"There's been an incident," Count Hilunda had said quietly after interrupting the meeting, and the bottom of Plourr's stomach had dropped out. She'd excused herself and ducked out into the hallway with her aide, but Hilunda had tossed a meaningful look at Aurelia and Rher, and Plourr had walked down the hall with him, away from the guards ( Read more... )

War, Plourr decided, was worse when you weren't doing any of the fighting yourself.

Every day, she received a briefing on 'the situation,' and every day, it was worse.

Nental was bad enough; she and Rial spent days there after the fighting ended, appearing, meeting with city leaders, rebuilding. Plourr spent a morning sifting through the rubble ( Read more... )

Plourr was in the middle of an informal audience with the governor of one of the planet's largest provinces when the aide interrupted and murmured in her ear that something had happened. She told him to define 'something,' and he had said the magic word: the Priamsta. She excused herself from the audience and left her office (something the palace ( Read more... )

The guards know better than to say one single word when high heels click outside the apartment door and the princess enters, red-eyed and pale with fury. It would be dangerous enough to say something ordinarily, and her temper has been even more unpredictable than usual for the past day or two. The two of them respectfully avert their eyes as she ( Read more... )

The secure apartments aren't bad, per se. They're just small. Plourr gets an idea of stark white and mismatched furnishings, but everything is blurry by the time she enters through the cordon of security measures and guards in the living area, so she could be wrong ( Read more... )

Resigning her commission is surprisingly easy. A quick conversation with the captain and a handshake and she's gone.
Your faith was strong but you needed proofIt doesn't hurt to leave her X-wing nearly as much as she thought it would. It doesn't hurt at all, not even when she's running her fingers over the hard-earned kill silhouettes that will ( Read more... )

Plourr had been vocally against the official goodbye, informing the cabinet that she didn't want a committee at the spaceport to see her off, no matter how small. She's a strong-willed princess, but she lost this one. Mostly because of the lack of state reception when she had arrivedAnd so there are a princess and a count quietly walking the ( Read more... )

When the X-wing sets down in Eiattu's capital's spaceport this time, it's alone. There's no fanfare; just the lone snubfighter tearing into the atmosphere, slowing at the last moment and settling down softly on repulsorlifts and landing gear. The seal on the canopy pops and the canopy itself lifts, and the pilot takes a deep breath and starts ( Read more... )

After deciding, it's only a few hours before Plourr finds herself striding across the hot duracrete, duffel bag slung over her shoulder and helmet tucked under her arm. The flightsuit is baggy and the same old eye-searing shade of orange, the white flak jacket stifling in the heat, her boots heavy, straps dangling and threatening to tangle her ( Read more... )

Diplomatic receptions are highly necessary, especially for Eiattu. The planet spent years under the yoke of Imperial control, and now its neighbors are cautiously testing the mettle of its new princess and her husband. Plourr knows this ( Read more... )