Commander's Rounds

Entry 119: Two Worlds

The commander watched with some amusement as he watched Richelieu play host to their guest from the Atlantic in his office. Implacable had draped herself over most of the couch, and was looking directly at Richelieu with her needy eyes. "Ahh... I can't get this sort of thing at sea... So why not give me another, if you'd please."

Richelieu smiled a little as she took another chocolate out of the box. "All right, we'll try this one, then."

Implacable opened her mouth, the "Ahhh~" She gave half-sounding like a moan.

This caused the cardinal to blush briefly, but she then put the chocolate into Implacable's mouth, the Royal carrier savoring the treat before slowly laying her head in Richelieu's lap. "Ahhh... I should visit here more often, if this is how you girls will spoil me."

Richelieu slipped her hand under Implacable's hood to stroke the top of her head, in part out of curiosity. "I can't imagine you came all this way just to see me. You have some business with the commander, do you not?"

"Mm?" She went. "I do, but as you said, I came all this way. Can't I enjoy myself just a little bit before getting down to work?" She winked. "And besides, you don't seem to have any problems indulging me~"

The commander looked up from his papers. "Even though this is your first time here in person, I got the feeling that some people thought that you and Richelieu wouldn't get along with each other, but it looks like the opposite is the case."

Richelieu smiled as she stroked Implacable. "It is one of the failings of narrow-minded people to believe that everyone thinks the same way that they do. I do not believe that Implacable is wrong for being the way she is, and the savior was very particular about what he considered to be blasphemy. I do not believe we have had any reports of Implacable changing money or doing any kind of sordid business venture within the walls of a church, so it would be unfair to punish her for her methods of seeking faith."

Implacable giggled as she was stroked. "You see, commander? Even the cardinal doesn't believe my ways are profane. To think that she would judge me harshly would mean that such a person would think poorly of us both. Badly for me for assuming that I'm some filthy creature that deserves to be punished, and badly of Richelieu for thinking she would be so judgmental as to punish me."

"To be fair, some people can get that sort of impression of the cardinal's office." He straightened out some papers. "But you did come here because you had things to say to me, correct?"

"Mmm..." Went Implacable. "Marco believes that for certain kinds of news, it would be better if he sent someone to deliver it in person. It's more secure this way, because who knows who or what might be listening, so if there is some news that is important but not particularly time-sensitive, it might be best for us to go back and forth now and again to make sure that the messages reach only who they're meant to."

"It's a prudent move." He said. "There are times when it's hard to tell what might have been compromised."

Implacable nuzzled Richelieu's lap. "Ahh... I'm in a good mood, so I'll tell you the basics of why I'm here. Marco had a long talk with some important people in the Union, and so you're going to finally get what you need for that crazy plan of yours. You have construction equipment, so they're going to be sending the materials, as well as all of the parts of the rocket and the re-entry vehicle. It's cheaper than a fair bit of military equipment, so sending over some space launch stuff isn't a big hit in the wallet."

The commander nodded. "All right, but they'll also need to send over some rocket engineers and launch technicians. We have a spare control facility we can use for mission control, but we just don't have the people here to do a real space launch."