The Sculpted Ship

by K. M. O'Brien

  As the work continued over the next few days, there were plenty of opportunities for downtime. Not all the assistants were required during the actual scanning. Some of them were just there in case the Beast needed calibrations or repairs. One of the assistants who wasn't working saw Anailu studying and asked about it. A while later, Naomi, one of the younger women, asked to come up to the bridge.

  “I was wondering if you wanted someone to practice your manners with. I have some experience with it; I have to deal with that stuff back home. You have to promise you won't tell anyone, though. I have six more months here, and it's simpler being just Naomi.”

  Anailu shrugged. “I don't care, I won't tell anyone, but are you sure you want to take the time? I'm only learning about this stuff for a job.”

  “Yeah, I don't mind. I kinda need some practice, myself. Mother commented on my 'execrable manners' last time I went home on holiday.”

  So, they spent some of Naomi's breaks practicing conversations for various scenarios. Naomi also explained to Anailu that she didn't need to worry about little mistakes – polite people shouldn't try to skewer her. If you knew someone was inexperienced, it was more polite to ignore small mistakes and to assist her in covering for any mistakes that couldn't be completely ignored. It was terribly impolite to call someone out for it, and “just the worst” to cause them to make mistakes. Generally, only blatant, intentional rudeness would be noticed or responded to.

  Anailu had seen the whole thing as merely rules for being really, really polite, but Naomi saw it all as a game.

  That surprised Anailu, and that insight changed the way she looked at formal Imperial etiquette. Before, she'd just focused on learning the rules. Now, she was looking at it like other games: what happened if you did this? what about this situation? That helped her start putting it together. Between her coursework and practice with Naomi, she started getting an understanding of the overall way you played the game.

  Naomi was pleased. “With more practice and studying, I think you can master the game as well as anyone who learns it as an adult. You're already pretty reserved, and that helps. It's worth doing well, too. Some of those people are wealthy and powerful. If you can hang with them, they may really help you. 'Every society affair is an opportunity to advance your interests.' Oh, damn. I just quoted my father.”

  “I'll be content if every affair is an opportunity for me to continue getting paid.”

  They laughed. Anailu got the message, though. Spacers respected other spacers more than 'groundlings,' and she'd already felt the difference of being “Captain” around other spacers.

  The weekend meant some downtime, and Anailu was scheduled to spend the weekend in the Lightness, working with Miss Prithers. When she discussed the schedule with Petro, Anailu had mentioned where she was going. At the time, Petro had asked if she would be carrying any cargo that weekend. She told him she wasn't planning to.

  On Friday morning, Petro asked her, “You talked about going to the Lightness for the weekend. Is it possible to leave the Beast aboard when you go?”

  “It's possible, but it will cost me more fuel to haul it all the way to the Lightness and back.”

  “If you'll would allow us to keep the Beast aboard for this weekend, the University will pay for your full fuel costs for your trip to the Lightness. It costs us more to move the Beast back to the lab. We'll have to recalibrate it, of course, and we'll break some delicate components as well. I'd prefer that the Beast make it all the way through the next week before needing a full rebuild. We'll have plenty of time for one then, while you are busy with your other charter.

  “There is one other thing: if you agree to take the Beast, you have to take along me and three assistants, so we can keep an eye on it. The professor would be worried if the Beast was out wandering without us.”

  “Are you doing this to be efficient, or is it a plot to get a free weekend to spend on the Lightness beaches?”

  Petro smiled. “Well, maybe both – but it really will save us time and work.”

  “Fine, it's no problem.”

  “Thanks, but, ah...do me a favor – if you talk to Dr. Untsala, don't mention the beaches.”

  Chapter 12: Tea with Friends

  That evening, Anailu flew to the Lightness with Petro and his chosen assistants, including Naomi.

  They slept in staterooms, but Anailu didn't see much of them, although she knew at least one of them was aboard ship all the time.

  In the morning, she reported to Miss Prithers for instruction and examination. She said Anailu had made good progress. One of Miss Prithers' special resources was bots programmed to practice etiquette. Miss Prithers had Anailu play the hostess of a small tea with the bots, while she stepped out of the room for a few minutes. When Anailu finished, Miss Prithers returned and checked the results. Upon finding that Anailu had successfully navigated the tea, Miss Prithers said the next step was for Anailu to host an actual tea with several friends or acquaintances. It would be a test, so the guest list would also include Miss Prithers.

  Since Anailu had to be ready for the safari, Miss Prithers agreed to speed up her usual schedule of instruction. The informal “cup of tea” would be held aboard her ship the next day. Miss Prithers had already spoken to Mrs. Torrell, and Chef Cabirla was available to provide food and the rest of the tea service, while Mrs. Torrell's butler would be available to serve in his professional capacity. Anailu wasn't sure about the whole thing. The only people she knew were Miss Prithers; the Torrells and some of the people who worked for them; and the people from the University. At least Miss Prithers had suggested limiting the invitations to a small number. Obviously, Miss Prithers was one. Since Mrs. Torrell was already involved, she might as well be the second guest.

  Then Anailu had an inspiration. She could have those two to tea for the purpose of meeting Naomi. First, it was only fair since she wouldn't have learned so quickly without Naomi's help. Second, inviting someone they didn't know might distract them, so they might not notice if she made mistakes.

  Brilliant!

  First, Anailu called Naomi to ask her if she was willing. Naomi asked, “This is what I get for helping you? You're cutting into my beach time.”

  “Well, if you don't want to, don't worry about it.”

  Naomi laughed. “I'm kidding! I don't mind meeting two ladies for tea.”

  Anailu created both invitations under the eye of Miss Prithers, reading, “Do come in for a cup of tea on Sunday and to meet Miss Weatherby.” Anailu could have given the invitations personally, but as a learning opportunity, Miss Prithers had one of her bots act as Anailu's servant to take the invitations and deliver them. It was strange watching Miss Prithers receive her invitation, since her bot went out of Miss Prithers' house, then came back to her door and gave the invitation to her butler. Then the bot went on its way to deliver the other invitation to Mrs. Torrell.

  Even though this wouldn't be formal, Anailu still had to wear more than a shipsuit, even if hers was a nice one. Angela had suggested that Anailu have something nicer than a shipsuit but also not a uniform, and had pressed her to accept several designs. Though the most important people wore unique designs, there were perfectly good designs that were either inexpensive or even free. Angela had picked out designs that she thought would look good on Anailu. Up until now, those designs had just sat on Anailu's comm, but now she picked a business suit design and transferred it to the ship's laundry. She chose a color and it gave her a list of required materials, which she had to order from a local textile store. The delivery only took an hour to arrive. She loaded the materials into the laundry and set it to work.

  On Sunday afternoon, Anailu was wearing her new dark suit. The butler, Mr. Adams, arrived first, to set things up. He didn't have to do very much, since the lounge furniture could reconfigure itself. Anailu was a little surprised to discover the lounge could be set up as a drawing room set up for tea. She hadn't really investigated the lounge's capabilities.

  Next
to arrive was one of Chef Cabirla's staff, pushing a cart containing all the food-related requirements for the tea, including the tea itself. He immediately went to the galley to begin preparing the tea tray. A little later, Chef Cabirla himself arrived, and asked Anailu if she wished to examine the tea-tray with him. He explained that normally, the hostess should be able to trust that everything will be right, but this tray was being assembled by an apprentice. Also, it would be good for her to preview the tray. As the host, she needed to be familiar with its layout. The Chef gave her a guided tour of “her” tea tray. It looked fine to Anailu, but when she left the galley, the Chef stayed behind to make some corrections.

  Finally, it was tea-time, and the tea tray was delivered. Anailu positioned herself to wait in the lounge, now a drawing room. First, Naomi arrived, fresh from her cabin on the deck below. Anailu was amazed. It was a different Naomi. Normally, Naomi was fun and casually dressed, but this Naomi was more seriously attired in a dress-suit. Somehow, Naomi had changed to look very put together and very expensive. Just as Anailu had gotten up to greet Naomi, Miss Prithers arrived with Mrs. Torrell, both escorted from the entry by Mr. Adams. Anailu introduced each of them to “Miss Weatherby.”

  They sat down to tea. Anailu was freaking out while trying to avoid appearing to freak out. She knew it shouldn't be horrible; after all, it was just four people being nice to each other. But the thought that a job depended on it kept butterflies in her stomach. The good news was that both Mrs. Torrell and Miss Prithers were quite interested in talking to Miss Weatherby, so at least that part of her plan worked out. She'd seen Naomi take on a careful attitude and diction when she was teaching some things to Anailu, but now Naomi switched it on full time. Naomi wasn't acting completely different, just more controlled. She seemed to be having a good time. Anailu wondered if that was for real or just more politeness.

  Anailu survived to the end of the tea, and decided it hadn't been the worst experience in her life. The guests left (Naomi went back to her room), the tea tray was cleaned up, the lounge was reset, and Anailu got a call from Miss Prithers. She informed Anailu that she had passed the test. Her biggest concern was that as hostess, Anailu could have taken a more active role in the conversation. But that wasn't a serious issue, since her guests were talking so much that in this case, it hadn't been necessary.

  Miss Prithers informed her that the final test would be an actual formal meal, in her dress uniform, the next Friday evening. Some of Miss Prithers' other students would attend as well. For them, it was a test, as well. Mr. Torrell and Mrs. Torrell would be hosting.

  Anailu was concerned that it had been almost a week since she'd met Dodato, and he still hadn't contacted her about the uniform. Before they ended the conversation, she shared her concern with Miss Prithers. Miss Prithers explained that the delay meant that Dodato was putting extra effort into her commission. Miss Prithers had every confidence that Dodato would ready her uniform in time.

  Then Miss Prithers explained further. “The less polite version, my dear, is that I shall shortly contact Mr. Torrell. He will then contact his friend Mr. Tombes. Mr. Tombes will, if necessary, put a boot up Mr. Dodato's artistic-genius ass. I have no doubt he is putting great effort into your commission, but while all true artists heed the call of Art, they sometimes need a reminder of the limits of Time.”

  Chapter 13: A Good Plan

  Whatever Miss Prithers had done seemed to work. On Monday morning, she had a message from Dodato requesting her presence in his studio on Wednesday at noon, to view his latest work.

  She also got an update that morning from the medical equipment specialists. She could come in any time that week to have her medbay equipment reinstalled. It would take several hours for installation and final certification. The final cost was more than she'd hoped, but not as much as she'd feared.

  Finally, she could plan for the week. Monday and Tuesday would be regular Beast days. On Wednesday, she would offer to work the morning as normal, but they'd return at lunch time so she could go to her appointment with Dodato. She realized she didn't know how long that would take, but really, how long could it take? Maybe Naomi would know. Anyway, once she had the bill for Dodato, she could then make a decision on the comm suite.

  Thursday could also be a Beast day. They would have to unload the Beast at the end of that day. Friday would be dedicated to getting the medbay equipment installed and buying the comm suite. She'd fly to the Lightness on Friday evening for the formal meal / final exam. She'd have Saturday and Sunday to install the comm suite herself, probably while parked at the Torrells'. Then Monday would be the start of the safari.

  The contract with the University exempted her from making up any time required to prepare for the Torrells' contract, even if that was time spent with a fashion designer. Petro was her day-to-day contact for the university, and when she told him, he was OK with the truncated schedule for the week.

  Naomi was impressed when Anailu mentioned Dodato. Naomi told her that the meeting with the designer should take an hour or two, though some women chose to make it a whole party with their friends to see the unveiling, especially if they had commissioned several ensembles. Anailu definitely didn't want that, but she eventually picked up the hint that Naomi wanted to be invited along. Naomi was more excited than Anailu about the whole affair. She said it would be “great fun.” Anailu didn't say anything, but she couldn't see how it would be fun. It was just clothes.

  Chapter 14: Sacrificing for Art

  On Wednesday at noon, Anailu, dressed in her suit, met Naomi, ready to go to her appointment at Tombes & Tollas.

  Naomi goggled at Anailu's rental vehicle, “We're going to visit a couture fashion designer in a cargo van?”

  “Why not? It's cheaper than a car, and if I can buy my comm system today, I'll need the cargo space.”

  Naomi shook her head resignedly. “Oh, Ana.”

  They arrived at the appointed time, and were ushered into Dodato's salon. This time, a large, decorative, folding screen had been placed on the far side of the holotable. Dodato welcomed them. This time he was quite excited. He ushered them to seats by the holo, then proceeded to talk about Art and the Search for Beauty. He also made some comment about Genius going Unappreciated, but Anailu was only half listening.

  When will he show us the damn uniform?

  Finally, he reached the climax of his speech, and pulled aside the screen to reveal his creation. At the same moment, the holo came alive with an animated view of Anailu wearing the same creation of feathers.

  White feathers.

  It was a cloak of feathers totally wrapped around a mannequin, shiny white feathers from the shoulders to the waist, then interspersed into more natural looking white feathers, falling all the way to the ground. Only the head of the mannequin was visible.

  Naomi applauded, and Dodato kept talking, but Anailu wasn't listening at all. She looked back and forth between the clothes on the mannequin and the holographic version of herself wearing them.

  What the hell is this crap?

  It doesn't matter what it is, it's not a uniform.

  Anailu started getting angry.

  Then Dodato touched something on the neck of the cloak. The cloak fell away, again synchronized with the holo, and it was worse.

  Under the white feather cloak was another outfit with more feathers, but these were crystal and silver. It was a jumpsuit, sort of, but that was the only resemblance to a proper ship captain's uniform. It was form-fitting, all tiny crystalline feathers on the torso and high collar, lengthening to silver feathers, then to very long silver feathers that wrapped around the arms and legs along their full lengths. There were also wing-like attachments, standing out from the back about the length of a forearm, running down attached to the back, narrowing until they ended at knees, just before the tops of the high heeled, feathered boots. Other feathers dropped straight down in the front and back of the waist, long enough to make a short skirt in front, and a floor dragging train in back. A
nailu, in shock, realized that Dodato's holo version of herself had long, knee-length silvery hair.

  No, No, No, No, NO!

  Now she was completely angry.

  Dodato asked, “What do you think of my masterpiece?”

  That was it. Anailu shot up out of her chair, shouted in his face, “It's CRAP!” and stormed out of the salon. She barely heard Naomi say something about Anailu just being surprised and asking for a minute.

  Naomi came running after her and passed her just inside the front doors. “Wait!” Naomi interposed herself between Anailu and the exit. “Stop! What are you doing?”

  “I'm not wearing that – that thing!”

  “What's wrong? It's beautiful, it's amazing! You could go to a party at the Imperial Palace wearing that!”

  “I'm not going to the Imperial Palace. I just want something reasonable and practical that lets me do my job, here on Doran! And I won't wear that shiny garbage, ever!”

  “Ana, there are high-class women who are ship captains in the Core Worlds, you know. They'd love something like that.”

  “I'm a ship captain here, on the Rim, and if I am seen wearing that, I'll be laughed out of the port.”

  “Be practical! If you don't have a dress uniform, you won't be able to do your job here, and there's no other designer of Dodato's quality on Doran. If you had more time, you might go to another world, but you need it by Friday.”