NationStates Jolt Archive

Note: This takes place after the meeting (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=451992) between Kahanistan Republic Guard Lt. Colonel Nadia Sklenova, and Amestrian Deputy Vice Minister of Defense Sara Liscel, as the two delegates prepare to leave St. Fedski.

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Prologue: The civil war in St. Fedski was, for all intents and purposes, over. The Supreme Soviet of Kahanistan had withdrawn the soldiers sent to fight the Kingdom of Thorns and the Free Land of Plymton-Wyoming for harboring terrorists who had murdered the St. Fedski Minister of Foreign Affairs and his family.

During the fighting, St. Fedski unveiled a weapon capable of demolishing a small coastal town. To determine the power of this weapon, Colonel Sklenova (http://img495.imageshack.us/img495/5545/fwcmdr6zh.jpg), the commander of the air detachment of the Kahanistan military commitment to the region, was assigned as an observer. While there, she met Minister Liscel, an extroverted young woman who seemed to take a certain interest in the somewhat rigid officer.

The two women had become friends of sorts, and had planned to leave the country together.

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And now...

There were several ways they could leave Copacabana, St. Fedski. One was by ship. A Kahanistan transport vessel, the civilian contracted vessel RKS Apollo, could carry all 1,000 of the survivors home to Kahanistan. It would stop over in Amestria for supplies. It had plenty of amenities, including a bar and swimming pool, but it would take two days to get to Amestria. More time to get to know each other?

The second option was a civilian aircraft. This was also bound for Amestria, and could be there in hours. This was quicker, but had fewer amenities.

Another was to go in Sklenova's MiG. This option was a little less palatable, as the MiG would be quite frightening to someone who had never been in a military jet. Further, it would be against regulations to go out and tool around in a MiG, and especially the wing commander would have to set an example by following the regulations. Even if she were a little less strict, she wasn't going to risk being shot down by the Amestrians with their own Deputy Vice-Minister of Defense when a MiG suddenly appeared on their radar. And on top of it, her wing's executive officer was flying it back to Kahanistan.

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Nadia turned to Minister Liscel and smiled. "So... Sara... which mode of transport would you like to take out of here? Ship? Plane? Golf cart?" She giggled, wondering what she'd do if Liscel said, "golf cart." She didn't have one.

"Hmmm"... Liscel appeared lost in deep thought. "That golf cart sounds nice... I have never been on one..." She smiled. "Did I just hear a giggle from you? Well, since there are several official matters I wish to discuss in detail, and we both want some relaxation, I choose the boat. It may not be the quickest mode of transport, but I sent an e-mail to the Ministry informing them that I would be using a few of my vacation days if they where not satisfied with my slow pace of return..."

Sklenova smiled. "Nice, I could do with some rest myself. They sent me a letter with my orders." She showed Liscel the letter.

DEMOCRATIC SOVIET REPUBLIC OF KAHANISTAN
Kahanistan Republic Guard

To: Lt. Colonel Nadia Sklenova

You are hereby assigned to my fleet, effective December 16, 2005, with orders for Kraven territory, the details of which will be given to you upon your arrival in Kahanistan.

Despite your absence from Kahanistan, you are most likely aware of the Freekish invasion of Kahanistan, which resulted in nearly three hundred million dead. It pains me to inform you that your home city of Al-Bahr was almost completely destroyed. On a personal note, the apartment tower with your apartment in it did not survive the shelling.

Signed,
Major General Mustafa Lavalle
Kahanistan Republic Guard

She sighed deeply. I grew up in that city. I made friends there. Her eyes watered a little. "Let's get on the boat. I've got a lot to think about on the way home... or what's left of it."

"You know, I heard that alcohol is illegal in Kraven. (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=447459) Maybe we should grab a few drinks on the boat before the trip ends?" She looked at Liscel expectantly.

(Side note: Kahanistan is about 33,000 square kilometers, so with its population recently breaking one billion, most Kahanistanians live in very tall apartment complexes made of reinforced concrete, ceramic, and other strong materials designed to withstand conventional bombing, as a terrorist could easily kill hundreds of thousands with a well-placed truck bomb, often occupying entire city blocks and stretching 140 stories tall, with many going down 50 or more floors. Such a structure can easily accomodate 200,000 or more residents.)

(Physical description of Sklenova, since I suck at computer-generated art. She is 5'5", 115 lbs. (165 cm, 52 kg), with shoulder-length straight blonde hair and gray eyes. She still has the ribbon Liscel gave her. The uniform in the pic is that of a typical Republic Guard officer, with the oak leaf being the rank insignia of a Lieutenant Colonel, and the gold medal being the Hero of the Republic, or long form, Hero of the Democratic Soviet Republic of Kahanistan, equivalent to a Medal of Honor / Victoria Cross. She rarely wears the latter medal, given to her after a raid on a terrorist camp ten years earlier that killed her entire squadron and crashed her MiG, nearly killing her too.)

Liscel looked rather depressed at the enormity of Kahanistan's losses. "300 million... that is a lot of bodies to burn... Uh, yah lets have a drink once we board... What is your usual poison?"

"Usual?" she asked, wiping a tear. "I don't usually drink. But right now, I need to unwind royally. Vodka should do the trick." Her voice was cracking again. She took Liscel's hand and boarded the ship. Hundreds of her comrades were boarding. Some of them smiled at the pretty women boarding the ship. One even asked Sklenova if they could find some time together.

"I'll be spending the next few days with my friend here," she replied, nodding to Liscel.

Liscel looked flattered. "It’s nice to know you consider me a friend." She gave Nadia's hand a little squeeze. "If you want a delightful vodka drink, I suggest a Woo Woo*... Yes, that is the name... Shall we dull are senses by the pool?"

(*1 1/2 oz. vodka, 1/2 oz. of peace schnapps, and 1 1/4 oz. of cranberry juice.)

Nadia nodded. "Good idea... I guess." She went to the barkeep. "Woo woo."

The barkeep mixed up the peach schnapps and cranberry juice in with a glass of clear liquid, stirred, and handed it to her.

Nadia took a sip and grimaced. "Thank you," she said to the barkeep. "Sara, what are you having?" She took another gulp of the vodka drink.

"All have the same... (noticing Nadia's grimace) Oh, you don't like it..." She seemed hurt. Upon receiving her seat from the barkeep, she turned to Nadia. "I'm going to go store my belongings in my cabin and get into my swimsuit. I'll meet you by the pool."

She turned to her personnel assistant*. "Mrs. Bouquet, please save a spot for us by the pool."

"Yes Minister... Am I being paid for this?"

"Well that depends, we may be technically on vacation, I'm waiting for word from Central on our exact status, now chop chop."

"Yes Minister."


(*She is a Minister, while the rest of her delegation flew back, her personnel assistant has remained.)

Sklenova choked down the rest of her drink. She walked back to her cabin, right next to Liscel's. She was feeling the effects of the drink on her and got a twelve-pack of some imported beer.

Shit. I never went and got a one-piece. Oh well. It didn't seem so important with the toxic industrial solvent tasting liquid in her system. She changed in the cabin and sat down by the pool with her twelve-pack, waiting for Liscel.

Mrs. Bouquet was already at the pool. She sat there in her business suit, typing away at her laptop.

(Bouquet is a petite young woman with short dark hair. She seems to have a perpetually bored expression on her face, which hints at a talent for deadpan sarcasm.)

Liscel soon arrived with a file of papers under her arm, dressed in a rather conservative one-piece bathing suit. It was blue, did not show any cleavage, and had the numbers 1-2 on its front.

"Here I am, sorry if I kept you all waiting."

Mrs. Bouquet went red in the face and quickly stood up. She pointed at Liscel's one-piece suit and stammered. "...It is outrageous."

"What is outrageous?" Nadia asked. It certainly wasn't any more revealing than her own medium blue, relatively modest two-piece. Not that she had much cleavage to reveal, she was rather slender. But it did reveal something she'd hoped not to show.

She had a scar on her right side, between the ninth and tenth rib. It was a bullet wound she had sustained two months earlier, when Kahanistan and Xirnium were still enemies. She had been shot during descent when her aircraft ran out of weapons. Luckily, she had landed in the Kahanistan defenses and was treated, albeit crudely, the Imperial Marines being ill-trained in anything further than basic first aid.

"Anyway," she continued, opening a beer and drinking, "you wanted to talk to me about something business related? Maybe I got the wrong impression." She offered Liscel a beer.

Mrs. Bouqeut continued to stammer. "It is a junior high swimming uniform*."

Liscel gave her an irritated glance. "Please prepare for dictation."

"Yes Minister."

Liscel politely refused the beer offered by Nadia. She then noticed Nadia's scar (how could she not). As she sat down in her recliner, laying her folder on a nearby table, she took her hand and gently ran it across the old war wound.

"That must have hurt..."

(*In other words Liscel is dressed in a uniform usually worn in Amestria by underage schoolgirls and may be indulging in a bit of Lolicon.)

"Oh, I see. How did you get one in your size?*"

She looked down at her scar. "Well... I was pretty scared. I was shooting these experimental disruptor cannons, don't ask me why, but back then we tried a lot of experimental stuff in the battlefield. The batteries ran out and I crashed the warplane right into the heaviest concentration of Zealot Knights that I could find. I ejected at about 1,000 meters and opened my chute, I'm not a suicide bomber."

"We're trained to use our planes as guided missiles if we're out of ammunition and ejection is still operational. Shortly after that incident, all pilots were given flak jackets and we stopped the experimental energy weapon project, and reverted to MiG's. Then, about ten meters before the ground, I felt like someone had picked up a huge rock and hit me. At the time, I was fairly disorientated, it was my first time actually being hit in battle. I'm a wing commander, I spend most of my time in the air, I've shot down, I think, 27 enemy planes of various types, in 10 years as an officer. I fell, I was rather shocked, as you know, I'm pretty emotional. I pretty much fainted within seconds."

"Next thing I knew, I was in a Xirnium POW camp, being taught the miracles of Lord Quikzos IV. 90% of that went right over my head, and I forgot 90% of what was left promptly after being released, hostilities ended fairly soon, they respected us as warriors and asked us to be their allies because we both hate the Kraven."

(*I'm assuming Liscel's somewhat larger than Sklenova. Not that that means much.)

Liscels personnel assistant answered the question about the uniform. "She obviously got one custom made at one of those fetish stores."

Liscel ignored her. "You poor dear, you have been through a lot haven’t you? And don't insult your self by saying the Xirnium forced indoctrination went over your head... It went under your head, that stuff is all worthless ideas and petty religious dribble."

Her hand continued to trace Nadia's scar as Liscel looked over the rest of her body...

(Yes, Liscel is slightly taller then Nadia and has far greater curves... she is quite voluptuous.)

Normally, she would have felt uncomfortable. But with the beer and vodka running around in her system, she did nothing.

"So... have you heard anything about Kahanistan's development of a new class of warship (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=457536)? From what I know, the project itself isn't classified, but the location of the construction is. We'd never be able to hide that big ass thing (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Chuck_Norris_class_Super_Dreadnaught) from anyone, anyway," said Nadia, her voice slurring slightly. "We're going to use it to destroy the fascist nations of Roach Busters, The Parthians, and whatever other human rights abusing nations we can think of," she continued drunkenly, not caring if there were Busters or Parthians on the ship. She wasn't in uniform anyway. To them, she was just a young woman lounging out who had had a few too many drinks.

"Dreadnoughts do not interest me."

Liscel began to tickle Nadia. Ms. Bouguet rolled her eyes as she looked on. She had planned to get some serious work done, but now with the Colonial drunk all those plans where out the window. She sighed.

Colonel Sklenova laughed hysterically while she was being tickled. "It's not an ordinary dreadnaught!" she squealed through gasps for air. "It's the terror of the ocean, the bane of all things Kraven! It dwarfs a Freekish Sentinel, for God's sake!"

She looked over at Mrs. Bouquet. "What's your problem?" she slurred, making direct eye contact with the aide. "Why are you here, anyway? Relax." She opened another fortified beer and gulped. She handed a bottle to Mrs. Bouquet. "Comes from God only knows where. 13% alcohol content."

She threw her arms around Sara. "So... what does interest you?"

Liscel smiled and wrapped her arms around Nadia. She placed her head on Nadia's shoulder and whispered.

"You my dear."

Ms. Bouquet excused herself. "Apparently I am no longer needed." She made sure to grab Sklenova's beer, lest the Colonial drink more then was healthy...

Nadia smiled. "That's really nice. But... I think I've said enough about me." Her eyes widened and she held Liscel tightly against her. When Ms. Bouquet left, Nadia grinned, revealing her clean white teeth. "Good riddance, she's no fun." Her voice slurred even more rapidly now.

"Do you know what Puritania is? Have you ever tried it before? It's... fun... if you ever... want to... get rid of... Miss... Bouquet... you... should..." She lay back on her pool chair and touched Liscel's face. "You... look... nice."

(If you don't know what she's talking about, a word search on the forums would tell you, but suffice it to say it's a ghastly method of Freekish execution. ["Ghastly" in the E.A.E.o.A.M.F. is far sicker than anything you would find in medieval torture.] Remember, she's drunk out of her mind and while sober, she would never advocate the use of it even against a Kraven soldier. The idea of it makes her sick when she's sober.)

OOC: Mind me saying, but just where are you going?

Liscel blinked. She knew what Puritania was, a method of sickening Freekish torture. Yikes, was she plastered. Now, she was not about to take advantage of poor Nadia in this state, but she was not about to let an opportunity pass either...

She placed her hand on Nadia's cheek. "Thank you my dear*."

She then softly kissed Nadia on the lips...

(*In Amestrian referring to someone, as “my dear” is considered derogatory, as that is how little girls are addressed. It is the same with “my boy” for men, while addressing someone as ‘you sir” implies they are criminals or up to no good. So she is addressing Nadia as she would a ten year old, although Nadia would have no way of knowing that even when sober. More of Liscel's strange behavior, although Liscel uses it in a manner suggesting she means it as a compliment...)

OOC: Mind me saying, but just where are you going?

OOC: It says where they are going on the first page...:rolleyes:

OOC: Oh, sorry. I assume your still en route to Amestria?

If so, mind if I send a Halo force squad and a ISF-2 fighter to escort the ship, these are times of war and the Kraven presence still lingers, we need everyone we can get.

OOC: I don't think so, Kraven won't go anywhere near Amestria unless they want to get nuked. I'm assuming Amestria still has nuclear weapons. Kraven can't afford the losses while the Sardaukar are getting owned by the Sentinels. The ship will stop at Amestria in a few days, then go to Kahanistan. By the time it gets there, the Kahanistan Navy should be at least partly rebuilt. What looks like a civilian transport is not going to be a target, anyway, not with the Amestrian warships out in force near Amestria.

The Kraven navy, as we understand, is still quite active. Still, a ISF-2N from the Eagle's Claw will escort you to a makeshift port once you come within 200 miles of the coast. In the meantime, may I "drop" a character into your RP?

The drunken officer smiled when Liscel kissed her. "Ahhh... let's... take... a dip." She tried to move, but it was like her legs and her brain weren't wired together right. Nadia nearly pushed Liscel over trying to get out of her chair, then rolled out right onto her side.

She tried to get up, to get to the water... managed to stand up under her weight... but had a bit of an unstable walk towards the water.

Liscel quickly intercepted Nadia before she could make it to the water.

"You'll drown. There are things one can do when drunk, and there are things that one cannot..."

She took Nadia's right arm and put it around her shoulder.

"Come on, I'll take you to your cabin."

Nadia was now almost unable to walk. She staggered with Liscel to her cabin. Her mind was a haze now, she was about to pass out... she threw her other arm around Liscel to steady herself.

She looked at Liscel. "I don't feel so good..." she said, now more intoxicated than ever as her body absorbed the alcohol she had already ingested.

Liscel was unsympathetic. "There is something in life called moderation. Learn it."

Liscel took Nadia to her cabin. Once inside Liscel began to get her ready for bed (i.e. helping her dress in her nightwear), even though it was still the afternoon.

"Best for you to sleep it off my dear."

Ten hours later

Sklenova woke up. It's dark here. What the hell time is it? She turned on a light. "12:30 AM? What happened?"

She looked in the mirror. God, she was disheveled. She had a quick shower, put on a sundress and walked out of her room. It was 1:00 by the time she got out.

Oh my god. I got plastered or something. It gradually came back to her. Shit. I made an idiot of myself in front of Sara. She walked by Liscel's cabin to see if she was awake... If she wasn't, Nadia would have to spend the next five or six hours reading the paper until Liscel woke up. Not a bad idea anyway. But I wanted to talk to her about the Torontians. And about reconstruction.

She looked intently at the door to the cabin... Is she awake?

A voice came from behind Nadia.

"Ah there you are, up out of bed I see."

Nadia spun around to see Liscel, also in a sun dress, walking down the deck with Ms. Bouquet, who was now in a bathing suit and lose white dress shirt. They both seemed to be in good humor...

Liscel tossed Nadia a bottle of pills. "For your head."

"Thanks," said Nadia, popping one of the pills and clutching her head. "My head was starting to get on my nerves."

"Anyway... you wanted to talk to me about something yesterday, I see you have your aide back. Now... about the Torontians. My own view is basically that the occupiers need to unite. I was talking with a general the other day," she clutched her cell, which had evidently not been as damaged as she had thought from her being dunked into the water in Copacabana, "and he had the idea that if we put together a brigade of 18,000 troops... 6,000 Kahanistan, 6,000 Amestrian, and 6,000 Fedskies, split them down into 6,000 three-trooper cells, each with one Amestrian, Kahanistan, and Fedski soldier, and sent them off into the insurgent-controlled areas, it would show them that they can't play the occupiers off against each other, and that while Kahanistan might be neutral in the dispute with the Fedskies, it's most certainly NOT neutral when it comes to hunting Tanakis' troops."

"While the occupiers fight each other, the insurgents only gain ground. It's a Roman tactic, divide and conquer, and that's what Tanakis' militants seem to be doing."

"Frankly, this seems a lot more interesting than the orders I have after I get back to Kahanistan. I'll be keeping an eye on things, though."

“Unfortunately while you where sleeping I got an E-mail from Central on the subject of Torontia. Cooperation with Saint Fedski is no longer an option for the Amestrian Occupation Authority and the Torontian Provisional Government. A Rubicon has been crossed; Torontia can only have one government…”

She was interrupted by her aid.

“I see that the Colonial survived her bout of intense drinking. So do you have any more helpful tips concerning discipline? Tell me, as the Minister dressed you for bed, did she take the opportunity to…” Ms. Bouquet smirked and made a lewd gesture. “Or did you #$%&@.” She then smiled sweetly.

Liscel ignored her. “Oh, don’t listen to Aela. (turning to her aid) Now go get the laptop and necessary documents from your quarters.”

Ms. Bouquet laughed. “I do not have to do anything you say for the remainder of this trip. I got the message from Central and we are on unpaid vacation. I can do what ever the hell I like!”

“If you fetch what I have asked I will give you a bonus later.”

“I will retrieve them at once Minister.”

Ms. Bouquet then turned and started towards her room.

"I see..." said Colonel Sklenova, sadly. "What a rude aide."

"That's a disappointment. But Torontia should only have one government. Whether it's the AOA or the Fedskies... is no concern of mine. But does it have to be resolved with force while you have a common enemy at your gates?"

"This is my idea. A supreme governing council, with each occupier receiving one seat. That means a seat for," she counted on her fingers, "Yallak, Amestria, St. Fedski, North St. Clair... am I forgetting anyone? Kahanistan's not an occupier, so don't include them. We're just peacekeepers."

"Anyway, four occupiers, so the Torontians themselves should have four seats too. That would keep the occupiers from taking too much control, as they would always be outvoted by the Torontians if one of the occupiers went into land grab mode. So a governing council of eight. But how to hold the elections to elect the Torontian council representatives...?" Sklenova pondered the idea.

"Well, I'm no politician. My degree is in philosophy. I suppose someone in Central will take my idea and figure out how to work it..."

"But it would unite the occupiers and Torontian representatives under one government, and it would do so without the bloodshed that's going to end up destroying Torontia again, and laying waste to one or more occupiers. My own country was devastated in a war with a larger power, if say, Yallak invades St. Fedski... well, the Yallakians are not like Freekish or Kraven troops, but they are much more powerful than the Fedskies, if war breaks out, it won't be pretty."

“I am afraid it has already been tried. There was a council but Saint Fedski wished to exclude Yallak and then quit the council unilaterally. As for elections, Saint Fedski has prevented the integration necessary for successful National elections and may be covertly aiding the insurgents…

Kahanistan is welcome to continue its peacekeeping presence of course, but you must recognize that Saint Fedski cannot be negotiated with; their every action betrays their intent to turn Eastern Torontia into their own personal playground. They have not been a force for stability… And don’t mind Aela, she gets like this some times…”

Aela (the aide) quickly returned (her room being right next to Liscel’s) weighed down by a thick folder, a laptop computer, and an enormous bottle of wine. She quickly handed the documents and computer to Liscel.

“Here you go Minister.”

“Is that my wine?!”

“Yes, it was your wine. Now its mine.” Aela then popped the bottles cork at Nadia and proceeded to take a chug.

“That vintage is over fifty years old…”

“It’s not like it’s the only one you’ve got, I’ve been to the Manor, you have thousands of the finest in that cellar, and there will be thousands still a thousand years from now. In the meantime, long live anarchy!”

Aela took another chug.

The cork struck Nadia in the face, right between the eyes. All right, that does it. She picked up the cork and chucked it into Aela's lap. "It's bad to pilfer the wine, but keep your rubbish to yourself," said Sklenova crossly. "And, long live anarchy?"

She turned back to face Liscel. "I think that in that case, a joint Kahanistan - Amestrian offensive into the insurgents' territory would be a good idea. Kahanistan troops tend to be better trained at fighting in built-up areas, which could have served us well during the Freekish invasion, but we're better on the offensive, except for some expert defense units, like rangers and snipers. But against insurgents we've had plenty of experience, especially because in the Freekish invasion we were the insurgents for large parts of the war."

"The Kahanistan military was built for offense, to spread democracy to the fascists basically, and wasn't well constructed for a defensive war. The city of Al-Bahr, in the northwest, was almost totally destroyed, as I showed you in the letter from General Lavalle. If we had used bigger coastal defense batteries and waited until more troops came ashore to deploy the gas, we would have probably carried the day, or at least slowed them down a lot."

"If St. Fedski is covertly aiding the insurgents, then they will run their own economy into the ground restocking them after a major offensive. We should have 30,000 troops in Torontia, if about 30,000 Amestrian troops join us, I think 60,000 troops should be enough to finish the job."

"By the way, not recognizing the Fedski occupational government doesn't mean you have to attack it. We can simply place them on the back burner until we've finished off the insurgents. Also, Kahanistan has plenty of tunnels from its history of internal warfare, that guerrillas and terrorists used. The Torontian insurgents may be using similar tunnels. I say we locate one and see if it leads to a St. Fedski military base, or into McKagan. Hell, if we can find a tunnel, there's a good chance Tanakis is hiding in a rat hole."

"If you can present me with credible evidence of St. Fedski aiding the insurgents, I can present it to the Supreme Soviet. Don't misunderstand me. I'm a mid-level officer. I'm not involved with policy, I'm just giving my views. But if I'm faced with evidence, I'm bound to put aside whatever personal feelings I may have on the situation and present it to my superiors and follow their orders."

Aela just stood there for a moment. Then she spoke, her voice almost a whine. "If anyone needs me, I’ll be in my cabin, trying to pass out, alone..."

Aela, in a rather tipsy manner, walked over to her cabin, entered, and shut the door.

Liscel just stared after her. "I apologize for Aela, her behavior is unacceptable and I will talk to her in the morning about it... It's rather too bad; I was going to give that wine to you as a present, oh well..." Her face took on a sly smile. "I got another bottle stashed somewhere, a place where she will not find it."

"Getting back to Torontia, we know Vader Tanakis is no longer in that country. We do not know where he is, we suspect Mckagan, but we have no proof... At present anti-insurgent operations cannot be carried out in the S.F. zone because of the present conflict. Further counter insurgency operations will have to wait... As for proof S.F. has cooperated with the insurgents, their puppets the TIG hinted that if the Yallak blockade was not ended then the insurgency in BC would get "much worse."

She paused for a moment, setting the laptop and folder down on a nearby deck table.

"Torontia is too uncertain at present and effective policy can only be made by those on the ground. We have no idea what the situation will be tomorrow, let alone next week... Discussing such matters until things stabilize is engaging in futility... Let’s find somewhere to sit and enjoy the cool night air, unusually warm for this time of year... by ourselves..."

Sklenova smiled. "You're right. Let's walk up onto the deck. We can just sit and talk... but are you sure Aela will be OK? She was pretty wasted when she went into her room... and if you hadn't been with me... I would likely have drowned or drank too much and gotten alcohol poisoning..."

"About the reconstruction of Kahanistan, we mostly want to get our factories and nuclear plants up and running again, so we can start rebuilding our own infrastructure. We've got plans to build several new cities and build the military stronger than it was before the Freekish invasion."

"Oh, and Sara? Can I ask you something that'll probably be kind of personal?"

"Why did you take an interest in me out of all the other men and women at the demonstration?"

"She will be fine; she knows how to drink herself safely into a stupor... As for nuclear power, Amestria has a large number of nuclear power plants... We could possibly provide some personnel and expertise..."

She paused and smiled...

"Why did I take an interest in you out of all the people present?" Liscel pondered the question and then giggled. "Because you my dear are so cute."

Nadia smiled. "Thanks. Well... Can we go up on the deck and talk? I don't think there will be that many people there... it's 3 AM. Maybe you can show me this old bottle of wine, too..."

She took Liscel's arm. "Let's go, I need some fresh air and a place to relax."

"Just a minute...", Liscel replied in a musical tone. She skipped into her room and a few minutes later emerged with a large bottle of crimson red wine...

"Mind carrying the laptop?", Liscel asked as she picked up her folder...

Sklenova grinned. "Mind if I check my e-mail on it while we're heading up?"

"Provided you can do so while walking, go ahead…"

OOC: Amestria, TG.

Nadia cradled the computer in her left arm and opened her email with the right. It was a task, but one she was more than up to.

"Oh. General Lavalle's clarifying my orders. I've been assigned to train anti-government insurgents in Kraven. Major Jolson was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, he'll command my wing, and it'll be going to Torontia for operations in BC. As for me, a group of intelligence officers will go to Kraven on the 18th, and I'll be assigned as a go-between for them and the resistance. Because I'm an experienced pilot, they want someone who's trained in survival in cold climates. And if the resistance gets any aircraft from friendly regimes, someone will have to show them how to fly them."

They walked by a stack of Kahanistan Communist Monthly magazines. Nadia glanced at the cover. The young woman in military uniform on the front was her. If Sara didn't already, now she knows I'm a Communist. She looked uneasily at Liscel. Did she see?

They arrived at the deck and Nadia sat down.

Liscel laid her folder on the table and then sat down right next to Nadia. She then popped the wine bottles cork and the crimson liquid came fizzing out.

“Oh, damn it! I forgot to grab some glasses… and drinking directly from the bottle seems so philistine… Oh well…”

Liscel sampled the aroma and then took a sip directly from the bottle. She then placed the bottle on the table, offering it to Nadia.

“This is a really good picture of you.” Liscel produced a copy of Communist Monthly that she had picked up on the sly… “Lets she what’s in it shall we…”

(Note: That wine is some of the best in the world.)

Nadia looked somewhat uneasy, then gradually relaxed. "So, my secret is out." She opened the magazine. "Communist youth groups gaining strength. Government worried about high income taxes in Kahanistan driving away multinational corporate investors from rebuilding the nation." She seemed nervous about something...

She picked up the bottle and took a swig. "Good stuff. Better than the stuff you find in Kahanistan." She smiled at Sara and hugged her, hard.

As she was hugged, Liscel gave Nadia a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You must really like wine..."

She really doesn't care that I'm a Communist? "Like I said, I rarely drink unless I'm stressed. But this is pretty nice stuff." She took another large gulp. "I told you about my orders for Kraven, right? And you were with me when I was talking about how I wanted to wipe them off the face of the earth..."

Another swig, draining about a third of the bottle. "I know, I'm an officer, and a fairly experienced one... but I'm really scared. I feel a certain security in my fighter... but I'll be deployed into hostile territory on foot, I don't even know if I'll be able to get my sidearm in there without it being noticed..." Nadia's eyes misted over and she held Sara even tighter.

She looked into her eyes. "Do you still have any of that 'Detachment from the Human Condition?' I... I need something for my nerves." She was holding Liscel's hand now. But that was likely as far as she would go.

Sara took a swig from the bottle... She looked into Nadia's eyes...

"No, one should not mix pharmaceuticals and alcohol... There are other ways for transcending... But that my dear depends on you..."

She closed her eyes and laid her head on Nadia's shoulder...

"My dear I love it when you hold me... It feels so nice... You are so warm... There once was a heretic who the old Christian Church burned... As the flames licked at his feet he taunted them, yelling that no matter how much wood they gathered, they would never 'burn chance, which ruled the universe'... Life is all uncertainty, some things are just more uncertain then others..."

"Yeah..." Nadia said. "Must have been a pretty brave guy. I could have used someone like that in my wing... Sara, I think something big's going to happen. I always get nervous when going into battle, but nothing like this... I have this dread that I'm going to die in the frozen wastelands of Kraven, my body forgotten and left to feed the vultures... or... the Freekish troops."

She quickly explained. "There's a rumor going around that the Fallen, a legion of the Freekish Army, are cannibals. I personally don't put much stock in war propaganda... but I can't shake this feeling, I'm 31 years old and I'm going to die in some snow field in the middle of nowhere, alone and unburied and forgotten."

She broke down and cried, harder than ever.

Sara began to stroke Nadia's face with her hand.

"Nothing is predetermined, some things like death are inevitable, but there is no such thing as destiny... You are here, in the middle of this ocean... If you feel as though you may die in some barren wasteland, what shall you do... Nadia, what can you do except grasp at what joys of existence you can... Now is the time to be merry, for tomorrow we all may die... The universe does not care about any of us... Human life is worth no more then that of an oyster..."

"If you like I can help you take your mind off it... (she places a hand on Nadia's left breast) Or I could make it so you will not be sent to Kraven... You are free, choose..."

Nadia pushed Liscel's hand away from her breast and hugged her tightly. "I... If I don't get sent over, some other poor girl gets stuck with this. Besides, how would you help?"

She buried her face in Liscel's shoulder and let loose with all the negative emotions that had been building inside her for weeks. "Sometimes I wonder if the Kraven soldiers have it any easier. They don't have to worry about emotions... but if I didn't have feelings I'd be no different..."

"I want to help the people who are suffering. It's not so much that I'm afraid to die... I joined the military after all... I don't know what's coming over me... but it's worse than the usual apprehension I have about going into battle... I have this feeling that I'll just... disappear... without a trace. That nobody will ever know what happened to me..."

She was so distressed now that she could barely speak. Her eyes watered right into Liscel's shoulder as her emotions were released.

"Then you choose to go... A Kraven soldier would not even have the illusion of choice my dear... A Kraven soldier would never, could never ponder their existence... They just do what their gods tell them to... They are no different then rocks..."

Sara waited for Nadia to let it all out...

Nadia sobbed bitterly into Liscel's shoulder for the next ten minutes and took another huge swig of the wine.

"Yeah... it's just that sometimes I wish I could just wipe my emotions... and then I see that's what the Kraven did to their soldiers... and I get even more depressed, it's a vicious cycle," she said.

"Would I be able to get any 'Detachment from the Human Condition' in Kahanistan or on the ship? Kahanistan has pretty liberal policies on pharmaceuticals... not that I'd be taking any now. You have any more wine?"

She started about a rumor she'd heard. "There's a rumor going around that there's a secret project (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=457652) to conduct experiments on the Capitol Police captured in battle. Would Amestrian Intelligence have known about it? I'm sure it's supposedly classified, but things like that get out... not specifics... just rumors."

"I need to know a few things. What would you have done to help me if I had been against going? And... you seem to like me, I've noticed since we met, but why? Oh, and one last thing? Do you date guys?"

Liscel was silent for a moment...

"I do not like men, I have never liked men... I like you, how you are so soft and warm... the way you look... the way you act when you are not anxious or under stress..."

"We knew that Xirnium had captured some KC soldiers during the invasion... We were aware that they were studying them, most likely conducting experiments..."

"What would I have done to help you if you had been against going... I am a Minister of Defense, all-be-it rather low on the totem at present, and my sister will be President... I would have tried to pull some strings, get you assigned to my office as a military attaché, another option would have been peacekeeping in Torontia... We will be sending a team for reconstruction work in Kahanistan, you could have been assigned to protect/help them... Should all that have failed there would always have been defection, although as a loyal officer of your nations military I doubt you would desert them at such a time…”

Nadia smiled. She really cares about me. She was feeling much better, having released her emotions.

"Perhaps we can see if the ship's restaurants are open at this hour? I think they work 24/7... we can grab something and talk... the ship should arrive at Amestria in about..." she looked at her watch, "ten hours."

"It's not that far from here. You interested?"

"Your watch is wrong... we have twice that long until we arrive, there is still the channel to go through..."

She paused and took a sip of wine...

"Although I feel a bit tipsy, I would love something to eat..."

Nadia smiled and took Liscel's hand. "What do you like? I could do with something pretty big, I haven't eaten since I got on the ship, and before that was just some crackers I found in the vending machine at St. Fedski, good thing I never travel anywhere without carrying USD's on me."

"I'll probably try to get another bottle or two of wine, and they'll probably have glasses, I'm sure." She nodded toward Liscel and stood up.

"I had a lunch I packed earlier while you where sleeping... although it has been a while... Something moderate... Perhaps some Amestrian bread, Coq au Vin and some cheese..."

Liscel stood up and followed Nadia...

(Note: Those dishes she is referring to are all Amestrian cuisine.)

"This is a Kahanistan ship. I'm not sure you'll find that here. As for me," she said, walking into the door, "I'll have a big plate of falafel and some bread, and a large side of rice."

She sat down at the nearest table and waited for Liscel to decide what she wanted and get the waiter.

Liscel addressed the waiter...

"Sir, do you have any Amestrian bread, Amestrian Cheese, Coqau Vin, Blanquette de veau, pot-au-feu, or souffle?"

"Lemme see... Actually, we do, this ship does a line from Kahanistan to Amestria, and makes several stops and pickups on the way, so there's dishes from several different nations."

"Let me guess, you're Amestrian?" The waiter looks at Liscel, then looks at Sklenova. "And what would you like?"

"A large order of falafel, side of rice, and breadsticks, and a tall soda."

"Want any wine with that?" He turned back to Liscel.

"A Coqau Vin* with a side of Amestrian bread and cheese... And a bottle of your finest wine... For the Coqau Vin, when cooking it do not hold back on the brandy or blood."

(*Cock with wine, a rooster cooked in wine, brandy and blood.)

The waiter nodded. "Got it, lots of brandy and blood. Should be done in half an hour."

He turned and produced a very large bottle of ten-year-old champagne. "Our finest wine... not that we have a very wide selection." He went off to prepare the Coq au Vin.

Nadia raised an eyebrow. "Blood?"

"It thickens the sauce and is traditional... What exactly is a falafel?"

"Fried balls of spiced chickpeas, basically," said Nadia. About thirty minutes later, the waiter came back, with the dishes. He looked over at Liscel. He couldn't take his eyes off her, from the look of things. "Here's your dishes. Which one's for you and which one's for your friend?" He set them both down on Liscel's side.

Nadia looked at him. New guy, huh?

Liscel addressed the waiter. "My boy you will dry out your eye balls if you keep that up..."

Liscel then grimaced and passed the falafel dish to Nadia.

"I do not know how you Middle Easterners can eat that stuff..."

She then picked up her wine glass and cooed, "Alcohol, alcohol..."

"I could say the same about a bird fried in blood. Anyway, that's a pretty big bottle, don't tell me you intend on drinking that all alone." Nadia gulped her soda and dug into her falafel and rice.

The waiter seemed to get the hint that Liscel wasn't interested in him. He walked off, presumably to service some other customer.

(Falafel is actually quite popular in the Middle East. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falafel))

"Well if you doubt my abilities how about you help me finish it." She dug into her rooster with a knife and fork. Upon tasting it, she gave it a thumbs sideways.

"It is fairly average fair, not equal to that which you would find on in the average Amestrian corner café, but not bad either..."

She took a sip of the wine and made a face... "This is their best vintage, no wonder you embraced me after you had sampled some of the Manors wine... Don't get me wrong, the foods not the worst I have had, English food is the worst, just god-awful. England's greatest contribution to European agriculture was mad cow disease... Oh, I forgot to order milk, good for the bones... WAITER, A NICE GLASS OF WHOLE MILK!... Now where was I, ah yes, the blemish on the world that is England..."

What followed for the next ten minutes was a semi-rant, influenced in no small way by the alcohol, on how awful English food was, how their economy was too North American, how the only good thing they produced philosophy wise was the works of David Hume, and how the Duke of Wellington was overrated."

"You guys must make some good food," said Nadia, finishing off her soda. "If I survive my assignment in Kraven, maybe I'll go to Amestria City when I can find some leave. We've been at war pretty much since the start of the Xirnium campaign (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=447234). That was quite some time ago."

"Waiter, would you give me a wine glass, please?" she asked as the same waiter showed up and gave Liscel a tall glass of whole milk.

"Sure..." he said disinterestedly, still half-focused on Liscel. "Glass..."

About five minutes later, he gave Nadia a wine glass and she poured it full.

(Nadia was at the Xirnium campaign, initially. She is not nearly as prominent in the battle as some of the other commanders.)

"Yes, come to Amestria City.." Liscel took out a pen and note-pad and jotted down an address. "This is the address of my apartment, feel free to drop by any-time... Although the best place to spend vacation is the Manor*, it is a very lovely country estate and among the world's finest vineyards. Wonderful forests and peaceful streams... There are so few places in the modern world untouched by troubles and development..." She sighed as if the very thought of the place gave her a relaxed pleasure.

She took another sip of her wine and made another exaggerated face. Then she took a big gulp of her milk.

"Do you drink much milk Nadia?..."

(*A feudal estate the Liscel family has had lordship over since the Middle Ages.)

Nadia took a long, deep drink of her wine and slipped the address into her pocket. "Not a lot. It's a military thing, we're usually thrown out into action with just MRE's and multivitamin and mineral pills, they give us all the calcium and everything else we need. But a glass of milk and cookies is always nice. You wouldn't believe the kinds of MRE's we have, they've got Middle Eastern food, naturally, and Chinese, African, European, vegetarian, kosher, halal*... but God help you if you get the British ones. Oh, wait. Neither of us believes in a God!" She caught a fit of the giggles.

(*Acceptable to Islamic dietary requirements. Ten percent of Kahanistanians are Muslims. This adds up to roughly 80 million people, one million of whom are in the military.)

Liscel joined her in a giggling fit. "Nadia... an agnostic a... asking god to save her from the... British... culinary atrocities..."

She became serious.

"Nadia, why did you ask me whether or not I liked guys? I am just interested what lay behind that question..."

"I simply wanted to know if you were a lesbian, or if you were bisexual, or even primarily heterosexual and simply attracted to me for some unknown reason. I have no hidden motivations," said Nadia. She absently finished off the last of her falafel balls and rice, then nursed the wine glass and refilled. "Care for dessert?" she asked.

"Some Souffle, although I strongly doubt they would do it right here, even the best cafes get it right only half the time... How about some vanilla ice cream and then we retire for the night... or early morning (giggle)..."

Liscel continued, her intoxication becoming more evident...

"For a cruise line this was a good meal, but I would rather be eating you..."

"Now who's had too much to drink?" said Nadia. She called the waiter. "One strawberry ice cream."

"OK," said the waiter. "And what would you like?" he asked, turning to Liscel with a somewhat predatory expression.

Liscel looked at him as if he were an ant, something trivial she interacted with out of necessity. "My boy, even if you got me, you would not know what to do with me (giggle), now be a good little manservant and bring me a glass of vanilla ice cream and chocolate chips..."

Liscel then turned back to Nadia.

"I may be acting a little funny, but at least I am not trying to dive head first into a swimming pool and can move under my own power..."

The waiter went back, got a strawberry ice cream and a vanilla, but got distracted and put chocolate chips in BOTH of them.

He returned and handed Liscel the vanilla and Nadia the strawberry, then smiled at Liscel.

Nadia looked at her dessert. A tad distracted, are we? "Kind of unusual... I'll try it and see." She took a spoonful. "This is actually quite nice."

The waiters hovering presence irritated Liscel... The bastard, he was trying to score on her while she was drunk.

"You know Nadia, in Amestria they have cafes with very attractive waitresses... Some dressed in maid’s outfits... (she winked at her) Why is it whenever I go overseas its only desperate men waiting the tables... Where are the wanton women..."

If this did not get through to him his that his chances were zero or less...

It seemed to dawn on the waiter that Liscel was a lesbian. He backed off. Nadia spoke up.

"Wanton women... You might try the Hooters in downtown Najaster. I hear they have a room in the back where you can go with the waitress... but needless to say I've never been there. It might not even be there anymore, the capital was looted before the surrender to AMF by the few defenders who had stayed behind, and a lot of places were burned. May have been nothing but rumors anyway. I hear a lot of weird stuff, there are a lot of young and immature men and women in my wing."

She looked at Liscel. "I remember something that Novan guy said at the demonstration... about me not being interested. If you had given up then, we wouldn't be here." But he only pays attention to her, not me. He even fudged my original order, not that it's that bad.

"I've known enough people to say that people don't like to give up, especially my people. Even when the odds were stacked against us near the end of the Freekish invasion, the surviving military and millions of armed civilians holed up to fight to the death. They were so pissed off when the President surrendered, thousands of them wanted to fight so badly they attacked the main Kahanistan troops. Even the commanders wanted to fight. People don't give up."

"Hooters", Liscel said the name with disgust. "No class, no talent, just uneducated dullards with certain large (bring both hands to her breasts) assets... Yes, if I had given up we would not be here having such a good time... You would be facing the cold reality of existence all by yourself..."

Liscel let that sink in for a moment.

"I am not tipping the bastard. He got your order wrong and he is a loser."

Nadia's face betrayed no expression. "Waiter, bill."

"250 racist shekels." He handed her the bill.

The rat-bastard. 250 racist shekels? That was about 325 USD... She looked over at Liscel. "No fucking way."

Unknown to Liscel, the waiter had heard everything she had said. "Well, maybe we can come into the office and discuss this..." he said to Liscel.

Liscel took out a roll of GHC hundreds (Gold Hobbes Currency).

"I'll get it." Liscel turned to the waiter. "Does your establishment have change for a hundred?"

(Note: At present a Gold Hobbes equals $1.01 USD.)

The waiter looked at the funny money. He tried to think up something, fast. "Um... we don't take Amestrian currency. USD, credit card, debit card, or Racist Shekels." He wasn't going to be able to pull the wool over the young woman he was so keen on for much longer...

Nadia intervened. "I really don't think that even a dish as expensive as Coq au Vin would come up to this. You'll need to give me an itemized bill."

After a few minutes, the manager came in. He totaled everything up, then said, "It comes to 26 racist shekels. Pervy, you're fired."

The waiter took off his apron and walked out. Nadia gave the manager her credit card.

"What did I tell you, he is a loser..."

Having finished her ice cream and milk, Liscel waited until the manager had returned from ringing up Nadia's credit card...

"So my dear, shall we retire for the morning?"

(OOC: Don't RP Nadia going directly to bed, just preparing for bed, I have something interesting planned.)

"Sure. I'll be in my cabin. It's right next to yours." She walked to her cabin and looked around. "Nice." Before, when she was here, she was either under heavy stress or drunk out of her skull. She sat down on the bed with her head in her hands.

(She hasn't gone to bed, she's just sitting there, trying to absorb what just went on.)

After roughly ten minutes, there was a knock on Nadia's door...

"Nadia, it’s me, Sara..."

"I'm here." Nadia got up and opened the door for Liscel.

Liscel was dressed in a simple white night gown and was holding… a large teddy bear??

“This is Mr. La Mettrie”, Liscel remarked, referring to the bear. She stood in place for a moment, staring at the ground and shifting her left foot uncomfortably… She was obviously trying to find the right words to use…

Finally, some soft words escaped her lips. “Can I stay with you? I do not like to be alone… I promise I won’t try anything.”

Nadia smiled. "Is that for me?" She took the bear and placed it on her dresser.

She turned to Liscel. Well, she did promise not to try anything with me. "Sure, you can stay with me." She squeezed her.

(She thinks the bear is a gift. She could be wrong, though...)

Liscel hugged Nadia back and then went to the dresser and retrieved the bear...

"Mr. La Mettrie is my sleeping companion... I have had him since I was a child... If you like, I know a shop in Amestria City, which makes the most adorable teddy bears... I could have one sent to you..."

She sat down on the bed...

"That would be nice," said Nadia. "It'd be a challenge to find a place to put him, though." She lay back and looked up at the ceiling.

Liscel lay down on the bed and pulled up the covers…

“Good night Nadia and thank you for being so understanding.”

Nadia smiled. "Understanding about what?" She crammed herself at the far edge of the bed, against the wall, wrapped up in a sheet. Only her face and hands were exposed. "So... it's 8 AM, when do we land at Amestria? I forgot my schedule."

Liscel looked at the clock on the table by the bed. "We have 15 more hours before this ship arrives in Amestria..."

Nadia closed her eyes and lay next to Liscel. "I wish I could sleep for 15 hours..." She wrapped her arms around Liscel.

Liscel smiled and whispered... "I love it when you hold me like this... you are so soft and warm... I... I... please do not let me go..."

Nadia held Liscel even tighter. "I hope we can see each other again." She rested her face against Liscel's so that their cheeks were touching and quickly fell asleep.

Liscel followed Nadia into peaceful slumber.

3 PM (about eight hours before the ship lands in Amestria, or about seven hours after they fell asleep)

Nadia woke up. Liscel seemed to still be asleep. Nadia cleaned up and left a note in case Liscel woke up and found her gone.

Sara,
If you wake up and I'm not here, I'm probably at the pool. I didn't get any time there yesterday. Nadia.

She dressed for the pool, slid on a cover-up, and walked down to the pool.

Aela Bouquet was sitting by the pool reading the paper. She was wearing a g-string tong and a loose dress shirt… She was suffering the obvious effects of a hang over, dark glasses covered her eyes, and a bottle of headache pills stood on the table besides her recliner.

Aela looked up at Nadia. “Good morning Colonel. Did we sleep well?”

Nadia climbed out of the water and sat next to Aela. "I slept fine... as far as I know, Sara's still in bed. Did you drink too much?"

"No, I drank the right amount, I passed out... She really likes you, you know that."

"I know. I like her, too. Just not the same way she likes me." She looked at Aela's paper. "What do you have here?" Nadia asked.

"The King of Xharn has been overthrown and killed by his former chief adviser and there is now a civil war. It has been a bad year for Kings in countries which have names beginning with the letter X... You know you are not the only one, she has many relationships."

Sklenova nodded. "Yes, it would seem so. I heard that after they shot the God-Emperor in Xirnium, they stuck a dead guy on the throne. I really wouldn't want to be in the divine family."

"Come to think about it, how many countries do start with X? I can count two off the top of my head. Xharn, and Xirnium."

She took a deep breath. "I know about Sara. She knows a lot about me, too. I don't have many relationships."

"I have no idea; there are so many countries these days... More then people can count... You pick up an almanac and it is the size of Corsica... So you have not slept with her?"

Aela looked directly at Nadia...

Nadia sighed. "It depends on what you mean. She spent the night with me, but we didn't... have... relations."

She looked over at Aela. She decided to say something that had been on her mind since they first met. "I get the impression you don't like Sara, or me for that matter. Are there issues between you?"

What could have been the beginning of a smile formed on Aela's lips, but then she was once again aloof. "How I and the Minister get along is none of your business Colonel... And as for how I have treated you..."

Aela gave one of her really sweet smiles.

"I am sorry."

Nadia nodded. "All right." She smiled. "Apology accepted."

She sat down in one of the pool chairs. "I left a note, Sara will know where I am when she wakes up."

"She is a very late sleeper... She might be in bed for another two hours... It is a lovely day... if only it where not so bright! Under normal conditions the air would be quite chilled, but we seem to have an unusually warm current coming from somewhere..."

Aela paused.

"You seemed quite smitten with her when you got drunk by the pool the other day... How much difference a little alcohol makes in love..."

"Love?" said Nadia grimly. "It makes no difference in love... merely drops one's inhibitions... confuses you in large quantities... doesn't have anything to do with love. Lust, maybe, but it won't do anything to your ingrained orientation."

"Love!" Aela laughed. "I do not believe in 'love'. It is simply the simplified way of describing diverse desires... Lust, want, the need for interaction or company, respect... Those are what exist, where is 'love'? It is nowhere. A fable, like Venus, cupid and the magic arrows... When Ms. Liscel kisses you, when she holds you, when you hold her... What do you feel?"

Nadia sighed. She clearly didn't like being psychoanalyzed. "I... I feel a certain intimacy with her. I'm not saying I return her attraction... but I enjoy her company, she's comforting when I'm upset or stressed, which is a lot of the time, especially recently."

"Oh, why is that?"

Aela looked at Nadia as if she were an insect under a microscope... Aela was clearly enjoying Nadia's reactions and unease...

"Well," Nadia began, "my home was destroyed, I've been reassigned so that I'm being sent to Kraven after this ship drops Sara off at Amestria and continues to Kahanistan, and the briefing reports I get on Kraven atrocities still get to me emotionally."

"And to top it all off, I have no background in intelligence, and they want to ship me into hostile territory to link the resistance to the Kahanistan military forces who will be arming them."

"I mean, how does she comfort you from all that?"

Aela gave another smile, which combined with her very white skin and black hair, made her look something of a vampire...

"Sometimes talking to her makes me feel better," said Nadia. "I'm sure you have friends. You should be able to understand me... do you have a friend who you can talk to about anything and it'll make you feel better? Sometimes even someone to use as just a sounding board?"

"Yes I have friends... But if you do not mind me saying so, you my dear seem very much alone... Do you have any friends, lovers, children, family?"

She paused, glanced briefly at her watch, then went back gazing at Nadia's eyes...

"Sounding board...?"

"Sounding board... A term that basically means someone to vent your frustrations to when you're stressed, but you don't want to do that too much."

"As for friends... I have a few that I spend time with, I'm only close with two or three. It seems like I have more enemies than I need. I'm not involved with anyone romantically, if you're talking about lovers... and no, I don't have children either. I couldn't care for a child with my career... I could be dead in two weeks. I could have been killed several times already." She ran her finger over the scar on her side. "That kind of uncertainty is no environment to raise a child in."

"If you were to perish tomorrow, would anyone notice? Would anyone care? Why are you here?... Are you ghost, a spirit inhabits this world pretending to be a mortal, but failing and in the end being thrown back into the emptiness of the nether world?... Oh look at this (glancing once again at her paper) the Amestrian murder rate went down again for the fifth year in a row, ah progress..."

She seemed to be deliberately trying to cause discomfort and was delighting in it.

"You know you will eventually die..."

"I think a few people would notice if I wasn't there... As for why I'm here... I'm heading for the base to take me to Kraven." Sklenova's expression changed. She was now visibly uneasy. It's always dangerous to generalize... but both of the Amestrians I've been talking to seem to have some weird cynical philosophy...

"It is a waste of time to talk to the dead..."

Aela turned to the forecast page and said no more...

Nadia looked over at Aela. What could she mean...? I'll never understand. She got up and went back into the water.

Thirty minutes after Nadia reentered the pool Liscel arrived, wearing a robe over her swimsuit. She was uneasily holding the note in her hand, but brightened up the moment she caught a glimpse of Nadia.

“Hey,” she cheerfully waved.

She walked over, put her stuff on the recliner next to Aela, and prepared to join Nadia in the pool (stretching)…

“Why bother to spend time with the dead,” Aela asked in a rather disinterested manner.

Liscel slapped her across the face. “Do not say that, she is not dead, she is very much alive.”

Aela seemed to enjoy Liscel slapping her, for she smiled. She smiled in a manner that was not sweet, cynical, or indifferent. She smiled in a manner that suggested... happiness?? Aela then returned to reading her newspaper.

Nadia came over to Liscel. "Weird girl. What could she have meant?" She joined Liscel stretching at the edge.

Aela heard Nadia and answered her with a venomous smirk. "I meant that your death has already been accomplished, all that remains is for your physical form to perish. You are alone, few if any care about you, if you die the world would go on as if nothing had happened... Why, your superiors are sending you on a mission which you are so obviously not qualified for and which will most likely fail shows how highly they value you... Oh, look Dilbert's boss has hired a sourpuss and explains it away with 'management is 90% optimism’..."

Liscel glared at her. "That is enough out of you!"

A tear ran down Nadia's face. This Amestrian philosophy... it's so depressing. She looked to Liscel. "It is a bleak way of looking..." Could they be using me as cannon fodder?

Liscel waved Aela away. "Just ignore her. She cuts away the brambles but fails to plant or nurse any seedlings."

Liscel then went to the deep section of the pool and dived in headfirst.

Nadia went after Liscel. She submerged and propelled herself toward the deep end, killing time before she would part with Liscel. And then... will I see her again? She had to remember to give Liscel her contact information before the ship docked at Amestria.

Liscel found a large beach ball someone had not long ago thrown into the pool and she began to play with it, tossing it up and down.

Nadia turned to Liscel. "I'll be back in a few minutes." She ran up to her cabin, copied the address Liscel had given her at breakfast into her address book, found her notepad, and wrote down her cell number and email and brought them back down to Liscel. "Take care of this, OK?"

Liscel climbed out of the pool, dried herself off with a towel and took the paper Nadia had given her... She handled it as if it was one of the most precious things in the world... Although she was trying to contain it, she was clearly elated.

"I will, don't worry. Liscel took it and ran back to her cabin, found her electronic assistant and entered the information into it and for good measure wrote it down in her address book.

She then hurried back to the pool. It seemed as if she had just remembered something and went to her discarded robe. She took out a bottle of pills and tossed them to Nadia.

"Here is that 'Detachment from the Human Condition' you wanted. Although I cannot stress enough, if you take them, no alcohol, none, and no more swimming, not if you want to expire before reaching Kraven..."

(Note: That stuff is powerful, no pain, she will feel very upbeat and positive, however she will become rather loopy... Not in a drunk way with slurred speech and lack of motor control, more a type of high...)


(Assume these to be on the bottle)
Drug Details
Name: Detachment from the Human Condition
Type of Drug: Pain killer/mood elevator
Produced: In Amestria by the pharmaceutical company VersaLife with government oversight.
Uses: Used medically in situations of grave injury or severe pain. In Amestria, it is possible to get a proscription to treat depression or for recreational use.
Effects: Shortly after taking it, the individual will experience an elated mood and very positive attitude. The individual will no longer experience physical pain or physiological unease. The drug also maximizes the body’s pleasure receptors, the amount of pleasurable experiences felt by the individual increases dramatically. For example, food tastes better (not that those experiencing the high tend to eat much, see below).
Personal Effects upon User Behavior: A person on this drug will become, for lack of a better description, rather loopy/ditsy. It is not uncommon for an individual on this drug to blurt out what is on their mind without thinking it over first. It is advisable while under the effects of this drug not to attempt any long drawn out or severely complicated activities.
Noticeable Physical Effects: Physically the user’s eyes become glazed over.
Side Effects: Highly addictive (big surprise), however medication exists to prevent cravings. The drug acts as an appetite suppressor, unless the individual is starving they will feel no urge to eat (this can have both positive or negative implications). Constant use of this drug over a long period of time could result in kidney or liver damage, occasional use however has minimal risk. If too much is used it could result in the individuals body shutting down. For that reason, it is advisable that no more then one dose be taken at a time.
Dose: The effects of one dose (one pill) will last for about an hour.
(not on lable)
Drug Tech: PMT

"Thanks. I'll put it in my luggage." She ran back to her cabin and came back. She rejoined Liscel in the pool. "I might need it when the sights and sounds become too much. Don't worry, I won't take it in action. Of course, if I'm caught in Kraven with it, I'll be killed even if they don't know I'm a Kahanistan officer."

Aela spoke without looking up from her newspaper, as if she was not even acknowledging Nadia's existence. "Kraven has been on the highest of alerts since AMF declared war upon them. If the Capital Police take an interest in someone that probably means that person will be dragged off to slave away building fortifications or be sent to one of those... birthing facilities... A wounded or sick dragon tends to be far more vicious then a healthy uninjured one... In past conflicts Kraven was fighting to expand, in this conflict Kraven is fighting to survive, do not underestimate what such a difference means..."

Liscel again shot Aela a withering glare. "You are not helping anyone feel better; you think she has not already realized that! No more from you!"

Aela nodded some sort of agreement without looking up. Liscel turned back to Nadia and took both of her hands, pulling her in the direction of the pool.

"Lets she who is faster swimmer, I'll race you..."

Sklenova knew the difference, even though she had been away when Kahanistan was fighting to survive, as opposed to for political or social ideology.

She nodded to Liscel. "OK." She jumped in headfirst and waited for Liscel to enter the water.

Liscel was right behind her and hit the water in a canon ball, creating an enormous splash.

"Race you to the other side, ready, go!"

(OOC: How good of a swimmer is Nadia.)

Nadia focused on the other edge of the pool and darted forward.

(Fairly good, also her frame is conducive to fast swimming. [She's not that heavy for her height.] It's part of military training, but not one of the bigger parts.)

OOC: Amestria, TG.

Liscel followed suit, but was unable to keep up and soon fell behind.

Nadia propped herself up against the edge of the pool. She smiled down at Liscel.

"Military training," she explained. "It's in case we get shot down overseas, they train us in water survival. Mostly it's how to use a life jacket, but they also show us how to swim and combat techniques in the water. You never know who or what might attack you in the sea."

Liscel reached out her hand and began to stoke Nadia's right arm...

"You are quite strong, aren’t you...?”

Nadia nodded. "As strong as could be expected... as you can see, I'm not that big." She was indeed rather slim. "I don't go in much for weight lifting..."

"I noticed..." Liscel propped herself up on the edge right next to Nadia...

Aela once again spoke. "Minister, according to the latest polls it looks like your sister may win a large enough plurality so as not to need to participate in a runoff..."

"Unlikely... There will most likely be a runoff."

"So, when she vacates her Parliament seat, who do the Centralists plan to run for her district seat in Central...?”

"Why me, of course..."

"You Minister...?"

"Yes... You have to be an MP to attain a cabinet level position... Aela, I do not feel like talking politics at present, and I doubt Nadia is interested in Amestrian electoral strategy... Please go for a walk or something... You need to exorcise."

"Yes Minister!" Aela rolled her eyes, folded her newspaper under her arm, and walked off...

Liscel turned back to Nadia. "Do you find my body repulsive?"

That came out of nowhere. Nadia thought for a second. The wrong answer could seriously hurt Liscel's self-image. "I wouldn't say that..."

(What type are we talking about here?)

(What Liscel is asking is whether Nadia feels disgust, revulsion, or repelled in anyway by her physical form. The context being is Nadia disgusted at the thought of having sex with her...)

"Well..." Liscel implored as she began sucking on the tip of her left hands index finger... nervousness maybe...

Nadia wrapped her arms gently around Liscel. "No..." Why would she think that? "You're very pretty. Why do you think that I would find you repulsive?"

"Are you afraid of me then?"

What is she getting at? "No..." said Nadia. "Should I be?" She looked at Liscel with concern.

Liscel suddenly leaned forward and gave Nadia a deep kiss on the lips... She then drew back and looked down upon the water...

"Are you going to tell me you felt nothing?"

What's with her? "No... I'm not going to tell you that." She held Liscel. "I... I'm just not used to this kind of intimacy." I'm not interested in women like this, like I told her...

She made eye contact with her. "What did you... want me to feel?"

"I want you to feel how I feel..."

Liscel looked into her eyes...

"What did you feel? Please answer honestly..."

"I was shocked. I wasn't expecting you to grab me and kiss me like that." "Feel what I feel..." Nadia took a second to speak again. "What do you feel?"

"I love you..."

Nadia smiled. "That's so sweet." She held Liscel tightly against her. Only one other person had told her that he loved her, and he had led her to sleep with him four years earlier and then bragged about it. She knew Liscel wouldn't do that to her...

She stroked Liscel's face. "And Aela was saying nobody cared about me... I'll never figure her out."

"Don't try... she gets like that... and she is wrong..."

Liscel leaned towards Nadia, her eyes closed... She was waiting for Nadia to kiss her...

Nadia moved her head so her cheek was touching Liscel's. She squeezed her as tightly as she could.

"I know... I even tried to be friendly with her and she seems to think I'm doomed and there's no reason to talk to me."

"You are not doomed... You are very much alive... Kiss me... kiss me please..."

Liscel’s heart was racing and Nadia could feel it as she pressed against her.

Nadia gave Liscel a peck on the cheek. It was as much as could be expected of her.

"I... I've never kissed a woman before," she said.

"Let me show you then..."

Liscel then gave Nadia another deep kiss and this time did not draw back.

Nadia did not pull away, but she was certainly uneasy. "It's getting late... Is there anything else you wanted to do on the ship? We only have a few hours before we get to Amestria."

"Perhaps we could go back to your cabin... or mine... it does not matter..."

Liscel began to kiss Nadia's neck...

Nadia took Liscel's hand. "All right." She pulled out of the water and slipped on her cover-up.

Liscel followed Nadia out of the water, dried herself off, and put on her robe. She retook Nadia’s hand and began to lead her towards her cabin.

They arrived at the door to Liscel's cabin. Nadia waited for Liscel to open the door.

Liscel opened the door and led Nadia inside. She closed the door behind her and began to walk towards the bed, removing her cloths…

Oh, shit. She's lost her mind. "What... are you doing, Sara?" Nadia asked. She was surprised. She stood fixed next to the door.

What, she did not know?! Liscel could not help but laugh, it was so silly, this whole situation.

"Nadia, what is the point of a human life, roughly 60 years, 80 if you live in a good nation? To maximize pleasure and minimize pain. I thought we shared the same idea between us in the pool... I..."

Liscel smiled in a disarming manner and just stood in the middle of the room in the nude.

"I love you, and would never cause you pain..." Liscel gave Nadia an odd look... "In the heat of passion I invite you to my cabin, what did you think I was going to do... And why are you afraid, tell me Nadia, why are you so afraid?"

Liscel then sat down on the bed and put on her most calm expression. She tried very hard to appear vulnerable and non-threatening.

Sklenova was still in her coverup, now wrapped tightly around her. "I thought you just wanted to talk to me... kill time before we landed in Amestria."

She sat on the floor, her gaze never meeting Liscel's. "I'm not afraid... I just don't feel a physical attraction. It's not that I don't think you're attractive, it's... well..." How do I say this without hurting her feelings? "I don't think that we should get too close... I'll probably be killed out there in a few days. And, I don't think we've known each other long enough to consider a relationship of this level even if I weren't afraid of that."

"Do you like chocolate, Nadia?"

Where is this going? She had no idea. "Yeah, some kinds," said Nadia.

"Did you know you liked those kinds the moment you were born, was it inherent, 'I like those chocolates but not others?' Or did you have to try them, experiment...?"

Oh my god, I see where this is going. "Well, I had to experiment. But with what you want me to experiment with, I know what I'm attracted to and what I'd like done with me."

She thought for a few seconds, trying to see if she could put a damper on Liscel's parade. "Let me put it this way. Do you like horses?"

Liscel sighed. "Horses are not people, but I see your point... It just that I don't believe you when you say you are not attracted to me, why hold me so tightly then... How would it hurt you...? Nadia, how would it cause you pain... We are burning in the fires of time, why should we hold back from that which may bring pleasure but would not bring pain."

Liscel looked at the floor...

"I am not trying to pressure or force you in to anything, you have all the power. I love you..."

Liscel looked up at Nadia...

"Sara... I enjoy your company, but I get a little uneasy with you facing me while you're in the buff," said Nadia. "I'll even stay with you here until the ship docks if you put something on."

"Maybe sometime... when we have more time together... when my mission is completed, if I survive... I have several months of leave stored up. We can get to know each other much better, no pressure, no nothing..."

She waited to see how Liscel would respond.

Liscel quietly smiled. "Sure, I understand... I have underwear and a business suit in the dresser behind you. Can you grab it for me and toss it here? Just please don't leave..."

Nadia opened the dresser, found the stuff Liscel asked for, and threw it to her. She waited for Liscel to get dressed and then sat next to her. "Thank you for understanding me."

"Your welcome...," Liscel mumbled. She seemed embarressed, depressed, and small. Nadia felt as if she dwarfed her...

"I am so sorry..."

She looked as if she might cry...

Nadia threw her arms around Liscel. "It's all right..."

She laid her shoulder against Liscel's face. "We just have a few more hours together... let's just lay down and talk..."

Liscel laid back on the bed. She put her arm around Nadia.

"Ok... what do you want to talk about...?"

Nadia lay back beside Liscel. "Anything, really. It doesn't matter to me."

"Did you have any dreams last night?"

"I had this dream last night... it was not anything cliché, it was strange... I was walking in the vineyard of the Manor, it was summer. There was no one else outside at present. It was peaceful... Then I happened to catch a glimpse of metal. I looked more closely and I saw a silver pocket watch. I picked it up; thinking one of the workers must have dropped it... I opened it up, hoping to find a name, and there was an inscription..."

"Dieses ist pas une montre...* This is not a watch... At which point I woke up... What the hell is that supposed to mean? It is meaningless... Have you ever had any dreams like that Nadia?"


(*She is speaking in Amestrian.)

"Not that I can remember off the top of my head," said Nadia. "I'm really not into analyzing dreams... most of mine the last few weeks have been nightmares about the Kraven birthing facilities. A few months ago Xirnium Intelligence raided one and broadcasted the contents to the international community... it made me sick." She took a deep breath.

"I threw up all over the floor, right in front of all the officers and soldiers. They all laughed at me and I started crying, right there, in front of everyone." She seemed disturbed at the memory.

"But one young man got the mop and disinfectant and cleaned up. He'd had his eye on me for some time..." She did not seem conceited, just stating a fact. "He told me that it was a relief to know that not all officers get dehumanized by what they've seen... and that I was more human than the rest because I still had my emotions..." Her voice was shaking now. "I've had nightmares about it ever since... that could be me in there..." Nadia's eyes misted over as she spoke.

"But for now... I think we should rest and wait for the ship to dock."

“I also saw the Xirnium broadcast and it made me feel sick as well… Not that I threw up, but it made me feel ill for a few days… Have you had any nice dreams…?”

Liscel placed her head on Nadia’s shoulder and squeezed her.

“Nadia, can you hold me tighter?”

Nadia smiled and squeezed Liscel. "Yes... about going to a rebuilt home... seeing everything I've worked for coming to fruition... equality, freedom, peace. It's a recurring dream, but not as recurring as the ones of me in the birthing facilities in Kraven..." she said.

Liscel kissed Nadia lightly on the cheek.

“Is it ok if I do that?”

I won’t if you don’t want me to…”

Nadia made eye contact with Liscel and smiled. "It's OK," she said. She lay across the bed to rest... waiting for the ship to dock.

“I had another interesting dream a while ago; to be honest I cannot remember specifically when… I was swimming in a purple sea, alone, with nothing on… It really frightened me, the idea of being all alone like that, with no one around… A vast empty place… Do you understand…? Dieses monde ist une mer et nous saisissent à ce qui nous bidon à rester à flot..."

"This world is a sea and we must rest or float?" Nadia asked. "I'm afraid I don't speak very good Amestrian."

"As for me... I wouldn't say I'm alone... I just don't mix with a whole lot of people... not for lack of friends, just... a lot of people think I'm too emotional, maybe I am..."

Liscel kissed Nadia softly on the cheek and then the neck.

"You are not too emotional... You are so closed, so defensive... Maybe that is because of the life you lead... My sister, when she served in the military, would often say... 'je suis a Soldat, et ce moyens... que je suis défendeur et juge. Je me tiens sur les deux fins de das Feuer... dépassement de la vie et de la mort...'"

Liscel again kissed Nadia on the cheek...

"I don't follow." Nadia put her arm around Liscel.

(Translation?)

"'I am a soldier and that means... that I am both defendant and judge. I stand on both ends of the fire... overtaking life and death...' That’s what my sister would often say…"

"What do you think about that Nadia... what do you think...? J'aime Sie et je nous veux tous les deux au ravish..."

Liscel again kissed Nadia on the cheek...

"J'aime Sie Nadia..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nadia asked. Was this some other piece of Amestrian philosophy...? "About being a defendant and judge..."

"You as a soldier deal out judgments, deciding who lives and dies, while at the same time you defend yourself against all those who wish to harm you... Es ist a Soldataufgabe à tous les deux protégez et Tötung..."

Liscel paused for a second...

"Nadia, do you love me...? Si aucun pourquoi soyez alors Sie me tenant tellement étroitement? Pourquoi soyez Sie me laissant montrer tant d'affection? Pourquoi Sie Folterung je?"

What do I say to her? "I... don't know yet." The Amestrian went over Nadia's head. "I'm sorry. I only speak English and Russian, some Arabic."

"It was nothing... Perhaps a conscious dream..."

Liscel kissed Nadia on the shoulder...

"It's a pity you do not speak Amestrian, English is so average... everyone these days can speak it... Nadia have you ever had a pet...?"

Nadia nodded. "A Shooban. (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Shooban)"

"I left him with a friend before I went to St. Fedski. He went missing when the Freeks blew up her apartment. I don't even know if he's alive or not. He was a nasty little critter, throwing his crap all over the place and drinking out of the toilet. But I loved him, I loved trying to teach him how to read... how to draw... how he always changed the channel when I was watching Stargate..."

Sklenova continued. "A lot of countries treat Shoobans like crap, but with Kraven running amok, Kahanistan's remained pretty silent about it... so far. The Communist Party of Kahanistan is big on Shooban rights, and they're making a power grab... but so far the Socialist Party has held on fairly well... they care, but don't think it's as big a priority as going after Kraven."

"We don't have Shooban's in Amestria. They are not native to the environment and are thus considered an invasive species... A power grab you say...?"

Liscel began playing with Nadia's hair...

Nadia nodded. "Shoobans aren't native here either, but some escape from their keepers."

She explained about the politics. "The Communist Party claims that Shoobans are equal to humans. I don't know if that's the case, myself... but they're getting a lot of votes from the animal-rights people and they're really going on the offensive against the Green and Socialist Parties, they're co-opting a lot of liberal issues... animal rights and the environment."

"But the Communist Party wants us to liberate Shoobans in countries that treat them as cheap labor. A lot of people who keep them as pets are voting for the Communists."

"You have really soft hair (giggle)... Tell me about the Kahanistan Communist Party?... Are you planning on running for an office at some point in the future?"

"There was speculation that I would go for higher positions... but I'm not considering running for elected office at this time... I held some positions in the party itself, though... I was a low-ranking district-level official a couple years ago... I'm really too young for some of the higher offices."

"It's not such a time commitment... most lower party officials work one or even two jobs, so it didn't interfere with my military duties much... we weren't in constant warfare until a few months ago."

"About the party... we basically believe all humans are equal and that capitalism promotes inequality. In some countries, people are denied drugs that could save their lives because they can't pay for them. We don't have this here."

"The Socialist Party controls the government now. They're a little more moderate than the Communists, but they pay for health care, food, clothing, medicine, shelter, education... but they allow businesses to operate relatively unobstructedly, except that they have to pay a lot of taxes. The Communist Party thinks that capitalism breeds inequality and that the workers will one day revolt. Some of us have even proposed arming oppressed slave laborers in nations that still have slavery, to incite them to revolt to prove our point."

"My own view... I'm not 100% party line on this. I think the slaves need to be shown to revolt, but I'm not so sure about big business, I really have no idea on how to deal with them... we import a lot of things from other countries that we can't or don't make in Kahanistan, and it costs a lot of money... shutting them all down could harm us, but... I don't know." She seemed blank.

"My poor dear, they have poured a lot of ideology into you and little else... For instance, yes, there are many impoverished people unable to pay for drugs under a free market system, however it was the free market system that created many of those drugs in the first place. Yes, there are inequalities, but many of them can be pragmatically addressed given a nations leadership has the ability or will to address those inequalities... Trust me, a command economy produces only poverty. As for Capitalism promoting human inequality... Human equality does not exist... Human's are very unequal creatures..."

Liscel began to run the tips of her fingers up and down Nadia's arm...

"The Communist Party did not pour anything into me," said Nadia. "I was educated in school about various political ideologies and decided that the left wing was more egalitarian... that it offered to make society fair for people... some of my classmates later went on to become very right wing."

"Of course, the Socialist, Communist, and Green movements attract people who hold leftist views, and the Fascist and National Alliance parties attract those with right-wing views."

"Our government tries to fund the development of new medicines, but its healthcare budget is not funded well enough for that, we spend over a third of our budget on defense. We have more enemies than you do... over the last few months we've fought Xirnium before becoming allies, Kraven, Jenrak, the Ottoman Alliance, Neoma, terrorists in St. Fedski, Automagfreek, and TPLA guerrillas now."

"I am not surprised about the high defense budget, the primary purpose of every government being self-preservation... However, on the subject of Kahanistan reconstruction, as your nation has lost massive amounts of property and capital, it is best once the country is stable to lower taxes and loosen market regulations in order to promote badly needed growth... Otherwise, large sectors of your society will fail to receive government largesse and degenerate into slums and waste lands... But enough politics and economics..."

"Tell me Nadia, do you have a garden?"

Liscel began to slowly tickle Nadia with one hand...

"Do you like that or would you rather I stop?"

Sklenova shook her head. "No. Kahanistan doesn't have a lot of land, so most people live in high-rise apartments... sometimes over 140 stories tall and going deep underground. Some people raise gardens in indoor vats, but not me... I had my hands full keeping a Shooban."

She started to giggle when Liscel tickled her. "It's OK."

"I keep a garden, on the deck of my apartment in Central and at the Manor... I collect flowers Nadia, all types, as long as they are pretty. The Manor garden has a green house for Southern plants, which are not suited for the European climate... My Grandfather built it, they say we share many characteristics... Can you tickle me as well?"

Liscel continued to slowly tickle Nadia, a mischievous smile forming on her face...

Nadia began to tickle Liscel. "That better?" she asked, giggling like a drunken schoolgirl.

"(giggle) Yes...(giggle)... it is... Svp ravish je!"

Liscel began to tickle Nadia's sides with both hands...

Throwing caution to the winds, Nadia tossed her coverup to the floor near the outer door to let Liscel tickle her more easily.

"What was that?" she asked, still laughing her ass off.

"Oh it was nothing," Liscel managed to barely stammer between giggles...

Liscel sat up and began to tickle Nadia with wild abandon...

"Do you like this, or is it going too far?"

"I... love it!" said Nadia, barely able to speak as she pinned Liscel to the bed and tickled her furiously. Liscel was probably heavier than her, and could likely get out from under her if she wanted, though...

Liscel allowed herself to be pinned...

She was clearly flushed and excited... "Please.... don't.... stop...."

Nadia grinned evilly. "I won't..." She tickled Liscel rapidly on the sides, then rolled over onto her back.

Liscel returned the favor... tickling Nadia under the arms...

It was too much for Nadia. "Stop it!" she squealed. She curled into a fetal position on the foot of the bed.

Liscel stopped and lay down on her back, panting heavily... She was noticeably trembling...

"How... do... you... feel...?"

Nadia smiled and giggled. "Fine... just that it was a little too much," she said. "What about you?"

"I... feel... fine... It felt really good... When you have caught your breath you want to go at it again or have you had enough?... Chatouillement, chatouillement, chatouillement..."

Nadia notices that Liscel’s pupils had dilated...

"Chatouillement?" Nadia asked softly, looking into Liscel's eyes. "I'm a bit worn out..."

"Ok then... Chatouillement... Tickle, tickle, tickle...that’s what it means, tickle... Want to make out?"

Nadia grabbed the nearest pillow and smacked Liscel in the head with it. "No!"

Liscel feigned hurt and pouted…

"Owe, that hurt... Why did you do that...?"

She grabbed up her pillow and (softly) flung it at Nadia...

"You wanted to make out with me," said Nadia. She went to her cabin and got her pillow and proceeded to whack Liscel over the head repeatedly. "I'm not..." *whack* "making..." *whack* "out with..." *whack* "you!" *WHACK!*

"But a drunken pillow romp would be a lot of fun..." she mused.

"Fine... I got a lot of nervous energy to use up anyway..."

Liscel picked up her pillow.

"Prepare to defend yourself!"

With a playful grin, Liscel lunged at Nadia!

"Compte ist actuel!"

"It's for real?" Nadia asked, trying vainly to translate the Amestrian. She grabbed the pillow and smacked Liscel in the head... hard.

"Owe... that really hurt..."

Liscel ran to her bathroom mirror and looked into it, searching for any signs of a future bruise...

"Nice one... that really hurt..."

Liscel walked back into the main room...

"You could really injure someone you know..."

Suddenly Liscel collapsed on the floor and remained motionless...

Sklenova grabbed Liscel and put her head against her to see if she was still breathing and generally all right.

"Sara?"

"Got you!"

Liscel, with an evil/playful grin jumped up and once again began tickling the defenseless Nadia.

"You bruit, no one hits the Großen Führers daughter hard with a soft object and gets away with it… (in exaggerated jest) Now surrender yourself and I might spare you one from the horrors of the chatouillement."

"Never!"

Now there was some Amestrian that Nadia understood just fine. "Since when is the President called the Great Leader?" she asked, pulling herself to her feet and grabbing Liscel around the waist in a bear hug like a pro wrestler.

115-pound women do not make good pro wrestlers...

Liscel did nothing to stop Nadia's bear hug and continued to tickle her, which was made easier by Nadia being so close to Liscel.

"That is the unofficial après la mort title bestowed upon my late father... Now you shall pay for the arrogance that you believe you can defeat me... Chatouillement, chatouillement, chatouillement!"

Nadia squealed and lost her balance, falling to the ground. She grabbed the nearest object to her... it turned out to be a bottle of brandy. Too hard. She rolled over and grabbed a pillow. Just right. She pushed Liscel off her and eyed the brandy. "Never saw that brand in Kahanistan..."

Liscel stopped tickling Nadia and sat back.

"Really... want some; it is an Amour brand from Western Amestria... It is really good..."

Nadia smiled. "Sure." She looked around for cups or glasses.

As Nadia searched for glasses, Liscel walked over to the bed and sat back down on it...

"No reason to sit on the floor... Nadia, there are some glasses in that cabinet over there, I don't know if they have brandy glasses... but it does not matter..."

Liscel looked over the bottle...

"I am surprised that so little Amestrian Wine and Brandy has made it to Kahanistan... It is just across the Mediterranean... Does your Government have tariffs or restrictions on imported alcoholic beverages...? Or subsidies for domestic producers?"

Nadia rummaged around and eventually pulled out two glasses.

"No... Our government only subsidizes essential businesses, like the ones that provide food, shelter, transportation, et cetera... and we're fairly liberal about importing, rather low tariffs on most imports. We do run into trouble when our farmers export cannabis to countries where it's illegal, though."

Nadia continued. "Frankly, I'm surprised I've never seen Detachment from the Human Condition in Kahanistan. We trade with Amestria and we don't have a lot of drug laws... of course most of us wouldn't drive or fly or operate other machinery while detached or drunk or high... maybe I just wasn't looking for it."

Liscel poured Nadia a glass and motioned for her to sit down on the bed. "It is a Hors D'age*, you will enjoy it. What do they typically drink in Kahanistan?"

(*Too old to determine age.)

Nadia took a sip. "Beer is the alcoholic beverage of choice for most... but schnapps and whiskey are common too. Vodka is there too, and it does a good job of getting one non compos mentis, but to me it tastes like battery acid." She thought back to when she had gotten smashed shortly after arrival on the ship.

"You'll never find old wines in Kahanistan except for a few that were imported by collectors... I think the oldest I saw there was around 1976... not even as old as I am." She took another gulp. "Delicious." She smiled.

"The cellars of the Manor hold so many aged wines it is at times hard to sell them before they begin to deteriorate into vinegar..."

Liscel playfully chuckled...

"Amour in Amestrian means love... This brandy in Western Amestria is traditionally drunk by lovers... I am not implying anything (laugh)... It just so happens to be my favorite brand and I always try to have a bottle with me... We don't produce Brandy at the Manor, only wine..."

Liscel slowly drained her glass, savoring the taste, poured herself another, then offered to refill Nadia's glass...

Nadia nodded and extended her glass to be filled. "Just how old is this brandy? And did you say you sell wine that you produce there?"

Liscel refilled Nadia’s glass…

“I think I mentioned it before… The Manor is an old estate bequeathed to us by the now departed Monarchy. Our family has owned that feudal estate since the Middle Ages… It produces some of the finest wine in Europe… nay… the world… My sister is officially the Duchess of the Manor, although she seldom uses her noble title… As for this brandy, I do not know how old it is… They have lost count, which is why it is called Hors D’age…”

Sklenova raised an eyebrow. "Then it's safe to assume it's older than I am," she said. "Probably a hundred or more years older..." She sat down on the bed and crossed her legs.

"I'm so tired..." She finished her glass and lay back.

Liscel finished her glass, placed the bottle on the table, and laid down next to Nadia...

"That estimate is a little too old... it is probably several decades..."

Liscel took Nadia's hand...

"I wish I had known you when I was young... We would have had such fun together... and... and I would have been your first instead of that bastard... We could have gone for walks together in the forest or played hide and seek in the Manor's empty wings... I can just picture us having been together..."

Nadia was moved to tears. She threw her arms around Liscel, paying no attention to the tear running down her face.

"That's so nice..." She was at a loss as to what else to say.

Liscel kissed Nadia on the forehead...

"Goodnight Nadia, mon amoureux... I love you..."

Sklenova smiled, lay her arm over Liscel, and fell asleep peacefully.

Liscel drifted off into a blissful slumber.

OOC: Takes place a few hours into your nap.

The rush was tremendous.

The black, dart-like aircraft shot through the night sky at over Mach 7, a tremendous roar following it closely. Inside, 4 men dressed in pressurized flight suits gripped the handles of the make-shift cargo bay tightly, their sweat seemingly leaking through their Zelvar (similar to Kevlar) gloves. Each man sat in his seat calmly, either praying or checking their equipment with their free hand.

"We'll be there in 20 minutes, boys, get ready."

The craft slowed to Mach 3 as the pilot uttered this sign. The leader of the group, a tough colonel, knocked on his helmet as a signal. The others did the same. One of the men breathed heavily into his helmet. His tag read 2nd Lt. Sion Davenport.

I'm going to fucking vomit, this is unbearable...

They cruised over the wide ocean, almost silently.

A loud crack awoke Sion from his day...night dream. He started up. He heard the pilot scream about them going down across all radio signals. "This is Wyvern 02 of the Velkyan Air Force, we are going down and need assistance, location is-". The pilot was cut off as a piece of shrapnel exploded the radio. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, eject, eject!" Sion turned. A gaping hole was sitting where the left wing used to be. He drew closer and felt intense heat.

The engine's gone...we're fucked...

The craft descended, putting out the fire on the engine, miraculously. Of course, there wouldn’t be any miracles for the troops and crew of Wyvern 02 that night.

This is it, I'm dead...

The aircraft hit the ocean with bone shattering force. The craft nearly split apart, but was saved by the relatively straight landing path the pilot had taken. The men struggled to get out of the wreckage, each severely wounded.

Except Sion. He and the other four clung to a piece of wing, all except himself losing consciousness fast. He spotted lights in the distance, maybe a mile away. He fiddled with his survival vest, pulling an air horn. He triggered it, and the sound that could be heard for miles filled his ears.

Come on, get your asses out here!

Sion then noticed blood all around him, his own. He had a large cut on his arm, and he had lost about a pint of blood. He slowly slipped into peace of unconsciousness, slumping on the piece of wreckage he and his crewmates now clung to. With his last bit of energy, he pulled his sidearm into the air, firing off shot after shot, sending four tracers high into the air before collapsing onto the wreckage.