Post by octavius on Jul 30, 2009 7:33:20 GMT
Eugene Macarius ducked his head slightly as he stepped through the open hatch. Old ship, small hatches, he thought. Eugene did not expect to be seeing the inside of this old ship again, and definitely not to see it back on active duty. Bellerophon had fought her battles already. The unexpected loss of the Enyo... that travesty had deprived Antica of its only active-duty fleet carrier. Bellerophon had been taken out of mothballs and refitted, upgraded, and shaken down repeatedly since then in order to bring her up to specs with modern naval technology. The sailor standing on guard duty straightened himself up and opened the inner hatch for him. Being a Captain meant not having to open all the doors yourself, Macarius mused.
"Captain on deck!"
Eyes strayed from stations in his direction. It was as if he were being illuminated by them all. Most of them felt like spotlights for some new movie star ritzying it up outside of some expensive restaurant in Aquilaria. Captain Macarius felt as if he were glowing. And then two other eyes directed at him, and he felt instead as if he were being illuminated by another thing entirely. High-powered RADAR emitters for a fire control system. It was a subtle glance, but it pierced through him, ready to open fire until he was rubble on the sea floor.
First Lieutenant Melanthia's eyes strayed away only long enough to return the command station's handset to its carriage. She then turned herself towards him, her right hand instinctively coming to rest on the handle of her sidearm, which remained snug in its holster, the retention flap undone. Eugene tried to ignore it like he had done countless times before.
"Sitrep?" He asked. He tried to play himself as not caring that much. Don't look at the gun, he told himself. His eyes drifted down, but he forced them back up and to her eyes, in order to demonstrate dominance.
"On course back to New Brannum, ETA is about three and a half hours." First Lieutenant Melanthia reported. If you could call her a Lieutenant, that is. She was officially billeted as the senior lieutenant aboard, the First Lieutenant, the second-in-command, the executive officer. But that didn't match with her record or even her uniform for that matter. During the previous conflict, she had replaced Captain Darling on the Menippe took command of the destroyer as its captain. Her uniform had the sleeve braiding of a Junior Grade Captain, the only thing different was that she had Lieutenant's buttons on her collar rather than command stars. That would be easily fixed when the time came.
Ever since she reported for duty aboard the Bellerophon, Eugene Macarius has suspected that the Commodore had put her here to keep an eye on him, replace him if he got out of line, eliminate him if necessary. His eyes momentarily found the gun. Her grip on it seemed to tighten in response, but then she let go and began to walk to the other side of the Command Center. The sidearm was included in her orders from the Commodore. She was under orders to be armed at all times. Only sailors on guard duty are supposed to be armed. They were all situated on the outsides of the hatches into the Command Center. They'd never see it. They would never be able to stop it.
"The order to return to New Brannum seemed quite rushed, as if they're planning something but aren't quite sure of what to do yet. When do you think we'll finally get the real order?" Melanthia asked. She was trying to be polite, to make Eugene feel as if he still had command. He knew that she received the same orders as he did, or at least he suspected it. It was so that she could be fully in the know for when she was given the order to relieve him of duty at gunpoint. For all Eugene knew, the Commodore had told her what Bellerophon's orders were, and she was simply extending the illusion for his benefit.
"When we get them." He responded, moving about the Command Center as if he were inspecting personnel performance. The Commodore... what an absolute failure. A perfect example of why monarchy fails. Commodore Octavius's position within the Antican military is only the result of good publicity and being grandfathered into the command structure with no merit for it. Grandfathered literally.
Captain Macarius wished she didn't have a gun on her whenever he saw her.
"Captain on deck!"
Eyes strayed from stations in his direction. It was as if he were being illuminated by them all. Most of them felt like spotlights for some new movie star ritzying it up outside of some expensive restaurant in Aquilaria. Captain Macarius felt as if he were glowing. And then two other eyes directed at him, and he felt instead as if he were being illuminated by another thing entirely. High-powered RADAR emitters for a fire control system. It was a subtle glance, but it pierced through him, ready to open fire until he was rubble on the sea floor.
First Lieutenant Melanthia's eyes strayed away only long enough to return the command station's handset to its carriage. She then turned herself towards him, her right hand instinctively coming to rest on the handle of her sidearm, which remained snug in its holster, the retention flap undone. Eugene tried to ignore it like he had done countless times before.
"Sitrep?" He asked. He tried to play himself as not caring that much. Don't look at the gun, he told himself. His eyes drifted down, but he forced them back up and to her eyes, in order to demonstrate dominance.
"On course back to New Brannum, ETA is about three and a half hours." First Lieutenant Melanthia reported. If you could call her a Lieutenant, that is. She was officially billeted as the senior lieutenant aboard, the First Lieutenant, the second-in-command, the executive officer. But that didn't match with her record or even her uniform for that matter. During the previous conflict, she had replaced Captain Darling on the Menippe took command of the destroyer as its captain. Her uniform had the sleeve braiding of a Junior Grade Captain, the only thing different was that she had Lieutenant's buttons on her collar rather than command stars. That would be easily fixed when the time came.
Ever since she reported for duty aboard the Bellerophon, Eugene Macarius has suspected that the Commodore had put her here to keep an eye on him, replace him if he got out of line, eliminate him if necessary. His eyes momentarily found the gun. Her grip on it seemed to tighten in response, but then she let go and began to walk to the other side of the Command Center. The sidearm was included in her orders from the Commodore. She was under orders to be armed at all times. Only sailors on guard duty are supposed to be armed. They were all situated on the outsides of the hatches into the Command Center. They'd never see it. They would never be able to stop it.
"The order to return to New Brannum seemed quite rushed, as if they're planning something but aren't quite sure of what to do yet. When do you think we'll finally get the real order?" Melanthia asked. She was trying to be polite, to make Eugene feel as if he still had command. He knew that she received the same orders as he did, or at least he suspected it. It was so that she could be fully in the know for when she was given the order to relieve him of duty at gunpoint. For all Eugene knew, the Commodore had told her what Bellerophon's orders were, and she was simply extending the illusion for his benefit.
"When we get them." He responded, moving about the Command Center as if he were inspecting personnel performance. The Commodore... what an absolute failure. A perfect example of why monarchy fails. Commodore Octavius's position within the Antican military is only the result of good publicity and being grandfathered into the command structure with no merit for it. Grandfathered literally.
Captain Macarius wished she didn't have a gun on her whenever he saw her.
"To the graduates!" Everyone said in unison, their glasses raised. After a bout of clapping, the group of hetaerae at the front of the room bowed. Two sat, one with a zither, the other with a flute, and began to play their music. It was calming yet energetic. The other hetaerae silently walked forward and joined the party guests.
Christopher stared into his glass of myrtle wine while everyone else had taken their first and even second sip. An elbow gently pressed into his side. His niece, Zoe. She whispered, "drink it before they think there's something wrong with it." Christopher nodded and took a large gulp, nearly emptying the small glass. Myrtle wine, crafted by the Great God Iacchis for times of celebration that marked the threshold between the end of one thing and the beginning of the other. Christopher hated the taste of alcohol. Divine creation or not, he did not enjoy it. Zoe, on the other hand, nursed her glass like an expert connoisseur.
On the adjacent bench around the table sat First Minister Alexander Julian Telenius and his wife Katarina Telenia. Between them sat their daughter, Alexandra Chloe Telenia, formerly Midshipman, Junior Lieutenant now that she has graduated and been formally commissioned. She wore the sleeve braiding and the Lieutenant's buttons on her collar quite proudly. She still sported a Midshipman's haircut, but it was already beginning to grow out. Christopher never liked the look of buzzed hair, especially on women. At least the Naval Academy allowed women to have their hair trimmed a little longer, enough that it actually looked like a real head of hair and not misplaced week old stubble. Zoe had the woman's style Midshipman's cut to match her Midshipman's uniform. The long locks of her childhood were gone, and by the time her hair would grew out again, she would be wearing it up like a decent, proper woman.
"Congratulations, Lieutenant." Christopher said to Junior Lieutenant Telenia raising his almost empty glass for emphasis. Before he could refuse, a waiter filled his glass back up.
"Thank you, Lord Commodore." She said with a slight nod of the head and a reserved smile.
Christopher stood and handed his glass to Zoe. "I'll be right back." he said before disappearing towards the doorway.
"First Minister," spoke one of the waiters, bending down so that he could relay his message as quietly as possible to First Minister Telenius," a Mister Ikarine wishes to speak with you on the telephone."
"I told him not to interrupt me during the party..." First Minister Telenius said. He looked around and huffed, but stood and followed the waiter out to the telephone.
Katarina Telenia let out a fake laugh that matched the fake, affected patrician accent that she continued conversing in with the nearest person to her. Chloe wished that her mother would stop trying to pretend that she was born a patrician. Ever since she reached adolescence, she took delight in fighting against her mother's will, all for the sole purpose of weakening her mother's walls and causing the nearly forgotten Caitlin Winters, the daughter of a salaryman, to come out in her lower-middle class glory.
It wasn't that Chloe enjoyed asserting any sort of superiority or dominance over her mother, because she was born a patrician while her mother was working as a field nurse in the first year of the Revolution when she met and married Chloe's father. It was because her mother tried so hard to pretend that that was never her life, that she was no longer Caitlin Winters but Katarina Telenia, wife of the First minister of the Kaikias Territory and the Lord of House Telenius, one of the wealthiest and most noble of the patrician houses. And every time Chloe got her mother angry, she snapped back into her old, her true self, the one that nobody otherwise got to see.
Lord Commodore Octavius's niece was sitting on the next bench over. He had gone off and left her alone. The midshipman's uniform looked big on the girl, but Chloe felt the same when when she first got into the Naval Academy. It took her quite a deal of time to grow into it. She looked up from the table at Chloe and gave a smile that betrayed her nervousness.
"Zoe, right?" Chloe asked.
"Mmmhmm."
Chloe got up briefly in order to take the free space next to Zoe Octavia and extended out her hand. Zoe looked at it for a moment, then carefully reached out and shook it. "You can call me Chloe. Just not in earshot of my mother. She'll be offended that I give my personal name too freely."
Zoe nodded. "Nice to meet you, Chl--Alexandra Telenia." Zoe switched names halfway through, her gaze now diverted from Chloe to someone behind her. Chloe turned to see her mother nodding in approval.
Her mother said, "It's about time the two of you became friends, being as you are. Heirs to the highest, most noble of the houses."
Chloe turned back to Zoe and whispered, "Please, ignore her." and then at a normal tone, "So... you're in... third year now?"
Zoe nodded. "I'm supposed to be going on my first sea trials soon. Not sure which ship, though."
"Considering how few ships there are available in Kaikias, you might be unlucky enough to get sent to the battle group in Nafticon. I doubt it, though. Your uncle probably won't let you near those... ruffians."
"I don't know about that. I can't help but thinking that he's been reorganizing my schedules and assignments specifically to ensure that I get the most difficult experience possible. If there is favoritism, I don't see it."
"That's probably what he's already doing. I--" Chloe's train of thought was interrupted by a hand landing on her shoulder, followed by others which grabbed her by the arms and dragged her backwards off the bench and along the floor.
"Look who we have here, Lieutenant." That was Dennis Labryas's voice.
"Indeed, Lieutenant." That was Ariadne Grisea's voice. "She sure was hard to find. I hope she wasn't trying to hide from the rest of us."
"Hey, I was just socializing..." Chloe said in defense, laughing as she was dragged over to where the other fresh graduates were collecting.
Zoe had her glass refilled with some more myrtle wine and picked some food from one of the waiters' trays. She had no idea what it was, just that it tasted good.
"May I sit here?" A kind, gentle voice asked. Zoe turned her head and looked up to see a woman standing by her. She was dressed in the traditional Kaikian style, her clothes hanging perfectly on her. The pattern on her jacket was small bursts of white and lilac flowers with green leaves carefully placed between and beside them, all against a rich, dark indigo background. Her hands were positioned perfectly, one over the other in front of her. Zoe could feel her gaze and looked up to meet it. Amber eyes, mostly golden but more of a russet hue just around the irises. Crystal clear eyes. Deep yet friendly eyes. Smiling eyes. She was a hetaera. A hetaera's clothes are always exquisite, always in the older, traditional style, but a hetaera's gaze is absolutely unmistakable. Zoe nodded silently and the woman sat down beside her.
"What are you doing here, sitting all by yourself?" The hetaera asked pointedly.
"I don't trust Captain Macarius with our command ship, Anthony. The Enyo was bad enough, but the Bellerophon is dear to me. It's dear to all of us. A ship that brought victories and its crew home. I don't want Macarius to blacken the old girl's name, she's been through too much to deserve that." Christopher didn't feel like he was getting anywhere.
"I understand your reservations about Captain Macarius, but I feel that my place is among the destroyers. If you are asking where I feel most comfortable and where I believe my place to be, then that is it." Anthony Scutarius's sharp gaze back at Christopher emphasized his resolve. He absolutely positively did not want to command the Bellerophon, or any command ship. The best of Antica's destroyer commanders knew where he was most comfortable. But at the same time, Christopher could feel that there was something Scutarius was not saying. Scutarius would accept command of the Bellerophon if he were being ordered to take command, even though he wouldn't like it. Christopher didn't feel that it was the right place for him to impose on Scutarius. He earned the right to ask for whichever position he wanted. If one day he said that he felt that his rightful place was Commodore of the Kaikian Naval Service, then he would get it. He had clout beyond clout.
Christopher nodded with defeat.
Anthony Scutarius, deciding to change the subject, said, "So, when will I be expecting Mister Octavia aboard the Halimede?"
"Shortly. The assignment office is still having trouble finding places for midshipmen. With the Bellerophon, Doto, and Menippe being held up in the New Brannum area and probably being dispatched into the West Benacian Sea, the midshipmen who were assigned to them won't be able to take up their assignments. At least not right away." Christopher paused. That information wasn't supposed to be distributed to the Captains yet. Not until the Assembly resolution passed. Anthony nodded silently, giving no indication of surprise or that he would repeat it to anyone until he got that information in an official briefing.
Finally, Anthony said, "well, make sure that she and the others get on the Halimede soon, so that they can get fully accustomed to the environment, lest the Halimede be needed as well." He already seemed to know what was already in the works.
"If you'd like, you can meet her. I brought her with me." Christopher led Captain Scutarius through the room and to the triad of benches where he had left Zoe. There was a Hetaera sitting next to her, and Zoe's face was reddening, especially her cheeks and ears, her eyes alternating between the hetaera's and diverted away.
Christopher sat down on the bench that the Telenii had been sitting but had long since abandoned. "Zoe?" Zoe jumped back slightly as she turned to face him. "I'd like you to meet Lord Scutarius, Captain of the Halimede."
Zoe stood up quickly, her face still flush with blood, her hand trailing behind her because the hetaera still held it. She also stood and bowed to Scutarius.
"Mister Octavia, from what I have heard, I should be expecting you aboard my ship for sea trials within the next day or so."
The sides of Zoe's mouth curled up, but she suppressed it flat. She had definitely heard of Scutarius's reputation. She still stood there silently. Christopher subtly elbowed her to see if she would tip over or stand firm. Zoe remained standing but she had yet to open her mouth. Christopher elbowed her again, but more forcefully. "Yes sir." Was all that she could respond with.
Captain Scutarius smiled reservedly in time for his wife, Helena, to approach him and take his hand. "If you'll excuse me, Commodore, Midshipman." Zoe nodded slightly enthusiastically. The couple wandered back into the background while the Octavii and the hetaera sat back down.
"So, who might you be?" Christopher asked. Zoe looked at him confusingly, then, with an expression of clarity, leaned back to make a clear path between her uncle and the hetaera holding her hand.
"My name is Calliope." The hetaera replied.
"That is quite fitting." Christopher said genuinely. "Discuss anything interesting?"
"Philosophy" Zoe stated rather quickly.
Christopher suppressed a smile and nodded. "Always a good topic of conversation. I hope that I didn't interrupt. You two get back to discussing philosophy."
No sooner did Christopher stand up and get outside earshot of the two did he come face to face with Lord Telenius, who aggressively asked him, "When were you planning on informing me?"
Christopher had a pretty good idea of what the First Minister was referring to. "Probably once the Assembly resolution was secured. Before then, there's no guarantee of anything happening. Anyway, I've been meaning to ask you about the progress of that bill that we were discussing last month. The Patricianship Eligibility Council Bill?"
Lord Telenius sighed. "It's not easy going. The Greens are utterly opposed to the idea. They see it as wholly against their party platform and possibly even as a ploy for the Conservatives to slowly 'reenshrine' Patricianship as a legal status above that of the common citizen. Can you believe it? 'Reenshrine'!"
"It's madness." Christopher said, shaking his head sarcastically but subtlely.
"The Conservative Leadership gave up on that idea long ago when it became clear that it would hurt our numbers in the following election if we tried to do that. No, we're trying to argue that it's solely for cultural reasons. That, and we're building up a pile of Green legislation that we won't let through if they don't let the PEC bill through." Lord Telenius looked quite pleased. "Things are looking up on it, though. I know you're interested in clearing out all of the rabbles who are claiming false Patricianship. Don't you worry, your time will come."
Christopher stared into his glass of myrtle wine while everyone else had taken their first and even second sip. An elbow gently pressed into his side. His niece, Zoe. She whispered, "drink it before they think there's something wrong with it." Christopher nodded and took a large gulp, nearly emptying the small glass. Myrtle wine, crafted by the Great God Iacchis for times of celebration that marked the threshold between the end of one thing and the beginning of the other. Christopher hated the taste of alcohol. Divine creation or not, he did not enjoy it. Zoe, on the other hand, nursed her glass like an expert connoisseur.
On the adjacent bench around the table sat First Minister Alexander Julian Telenius and his wife Katarina Telenia. Between them sat their daughter, Alexandra Chloe Telenia, formerly Midshipman, Junior Lieutenant now that she has graduated and been formally commissioned. She wore the sleeve braiding and the Lieutenant's buttons on her collar quite proudly. She still sported a Midshipman's haircut, but it was already beginning to grow out. Christopher never liked the look of buzzed hair, especially on women. At least the Naval Academy allowed women to have their hair trimmed a little longer, enough that it actually looked like a real head of hair and not misplaced week old stubble. Zoe had the woman's style Midshipman's cut to match her Midshipman's uniform. The long locks of her childhood were gone, and by the time her hair would grew out again, she would be wearing it up like a decent, proper woman.
"Congratulations, Lieutenant." Christopher said to Junior Lieutenant Telenia raising his almost empty glass for emphasis. Before he could refuse, a waiter filled his glass back up.
"Thank you, Lord Commodore." She said with a slight nod of the head and a reserved smile.
Christopher stood and handed his glass to Zoe. "I'll be right back." he said before disappearing towards the doorway.
"First Minister," spoke one of the waiters, bending down so that he could relay his message as quietly as possible to First Minister Telenius," a Mister Ikarine wishes to speak with you on the telephone."
"I told him not to interrupt me during the party..." First Minister Telenius said. He looked around and huffed, but stood and followed the waiter out to the telephone.
Katarina Telenia let out a fake laugh that matched the fake, affected patrician accent that she continued conversing in with the nearest person to her. Chloe wished that her mother would stop trying to pretend that she was born a patrician. Ever since she reached adolescence, she took delight in fighting against her mother's will, all for the sole purpose of weakening her mother's walls and causing the nearly forgotten Caitlin Winters, the daughter of a salaryman, to come out in her lower-middle class glory.
It wasn't that Chloe enjoyed asserting any sort of superiority or dominance over her mother, because she was born a patrician while her mother was working as a field nurse in the first year of the Revolution when she met and married Chloe's father. It was because her mother tried so hard to pretend that that was never her life, that she was no longer Caitlin Winters but Katarina Telenia, wife of the First minister of the Kaikias Territory and the Lord of House Telenius, one of the wealthiest and most noble of the patrician houses. And every time Chloe got her mother angry, she snapped back into her old, her true self, the one that nobody otherwise got to see.
Lord Commodore Octavius's niece was sitting on the next bench over. He had gone off and left her alone. The midshipman's uniform looked big on the girl, but Chloe felt the same when when she first got into the Naval Academy. It took her quite a deal of time to grow into it. She looked up from the table at Chloe and gave a smile that betrayed her nervousness.
"Zoe, right?" Chloe asked.
"Mmmhmm."
Chloe got up briefly in order to take the free space next to Zoe Octavia and extended out her hand. Zoe looked at it for a moment, then carefully reached out and shook it. "You can call me Chloe. Just not in earshot of my mother. She'll be offended that I give my personal name too freely."
Zoe nodded. "Nice to meet you, Chl--Alexandra Telenia." Zoe switched names halfway through, her gaze now diverted from Chloe to someone behind her. Chloe turned to see her mother nodding in approval.
Her mother said, "It's about time the two of you became friends, being as you are. Heirs to the highest, most noble of the houses."
Chloe turned back to Zoe and whispered, "Please, ignore her." and then at a normal tone, "So... you're in... third year now?"
Zoe nodded. "I'm supposed to be going on my first sea trials soon. Not sure which ship, though."
"Considering how few ships there are available in Kaikias, you might be unlucky enough to get sent to the battle group in Nafticon. I doubt it, though. Your uncle probably won't let you near those... ruffians."
"I don't know about that. I can't help but thinking that he's been reorganizing my schedules and assignments specifically to ensure that I get the most difficult experience possible. If there is favoritism, I don't see it."
"That's probably what he's already doing. I--" Chloe's train of thought was interrupted by a hand landing on her shoulder, followed by others which grabbed her by the arms and dragged her backwards off the bench and along the floor.
"Look who we have here, Lieutenant." That was Dennis Labryas's voice.
"Indeed, Lieutenant." That was Ariadne Grisea's voice. "She sure was hard to find. I hope she wasn't trying to hide from the rest of us."
"Hey, I was just socializing..." Chloe said in defense, laughing as she was dragged over to where the other fresh graduates were collecting.
Zoe had her glass refilled with some more myrtle wine and picked some food from one of the waiters' trays. She had no idea what it was, just that it tasted good.
"May I sit here?" A kind, gentle voice asked. Zoe turned her head and looked up to see a woman standing by her. She was dressed in the traditional Kaikian style, her clothes hanging perfectly on her. The pattern on her jacket was small bursts of white and lilac flowers with green leaves carefully placed between and beside them, all against a rich, dark indigo background. Her hands were positioned perfectly, one over the other in front of her. Zoe could feel her gaze and looked up to meet it. Amber eyes, mostly golden but more of a russet hue just around the irises. Crystal clear eyes. Deep yet friendly eyes. Smiling eyes. She was a hetaera. A hetaera's clothes are always exquisite, always in the older, traditional style, but a hetaera's gaze is absolutely unmistakable. Zoe nodded silently and the woman sat down beside her.
"What are you doing here, sitting all by yourself?" The hetaera asked pointedly.
"I don't trust Captain Macarius with our command ship, Anthony. The Enyo was bad enough, but the Bellerophon is dear to me. It's dear to all of us. A ship that brought victories and its crew home. I don't want Macarius to blacken the old girl's name, she's been through too much to deserve that." Christopher didn't feel like he was getting anywhere.
"I understand your reservations about Captain Macarius, but I feel that my place is among the destroyers. If you are asking where I feel most comfortable and where I believe my place to be, then that is it." Anthony Scutarius's sharp gaze back at Christopher emphasized his resolve. He absolutely positively did not want to command the Bellerophon, or any command ship. The best of Antica's destroyer commanders knew where he was most comfortable. But at the same time, Christopher could feel that there was something Scutarius was not saying. Scutarius would accept command of the Bellerophon if he were being ordered to take command, even though he wouldn't like it. Christopher didn't feel that it was the right place for him to impose on Scutarius. He earned the right to ask for whichever position he wanted. If one day he said that he felt that his rightful place was Commodore of the Kaikian Naval Service, then he would get it. He had clout beyond clout.
Christopher nodded with defeat.
Anthony Scutarius, deciding to change the subject, said, "So, when will I be expecting Mister Octavia aboard the Halimede?"
"Shortly. The assignment office is still having trouble finding places for midshipmen. With the Bellerophon, Doto, and Menippe being held up in the New Brannum area and probably being dispatched into the West Benacian Sea, the midshipmen who were assigned to them won't be able to take up their assignments. At least not right away." Christopher paused. That information wasn't supposed to be distributed to the Captains yet. Not until the Assembly resolution passed. Anthony nodded silently, giving no indication of surprise or that he would repeat it to anyone until he got that information in an official briefing.
Finally, Anthony said, "well, make sure that she and the others get on the Halimede soon, so that they can get fully accustomed to the environment, lest the Halimede be needed as well." He already seemed to know what was already in the works.
"If you'd like, you can meet her. I brought her with me." Christopher led Captain Scutarius through the room and to the triad of benches where he had left Zoe. There was a Hetaera sitting next to her, and Zoe's face was reddening, especially her cheeks and ears, her eyes alternating between the hetaera's and diverted away.
Christopher sat down on the bench that the Telenii had been sitting but had long since abandoned. "Zoe?" Zoe jumped back slightly as she turned to face him. "I'd like you to meet Lord Scutarius, Captain of the Halimede."
Zoe stood up quickly, her face still flush with blood, her hand trailing behind her because the hetaera still held it. She also stood and bowed to Scutarius.
"Mister Octavia, from what I have heard, I should be expecting you aboard my ship for sea trials within the next day or so."
The sides of Zoe's mouth curled up, but she suppressed it flat. She had definitely heard of Scutarius's reputation. She still stood there silently. Christopher subtly elbowed her to see if she would tip over or stand firm. Zoe remained standing but she had yet to open her mouth. Christopher elbowed her again, but more forcefully. "Yes sir." Was all that she could respond with.
Captain Scutarius smiled reservedly in time for his wife, Helena, to approach him and take his hand. "If you'll excuse me, Commodore, Midshipman." Zoe nodded slightly enthusiastically. The couple wandered back into the background while the Octavii and the hetaera sat back down.
"So, who might you be?" Christopher asked. Zoe looked at him confusingly, then, with an expression of clarity, leaned back to make a clear path between her uncle and the hetaera holding her hand.
"My name is Calliope." The hetaera replied.
"That is quite fitting." Christopher said genuinely. "Discuss anything interesting?"
"Philosophy" Zoe stated rather quickly.
Christopher suppressed a smile and nodded. "Always a good topic of conversation. I hope that I didn't interrupt. You two get back to discussing philosophy."
No sooner did Christopher stand up and get outside earshot of the two did he come face to face with Lord Telenius, who aggressively asked him, "When were you planning on informing me?"
Christopher had a pretty good idea of what the First Minister was referring to. "Probably once the Assembly resolution was secured. Before then, there's no guarantee of anything happening. Anyway, I've been meaning to ask you about the progress of that bill that we were discussing last month. The Patricianship Eligibility Council Bill?"
Lord Telenius sighed. "It's not easy going. The Greens are utterly opposed to the idea. They see it as wholly against their party platform and possibly even as a ploy for the Conservatives to slowly 'reenshrine' Patricianship as a legal status above that of the common citizen. Can you believe it? 'Reenshrine'!"
"It's madness." Christopher said, shaking his head sarcastically but subtlely.
"The Conservative Leadership gave up on that idea long ago when it became clear that it would hurt our numbers in the following election if we tried to do that. No, we're trying to argue that it's solely for cultural reasons. That, and we're building up a pile of Green legislation that we won't let through if they don't let the PEC bill through." Lord Telenius looked quite pleased. "Things are looking up on it, though. I know you're interested in clearing out all of the rabbles who are claiming false Patricianship. Don't you worry, your time will come."