HRA Voice of Havensky
Milenkan Airspace,
Atticus sat in the a large reclining chair in the lounge on board the Voice of Havensky which served as the official transport for the Skyan Prime Minister.
The airship was long and wide, with two small wing towards the front and very large wings in the rear. Within each wing, there were two banks of small engines that propelled the aircraft forward. The wings could rotate to steer the airship giving the whole craft the air of a graceful giant. The Voice was painted solid sky blue with a golden winged lion emblazoned on the port and starboard sides, contrasting greatly with the Solace of Reckoning which was painted in a dazzle camouflage pattern. This made the sky grey Airship Carrier Benevolence rather drab by comparison.
“Major Squall, I’m surprised you didn’t want to be on your own airship? We could have made accommodations.”
Praetor Gavin Squall turned from the window that looked out upon the Solace and said, “Oh, no need for that Prime Minister. I think Captain Triton prefers me out of the way during the shakedown runs. And besides, there’s not much room for other passengers.”
As he said this he looked at his fiance Edwidge, who was joining him for this trip. Atticus smiled and asked, “Miss Nalôrna, is this your first trip to Milenka?”
“Yes Prime Minister, thanks so much for letting me tag along on this trip. I’m looking forward to the charity event and I think it’ll raise a lot of money for the war refugees.”
They were interrupted by the entry of Ambassador to Milenka, Kai Riva, who had walked in from her cabin wearing a very formal dress. Edwidge stood up excitedly.
“Oh my goodness! You look great! How does it fit? Not too snug?”
Ambassador Riva was Milenkan Kin, physically distinct from the other Skyans due to her two distinctive small horns on the top of her head. While her father was Skyan, her mother was Kin and she had been raised as part of that culture. She seemed like a natural choice for the Ambassador ship after serving as Deputy Ambassador in Jagada. She was tall with sun kissed skin and her naturally dark hair had bright gold streaks in it from too much time in the sun. Her hair was done in a double French braid curved around her two horns. Her black dress, made by Edwidge, started with a high neck that snaked down the center of her body exposing her back and shoulders before flowing down in a mermaid gown. She spent her free time swimming and the dress seemed to hug her toned body. The most striking features of the Ambassador were her traditional tattoos. At the very top of her back was a small blue tattoo of Neva's S ygil representing her overarching Milenkan clan. Along her upper arms, there were three black stripes resembling claw mark on each side. They swirled around her arm extending down to the inside of her wrists where they opened up to a series of five angel feathers. They formed the shape of an open hand - the symbol of the Skyan ambassador corps.
“Edwidge, this dress is amazing. How did you get it to fit like this? I can never get these kind of dresses to fit right. And it has pockets!”
“Well, you are a swimmer right? You’re not my first athlete that I’ve fitted a dress for. I actually prefer working with athletes more than anyone.”
“I was on the swim team in college, but I don’t know if I’m an athlete. Now I just swim for fun when I’m not working. I don’t usually get this dressed up.”
“What do you wear to parties?”
“I mean, I have dresses but not… not like this one.”
“Well, it looks great on you. Come on, let me help you with your makeup!”
Edwidge almost pushed the poor Ambassador back to her quarters in excitement leaving Atticus and Squall on their own. Atticus just smiled.
“Edwidge better be careful, if word gets out about her talents she’ll have half the Ambassador Corp knocking down her door.”
Squall balked, “Well, she’d be pleased to know she’d be regarded in such high esteem. Are you sure the Ambassador can’t keep the dress?
“I’ve seen what the market rate for one of your fiance’s evening dresses are and they’re way over the budget line. She’ll have to buy it outright or take it up with the agency for a waiver. But let’s not talk regulations, what do you have planned for your mini-vacation before your deployment?”
“We’re going to tour the city a bit check out some museums. We might visit the canals during the evening. I’m sure she’ll want to do a fair amount of shopping as well.”
“You don’t shop?”
“What am I going to buy? I have an outfit”, remarked Squall motioning down to his power armor. He had been given a new set of power armor by Glitch which was colored in varying shades of black and grey in a blocky dazzle pattern. The only hint of color was the cloak on the power armor which was Gothic Red.
“Well, regardless you should enjoy this time. The coming days are not going to be easy.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the captain coming opening up the comm systems.
“Mr. Prime Minister, Praetor Squall, esteemed guests and staff. We are making our initial descent into Vladika. Please take your seats and prepare for landing.”
On the bridge, Captain Macella opened up a channel to the Milenkans.
“Tower, this is Havensky Republican Airship Voice of Havensky and escorts requesting permission to land.
The Air Traffic Control replied in an almost perfect accent, evident sometimes due to a sharper hiss and more guttural pronunciation of throat phonemes.
“Salutations Voice of Havensky, cleared for landing at runway 27, taxi to terminal 6 via four delta.”
The trio of airships dipped down below the clouds and for the first time Squall and Edwidge could get a proper look at the skyline of the capital. Vladika’s urban sprawl was characterized by impressive high rises, sharing room with large green areas and canals, which communicated with the two rivers that met on the town center. For one of the nation’s largest cities and political hub, Vladika didn’t seem immensely dense outside its core. The combination of a widely organized structure of roads, evolved from many historical modernizations of the ancient settlement’s demographic distribution, and green areas, ensured that the city was far from cramped.
The airship landed with a gentle thud on the runway. The stark white airship opened its lower ramp and a small platoon of White Guard marched out in rows of two carrying the flags of Havensky and the Office of the Skyan Prime Minister Atticus, Ambassador Kai Riva, Praetor Gavin Squall, and Edwidge walked off the ramp of the airship to greet their hosts.
With the Milenkans still in a period mourning after the death of the Empress, the Skyans in attendance would also obverse the period of mourning in solidarity. The shields of the White Guard, normally depicting a golden winged lion, were covered with a black cloth. Squall’s shield was also covered in a dark cloth as well hiding his personal crest. Atticus wore a dark black blazer with khakis and black tie instead of his customary blue blazer and most of the staff dressed in a similar way.
Edwidge held onto Squall’s arm as she walked across the red carpet wearing a dress that was a nod to Milenkan fashion. The dress was a flowing silk backless dress broken up by a high slit up her thigh. The dress was sheer in some places with embroidered feathers that seeming to flow around her body. Pinned to the front of the dress was a brooch featuring a gold winged lion wing next to a raven’s wing. Edwidge was much shorter than her beloved with very blonde hair that went down to her hips in a long ringlets. She looked up at Squall with her blue eyes for just a moment before facing the Milenkan delegation.
The most striking figure in the Skyan delegation was the Ambassador herself. There were no cameras here, but Edwidge knew that she would get plenty of photographers after her.
Heading the welcoming committee was a tall figure, clad in a seamless white ceremonial navy uniform, as white as her hair. Prime Minister Asti Krajisnik, Milenka’s leading political figure in modern times. A tall woman, she had the gaze of a lioness in her dark green eyes. Asti was a human that had managed to achieve immense popularity in the nation, and as a veteran of many years as Prime Minister, was already acquainted with her Skyan counterpart. Accompanying her was the traditional ensemble of Milenka’s reception, notably guarded by a group of tall soldiers, armored with an elegant plate in black and gold, their fur adorned purple cloaks denoting their belonging to the Imperial Guard’s Regiment nonetheless, ceremonially standing on the sides of the carpet of which the visitor’s walked on.
Asti’s normally austere expression yielded at the approach of Atticus, a long time colleague. Maintaining the formality though, she greeted him with a discreet bow, a quiet smile in her face.
“It is an utmost pleasure to have you here once more, your excellency.” Asti said, with her authoritative voice giving room for a lighter tone. “Welcome to Vladika.” The guards stood at attention, their polearms, imbued at the tip not by blade but a dark red beam of energy, aligned with noteworthy precision.
Atticus returned the bow before speaking, “Your Eminence, it is a pleasure to see you again. It has been too long since I’ve visited. If I may introduce Praetor Gavin Squall of the Skyan Legion and his betrothed Edwidge Nalôrna of Xirinium.”
Edwidge spoke for the couple, “Your Eminence, it is an honor to meet you and thank you so much for the invitation. We’re really looking forward to exploring Vladika.”
“The honor is mine, Ms. Nalôrna. ” She replied. Her gaze then shifted to the Legionnaire. “Praetor Squall, an honor to meet you. Your reputation precedes you.”
Squall made a slight bow, “The honor is mine.”
“Ah, before I forget.”, Atticus smiled and opened his hand and an aide handed him a bottle. He presented it to Krajisnik.
“A bottle of Cloud Muscat, as requested from their personal cellar with their compliments.”
The minister was pleasantly surprised, studying the bottle briefly before handing it to an aide of her own. “Much appreciated, your excellence. Skyan wines are a kind of which I particularly enjoy. Now, Her Imperial Highness awaits you at the palace. We have provided suitable accommodations to your needs and those of your committee at the honorary visitor’s wing.”
“Thank you for your hospitality, your excellency.”
