Snubnose

[bluntpencil2001]

Captain Andrew Stuart, Juno's 'commanding officer' and privateer friend got his invite a week previous. He read over it a few times and smiled...

"Captain Andrew Stuart,

You are cordially invited to Miss Mariko Kietan's fifteenth birthday masque, hosted by myself, aboard the Sunderland Research Station in the Newcastle System. It shall be in Suite Twelve, on the main concourse. The date shall be June twelfth, year eight hundred twenty After Sleep.

Please respond very promptly,

Juno Kietan"

He had of course already responded to the young lady, Juno, and set about acquiring a costume for this 'masque'. He loved costume parties and had the perfect idea of what to wear.

Since he had been masquerading as a pirate in Kusari for the past month or two, he didn't see any reason not to do the same for such a party. Of course, he wouldn't dress like the contemporary, blood-thirsty Corsairs or the drug-dealing Outcast Mafia, so he contacted a tailor to fashion himself something of a more historical, but suitably stylish, bent.

He also managed to pick up a fine old sword to complete the outfit...from the Royal Palace on London, he had managed to charmingly convince a certain Princess that it would be a perfect gift for himself, the dashing space-Captain.

Now, all he needed was a gift.

He had plenty of credits after the last haul, so that wasn't an issue, so was left thinking as to what young girls liked to get as gifts.

...There were the obligatory flowers, but something for this lass was important. He had heard Juno mention that she had it tough in her younger years, so maybe something that would soften her current state?

Of course. A puppy. They had 'cute' written all over them, the perfect gift for a kid. Sure, they were expensive, what with travel costs and general rarity, but it would go down a treat. Nothing could beat having a new friend, so Mariko would be over the moon.

He hoped that Mariko and Juno would appreciate the effort he had went to in selecting a suitable gift as well as the costume which he had tailored especially...

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