RavensDagger

  Chapter Seventy - Universal stant

  Drama, and the glee gained from it, is a universal stant around humanity, fueled by gossip and specution and sdal.

  Pearl-clutchers were om and obtrusive, like rats on a sinking ship, gleeful that the kit was unattended while the cooks found the escape pod.

  Ivil had once been introduced to the cept of obloquiousness. A strange and unonly-used word meaning the ability to sling shit and have shit flung. Metaphorically, of course.

  Ruining the Slob's entire year and Mister Aida's afternoon caused the gossipmongers--which the politically ined usually were, as a matter of course--to start up their game of whispers and stares.

  Mister Aida quickly apologised and bowed out, the Slob floating after him in a daze.

  "Evelyn," Aurora said before she reached bad grabbed Ivil's hand. "We o have a small talk somewhere out of the epper, you find a space where I, where we, have words?"

  "Of course," Pepper said with a slight bow. She quickly led them along the e of the room and into another entranceway. This oo a long corridor lined by small private rooms. One of these was theirs for the duration of their stay.

  The door had a small pque with Aurora Sterlingworth - Phobos, embossed upon it. A quick print-job, but done more elegantly than was strictly necessary.

  The suite itself was quite spacious, especially sidering their location. A rge living area adjoined by several smaller rooms. A small kitette, a pair of washrooms, one lio the master bedroom, and a full eai suite in a small room by the rear which had chairs and tables enough for a small meeting.

  "Is Evelyn in trouble?" Twenty-Six asked. She was slippitentioween the room and the others with her.

  "Twenty-Six, dear, please ihe fridge for anything to eat," Aurora suggested. "Evelyn and I o talk."

  "Um, if it's okay, I stay?" Twenty-Six said. "I, uh, don't know if I help, but I don't want to be pushed out of the loop. Unless it's really important that I not know?"

  Aurora seemed ready to deny her, but hesitated and looked to Evelyn. "Do you mind terribly if Twenty-Six witnesses me... pardon my vocabury, but what I io do is best described as 'tearing you a new one.'"

  Ivil blihen smiled delicately. "I don't mind. Though I think you'll fiher tear-proof."

  Aurora's hands quickly migrated to her hips and her lips thinned. "Evelyn Ville, what in the hell was that?"

  "I merely--"

  "I don't want to hear your justification, Evelyn," Aurora snapped. "I want to be very, very angry at you."

  Ivil sidered that for a moment, going so far as to slow things down a little to sider things. She could uand wanting to be angry at someone. In fact, she'd felt something simir several times in her life. Ier life, feeling angry at someone usually meant homicide was in the cards, but that wasn't always the case. It didn't always have to be the case, even.

  Ivil had perhaps acted against what Aurora had wished, but it was in defence of Aurora and also because she really wao hurt the man. Also, she hadn't killed anyone, so Aurora had nothing to truly be upset about.

  There was also the fact that Aurora was unreasonably attractive when upset with her, which Ivil found somewhat fusing.

  Usually, people who were upset with her were annoying. They made demands, set expectations, and were generally the furthest thing from attractive.

  Aurora's big pouty lips, narrowed eyes, and very noble pose--which had her head tilted bad attaostrils on full dispy--somehow read as petuntly adorable to Ivil.

  She had to resist the urge to further tease Aurora, who would likely only find umbrage in such, especially when she was already angry as it was.

  Ivil decided that if Aurora stomped a foot down in anger, all bets were off. She was going to pinch the noblewoman's cheek and nothing short of godly intervention would stop her, and only for so long as it took her to kill god.

  "Very well," she said as time resumed it's flow. "Please proceed to be angry."

  Aurora didn't stomp her foot, but her hands migrated from her hips as she crossed her arms. "Evelyn, you were supposed to act as... prote. Not muscle, as we agreed, but heless security of sorts."

  "Was that not what I did?" Ivil asked. "You are far more secure now that the Slob knows better than to even look at you."

  "He was a little creepy," Twenty-Six said, taking Ivil's side.

  "You... you ripped his arms off!"

  Twenty-Six bit her lip. "That was kind of rude," she said, flipping sides.

  "He didn't deserve funal limbs if all he was going to do with them was threaten you," Ivil said. "Besides, Aida was clearly using the Slob as a sort of bludgeon to put people in their pce."

  Aurred, but not quite in Ivil's dire. "Yes, he was doing just that. First the snub-fighters and now the Slob."

  "The fighters weren't Aida," Ivil said before raising a hand. "I 't say how I know, but trust me? I don't think they came from him. I could be wrong, my source is far from crete, but I suspect that he isn't to bme."

  "Hmm. If you think so," Aurora said. "But yes, the Slob ower-py. A strong B-csser in a pce like this is ahreat. With the right cores he could kill every person here, security forces and all. Even if such violence would be... political suicide in the long run, just having the threat so clearly visible is a threat."

  Twenty-Six nodded. "Some mert ships I've seen have modded rge anti-ship guns on. I've talked to some meics. Half the time, they don't work and have been gutted for weight, but the implicit threat that the gun might work is often a good way for an indepe mert to make sure that pirates think twid for people on smaller stations to really think about it before re... uh, re..."

  "Reneging?" Aurora asked.

  "That's the owenty-Six said with a grin.

  "Yes, well, that's a good summary of what Aida was likely trying. All while representing Callisto, no less. It means that the moon is trying very hard to appear powerful, to cow others, and it might well work."

  "Might have, did we not just defang his lion?" Ivil asked.

  Aurora huffed haughty. "I suppose," she said.

  "So, what Evelyn did wasn't bad, then?" Twenty-Six asked.

  "It was... ued," Aurora said. "I don't like being caught off guard like that, Evelyn. I like a certain amount of predictability."

  "I've made a point of being exceptionally predictable my entire life," Ivil said. Pepper coughed off to the side, but didn't seem to have anything to say. It was true, however. Ivil rarely departed from her usual standard operating procedures. It was everyone else who stantly expected her to treat them as if they were special and immuo her ability to disappear their heads.

  Aurora's hands returo her hips. "Yes, well, I wasn't expeg it. But... yes, the situation isn't untenable. Miss Mint, how long do we have until the meeting begins?"

  Pepper stared off into space for a moment. "An hour and a half, ma'am," she replied.

  "Good. Evelyn, try to keep the defanging to a minimum, please," Aurora said.

  "She did it to protect us, though, right? She's like... the big gun strapped to our ship," Twenty-Six said.

  "Is this a new ship analogy, or a tinuation of the prior," Ivil asked.

  Twenty-Six muttered something under her breath that Ivil caught. "I need new metaphors."

  Ivil decided to put a hold on teasing Twenty-Six for her metaphors. Otherwise, she might never get new cute metaphors to gush over. Truly, she was sacrifig a lot tely.

  "Let's give ourselves a bit of time before returning. Time to freshen up and... I might want to look over my recs of the day so far. I was sing faces the eime. It'll be good to match those to names and histories," Aurora said.

  "You have access to something like that?" Ivil asked.

  "Every noblewoman worth her salt has a who's who list," Aurora said. "It's an essential tool for navigating uain political waters. It's not just about knowing who is part of which fa and what that means, but also who the individual is."

  Pepper perked up. "If you give me your list, I link you into a private unication's el during the meeting, if you wish, t up relevant facts during the talk."

  That list might well end up in MINT's hands. Ivil made a mental o mention that it ought not to Pepper. Still, she figured that the upiing would be far more iing if she kneas who.

  ***

  RavensDagger

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