Technically speaking, getting sent on a mission that was far away was great. When they would patrol the bridgeway, there was always the chance of something coming up that Krndl would need to handle. That was the big difference between patrolling and traveling. When traveling, there was a fixed goal that simply needed to be reached, and most problems that would come up during that had a solution someone else on the crew could provide and thus, it wasn’t her responsibility to take care of it. And no reason to make a decision meant no risk of messing up.
And yet, Krndl hadn’t found a single tigg to relax during their long trip. Because no matter how many days they would spend on their way, they would eventually reach their destination. A thought the Hunter’s captain was unable to push away even once. Just how in the world did they expect her to do this? She could barely speak to her superiors without fumbling, and now she would converse with foreign royalty?! She had never even talked to aliens! Sure, she had seen the ships when they were out on patrol duty, but on the rare occasions these ships would contact them, it would be about something the operators could handle on their own. And now, she was basically representing her planet in an unprecedented occurrence. How could that NOT go wrong?
What was she even supposed to say when they would meet? She had never seen anyone else do that, she had no reference! Throughout the entire flight, she had frantically searched through all the databanks available to her, but she hadn’t found a single recording of a dialogue that fit what she needed.
Just then, Krndl’s personal console beeped, making her freeze up. She hated that beeping under normal circumstances enough already, and right now, it was much, much worse. It beeped again. With a shaking finger, she accepted the call.
“Yes?”
“Captain, we have crossed the bridgeway and are now approaching the next entrance point,” the operator informed her. “Next jump in eighty tiggs. We will open a channel to Hohmiy as soon as we’re through.”
Lacking the strength to answer, Krndl merely nodded and closed the call. That was it then. The moment she had dreaded was here, and there was no way around it anymore. Her mind seemed to zone out as barely any time had passed when the beep pulled her into reality once more. The call opened and an image appeared.
Krndl knew what Vanaery looked like from pictures, but she was, for the first time, eye-to-eye with one. This particular one wore a green sash paired with a couple of other adornments. What now? Should she wait? But the Vanaery didn’t say anything, did that mean she was supposed to speak first? How was she supposed to know alien etiquette?!
“I-I am Krndl, captain of the Hunter and leader of Hsvegplia’s 16th flotilla. I am here on official orders of the elders with an urgent message…”
As she spoke, the Vanaery raised a hand, confusing the captain. Had she already messed up?
“Giy rakil? Ranavi sekiy ako.”
“Erm… I’m sorry, what?”
Then, it hit her.
TRANSLATOR! I FORGOT THE TRANSLATOR!!
She made a hectic gesture, hoping the Vanaery would understand it to wait for a moment. She needed a translator, where did she have it? …did she even have one? Great, what now?! Maybe the operators had one. But how should she go about it? She was supposed to be the captain, how could she openly announce such a stupid blunder? Unless… maybe if she played it convincingly…
“Captain?” the Operator greeted her with audible confusion.
“I ordered a translator for Vanaery in my cabin,” she lied. “Why is there none?”
A lot of people she could’ve given the order didn’t hear that and the operator wouldn’t go around asking, that way she was safe. Hopefully.
“Translator? But why… oh, is there a defect? M-my apologies, Captain, I will look for one immediately!”
Defect? What was he talking about?
“Can you understand me now?”
Krndl’s head snapped back to the screen. The Vanaery was now the one wearing a translator, seemingly set to Krsnelv. She quickly told the operator that the problem was solved and returned her attention to the call.
“Yes, loud and clear. My deepest apologies.”
“No need, Captain. I can hardly expect you to foresee a malfunction of the built-in translator.”
Built-in… what is she talking- wait. THESE THINGS HAVE BUILT-IN TRANSLATORS?!
This was her first time hearing about it, but right now she certainly wouldn’t complain.
“Still, we should’ve checked that beforehand,” Krndl responded, doing her best to make her voice sound not shaky. “I am Krndl, captain of the Hunter and leader of Hsvegplia’s 16th flotilla. I am here on official orders of the Elders with an urgent message. It is in regard to an inquiry we’ve received but originally responded with a no. But new information came up, changing that answer.” And with that, she had reched the end of the text she had been able to prepare in advance.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“I thank you for coming. I am Vassahr of clan Vasseia, steward of the Star Palace. Her Highness is currently not available, but I will relay your coming arrival to her. She should be back by the time you reach the palace. I will send your pilots the landing instructions and see that shuttles are prepared for you. I wish you a safe remaining flight.”
“Thank you, y-.” Krndl interrupted herself and ended the call before she could say “you too”.
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With the final words of the short speech spoken, the Star Hall fell quiet. Silgvani felt incredible relief as she and Nadine exchanged their coded words of reconciliation. She wasn’t sure why the small alien had chosen this place to do so, but right now, she didn’t care. For a short moment, her mind once again wandered back the the night she had almost died. How, just before it happened, Nadine stated that the princess had become like a big sister to her.
I guess that also works with her analogy. Sisters might not always see eye to eye, but won’t let it tear them apart.
Nadine’s unplanned change of course during her speech had been quite the surprise, but it wouldn’t be the only one today. Despite how detailed their plans for the day were, there were some details Silgvani had intentionally not told the Human. Right now, it was time for the first of these surprises. This particular one, the princess had considered skipping after their falling out, but now she no longer had a reason to hold back.
Demonstratively slow, she raised her two healthy hands before quickly bringing them together. A clacking sound echoed through the quiet hall as the soft shells of her palms collided.
“This, dear Lords and Ladies, was what’s called a “clap”. In Human culture, doing so rapidly in succession is meant to show admiration, congratulation, or cheer. When performed by a group, it becomes a ritual of acclamation known as “applause”.
From the corner of her eye, she could see Nadine look at her in disbelief. Now she almost lamented the fact that she couldn’t “smile” like the Human would’ve undoubtedly done had their roles been reversed.
“Our two cultures might’ve only started to meet, but if the deeds previously listed do not warrant this “applause”, I don’t know what does. So, dear Lords and Ladies, in the name of the aforementioned friendship, let us partake in this revered ritual together and honor Lady Nadine’s actions!”
She clapped again, careful not to hurt herself while doing so. The audience was hesitant at first but surely, one after the other joined, until the entire Star Hall was applauding. Silgvani wasn’t surprised that they all partook, considering why they were here in the first place. Still, she didn’t miss Nadine’s face becoming notably redder.
Eventually, she stopped clapping and the rest followed suit.
“Now then. As announced, we will depart to sites of the gifts.”
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When their shuttle took off, Nadine deflated in her seat, making Silgvani suppress a chuckle. She had prepared a separate shuttle for the small alien, but it wasn’t needed now as Nadine had elected to fly with her.
“The applause was a cheap shot,” Nadine grumbled, still looking a bit embarrassed.
“Well, in all fairness, you started it.”
“Heh, guess I did. I… um… ah, shit. Sil, I… I’m not saying it’s all water under the bridge because that would be a lie, but I also didn’t react all that great. So, how about this: let’s do our best to enjoy the day, and once it’s over, we tackle the situation like adults?”
The princess nodded.
“Sounds good to me. And I certainly hope you will enjoy yourself, this is your day, after all.”
“Don’t you DARE make this a national holiday! Or… planetary? What’s the right word here?”
“Don’t worry, I won’t,” she laughed. “No guarantee about my parents though. Anyway, seems like our trick didn’t thin the crowd as much as we had hoped.”
“The house was first right? Let’s hope it’ll become less when we go to the harbor.”
The flight wasn’t far, Nadine had purposefully picked an estate that was close. The duo exited and waited patiently as shuttle after shuttle landed, spilling all the nobles onto the area. Despite being in the open it felt quite cramped now.
“From here on out, whenever you visit our planet, this house shall be a home to you. It is fully staffed, and the surrounding land is yours to rule.”
Silgvani then grabbed the door handle. It was time for the second surprise. Opening the door, she revealed two lines of servants bowing. And behind them in the center of the entrance hall, there it stood. She hadn’t yet seen how it looked installed, hoping it would be good and thankfully, it did. Lord Hawa’s men had done a great job.
Next to her, Nadine froze, staring blankly through the door and at the sculpture. It was an eight-lynes-tall, three-dimensional interpretation of Nadine’s family crest, the very same that currently shone proudly on her chest and back.
Deciding to give her a bit more time to process, Silgvani kept talking about the house, the history of the surrounding lands, and some relevant lineages all things that didn’t really matter and were mostly a formality. Eventually, it was time to depart once more.
When they reached the port, the audience had, once again, shrunken a bit but less than expected.
They gathered in front of one of the hangars. It was a smaller one, befitting the size of the ship inside. The ship Nadine had picked for herself was designed for a crew of up to ten people, though being fully operational with four.
“Wherever your destination lies, it shall be a loyal vessel to you,” the princess continued her speech. “Made by our native shipbuilders and our best technology, unused except for test flights within the frame of its making, a proud witness of Hohmiy’s feats.”
She signed the servants to open the Hangar. The doors opened revealing the ship inside. Nadine seemingly didn’t pay too much attention to it, understandable since she already knew what to expect. Or at least she thought so. That quickly changed once she noticed the final surprise: her family crest painted in bright colors, one on each side of the ship.
“A… again, Sil,” Nadine whispered quietly. “You… you didn’t need to…”
“No. But I wanted to.”
It seemed like she had once again left the alien at a loss for words, so she continued her speech to give her more time before the nobles inevitably would try their shots. As she was finished and Nadine seemingly back on track, the Human gave one of the servants a sign. He nodded and produced a small drinking canister.
Ah, makes sense that she’s thirsty. Still, did she prepare it in advance? She must’ve if the servant immediately understood her.
However, the small alien didn’t drink, instead going closer to the ship. Silgvani eyes her with curiosity, as did the audience. Once again, Nadine took off her translator and looked up at the vessel.
“Today, we come to name this lady and send her to space,” she spoke.
Lady? Oh, right, she said they consider ships female in her country.
“To be cared for by and to care for her crew,” Nadine continued. “I ask the sailors of old, the first pioneers of the stars, and mood of the cosmos to help her through her passages, and allow her to return with her crew safely… and to help me with my search.”
It got quiet once more when she was done. Silgvani was about to take the word again to make sure everything now would go in an orderly fashion when Nadine suddenly raised her arm holding the canister. The princess cocked her head in confusion, a movement mirrored by many in the crowd. Then, they all simultaneously flinched in shock as the small alien threw the canister with all her strength, smashing it against the ship’s hull.