The first? That was a bit surprising, especially considering the sheer numbers of people who seemed to write 'Captain' as part of their names on a brief inspection of the boards. Surely an admiral would get some attention. But then again, Vlad realized that one could reach a very high rank in name without particular intelligence or skill, the title was just a nice sign of possibilities. As ZEX explained further, Vlad was happy to learn his guess of non-human had also been correct, and...
And... this conversation had an odd flavor to it. Perhaps that was just his species' way. And those bruises on the neck could still just be bruises. And it was still not his business, at all, so he would just continue as usual. After all, he wasn't a prude, about either sexuality or other species. He himself was somewhat trapped between humanity and its natural enemy, though he didn't advertise the fact. And he was a modern man, he'd dealt with a variety of individuals who had alternative tastes, he'd hardly judge, er, that was quite a smile ZEX had, wasn't it?
Managing to hold onto his own smile, although it lost a bit of the leering quality, Vlad leaned back in his seat a bit, hoping it would pass as a movement for comfort and not an effort to back away. "Yes, well, there are so many different sorts here, it's quite exciting for someone like me to have a chance to meet them all, even if it's a pity about the circumstances. A different species and different worlds, so I assume you are from some time or place where travel between worlds is an ease, yes? Space travel, or teleportation, perhaps?"
Teleportation would be more useful, building gates between worlds was what they'd need and something Vlad had done by hand himself, but Vlad had also bought some interests in companies dealing with space exploration and exploitation. Surely not as advanced as whatever the good Admiral here spoke of, of course, but a possible starting point for discussion.
no subject
And... this conversation had an odd flavor to it. Perhaps that was just his species' way. And those bruises on the neck could still just be bruises. And it was still not his business, at all, so he would just continue as usual. After all, he wasn't a prude, about either sexuality or other species. He himself was somewhat trapped between humanity and its natural enemy, though he didn't advertise the fact. And he was a modern man, he'd dealt with a variety of individuals who had alternative tastes, he'd hardly judge, er, that was quite a smile ZEX had, wasn't it?
Managing to hold onto his own smile, although it lost a bit of the leering quality, Vlad leaned back in his seat a bit, hoping it would pass as a movement for comfort and not an effort to back away. "Yes, well, there are so many different sorts here, it's quite exciting for someone like me to have a chance to meet them all, even if it's a pity about the circumstances. A different species and different worlds, so I assume you are from some time or place where travel between worlds is an ease, yes? Space travel, or teleportation, perhaps?"
Teleportation would be more useful, building gates between worlds was what they'd need and something Vlad had done by hand himself, but Vlad had also bought some interests in companies dealing with space exploration and exploitation. Surely not as advanced as whatever the good Admiral here spoke of, of course, but a possible starting point for discussion.