First Impressions
21 Mar 2020Amata Lirein
Amata was looking at the palm-sized triangular shaped badge that was now decorating one of the walls of her cabin on the Hedone. Made from a large chunk of Ngadandari Fire Opal embedded on a golden plate its engraving showed that she kept up her end of the deal with her father, though she would not admit to him that she would have wanted it herself anyway, not only because of the priviledges it provided on the way, like the system permits or the permissions to buy the more exclusive ships made by Gutamaya, no: It was also a matter of her dignitas and as a member of a family of clients to have seen it through all the way, past the bare minimum to unlock all the benefits it may yield...The badge ever so proudly revealing her Imperial rank: King.
The Hedone was now currently docked at Adams Station and her Commander used the opportunity provided by the artificial gravity to perform some qigong. While she was not overly fond of the fact that everyone in the Empire was expected to master at least one form of martial arts, no matter if they enjoyed it or not, she did notice that this aspect of her training helped her thinking, especially in the morning after her first cup of coffee. And while not suffering from a hangover because of some wild party the night before she thought while changing stance.
She was now in the process of unlocking the permits and benefits the Federation had to offer, but she already knew that, unlike with her Imperial rank, she would stop actively hunting those down once she had gained the last of these priviledges, not willing to support a system any more then she absolutely had to when said system seems to care so little about their fellow men. And she would most certainly not display her rank with this bunch proudly, because frankly they don't deserve that. Just like she witnessed at MacVicar Depot as a child Adams Station had a lot of dimly lit and, judging by the smell, barely maintained corners that were home to those less fortunate, sleeping next to the heat vents inside the metal corridors for at least the tiniest of comforts.
She finished her exercises and headed over to the small sonic shower in the corner of her cabin, taking off her lace chemise that she used as a nightgown and throwing it onto her bunk on the way. After activating it she took a few seconds to enjoy how the subtile vibrations on her skin helped her relax even more. At least that smell could be somewhat justified if the way the Feds are illuminating their stations was actually intentional. She smirked as she recalled the first time she dropped out of supercruise and saw one of those red glowing installations for the first time, trying desperately to look intimidating to its Imperial visitor, only to be let down by the myriads of advertisements surrounding it, degrading the red lighting to the same level of intimidation you'd find at certain kind of establishments even inside the Empire. She had to work really hard to suppress her laughter when hearing the thick accent of the guy occupying flight control that day, adding to the mental image forming in her head while taking in the sight outside her cockpit. The Galaxy's largest network of space brothels. She giggled once more as she looked over to her bunk, watching the young woman still sleeping inside it.
At least this first impression turned out to not be entirely misleading. That girl has skills.