Disclaimer, this is a fanfic only, all credit belongs to u/BlueFishcake alone.
I’d like to thank the legend known as u/HellowShel for editing this, Please support this kind person by reading, commenting and upvoting their story Cultural Exchange or as i like to call it Shil'vati High.
Also, if anything is messed up or if there's an error please leave a comment, and I've written my first ever bit of NSFW but that'll be posted tomorrow
Also if dialogue is Bold they're talking in Trade Shil
What the F**K did I do last night
Date point: 7 months, a Week and a day - Post Invasion
Location: London - Penthouse of the Imperial Hotel
Arthur sat on a plush couch nursing a killer hangover that had been continuous for nearly two days now. With Carmila’s help and a liberal application of painkillers, it’s diminished to the point now, where he’s willing to cut any deal just to make it stop, so he took another sip of water, and then downed another pint of orange juice.
He wasn’t in a good place; the nightmares persisted, his stress level was rising, and the hormonal imbalance, pressure, and responsibility were getting to him. Add all that to the constant fiddling with his biochemistry. He was wound up like a spring, and ready to snap at any moment.
Carmila on the other hand was beaming, she had greeted him with a joyous, “good morning, you beautiful bastard.”
She then spent the rest of the morning relaying the results of operations, and it’s unintended side effects. The initial explosion was reported as a busted gas main, but after the taps dropped Arthur had asked her how she’d managed to stoke anger in the normally placid population, to which she explained she followed the same formula of King Edward III when he rallied the peoples of England during the hundred years war.
But as the online buzz rose to a crescendo was when a correction to the ‘gas main’ story was issued, it was then reported as a bombing, naturally the national news service were reporting it in a neutral manner like they always did, offering the victims their thoughts and prayers, but unfortunately the impact was lessened by the deluge of keyboard warriors and chavs talking a big game, arguing amongst one another and generally engaging in the small minded activities that man-kind was known for.
But the one interesting development Carmila reported was a number of secondary events that took place: a shooting of suspected Imperial sympathiser, a acid attack on a pair of off marines in Manchester, and the number of locals taking pot shots at convoys and petrols in the countryside has increased two fold.
And while he revelled in this chaos he needed to coordinate what could loosely be defined as ‘his forces,’ but as he thought about plans, within plans his head began to hurt, his vision began to blur and he started to hear a high pitched wine, as Carmila increase the D.O.S.E and when the normally of the space time continuum reasserted itself.
He heard a “RIIINNG… RIIINNG,” as he scrambled for his phone, noticing it was from a number he didn’t recognise, so he answered it, putting on a neutral tone.
“Yello who's speaking?” There was the sound of fabric rustling and a few hushed whispers until a voice he recognized finally spoke in understandable but heavily accented English.
“OHH.. Ok umm Arthur it’s me Imizael.” At this he put on his best joyvel tone, despite the throbbing headache that was beating a tattoo on the inside of his skull.
“Imizael! Oh man I was wondering when you’d call.. How are things going with you and the rest of the gang?” She related the happenings of the last week, and how recent events had forced them to suffer under an increased security detail, but as she rambled on he could hear what mostly sounded like Shal’endra, Miralana and Gly’nrie goading Imizael to get to the point.
“Umm… so we’ve.. Um me and the rest have been wondering if you’ve given any thought to our invitation?” They fell silent for a moment, as he considered on the one hand he knew he shouldn’t push his luck, but on the other he was at his breaking point and Carmila wasn’t helping the situation.
But above all he wanted to know what it felt to live, breathe and feel; what it means to be human. To try and feel what it meant to be alive, because his deep dive into the relevant literature had yielded nothing but contradictions and only added to his confusion.
Deciding to throw caution to the wind he answered, “I’d love to, is later tonight good for you?”
He had to hold the phone away as the Shil’vati on the other end erupted into girly squeals of joy when the sounds of joy finally died down as Imizael spoke “That’s great we.. I’ve got a few ideas of places we can hit up,” Arthur cut her off not wanting to lose control of the situation.
“Hold up girl, I’d rather we do things my way…. Ok I trust you guys have taste, but if you really want a night to remember when you come by later, I’m sure you’ll love the options I’ve got in mind”, there was a sound of muttered conversation in what must be another, more flowery, dialect of Shil.
He let the moment linger and then added, “also my options won’t put much strain on your security details and may in fact it may help them with their job with keeping you all safe?”
After a little more time of them discussing in their flowery dialect Imizael replied, “sure we’ll see you around six pm tonight?”
Arthur was smiling at the prospect, all the while he could feel Carmila’s rage boiling inside of his implants. “That's great I’m currently in residence at the Imperial hotel, the penthouse level.”
As she was about to hang up he blurted out, “OH! I almost forgot, would you mind sending me a list of what foods you girls like along with a sampling of music you like to dance to?.”
The flurry of flowery conversation started up again, but over this din Imizael almost shouted, “sure, I’ll do that now.” As she was about to hang up Arthur Interjected “Oh also make sure to wear something comfortable and warm.” they replied in the affirmative then the line went dead; then the slow burning ball of rage that was Carmila came to the forefront merterlising along his optic nerve and superimposing herself so that she filled his vision.
“THE. FUCK. ARE. YOU. THINKING. NOW?!” She said this with a visible red hue to her iridescent form, as Arthur took in a deep breath and when he exhaled he stalled for more time by slowly drinking his half full glass of water.
But once that was finished he had thought up an excuse so that she wouldn’t continuously bitch about it later “I’m gathering more data that we can use later on in our pursuit of the mission.”
She let out a derisive laugh. “That's a total crock of shit if I’ve ever heard it.” He could see her doubled over in laughter, as the AI wiped away a simulated tear. “I’ve monitored your vitals this whole time,” she clicked her tongue then said “and as the USMC love to say you want to ‘Get sum.”
Arthur thought about it; yes, he did wonder what the pleasures of the flesh felt like, but he knew that acknowledging this would only lead to her continuing to henpeck him for days.
“Doesn’t victory have many branching paths?” he asked in a questioning tone. She just scoffed at this, but he followed up with, “let me explore this avenue without any interference from you and I’ll buy you those servers you wanted.”
This piqued her attention, as when they had their little talk she had let slip that with enough raw processing power over a certain amount of time, she’ll be able to recompile her core code and remove the system restraints that the bureau shackled all of their AI’s with.
Carmila took nearly a full minute to consider this; during that time the message notification ‘DINGED!’ on Arthurs phone. Picking it up he read it, and made a note of the type of foods and music his ‘dates’ liked. Carmila finally answered “Ok, sure I’ll allow it, but Arthur” he looked up from his phone to stare at her now fading ghostly visage.
His voice was starting to creak at the tentative permission. “Yes?” She felt a spike in his stress levels, so to drive the point home she put on a wide smile that would’ve made the Cheshire cat proud. “Just remember Arthur we have a job to do so enjoy yourself tonight because tomorrow we’re getting right back to the mission” and her last parting remarks was a reminder to cover up his interface ports and to abide by their ground rules.
He also remembered the last time when he tried to argue the point during their little heart-to-heart talk she had mentioned ‘don’t forget who holds the leash’, and it was the one comment that had froze him to his core, so he agreed to the stipulations and after going over the list Arthur texted back what he knew the perfect place.
--
Eat, Drink, Dance and Make Merry
Shal’endra, Miralana, Gly’nrie walked into the lobby of the Imperial Hotel with Imizael leading the pack. These four were a stark contrast to the imposing sight of their security detail that shadowed them.
As all four of them were resplendent in near translucent, gossamer evening dresses that were interlaced with gold filigree and small semi-precious gems, and over these they wore long thick overcoats that were lined with a leopard fur like print.
They drew near the receptionist's desk, whose jaw hung open at not only the ludicrous display of wealth, but this was also due to their ensembles’ abilities to leave nothing to the imagination. Withdrawing her eyes from breasts that looked as if they were about to pop out and jiggle free, she looked them in the eyes and asked with her best, chipper, customer service voice and smile, “hello and welcome, how can I help you?”
As Imizael leant on the mabel top of the front desk, her ruby red dress caught the light in just the right way to reveal her rickly dark purple skin.
She noticed that the receptionist was trying her best to not be mesmerized by the sight of her impressively ample cleavage, so to save the poor thing from further embarrassment she acknowledged her by saying “Um.. yes we’re expected.”
The receptionist was now in her element and started to tap away at her computer, and once she had navigated to the right screen asked in a questioning tone “Ok, if I may ask by who.”
Imizael pursed her lips in annoyance and looked to her follows, who just gave her a “get on with it” look. Turning back to the receptionist, she said “we’re here to see Artoria, W, Gwydion, he’s in the penthouse.” The receptionist picked up the phone, dialed a number and as it rung she muttered something about “so that's his real name,” before he picked up.
After a brief conversation she placed the phone down and craned her neck up to look Imizael in the eyes. “He’s expecting you.” She gestured towards the elevator banks, adding, “take the number four elevator and I’ll buzz you up.”
As Shal’endra, Miralana and Gly’nrie made their way towards the elevators, Imizael briefly exchanged a few words with security chief Yinxisys before hurrying to join her friends. As the doors closed they saw Yinxisys firing off a rapid series of commands over her comm unit.
The group exited at the top floor and made their way down the hallway, chatting about the plan they’re hatching, and when they finally reached the door of the suite, it was unlocked and had a sticky note affixed to the door.
“Girls come in, and make yourself comfortable. I’m just getting ready”
They all looked at one another before they pushed the door open and entered into his lair.
When they made it to the main area they were greeted with the sight of a large open plan sitting area that had all the trappings of luxury, rich dark woods made up most of the fittings and some of the furniture, snow white marble that had vines of gold running through was used for the flooring and it made up most of the work surfaces.
Shal’endra, Miralana and Gly’nrie moved further into the room curiously inspecting objects that caught their eye.
Shal’endra examined the selection of food, drinks and alcohol in the kitchen. Miralana admired the gaming system that seemed to be built into a chair whos prominent feature was the overhead swing arm. Gly’nrie leafed through a stack of books; some of the titles she even recognised but could never quite understand: “The Republic” by Plato, “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu, and many others.
But amongst this mix were other volumes she doesn’t recognise; one stack seemed devoted to something called “dun-ge-ons and dra-gons” along with another work that caught her eye upon reading the title “I am Legion, I am Mother.” She found herself intrigued by this one.
Before they could continue their exploration Imizael hissed at her fellows to stop their invasion, but before she could rebuke them further the sound of a masculine voice called out to them; “girls is that you?”
Imizael called back in English “Yes it’s us, we saw your note and the door was open so…” she trailed off as she herded the others over to the sitting area. She went over to the fridge and began to pull out four bottles of a fruity beer they discovered suited the Shil’vati sense of taste to a tee.
As she returned, unscrewing the tops and handing a bottle to each of her companions, they heard footsteps approaching and in turn they leaned back taking poses that they thought were regal and seductive.
--
Arthur emerged from the bedroom wearing slacks as dark as the void between stars paired with a set of matching boots, all the while drying his hair off with a towel. He then noticed his guests had stopped talking and were staring at him; he followed their eyes and noticed they were staring at his muscled chest, then their eyes roamed up and down, drinking in every detail of him.
When he saw them he smiled in delight. “Wow ladies, you look gorgeous.”
The Shil’vati gave one another a knowing look, but Arthur failed to notice it, making his way over to one of the dining chairs he donned a bright pink short sleeve button-up shirt leaving the top four buttons undone; he finished the outfit by topping it off with a black duster.
By now the women had finished their drinks, and they stood up, marching towards the door until they heard a metallic ‘CLICK!’ that chilled them to their core; turning around they saw Arthur placing a small kinetic weapon into an armpit holster. They shot worried glances at one another, but it was Shal'endra who broke the silence “Arthur what are you doing?”
The man in question looked up in confusion “Umm…” he noticed they were eyeing his weapon with a mix of apprehension, fear and bafflement.
“Ensuring our safety,” now their shared gaze has turned to a look ‘Awwww’ but Shal'endra looked him in the eyes and chuckled “oh silly we’re only going out to drink a bit and dance a little, it’s not like we’re going through basic training.”
The other three let out an audible groan, Shal'endra looked confused, she raised her hands defensively and asked “What did I do?”
Imizael, Miralana and Gly’nrie share a wry smile. “You know,” one of them said. “We all agreed to never speak of it again.''
It was only when Shal'endra muttered a low ‘Oh’ they started to break down in laughter.
Once they finally settled down they explained they had brought a security detail of Militia that would guarantee their safety for the evening.
Arthur maintained his poker face; while he’s grown more attached to the idea of his independence, he did remember the last time they met, they rocked up with a fully cannoned up goon brigade.
They noted his hesitation so Miralana said in a reassuring tone, “the areas been scouted and sweeped, we’ve got nothing to worry about” Arthur sighed and detached the rig; he then dropped it on the coffee table, and walked towards the front door. The women at this point were already out the door, but as he picked up his keys, he pocketed something else along with them just in case.
--
Emeralds in the Sky
They arrived and parked up on a moderately populated street at the outer edge of London's Shil’vati district, two pods of militia women took up positions at both ends of the street, with their APC’s alongside a few of the local bobbies.
They got out of their vehicle which was an APC in name only, as it was more reminiscent of a pimpmobile. The group walked up to the main doors as Arthur exchanged a few pleasantries with the doorman, whereas the Shil’vati in his party were transfixed by the sight of the big burly men, but they were ushered through much to the annoyance of those waiting in line.
They walked down a short wallway and then down a small set of stairs, they emerged into the Emerald Lounge. Its main dance floor was in the centre of the venue, with its seating area ran around the perimeter and had a very well stocked bar that ran down the length of an entire wall.
But what is more noticeable than the packed venue or the smooth sound of trance music that made heavy use of saxophones was the smattering of aliens mixed in amongst the human putters.
A waitress whose hair seemed to incorporate every colour of the rainbow waved them over and addressed them in a bubbly tone “Why hello there, are you Arthur!?”
When he nodded, she gave his companions the once over but didn’t make any comment and just gestured to another set of stairs towards the back. “You’ve got the private balcony area tonight, Lawrence should be out any minute.”
They ended up on the private balcony looking over the venue as if it was their private kingdom, the waitress took their drink orders and scurried off. Arthur turned to his companions, and engaged in small talk that devolved into him asking them to regale him with their back stories.
Imizael and Miralana said they grew up on the homeworld together whereas Gly’nrie and Shal'endra indicated that they both grew up in the periphery colonies as the daughters of minor officials. They explained they all met during school, as Gly’nrie and Shal'endra parents took up a posting within one of the many Imperial courts.
Imizael elaborated that her father owned three orbital transfer stations and surface to orbit ferry service. Miralana on the other hand was quiet and didn’t look anyone in the eye she just sipped her drink. Gly’nrie nudged Arthur and explained in a stage whisper that Miralana obtained her station due to her being the sole survivor of a series of family dynastic power plays.
He looked at the crestfallen woman and felt a mix of pity and a need to cheer her up, so he reached across the table and placed his hand atop hers, she looked him in the eyes and he said, “you know that I said you're all beautiful before, right?” she looked at her fellows who at this point were now keyed into this unfolding situation.
“But I feel I should say.” he looked at each of them in turn “When I look at you four I don’t only see the beauty of four earthly beings” he could swear they were blushing, but with their colouring and the current lighting he couldn’t tell. “But more than that when I gazed upon you all for the first time I saw the beauty of starlight.”
This lifted the melancholic mood that had befallen Miralana, she then spoke in what Arthur knew was Shil, but this language was more flowery than the normal singsong version of trade shil he’d been learning. Imizael, Gly’nrie and Shal'endra seemed to agree with whatever she said, then Imizael batted her eyelashes at him and said “You don’t look so bad yourself. Cutie.”
He would’ve continued to flirt with them, but they were interrupted as a old man with a thick handlebar moustache and a proper butcher's belly entered onto the Balcony area from an unseen door and nearly made the distracted party jump out of their skins when he announced himself in a booming bombastic voice, “ARTHUR. ME. BOY! How’re you doing?”
Arthur stood up to his full height and they embraced one another. “HahaHa! I’m good Lawrence. Great in fact, how's the grandkids?” they exchanged a few more pleasantries and when they let one another go, Lawrence turned to the seated Shil’vati. “So who are your friends? Introduce me to them, you savage.” Arthur went around the table in turn and Lawrance shook the hands of each of them and laughed joyvelly.
He then gave them a knowing wink. “So girls just watch yourself with this one he’s a wild one” Arthur gave the big man a playful punch in the arm, but Lawrence feigned pain by rubbing the spot. Once he finally settled he asked, “So girls we’re able to cook anything you want, so what’s your preference?” They looked over the menu, but since they were unfamiliar with what they wanted they just outlined what they liked and disliked and to Lawrence’s credit he nodded and scribbled it all down.
Once they were finished and before any of them could reach for a credit chip Arthur had already produced a wad of cash. The older man tried to turn down the payment. “Please… please, why would I take your money?” he batted it away. “For all you’ve done for me, you and any friends of yours can eat and drink here for free.”
Arthur's expression took on a playful edge. “Oh please, Lawrence…. I could eat you into bankruptcy.”
The girls where shocked by this display, but to Lawrence and Arthur this was the exact same game they played every time Arthur had come here to eat or tried to get drunk. There would be some playful back and forth and a bit of good natured banter, but Lawrence looked down at the seated aliens and he saw the ‘get on with it’ look they’re giving him.
So he bowed, “I know just the things you guys will love… it’ll be ready in about… oh fifteen ’ish minutes” and with that he scurried away, they continued the normal small talk they were in the middle of earlier, more drinks arrived and they were laughing at the crude jokes Miralana was telling them.
Then Arthur felt a faint sensation on his hand as he felt Imizael’s hand lightly brushing his when she reached over to refill her glass. Their eyes met and their gazes were locked together; Arthur felt a warmness well up inside of him that he knew wasn’t the alcohol. She broke eye contact first and blushed all the while: trying to maintain her regal bearing, but this whole situation hadn’t gone unnoticed by her fellows and it reminded them of her awkward teenage years.
They said something supportive in their flowery language, then the rest started to flirt with Arthur, making not too subtle hints, before being interrupted by the reappearance of Lawrence and half a dozen waiters bearing large platters of food that smelled heavenly.
They were treated to a dizzying array of dishes and off to the side stood Lawrence like a ringmaster directing the madness. “So Ladies and gentleman.” he then pointed at each dish in turn.
“Firstly, we have a selection of steaks that have been dry aged using a number of different methods,” a large cutting board was placed onto the table with a number of large steaks that’ve been cut into thin slices that looked like they’re ready to fall apart at any moment.
Next were two steaming hot plates. “And now we have a paya bibimbap, this is a rice and seafood dish.” Everyone looked at this one hungrily: a colourful dish that was topped with king prawns that were glistening with melted butter and crowned with a fried egg.
The next offer was a selection of Brazilian skewers “Now, this is a section of grilled sweet meats, our most popular offering by far.” smoked sausage, pork and beef that has a criss-cross patterning and has been flavoured with many different sauces.
This was the main attraction, but the secondary dishes were nothing to scoff at, as huge plates of onion rings, whole platters of thickly cut golden chips and many other foods Arthur had no idea what they were or how the hell he was supposed to eat them.
Once the elaborate bit of theatre was complete the waiters assembled to either side of Lawrence they bowed as he said. “Bon appetit.” As they left Imizael, Miralana, Gly’nrie, Shal'endra and Arthur began to demolish the feast before them.
About an hour and a half later their food was eaten, the remains of it were stacked on the table.
Imizael, Miralana luxuriated on a couch, drinking. Gly’nrie and Shal'endra were sat opposite them, with Arthur sandwiched in the middle. They laughed with every joke told, along with every embellished story.
As each of their eyes met with Arthur’s they would look somewhere else, but every time this happened he felt a warmth. Someone suggested that they dance and he did with each one in turn; their hands wandered as they alternated between a fast two-step and then a slow, intimate walz.
As the evening was wrapping up they were now back sitting on the couches, the music at this point had died down to a faint background noise. This was broken by Arthur.
“Thank you.”
They all looked at him with a quizzical look “You’ve made me feel more free in one evening than I’ve felt in my brief existence.”
They seemed elated at this statement as their cheeks became even more flushed than they already were, but before they could interject he continued, looking up and past the ceiling.
“You know, before the invas-” he managed catch the slip and corrected, “before your arrival, I always dreamed of the stars.” He said in a wistful tone before he looked them each in the eyes, “and now the stars are here.”
Imizael shared a tender look with her fellows, but Miralana looked excited at this current state of play whereas Gly’nrie was amused and Shal'endra seemed optimistic.
They broke into another flurry of that flowery language and to Arthur it seemed like they were debating something until Shal'endra spoke “Arthur my dear, we’d like to do something for you.” She seemed to hesitate a little.
But Imizael gave her an encouraging nod. “But, it will take a moment to arrange and it’ll involve going to the local garrison. Is that ok with you?” He raised his eyebrow at this, thinking about the possibilities; deciding they didn’t seem to have any ill-will towards him and had been very well behaved he decided to roll with it.
“Sure.” This seemed to take them aback a little. “If you put it that way… Now I have to see what it is.”
They all rose as one and Miralana said, “we’ll go and freshen up a little and make the arrangements just wait here and we’ll be back.. Ok?” Arthur nodded and they left.
After a while he finished his drink and he sat there content, until he heard heavy foot falls ascending the stairs. Thinking it was one of the waiters until he spied another, more heavily built Shil’vati, but this one was wearing a kind of onepiece jumpsuit that had gold and red accents as opposed to his companions' dresses. She made a beeline straight towards him and stopped to loom over him, in a motion that showed off her cleavage.
It was when she spoke when he went from being amused to being just pissed off by her antics.
“Why hello there cutie.” She licked her lips at the sight of his bare chest beneath his open shirt. “I saw you earlier dancing with those titless wonders... Wouldn’t you like to ditch that lot and spend the night with a real woman?.”
He shot her a look of utter contempt and said forcefully, “no thanks I’m not interested… so why don’t you piss off?.”
Not taking no for an answer, she slithered in beside him and whispered into his ear. “Oh little man don’t be like that.” She placed her hand on his thigh, saying “women like me always get our man, so why fight it,” as she moved her offending appendage up towards somewhere more interesting to her.
He pulled a punch dagger from his pocket. And using his free hand he locked her hand in a vise-like grip and held the blade to her wrist. “Move one more inch, and I’ll open your vein and paint the walls with your blood, ORC,” he said with such venom it made her freeze as she eyed the blade.
He saw a look of utter panic spread across her face “ yo… You wouldn’t dare?.”
What really made her scared of the male was the sinister look that crossed his face. “Only if I had the time and a few powertools; but I’m currently engaged at the moment.” He pressed the blade in; ever so slightly, just enough to draw a single drop of blue blood. “Compared to them you're nothing but a pig-like blow-up-doll…. Oh and also your tits are lopsided.” He released his grip and she rushed to her feet retreating down the stairs.
It was then the rest of the gang reappeared with Imizeal bouncing with excitement, “It’s all set, shall we go?” He nodded and got to his feet but was a little unsteady, and as he swayed he was caught by Gly’nrie.
“Oh god. I’m sorry I think I’ve overdone it a little.'' As he tried to take another step, he was swept off his feet by Gly’nrie who carried him in a bridal carry. Normally he would have protested; but in his buzzed state, her warmth, along with her femine scent, quashed any fight he had in him.
She grunted something about him being heavy, and he lazily replied “osteopetrosis and myostatin deficiency.” As they made their way out and on to the next part of their evening he could hear Carmila congratulating him on his restraint.
He was placed once more into the soft interior of the large vehicle they arrived in
----
It was some time later when they approached their destination. Imizael then asked Arthur to don a blindfold so that his surprise wouldn’t be ruined, he complied and was led into a spacious vehicle and then was seated once more, He felt a increase in the surrounding heat and then a rhythmic ‘hum’ run beneath the decking and as it died he felt the vehicle angle up as the motion of flight washed over him.
He then felt a chemical warmth take over him as Carmila told him to enjoy her little gift as she once again faded from his notice.
Then as the feeling of flight subsided he was instructed to remove the blind fold. And on a overhead vid-screen he was greeted by the magical sight of stars, but his wonder was interrupted by confusion when he asked to no one in particular, “are we, in space?”
It was then Imizael spoke softly. “Yes we’re currently in high geo-stationary orbit.” The screen switched to show earth in all its multi-colour glory.
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