“So how’s her head this morning?” Grunfuller asked after I’d checked in on our Lynxin sister.
“Still moaning while sleeping, thanks to you and Chantell.” I answered brusquely, assigning blame where it was due.
“Hey, I never told her to drink all those containers. She could’ve stopped any time she wanted.”
“She probably would have if you two hadn’t kept conjuring more drinks in front of her! What were you going for, Grunfuller? I mean, the girl was already stressed out over having to assume the throne then you two decide to get her stinkin’ drunk so that now, she is stressed out AND hungover!”
“Well, she did start to loosen up after her second case.”
I glared at my partner while we stood in the Base’s first level hallway for a few moments before turning silently and proceeding to the Reception area and the Base exit. We were going to be late for our duty shift.
“Look, I thought the whole idea was to get her to release some of her stress. Didn’t we accomplish that last night…if only for a few hours, Chance?” Grunfuller said as we hurried to our work compartment.
“We probably made things worse, Grunfuller! What if it rebounds and she hates us for getting her drunk? What if she decides to transfer out as a means of escaping? What do we do then?” I growled as we passed several of our shipmates.
I heard something about the two of us having a ‘lover’s spat’ as we passed several more of the crew.
That only added to my sour attitude.
“What if we completely turned her against it? You and I both know she can do it if she puts her mind to it, Grunfuller.”
“What if who does what?” CPO Crestfield asked as we entered our compartment.
“Oh, Sinae assuming the throne of FeLan…SHIT!”
“You idiot!” I glared at my partner- my fists tightly clinched and held in a boxer’s stance at chest level. “No one was supposed to know until she made her mind up!” I hissed.
“Settle down, Specialist Summers! I hold a level fifteen, security clearance. You can trust that I’ll keep it quiet.
I don’t know why, but I found myself suddenly in my Witch Corps uniform with my wand at the ready!
“But we aren’t simply talking about level fifteen stuff, Chief. This is far higher…say…level thirty stuff?” I said calmly as I watched my immediate superior almost soil himself at the point of my wand.
“Chance? What the HELL, High Priestess!?” Grunfuller burst out in surprise.
“Hi-Hi-High P-P-P-Priestess? Y-y-y-y-y-you’re their leader?” Our Chief stuttered out, looking on the verge of unconsciousness.
“Chance? What the hell are you thinking? We were told to keep things on the down low!”
“I don’t know, but this whole situation with Sinae is really grating on me. That and my cycle is starting.” I growled. The last part wasn’t true, of course. It had just finished last week.
Another tense minute passed- for CPO Crestfield, that is- before I relaxed and dematerialized my wand.
“I’m very sorry, chief. I’ll accept and agree to any and all charges brought against me pertaining to this incident.” I surrendered calmly as my BDU’s reappeared.
“Are you freakin’ kidding me!” Crestfield burst out in childish excitement. “That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!”
Now it was my turn to look stunned.
“Um…excuse me?”
“Chance? I always knew there was something…something about you. You were always so quiet, so shy, so controlled. I just always…wow! High Priestess of Witch Corps! Unbelievable! So, what’s it like?”
“Huh?” Grunfuller and I asked at the same time.
“Weeeell, you were a guy before those Hoblin things invaded. Now…now you’re not. What’s it like?”
“Chief? I’d retract that question quickly if I were you.” Grunfuller recommended sagely.
“Look, I’m just asking. I don’t mean to be derogatory or disrespectful. It’s just that you have a very specific perspective on the male-female thing.”
“Chief?” Grunfuller tried to get the man’s attention. “I’m going to show you something…something level thirty-like, and I want you to think seriously about what you see. I’m only going to do this once!”
Grunfuller became Lokust- fully uniformed. CPO Crestfield was floored!
“Over a month ago, I asked Chance what it was like…to be female? She made it so I can go back and forth, every-so-often. I don’t think you’ll get that lucky, the way her mood is today.”
Grunfuller was back and waiting for any response from Crestfield.
He gulped loudly.
“Y-y-y-y-y-you’re a member of the Witch Corps too?”
“Yep. Turned into a girl; got the uniform; took out the Hoblins; saved the Mare; sent out postcards.” Grunfuller joked.
“Grunfuller’s ‘alternate form’ is also my first officer, Chief.” I smiled evilly. “Now, isn’t your shift over, sir?” I giggled as I motioned with my fingers for him to exit the compartment.
“Oh…yeah…right. Sorry to have embarrassed you, um…Specialist Summers. Um…carry on.”
After CPO Crestfield left the compartment, Grunfuller looked over to me and began laughing.
“Oh, man! Things are going to be sooo different around here from now on!”
“Yeah, I guess I’m going to find myself bucking a lot of court marshals until my enlistment is over.” I deadpanned.
“Seriously, Chance, what possessed you to go all ‘witch’ on him?” He asked, staring at me a moment. “I thought for sure you were gonna hex him…into what I wouldn’t want to guess.”
“He did say he wondered what it was like.” I batted my eyes innocently at my partner.
Grunfuller’s DataTab chimed indicating we had a service call.
“Dell found another leak.” He told me just before he politely ushered me out the compartment door.
 
 
“So how’s Kitty?” Dell asked as we arrived in the freight hangar. I blinked on my Current sight and began scanning the hangar, yet could not see signs of any straying Current.
“Chance checked on her before we went on duty. She’s going to be really sore at us when she wakes up.” Grunfuller told her as I continued my scan.
“Chance, relax. There is no leak. I need you to come into my office.” Dell said mysteriously.
“How on Gaia?” I exclaimed as we entered and I saw Savanna- in her car seat- wide-eyed, smiling, and waving at us! She was giggling away happily.
“She popped in about fifteen minutes ago. We’ve been talking ever since, well, until you arrived.”
“Why are you doing this? Savanna, you can’t be porting around the ship. You could end up somewhere that doesn’t have an atmosphere and die. What is going on?” I asked my child.
“Oh, we covered all that already, Chance.” Dell spoke for my daughter. “She noticed the rest of us practicing our magic and she wanted to get better at what she knew. I can’t believe how intelligent she is for just five and a half weeks.”
“I can’t believe she transported here WITH her seat!” Grunfuller commented in amazement.
“Well she did, and now we have to do something about it before she gets the crew all excited.” Dell confirmed.
“Maybe this will help.” I said as I conjured a delicate, little silver locket and necklace in my hand. “I made this especially for you, Savanna. It is the same locket that we wear, right down to the Communicator so we can talk. It even has my picture in it.” I showed her. “I want you to keep this on. Don’t go anywhere without it.”
Carefully, I placed the delicate, almost invisible necklace around her chubby little neck, did up the clasp and, like ours, the clasp disappeared. The chain was also short enough that she couldn’t accidentally put it or the locket in her mouth when she began teething.
“Now, I want you to go back to Base, Savanna Summers. Do you understand me?”
My daughter disappeared- seat and all; all without a peep.
“I guess she understood perfectly, Chance. Question is: where’d she go?” Dell laughed.
“She better have gone back to Base.” Grunfuller threatened.
“Not a problem.” I said as I waved my hand in front of me. A holographic map of Mare appeared. A quick search through the ship’s many levels and sections showed a pulsing red dot in the undefined section where our Base now resided.
A wave of my pointer finger filled in the blank section on the map and the current configuration of our base appeared. It showed Savanna was in Mom and Dad’s quarters.
“Now if it only had ‘Nanny Stream.” Grunfuller joked.
I snapped my fingers.
“…I have no idea where she came from, Charli! She just appeared! This one is hell-bent on making me go prematurely gray!” Mom’s voice declared.
“Well at least she’s back and safe…hey, this is new.”
“What, Char?”
“She has a locket. It looks exactly like ours and looks really cute on her.”
“Chance must have manifested it to keep an eye on her. That girl thinks of everything.”
“Aww, she’s going to sleep. Let’s leave her in her car seat. I’ll check her diaper when she wakes up.”
“Do we have enough bottles, Hope?”
“Of course! Chance and Lokust are both contributing now.”
“They remind me of us, Hope. They seem to get along better than we did after we got back to Earth.”
“They do make a lovely couple, don’t they, Char?”
“They do. And both are blushing furiously in Dell’s office at this very minute. Sorry to eavesdrop, Chance. You and Grub have a good shift. Savanna’s in good hands.”
I dismissed the hologram quickly and watched Dell smile brightly at us.
“They’re right you know. You two are cute as a couple. You even ‘discuss’ things like you were already joined!”
“I should have figured Dad would be into the ship’s surveillance stream.” I mumbled.
“I finished out the work order as a small leak that might have developed just after our previous repair, Buddy. We should be getting back to our shop now, Dell. See you after our shift. Bye.” Grunfuller informed our friend as he gently lead me out of her office.
 
 

 
 
“I hate you all.” Sinae decried wearily as we entered the Reception area after our duty shift had completed.
Our Lynxin friend looked frazzled and VERY hung-over! She sat- hands holding her head- on one of the cozy chairs I had conjured in case we had visitors.
“We thought you could use a break, Kitty.” Gunfuller volunteered.
“So you decided to get me soo stinkin’ drunk I’d sleep right through my shift and wake up feeling like something the Terran dragged in? Some friends!”
“Wait til you see the stream.” Grub hinted as I unceremoniously elbowed him in the ribs.
“There is no stream, Sinae.” I assured her.
“Wouldn’t bother me if there was! I’ve been in my share of them.” She declared, shrugging her shoulders.
That took me by surprise.
“Care for a few pots of coffee?” I asked as the Base galley appeared around Sinae and I.
As I figured she would, my ailing Lynxin sister leaned over and wretched repeatedly.
“Feeling any better?” I asked gently as I snapped my fingers to clean it up.
She nodded silently then looked up and across the table to me.
“Don’t. Ever. Do that. Again. Chance Summers!”
“I could have just used my magic to dispel the hangover, but I didn’t think you wanted to feel better that soon.” I said as I continued to appraise her.
“I appreciate that, Chance.”
“Grub and I had a call in your section earlier today. Everyone seemed concerned and was asking when you were going to be back on duty. A lot of them seem to remember we’re friends, but don’t remember our arrival in hangar twenty-nine five weeks ago and that you were one of those ‘arriving’.” I informed her trying to strike up a conversation.
I got up and poured two cups of coffee, one black and one with extra cream.
“Here. We’ll talk after you get some of this into your system.”
“I really don’t feel like talking, Chance. We have another week until we arrive at FeLane. I intend to fully abuse my liver until then. And don’t try to stop me either!”
“I have no intention of stopping you, Sinae. Sometimes I feel the same way; actually, I’ve felt that way for the last ten years. The only thing is? I had these hardheaded friends that kept interfering! There were days when I just wanted to ‘space’ myself, thinking that would reunite me with my parents. Unfortunately, there was this crazy Lynxin chick that kept offering to teach me defensive techniques along with close combat fighting. Trust me, the urge to end it all disappeared under the hurt you put on me. After all, when it’s hard to move out of your chair, it’s even harder to get to an unsecured airlock.” I said matter-of-factly.
“Don’t worry, I won’t try to reciprocate, even though I could whip your ass easily now.” I then winked and smiled evilly.
“I see you’re still delusional from our last mission, Chance.” Sinae said with just a hint of a smile.
“Oh wow. I’m making some headway with the Coven’s top bad-ass.”
“The bad-ass has her moments…not many… not lately, anyway.”
Sinae remained quiet for some time after.
 
 
“We expect the Redman’s and Cora back by the end of the week, Sinae. If you haven’t already, I’d see if Cora had any useful advice. I’m sure she has some stories to tell. Maybe even some horror stories to give an idea on the other extent.” I suggested.
With that I stood, took my empty cup over to the kitchen counter, and turned to leave the galley, walking silently past my despondent sister.
 
 
“High Priestess? Are you busy?” Capt. Serangetti asked as he appeared in my office doorway.
“Nothing’s changed in the last week, sir.” I replied as if reading his mind.
“I didn’t think so, but that isn’t why I’m here, Chance. We just received another call from Felix and Oliver.”
“Let me guess. They want you to kick Mare in the butt and get her to FeLane faster?” I asked as I looked up from my never-ending paperwork. I was still catching up on reports from our three-week excursion.
He let out a short laugh.
“As if that were possible, yet no; they wanted to know how her royal highness would be arriving to her Coronation.” He sighed and added, “of all things.”
“They’re really assuming a lot. I guess her arriving in a corpse bag is not an option?” I responded truthfully.
Serangetti shook his head in sad understanding.
“They will keep pushing until they receive a suitable answer, Chance. I understand Sinae’s reluctance, but it seems inevitable.”
“I’ve tried numerous times to talk with her, sir. She just refuses to accept that she is heir to the throne. At least I got her to report for duty these last three days.”
“I heard voiced concerns from her crew. They are all worried she isn’t taking the Hoblin incursion favorably and wonder why she won’t accept counseling.”
“Dell was telling me the same things, sir. I wish I knew what to do. She just won’t listen. Even Savanna seems to have given up. It’s been four or five days since Sinae last came out of her quarters holding Savanna and her car seat.”
Serangetti gave a little snort.
“The first time your kitten appeared in my quarters, I thought I might have embarrassed myself in front of Lyra. Though Lyra seemed unaffected, Sonya just appeared annoyed.”
“Sonya always seems annoyed at something, sir.” I giggled.
“True, but I think her ‘adolescent’ time with Lyra has ‘softened’ her a bit. She seems to be coming around.” He admitted.
“That’s a good thing. Sonya needed to ease-up.”
Our Captain was quiet for a minute or two.
“Speaking of ‘easing up’. Could you try a little harder to keep Witch Corps off the grid? I’ve heard rumors floating haphazardly around the ship about Specialist Summers being…let’s see… A Goddess… a Current Mage…um… possessed. There are even several more claims about you being some sort of ‘Power Vampire’.”
I smiled at that last one. I thought back to how some newbie stepped out into a puddle of Current we hadn’t cleaned up yet. After pushing him out of the way, I leaned over and made a show out of absorbing the pond of Current while Grunfuller held his probe for the guy to watch the reading drop. I had managed to stay in my BDU’s and not manifest my uniform on that call.
“High Priestess, you need to keep your true identity covert. I can’t tell you how many inquiries our library staff has received for information on ‘Witches, Super-humans, and Deities’.” Serangetti shook his head despondently.
“I promise I’ll do better, sir.”
“That brings us to another topic, Chance. You outrank me by at least a level, yet you still show superfluous respect to me and the other officers that are privy to your true identity.” Serangetti frowned.
“Isn’t that part of laying low, sir? Plus, that’s the way I was brought up.”
“It is, and that speaks volumes about your education, Chance, but when off duty or visiting this base or even in the privacy of my conference room or quarters, I’d like you to use my name instead of ‘sir’. Think you can adapt to that? I feel honored to know and serve with all of you and I would also be honored if you’d call me ‘Kimbou’.”
I’ll try, sir.”
Serangetti glared at me.
“I’ll try…Kimbou, sir.”
He shook his head as if defeated.
“Now, about her royal highness?” He said sadly after a minute.
“What about her, Kimbou?” I smiled.
“Those two courtesan blood ticks won’t leave her alone now that they’ve caught her scent. Maybe we should make plans for her majesty’s grand entrance.”
“I’ve put in some time on that, and I think the grander, the better. Provided Sinae approves, I’d like her royal highness to be transported to her coronation in the most spectacular vehicle anyone’s ever seen- with over the top pageantry and the most secure honor guard that exists in the ‘Way’.” I told him excitedly.
“You’re talking about Pegasus and the Corps?” He gasped in shock.
“I’m talking Pegasus, the Corps, and the Royal Guard, Kimbou.” I smiled coquettishly.
“So much for keeping Witch Corps under wraps.” Kimbou groaned as he shook his head.
“Hey, you asked. I just thought a unit instituted and chartered by the Queen of FeLane should be in attendance for the new queen’s coronation. Plus, Gunfuller and I have noticed that most of the crew fail to connect our ‘Galactic Service’ personas to our Witch Corps identities at all.”
Kimbou nodded to my observation of the crew. “Rusk pointed out the very same observations just the other day. Your idea, Chance… it does have the additional benefit of never being done before. But, Witch Corps will lose its quintessential advantage. Do you really want to go publ…never mind, stupid question; I already know your answer. After all, you and Artemis made your preferences known in our meeting.”
 
 
“Chance? Is that offer to talk still on the table? I need to run something past you.” Sinae asked timidly as she knocked on my office doorframe.
“Always.” I said as I looked up from my desk and smiled to her happily.
“Do you want to talk here or should we go somewhere more ‘private’?” I asked after she remained silent for a few moments.
“Please, but could we go there the usual way? Your way always turns my stomach.” She pleaded.
“Let’s go for a walk.” I suggested as I stood and motioned us both to the doorway.
 
 
“Pegasus? Kitty and I would like to enter and use the Observation Lounge, please.”
“Welcome aboard, Ladies.” Pegasus greeted as the ramp extended.
 
 
“So…you wanted to talk?” I asked as we took our seats and Sinae just sat there uncomfortably.
“Yes…” She whispered nervously.
“Well?” I smiled pleasantly as I waited. Two could play this unintentionally awkward game.
“Chance? Um…I’ve been thinking- thinking a lot.” Sinae began apprehensively.
“That fact hasn’t gone unnoticed. Care to elaborate?”
“You know exactly what I’m trying to say, Chance Summers! I’m sorry I took up your time, High Priestess!” She huffed as she stood angrily.
Before she had taken two steps I was in front of her, blocking her route to the elevator.
“I’m sorry, Sinae. I was being obnoxious, but you know you can talk to me about anything- yes, I know what you want to talk to me about. Please sit back down.” I apologized as I again motioned to our recently vacated chairs.
“So, you wanted to talk. Please, say what’s on your mind, sister.” I offered once we were comfortable.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said to Savanna last week. I don’t believe for a standard second you were just ‘talking’ only to her, were you? You were trying to give me advice while actually not giving me advice, right?”
“I’ve said a lot of things since then, Sinae. Care to refresh my memory? What advice did I ‘clandestinely’ give you?”
“You aren’t going to make this easy, are you?”
“Not if it isn’t going to make a difference. Will it?” I smiled mischievously.
“As I said, I’ve been repeating and repeating what you told Savanna: ‘despite what you think or feel, you will always be loved, and by everyone here!’ Then you said something that has really been bothering me: ‘Sometimes we all need to do things we don’t want to do, or don’t feel we can. That’s just how life is. Contrary to what you see, none of us here have complete control of our lives.” Sinae quoted without error.
“Wow, I said all that?” I asked, but before she could say anything, I continued. “Of course, I did. I wanted Savanna to learn that she couldn’t just do things because she could. I also said that sometimes learning that lesson is painful. I know that for a fact and I’m sure you do too, sister.”
“And you are absolutely right, Chance. Like you, I’ve overcome some of the worst events anyone could endure and I survived.”
“Sorry to interrupt, High Priestess, but we have a flight coming in and the Broom Closet requires depressurization. I will be retracting the boarding ramp and sealing the ship until the flight has landed.” Pegasus alerted.
“How many sisters are returning, Pegasus?”
“Clean-Up and Pin-Up, High Priestess. Broom Closet Control reads four occupants.”
“Acknowledged, Pegasus. Do what you have to. Kitty and I will be awhile yet.”
We felt air start to circulate as Pegasus started her environmental system.
“You were saying, Sinae?” I prompted her to continue.
“I think I’m going to do it, Chance! It scares the Hell out of me, but everyone thinks I can do this.”
“But do YOU ‘know’ you can do it, Kitty Sinae? After all, a leader that doesn’t have confidence in herself, isn’t a very effective leader. Don’t get me wrong, I was terrified after you all voted me High Priestess! At first, I second-guessed almost everything, but I was determined not to let any of you down. I owed you all the best I could be. It does get a little easier…hopefully not so easy that I start taking things for granted…taking my sisters for granted.” I told her in heartfelt seriousness.
“Just so everyone knows; I’m not my grandmother- I’m not Libra. I am Kitty Sinae and I plan on doing things my way.”
“No one expects you to be another Libra, Kitty! We do expect you to do your best no matter what situation you find yourself in. I also expect you to remain true to Witch Corps and help out when you can.” I said as my smile widened considerably.
“With yours, and our sisters’ help, I know I can do this, Chance!” Sinae declared as she stood and closed the gap between us. I stood also and met her half way.
“How can I ever thank you, Chance?” Sinae cried as she embraced me in her trademark bear hug.
“Promise to keep me out of the politics. Mom, Charli, and Chantell seem better versed in that minefield. Now, we need to plan her royal highness’ arrival to her coronation. Kimbou and I were parsing through some ideas last week and we only have another couple days to prepare.” I giggled.
Sinae leaned back to stare into my eyes in shocked amazement.
“You had this all planned, didn’t you, Chance Summers?” She alleged.
Holding up my finger, I cued my comm.
“Chance, Princess. Could you ‘pop’ over to Pegasus’ Observation Lounge, honey?” I called to Savanna then cut the link since I didn’t expect to get an answer. Instead, I readied myself for my daughter’s arrival.
I didn’t wait more than a second. Savanna ‘popped’ in on the chair beside me harnessed into her car seat.
“Tell Aunt Kitty what you told me about a week ago, Sweetie.”
Savanna began her gurgling, cooing, giggling, and smiled with her big innocent eyes to Sinae.
My Lynxin sister’s eyes widened at what she had just been told.
 
 

 
 
Public Streaming Media: Capital, FeLane, FeLane Confederation
 

 
Off camera Announcer: Welcome citizens of the Confederation and especially you allied of the Way! We apologetically interrupt your normal daily media streaming, and cordially invite you to an especially rare and grandiose Confederation and planetary event- The Coronation of Princess Kitty Sinae. Now, streaming to you live from Capital on FeLane are commentators Nigel Smithe and Rupert W. Holmes. We now join Nigel and Rupert onsite. Gentlemen?”
 

 
Nigel: Good afternoon, Lords and Ladies; Kits and Kittens! Welcome to Capital. Joining me today is my esteemed colleague, Rupert W. Holmes. Rupert, as you can see from our vantage point high atop the Parliamentary portico roof adjacent to the Royal Residence, the Processional Mall is filled to capacity with citizens of all subspecies enthusiastically awaiting her royal highness’ appearance. This coronation promises the return to the Librian Dynasty and hopefully fully negates almost fifty years of the most subversive, distainful, anarchical… Pardon me, Lords and Ladies, for my divergence. Today’s festivities most assuredly will signal a return to the homogenous values we so ignorantly forfeited fifty years ago under the Regent Haturo Regime.
 
Rupert: What my colleague so bluntly refers to is the forfeiture of our honored way of life; our freedom to openly criticize our government, but particularly our ability to be governed by a fair and compassionate monarch.
 
Nigel: That’s exactly what we are here to witness today, Rupert. Today her royal highness, Princess Kitty Sinae- recently located serving with the Galactic Service will take her oaths to the Confederation and to the people of this great system.
 
Rupert: In the bio that we’ve received- a document which, by the way, contains intensely disturbing and eye-opening content- we have learned that our Princess, in her formative years, had experienced more than her share of abuse from the Haturo Regency.
 

 
Nigel: Also, the recently released court documents from the Parliamentary impeachment proceedings tell a gruesome tale, if you’ll pardon the expression. One of both psychological and physical trauma our Princess endured in those formative years.
 
Rupert: Yes, Nigel. Sadly- and quite painfully I might add- it summated with a Coccyx amputation followed by banishment from the Regent’s… the Regent’s royal court and… FeLane herself. Nigel? Are you okay, dear man?
 
Nigel: Forgive me, old chap- my lords and ladies. Such treatment of one’s own pride! Just the thought of losing one’s home and title…not to mention losing the one appendage that makes you unique- a punishment second only to spay or neutering, I might add! It simply escapes word and definition! What kind of monster could possibly do that to such a brilliant, promising, and active kitten?
 
Rupert: And, Nigel, it has been learned from those same publically released documents, that shortly after her teen initiation party, our now dethroned Regent went so far as to have her royal highness’ mother, High Princess Caroline, horribly tortured then euthanized!
 
Nigel: Absolutely despicable! How could an individual as vile as has been revealed, possibly come to power in this day and age, Rupert?
 
Rupert: Horribly appalling, I must say, Nigel. That sort of reprehensible…well, it should never have happened in this reporter’s opinion, Nige…
 
Archived media stream video freezes and abruptly switches back to the live presentation’s co-hosts.
 
Nigel: Excuse the interruption, Rupert, but we’ve just been informed that the ceremony is just about to initiate, but we are also hearing reports that the Princess has yet to arrive. Could there have been some sort of mix-up as to date and time from the Royal Residence, Rupert?
 
Rupert: I don’t believe so, Nigel. Royal Court investigators have confirmed that her royal highness, the princess, has been off world; joining the Galactic Service some fourteen standard years ago and is endeavoring to arrive on time.
 
Nigel: Good show, Princess Kitty! Doing your part to protect the species despite what you’ve personally endured! Lords and Ladies that alone shows the indomitable character of our next Queen, does it not?
 
Rupert: Quite so. We do know however, that her ship, GSS Mare De Tempest, arrived in orbit at twelve hundred, twenty-three, Capital Standard Time yesterday. In fact, Tau Sohn is standing by down on the mall with a representative detachment from the GSS Mare De Tempest. Tau? Are you there?
 

 
Tau: Thank you, Nigel and Rupert. With me now are Lt. Commander Rusk Kavendish, First Officer of GSS Mare De Tempest, and Lt. Malcom Singh, Supervising Sections Chief and immediate supervisor to her royal highness, Princess Kitty Sinae. Thank you both for agreeing to communicate with me, gentlemen. Both officers nod politely. Lt. Singh, can you please give your observations of today’s ceremony so far?
 
Lt. Singh: Well, It’s a truly amazing spectacle, Miss Tau! I’ve never seen so many people gathered in one place away from Mare’s Dining Hall!
 

 
Tau: Smiling back politely for a moment. I understand you and the crew of Mare De Tempest have only recently learned of her royal highness’ actual identity?
 
Lt. Singh: I simply can’t imagine that we had such an important dignitary in our midst! Sinae…sorry…Princess Kitty never gave us any clue as to her lineage. She just interfaced with the rest of us normally and never once showed any hints of ‘royalty’.
 
Tau: Lieutenant, talking with some of your shipmates, they’ve related how her royal highness enlisted under a nom de plume?
 
Lt. Singh: A what now?
 
Tau: An assumed name?
 
Lt Singh: Oh…yeah... I-I knew that. Yeah…well, we always knew her as CPO Sinae Ackktt. But I’ve since learned she had a sinus ailment the day of her enlistment and oath.
 
“She had a hairball!” An unseen male voice shouts out in the background.
 

 
Tau: And how about you, Lt. Commander? Your thoughts on her royal highness?
 
Lt. Cmdr. Kavendish: Well, she was always so humble and quiet until an incident arose- then she went in dutifully to rectify the dispute. Most times just her ‘no nonsense’ demeanor…
 
“You mean ‘kick-ass!” Another male voice shouts
 
Lt. Cmdr. Kavendish continues: …Her demeanor was usually enough to restore harmony! It never dawned on us that we had actual royalty onboard. She has always been approachable, moral and spirited. The Terran Officer noticeably stiffens.
Ma’am, while I have this opportunity, I want to personally thank CPO Kitty Sinae. In the recent failed Hoblin invasion of Mare De Tempest, I want everyone to know, here and now, that she personally saved not only my life, but our captain’s as well. Also, she singlehandedly rescued our on-duty Bridge and CC staff- as well as numerous others compromised on Mare! CPO Sinae…your princess, Kitty Sinae, is a first class hero of the highest caliber, Miss Tau!
 
Tau: After a noticeable, emotional pause Um… Well there you have it, Nigel and Rupert. Undeniable proof! According to her shipmates, her royal highness, Princess Kitty Sinae definitely embodies the traits and convictions necessary to preside over our beloved Confederation! I might also add, that before going live, so many others here in attendance from the Mare De Tempest related similar or identical experiences involving her royal highness, Princess Kitty Sinae. I’ve also heard numerous eyewitness accounts from many members of this detachment insisting her royal highness holds membership in some super-secret, elite, extremely covert, Special Operation’s Unit that recently re-activated to quell the incident onboard GSS Mare De Tempest. Back to you, Nigel and Rupert.
 

 
Rupert: looking slightly uncomfortable and nervous Yes… Most fascinating, but please excuse Tau for possibly spreading null rumor, Lords and Ladies. At this time our researchers cannot substantiate her highness’s membership in any Spec-Ops unit. However, our Parliamentary source positively confirms over seventy-five acts of selfless bravery perpetrated by her royal highness during the GSS Mare De Tempest incident. Officially, any reports of a high-level, Spec-Ops involvement are unsubstantiated and remain unaddressed in our repeated queries to the Galactic Service Admiralty or Galactic Defense Committee Chairman, Jameson Englert- who, I might add has been unavailable for comment.
 

 
Nigel: Looks to the sky a moment in confusion. I highly suspect we will ever find out about such a clandestine unit, Rupert! Special Operations teams function more efficiently in the background, or in the ‘dark’ as some in the know would sa...
 
Rupert: Pardon me, old man. We’re receiving word now that the Royal Guard has been dispatched to clear the west end of the Processional Mall for some undisclosed reason. We are also being informed that the clearing constitutes a very sizable area just inside the Arch of the People. We’re hearing rumors from our field spotters placed amongst the local audience that something colossal must be on its way, while we’re also hearing speculation that some grand entrance display will take place prior to her royal highness’ arrival.
 
Nigel: Well, whatever is to happen, this surely has to be a first in the history of Coronations, Rupert. I’ve just been informed that Tau Sohn has made her way out to the site and is ready to give us a report. Tau? What have you learned?
 

 
Tau Sohn: slightly out of breath. Although officials here, on sight, are very tight-lipped, I’m seeing renewed excitement here, Nigel. Expectations have heightened and the general feeling overall, is that her royal highness plans on making her grand entrance at any moment. Wait…what? Where’s this bloody gale coming from?
 

 
Tau: resuming her professional composure despite her mane blowing wildly and having to talk over the mysterious, howling wind Well, gentlemen, we seem to be experiencing a rather random, harsh wind event here at the public end of the Processional Mall. Gentlemen, I’ll hand it back to you for now. Nigel?
 

 
Nigel: Thank you for that report, Tau. Our producer has just checked with the Planetary Environmental Forecasting Center and is informing us no wind events have been predicted or scheduled in the immediate area today. There is speculation here in our booth that what we are experiencing might have some connection to the sudden clearing of the are...
Rupert: ‘Ello? What we got ‘ere?
 
Nigel: stunned and caught completely off guard By the Queen’s eternal soul! Lords and Ladies. Something miraculous… unbelievably jaw-dropping, has just occurred here… in our vantage point… high above the Coronation assemblage… our whole production staff seems at a loss for any viable explanation!
 
Rupert: What Nigel is having difficulty describing is the sudden appearance of an infant Terran kitten in some sort of personal carrier! How she got here is beyond anything I can logically explain, though! And, the little precious is smiling and waving her adorable, chubby fingers at us!
 

 
Nigel: sounding quite stunned Rupert! The Arch! Look! My Lords and Ladies! You cannot possibly believe what we are witnessing at this very moment!
 

 
Nigel: still visually and audibly stunned As you can see from your stream, Lords and Ladies, this is a ship of magnificent elegance and superb design! My word! Is that a pointed hat and crossed brooms on her upper control surface, Rupert… and-and what of that strange design on her bow? Christen, can we get any identification from the hull designation…um… NCC-53847B for that ship, and why has it been granted special permission to interrupt such an honored and sanctified ceremony! More importantly, how could it have just ‘appeared’? And out of thin air no less?!
 
Rupert: At a complete loss there, mate. Though the ancient term, ‘magic’, does spring to mind! Wait? What? Why, that’s completely insane! Nigel, our researchers have just informed me that ship is registered to a Terran military organization identified only as EFMC! And-and, even more inexplicably, our spotters are informing us she displays a FeLane Interstellar Military Standards certification just under her hull designation!
Rupert pauses to listen to his earpiece again. His mouth drops open in astonishment.
Brilliant! Now our archivist is informing me that EFMC stands for ‘Earth Force Marine Corps’! Christen? I thought our neighbors- the Terran delegation- already arrived and seated? What? Not those Terrans? I do not understand! What? How so?
 
Nigel: Our government liaison, a Parliamentary member holding substantial clearance, has just informed us that a special operations unit dutifully initiated, organized, and chartered by Queen Libra, herself, has just arrived and landed on the Processional Mall’s West Entrance. Not much is known about this top secret unit, but we have been informed that it is indeed the Earth Force Marine Corps’ fabled ‘Witch Corps’. Hold on… She is? By all means, yes! Lords and Ladies we’re going to switch to Tau Sohn closer to the landing site. What’s going on out there, Tau Sohn?”
 

 
Tau: Nigel, I’m about as close as the Royal Guard will allow, and as you can hear, the crowd down here is ecstatic! According to several members of the Mare De Tempest detachment that I talked to earlier, they’ve seen this impressive ship before! Their individual descriptions of this very ship confirm, positively, this IS the much fabled ‘Witch Corps’! Nigel! We’re starting to see some activit…
 

 
Nigel: In a very excited voice. Lords and Ladies! Can you believe this?! Why, I’ve never seen such impressive pageantry in all my years of broadcast! As I speak, our researchers are trying to make identifications of these noble-bred women you are seeing on your devices.
 
Rupert: I say! A simply stunning display- most noteworthy of a Coronation, indeed, Nigel!
 

 
Nigel: Our recognition app has tentatively identified one of our new arrivals…Hold on?! This is completely preposterous! I covered that story years ago! This must be some sort of hoax! Christen? Can I get certified verification on this individual? If I’m right, she has been deceased for almost ten standard years!”
 
Rupert: Nigel, I am being assured by our high-ranking Parliamentary Liaison that your memory is spot on. That is indeed Miss Hope Summers. Our archivist is confirming she was reported deceased in the unprovoked attack on Gaia Four ten standard years past. Now, the scuttlebutt circulating throughout our production staff is that EFMC Witch Corps is actually comprised solely of Current Mages!
 
Nigel: Absolutely preposterous, Rupert! The Current Mages have been long extinct for centuries. There simply cannot be any that still exist!”
 
Rupert: Um, Nigel? Not to disagree with you in the least, old man, but the Terran kitten has just vanished. Tell me again how these ‘Current Mages’ must be extinct? Christen, replay the footage, please.
 

 
Nigel: Lords and Ladies! Had I not seen the record… indeed, I stand corrected, my friend. Christen, have we verified any of the other Ladies yet? Nigel’s mouth suddenly drops open, his ears twitch wildly. What’s this? Blau-hairs?! My Lords and Ladies, can it be?! Yes! Oh, my word, another Coronation first!
 
Rupert: Are they what I think, Old man?
 
Nigel: Indeed they are, my esteemed colleague! Lords and Ladies! A contingent from our far away allied system, Antarra, has apparently arrived with… What, Christen? Brilliant! Lords and Ladies! I have just been informed that her majesty, The Renowned, Queen Caroline Norge of Antarra has arrived and I assume with two of her sisters! Wait, what, Christen? I stand corrected, Lords and Ladies! Queen Caroline Norge, and her Ladies-in-Wait: sister, Julienne Gutteman, and niece, Janet Gutteman-Redman. Lords and Ladies, as you all might well know, because of its great distance and travel time from FeLane, the Antarran government has been reluctant to attend any Royal Galas or other Government sponsored celebrations. Obviously, this coronation is extremely high on her majesty, Queen Norge’s, priorities!
 
Rupert: Lords and Ladies. As we’ve been conversing and reviewing miraculous footage, the EFMC Witch Corps’ Pegasus has been offloading a rather impressive gathering of celebrities, including rarely seen dignitaries AND, I’m being told, Galactic Defense Committee Chairman, Jamison Englert’s daughter, Jamie Quincy is also part of this superbly elegant entourage. All this pageantry seems to be building toward one, obvious pinnacle. I count eleven regally-dressed females- including the royal delegation of Queen Norge of Antarra- and one, dress-uniformed male all positioned in parade formation- six to either side- of this spectacular ship’s boarding ramp… and I still see movement from just inside that hatch!
 
Nigel: sardonically Tell me, dear Rupert. How have you divined the name of our elusive visitors’ ship so quickly?
 
Rupert: My dear colleague, I simply searched the Way’s art archives and found the image depicted on the fuselage. The ‘Nose Art’- as the ancient Terrans’ called it, by the way, is of a creature called Pegasus, a winged equine of Terran myth and legend. Excuse me. Please say again, Christen?
 
Nigel: Rupert! Are my eyes deceiving me? Isn’t that noir-haired female Terran just exiting the craft carrying the very same infant kitten that just disappeared from our vantage point mere moments ago?
 
Rupert: I believe she is, old man! Brilliant! Simply brilliant! What? My pardon? Our producer has just learned from our Parliamentary source the female is the kitten’s mother, and High Priestess of EFMC, Witch Corps, Lady Chance Summers. According to our official, Lady Chance is their highest-ranking officer and also commander of the Pegasus. Shadowy reports of her existence have been circulating throughout the Way media streams as the face and the main driving force for the reemergence of this mysterious Covert-Ops team.
 
Nigel: Ecstatically Blimey! This is simply incredulous! Lords and Ladies, I simply cannot contain my astonishment! Now exiting the craft are two adolescent Lynxin Kittens! My word! Can it be? By Libra! We have just been told by our spotters on the ground that they both are of royal lineage!
 

 
Rupert: According to our recognition app, one of the kittens is Lyra Serangetti, the six-year old kitten to Kimbou and Sonya Serangetti. An earlier perusing of Mare de Tempest’s crew manifest revealed that Commander Kimbou Serangetti is the Mare’s commanding officer, Nigel.
 
Nigel: Brilliant!
 

 
Rupert: Hold on! Why…this simply cannot be! Our app has found a match to the older, adolescent kitten! It’s identifying her as Sonya Serangetti, age forty-five standard years. Mate of Cmdr. Serangetti!
 
Nigel: I am inclined to believe our app, Rupert. It is enabled with time-progression algorithms that have proven useful to our civil authorities over many decades.
 
Rupert: Well, if they truly are Current Mages, this sort of thing is well within the realm of…
 
Nigel: And if I recall, Cmdr. Kimbou Serangetti lists prominently on the recently, publicly released, membership rolls of the Royal Guard Reserve, Rupert.
 
Rupert: Nigel, you don’t think…?
 
Nigel: That this could be the moment, Lords and Ladies?! Could this be her royal highness, Princess Kitty Sinae’s ceremonial security entourage? If truly so, the next person we’d expect to exit the Pegasus would be the princess herself…Wait we’ve been told there is movement!
 
Nigel: It seems something is definitely happening out there. Let’s listen in.
 

 
Unknown female voice: WITCH CORPS! Attennnnn-SHUN!
 

 
Rupert: Well, there you have it, Nigel. I must say, this is highly unorthodox and astonishingly unprecedented! To think that a top-secret, special operations unit actually outs itself for the Royal Coronation! It’s simply unheard of.
 
Unknown female voice: PREE-sent, WANDS!
 
Rupert: Highly excited My word! Are those actual magical wands they just manifested! And with perfect synchronization, too! UNBELIEVABLE, Lords and Ladies!
 

 
Unknown female voice: HONORS!
 

 
Nigel:In a very emotional tone and almost drown out by the cheering and applause. My word! Her royal highness, Princess Kitty Sinae, has arrived! And in such regal splendor! Surely this is the Coronation of all Coronations! Ex-excuse me one moment.
 
Rupert:leans in close to his audio device to be heard over the cheering and applause. Lords and Ladies, please pardon my colleague’s emotional overload. I too, am overcome by the exquisitely choreographed introduction we have been so privileged to witness here today. Rupert quickly wipes his eyes with a white hankerchief. Simply overwhelming! Once more, Rupert quickly wipes his eyes. Unfortunately, the crowd of well-wishers gathered throughout the Processional Mall today has simply proven overpowering for our equipment and we have lost the external audio portion of our coverage, though you can clearly hear it from our vantage point here atop the Parliamentary portico roof, adjacent to the Royal Residence at the east end of the Mall.
 
Nigel: Please forgive our emotional and quite unprofessional outbursts, my Lords and Ladies, but such a spectacle…why… something of this grandeur hasn’t been seen on FeLane, I’m told, since the coronation of Queen Libra herself! We are now being informed that the Princess’ processional entourage has been joined by the Royal Guard and both units are now slowly escorting her royal highness, Princess Kitty Sinae, along the Mall’s center walkway to the Royal Residence where, in just a short while, she will take her oaths and sign certifications to become FeLane’s newest Monarch.
 
Rupert: At this time we would like to share with our viewers, her royal highness’ full bio and the publically released data on the EFMC’s Witch Corps.
 
Nigel: You are streaming the Coronation of her royal highness, Princess Kitty Sinae here in the Capital on FeLane. We’ll return after the aforementioned data stream. Don’t go away. There’s much more to come!