Arriving at the Feliax home world

Dustin tugged at the collar of his dress uniform a little uncomfortably. Meli and Rye were also dressed in their formal best; apparently a good impression as soon as they entered the system was very important. Not for the first time since donning the outfit Dustin glanced at Rye; the Rabyth’s formal uniform apparently consisted of a loose sleeveless tunic and sash that looked very neo-classical and more importantly not as chafing as his own outfit. The fact that the tunic stopped partway down the woman’s legs revealing a rather attractive length of fur-covered thigh and calf that she normally kept hidden behind dungarees or overalls was also a factor. Meli’s outfit remained as utilitarian and yet attractive as he remembered from when she had joined the crew - although now that he knew they were engaged she had opted to accent the grey of the research council uniform with a pale pastel choker that apparently signified that she was in a relationship.

Sola’s voice chimed as he mused on how well the two of them looked compared to his own uniform, all formal trousers and uncomfortable collared jacket. “Preparing to leave weave-jump. Please stand by for transition to normal space.” The usual winding down of the interstellar engines happened - although both women’s hands were already working on the controls in front of them before Sola finished announcing the success of the jump. This much was choreographed to the utmost; as soon as they dropped out of the weave, Rye would activate the ship’s outer coating causing a cascade of lights to form patterns drifting over the hull. As she did that, Meli would hail system traffic and at that point…

Dustin squared his shoulders and adjusted his hat one final time before nodding to his fiancé. Meli tapped a final button and the view screen flickered on to give Dustin his first view of a Feliax. He’d expected an official of some sort - someone in work clothes sat at a console and busy with the usual traffic control issues involved in a major system. Certainly, the number of vessels that Sola’s sensors had pinged up the instant they’d arrived was to be expected for one of the species on the galactic council. What he saw instead was a woman relaxing on a low couch, seemingly idly flicking holograms of ships around on a model with one hand as the other stroked one of the two fluffy fur tails that draped over her lap.

Giving Dustin and the others a glance and a nod, she flicked her wrist and sent a handful of holos skidding around on the model. “Ambassador of Earth, greetings. I’ve cleared transit lane one for you - your AI should have the coordinates now. My cousin is eager to meet you - she’s ordered me to have you land at the palace directly. Your craft is cleared for atmospheric entry on arrival, please follow the designated flight plan.” Her voice was soft, and hooked rather dangerously into a few parts of Dustin’s hind-brain before he regained his composure. “Thank you, herald of arrival. Will we have the gift of your company in our discussions?” The response was formal and Meli had drilled it into him during her coverage of correctly handling discussions with the empress. As expected, the woman on the screen gave him another glance and sighed dramatically, resting the hand that had been stroking her tails against her forehead for a moment. “Alas, I fear my duties will take priority over greeting your pride.”

With that, the view screen cut out and Dustin sagged back in his chair slightly. Meli didn’t even bother looking at him, calling over her shoulder “do not sag, Li’ah’a, you will crinkle your uniform before our meeting. The fact we are being greeted at the palace changes a few things about how Rye and I need to act but nothing that will impact you I believe. Rye, I’m sending the relevant notes to you now.” The bunny girl nodded, leaning back in her chair and kicking her heels up onto the console - and revealing even more of her legs as she did so. As she started to read, the Rabyth woman called over her shoulder. “I can feel you looking captain, and I know the traffic controller got you all flustered talking like that, but please keep it in your pants until we’ve at least met the empress.”

Dustin glanced from woman to woman, sighed and waved a hand to Meli. “You have the bridge, chief science officer. I’m going to go make sure I don’t crumple my uniform by taking it off until we’re closer.” For her part, Meli acknowledged his comment with a smile before replying. “Our flight plan is a little faster than expected, we’ll be landing in ten hours rather than the planned eleven. Will you be sleeping then?” Dustin paused, halfway through the door before nodding and answering. “Yea, I’ve gone over everything a million times and being refreshed is probably a better idea than more revision. What about you two?” Rye shrugged. “Gonna check over this stuff, then run a diagnostic on the anti-gravs. Don’t want to risk smashing into her imperial hotness’s palace because of a faulty regulator. After that I’ll crash in engineering for a few hours, should give me time to shower and change back into this thing before we land.”

Meli meanwhile hesitated for a moment before nodding. “I’ll ensure we’re clear of the jump point fully and then handover to Sola. Once that’s done, I’ll get some rest for a few hours. As matriarch of our pride - at least, that's how the Feliax will see me” she added, seeing Dustin’s raised eyebrow “I need to go through a little more preparation work than either of you two. We’ll meet up here again with a hour or so before landing? Sola, can you set the alarms for everyone as per schedule 3-C that I gave you yesterday?” With confirmation from the AI, the three went their separate ways - although Dustin found it hard to sleep at first. The pressure of the meeting with an Empress was higher than he’d thought - but he did manage to slip eventually into unconsciousness. Waking with a start at the sound of Sola’s alarm some time later, he was glad of the heat of the shower as he got ready; it washed away the last of his nerves as it cleared the drowsiness of sleep.