Getting to know your new boss

It was only seven hours later that you were standing in front of a mirror looking at yourself in your new uniform. The form-fitting light blue with red trim 'camo' reminded you a bit of those old colonial uniforms you'd seen in the history books. Your stateroom was larger and more lavish than you were used to. Even as a General space was at a premium aboard military vessels. This luxury vessel was the farthest thing from a warship you had ever seen. You felt like you'd stepped into a completely different world as you came on board, obviously working for a princess had some perks. She hadn't seemed very impressed with you, saying nothing for the entire trip from your home to the ship even when you'd tried to engage in a bit of small talk. Even as you thought that your handheld pinged to let you know she wanted to see you in her conference room. You guessed it was time to talk.

You walked in and stood at attention, you could see Victoria casually lounging in her chair watching a video screen that was talking about what had just happened. She muted it as you entered and turned towards you. Now that she was away from the cameras she looked like a completely different person, her face more relaxed, her hair even appeared a bit shorter. She might have cut it slightly after returning on board, you had no doubt she had a barber bot or even a real human to take care of things like that for her. "Hey, have a seat, we've got a lot to go over." She even sounded different, the high condescending voice was gone, replaced by a casual familiarity that you found slightly surprising after your previous encounter. You took a seat near her as she continued. "You look good, the uniform suits you better than those rags you had on. I was worried that she'd actually picked up the wrong person, top-notch acting by the way." It hadn't been entirely an act but there was no reason to let her know that. Wait, she'd?

The door opened and... Victoria walked in, her head high, wearing a simple red one-piece slip dress that left a diamond open to keep her cleavage on display. You looked between the two of them, very confused. They obviously intended this, or one of them had, you noticed the one in the room with you hiding a smile with her hand. The new entry scanned the room, her eyes focusing on you. "General I believe its proper procedure to rise when your superior enters a room correct?" She asked, the tone was back and you pieced together what must have happened. Victoria must have a twin sister, you weren't sure which one was the real one yet. Still, you got to your feet at her request. This was no time to annoy someone you'd be living with for a while. She made her way around the table and regally sat in the chair at the head as if it was the throne she was intent on claiming before waving for you to resume your own seat.

"You've met my sister Princess Calypso, she is, unfortunately, ineligible for this contest due to an incident with the Vikings." In other words, she had lost her virginity. "I was going to have her lead my army before the Federation offered you to me." She drummed her fingers against the table as she spoke. "Your addition has already begun paying off. Support for my claim both popular and material has already started an upward trend. While this might be a temporary phenomenon I expect you to maintain it through victory against our enemies." She clicked a few buttons and showed a view of a planet you recognized as an abandoned ESF colony. "This is our destination. The ESF was kind enough to 'sell' this colony to me. It must have driven their accountants mad but it wasn't scheduled for recolonization for another fifteen years so it was no true loss for them. It's here that will act as our base of operations. I took a poll to determine what it should be called, ignoring the first place of Spherey McLifeBall it has been named Grail." Her face was deadly serious and you had to keep similar expression as she went on. Calypso, however, smiled at the name and you suspected she may have had something to do with the first place entry.

"My army is already there. I have a **** of twenty thousand armed and armored with more on the way. Your job upon arrival will be to begin your campaign with a victory. This stunt has cost us a bit of time. It's up to you to prove its worth it." You wanted to object, you hadn't seen the army yet or evaluated its strength. In addition, it was larger than the battle group you commanded on behalf of the ESF and not nearly as well trained. If you brought them into an even fight they likely wouldn't stand a chance. "Calypso will be your second in command." As well as her eyes and ears you assumed. "The two of you will present a plan of attack by the time we reach Grail. Plan accordingly." She stood up, you did the same as she left the room, leaving you alone with Calypso.

"Want me to order us some coffee?" She asked, to which you nodded. This was going to be a long day.