"Welcome to Camp Metella , sirs."
Groaning, the riders in the car got out, stretching their...
Groaning, the riders in the car got out, stretching their...
Beads and Brass: Tales from Metella
- Thread starter 7734
- Start date
- Original
- Created
- Status
- Ongoing
- Watchers
- 51
- Recent readers
- 0
- Threadmarks
- 34
-
Statistics (22 threadmarks, 36k words)
User Total NothingNow 8 7734 13 Swartzkopf56 1 -
Loading…
-
Loading…
-
Loading…
Welcome to the Other Side
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
"Welcome to Camp Metella , sirs."
Groaning, the riders in the car got out, stretching their legs out cautiously. The driver was much more casual, just flexing supline as he walked up to the guard shack.
"Mornin', Sergeant." He said, pulling out a sheaf of papers. "Here's the two captains and the major, plus a pair of butterbars we got thrown in for free. Mind waving us through?"
The staff NCO sighed, and shook his head. "You know how it is. You're gonna want to give them a moment before I can read 'em the new guy list."
The driver groaned theatrically. "Do I have to suffer through it again too?"
"Yep."
Sighing, the Lance Corporal slunk back to the car as the seargent broke out the Great Big Book and lumbered over.
"Good morning sirs. Now, before we can have you enter Camp Metella, we need to go over a few safety items and procedures."
The Sergeant looked over at the stray Lance Corporal, and gestured him back into the pack. "To begin, the natives at Camp Metella are of many tribal affiliations and origins, many of which are learning English as a second language to do business. Please do not complete any barter or trade without a Marine Translator present, as on this post Marines have nearly found themselves in violation of almost all rules regarding the possession of forbidden items up to and including the thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution."
The two lieutenants looked over at each other. "Isn't that one about slavery?" the first asked, screwing up his eyebrows thinking.
"Yes?" his compatriot said, trying to pay attention.
"-and as such any efforts to learn the local languages are appreciated. Continuing on, there are many off-base missions that will need to be conducted, at which point you will inevitably meet the other natives of the area surrounding Camp Metella. On meeting these people, certain physical abnormalities will become readily apparent. Please do not comment on them, as it is both detrimental to relations and can be offensive."
Now the Captain had to frown slightly. He'd been in Afghanistan, and was familiar with the fact of life that people got crippled very easily, along with the fact that even if someone was down a leg or hand they could and did still work. But enough for it to be in the formal briefing? What sort of hellhole were they getting sent to?
A few minutes later, the speech and lecture concluded, and the driver re-started the car. Once everyone was aboard, it drove through the gates.
"Major, correct me if I'm wrong, but this area seems to be rather small. Maybe sixty meters by sixty of fencing sound about right?" the Captain said, looking around.
"Yeah." The Major said. "It's odd, but I can't put my finger on how-"
Then they went through the portal.
---
"-it's… off…" the Major trailed off, looking at the busy lot they'd just pulled into. As the HMVV pulled off onto a very clearly marked road, the four officers started ogling their surroundings carefully. Once they were out of the lot, the half-dozen buildings that looked like buried and fortified shipping containers stared out at them, the painted signs over them reading such things as "Medical" and "PX" and "Church" on them in rather large block letters. Past them, a line of barrack tents were set up, and only just beyond that was a wall of HESCOs.
The lieutenants were the first to break composure. "What the FUCK?!" one yelled, plastering himself to the window as he ogled. "Since when do we have portals to other fucking worlds?"
"Since about three months ago, sir." The Lance Corporal said. "Major, I believe you're supposed to let you off here. Captain, you're going to the boat yard, and the two lieutenants are supposed to be heading to Firebase Charlie."
As the Major climbed out of the vehicle, the Captain took his place and the Lieutenants decompressed happily. As the vehicle drove off, the group left the military areas and started down the road to the boat yard. Passing through on the road slowly, the Lieutenants were practically ogling everything as they passed.
"Is… is that some snake-girl?" one of the two asked. "Holy shit. I think that's a snake girl!"
Meanwhile, the Lance Corporal sighed and checked his watch. "Eight minutes, dangit."
At the Captain's look, the Lance Corporal explained. "There's a pool on whoever gets someone who hasn't been to the Other Side yet to stick their foot in it- the record's six minutes twenty seconds. Although, last one was a Meledli earning the stupid… hmm…"
The Captain sighed. "I didn't see, but I'm almost scared to ask."
"Good plan, sir."
---
As the Lance Corporal finished fielding questions and dropping off the two butterbars, he sighed happily and went home. Several people assigned to headquarters lived off-base, and he liked his apartment building by one of the inns. As he came through the door, he smiled and sighed, dropping off his cover. Moments later, he picked up a few wampum, and headed out for some drinks and dinner.
At the bar in front of the place, he smiled faintly. Inside, a hibachi was running, the charcoal burning happily as the owner started babbling at him. Shaking his head, the Lance Corporal tapped the bar twice and pointed at the hibachi grill, then once at the keg near the edge of the table. Laughing, the cook and barkeep poured him a heavy ceramic tumbler full of the local beer and two cuts of the local fish in exchange for a wampum belt. Two hundred shining beads held in a double-strung arrangement, it was both a convenient means of the Marines spending their pay, and for the locals to barter and decorate with.
Not like the Americans didn't have long traditions of trading beads and pelts with people anyway. At least this time they were being fair about it.
Moments later, as the bar started filling up with a mix of uniforms and locals, the Lance Corporal sighed and smiled. It almost felt like home. All it needed were some pretty women, and-
Hello, ma'am! Were his eyes mistaken, or was that a very good-looking catgirl over there? Either way, only one way to find out!
---
Smiling tiredly, the Colonel looked out his small window at the base and the world outside it. As his old console victrola, a souvenir of San Diego, wound down, he sighed and pulled out his bottle of whisky. It would be good to relax, tonight.
"Here's to another day in this brave new world."
Groaning, the riders in the car got out, stretching their legs out cautiously. The driver was much more casual, just flexing supline as he walked up to the guard shack.
"Mornin', Sergeant." He said, pulling out a sheaf of papers. "Here's the two captains and the major, plus a pair of butterbars we got thrown in for free. Mind waving us through?"
The staff NCO sighed, and shook his head. "You know how it is. You're gonna want to give them a moment before I can read 'em the new guy list."
The driver groaned theatrically. "Do I have to suffer through it again too?"
"Yep."
Sighing, the Lance Corporal slunk back to the car as the seargent broke out the Great Big Book and lumbered over.
"Good morning sirs. Now, before we can have you enter Camp Metella, we need to go over a few safety items and procedures."
The Sergeant looked over at the stray Lance Corporal, and gestured him back into the pack. "To begin, the natives at Camp Metella are of many tribal affiliations and origins, many of which are learning English as a second language to do business. Please do not complete any barter or trade without a Marine Translator present, as on this post Marines have nearly found themselves in violation of almost all rules regarding the possession of forbidden items up to and including the thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution."
The two lieutenants looked over at each other. "Isn't that one about slavery?" the first asked, screwing up his eyebrows thinking.
"Yes?" his compatriot said, trying to pay attention.
"-and as such any efforts to learn the local languages are appreciated. Continuing on, there are many off-base missions that will need to be conducted, at which point you will inevitably meet the other natives of the area surrounding Camp Metella. On meeting these people, certain physical abnormalities will become readily apparent. Please do not comment on them, as it is both detrimental to relations and can be offensive."
Now the Captain had to frown slightly. He'd been in Afghanistan, and was familiar with the fact of life that people got crippled very easily, along with the fact that even if someone was down a leg or hand they could and did still work. But enough for it to be in the formal briefing? What sort of hellhole were they getting sent to?
A few minutes later, the speech and lecture concluded, and the driver re-started the car. Once everyone was aboard, it drove through the gates.
"Major, correct me if I'm wrong, but this area seems to be rather small. Maybe sixty meters by sixty of fencing sound about right?" the Captain said, looking around.
"Yeah." The Major said. "It's odd, but I can't put my finger on how-"
Then they went through the portal.
---
"-it's… off…" the Major trailed off, looking at the busy lot they'd just pulled into. As the HMVV pulled off onto a very clearly marked road, the four officers started ogling their surroundings carefully. Once they were out of the lot, the half-dozen buildings that looked like buried and fortified shipping containers stared out at them, the painted signs over them reading such things as "Medical" and "PX" and "Church" on them in rather large block letters. Past them, a line of barrack tents were set up, and only just beyond that was a wall of HESCOs.
The lieutenants were the first to break composure. "What the FUCK?!" one yelled, plastering himself to the window as he ogled. "Since when do we have portals to other fucking worlds?"
"Since about three months ago, sir." The Lance Corporal said. "Major, I believe you're supposed to let you off here. Captain, you're going to the boat yard, and the two lieutenants are supposed to be heading to Firebase Charlie."
As the Major climbed out of the vehicle, the Captain took his place and the Lieutenants decompressed happily. As the vehicle drove off, the group left the military areas and started down the road to the boat yard. Passing through on the road slowly, the Lieutenants were practically ogling everything as they passed.
"Is… is that some snake-girl?" one of the two asked. "Holy shit. I think that's a snake girl!"
Meanwhile, the Lance Corporal sighed and checked his watch. "Eight minutes, dangit."
At the Captain's look, the Lance Corporal explained. "There's a pool on whoever gets someone who hasn't been to the Other Side yet to stick their foot in it- the record's six minutes twenty seconds. Although, last one was a Meledli earning the stupid… hmm…"
The Captain sighed. "I didn't see, but I'm almost scared to ask."
"Good plan, sir."
---
As the Lance Corporal finished fielding questions and dropping off the two butterbars, he sighed happily and went home. Several people assigned to headquarters lived off-base, and he liked his apartment building by one of the inns. As he came through the door, he smiled and sighed, dropping off his cover. Moments later, he picked up a few wampum, and headed out for some drinks and dinner.
At the bar in front of the place, he smiled faintly. Inside, a hibachi was running, the charcoal burning happily as the owner started babbling at him. Shaking his head, the Lance Corporal tapped the bar twice and pointed at the hibachi grill, then once at the keg near the edge of the table. Laughing, the cook and barkeep poured him a heavy ceramic tumbler full of the local beer and two cuts of the local fish in exchange for a wampum belt. Two hundred shining beads held in a double-strung arrangement, it was both a convenient means of the Marines spending their pay, and for the locals to barter and decorate with.
Not like the Americans didn't have long traditions of trading beads and pelts with people anyway. At least this time they were being fair about it.
Moments later, as the bar started filling up with a mix of uniforms and locals, the Lance Corporal sighed and smiled. It almost felt like home. All it needed were some pretty women, and-
Hello, ma'am! Were his eyes mistaken, or was that a very good-looking catgirl over there? Either way, only one way to find out!
---
Smiling tiredly, the Colonel looked out his small window at the base and the world outside it. As his old console victrola, a souvenir of San Diego, wound down, he sighed and pulled out his bottle of whisky. It would be good to relax, tonight.
"Here's to another day in this brave new world."
List of Contributors
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
List of Main Contributors
@7734
@NothingNow
@Always Late
List of Secondary Contributors
@Strypgia
@Whiskey Golf
@moonberserker
List of Confirmed Writers
List of Omake Writers
INFO: The rules for your placement on the list are simple. If you write five snips, you're up to Omake Writer. Ten snips (including the previous five) which are consistent with the cannon when they are written makes you a Confirmed Writer. Fifteen total snippets plus a vote on the Discord makes you a Secondary Contributor, and twenty total snippets plus vote on the Discord makes you a Primary Contributor.
@7734
@NothingNow
@Always Late
List of Secondary Contributors
@Strypgia
@Whiskey Golf
@moonberserker
List of Confirmed Writers
List of Omake Writers
INFO: The rules for your placement on the list are simple. If you write five snips, you're up to Omake Writer. Ten snips (including the previous five) which are consistent with the cannon when they are written makes you a Confirmed Writer. Fifteen total snippets plus a vote on the Discord makes you a Secondary Contributor, and twenty total snippets plus vote on the Discord makes you a Primary Contributor.
Last edited:
List of Resources
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
List of Resources
Timeline Doc(May comment at Confirmed Writer and above) (Credit; Tabac Iberez)
Basic Guide to A Native Language (Paste, edited occasionally) (Credit; Tabac Iberez)
Gloss of A Native Language (Under Construction)
Map of the Outpost (Credit; NothingNow)
Map of the Surrounding Territory (Credit; NothingNow)
Timeline Doc(May comment at Confirmed Writer and above) (Credit; Tabac Iberez)
Basic Guide to A Native Language (Paste, edited occasionally) (Credit; Tabac Iberez)
Gloss of A Native Language (Under Construction)
Map of the Outpost (Credit; NothingNow)
Map of the Surrounding Territory (Credit; NothingNow)
Last edited:
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
Threadmarking and Accreditation
As I hope and expect this project to grow to the point where I can't read every post on every page, please keep in mind the following items:
1: Contacting me on Discord is the best means to getting a response. Following that, SV PM is good too. Dinging me in the thread, not so much.
2: Please mark in a post near your snip whether it's supposed to be cannon or not, so it can be sorted into regular Threadmarks or into Apocrypha.
3: Unless you request or note otherwise, it is presumed any material you are posting is your material alone and not anothers.
As I hope and expect this project to grow to the point where I can't read every post on every page, please keep in mind the following items:
1: Contacting me on Discord is the best means to getting a response. Following that, SV PM is good too. Dinging me in the thread, not so much.
2: Please mark in a post near your snip whether it's supposed to be cannon or not, so it can be sorted into regular Threadmarks or into Apocrypha.
3: Unless you request or note otherwise, it is presumed any material you are posting is your material alone and not anothers.
Last edited:
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
So. Here we go. Marines in the Late Bronze/Early Iron Age... or is it?
NothingNow
Corpse Wrangler
- Location
- Tampa
Dude there's fucking snake people. It's going to be weird.
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
Shiny Things (Week 5)
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
It was just past dawn, and as per the usual at the unnamed firebase, there were Marines with nothing to do except twiddle their thumbs. While most Marines knew exactly what boredom would do and as such sought to prevent it at all costs, some poor unlucky souls weren't smart enough to stock up on Tom Clancy and iPod rechargers. Two of these green-as-grass Marines, one Lance Corporal Richards and his good friend Private First Class Marius, were about to accidentally make history.
It all started off innocently enough. They were going down from the firebase to the small civilian area where the shipping and receiving crew had set up shop, and more importantly some of the natives had started setting up a village. Mostly it was just them taking advantage of the river confluence about a quarter mile upstream, plus the handful of horseshoe lakes downstream that were good fishing. Either way, Richards and Marius were off-duty and looking for something to do.
Their firebase, technically Firebase Bravo, was on a slight rise over a creek from the main area. Strapping up their safety belts, the two Marines forded the creek and tromped into the main area. Past a thin line of full HESCO units and a half-dozen containers-turned-storage areas, there was the Official Civilian Buildings. All two of them, to be fair- a PX working out of a mess of containers, and a very small restraunt that served food slightly, theoretically better than cold MREs. The assorted labritories didn't count, as far as two bored Marines were concerned.
Walking up to the restaurant, the Marines noticed the 'closed' sign with quiet despair. Damnint. The PX was no better, either, and stomachs were rumbling too.
"Well, fuck." Marius opined, sighing as he grumbled. "Looks like there's nothing to do so far."
Richards, who'd been a Marine for exactly one week longer, nodded sagely. "I've heard you can usually find some good stuff with the locals. Wanna take a peak at that area?"
"Sure." Marius said, looking at his friend. "Lead on, Richards!"
Ten minutes later, the two had found their way to the little village that the natives had been setting up. Aside from a lot of what looked sorta like longhouses and lots of cooking fires, the place felt kinda empty.
"Haakal! Haakal ciernos! Ashiel perscotes, Haakal ciernos!"
As two Marine heads turned towards the softly-calling barker, they smelled the fish cooking on a hot rock. Gravitating steadily towards it, they started salivating softly. Sure, it was fish cooked on a rock, but you know that was a good ammount of fish and the barker was putting on an ear of what looked kinda like corn next to it.
Walking up, the pair tried to look disarming, smiling. "Hi." Marius said, looking at the fish."Two, please."
"Kierbock?"
Sighing, Richards pointed at the fish. "Fish."
The barker looked back, and down. Pointing at the fish, he replied. "Haakal."
"Two fish."
"Haakal ciernos."
Richards nodded. "Haakal ciernos. Two, please."
Smiling, the barker deftly took a clean stick out of the fire, tapped some ash off it, and neatly folded the fish into a husk of what looked like the corn. Holding it, the barker held out a hand.
"Ohshit." Richards said. "Marius, you got your wallet?"
"No..." Marius replied. "Uh..."
As the barker raised an eyebrow, Richards dug through his pocket and pulled out a couple of brass casings. Handing them over, the barker shook his head and pushed the hand back. Then, smiling, he reached out for Richard's safety belt.
"You want it?" Richards asked, fiddling with the buckle. "You can have it."
Snatching it up, the vendor laughed for a minute, before Marius handed over his for a fish too. As the two Marines ate their meal and left, the vendor laughed and danced, before hiding them in his longhouse.
---
In his office, the Captain in charge of Bravo Firebase just sighed. They'd been here for less than a week, and nothing had been sane. For starters, the fact the quartermasters reported they were out of Safety Belts. Normally, the dang things just sat around, collecting dust; but now they'd been withdrawn en masse for *something*.
"Sir." his aide said, a very junior Lieutenant. "Firebase Alpha is on the phone, they'd like to know if you know anything about the locals all wearing decorative safety belts everywhere."
Facepalming quietly, the Captain sighed. "No, I most certainly do not. Probably some Lance Corporal gave it to some kids or something."
"I'll send that, sir."
The Captain sighed, regretting the prohibitions against drinking on duty. He'd need a stiff one before going to bed tonight.
NothingNow
Corpse Wrangler
- Location
- Tampa
That poor captain is going to need a new liver by the end of this.
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
Or video games. Or solar chargers.
They'll either cure cancer, or start WWIII.
Because even in a world with nobody wearing a uniform, regs still require those.
The assorted scientists in those labs don't think you count either, so it's even.
Geez, these guys really are total boots.
Our first intro to the language.
Total. Boots.
"I just scammed those two idiots good!"
"Firebase Bravo, are you taking the piss? You do not have enough Lance Corporals for all these belts I'm seeing out here. What. Happened?"
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
Tags edited.
"Oh magic healer, hear my plea-"
"BRING BOOZE OR GO HOME."
"Well fuck."
I'd make a smarmy quote about this but I'm kinda out of ideas while I work on Shiny Things for now.
"Oh magic healer, hear my plea-"
"BRING BOOZE OR GO HOME."
"Well fuck."
I'd make a smarmy quote about this but I'm kinda out of ideas while I work on Shiny Things for now.
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
You're not. That said, all we need to do is keep plugging away with updates, and we should get done people.
Eventually.
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
The lack of an 'original' tag on the title may have something to do with it. That said, there will be shenanigans.
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
I'll ask a mod to fix it.
How Wyta Met Bear (Week 12)
NothingNow
Corpse Wrangler
- Location
- Tampa
So my first big thing for this, which is kinda strange since it's my baby. But Lieutenant Bear has had a hard life and it isn't about to get any easier.
How Wyta met the Lieutenant
(Week 12)
I'd already had a long day so far, and the woman across from me just insisted on making it longer it seemed. I'd already rode in a boat for two hours, heading up the coast to visit the local king for diplomatic reasons, just so I could install a weather station at the palace. It would've been nice to just ignore her, but the king's daughter was the only reason we got to put this god-damned weather station up in the first place, so we had to play nice.
"Pieske, tlasre coor aes sillion voyes?" She said, as she sat on a stool she'd had one of her servants bring out to the patio we'd decided to mount it in.
"She asked 'what are we putting up now?'" Our translator, a former prostitute with a knack for languages said. The king's daughter had wonderful timing too, since the translator's husband and I were too busy wrestling with a particularly ungainly solar panel mount to think of a good response.
"Arwi, can you tell her that we're putting up something to power the machine." I said as I tried to tighten down some of the bolts on the back of the frame.
After Arwi translated my comment, I just heard an affirmative noise from the King's Daughter, and that's generally how it went for the rest of our time installing the panels.
I kept up the conversation with the king's daughter through Arwi as the day continued. After we finished testing out the weather station, we were treated to a banquet as guests of the king. Thanks to that, I woke up the next morning at five sharp with a painful hangover when my phone went off. It doesn't have a signal out here, but fuck it, it's still useful.
"The fuck is that?" The woman curled up next to me said.
"'S my alarm." I replied, "Just let me turn it off, and you can go back to sleep."
She grunted in affirmation, as I turned the alarm off.
"Wait," I said, as I started to wake up. "Who the fuck are you?"
The woman rolled over passive aggressively. "I'm Wyta, King Aede's daughter you asshole! Do you remember anything about last night?"
"No, not really." I replied. "And how are you speaking English?"
"Magic. I don't gotta explain shit," Wyta said. "Unlike you. I mean, you ruined my favorite dress, and then passed out drunk in my bed. My father is going to be pissed when he wakes up."
"What did I do?"
"Aside from throwing up in my lap? You did nothing Lieutenant."
"Oh thank god- waitaminute, threw up in your lap?"
"Yes. Word of advice, you should probably drink less and chew more. A lot more."
"I'm sorry, there must have been something I'm not used to in the drink. Is anything going to happen?"
"My Father might still want to kill you." Wyta said with a smile. "I could smooth this all over if you apologized for the dress though."
"I'm- well- ah, oh Hell. I was very drunk, and I'll buy you a new dress. Will that help?" I replied quickly.
"Well, you better. What sort of husband doesn't indulge his wife with nice clothes?" She replied, raising an eyebrow. "What is your name, anyway? I can't well go to my father and beg for your life and approval of our love if I'm just calling you Lieutenant, or Bear. That's clearly a nickname, I hope."
"Fine. I'm Lieutenant Joseph Bear of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps." I replied. "Does that make you happy?"
"So, is Bear like a clan name or something?" Wyta continued. "And are like all of your relatives as big as you? Is one of them a bear?"
"No, I- wait, Husband‽"
"You did just pass out in my bed. Everyone is going to think we slept together." She replied with a predatory smile. "And well, you're cute, smart, well-connected if this National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is as big as it sounds, and you're not terrified of me yet, so from where I'm sitting, you're definitely a keeper."
"Oh joy." I replied. "Am I going to have to pay something?"
"You'll have to exchange gifts, but that won't be too big of a deal for you people." She continued, smirking "Now then, we've got time to kill. Do you want to fuck?"
"Wait, what?"
"You, me, tangling the sheets. I just said I was going to marry you, Joseph Bear, and that does include certain duties on your part. Myself, I prefer to think of them as benefits, but I don't know how you'd see them yourself.
I nodded, determined. Might as well to be hung for a sheep as a lamb.
❧
When a servant came to fetch Wyta, I was already up and dressed. Wyta, on the other hand, was still in bed. She sat up grumpily, letting the blankets flop down around her, before she slid out of bed. Watching my new wife angrily riffle through a dresser while grumbling in Meledli was a nice treat.
I hadn't ever seen a Meledli woman actually get dressed before, nor do I think anyone ever committed a description to writing. As a base layer, Wyta wore a plain loincloth and a breast band, and under her boots she wore footwraps. Her actual dress was a large and elaborately decorated shawl that she wrapped around herself, and then over her shoulders before tying it in place. Pressed for time, Wyta didn't really bother with her hair or much in the way of jewelry, just a massive necklace and a pair of bracelets.
Needless to say, appearing before the king in his Megaron was more than a little uncomfortable. A throne room of stone, the center hearth fire left the raised wooden ceiling black with soot as Wyta and I were placed in the position directly forward of the throne and king. Around us to both sides were a collection of people, the ones to the door some of the Marines we'd brought with us, and towards the wall the King's men. None of them looked happy, aside from a few of the grunts. Arwi, the translator, was practically chuckling into her husband's ear, while the other officers practiced looking nonchalant. I was alone in a room full of sharks. I didn't get to speak in my own defense, and instead had to deal with Wyta speaking for me. The whole exchange was in Meledli and angry gestures, so I didn't understand anything from the King's side. Wyta's argument was persuasive, though- in that terrifying way a woman has when she holds all the cards and isn't afraid to let the rest of the room know it.
I did understand the look of pity I got from the king after everything was all said and done though.
How Wyta met the Lieutenant
(Week 12)
I'd already had a long day so far, and the woman across from me just insisted on making it longer it seemed. I'd already rode in a boat for two hours, heading up the coast to visit the local king for diplomatic reasons, just so I could install a weather station at the palace. It would've been nice to just ignore her, but the king's daughter was the only reason we got to put this god-damned weather station up in the first place, so we had to play nice.
"Pieske, tlasre coor aes sillion voyes?" She said, as she sat on a stool she'd had one of her servants bring out to the patio we'd decided to mount it in.
"She asked 'what are we putting up now?'" Our translator, a former prostitute with a knack for languages said. The king's daughter had wonderful timing too, since the translator's husband and I were too busy wrestling with a particularly ungainly solar panel mount to think of a good response.
"Arwi, can you tell her that we're putting up something to power the machine." I said as I tried to tighten down some of the bolts on the back of the frame.
After Arwi translated my comment, I just heard an affirmative noise from the King's Daughter, and that's generally how it went for the rest of our time installing the panels.
I kept up the conversation with the king's daughter through Arwi as the day continued. After we finished testing out the weather station, we were treated to a banquet as guests of the king. Thanks to that, I woke up the next morning at five sharp with a painful hangover when my phone went off. It doesn't have a signal out here, but fuck it, it's still useful.
"The fuck is that?" The woman curled up next to me said.
"'S my alarm." I replied, "Just let me turn it off, and you can go back to sleep."
She grunted in affirmation, as I turned the alarm off.
"Wait," I said, as I started to wake up. "Who the fuck are you?"
The woman rolled over passive aggressively. "I'm Wyta, King Aede's daughter you asshole! Do you remember anything about last night?"
"No, not really." I replied. "And how are you speaking English?"
"Magic. I don't gotta explain shit," Wyta said. "Unlike you. I mean, you ruined my favorite dress, and then passed out drunk in my bed. My father is going to be pissed when he wakes up."
"What did I do?"
"Aside from throwing up in my lap? You did nothing Lieutenant."
"Oh thank god- waitaminute, threw up in your lap?"
"Yes. Word of advice, you should probably drink less and chew more. A lot more."
"I'm sorry, there must have been something I'm not used to in the drink. Is anything going to happen?"
"My Father might still want to kill you." Wyta said with a smile. "I could smooth this all over if you apologized for the dress though."
"I'm- well- ah, oh Hell. I was very drunk, and I'll buy you a new dress. Will that help?" I replied quickly.
"Well, you better. What sort of husband doesn't indulge his wife with nice clothes?" She replied, raising an eyebrow. "What is your name, anyway? I can't well go to my father and beg for your life and approval of our love if I'm just calling you Lieutenant, or Bear. That's clearly a nickname, I hope."
"Fine. I'm Lieutenant Joseph Bear of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps." I replied. "Does that make you happy?"
"So, is Bear like a clan name or something?" Wyta continued. "And are like all of your relatives as big as you? Is one of them a bear?"
"No, I- wait, Husband‽"
"You did just pass out in my bed. Everyone is going to think we slept together." She replied with a predatory smile. "And well, you're cute, smart, well-connected if this National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is as big as it sounds, and you're not terrified of me yet, so from where I'm sitting, you're definitely a keeper."
"Oh joy." I replied. "Am I going to have to pay something?"
"You'll have to exchange gifts, but that won't be too big of a deal for you people." She continued, smirking "Now then, we've got time to kill. Do you want to fuck?"
"Wait, what?"
"You, me, tangling the sheets. I just said I was going to marry you, Joseph Bear, and that does include certain duties on your part. Myself, I prefer to think of them as benefits, but I don't know how you'd see them yourself.
I nodded, determined. Might as well to be hung for a sheep as a lamb.
❧
When a servant came to fetch Wyta, I was already up and dressed. Wyta, on the other hand, was still in bed. She sat up grumpily, letting the blankets flop down around her, before she slid out of bed. Watching my new wife angrily riffle through a dresser while grumbling in Meledli was a nice treat.
I hadn't ever seen a Meledli woman actually get dressed before, nor do I think anyone ever committed a description to writing. As a base layer, Wyta wore a plain loincloth and a breast band, and under her boots she wore footwraps. Her actual dress was a large and elaborately decorated shawl that she wrapped around herself, and then over her shoulders before tying it in place. Pressed for time, Wyta didn't really bother with her hair or much in the way of jewelry, just a massive necklace and a pair of bracelets.
Needless to say, appearing before the king in his Megaron was more than a little uncomfortable. A throne room of stone, the center hearth fire left the raised wooden ceiling black with soot as Wyta and I were placed in the position directly forward of the throne and king. Around us to both sides were a collection of people, the ones to the door some of the Marines we'd brought with us, and towards the wall the King's men. None of them looked happy, aside from a few of the grunts. Arwi, the translator, was practically chuckling into her husband's ear, while the other officers practiced looking nonchalant. I was alone in a room full of sharks. I didn't get to speak in my own defense, and instead had to deal with Wyta speaking for me. The whole exchange was in Meledli and angry gestures, so I didn't understand anything from the King's side. Wyta's argument was persuasive, though- in that terrifying way a woman has when she holds all the cards and isn't afraid to let the rest of the room know it.
I did understand the look of pity I got from the king after everything was all said and done though.
Last edited:
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
Not yet, anyway.
... oh hell.
And by keeper, she means prey.
If they're going to bury you in a shallow grave, might as well dig the extra three feet.
I think he realized his daughter just conned the foreigner.
NothingNow
Corpse Wrangler
- Location
- Tampa
Yep. Lieutenant Bear will not be getting promoted this year, that's for sure.
(That said, once word gets out the man will be a legend in the incredibly tiny circle that is NOAA Corps.)
NothingNow
Corpse Wrangler
- Location
- Tampa
Fate/Grand Order Happened. I'll get on it tomorrow when my laptop isn't fucked.