money to buy her hull... I couldn't even give her a single gun to defend herself with!" He chuckled to them and everyone laughed.

"Naked Great Fox... oh that must have been a sad display, a ship like her and as tough as she is, without a 'single' gun to her name." Trishula laughed. "At that point her Low Profile Mode was her High Profile Mode."

"Oh, that must have been so sad for you and your ship... not a gun to her name..." Felucia said with an apologetic smile.

"Yea... it was... but it was all we had... we ended up taking our first job, a supply delivery mission carrying fuel. We joined a convoy for protection until I had enough money to pay for some guns to protect her." He explained as Mevik returned with seconds, offering it to those who wanted and all of them accepted. "It took over a year of work, but eventually I purchased a few AFB gun batteries, and a few cruiser turrets so she could at least defend herself, but she was so big and the gun turrets barely covered much of her, that I still ended up joining other convoys or asking for help to keep her safe. Then after about two more years I was able to afford my Arwings... twenty of them to fill her hanger bay so she had fighters to help protect her, but as you can see... only six are left after all these years."

"And they're still the best starfighters I've ever been able to fly around in!" Trishula said with a smile.

"Ay that they are, that they are!" Tony said. "Reminds me of the time when ah firs opened up the store, rememba Felucia, oooh we were workin overtime just trying to get ourselves known."

"Tough times, toooough times."

"Sayin, Trishula girl, what was yer dream starfighter ya always were hopin to find yerself pilotin one day?"

"My dream starfighter... ugh... I remember, it was a Dylerian-Firstaro VG-2 Post Alpha Multi-Modular X-Tera Forma Orca Starfighter." Trishula said as she recalled that ship like it was yesterday. Oh, it was basically the same as your Arwings Arthur, but oooh it was sooo cool and it was sooo top of the line when it first came out. But they stopped production like a 'month' after it hit the market because of how expensive it was... the fact that your Arwings were being cut shortly before it was finished didn't help save it either."

"I remember that model... I wanted to buy one, but I forgot to place an order... I was so distracted, and by the time I remembered it was too late..." He said as the Orca Starfighter was basically a more 'powerful' version of his Arwing, capable of the same multi-modular functionality but with heavier armor, speed and maneuverability. "I don't know if there's even a thousand of those ships out on the market with how short their production time was before they shut down."

"Yea... it was my dreeeam ship back in the day... I was so wishing I could fly it... but, never came to pass." Trishula sighed happily as she leaned on him. "But at least I have your Arwings, they're the precurser to that model, and honestly, even if one was offered, I wouldn't trade my Bottlenose-D-Zentra starfighter, or 'Arwing' hehe, for an Orca starfighter."

He nodded as he gently held her hand under the table as he was happy she was happy with her starfighter he gifted her.

Suddenly Mevik walked over from the kitchen and waved to him with a wink as he tapped a button and turned most of the lights down with exception to those in the opening space away from the tables. That was Mevik saying he had finished setting up the dance floor setting for them, and happily went back to the kitchen to get himself something while he and Trishula would go and dance.

[Attention Guests... we are now passing by the third quarter of Aquavram Prime, the Lendumara Nebula is off the port side, and the sun is currently casting a beautiful seven o clock afternoon glow upon Blue Fox. We will now begin the 'dance' portion of tonight's party, please guests, make your way to the floor...]

He smiled as Tony and Felucia took a drink while he stood up and offered Trishula his hand. "May I have this dance?"

She just stared at his hand as she nodded with a soft smile, standing up and walking with him to the floor where a tiny spotlight shined on them. Tony and Trishula deciding to let the two have the floor to themselves, not much for dancing at their ages and preferring to just enjoy the atmosphere while Mevik came over and sat down to enjoy his own dinner and the company of his friends.

Arthur however walked over with Trishula, both of them assuming their positions as they were practiced that morning, as the music subtly changed to fit the theme. [We present to you, Chopin's Spring Waltz, Mariage d'Armour...]

As the music began to play, they slowly danced and twirled around the floor, Arthur gripping Trishula's waist with one hand as she did his, while their other hands were entwined and hold the other held out to the side. Their dance was a slow waltz, a very slow and carefully done one because of how little 'practice' they had and not being experts, but it didn't really matter to them as they just walked and spun, shifted and even twirled a bit as Arthur spun her slightly.

All the while the lighting remained at a low setting, only the natural lighting of the sun casting beautiful heavenly beams into the room as the ship orbited the planet below them could show what was going on. As they dance Trishula just had this beautiful beaming smile as she danced with him across the floor, feeling a warmth swelling in her chest as he took such great care with her that night. Arthur however, was just in awe at how amazing she looked to him that night, the dress she wore and how pretty she looked giving him a sense of wonder that he could be considered so lucky to be dancing with her that night.

As the music continued to chime and play, creating a wonderful performance and Arthur spun her in reverse this time so that their arms were positioned in reverse, he pulled her a 'little' closer than previously and she happily pressed closer to him.

She didn't have much else to say, and neither did he... so all she did was lean forward and... share a gentle kiss with him, pulling away with a twinkle in her eye and only a 'tiny' tear falling from her face. She had 'never' been treated this way before by any guy... and here he was, treating her like... like a princess.

Seeing her tear matting her fur, he gently reached up and wiped it away, saying "I thought I said, a pretty face, and yours is very pretty... deserves to be seen by all, not sullied by tears."

She just sniffed a little, her eyes pulling back the tears so they wouldn't ruin this night for them, and all she said was, "Thank you... this has been the best night of my life..." She whispered to him as she leaned against him and they began to dance again, mostly just spinning slightly and swaying with the music. "I swear... if I died right now... I could die happy..."

"I'd rather not die now... because I want to keep giving you more happy days to live for." He whispered to her. "That's what I want now... more than anything..."

The three who were still sitting at the table and trading words just smiled as they watched the Captain and his Ace Pilot having the time of their lives dancing. Mevik remembered how he had asked him if he could quickly board Blue Fox and prepare a dinner for him, Trishula and Tony and Felucia, a 'formal' dinner for a formal dinner party. Mevik was most curious why, but a quick explanation told him all he needed, and after boarding and seeing how 'rushed' Great Fox was with getting the food to him, he knew his mission tonight was more important than 'anything' ever before. He had to make a dinner to salvage the 'horrible' night Trishula was having and he strove to make it 'perfect'.

As for Tony and Felucia, while the two of them didn't mind spending time away from the ship to be together for a fancy party, they realized that he had asked them to be there so Trishula would have friendly company for a dinner party and to help save an evening on the verge of being ruined. Tony knew how important Trishula was to Arthur, and saw how far the lad was willing to go to make tonight 'special' for her, and he was the next best thing to a father she had, and after all the years he's watched over her and her squadron, and how rough she's had it, he was never so proud to see her dancing with the man she fell in love with.

"Well, I think we saved their night..." Mevik muttered to them as he sat back and just watched them, his food mostly forgotten and only taking snippets so it wouldn't go to waste.

"Ah... that we did... that we did..." Felucia said warmly as it reminded her of when her Tony asked 'her' out one night to go dancing.

"I always told her... lass, your man is out there somewhere, waitin for you ter find him, jus like a coold n lonely planet waitin on a beaitful star to warm it up, so it can rotate around you... and see the beautiful jewel of da galaxy... you deserve to be treated as." Tony told them to which his wife wholeheartedly agreed. "I'm happy to see er so happy... ah aint neva seen her soo happy, in so long..."

With that their night continued, while Blue Fox flew onward, orbiting the planet at a steady pace while inside Captain Arthur and Trishula continued to dance the night away, all but unaware that they were alone. To them it was like the galaxy as a whole didn't exist... even as Blue Fox passed by the 'still' orbiting cargo liners waiting to land on the planet below... the galaxy didn't exist past the Blue Fox's hull. All that mattered, was the music that played, the two of them dancing, and the three friends of Trishula who helped save their night of bitterness and disappointment, turning it instead into the best night of a Purebred Terran's and Purebred Belgan's lives.

Meanwhile, down on the planet, just after Blue Fox left the palace and was about to take off into the open ocean...

Ikaria was walking into the back gardens to go and meet with Lord Umbara in 'private', wanting to hear what it was he had to say and probably going to just grunt and 'accept' whatever he had to say before leaving, chalking it up to just fancy talk to placate her.

"Lord Umbara, where are you?" She yelled as she turned the corner toward the fountain square. "I swear Lord Umbara, if this is just a dumb ploy to embarrass me, it' not going to work!"

She glanced around as she passed by a row of high bushes and mini coral trees, but saw nobody.

Then suddenly a hand gripped her waist from behind, and another grabbed at her mouth, a cloth shoved over her nose and mouth, forcing her to inhale a strange smelling 'odor' and taste a weird 'wet' substance that caused her to get very drowse very quickly.

"Mmmph? Mmmph! Mmm... mephmm... mmmph?" She tried to scream but she was gagged, and though she tried to fight back, her muscles became weak, her eyes became tired... and she slowly began to black out as the world around her faded.

==Until Next time, Pleasant Dreams, Captains=

[Tony's Log]

[Well, where the hell do I start. I'm working aboard a starship, again! After so long I'm finally working me craft again! After all me finalian trying to get work on Belga Cinco with me family, tryin to find a way to make ends meat... I'm 'finally' doin what I love doin again, working aboard a starship at me craft of being a starship mechanic and engineer. An BOY what a ship she is... a Finback Battleship, them Dylerians know how to build starships let me tell you. Works of art these babies, and they be some of the 'finest' ships on the market... tis a dyin shame they aint being made anymore.

[I remember working so many years in spittin distance of the spaceport, and the onyl work I ever be gettin is home work, like come on, I'm a starship mechanic. Forty years in the business... and I couldn't even get work as a wrench turner for a cargo transport! Unless yer paid by the government or you work aboard a starship, tis hard to run a mechanic's shop on a farmin planet. We made ends meat though, me an me family... tis a tough time but we still made ends meat.]

[Course what can I say besides what was said, ooh I know... Trishula, there's a lass that I got to know well over the years. Five years plus, since she left the academy and worked with her squadron to make a name for her squadron, Trishula's Pack. She was me favorite customer, always stopping by for parts for her starfighters, and I gave her the best deals I could, discounts, you name it... she was always down on her luck. Sometimes missions were good, others not so well... she was wrackin up a debt bigger than what I had, and she was always having to suck up to whatever captain she was with to get employment.]

[Then there was that 'fat pig' of a Belgan, Bolbous... bastard, best left said that is unsaid bout him besides the fact that he was slimy, fat, and an ugly bastard that kept on tryin to hit on the little lass. Between me an me bonneh, I think he was 'spyin' on her with his goons. He always turned up somehow whenever she stopped by. Even if it was at the crack o dawn or near closin time! He 'always' showed up to rile me up and try to hit on her... Oh I was tempted, so tempted many times to sock it to him... tried my best to keep her safe but... there was only so much I could do... he was my 'loan shark'...]

[But Arthur... ah aint neva met a Terran like him, came swoopin outa nowhere, like a starship hero at the last second in a play. He came... and saved her, and saved me too! Payin off me entire debt, I'll never forget that... I was so grateful even if he didn't have to do it... and after hearin what he did for Trishula and her girls... well if she were me own daughter... I woulda happily walked her down the isle to send her off! I aint neva seen her so happy, and somethin tells me he knows how special she is to him too.]

[Certainly got a laugh when I found out the fat bastard Bolbous got shot down, and thrown in jail. And when I saw my new home and work place, ooooh boy me family were so happy we made the choice to move to the ship, packin up our bags and boardin ship was a tough choice, but I'm proud to say we made the right one! Sure, the ship could use a good talkin to, the nerve, trying to tell me my tools aint needed? Bah! Whatever, at least me buddy Mevik is here and he brought his wines and beers, some o da best stuff to brighten anyone's day! Good conversationalist too, can't beat that! Glad the cap'n took my advice to hire him.]

[Then there's Kiandra, the Eldentran, never met a crazier girl like her. Ya'd think one so small would be a bit more timid, but no she was covered in more grime then even me! Kiandra's got some new designs she wants to work on, got me and some of me sons building a new module for the Arwing starfighters, something about a 'aquatic submersible' module that she's testing and needs ready for a drive, bah, she can 'keep' the water, give me dry land any day! She's super excited to see it work though, and since I'm bein paid to be an engineer with me family, we're working on it.]

[Welp, regardless of whatever happens, I dun mind, work is plenty aboard this ship, sure she acts like everything is pristine and clean, but ooooh I can tell that everything needs a good ol spit shine and maintenance shake down under tha hood! Captain has a real piece of work, and I can't wait to see what happens in the future aboard his Great Fox!]

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=Author's Notes=

So that'll be it for now, I need to take a break and work on my other stories, Hope you enjoy the story so far. I decided to avoid the Ikaria Lemon to help build their relationship better~

Did you enjoy the story so far, what are some of your favorite moments or what scenes were pretty good.

Plus I was thinking of introducing a 'rival squadron' similar to how Star Fox has Star Wolf as its 'rival team', and I'm trying to think of what to call this squadron, any suggestions lol?

And do you think I should introduce a '4th' girl to be a lover to Arthur, so far there are 3, Trishula is the main girl, Great Fox is the 'psuedo second' since she was with him and known him longest (even though she's an AI she clearly has a special 'attraction' to him as her captain and cares about him) and finally Ikaria who has a deep crush and feels a pull toward him and how happy she is being with him and aboard his ship.

Give me your reviews, let me know, I enjoy reading lots of reviews~

Also 2k + views already, yaaaaaays

edit = had to change a name because of a typo