Not for Self but Queen

[Armand Temi]

Location: Hapes

Destination: Transitory Mists

Objective: Locate Admiral Cross Ikon and identify his current plans


Armand walked off of the landing pad and down the glittered path to the personal ship repair shop near the Fountain Palace in Chume'Dan. He didn't trust his shuttle to anyone else but Barnabas who was not only his mechanic but his best friend from his time in the Hapan Royal Navy. After a warm greeting and a quick inspection of his shuttle, they sat down in the shop's small break room and Barnabas made them tea.

"She sounds as good as new," Armand said. "Thanks again, my friend." Armand sipped his tea. "What do you I owe you for the repairs?" He reached into his pocket for some chips.

"Please, this one is on me."

"There's always a price though," said Armand smiling.

"I keep asking you and I'll ask it again. When am I going to be introduced to your sister Tha'qua?" asked Barnabus.

"Oh I'll introduce you alright but it will never happen between the two of you," said Armand. Since his sister Tha'qua had turned eighteen she had no shortage of suitors but Armand's family would never let her date much less marry a ship mechanic.

Barnabus looked away sadly so Armand changed the subject. "Have you heard any good Navy jaw-wag recently?"

His friend's face brightened. "Yes, as a matter of fact I have." He leaned in conspiratorially. "I've heard that Admiral [member="Cross Ikon"] has been sighted in the Transitory Mists."

"Mother of Kwath! Surely someone has been making up pirate stories again," Armand said, laughing.

Barnabus shrugged. "I heard it from a Royal Guard." Barnabus was about to say more but they both heard the shop door opening and Armand's friend rose to go see who had entered.

While his friend was busy with the other customer, Armand put his cup down and thought about what he had just heard. If the rumor was true this would mean that Cross Ikon had survived a 900 year stasis which was incredible in and of itself. And as Armand remembered from his Hapan History classes, Ikon had been court martialed due to some questionable genetic experiments and was forbidden to enter the Hapes Consortium. He quickly left the shop, shouting a hurried goodbye to Barnabus and strode off to visit Admiral Mikul who would know if Ikon would have a bounty on his head for violating his punishment. Or at least if he needed to be brought in for questioning. Armand decided that hauling a high profile, renegade captain into the Queen's court would certainly raise his visibility with the Palace and perhaps make her reconsider his position in her Guard.

[member="Cross Ikon"]

 

[Cross Ikon]

It felt great being back on Hapes. The surprised looks on people's faces when they saw my hair and beard was hilarious. It made them do a double take at the statues of the war heroes they always took for granted, and word was probably getting around. Let it get around. Almost nobody had ever been stupid enough to mess with me as the Red Admiral, and I was certainly not to be toyed with as the Shadow Admiral.

I was here to follow a rumor that one of my great-times-100 grandkids was wandering around Hapes, orphaned, and this search had been fun so far. A little bit of drinking, a little bit of confounding everybody with history only I would know, and a lot a bit of prancing around the city in a way that made people wonder if I was an eccentric aristocrat.

Hell yeah!

[member="Armand Temi"] [member='Rik'Tani']

 

[Armand Temi]

Armand suspected that Admiral Mikul would be sitting right now in a Navy haunt called The Battle Flagon near Fountain Palace. It was a favorite bar among current serviceman and retired top brass.
Walking in, he was glad to see Mikul who would fill him in on the wild speculation of Cross Ikon's return to Hapes.

"Ah it's my favorite ship medic," Mikul said warmly, looking up from his glass of ale. "How are you?"

Armand smiled. "As good as can be. I see retirement is treating you well," he lied, noticing the slump of the Admiral's shoulders and bags under his eyes. He looked much older than when Armand served under him on their battle cruiser few years ago. The Hapan Admiral was probably bored to tears with civilian life. After all The Queen gave most of her cushy post-retirement posts to female Admirals so there wasn't a chance of that for Mikul. Armand sat down beside the Admiral and signaled a server to bring him an ale.

After some small talk Armand got to the point. "What is this rumor of [member="Cross Ikon"]? Have you heard anything?"

"It's not a rumor, boy. It's true."

"That he is cruising around the Transitory Mists?"

"No, that he's already here on Hapes."

"But... how? Wouldn't he have been caught by the Royal Guard by now?" Perhaps The Queen's special security detail were more inept than the general population thought, he mused.

"No one knows but he has been seen moving in and out of Chume' Dan."

"How and why is he back? And wouldn't he have a bounty on his head?"

The Admiral shrugged as Armand's ale was delivered by a beautiful capital city waitress with long, flowing black hair. Both men were momentarily distracted.

"Maybe he's starting back up his genetic experiments," thought Armand aloud.

"Admiral Cassava told me that Ikon was witnessed visiting an orphanage incognito. Of course his flaming red hair was hard to hide which is probably what started all of this talk."

"Rumors," corrected Armand.

"Truth," said the Admiral with a harsh tone in his voice. "My friends wouldn't lie. And you can't keep a Hapan from Hapes. Unless Icon had died out there in the Unknown Regions, I predicted he'd be back."

Armand nodded and knew better than to question his elders too much. There was no real evidence yet that there was a bounty to be collected on Cross Ikon but at least he could start checking orphanages for signs of the Admiral. And would he still be disgraced as he once was? So much had changed in the galaxy after 900 years. Would the current Queen pardon him for his past misdoings?

[member="Cross Ikon"]