Chapter Seventy-Nine - Problem Solving

Sometimes, on rare occasions, problems solve themselves.

There was a knock at Ivil's door. Three taps, evenly spaced, loud enough to be heard clearly without being so loud as to insult.

There was only one person that knock could belong to.

"Come in," Ivil said.

The door opened, and Aurora slipped into the captain's cabin. She was dressed rather plainly, her hair wrapped in a towel with slippers on. "Evelyn," she said.

Ivil felt her eyebrows rising as she took the woman in. Aurora was rarely not dressed her best, though it was clear the woman had just left the shower. "Aurora. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Aurora frowned slightly and seemed surprisingly unconcerned about her manner of dress. "Evelyn... do you know how to dance?"

"I do," Ivil replied. "That isn't the line of questioning I expected to hear just now. Is anything wrong?"

Aurora took a deep breath, then nodded. "I need a... guest to accompany me to a small gathering in one of the nearby ships. There will be food provided, of course, but it's expected that those who attend be able to dance. Not necessarily well but at least without embarrassing themselves."

Ivil perked up. Was... was this Aurora asking her out on a date? "What sort of event is this?"

"I wouldn't call it a ball, but it's not so dissimilar to one," Aurora said. "Just a small dance organised by some Jovian elites that will be taking place on a pleasure yacht attached to Driftwood. There are a few people there that I would do well to impress. Going all on my own is an option, of course."

"Nonsense," Ivil said. "I'll accompany you, of course."

Aurora perked up a little. "Thank you. I would invite Twenty-Six, but... well, I don't think she knows how to dance, or comport herself in that kind of event. Missy is another option, but I question her allegiances."

"So I'm the safe option?" Ivil asked.

Aurora flushed faintly. "I wouldn't exactly put it that way... but yes?"

Ivil smiled. This was perhaps the first time anyone had ever referred to her as the safe anything. It was an interesting feeling. "What's the dress code?"

"Formal. I... suppose you might fit into one of my dresses? If we modify it... a lot. Or we can buy something off of a rack if we hurry."

"No need," Ivil said. "I can take care of things myself. When is this event?"

Aurora glanced at her watch, which wasn't a good sign. "In approximately two hours."

"Oh my, cutting it very close, aren't we?"

"It came up unexpectedly," Aurora admitted.

Ivil shrugged. She could see what this was under the surface. Or at least, she desperately hoped she was understanding the underlying implication that Aurora merely wanted to go out and dance with her. "Go get changed," she said. "I'll change myself."

"Do you have anything appropriate?" Aurora asked.

"Don't you worry about it."

Aurora did seem to worry a little, but she nodded, then slipped out of the room. Ivil sensed her heading to the back of the ship towards her own room to get changed. She snapped her attention back, closed the door, then gestured towards her still-unused bed.

A large briefcase appeared upon it, the latches holding it closed snapping open with a stray thought to reveal Ivil's uniform. It wasn't merely Ivil's uniform in the sense that it was hers--though it was--this was also the uniform that people recognized her for.

Darker than blackness itself, cut in the same style as the Martian Navy's top brass, but with a little more flair to it. She'd been inspired by ancient Earth navies when she crafted this uniform. The epaulettes, the high-waisted pants and long flaring jacket.

In a blink, she was divested of her archeologist's costume. In another, she was wearing her uniform once more. It was... surprisingly right on her. Familiar after years of being worn. But that had to change.

Stepping out dressed as Ivil Antagonist, Empress of Mars would give her away far, far too easily.

She summoned a large block of silver and held it floating before her. The side warped and then stilled, becoming a near-perfect mirror that stretched from floor to ceiling. Ivil stood before her reflection and nodded.

First, lightening the extremely dark material to something more like a charcoal black. Then a blouse. Pearl-white and buttoned up to her neck. A vest over it, then pants that flared a little at the bottom. She sighed and removed her navy boots before summoning a pair of rather lethal heels.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

A tie... no, too formal. She dismissed it. A bowtie?

Goodness no. She wasn't some frumpy nerd.

So no tie, then. She popped the button on her collar off and freed her neck some. A hint of clavicle wouldn't hurt.

Half-turning, she tightened the seat of her pants... then did it some more.

Ivil was under the opinion that she had a fine ass, and she suspected that Aurora would appreciate it.

She ran a hand through her hair, making sure it fell properly, then nodded to herself as she adjusted the cuffs of her coat.

Aurora was stepping out of her rooms now, and so Ivil dismissed the mirror, made her briefcase fold itself back to nothing, and walked over to the door. She opened it and stepped out, coming face-to-face with Aurora.

The Phobian princess-turned-diplomat was in a light, beige dress. A long skirt that clung to her legs, a plunging neckline that revealed a lot of dark flesh and a careful application of makeup that drew Ivil's eyes to her lips and eyes.

"E-Evelyn," Aurora said as she scanned her up and down. "Ah... you clean up well."

"Why thank you," Ivil said. "You look..." She paused. Would saying delectable be inappropriate? She decided that she didn't care. "Positively delectable."

"Flattery will get you somewhere, Evelyn," Aurora said. "But not right now. Where did you even get that?"

"It's custom-tailored," Ivil replied. "And I had it with me this entire time. You never know when you'll have the opportunity to dress to impress."

"Mhm," Aurora replied. She was still eyeing Ivil up and down. Ivil didn't preen under the gaze, because that would be immature, but she did make a point of slowly turning to close her door behind her so that Aurora would get a good view.

"Shall we?" she asked once everything was shut.

Aurora wasn't meeting her eye as she nodded. "Certainly," she replied.

Ivil smiled. She hadn't felt this smug in a while, but she felt like she deserved it. She was getting a good grade in lesbian, something that was both normal to want and possible to achieve.

Aurora led her out of the Sappho and Ivil noticed that even though the docks were rather sparsely populated, they were still grabbing some attention from the few people around. She supposed that they did stand out from the crowd. The average citizen of Driftwood station didn't dress in anything approaching formal wear.

"So, what can you tell me about this ball?" Ivil asked.

"It's a relatively minor event," Aurora said. "I only received an invitation because it's being held by an affiliate of one of the Jovian diplomats that we met at that last conference. I suspect he sent invitations to everyone nearby. I would ordinarily have avoided the entire thing, but it may well be a good opportunity to make better contacts."

"Are you so concerned about the upcoming conference?" Ivil asked.

"Yes. The fate of Phobos may well rely on it. Though I'm... proud of what I've achieved so far. I've gained Phobos a solid number of cores, assuming all goes well."

"And that's important to you," Ivil said. It wasn't quite a question.

Aurora took a moment before nodding. "It is."

"Why?" Ivil asked simply.

Aurora glanced up at her, then back out ahead. "It's important for me to establish myself. That's all. If I come back from this diplomatic mission having succeeded better than anyone expected, then I'm more likely to be chosen for the next. That's the start of a career, one that might carry a lot of weight."

"Ah, so you intend to make a career of this?" Ivil asked.

She supposed that was important to know before moving forwards. Twenty-Six obviously wanted a career of sorts in mechanics, something Ivil could easily provide. Breaking things was easy. But a career in politics? Well, Ivil supposed she might have dabbled a little.

"I do," Aurora said.

"And what does your family think of that?" Ivil asked.

Aurora stiffened. She was quiet for a few long steps. "What do you know?" she asked.

"Pardon?"

"Your line of questioning is suspiciously leading, Miss Ville. I don't believe it to be entirely natural. You know, or suspect something."

Ivil shrugged. "I've recently discovered that you have a number of suitors, which suggests some meddling on your family's part. I feel like that knowledge might explain why you're here, so far from home, bravely placing yourself in harm's way to make something of yourself."

Aurora stopped walking so suddenly that Ivil almost took a step before she noticed.

"This... may have been a bad idea," she said.

***