Chapter 89: 088 Meatroll

"Food's ready!" Manama bumped open the door with her rear, holding four plates and a bowl on a platter and one larger plate in her other hand. "Here ya go."

She started with Donovan, seeing as his meal was on the big plate, and then slid the rest of the food around to everybody else. Her motions were smooth, practiced, and each plate settled in the perfect position in front of their intended target without spilling. Donovan subtly felt the surface of the table, wanting to see just how smooth the table was to allow such an action.

"Would you like to join us while I recount my little adventure Manama?" The Captain beckoned her to drag a seat up to the table. He had forgotten that Rize would be big enough to require a separate chair now.

"Lemme go wash myself down real quick first love. The grime's fine and all when I'm workin' or plannin' ta get dirty, but once I'm done I just can't stand the feel of it on my skin." She pulled a small hand towel from the bucket used for cleaning tables off and wiped her forehead before heading upstairs. "Feel free to start without me darling, I can live without knowin' everything that went down out there."

The Captain watched her go upstairs, frowning a bit. Shishti remembered Manama being just as if not more curious than her children. Either she had changed a lot over these past ten years or was being incredibly considerate to her son.

"Can we afford to wait a few minutes for her Rize? I'd hate to have to catch her up in the middle of the story."

"Fine. I'll give you some time to eat, but you better entertain me with some small talk in between bites."

- - - - -

The food before them was practically on the level of a feast by Donovan's standards. It was like a meat festival in his mouth and he didn't even know what it was called, it looked like the flesh equivalent of a fruit salad. He did have a side of fruit and leaves he would certainly have to eat to balance out his meal, but the culinary piece on the Captain's plate was more interesting to him at the moment. "What is that?"

"This? Its a meatroll egg and cheese sandwich. If I had to choose, this is probably my favorite dish." The Captain took the top bun off, revealing the sauce underneath. "I've gone ten years without eating it, so you can imagine my anticipation. Scholar, I would recommend adding a little bit spice in the form of a sauce, it really brings out the flavor."

The Captain then took a small spoon and dipped it into the little cup full of sauce on the side, drizzling the contents onto the eggs to soak.

"Meatroll's a specialty of her home planet and a top seller at our store. You've got a few bits of it in your meal there." Kilm pointed at a few of the spongey looking chunks. "From what I remember, its got a few different smoked animal meats blended together with salt and spices. It preserves quite well, so it's far more tradeable than most other meats." Meatroll was his father in law's primary food product, and he ate it as often as he could stomach. Naturally he knew quite a bit about it. "How long did the rolls we gave you last Shishti?"

The Captain finished chewing and swallowed before speaking, a courtesy Kilm would likely not have shown if put in a similar situation. "I managed to make them last about a year and a half."

"A year and a half? You must have really held back then." Rize was counting something out using his fingers. "A little over two rolls a month?"

"That sounds right. I recall having to trade a few of them with the cooks in order to secure the rights to use the kitchen, but the rest I ate at a steady rate. I'd say I got good at making it if I hadn't been spoiled by your mother's cooking for so long." The Captain took another bite. "Seriously Rize, I don't think you understand just how good of a cook your mother is. It was her skill with a spatula that convinced your grandfather to let her open a restaurant instead of take a position in his merchant company you know?"

Rize looked a little flabbergasted at this. "You're telling me that actually happened? I thought that was just a story momma told us to give us confidence or something like that."

"Nah, I was there. In fact, your uncle Shi was the one who recommended such a test in the first place." Kilm put his arms behind his head and tipped back his chair, reminiscing about the past. "I can't believe I was so lucky to have a wingman like you Shishti, I certainly wouldn't have ben able to marry her if you didn't convince him to give her a chance."

"Ah shut it. I was just afraid of losing reliable access to decently cooked meatroll, you woulda secured her hand eventually anyways. Don't act like you two weren't smitten with each other from day one."

"Would you two quit talkin' bout me when I ain't here? It makes a lady nervous." Manama was back, her wet hair and damp skin evidence that she had washed herself completely, though how she managed to do so that fast while still maintaining a presentable appearance was beyond Diana's capability to comprehend. From the slight fruity fragrance that surrounded her, there was also the implication that she had applied some perfume.

"We were only telling Rize how you managed to convince your father to let you go, Manama, nothing else."

"I'd have ta be an idiot to think that was all Shishishi, but I'm feeling pretty foolish today. I think I can let it slide." Manama was still tying her hair up above her head, struggling with the damp fibers even as she sat down in the chair Rize had brought up for her. "So what'd I miss?"

"Nothing you don't already know, well, aside from the fact he managed to make his meatroll last a whole year and a half." Manama nodded at this little snippet of information, impressed with his restraint. "Now I think its about time he got on with the rest, what do you think Rize?"

"Yeah! Out with it!"

The Captain put down the remaining half of his sandwich, unconcerned about it becoming cold. "Very well. Scholar, I might have you help me with some parts of the story. Your memory is far better than mine."

- - - - -

The Captain began to recount the voyage of the Oberlux in excruciating detail at the behest of Rize. It shouldn't have been surprising for Donovan at this point considering his intense interest in his Uncle's line of work, but the way he seemed content to just soak in the information did not seem representative of a kid his age.

Admittedly he was hardly a kid at this point. He was coming to the age where he would have to decide where he wanted to go in life, and it looked like sailing the stars was it. Something to do with sailing at very least. Donovan could not imagine a form of interstellar trade in this new world that did not involve the use of 'sail' so to speak.

The Scholar would butt in from time to time to clarify certain details or correct a sequence of events, but for the most part he was free to just eat his own sandwich.

"-which brings us to what you might consider the climax of my little journey, though for those two it was only the beginning." Donovan was drawn from his position on the proverbial sidelines. "Rize, Kilm, I would like to introduce you to the last survivors of the Terran race, Donovan and Diana."

"Last survivors? As in they are the only two left?" Rize was confused by the use of phrase. "Does that mean you failed?"

The Captain smiled wryly at Rize's inquiries, he was struggling to convince himself otherwise as well.

"Rize!" Manama scolded her son. "Is that really what you are most concerned about right now?" Her head was tilted towards Donovan and Diana, the intent behind her words not at all hidden.

"Please, Manama, we've already gotten over that tragedy. Sulking won't do us any good at this point." Diana reassured them she was not hurt at Rize's priorities.

"Mhm. I'd much rather get on with building our future. What we had in the past is gone now, so it may as well not exist." Donovan licked some bits of eggs off of his lips before continuing. "That being said, I wouldn't mind a meatroll or two as an apology."

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"BAHAHAHA!! I LIKE this guy!" Kilm slapped the table, amused. "Donovan, right? You got some spunk in ya, I can tell. What do ya think about joining the Sanctum's navy? I know we're supposed to be a neutral institution, but I'm sure I can pull some strings and make you my aide."

"I'll have to decline that offer, Kilm, I've got bigger ambitions than a mere aide in the Sanctum. I'm thinking being the supreme commander of my own navy is more my speed."

"Really? I'm mighty interested in just how you plan to do that with only two people. You do know building a ship takes time don't you?"

"Better than anyone else. More importantly we have the means to do so. Oh, and don't take this the wrong way, but we can build them better than you could ever dream of. I'm sure the Captain might be able to give you an idea of just how much better."

Kilm turned and raised an eyebrow towards Shishti, Rize also displaying intrigue in this field.

"Well, while I can't say anything about their shipbuilding capacity. I can tell you they were capable of producing a ship I believe to be capable of matching the Oberlux in combat power with a size smaller than most ships we are capable of producing. Mind you, they accomplished this completely without split as a resource they could use as liberally as we do."

"It matched a branch of the Great Csillacra in combat prowess? Are you sure about that?" Kilm was extremely skeptical that something like that could be possible.

"There is little doubt in my mind that it would have been able to avoid being detected by us in a head-on fight. Should Donovan be at its helm, we would stand a similarly small chance of landing a hit even if we could see it."

Donovan smirked. He didn't exactly enjoy basking in superiority to others, but he couldn't help it under such high praise.

"So you base the ability of a ship in combat by its ability to dodge? Now that isn't much like you Shi. What happened to that bravado from the time before you left?"

Donovan interjected here, excited to finally have a topic that fit his area of expertise. "While I can't exactly disclose the specifics to you, understand that I am confident in that ship's ability to land heavily damaging hits from beyond the range at which you can see. Our style of combat was dominated by such long range strikes, so we got quite good at it."

"Range is good and all kid, but I struggle to believe you can't just move out of the way. Even more so if you are engaging from beyond visual sight range."

"Unless your ships can teleport, which I have no reason to believe they can't at this point, then I am one hundred percent confident that those shots will land, especially against a target as big as the Oberlux."

Once again Kilm found himself looking to his friend for confirmation.

The Captain could only sigh and nod, defeated.

"Well I'll be damned. Rize, do you understand the gravity of what we just said?"

"I think so?"

"Good. Shishti, continue."

- - - - -

The Captain regurgitated the events of the months since Donovan landed on the Oberlux with much more vigor than he had the events before. Their return, their training, and his trial were the big events here, with the trial holding Rize's attention most effectively.

"And so, with the Arboreal Maidens decree, I was determined to be innocent. I think that about sums it up."

To Donovan and Diana's relief, he left the developments on their future plans largely unmentioned, only vague references to their level of tech and knowledge in relation to the norm as a means to give context for their actions. Diana thought that the biggest violation might have been the mention of their ability in the field of mathematics and language, though she couldn't exactly consider them advantageous given how much they were going to be relying on ARC anyways.

"...wow." Rize was awestruck. "I wish I could do what you do uncle Shi, even after all of that."

It would seem that Rize still had some resentment towards the fact that his track in life was pretty much set in stone.

"It is a line of work I would never wish upon you Rize, an opinion I'm sure your father agrees with me on. I don't always have the privilege of commanding the Oberlux when I go out to subdue a star. It is dangerous, more than I can really describe to you here."

"Mmmmmmm, yep. Even if you do everything right there is always the chance that a star will do something unexpected. Its only because of the danger that Uncle Shi here can bask in the glory. I'm still a bit apprehensive of letting you go out on a merchant ship you know?"

Rize sighed, disappointed but understanding their concern. "I get it! I do! But I want to have an adventure in my life. It's so boring here..."

"Why don't you work under them for a bit baby?" Manama finally made her presence known. "It might be just that change of pace you're looking for. Besides, it would get Kelly of yer ass for a bit."

"I'd like to ma, but by the time my case gets considered it'll be time for grandpa to pick me up. Besides, what use would they have for me? I can't fight, and I ain't the sort of personal tutor you'd need for the academy."

"I could use your help getting used to trade norms here." Diana was quick to correct his pessimistic view. "From the looks of it, I'm to be the one that handles our trade deals for the time being. Unfortunately, I'm rather clueless when it comes to that sort of thing. I would appreciate your help. In return I could teach you a bit of what we know."

"Really?" Rize was still not entirely convinced.

"Absolutely. It's looking like the academy is going to be teaching me materiel slower than I plan to progress, so I'll need some external assistance if I am to satiate my curiosity." Diana mulled over how she might be able to better convince Rize to take the position, she really did want to help the kid. "I think I might be able to do something about that registration hurdle too."

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