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“It’s a tradition,” Thalia said, “it’s how we welcome new vissies on the morning of a battle.”
I blanched, “Does this happen often?”
“What that we welcome a new vissy or battles?” Saskia asked with more than a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
“Actually, both, usually not on the same day though,” Thalia clanked her cup against mine. “Drink up, sister.”
Sister?
I liked the sound of that. I had always wanted a sister and now I had three. Well more, if we all belonged to the same club, but I hadn’t met the others yet, who had accompanied their husbands on scouting missions with our susserayn.
“I like the sound of that,” I admitted, clanking my cup to the others before drinking it, copying them by emptying it in one swallow, making my esophagus burn.
“By the gods, how much did you put in there, Kyra?” Saskia sputtered.
“I warned you,” Thalia giggled. “My drink is a virgin as my body is obviously not,” she pointed at her swollen baby belly.
For some reason I found her statement hilarious and laughed harder than her little joke deserved, resulting in Kyra and Saskia also laughing harder.
Thalia rolled her eyes. “I’m doubly glad now I didn’t make an exception and let Kyra add spirits to my drink. You three are already drunk.”
“Not quite, but we can change that,” Kyra held up a small bottle which I suspected contained the spirits in question.
“I’m good,” Saskia waved her hand. “I’ll stick to tea, Niara?”
“Me too, please.” I held out my glass while Saskia had already lifted the pitcher with tea.
“I should be the one serving you.” I said a bit sheepish, realizing once again that the women now were my guests too, that I was the Vissy of Oceanus.
“Not today, today we’ll celebrate you,” Kyra said, waving her hand.
“I knew he would eventually come to his senses,” Thalia took both of my hands in hers before she kissed me on both cheeks. “I’m happy we have another sister.”
“Thank you,” I blushed a little, “for being so nice and including me.”
“Nonsense, us humans we need to stick together,” Saskia hugged me awkwardly from behind, while Kyra nudged me, grinning she lifted her cup once again.
“To new friendships and sisterhood.”
This morning had started with a dreadful good-bye to Myles before he left to join his fleet. Once I joined the other vissies though, in the situation room, my spirits had lifted somewhat. It was good to know that I wasn’t alone in this.
Us vissies were sequestered in one corner, after promising we would not interfere or make a scene, to observe our men fight in space.
My stomach turned nervously and whatever Kyra had added to the bromm tea quickly dissolved in my body, leaving not a trace of tipsiness as I stared at the large monitors giving us a 360 view of space around Oceanus.
Some monitors displayed blinking dots, representing the various fleets assembled around our planet. Kyle, who monitored and commanded the battle from the ground, had explained the various dots to us earlier. The red ones represented the Chrymphten, there were so many of them, I thought I would throw up when I first saw them.
But then Kyle had shown us the orange, yellow and green ones representing Wyltham’s, Claymor’s and Duncayn’s fleet as they moved in position behind and left and right of the Chrymphten.
“How come we can see them but the Chrymphten can’t?” Saskia had asked when Kyle pointed them out, taking the question right out of my mouth.
“The Cosmic Coalition gave our fleets new shields, something the Chrymphten can’t pick up.” Kyra explained, while Kyle nodded.
The other fleets, still spread out on the bottom of Oceanus’s sea, didn’t show on our screens yet.
“They will once they reach a certain water level, for now they’re still invisible to all of us,” Kyle had informed us.
Now, after my small welcome party, Kyra, Saskia, Thalia and I stood hand in hand, staring at the screens, waiting for something to happen just like all the other dragoons in the situation room.
