SC.2023.21. Flag-childless
"Grr."
"You ok?"
"I'm fine, Mako-chan."
"Looks like something is bothering you."
"Really?"
"Yeah, the nails digging into your sandwich are kinda obvious."
"Oh, yeah, kinda."
"So whats bothering you?"
"Nothing."
"Please, I'm hardly an expert in Kagmine customs, but even I know you when you are unhappy."
"And how do you know that?" Piersa's hooded glance was fierce.
"It's almost like we've been double-dating, these last few weeks."
"Really?"
"Err, well..." Mako was blushing so fiercely right now. They were calling her gambit, never in a million years had she thought they might, she'd been a fifth wheel, trying not to, of course, but she'd known from the start they were a committed couple, with the spats attendant as she got to know her neighbour, Dentrag.
"Come on, I'm a Sun'ga, I know that's a lead up to something..."
"Err, no, well, I don't know..."
"What's with you two anyways? I might be a Sun'ga, but even I know when I'm out of my depth, and you two are having me scratch my head a lot lately."
"Oh, you think?"
"What's with the bear with a sore paw routine, anyways, Piersa?"
"Errr." She hadn't expected this question in a forum with anyone but just her and him, to be quite honest. "Hmm, I'm really against this concept that to be a commissioned, flag officer, you gotta give up having kids."
"You're overthinking this."
"You think?"
"Look, I don't want to say your concerns aren't valid, but I think your interpretation of the tradition is more open-minded than is entirely warranted. At work, I get a LOT of flag officers and personnel officers talking about flag officers... well foibles will work, in lack of a better term..."
"Ok, and?"
"Your name didn't come up once..."
"They knew?"
"I should have said: 'your name didn't come up once in the context of the tradition...'"
"Oh, so my name did come up?"
"You'll hate me, but I knew about your promotion to first Imperial Kagomine Air Group a week before you did."
"A whole WEEK?"
"It helps that I know Vision Hunter and Eagle Baker, I'm guessing."
"What, you... Wait, they've been customers for how long?"
"Flora introduced me to Eagle Baker when sh was her XO, so years now? Vision Hunter, I've known since he was a pilot cadet, he sang for his wings at number two's."
"Oh, Fluxglorp. So you've known my little gods for like, ages now?"
"You've known people who know your gods better than I do, since we met. Flora and Amarat and Maelle are people they know so well, you don't need an introduction, at this point..."
"For those of us who aren't serving under the Amber Raptor''s flag, who's Maelle?"
"Maelle, currently Nessun-Honour of Meihomei's Imperial Kagome Navy, is currently the Slate-Otter Mother, the seniormost Navy officer in the Kagomine Navy."
"And you know of her?"
"It's been my privilege to date her, but mostly, she introduced me to Piersa."
"You DATED her?"
"I knew you dated her, Dentrag, but not..."
"Look, let's get this out there, it's weighing in on me, I got one date with Maelle, and her friends, which landed me two dates with Flora, before Amarat got his second, if it means anything. But I think it was his family and hers, trying to get a message across."
"Two dates?"
"With the Kwit Echit?"
"Yeah, two dates, will you two stop looking at me like that?"
"Hmmph, why would we? It's not like she's not competition, she's just as petite as we are!"
Dentrag, almost 40cm taller than either women, bit his tongue, thinking any comment of his would just land him in the doghouse.
"What?"
"She's a petite lil flag flyforce officer, breeding lil babies!" The tartness in Piersa's voice would have peeled paint at a few paces.
"Well, she did marry a whole prince, and a Kwit Emael to boot!"
"What's this kwit word you keep thowing around? Is it Shou?"
"It is Shou for blood or royal, she's a Royal Leader, and he's a Blood Prince, you people are weird, I can't get a single straight answer about his family name."
"Oh, it's changed, if anything, since you've met us."
"It's changed? How does one change family?"
"Only the current heir or a blood relation may claim the family name of Kagomei, at certain times, and it... fluctuates..."
"How?"
"Well, Meihomei bore a child, that child died a few weeks ago, it made Amarat Kagomei again, that he hadn't been since Shen was born..."
"So, the heir to the throne is the one that switches around?"
"Kinda, in that case, who the heir was had changed."
"This is so complicated."
"I'm sure your aunt doesn't think it was complicated."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because I'm sure Cat Princess Tsunamon knew that Amarat was still a major player, even if he wasn't the prime heir."
"Oh, don't call her that."
"Why?"
"Because Tsunamon, her family name, means 'of the royal family of tsou.' it's not descriptive of her... It's a requirement of the job, but it doesn't say who holds it, if that makes any sense?"
"Oh, and Tsimori?"
"Indicates that he is of a foreign line of descent, he is 'eiderdown', well, 'dandelion' perhaps, I think his lineage is Kagomine, to be specific."
"Wait, he's a Dandelion?"
"I am no expert, but I believe he is."
"Then he's related to Piersa."
"No, well, err.. The Dandelion Soul stated he was my eight-cousin, he's considered 'not closely enough related' to be bound to the family."
"What, you know of his lineage?"
"The Dandelion lineage is one of the founding lineages of Kagomei, they keep family trees to an exacting degree."
"Oh, I didn't know that? If he was closely related, he'd be important?"
"I'm unimportant, and I'm a seventh-cousin of the Dandelion Soul."
"You're so unimportant that anyone who looks at you funny is going to get a chat with the Valour-keeper of Kagomei, the Fount of Honour about being above their station..."
"Well, that's for being a Goshawk..."
"You really think your family lineage didn't help land that?"
"Err, hmmm..."
"Not as in, you got it because... But as in, it was something that didn't hurt..."
"She's an aristocrat?"
"I'm a deniable asset of an aristocrat family, chosen for my job by the Kwit Emael to handle the Kwit Echit's old job..."
"That sounded protracted to us, couldn't they just wait on replacing you?"
"They could."
"They could, they had to write an edict to not dissolve 0051st Squadron "Arnd Surfers" when it was without a Kon."
"Dentrag? You know that's not for attribution, right?"
"What, as in I'm not supposed to tell people?"
"Whoever let you know this would probably land in a court martial for it..."
"Between Maelle and Mariwolfe, who both tried, and failed, to explain it to me, I'm pretty sure they're both safe. You can't arrest the top two of the Honour Convention without an edict, and at that point, it's a writ of attainder."
"Mariwolfe?"
"Mariwolfe Tannenaum Medals
"How much of that is her merit?"
"Singular?"
"I'm a civilian, for me she walks on water with just one..."
"This is an important person?"
"I'm sure you've met Shibue Dandelion by now..."
"Yes, the Dawn Standard's youngest daughter..."
"Err..."
"She knows who he is..."
"She does, well, Mariwolfe took over some duties when he retired, and now that he's passed away, she's landed even more...
"Oh, but this Mariwolfe doesn't have a dawn standard?"
"She's not had the opportunity to save foreign rulers, yet. She is a national hero of Kagomei, several times though."
"Oh. The prior one?"
"Is the only person to be awarded a dawn standard in every country that recognizes the award. Moniq hadn't awarded it in so long, the protocol master's grandfather's notes on the length of the chain had to be consulted."
"How long was it?"
"Long enough to reach mid-chest, which... hasn't been a unit of measure in over a hundred years, not for gold chain, anyways. Tadros Dandelion's chains were at least half as long as his cousin's Marhamat's."
"This Tadros?"
"The prior Telbun, I'm sure you've seen him, he's the one that hulks out on all the pictures."
"The really tall, strong one? He's your relative?"
"Sixth cousin, old enough to be a great-uncle."
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