Dead Star Dockyards

Diana stretched her arms above her head as she reclined in her chair, satisfied. Today had been an incredibly productive day on multiple fronts.

Her afternoon had been spent examining a series of legal and social structures and relating them to the information she had on the Nekh, tying the information into an outline for a presentation she had yet to create. The goal was to provide the Nekh leadership with a spread of examples from Terran culture and to hold a referendum to see what they resonated with most. Their vote would partially dictate how she proceeded in the future.

Her morning was spent at the docks, taking inventory of what the Jakobis had brought with them. She felt the need to hide her excitement and interest in goods as a way to avoid embellishment from Pongratz, but she was overall quite satisfied with the haul. There were many things she didn't particularly care about, primarily the assortment of ores, weapons, and tableware, but everything else was enlightening if not outright useful.

The raw foodstuffs, such as fruits and grains, could be used to start farms. They would probably need to be experimented on and analyzed by Arc before they could do anything with them, but they could provide a valuable alternative source of nutrition for the Nekh.

The art, while not particularly useful in and of itself, could be used to feign dignity should foreign dignitaries come. Alternatively, they could be sold to fund some other project of theirs. 

The spices and manufactured goods were probably the most important items to Diana, though the spices were important for fairly selfish culinary reasons. The manufactured items were simply a way to give Arc and Donovan more clues on the exact level of technological progress. The tools and materials used in the process of construction could be determined, as could the techniques.

The prospect of soda being on the menu in the near future was the reason she was so happy though. That would be a real taste of home, something that nobody else could recreate. It was also something she could sell. Provided Arc and Donovan agreed to devoting some of the Pegasus' storage space to a production chain of sort, Diana could commercialize the drink and sell it at an extreme premium. How much could she charge for a sweet bubbly drink? A non-alcoholic one at that? Diana didn't yet know, however she had a friend who would be more than willing to help with the matter.

dok dok

A knock on the door pulled her back to the present. 

"Come in." Diana felt no need to stand up. If it was Cherry or one of the other maids, she could address them from her desk. If it was someone else, courtesy compelled her to sit face to face with them at the table. 

"Um, excuse us."

Diana waited for the pair of women to filter into the room before looking up from her desk. She wasn't focused on anything in particular, Diana just wanted to give them the impression she was busy. She knew what they were here for.

"Take a seat." Diana gave them the time they needed to sit down before standing up and walking over to sit with them. "Do you want me to call for tea?"

"No thank you."

"I am fine for the moment."

"Very well. Might I ask why the two of you are here? I'm not mad or anything, but Donovan and I were planning to leave soon." They had opted not to go straight to Manama's so that they could bring Rize with them. They had only been delayed this long because Arc and Donovan needed to redesign the Pegasus' kitchen, something which was taking a few hours. "Speaking of, would you like to join us for dinner? We are heading over to Manama's to handle the rest of today's business, so I thought we could give the cooks a bit of a break for the day and eat out."

"A-ah, that would be wonderful. Thank you."

"My pleasure. Anyways, back on topic. What do you want to talk about?" Now to see how they would present Titanyana's wish. Would they be straightforward? Would they skirt around the issue? Would they only make vague implications? Diana thought each of those possibilities were equally likely given their personalities.

"C-can I have your word that you won't tell any of this to Donovan?" Any remaining slivers of doubt about the topic vanished with those words. Diana could not think of anything else Titanyana would make efforts to hide from Donovan. 

"Oh? Girl talk it is then. You have my word that I won't tell him anything you don't want him to know, though I may have to inform and advise him of a specific course of action should it be required." Diana covered her bases and concealed the fact she knew about Titanyana's affection. She could use her apparent 'cluelessness' to make herself appear selfless.

"O-of course." Titanyana took a deep breath, her ears beginning to flatten in embarrassment against her will. "I-I am in love with Donovan!"

- - - - -

Diana listened intently to Titanyana and Petunia's explanation and plea, silently taking notes about their biological peculiarities and Titanyana's feelings about Donovan. Titanyana went so far as to present a timeline of her fall, likely as a way to cushion the blow for Diana and justify Titanyana's affection to herself. Diana made sure to jot that down as well, more as a form of record keeping than anything else. 

Once Titanyana had finished with her story, Petunia took over and explained how important the Strappers were to the Nekh, and what options she believed o be available. Based on the way her speech flowed, Diana got the distinct impression that Petunia had left out an option. In all likelihood it was something unbecoming of such a discussion, rape being the most probable. 

Following that, there as a stretch of silence. Diana let it stew in order to think. How should she approach them with the knowledge she had just gained? Diana was firmly on their side in this issue, arguably more enthusiastic for a union between Donovan and Titanyana than the two of them combined, but that didn't mean she could rush ahead with her schemes without, well, a scheme. More than that, Diana wasn't quite sure if Titanyana was ready for a relationship with Donovan, physically or emotionally. She was unstable, childlike and trauma ridden. Donovan could certainly help with those issues, but he couldn't be a crutch.

"Are you aware of the different types of love?" Diana settled on the Socratic approach by way of lecture. She would have Titanyana come to the conclusion that she was not yet ready for a relationship with Donovan with a series of curated questions and explanations. The key being that she wasn't ready yet. 

"N-no?"

"I see. Well, I guess that question is a bit misleading in the first place. There are a few different sets of love that I am familiar with, the '3 true loves', the 'Greek loves', the 'Triangular love theory', the 'Biblical Loves', all of which I think are useful. In your case, I think that the Japanese words for love may be a better way to explain it."

Diana had Arc pull up three different Japanese Kanji on the tablet and their English translation underneath them. Given the fact they all translated to 'love' it was pointless, but Diana had Arc do so anyways.

"Let's start with 'suki'. This 'love' can be used to express a casual love or affection for anything, people, items, food, events, even the weather. It is really more of a general way of saying that you 'love' something. To use it doesn't imply that you are lying about your feelings, but it can be interpreted as not a particular serious type of love. I recall that it was used quite frequently between younger Japanese individuals in order to flirt or ask one another to become a pair, and to express a degree of admiration. Do you understand?"

"Uh, yes. I would say I . . . 'suki' . . . fish? Right?" Diana smiled at Titanyana's attempt at integrating this new word into her vocabulary.

"Mhm, though I should say that English has a decent counterpart for that word in the form of 'like'. Japanese adverbs don't often mesh well with English grammar."

"O-oh."

"The second form of love in Japanese would be 'koi'. Unlike 'suki', 'koi' almost exclusively refers to a relationship between two people. More specifically, 'koi' refers to a romantic form of love. In many ways it is a way of proclaiming the person you are in love with to be your mate. I also believe that this form of love best represents the relationship your people form with each other. The problem with this love is that it isn't forever, and can fade away."

"Hmm."

"This is the type of love I feel, no. This is the type of love I know you hold for Donovan, alongside 'suki' to some degree. Do you also believe this to be the case?"

"Yes." Titanyana neither stuttered nor hesitated in her response.

"Very well. The third form of love is 'ai'. You might call it unconditional or fundamental love. The most common examples I have heard of are the love of a parent for their child, the love of a child for their parent, the love of a leader for their people, and the love of a man for their homeland. This sort of love is rarely formed between people, so much so that you might call it the truest of love. This is also the form of love that I feel Donovan and I share for each other." Diana brought a hand to her chest and closed her eyes. "Titanyana, do you believe that you hold that type of love for Donovan?"

"Y-yes."

"Do you really believe so?" Titanyana's ears and head both drooped. She had probably responded in the way she thought Diana wanted to hear. 

". . . no."

"Then I cannot allow you to pursue a marriage. To do so would be to be a great disservice to both you and Donovan, especially not when his affection for you only extends to 'suki' at the moment."

"I see." Petunia closed her eyes in resignation. "Could we at the very least request that he lay with Titanyana without the commitment of marriage?"

"I wasn't finished." Diana had only paused to let Titanyana think. "Personally, I am quite invested in the relationship between the two of you. I want nothing more than for the two of you to marry and have children, after myself of course. However I will not allow it until both of you wholeheartedly wish for it."

Titanyana was looking at her with upturned eyes, which were beginning to grow wet with tears. 

"Titanyana, I do not mean to degrade your feelings or admonish you for them in any way, but I do not believe that your are mature enough to truly understand what they are or how you actually feel. In my opinion, your current affection is more primal than social, driven by your body and not by your mind. That isn't to say they aren't genuine, I believe they are pure, but they are raw, unrefined, and uncontrolled."

Tears began to flow.

"As much as I want it, I do not know if marriage is truly the proper way to handle your relationship with him. What will you do if he never reciprocates? Would it be better to maintain a sense of distance? I've heard many stories where an unrequited love brought to the forefront only resulted of bitterness. Hell, there have been movies and plays based upon such plots! Do you think that I would risk subject you or Donovan to such a fate? Never!"

Titanyana began to sob a little, and then a little bit more. Diana took this as her sign to stop. She stood up and walked over to Titanyana, sitting next to her and giving her a hug.

"Titanyana, listen, I don't hate you. I'm quite fond of you, actually. I would go so far as to say I 'suki' you, which makes me all the more hesitant to rush a relationship between you and Donovan. I don't want you to end up hurt because you weren't ready for a relationship, or because Donovan couldn't reciprocate your feelings in the way you wanted, especially not after having heard about how your people decide on mates. I cannot possibly imagine how much it would hurt to be rejected or ignored by someone you considered to be your soulmate. I want you to be happy, and I know that won't happen unless Donovan is happy with you as well. Do you understand?"

Diana felt Titanyana nod in her chest.

"Good. I want you to know that I would genuinely love for you to be with Donovan. You are like a sister to me." Diana was starting to tear up herself. "What I need you to do is sort out your feelings. I need you to gain some level of control over them, so that your actions aren't dictated by your infatuation with him. I won't tell you that they can't be a factor, but they should not supersede more pressing concerns. I'm telling you this as someone who understands him, I don't think he could ever find it in his heart to love someone who is controlled by their emotions. That's just the type of person he is. Without the filter of rose tinted glasses, you might find that many of his actions are the what he believes will lead to the most optimal outcomes instead of being done out of a sense of love or compassion.

He is a cold person, someone who does everything in the pursuit of the optimal end. I often find myself wondering if he does certain things for me because he loves me, or if he does it in pursuit of a better outcome. Could he have given me a back massage because it would make me relax, and therefore increase my productivity? Did he stop working at my request because he believed that doing so would make me less likely to interrupt him in the future? Was the kiss I received a way to blunt the blow of some bad news he would say later? Those are all questions I ask myself fully understanding that some of them will have answers I won't like, and they are questions I need you to ask yourself as well.

Titanyana, let me ask you something. Having listened to what I just said, do you believe he was acting out of love when he saved your life at the tournament?"

Diana gave Titanyana a minute or so to think. Diana was asking her to do something pretty uncomfortable after all.

"No."

"What makes you say that?"

"I, um, I think he needed me to stay alive so that he could learn from me. I don't think he did it out of love." Diana could not see Titanyana's face, but she was certain it was expressing an extreme level of emotional pain. 

". . . I think you are wrong." Diana felt the tickle of a suddenly raised ear against her arm. "I think he might have justified it that way, but I am of the mind that he saved you out of some form of love. Perhaps not a romantic love, 'koi', but love nonetheless. What about when he consoled you at the party, the time you came to the realization that you loved him?"

"No. I think he was doing it to cheer me up."

"Once again, I think you are wrong." Diana released Titanyana from her embrace. "Well, not entirely wrong. Part of him definitely wanted to get out of the party for a bit, but I can't imagine he would have pursued you in such a state without some level of concern for you on a personal level."

Titanyana blushed as she remembered that night, her body temperature rising in embarrassment. 

"I will help you, Titanyana. I will give you advice and warnings, and any other help you might need in order to make yourself appealing towards him, but you need to listen to me. Can you do that?"

"Y-yes."

"Excellent. Then let's start your first lesson. Whenever possible, try to get close to him, physically. I'm not telling you to get handsy with anything, respect his personal space and all that, but try to give him the impression that you are okay with being around him. He can't read minds, and he is much less adept at interpreting subtle signs he isn't looking for. Keeping your distance and acting shyly will lead him to believe he should be giving you more space or that you don't like him that much."

"O-okay."

"My next suggestion would be to volunteer yourself when he needs something done and ask any question you might have. Hopefully, this will make you seem more reliable and knowledgeable, qualities he very much considers desirable, and will give you more chances to interact with him. Take those opportunities, endear yourself to him, and build up a proper relationship built on respect, okay?"

"Okay."

"Great. I think that's all. Now, would you like to go to dinner?" The two Nekh women nodded, and the three of them made to leave. "Oh, Titanyana, one more thing. Do not under any circumstances lie to him about things he might consider important. He won't mind if you conceal some of your distastes or vulnerabilities, but he does not take well to key details being concealed because you don't wish to make a failure known. He would much rather you inform him so that the fault can be dealt with swiftly."

"Yes ma'am." Diana watched Titanyana's ears flicker a little bit, and another thought came to mind.

"You know what . . . try to avoid lying to him about anything, if you can help it. He is startlingly good at seeing through bullshit, and I don't want him to think of you as a liar."