Chương 111: Chapter Ninety-Five - Dinner

The dinner started off well enough. Ivil was no gastronomist, but she could appreciate fine taste, and the Emperor... well, his tastes were certainly rich, which had a certain correlation with regards to taste. A butler--not the same as the one who'd led them here--and a trio of maids with trays and cloches slipped into the room. The maids set the trays down nearby and started to move plates before everyone at the table in perfect silence.

"As amuse-bouche, we begin with nebula pearls," the butler said.

"If any of the guests have dietary restrictions or necessities, please rest assured that we would be overjoyed to accommodate."

"Nebula pearls," Aurora said.

"I haven't seen these in some time. They're quite popular, aren't they?"

"I do love the way they pop," Eleanor said with a laugh.

"It's a rather fun food, and they're rather low in calories if you're watching your waist." Ivil perked an eyebrow as the cloche over her plate was removed, revealing a wide, almost flat bowl with a small heap of chilled spheres stacked in its middle next to a drizzle of some sort of savory sauce. A few sprigs of some herb were tossed on top.

"Interesting, I suppose," she said.

"What are these, exactly?" The little spheres were wafting some faint smoke as they made contact with the warmer air of the room. There were several dozen of them, with a larger one in the centre. She recognized that they were a vague recreation of the Jovian system and its many moons.

"They're small balls of gel, frozen to keep their shape," Aurora explained.

"A little complicated to work with, from what I understand, but the gels can be flavoured in all sorts of ways, and they have an interesting texture."

"And they're laid out like the moons of Jupiter," Cecilia replied. Twenty-Six paused, a spoon already in her mouth, as she looked down at her plate which was noticeably missing some balls already.

"I ate Europa," she said. Ivil refrained from laughing--it would only distress her more. The fact that she'd gone and started to eat without leave of the Emperor at the far end of the table only made her love Twenty-Six a little more. The others were all far more... appropriate, which was fine of course, but not nearly as funny.

"Um... very tasty?" Twenty-Six tried. Next to her, Pixie let out a sad little sigh.

"So, thank you for inviting us to this dinner. It's quite kind of you."

"Oh, it's nothing," Eleanor said.

"My hubby never gets out, and I worry sometimes that he doesn't get socialized enough. It's just me and him some days, now that our kids are all grown up. He doesn't have very many peers."

"I wasn't aware that you had several children," Pixie replied.

"I heard that you had some, of course, but the media's always been hush-hush about it."

"By design, yes," Eleanor said.

"We don't want paparazzi sticking their beaks anywhere they don't belong."

"My wife gets annoyed when I clean them out," the Emperor replied. Ivil nodded. She understood. She'd once discovered a journalist trying to sneak into her rooms. Somehow it was even more insulting than discovering an Empress of Mars fanatic trying to do the same.

"I have thirteen children," Eleanor said, and Ivil swallowed Jupiter whole right through her windpipe. Fortunately, breathing and lungs were beneath her, so she didn't make a scene.

"Th-thirteen," Ivil said.

"That's nice," Twenty-Six said.

"I've always wanted to have a big family."

"Thirteen seems a little more than big," Aurora said.

"You think? There's a whole pro-baby thing around Saturn, since the replacement rate is so awful. Don't you have something like that around Phobos?" Twenty-Six asked.

"No, we don't," Aurora said. She leaned back a little from Twenty-Six's enthusiasm. Eleanor laughed.

"I always wanted a big family too, though I'm getting a little old for it."

"There are cores that can help you feel younger," the Emperor said, but it had the tone of someone rehashing a discussion that had happened before.

"That's nice, dear, but if you want a fourteenth baby, you'll carry it yourself," Eleanor said with a cheeky grin. The butler and maids returned and empty plates were swept away. Crystal wineglasses replaced them, and Ivil pretended to listen as a sommelier was brought in to describe their wine course for the evening. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"Do you have soda?" Twenty-Six asked. The sommelier's brow twitched, but they did, in fact, have a fine selection of sodas, canned and bottled and chilled to perfection, to pick from. The next meal arrived and was placed in the centre of the table. A large side of beef, surrounded by vegetables and a ring of prawns.

"Galilean surf and turf," the butler announced.

"Seared Callisto-bred Wagyu beef, paired with Europan prawn along with a side of steamed, locally-grown vegetables from the garden of Miss Celeste."

"Miss Celeste?" Pixie asked.

"One of my younger daughters," Eleanor said.

"She's studying agricultural biology at the University of Gale Crater. We built her a little garden with a sunlight. It's filled with clever little mirrors."

"That's neat," Twenty-Six said.

"Growing stuff on a station is super complicated. Anything to do with water is, but add in dirt and temperature regulation and it becomes a real nightmare. So uh, do we just serve ourselves?" Eleanor smiled kindly, then gestured to one of the maids who stepped up and pulled out a large knife with which to cut out some nice pieces of meat to place on their plates. Once everyone was served, Ivil started to pick at her food and listen in on the conversations around her. It wasn't bad, she supposed.

Eating stuff fresh from the Sappho's microwave was more fun, but she could hardly complain.

"So, Ivil," the Emperor said casually.

"Tell me what Humphrey is up to?" Ivil blinked. Who? But then it struck her. That was the name of the Emperor of Earth, wasn't it?

"I'd forgotten that's what he was called," she said.

"Might I ask who that is?" Pixie asked politely.

"The Emperor of Earth. Personally, I believe having Humphrey as a name explains a lot about him," Ivil said.

"It's an objectively bad name," Twenty-Six said.

"And my name's a number."

"In any case, he's up to no good once more," Ivil said.

"Personally, I think that it's his massive inferiority complex kicking in once more." Cecilia sat up a little.

"I read Miss Sterlingworth's report. Which I thank you for, by the way. The Earth Alliance is going to try to steal our newest core cache. The League of Free Moons can't take that sitting down. We're going to have to reply." She stared across the table, then took a sip from her wine.

"It might mean war."

"I don't think it'll come to that," Ivil said.

"If we're fast enough, we can make it to Uranus and smack the fool down. Just seeing me around might persuade him to be less of an idiot than usual."

"I see. And your own intentions with the cache?" Cecilia asked.

"I beg your pardon, but you also strike me as the sort who'd want to take control of it."

"What's a few thousand cores between friends?" Ivil asked.

"No, you don't need to worry. I don't want the cores, and if I did, then there's nothing you could do about it, whether you knew or not."

"How reassuring," she replied. Aurora cleared her throat.

"I believe Ivil is just putting her cards on the metaphorical table. She obviously has no ill intent with regards to the League. I believe her actions so far put value to her words in the same regard."

"Ah yes, the oh-so-trustworthy genocidal queen of the most powerful warmongering state in the solar system," Cecilia said easily while swirling her cup.

"Very trustworthy. Are you always so fast to put your faith in others, Miss Sterlingworth?"

"I don't know. Perhaps I should reconsider the faith I've had in the League," Aurora shot back. Cecilia and Aurora stared at each other across the table, and the mutual dislike there wasn't hidden.

"Sweetie, don't be mean to a guest," Eleanor said.

"That's rather rude, and we didn't raise you to be that way. Apologize." The current sitting president of the third largest faction in the solar system sat up a little, flushed, then cleared her throat.

"Forgive me, Miss Sterlingworth, that was inappropriate of me."

"I'd rather you apologise to Ivil. She's the one you actually insulted," Aurora replied. She wasn't even trying to hide how smug she felt about the whole thing. How very cheeky. Ivil liked it. It wasn't every day that someone leapt to her defence.

"This, uh, beef is very nice," Pixie said.

"Thank you, dear," Eleanor replied.

"And I do appreciate the change of topic. Is everyone enjoying their meal?" Ivil nodded. Surprisingly, she was.