BreakfastOfChampions

Renny gracefully picked up some noodles with her chopsticks. Hard to believe the first time she had ever used the things was just a couple of days ago. "You know," she said, "these noodles are tasty, but isn't it a bit much having them for every meal? I'll have to make some toutons for you all tomorrow morning."

Zero nodded once and got up from the table. She came back from the side table and put a large plate in the reach of all of them. "Toutons sounds heavy. Try these black and whites. Made with carrots and syrups. Even better than the ones my Mere used to make. Breakfast cakes."

Zero smiled. She was unable to really stop.

Mukyu took one of the cakes and bit into it without hesitation. This was much different then the morning after breakfast that she had spent with Miles. They had tended to be much lazier and sometimes hungover. Today she felt fresh and invigorated despite last night's alcohol consumption.

"At least toutons sound like something that's not a pudding or fish," Mukyu teased her suitemate.

"They are fried in pork lard, which is an important third category of our food," Renny replied with a wink.

Zero shook her head. It didn't sound good, but by Rao, everything might be worth trying. Her appreciation of foods outside Ka El was growing. Renny took a bite of the black carrot cake, grinned delightedly, and helped herself to a healthy portion.

Mukyu smiled at the fourth woman at the table, asking, "What's normal breakfast fare in the islands, Davonae?"

Davonae poked at the cakes and noodles. "Nothing like this," she laughed as she shifted in her seat causing her robe to fall open. She made no effort to cover the bare skin. "We eat a lot of fruit, and smoked fish for breakfast. Sometimes there is porridge with berries or nuts. The rotundness has chickens and on special occasions we feast on their eggs. Noodles and starches are saved for the evening meal normally."

Mukyu wasn't shy about appraising the islander's lithe form. "His Rotundness?" she asked. "Is that a job or something?"

"How does one qualify for such a title?" Mukyu chuckled. "Not to be culturally insensitive, but if I just stuff myself with toutons, can I get the position?"

Zero tapped the edge of the cake plate, thinking. The only overly stuffed reference she could think of in her world was the Fertile Lady, she was pretty rotund. She raised an eyebrow at Renny. Was Davonae referring back to last night's little chat about children? Zero switched her curiosity to Davonae.

Renny read Zero's look, thought about what had been said, and took a stab at explaining. "If I got the translation right, His Rotundness is quite fat, and Mukyu wanted to know if she could take over for him if she just ate enough toutons to become fat herself." A sudden suspicion hit Renny. "Does Ka El suffer from food shortages?"

Mukyu nodded at Renny's translation for the others. She turned to appraise her beautiful twin and caught herself wondering if Davonae wasn't one as well, a triplet if you will. She remembered Zero's thoughts about family last night. "My home doesn't as much, but that's as much about the smaller population as it is the supplementation of orbital hydroponics," the pilot answered to no one in particular.

Zero looked at each of them and added, "We have no shortage because we fabricate our food unless an individual is interested in hand arts; cooking." She licked her lips, "Which does not mean it tastes better than this." She shared a sudden thought, "I suppose the Door connection may adjust things like smell and taste to work with the world you are entering? If language then also perhaps other survival traits. Hmmmm."

Davonae shook her head and laughed. "You all have an amazing knack for for overthinking things, do you know that." She smiled and took a bite of the carrot cake. "I'm not sure where the title Rotundness came from, but yes, they are all generously over-sized. I supposed​, if I started to over think it, it probably has quite a bit to do with the privilege of the position. His Rotundness is the one that deals with the outsiders and the traders. Therefore, his family access to more and varied types of foods, foods that are not inherent to the culture on the Island. And evidently that kind of stuff can make you fat.

"All that said, I don't know if the world can adjust taste and smell. That just seems so inherent. I suppose it is something we shall have to investigate as we navigate our way through all of this."

Mukyu nodded. The islander was correct in her assessment. If Mukyu had overthought any more when they returned to the Palace, she wouldn't have had such an exhausting night, found herself in this comfortable company, eating and talking about exotic foods, or at such peace with the whole multitude of variables currently outside her control.

She got up and crossed to the other table and collected one of the baskets the servants had provided in response to their vague requests for food this morning. "These look like fruits. This in particular is suspiciously similar to lychee," Mukyu said, hefting a pinkish skinned oval with some protuberances, she tossed one to Davonae and returned herself and the basket to her breakfast table.

When Mukyu did sample the fruit, it emerged that if it wasn't lychee, it was practically indistinguishable from one in taste and texture.

Zero munched along happily and then transferred some noodles to her plate as well. She offered with a smile, "I solemnly swear on my dragon blood to stop overthinking the Infinite Universe to the best of my ability. Pass a taste of the fruit. No, just a bite." She nodded thanks when the nibble was placed in her palm. "So morning's business is the Empress tells us what she hopes this all means... or the Houses get to us first and start to fill our heads with power and riches."

Zero sniffed the fruit. It smelled fabulous. "For my part, I agreed to be an ambassador when I came, so I do not have to join a House to have standing. I'd be surprised if the Empress makes me either. But then, I admit wearing my own gear and negotiating for my own air palace suits me more. What do you all think of joining me in my quaint sky bungalow?"

Zero blushed a bit, "At least to start?"

Renny considered. "I'm hoping to have a proper alliance with the Empire, but..." She laughed. "Overthinking, right. I'm in."

A beat later, Renny added, "Quaint sky bungalow?"

Zero leaned over the table and picked up a plate and bowl. "The Empress may have a traitor or three in the ranks. How did the Dwims break into the Empire when they couldn't for hundreds of years? I bet she wants troubleshooters as much as baby makers." Zero put the bowl down, turned the plate over on top of it. "So we need a ship, faster than a horse, but we need to be able to stand independent of House resources, which could be monitored by traitors. So we use the elements. A big rock, or acre of ground carved out." She touched the bowl. "A fortified house, maybe light armor hidden under bungalow appearance. We have a warrior pilot, an airship captain, a scout, and a stealth sapper who can enter any water supply. So we start with a mobile base, an airship, but one that people can live on, with a small source of fresh water ported in by Door or Elemental connection, and monies from the Treasury to build the bungalow and stock it."

Renny whistled appreciatively.

Mukyu had started nibbling at her bottom lip instead of the food. "A warrior pilot sans mecha or fighter in a world without the technology to create one," she noted, but her tone suggested it was more of an observation than a denial.

Zero added small bits of food as landscape to the plate. "The Empress can make it a personal project, and 'lend it' to us as we check out the various Doors of the Empire, visit Houses for ourselves and see generally what she wants us to inspect with fresh eyes."

Zero looks at her companions. "It doesn't have to move at subsonic speeds, only fast enough that it cannot easily be tracked or chased down by horses. A mobile command post with a light garrison."

Renny's eyes glinted with excitement.

"I don't know how much access to the House of Bells I will be able to negotiate if we flaunt the traditional structures," Mukyu said, deciding the conversation required a devil's advocate.

Davonae grinned, "You certainly have been thinking about this." She munched some fruit and allowed her own mind to get caught in the fantasy. "I suspect, in order to please the inner dragon, that I shall need more than a small supply of water. We need a way to join our elements. Perhaps more of a grand sailboat that uses the power of the air yet moves along the waves. Or perhaps something else entirely. This might actually be something we need to think on, provided of course that we're given any freedom to choose."

Zero nodded at that. "Yes." She sighed and a grin crept across her mouth. "Structure is very important to Imperials, in particular, I am guessing, to keep the peace with the strong social stratification." Zero added, "And yes, I spin these plans all the time. Back home, our war changes so often, we have little time to adjust. It's good to have a couple plans to spare. Here, I just don't know much yet about the critical factors and I'm nervous my ways will not mesh well with the Empress of Countless Centuries of Experience. So I'm honing my focus and eyeing my promise not to overthink---sorta at the same time."

Zero snerked, a sound that came mostly through her nose and certainly meant to be a laugh at herself.

Mukyu enjoyed the sound, mirrored the smile, and shrugged her shoulders. "No over thinking. It could be our not-House motto, if written in some fancy script beneath the coat of arms. Argent, a dirigible volant on a field azure.

Renny grinned at the thought. "Translate it to Latin, it would be perf-- Oh!" -- she interrupted herself -- "If we could figure out how to get the John Lees here, that would make a decent aerial base. Not nearly as fancy as Zero's idea, but a lot cheaper. Though I don't know how we'd get it here, or if a steam engine is enough to satisfy the dragons of water and fire."

​"Steam Engines!" Davonae bolted up right as a smile spread across her entire face. "That's brilliant! I've seen some amazing airships floating high above my Island. And almost the entire great turtle city runs on steam. I've always been fascinated by that. ​​Too bad we can't just go back to my world. No war. No evil races trying to take over. Just lots of water and volcanoes and islands... if nothing else, we need to plan some time away there if things get to be too intense here."​

Mukyu's last bite of fruit paused about half the way to her mouth as the pilot attempted to parse several bits in the sentence, most of them around "great turtle city." Again she shrugged and popped the lychee in her mouth. Sucking the juice from her fingers, she stood again and crossed where she had laid last evening's kimono. "As senior military advisor to the not-House of Found Eggs, I move that Palm Sea be the official vacation destination." A grin spread across her face again, remembering the night before. "And we adopt the native modes of dress while on said vacations."

Picking up the under robe she examined it for a moment, "Perhaps we can negotiate for the sort of magical enchantments they laid upon their ship in a bottle to be applied to the John Lees, as a cheaper compromise than our sky-fortress."

Zero sat up straight with excitement, "Oh now I must hear this. What sort of vehicle enchantment?"

Renny grinned. "They tracked me down in an airship, The Pride of Mela, which had a fair bit of technology not native to my world. Beautiful ship." She lost focus for a second, admiring it again in her head. With a shake of her head she snapped back. "Captain Fulmis, when he had it built to aid in recruiting me, had a magician tie it to to a perfect model of the ship in a bottle, small enough to hold in your hand. He can switch it from one form to the other at will, and so can easily carry it through a Door."

"Lt. Nyana told me that it was easier to do the enchantment when constructing an airship, but it is possible to retrofit it to an existing vehicle like the Lees," Renny finished, a note of longing in her voice.

Davonae's mouth dropped eye and her eyes widened. "It fit in and out of the bottle? That's... well that's... AMAZING!" She shook her head, her face beaming with excitement now. "I have heard of such wonders but I never believed such things could exist. This is such a wonderful life I am being given! So much to see and know. I just feel so... so... blessed!"

Zero seemed to share Davonae's amazement, as she stared at Renny. Her thoughts ran up and down the lists of sciences Ka-El would bring to bear on such a problem and came up empty. Zero swallowed awkwardly, "Such a feat is... incredible. I cannot even process how the mass and energies would be manipulated. No wonder the Empire is considered so dangerous by the Dwimmerlaik."

Mukyu had let herself become distracted and perked up at the last bit. She set aside her plugsuit that she had just unfolded and cocked her head at Zero. "And you don't imagine that mine or your and Vor's technology is just as alien to parts of this Empire?"

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic," the pilot quoted as if an axiom. "Thus I've considered magic a technology that I just don't have the math for... yet."

"If I understood right," Renny said, "there definitely are rules to it. For instance, it's not shrinking the airship, the airship just has another form, which is a small model of the airship in the bottle. The owner can switch between forms. And making the second form a model of the first apparently made the magic easier."

Zero stared at Renny. Right. It's not really folding space and mass, it's teaching space and mass to fold itself. Zero felt that the Infinite Stair definitely had a twisted sense of humor, but she did not let it show on her face, lest her companions think it was a comment about them.

Renny's eyes gleamed with possibilities. "It seems like the enchantment must be pretty hard, else the typical soldier would carry dozens of items like that, no? 'Excuse me while I get out my personal frigate.' 'I switch the feather to a 100' cube of rock over the enemy army.'"

"Let us hope it is a very hard enchantment," Zero said, "and not a lack of effort that our enemies have already mastered. I see I shall have to study basic magic. I hoped to avoid that complication." She paused, then went on, "Honestly, it seems we cannot be effective additions to the Imperial arsenal until they train us. Likely we will be years before seeing useful duties." She did not sound happy about it.

Mukyu had acquired her sword, twisting an unseen portion of the hilt and the guard foldedicated into itself and the blade lengthened and thickened. In a moment the slightly more than a meter long katana was a stout two meter staff. She spun it in dramatic fashion and posed like a holovid action star. "Perhaps we will get credit for things we already know, and thus shorten our terms."

Zero nodded slowly, agreeing with Mukyu; all of them actually. "Yes, I agree. I wonder if my culture does not have the math, as you call it, and sufficient imagination to grasp the possible magic philosophy," and her voice held an undertone of worry. "Or like Davonae, I just need to get past the sense of shock and amazement." She pushed away the internal confusion and sadness of the speculation on how many of her friends would still be alive if they had half these ideas to work with on Ka-El.

"At the risk of sounding like all of you," Davonae teased, "Perhaps place also matters." She thought about her own statement some more then nodded. "It would make sense, wouldn't it? The rules for life on the bottom of the sea are far different then the rules on the mountaintops. Perhaps airships in bottles can happen in some places and not in others.

Renny nodded to Davonae. "Lt. Nyana said there were places where the shape changing magic of the airship would not work. And places where the science of aeronautics would not allow the airship to fly."

Davonae continued, "I suspect that this is all very complicated really. And some of us may have untapped talents towards magic whereas I may be completely hopeless. There are different Houses and Dragons for a reason. We are not all inherently the same even if we look the same outwardly."

... to be continued