Carrying the One
Parts [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
[9][10][11]
[12][13][14]
A few thousand years ago, Audioslavia had a disastrous fourteen minute experiment with a monarchy. Regardless of how meaningless those fourteen minutes were, the very fact that there was a monarchy at all means two things are true forever. First, there will forever be a lineage of descendants of the usurped monarch. Secondly, it will always occur to at least one person in the world that, hey, maybe there should be a king after all, and while there is a person with a claim to said kinghood, there will always be a Restoration movement, no matter how small or disorganised.
In Audioslavia’s case, there’s also a counter-restoration movement, which aims to brutally murder anyone in Audioslavia should they hold the title of first in line to the throne
A year passed. Because when you're telling a story over the course of a couple of cycles, you kind of have to have a year pass otherwise time gets even wibblier than it is, and it can only be described as 'catastrophically' wibbly at the best of times, especially in an era that has seen an entire nation vote to change the speed at which time passes.
Fortunately for Fergus Farrington, "kInG" of Audioslavia, it turned out a year is exactly how long it takes to learn how to helm a medium sized ship. King Fergus was simultaneously Helmsman Fergus, with the resulting increase in rank from Guest to Ordinary Seaman to Able Seaman, where 'Able' means 'Able to steer a big boat into a harbour without destroying both itself and the harbour'. Able Seaman King Fergus the First of Audioslavia was indeed the name under which he would reintroduce himself to his sister in law, Tania Farrington, widow of his older brother, Terrence.
She'd called her daughter Teresa, after her deceased father. At one year old, she wasn't aware of him, or any of the horseshit surrounding her lineage. Both would be explained eventually. First one, then, much later, the other. Teresa would eventually find out how lucky she was to have been born into a chauvinist system which decreed that women could not be first in line for the throne, at least not before the last male heir has died, and with the line of succession exploring fifteenth cousins thrice removed before direct female heirs, that was as impossible a thing to happen as the thermonuclear asteroid strike that would, you'd imagine, precede it. Teresa would likely, shortly after, find out how unlucky she is to have been born into a reasonably chauvinistic society, but that's by the by.
Tania and Teresa had an expensive apartment in Coopers, Cathair, where they lived the sort of uneventful life that a lifetime of hereditary wealth can afford you. Fraser would have loved to meet them there, but if you're the First in Line for the Throne it's generally seen as a faux-pas to set foot on Audioslavian soil, what with the incredibly well connected cult having sworn to kill you with impunity, and all. So here they were. A beachside cafe in Osarius. Two Negronis for the adults, a warm sippy-cup of milk for the kid.
Fergus had always been close with his brother Terrence despite the eighteen year age gap. He was the one taking him out and about at the weekend in lieu of his aging parents. As Fergus got older, he and Terrence would catch up once a week for shooting or polo or a trip to the cinema, and it was on one of the latter occasions where Fergus had first met Terrence's new partner. Terrence was 35, Tania just 23, with Fergus 17. Tania was clearly besotted with the tall, athletic Terrence, but developed a real friendship with Fergus.
Now 27 and raising a child alone after the toughest year of her life, Tania had had what she called 'a lonely year'. Her parents helped out, she had nannies, she had friends in the area, but the suffering she'd gone through was something none of them could understand. But Fergus could. In Fergus she found someone who knew her deceased husband better than anyone, who often very much reminded her of him. Fergus the First in Line to the Throne of Audioslavia. 21 years old, who apparently had a big ship which they allowed him to drive. "Every polo player needs a steer" Fergus had said. Tania had laughed. That should have been the first warning sign. The second being the moment Tania held his gaze for slightly too long and remarked about what a man he'd become.
Because this is NS Sport and you're allowed to just throw two time-skips at people, the next scene takes place one month later. Back at the ship. A phone call. Tania's name lighting the screen. A big, smiling hello. A short chat. An embarrassed voice at the other end. The news. The awkward silence. A what to do we do now. An I'll call you back.
An hour later. Not really a time skip. It's barely enough time to leave your cabin, find the most trustworthy person you know - a tall man named Archibald Craig who seemed so devastatingly capable it was embarrassing to call yourself 'King' in his presence - and tell him about a little problem of your creation. It's enough time for the resulting silence, for Craig to tell you to leave it until morning to figure out what to do, and for you to go all the way back to your cabin.
Archibald Craig sat on his bunk holding an apple. The apple seemed like, at any moment, it might implode through the sheer pressure being exerted on it by Craig's right hand. Eventually, he decided to stand up and throw it full pelt at his own door.
"You stupid bloody fool" came out of his mouth, snarled, quiet. "First bit of shore leave and he's like a bloody dog. Able Seaman indeed" he said to himself.
He wondered how often he'd be guarding maternity wards over the next decade. He wondered if it was worth putting his steel toe-capped boots on the next morning and dealing with the problem once and for all with a swift punt to the crown jewels.
---
Squorn Enemy Wins Again
Bulls Second Best in SRS
Bulls Second Best in SRS
The Bulls were left to rue missed chances as they slipped to a second defeat in six games - and a fifth in succession in all competitions against their old rivals.
Lunquerque had a golden opportunity to put the side ahead on twenty-five minutes, skewing his finish wide with the keeper beaten.
It would prove to be their only sniff of goal in a first half dominated by the home team. It was a minor miracle that the Bulls survived until half-time still level, but their hard work would be undone three minutes after the restart, with Club ESF winger Tiiu Aaltonen curling a shot home with the outside of his right boot for the lead.
The Bulls would have two opportunities to level, with the first a keenly won header from Bocker that he could only direct onto the top of the crossbar, the second again Lunquerque, this time stealing a yard on his marker, Hamida Van, and launching a shot which Bláha did brilliantly to turn round the post at full stretch.
The Bulls probed, but Squornshelous were able to kill the game off with fifteen minutes to go. A slick move had the Bulls defence scurrying to fill the gaps created by the speed of the black-and-reds attack, but they were eventually overwhelmed as Kingsbury United striker Estina McGill picked up the final pass of the move with no Audioslavian within five yards of her and slotted the ball firmly home with the keeper rooted to the spot.
The Bulls stay second in the table, with matches against an out of sorts Xanneria and a struggling Hmmland coming up, anything less than six points in their next two matches and the side will be looking at an almighty fight for that second qualifying spot. Squornshelous, even before the halfway point, look to be home and dry. The former Imperium are simply Imperious
