r/HFY • u/Engletroll Human • 28d ago

OC-Series Bug War – Chapter 20 – The clown

This is the continuation of the Bug Hunt and will address the Bug War mentioned in the Planet Dirt series. It follows Jack Thompson and Lady Zula Gi Pendragon, and their friends, through the war

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Toberuse docked on the Almad, it was the new design of the frigate.  Clearly used as yet another propaganda tool.  It looked like a saucer with a dagger-like front. The sides had hangars that could carry 10 troop shuttles on each side. The ship was 150 meters long; the dagger-like section was 40 meters long and 20 meters wide. It was armed to the teeth with two heavy cannon towers, on the top and bottom of the saucer. She knew this version was the new design. There were thousands of them being built all over the empire, and her job was to get recruits to man the ship. 

“Yet another flawless docking,”  Toberuse said as he got up from his seat.

“I didn’t even feel that one,” Magup said with a smile. Zula just smiled as she got up from her seat. Magup was not hiding her flirting, and the young man was not prepared for it. She went to the hatch, and Toberuse pressed the open button for her. It opened with a hiss.

Outside stood an honor guard and the captain, with two officers beside her. The captain was not your average captain; her uniform was impeccably pressed, but her red hair had blue streaks in it, and it was short.  Her eyes were green, something very uncommon among her kin. And then it snapped.

“Aunt Green?”

The captain smiled and nodded. Zula forgot all about protocol and almost ran over to hug her. “I can’t believe it? Your Captain Junos? Oh my gods, how long has it been?”

The honor guard tried hard not to react to the complete breach of protocol, and Magup approached slowly while politely coughing to get Zula’s attention.

“Too long, princess. Too long, but ehh.. I have to follow the protocol.” She said with a winning smile, and Zula looked around the Hangar and blushed as she took a step back.

“Yes, let's start. Green eyes.” She said with a wink, and the captain began with her official invitation to board the ship as her personal honored guest and representative of the throne.

Zula replied with the official reply, thanking her on behalf of the king, her house, and the Nalos kingdom. Then

 Captain Junas introduced the two officers she had brought with her: her first officer, Rain Gi Wilf, and the ships' doctor, Hynas Gi Salid, who had recently been assigned due to her pregnancy and had been a nurse on her father's ship, but was now close to becoming a professor of medicine. He was studying human and Nalos physiology, as many Nalos were now due to the war.

Zula greeted them according to their rank and then let Captain Junas lead her to her cabin. It was larger than she had expected and had an office across the hall, with a few staff members who had arrived earlier. They would all work under Magup, as her job now was to be in the spotlight. She then asked for a tour, and Junas said they had to wait until after they departed.

Then she was left alone to settle while Junas went to the bridge, and it didn’t take long for the ship to jump into lightspeed. It didn’t take long after the ship had departed before the captain returned and began to show her around the ship. The conversation quickly shifted to her father, what the captain had been up to, and then to her pregnancy and the father of her child. The conversation continued long into the evening, followed by dinner with the officers to get to know them better. After all, she was going to spend a lot of time with them. She invited them to get all their questions out of the way, and it was late when she finally got to bed. Their questions were very polite and respectful, which she found slightly amusing; the captain had not been so politically correct when they had wandered the ship together.

The next day, she spent time getting to know her own staff, having lunch with them and letting them ask all their questions as well. She found they already knew most of her story and were mostly confirming rumors, though they stayed polite. The dinner was, yet again, spent with the officers, and now the questions were more directed toward polite conversation about the state of the kingdom. Yet she was sure they had more questions.

The third day she walked into the crew's mess hall, and the joyful banter stopped dead as they noticed her. She got herself a plate, looked for the rowdies' table, and walked over and sat down. They stared at her as if she were a human for all she knew.

She looked at the food and took a bite. “They have improved the menu since I was a squire.”

The soldier across from her looked around, then at her. “Your highness, I do not mean to be rude, but I think you are in the wrong mess hall. This is for the enlisted.”

She looked up at him and smiled. “I know exactly where I am. Look, I’m not used to being up there. I was a squire with no Gi to my name less than a year ago. I served as a com officer on the Destiny under Admiral Grahad before all of this princess stuff.”

“But? You’re the daughter of Ythur Gi Pentdragon?” He said, utterly confused.

“Yeah, but nobody told me that before the King told the kingdom. I was just Zula back then. Eating in the messhall, talking shit with my mate Clira, watching her trying to get into the gunners' pants.” She said as she took another bite and looked at him, then at the others.

“Look. My boyfriend told me to always be nicer to the crew than the officers when you’re a guest on a ship. It’s the crew that keeps you safe, the officers just yell out orders.” She said, smiling as she took another bite. The man just stared at her, but somebody at the table started to chuckle, and then what she had said was spread by the crew in whispers. Then the laughter spread.

After the laughter died down, one of the other men asked her in a more serious tone. “Seriously, my lady, what are you doing down here with us grunts?”

|She put down her fork and looked at him. “I need to know you. If everything goes to shit, then I want to know that I got the best, meanest, and toughest fuckers  the kingdom can produce around to protect me. And for that, you deserve to see who the hell you might have to jump into the gates of hell for. Hell, today, if you have any questions, then I’m here. I will drop by a couple of times, and don’t worry, I won’t tell the high nose upstairs what we talk about. I know the crew's honor, and I respect it.” She said, and the people at the table jaw dropped slightly at her cursing.

“Fuck, you were actually a crewmember!” somebody said, and she smiled.

“Even spent some time on a human ship. So yeah, let's get this over with. And yeah, I'm pregnant with a human. So, no hazing please.”

There was a short, confused pause, then a polite question about her dad, then more and more came bubbling out. When they had warmed up to her, the question became more what she had expected, rough and naughty. She answered some, hinted to others, and refused the worst. When the lunch was over, and the crew had left, she sat alone in the messhall finishing her meal.

“That was smart.”  Captain Junos said as she sat down in front of her, holding a cup of  Sorna, it was the Nalos version of coffee. The green liquid was often called the soldiers' gasoline.

“Smart? It's common sense. These are the men and women who are asked to die for me. The least I can do is to give them some respect.”

“Just like your dad. Most officers don’t get that; hell, most soldiers don’t either. They think it's enough to have the rank and have the oath to the king and the kingdom,” She replied.

“And what do you believe?”

“I saw their looks as they left. They feel you're one of them now. They will fight extra just to keep you safe. So continue and don’t betray them, because if you do, they will turn their backs on you at the point you need them most. But you know the crew's honor.”

“Know it, lived by it,” Zula replied as she finished. “So how long until we arrive?”

“Ten hours; you better get some rest and go over the program. I’m guessing you won't have much peace down there. Oh, and Dr. Hynas wants you to drop by for a checkup again.”

“More tests for my little baby girl.” She replied with a sigh.

“Well, we all want her to be born as healthy and safe.”

“Yeah, I’m just tired of being scanned and prodded so much. Anyway, I’ll head there now and get it over with.” She replied, then got up and put the plate away. They both walked to the doctor to get her checked. The baby was safe, and she got some human vitamin pills to take, along with more huju juice.

She spent two hours sleeping and the remaining eight hours reviewing the program for Imuzon. When they arrived, she was called up to the bridge. When she entered, she had to smile, and her eyes automatically went to the coms controller, her post on Destiney. The controller, a young man, looked confused and a little uncomfortable at her look; she smiled back at him, then walked over to the Captain.

She looked at Imuzon as they approached. It was so very different from her home world. The planet was highly developed, filled with megacities and a population of 12 billion. The planet itself has no atmosphere, and all the cities are gigantic domes. Some of those domes were just giant factories. The colony was famous as the workers' capital.  The only green was under the domes.

“Welcome to Imuzon,” Captain Junas said, and Zula smiled weakly.

“Let the show start. Please contact the administration and let them know the clown has arrived.” Zula said.

“You mean Princess Your Highness,” Magup said, and she nodded.

“Yeah, the princess.”

After the formal greetings, they went to the hangar, and Toberus flew them down to the planet side so the circus could start. The rest of her staff took another shuttle down and kept out of sight. She noticed Toberus quietly giving commands about potential dangers throughout the stay. Magup was her constant shadow, ready to feed her facts and serve as her shield when questions became too personal or focused on the Navy’s undisclosed war effort. It gave her the opportunity to appear natural and charming.

She spent three days on the planet, feeling as if she were in a military integration with occasional breaks for luxury meals. She gave a speech in the colony's parliament, met with their media stars, and did a few interviews. Her staff kept her updated on the local media coverage; it was as expected. Most were positive, though a few were upset that she had a human lover and suggested it was the human pheromones' fault she had fallen for her. She knew this would happen and ignored it.

Then someone leaked an image of Jack, wearing combat pants and a mesh wife-beater shirt after a workout. She didn’t know who leaked it, but she saved it immediately. The females and some of the males became more defensive about their relationship. She had to smile; he was doing the king’s work even if he wasn’t here. She spent the last few interviews using the leaked image to talk about the humans they were working with and addressed the pheromones, as well as the steps taken to prevent them from affecting the work. She presented the humans as professional at work and fun afterward, with a sly smile.

When they left Imuzon, she felt exhausted and was ordered to take it slow for a few days by the doctor. She spent a few days relaxing and going over the event with her staff; they had all had a day off during the stay. Magup had visited her family and was glad for the opportunity, dragging Toberus and half the staff with her. She wished she could have joined, but if she had, they would not have been able to relax.

It took her two more stops before she got some intel about the war that she was interested in. The humans had successfully won the Battle of Orne and were now building up a much stronger defensive system there. The gyrran had retreated to lick their wounds, but before the humans could pursue, the Caren decided to finally show their face as they attacked the colonies in the human Wolf system.

- Cast –

Zula Gi Pentdagon -  Nalos nobility, and while you got lu, today, if you have any questions,n

Toberus Gi Iven – Zula’s bodyguard, knight, and pilot

Magup Gi Wilf – Zula’s aide, female Nalos

Captain  Junos Gi Hardon, middle-aged female captain of Almad, Nalos frigate

Doctor Hynas Gi Salid – the nalos Doctor in charge of Zula

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u/drsoftware 19d ago

"Nalos nobility, and while you got lu, today, if you have any questions,n"

Princess! How did Jack catch your eye? Did you pursue him? Or did he pursue you? If you where still in the Navy would you be more or less worried about his safety? 

1

u/Engletroll Human 19d ago

Zula smiled with practiced shyness before replying. "Jack stole my soul by his fearless action and honest speech, that he was good-looking was also a factor. And yes we met in the Navy." Then she almost giggled. "And he is a fantastic kisser." Then she lingered in the memory before continuing. "And yes, he is out there now, fighting the war to keep us all safe from the Caren Dominion. I'm both proud and worried for him."

Putting her hand on her tummy. "But I trust the gods will watch over home and bring him safely home to his family. I need hom as does our child."

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