Mykal woke with a start, the strange room pulling him from the depths of sleep faster than usual. Reflexively he checked the time on his internal clock. Wincing at the fact he was waking up at ten in the morning, he swung his legs around and set them on the floor; the soft feel of carpet startling him a bit.
"So this is how the other half lives." he mumbled as he made his way to the bathroom. His eyes widened again at how lush and well appointed his bathroom was. "Okay, this has to be better than even the other half." he muttered remembering his protests the night before that the quarters were far too extravagant. Feeling silly about how overly posh the rooms in his suite were, he went about his morning routine. Walking back to his bedroom and looked around, still floored by the extravagance.
Finding the door that led to the very oversized walk-in closet, Mykal began to dress in his normal duty uniform, only to find that his uniform tunics and pants were not anywhere in the closet. He did notice, however; that there were a number of outfits that he had never owned in his life, hanging next to his various uniforms.
Walking out of his closet, he looked around the room to see if there was another closet that may have held the rest of his uniform, but found nothing. "They didn't even give me a desk. Where am I supposed to do my work?" he said out loud as he walked to the door to his sitting room. The room was without a doubt the most extravagant that he had ever seen, let alone lived in. Various chairs, couches and recliners dotted the room forming small groups for conversing or relaxing separate from the rest of the room. In the center was situated a rough pentagon, formed from two large couches, half a dozen easy chairs, and a few love seats. A large triangle shaped coffee table sat in the middle, a hologram display cycling through various 'mech chassis in the center of the table.
The entire room was decorated in darker colors, highlighted by the forest green and gold of the 'Mech pilot corps. Yet even in a room as large as it was, there was nothing overstated or repetitive. Wandering around the room, Mykal saw the large double door that he assumed would lead to the outside corridor, and a smaller door to the right of the one for his bedroom. Walking up to the door, the security system chirped the sound of a restricted area; requesting access information. Out of habit, Mykal spouted his access code. "Hades alpha five five tango omega." As he trailed off, the door chimed and opened. Walking in, the computer put in its two cents. "Welcome back to your office, Captain McDaniel. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Looking around the well appointed office, Mykal was caught a bit off guard as he walked a few steps into the room. "This is my office?"
"That is correct, Captain; this office and in fact the entire suite, is assigned to you for the duration of the trip." came the digital reply from the computer.
"Trip? Where are we headed?" Mykal asked the computer, still perusing his office.
"That information is temporarily locked by request of the royal house. There is a note to inquire with the royal family were you to ask that question."
Gears turning in his head, he looked at the computer screen on his desk, currently displaying the seal of the Royal Lance. "Computer, who has unrestricted access to the knowledge of our destination?"
"King Hans Davidov, Queen Elaine Davidov, Crown Prince Jason Davidov, Fleet Captain Rimaldi and Chief Navigator Nomoro; though it should be noted that Chief Navigator Nomoro has since been locked out of the system and cannot make changes or access location logs or data."
"Do I have access to Nomoro's personnel file?" Mykal asked the computer as he opened and closed various drawers on his desk, seeing how it was laid out.
"Yes Commander, you do. You have access to all personnel files." Mykal nodded slightly, remembering his brief conversation with Tobias earlier that morning.
"I want copies of Nomoro and Fleet Captain Rimaldi's personnel files as well as a record of all transmissions made by both parties, as well as any made by Colonel Barovos." He said as he strode to the door of the study.
"Data compilation will take approximately one hour, Commander." Nodding to himself, Mykal was about to walk out the door when the computer chimed in again. "Would you like this information downloaded directly or placed on a tablet, Commander?"
Stopping in his tracks, Mykal looked up at the ceiling briefly. "What do you mean 'downloaded directly'?"
"You currently have data access for direct download into your cerebral implant." Shaking his head slightly with a soft chuckle, he responded.
"Do a direct download. Probably the most secure method." A chirp came from the computer, acknowledging his request. "Computer, do you know where my tunics are located?" he asked, just on the off chance.
"Your uniform tunics are located both in your bedroom closet and in the sitting room coat closet."
Walking out of the room, Mykal scanned the walls of the room, looking for a door that he must have missed in his first look around. To the left of the main entrance was a small section of wall that looked just slightly out of place for the rest of the room, even without the small piece of paper adhered to it.
Walking up to the unobtrusive closet, Mykal pulled the note off the wall and read it.
'Daddy said that your uniform needed to be corrected, especially after yesterday. There are some things that need to be filled in, but I'm sure that it will be taken care of later. Don't forget; you promised me a talk. B'
A blush rose up his neck as he remembered what she had done just before he had been lead to his room. Not to mention what he had done in response. Pulling out one of the tunics and putting it on, he thought about everything had happened yesterday. The promotion given to him from the king was probably the easiest to take; as it seemed somewhat normal in comparison to the rest of the day.
Mykal shook his head as he walked back to his room; remembering that the king had told everyone that his own son had betrayed the kingdom in a bid for power. As he straightened his tunic he took in the new insignias and markings showing his change in command. The corners of his mouth twitched up as he thought about how he had railroaded Barovos into admitting his guilt. The smile that was there vanished immediately as he thought about what he had done to the sniveling rich boy. He had been trained in the use of a saber since he was a small boy just arriving at the academy, even competing in a number of tournaments and even a few non-lethal duels. Having never considered himself great, he did tend to win more than he lost; though not by much. The speed at which he had moved was about as surprising to him as it was to everyone else in the room. He had seen the movement to pull the gun and he had reacted instinctively. He had never done something so destructive to a human in such close quarters.
Mykal shook himself and looked into his own eyes in the mirror. Could he have taken Trenton's life, if that was what it would have taken to stop him? Elaine had said that he couldn't help it. He believed that he would be able to do what it would take to keep the royal family alive. "Even if it means taking the life of another human being." Mykal sighed as he finished buttoning up his tunic. Picking up the saber from on top of his dresser, he noticed that the sheath that he had originally had on the sword had been replaced with an even dressier version that had the insignia of the Royal Lance engraved on the throat.
"And Elaine says that I can't help myself. They just can't stop giving me things." he said to himself with a smile as he belted on the sword. "Computer, what is the status of those files I requested?"
"Approximately twenty percent complete, Sir."
"Inform me when they are completed." The chirp from the computer confirmed his request.
Walking out of his quarters, Mykal looked up and down the hallway getting his bearings and trying his hardest not to look lost coming out of his own quarters. He had been so tired when he left the king's study that he barely remembered following Tobias to his room; let alone what route they had taken.
Don't lie to yourself
;
you were too busy thinking about her,
his conscience told him. He felt a flush rise up his neck as if he had been caught outright as opposed to in his head. Digging in his head for the correct path, he felt the small tingle in the back of his head that indicated that his hardware was working, when suddenly he had a full schematic of the ship unloading itself from the micro computer in his brain. Reflexively, he began to manipulate the schematic to allow him to focus on the area of the ship he was in; conveniently highlighted by a small green dot.
Another thing to ask Brigit and Jason about,
Mykal mentally noted.
Following his mental map, Mykal made his way to the king's study, remembering that Hans had asked him to come by after waking. Pushing the chime button, he waited until the doors opened before entering.
Looking up, the king smiled slightly, "Good morning Mykal. It is still morning; isn't it?" Mykal chuckled at the stacks of tablets on the king's desk.
"Yes, Sir, it is if only just barely." Taking a seat where the king pointed vaguely. "Have you eaten yet, Sir?"
"Hmph. I have a wife Mykal; I don't need another one." the king retorted with a raised eyebrow. "However; no, I have not eaten yet today."
Mykal shrugged and replied with a straight face, "Just doing my job, Sir; keeping you safe includes making sure you don't pass out from hunger."
As he spoke, the door chime chirped and the king barked an order to enter. One of the royal servants entered carrying a large covered tray. "Her Majesty felt that it was time that you eat, your Majesty and instructed me to bring food for both you and the Captain."
Both men's eyes widened. "Sometimes that woman frightens me Mykal."
The young Captain nodded. "She scares me more than sometimes, Sir."
The servant set out plates holding hearty looking sandwiches and drinks. Bowing to the king first, and then slightly less to Mykal, she turned and left the room silently. Her action completely caught him off guard and he nearly choked on his drink. "Um, sir, why did she bow to me? Am I missing something?"
Hans chuckled, "For once I think you may have." He turned and sorted through the pads next to him; finally handing one to Mykal. Digging into the sandwich in front of him, Hans watched Mykal as the young man read over the information in front of him.
As he read over the information in front of him, Mykal's eyebrows seemed to try to climb into his hair line. "I can't be reading this right. The Commander of the House Lance isn't a military rank?"
"No; you're reading it correctly. You are no longer attached the military, directly. You are technically attached to the Royal household."
