Astarte was bleeding from her shoulder, the blood soaking into her dress and ruining the fabric. Rachel was hunched over nursing a side that was either badly bruised or broken.

In front of the them Zera loomed menacingly.

This was supposed to be a boring dinner, how had did things devolve into an assassination?

~~~*~~~

Two hours earlier

As they filed into the dining hall it struck Astarte that everything about these high society Unionist Terrans was like a bad parody of actual high Terran society.

The clothes these people wore were all formal in attire but inappropriate for the occasion. The guests who stuck to traditional Japanese outfits strictly conformed with the old fashions, but the guests wearing western formal clothing seemed to care little about mixing and matching different pieces of their outfits. Some wore black tie, even though this was the wrong place for it. Others matched ruffled Victorian shirts with modern sleek overcoats. There was one man who wore a top hat conversing with a man dressed in a pinstriped blazer and a fedora like an old Chicago gangster.

Even the events of the evening were an odd mishmash. Typically a dinner portion of the evening came with events, like awards, or charity auctions. This was just a dinner service for its own sake.

The moment Astarte realized that everyone here was play acting at a bad interpretation of high society she felt a genuine grin break past her mask.

Rachel stared at her with raised eyebrows. “What are you planning?” she asked with a stark grimness.

“Who says I’m planning anything?” Astarte retorted.

“That grin of yours, it looks like your planning the best way to set this whole room ablaze.”

Astarte huffed “First of, I’m not a pyro. Second you need to get better at judging human facial expressions. I’m just… greatly amused by all the pointless frippery on display.

“Frippery?”

“It’s a word” Astarte said stubbornly.

“Uh-huh” Rachel said, unconvinced.

Astarte gestured about the room “This whole event feels like a child’s interpretation of what rich people do. Its like someone with only a cursory knowledge of human culture tried to recreate a gala.”

She frowned “I don’t know what you’re talking about, this is how things have been my whole life.”

“And that’s what makes it amusing. This bastardized has become so common place that if you went to a proper one you’d think it was the poor interpretation.”

“So. Why would that be so amusing?”

Astarte frowned “You know, I’m not entirely sure that English or Union Common has the right words to describe what I’m feeling. Its just, ironic.”

Karega extricated himself from the group he had been with and found his way other to Astarte. He stood on her left, while Rachel stayed by her right.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“I know that look. “he said with a smirk. “You’ve seen it too?”

“Yup”

Rachel scowled “There is something wrong with the two of you.” she muttered.

They exchanged surreptitious glances.

He cleared his throat. “That aside, I have something I need to say to my friend, pardon my rudeness” he said to Rachel before switching from Common to Torweni, a language the two of them had grown increasingly fluent in. “Is this what you call staying away?”

Astarte knew what he was implying “I tried, but she got cornered by this creepy blonde girl, the one with ringlets. So I rescued her from an awkward situation. I have since learned that blonde girl is a date rapist, that Rachel is one of her victims, and that she’s too ignorant to realize it.”

Karega blinked “Really? That’s… disturbing.”

“Your telling me. Besides, she’s not a bad conversationalist once you get her talking.”

“Fine, just remember why we’re here. We can’t go interfering in her life too much.”

“I know” Astarte said.

Karega gave Rachel a soft smile “Sorry about that.” he apologized.

“Um, no need. What language was that?”

“Torweni.” Astarte answered.

Rachel blinked, “that doesn’t sound like an Earth language.”

Astarte frowned. “No, its Torweni.” Rachel’s face remained blank. “The new species in the Orion sector.”

“Do you mean Femeri?”

“No” Astarte said flatly. “I know what I said.”

Rachel still looked confused, so Karega stepped in with an explanation “They the latest species in the sector. Some three hundred lightyears from Sol, they’re from a class eleven Temperate world dominated mostly by oceans.”

“Aquatic Deathworlders?” Rachel asked.

“No, they’re mammalian, primate even.” Karega explained.

“I’d go further than just primate.” Astarte interjected “They look like shorter neon-colored humans. Convergent evolution at its finest. We have a few back on the ship so Kar and I have been learning their language. Its strange you hadn’t heard about them.”

“Haven’t seen them on my news feed.”

She and Kar shared a look “Odd.” Astarte said, drawing out the word. “Do you have any preference of where we sit?” she said, changing the conversation.

“Our spots are already chosen for us. You’ll likely be with my parents.

“I noticed you didn’t say we, where will you be?” Karega asked.

Rachel grimaced, and then tried to pretend like she didn’t “I’ll be seated with the other young women my age.”

“Women like Vivian” Astarte inferred.

Rachel said nothing, but she didn’t need to say anything when her face said it all. She wasn’t looking forward to the rest of her night.

“Kar, do you think you could talk with Alexandra about moving Rachel to our table? I’ve been enjoying her company.”

He caught he hidden meaning and nodded “Of course, easy fix.” He said before stepping away.

They watched him weave through the crowds and join Alexandra and her husband. Even from a distance Astarte saw Alexandra’s face go taut, and the murderous scowl on her husbands face, confirming Astarte’s suspicion that Rachel was on the outs with her family. Her father especially.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Rachel murmured to her feet.

“Oh yeah,” Astarte said. “And whose gonna stop me? You had your chance before Karega left to say something.”

She said nothing.

What a double life this girl led. Aster compared this shy little thing to the dark clad Arbiter who had fought back-to-back with Astarte. There had to be a way to draw out a little of the Arbiter’s confidence into Rache-. She shook her head, doing that would be the opposite of keeping her distance.

Danm Karega and his sensible words! And danm the Hearts for raising their own daughter to be so fucked up in the head. She was the daughter of a convicted (later acquitted) terrorist and mob boss revolutionary who ran her whole operation out of a bordello, and Astarte was more well adjust and mentally stable than Rachel.

Seriously, it took dedicated skill to fuck up that badly.

Ricard Heart looked displeased by what Karega was asking, but Alexandra put on a fake smile and waved them over.

Rachel stiffened as they approached her parents, but a gentle hand on the small of her back kept her moving.

“Miss Astarte” Alexandra greeted “Karega tells me that our daughter has been entertaining you.” she said, her words dripping with double, even triple, meanings.

Double speak, however; was a game that Astarte was well versed in. “Indeed. I’ve been discussing the differences between growing up on Earth versus growing up on a Union station. I’ve found that it lends Rachel a very unique perspective on things. I was hoping to continue our discussion over the dinner portion.”

“That should an easy wish to accommodate” Alexandra said with grace while her husband’s scowl deepened.

“If I may” Richard Heart rumbled, his voice low and dangerous. “Just what kind of ends are you hoping to gain by pandering towards my daughter.”

Astarte smirked. “A lot of things actually” she said, and Rachel blushed as she recalled the last time Astarte had said those words. “But at the moment I’m intensely curious about how people react to being raised within a strictly non-human environment. I find the differences wrought by the Union culture on the human psyche to be a subject of interest. Its no secret that the culture of the Union has seeped into the very foundations of every core world and species thereof. Earth, and the rest of Terren society will one day be seeped in that same culture. Rachel here presents a good representation of everything the Union will transform Terrans into.”

“A curious subject for a humble merchant.” A slimy sounding male voice said from her side.

Astarte turned, and despite her best attempts to cover her reaction, she flinched. The man was shorter than her with slicked back black hair, sharp eyes dark as the night, and a face built for sneering derisive contempt. He was Asian, fully Asian unlike Astarte’s half breed genes, and was dressed in a fine formal kimono perfectly suited for their current gathering.

His features, his stature, and his attitude were all unlike Astarte’s own, but those eyes. They were the same kind she had seen in a mirror every day of her life before the sneak attack. The very same eyes and Gin Hanzo.

She forced a smile to her face, “And who might you be, sir?”

Alexandra stepped forward “This is our other special guest of the evening. Gin Kenso, the current CEO of Ameterasu, and the council representative for humanity.”

“I pleasure to meet you, miss Astarte.” He said, with a slimy smile to match his slimy voice.

Or maybe that was just her own biases’ tainting her opinion?