Captain Vossef ver Niklös was not bothered by crowds.

As he strode across the dockyards, the crowds melted out of his path.  Between his stern gaze, the confident, almost aggressive arch of his wings, and not least the thick gold braid on his shoulderboards, it was pretty clear that Sef wasn't an individual who could be expected to waste time slowly picking his way around revellers and onlookers.  Sef did not like his time to be wasted in any capacity, in fact.  A lifetime of military service and his own rigid self discipline made for a very punctual individual.

Therefore, he was more than a little bit annoyed to find himself on the edge of being late for his own airship launch. The day had begun smoothly for the most part - wake before dawn, breakfast, kit up in dress blues, say goodbye to Klothilda - until he reached the dockyards.  Then his carefully prepared schedule had been neatly slashed down the middle by a series of minor emergencies involving quartermasters, the port authority, some sort of journalist, the quartermaster again.... Well.  On the bright side, it seemed to be over.  

A thick sheaf of papers held carefully at his side in one clawed hand, Sef approached a small grouping of gentlemen standing near one of the boarding ramps.  Sonne, his senior order agent was there, along with Lord Gearheart and another order representative that Vossef had not been introduced to.  He had nearly reached them when a young woman, dwarfed by her wide metal wings, landed with them in a page-fluttering backwash of wind.  Sef tightened his grip on his papers.  [I]Ah, the Valkyrie.  That explains the other Order man.[/i]

Another man arrived, not an Order man and not know to Sef, grumbling after one of the stevedores.  The captain couldn't really blame him; he had not been particularly pleased with the dockyard staff so far today either.  Working with civilians was not on the list of "Things That Make Vossef ver Niklös Happy and Comfortable."

"Good day Lord, gentlemen, and miss," he said in his resonant voice.  The captain clicked his heels together and bowed formally.  "I am Captain Vossef," he introduced himself.  It wasn't necessary - surely his identity was made clear by his decorated uniform - but formalities were important.  "I believe we have some business to attend to?"