“It’s a pleasure to see you again under such auspicious circumstances,” Nico responded with a smile, making the Lord General laugh. The last time they parted they had been joking about meeting in combat.
“Please do come and meet the soon-to-be Imperial Lady Chen. We might have finally found someone your size.” General Kirkland laughed, motioning them toward a table where two children and their parents were seated.
“Imperial Prince Wushu, Imperial Lady Chen, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Imperial Lady Tarith and Sir Max of Kepler Terminus.” He introduced them to the two children, who were most likely the betrothed couple.
‘He was right about finding someone Nico’s size.’ Max decided, noticing that neither child was old enough to have been sent to a military academy yet. Now that they were married, they likely wouldn’t be, as they would be transferring to Cygnus, but the standard was still how Max measured age in his mind.
The two children’s eyes lit up at the introduction, recognizing the names. It was the boy Wushu who spoke first though. “So it’s really them? I knew it was true, only two nobles held off the advance of our Super Heavy Mecha.”.
“There was actually a third one there, a Viscount named Carb.” Nico clarified, and the kids got even more excited, looking forward to Nico’s version of storytime.
“Why don’t we go socialize? They will monopolize your date for at least half an hour.” General Kirkland laughed, leading Max away to introduce him to everyone else there.
“How did you end up on wedding convoy duty instead of inside a Mecha? Don’t tell me you retired already?” Max asked the athletic man in his later middle years.
“The Royal Family was greatly disappointed with us all. Though the Lord Commander took the worst of the punishment, I’ve been transferred to the position of political emissary. In recognition of my work to ensure a fair and balanced trade deal in the wake of the disaster, of course.” The General explained.
“My condolences. I don’t think I could do politics full time.”
That was a topic that both could agree on, and they turned to pleasant chatter as they met with the various Comor nobles who were present for the engagement party, as well as the members of the Cygnus Imperial escort that had come along.
“We have arranged to lodge the pair of you here in the Comor Royal Hotel for the remainder of the weekend until passes to the planet can be completed. It’s much better than staying on the ship.” The clerk who came with General Kirkland informed Max politely when they met, making his eyes bug out.
He had heard about this place last night. If The Pit was THE party place on the station, this was the most desired orbital resort. It had everything from galactically famous chefs to its own exclusive luxury mall and a three-hundred-acre orbital lake with an armored glass bottom, so you could swim out and look into the cosmos from the safety of the Space Station. There was even a golf course, though Max had no idea how the game was played.
“Tomorrow there’s another special event you should attend. A bare-knuckle boxing match that is supposed to have a pair of Beta ranked fighters as the headliners.” The General explained after all the introductions were finished.
Max had watched these as a kid but never in person. He could only afford to pirate them off the data network. They might not prove as interesting now that he was stronger and faster than the fighters were, but it was guaranteed to be a good show.
A Noble Gala was much more subdued than the wild party last night at The Pit and Max took his time to chat with everyone who seemed to be friendly. Many of them put a high value on titles and he was a Knight, the lowest of titled nobles, but for those who were the younger children of nobles, he was still something to aspire to, a man who earned his own title in combat and didn’t have to inherit anything from his family.
Before long, the young couple was removed to a secure hotel suite to get to know each other better, though they were already bonding well over a love of the highly exaggerated war stories that Nico told. She had long since moved from her own experiences to retelling Kepler Military legends for the pair, whose parents had sheltered them from such things in their youth.
The parents still didn’t seem really happy about the stories, but Nico told them so flamboyantly, with the gruesome parts glossed over that they would only make the kids wonder what was being hidden if they objected to the stories being told now. That would lead to them searching themselves, and unsupervised searches on the Data Network could show them many things that sheltered noble children didn’t need to see.
“How is it that you never ended up married into a Ruling Family and instead ended up a Mecha Pilot, Lady Tarith?” The father of the groom asked with polite, but intense curiosity on his surgically beautiful features and in his voice.
“I have an Alpha Ranked System Compatibility, and Piloting is my family’s hobby and primary profession, so I was sent to the Academy like all the other talented children,” Nico answered with a smile.
Her family no longer cares about its noble heritage, but that would be impolite to say to a family who rules over a planet the same way they used to. The vague answer has only intrigued them more, and Max suspects that one or more of them will try to access her data later to see what sort of achievements she has managed to back up that devotion to Mecha.
They are about to retire to the suite that the General has booked for them when one final guest came in, clearly hurrying, and somewhat disheveled in a white lab coat.
[0)ᴠʟ “Forgive my appearance, I was involved in my work and lost track of time. Please do give my best to the couple.” The scientist declared, drawing stifled laughter from many of the Comor nobles in the room.
“Uncle Lu, it’s after eleven. They have gone to bed, you’ll have to see them tomorrow.” The father of the bride declared, smiling in affection at what was apparently his uncle.
“Oh, and the Noble Couple from Terminus are here as well. I have heard a lot about you, and I look forward to seeing you again.” The scientist announced with a bow towards where Max and Nico were standing, then abruptly turned and left towards the hotel.
His Nephew sent guards after him, likely to stop him from barging in to see his grandniece and her fiancee and the party’s atmosphere began to turn towards retiring for the night.
“Unlike the clubs here on the Station, we don’t often party until the morning. I thank you all for coming to today’s announcement, and a proper series of Engagement Parties will be arranged in the near future.” The bride’s father announced, bowing to the crowd before leading his wife away.
For most that was a signal to disperse, but for some, it was a signal to stuff their face with the remainder of the snacks and start pounding drinks.
As Max suspected, there were two very different kinds of Nobles.