Mykhailo Martinez

Mykhailo, after seeing Wolf, sought out Aurelié and asked bluntly, "So, we have a few hours to kill; want to go around town having a good time? Just the two of us, of course..."

He then gave a slight smile and added, "By the way, thanks for letting me win in that simulated fight."


Aurélie had just been to the galley to fill her thermos with coffee - there was an Italian commis in the kitchen brigade, who had a good hand with a Bialetti and a soft spot for a winsome smile. It pained both of them to abuse fine espresso by tipping it into a thermos, but "c'est la vie in the military".

Aurélie's charm was just another tool in her toolbox, of course, but the good thing about people from civilised cultures was that they understood the game - flirting was part of it, the exchange of gifts material and immaterial, and nothing too serious to come of it. One was here for a little space of time, and then one was not; best to live well while you could. And just as life was too short to tolerate bad wine or bad food, it was also too short to waste on bad relationships. You made each other happy for a while, and then you left while you still desired more - a little unsatisfied, but that gave spice to the waiting, rather than being so replete that you could not face the next good thing that came along.

So when Mykhailo came bouncing up to her, all but wagging his tail, and propositioned her with an approach so blunt he could have used it as a rolling pin, her moue was entirely genuine. "C'est à moi que to parles? Bonjour, s'il vous plaît? Pardon, but our squadron has, how you say, fucked up on this mission, so my idée of a good time for tonight is to take this - " she held up the thermos, " - and put in a few centiliters of cognac, and then to write up my after action reports so that we do not repeat this utter shitshow, n'est-ce pas?"

And with that she snapped around on her heel with the precision and firmness of an airbrake deploying. As she strode away, she left him with a final thought. "And do not mistake mentoring for affection."