"Attention to orders, NVOF-09 6THFLEET Maelle Comma, arriving!"

"At ease you sorry get of landlubbers, I'm not so desk-bound as to need help standing on a ship!"  Clipped Maëlle, irritatedly.  "Flag Bridge, with me, the rest of you, resume duties.

"We're going into berth for a refit, folks, Sixth Fleet will be moved to Southie, we'll be off the list for the duration."

"Won't we crowd her? Do any of us go with her?"  Asked Flora.

"Those of you on brevet ranks will revert to prior ranks, except for Amarat.  Thistle will rebalance the ranks, and give land assignments to those extra."  

"Why the special treatment?"  That was Ria, who like everyone but Andei on Flag Bridge, was brevetted up, but in her case, she had been brevetted c-in-chief fleet, and would fall back to equal to Andei on Southie.

"Because he's reassigned deck bound. It's not special treatment, Mariwolfe's working on Northie, temporarily reassigned Gear, Third Fleet, he's working on the planes and crew complements, Thistle, brevet Third-Fleet. Just switching their fleets around needed a fricking edict of Meihomei.  He's gotta find berths for 600 sailors, and temporary dock bound accommodations for half a fleet's worth of flyers, who'll be shore-based for the duration. One third of her crew stays to fit her, the other two thirds get reassigned. Third fleet has first dibs, and they already put in calls. I had to deny at least two."

"Who did they want?"

"Mariwolfe and Amarat, why'd you think I denied them? I don't have the authority to deny transfers without explicit orders from Meihomei. In this case, I had exactly that."

"Oh."

"Besides, Amarat already is third fleet, they just wanted to end his secondment, and I had to instruct them to go learn to fly without a plane."

"6THFLT5DIVTHISTLE thanks you."

"How come you're not 3RDFLTTHISTLE yet?"

"No Telbun to countersign, and Valour-Keeper hasn't weighed in. I can only hold the rank in brevetted until both those things happen."  Mariwolfe, who was brevet Telbun, couldn't countersign until she was confirmed by the senate, a fact she had some reservations about...

"You get to be weighted by the VK?"

"Yeah, cousin Marhamat gets to have a say."  Second cousin Marhamat, twice removed, he didn't say, the cousin Marhamat had outlived was his grandmother, peace on her soul.

"Isn't he, like, the most demanding son of a hurricane this side of Meihomei?"  Ria asked, sharing the room's opinion.

"He's the most demanding son of a hurricane, period. I just have to get in the eye, and try to stay there."

...

"Attention to ORDERS!" Amarat was mortified, he knew that voice.  Marhamat Dandelion, ‌Electrum for life, Regimental commander of Meihomei's personal bodyguard, spoke, well, spoke was an understatement, he spat out the words like they were throwing daggers aimed at an enemy. The others quickly stood to attention.

"I've come from Meihomei's office, I carry with me important documents for all of you soft-skinned..." He tried to continue, but he was not believing in it anymore, not after meeting steely gaze after steely gaze, over rows of medals that would have impressed people who didn't know their significance.  Marhamat had earned most of them himself, shed tears and blood to do it, he'd read the citations, not an officer in this wardroom had reason to look at his or her shoes. Marhamat had the largest salad bar in the room, anywhere, in both quantity and quality, but he had not had close competition like in this room often before. "Nessuna Maelle Comma, Meritant of Honour, Twice-Rembrandt's Memorial Medal, Naval Otter with repeat clusters for Impact, bronze star of readiness with three repeat clusters. Obviously, you're not soft-skinned."

"Eagle Ria Baker, Meritant of Honour, Naval Otter with four repeat clusters, neither are you. Mariwolfe Tannenbaum, Twice-Meritant of Honour(classified), Meritant of Honour, Rembrandt's Memorial Medal, you're not either."

"Juraian Andermani, Andei Dandelion, Flora Rolli, and you especially, Amarat Veneer, grandson of Prithyanka Dandelion, Meritants of Honours, all, you yellow-bellied, soft-skinned, poor excuses for Dandelions, seeds flying in the wind." The gazes grew steelier, a lesser man in Marhamat's position would have grabbed a weapon.

"All of you have the best records in the fleet, from being on the best ship. Dandelions would have taken a lesser ship and made it shine even brighter." The others said nothing, waiting for the other shoe to drop. "Now that I've said the drivel that the Dandelion Soul would have me say, I can say, well done! Meihomei chose you, all of you, or chose those who chose you. She is satisfied. That is enough for Valour and enough for Honour."

"In harm's way, for Meihomei." That was the Arndsurfer's creed, but it was growing to become the unofficial motto of all sixth fleet.

"Quite! Now, your orders. Nessuna Comma, you're recalled to Nessun College, your flag will be replaced by Brevet-Eagle Baker's at present. Brevet-Eagle Baker will command sixth fleet from Southie's flag bridge. Brevet-Goshawk Rolli will be second in command. Kon Mckibbins will be Thistle. Andermani, Andei Dandelion, you stay where you are."

"As for you two, the reward for a job well done is more work. Kon Tannenbaum will be the engineering lead directing the refit of Northie, reassigned to Gear, Third Fleet, commanding Megamisama Dockyards, its resources are yours to command, taking priority over everything except Palace Business. Kon Veneer will have the unenviable task of reassigning all the complement of fighters to ground bases and surrounding ships."

"Leave?"

"Yeah, time off, recharge the old batteries.  You got decorations people are happy to receive once in their lifetime, and you're just starting your career, you're expected to celebrate by not making the brass fear for their positions."

"Their attempts at bribery I found laughable."

"Ha!  Seriously, this is an insane amount of work."

"Not yet."

"What do you mean?"

"Good thing you took leave."

"Well no."

"You will wish you had."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm 6THFLT5DIVTHISTLE, I don't have authority to call this by myself, I need a commissioned fleet officer to countersign."

"Like Ria?"

"Except she's deployed..."

"Oh wait, you mean, you need me to countersign?  Sure, where do I?"

"Just a moment, I need the cart."

"The cart?"

"I have six portable jade banks ready for signature."

"Ho, prepared, six jade banks, for six signatures?"

He laughed.  She had never heard him laugh like that, it was so pure, like a ten-year-old child's laughter... But it lasted long enough to make her uncomfortable.  "I shouldn't make fun of a new flag, really, Zim, but I wouldn't have prepared individual tablets for individual signatures..."

"Just how many documents am I making myself responsible for?"

There are 65 specialties, trade codes and ranks being affected with a global document, and of course, I'll need a signature for each individual transfer."

"For each... individual... transfer... But there are 2500 people in that ship!"

"Aye Zim, that's why I said you'll wish you had taken leave earlier, I suspect you'll be authing documents for a week."

"I don't suppose I can get a navy officer to sign the navy ones?"

"Actually, that would be preferable, I just didn't know of one in the city I could ask."

"Taimine Andermani got beached at the same time as Nessun Comma, would he be acceptable?"

"Just about, but we have to hurry."

"Why?"

"OPM expects these by next Aunday."

"Mother expects this in four days?"

"Yes, with two signatories, I might even make the deadline, and not have to explain to your mother why I'm late."

"Mother asked for this?"

"Nessun-OPM Jima Rolli mentioned that as the largest personnel reassignment in her tenure, she would be accepting the documents, personally."

Back at Fleet Staffing Office, Sixth Fleet, temporary ready room.  "Mother!"

"My tcha-flower! How are you?"

"Almost done!  There, that was the last one."

"Thank you, Taimine Ohtei, you owe me 20 credits."

"Zim-Zim-Zim."

"What?"

"He bet you'd be late by about a week...  I knew my daughter and her hérévallin wouldn't slouch. Where is he by the way?"

"Sent him to bed, he wasn't doing any good while falling asleep while standing."

"Just how much of the reassignments are his work?"

"All of it?"

"He has staff for that!  He did it by himself?"

"What staff, mother?  He was never confirmed at 3rd fleet, and six fleet belongs to Mariwolfe, who, by all accounts, needs all the help."

"Oh Elements almighty, he did all this, alone, by himself, breaking a record in the process?  And you two have been..."

"Signing dockets for three days straight."

"It'll go faster if you work on it together."

"I'm sure it would, it would also make sense if whoever you send to give us our orders doesn't make it sound like we're on leave, but he's not."

"Oh, Marhamat didn't give you my message?  I thought I'd been explicit."

"Apparently, you got countermanded by the Dandelion Soul."

"Frak that!"

"What are you writing?"

"A prescription, Amarat needs a week's leave, two days of which are bed rest.  How much spare does he have?"

"Spare?  He's not used any, I'd discipline him for it, but he ain't one of mine."

"Who's 6FLEET5DIVFLAG?"

"Juraian, escort-master owns that."

"I checked all my fleet.  Everyone's under twenty."

"What, wait..."  Jima traced her own screen, calling up 3rd fleet's internal org.  "He's not under Juraian, he's under Marhamat, 3rd fleet, remember?"

"But 3RDFLEETTHISTLE isn't Amarat yet..."

"He's still administratively attached to them, feeds into their budget, He has fifty days leave pending, enough that I'm calling a forced leave on him, that boy's been working much too hard if he's falling asleep in the presence of superior officers.  Let me check all my fleet flags... Hmm, funny, he's not the only one with lots of pending..."

"Who, Jima?"

"Everyone in this room but me, Juraian you're owed thirty, Flora, you ain't taken any in the last year, and you had spares from last, good thing your ship is in refit, now you got no excuse."

"How's that possible, I know I took some for my Hérévallin?"

"That's a different classification, it's not holiday time, you checked in every other day as is regulation, so it counted as light duty.  It's in the regulations."

"What?"

"Your vacation banks are pristine, so are Amarat's."

"But Amarat did take some, and I had my sick days..."

"Also separate, but yeah, you should...  Someone checked in for you while you were in the hospital, both you and Amarat..."

"Yeah, the replacer, remember?  He got replaced just after he got his Merit, I locked up the replacer, but he escaped, we didn't have containment then."

"That was after.  Just who booked for you while you were in the hospital?  I know you were there, I visited you!"

"No idea mom, who'd do that?"

"Amarat booked you, guess he wanted you to get the extra vacation days."

"No, that was the replacement, who wanted us to think that... So he wouldn't be suspected, it's' exactly something that Amarat would do."

"Amarat, wake up!"

"Wuzzat? Time is it?"

"It's 10 am, rise and shine!"

"Damn, it's Merlyday…"

"It's 10am, Aunday, you slept for a day and a half, sleepyhead."

"Oh, I'm so frakked, I missed that meeting with your mom, OPM is going to hate me now..."

Flora just pointed to her mother's medical note on his bed stand.

"What, she's giving me medical?"

"She pointed out that if you were tired enough to fall asleep while talking to a superior officer, you were clearly not in fine fighting form."

"I'm down checked a week, I'll be bored."  He stretched out the word.

"No, you won't..."

"What plan did you hatch with your mother while I was asleep?"

"Oh, just that you needed to take that time off desperately, and since someone gamed with both our records, we have above regulations amounts of time off due."

"And I'm supposed to stay here?"

"Well, no, you don't HAVE to."

"What?"

"Well, you could take your wife on a trip, like those romantic rich men of power and influence I keep hearing about.  I hear you have more power and influence than most, and you got the romantic down pat."

"Hmm, any favourite ideas?"

"Eurani is lovely this time of year, and I hear you own land there, seems like a prime spot."

"Ugh, yeah, main problem is figuring out which part of Eurani you want to visit?"

"What, you own land in multiple places?"

"I'm an honorary Feyd of Sarn, I own a business in Eurani, and me and mother own maybe a third of Brescia together."

"A third... of Brescia?  Brescia's on the G12!"

"Well, Auntie owns 100% of Kagomei, it kind of skews the calculation I guess?"

"Hmm, good point.  Nice, round numbers."

"And my step-mom is Hunarch of Moniq now, who's also on the G12."

"Which one is that?"

"Xiang Xhi, we met her, and she made us tell the story, remember?"

"Yeah, HER?"

"The very same, the one we made sure not to miss the wedding of..."

"I mean, she's... bigger potatoes than Natalia?"

"Hmm, I don't know if I'd put it that way, I don't want Either upset with me, but Moniq is a single country, The Eurani Pact is a kind of commonwealth or federation of nations.  One's more prestigious, the other is a lot more under Hunarch Xiang's control."

"How did she meet your dad?"

"She was a priestly novitiate, being evaluated for Excelsior, sent to Mountain Home.  She and dad hit it off, just not as much as Kei-Mist or Pom, who had been his childhood friends."

"Oh, so the terms, first wife, second wife, they're chronological?"

"No, well first and second yes, not third.  Third is Jaimee, but they met Nyakki third."

"The famous Nyakki, is there a possibility we can visit her on the way?"

"I'll see if I can swing us an invitation, if you're certain.  Her parties are pretty out there..."

"Hmm, ok, but on the way back, and only if we're fully recovered from the rest of the festivities, I want to get out of Kagomei for a bit first.