When the briefing adjourned, Alexei was probably one of the first to leave. Still holding his helmet under his arm, he stopped near the door and waited for one of the pilots who raised issue against going to the bar. He was interested in socialising with a kinsman, if anything; sure Alexei's family had lost reason to speak their lost language over time since they first emigrated to the country-- Spare small phrases for fun and others mantras of honour. But they kept their accent, albeit faint, and Alexei could detect it in the voice of the pilot who commented on intoxication doing little beneficial for combat ability. At least, Alexei wanted to believe he detected an accent.
When he saw the pilot come along, he walked alongside him with a light smile.
"Parlez vous Francais?" He began, with an ironic fluent confidence. "Forgive me if I'm mistaken; I thought I heard a hint of a familiar accent in your voice. I am Alexei d'Vexille, of the Southshell Alliance." He introduced himself politely. He hoped he wasn't being too presumptuous, but on the other hand, this acquaintance wasn't be all or end all. Alexei's time fighting alongside the Havenites over the last few years have given him the impression of a ragtag band of all sorts, so there was bound to be someone he could joke with over at the coffeehouse, if not the maybe-kinsman.
When they arrived at the coffeehouse, the barista greeted them and pleasantly introduced himself as Joey Glory. One of the first of his customers out of Alexei's comrades was a young lady who introduced herself as Chelsea Steiner. Sure enough, Alexei definitely recognised her from the briefing as the girl who first expressed her vote for the coffeehouse, but he also recalled her from elsewhere. He ventured forward with his maybe-kinsman if he decided to follow, and approached Chelsea.
"Might I could ask you something, Ms. Steiner?" He began. "Ah, pardon my rudeness, my name is Alexei d'Vexille. I was wondering if you were a mechanic pilot during the Battle of the Blue Mountains, a little while ago?" He wondered. I just thought I recognised you, but then again, I fought alongside a lot of the Havenites from Sydney." He added, hoping his intuition was providing generously another opportunity to socialise with his comrades.
He turned to the barista when he was free for a moment. "May I please have a coffee as well, a medium mocha with honey please?" Alexei didn't know what to expect at this point. 'Honey', these days, was mostly artificially synthesized, unless you were one of the fortunate Independant city-states to have one of the new strains of surviving bees. Most conventional bees perished without an abundance of greenery, and even back before 2077, Alexei remembered learning that bees were at risk of going extinct because of humanity's carelessness. Alexei's hometown was lucky enough to have a resident beekeeping family; going strong since 2007, in fact. A whole five centuries and seven decades of tradition, older than Alexei's family of 'defenders of virtue'.
In any case, he didn't necessarily expect Joey to have the 'premium' stuff.
One of their other comrades was a lot more open than Alexei, apologizing openly and introducing herself to everyone as Encarnación Mariano. The accent highlighted her heritage, if not for her looks and uniform. Alexei only recognised her as a leader of the Spanish Battalion that fled Paragon-led Europe. However, he did not have anything to strike a conversation with her, so he just stayed around Ms Steiner for the moment.
When he saw the pilot come along, he walked alongside him with a light smile.
"Parlez vous Francais?" He began, with an ironic fluent confidence. "Forgive me if I'm mistaken; I thought I heard a hint of a familiar accent in your voice. I am Alexei d'Vexille, of the Southshell Alliance." He introduced himself politely. He hoped he wasn't being too presumptuous, but on the other hand, this acquaintance wasn't be all or end all. Alexei's time fighting alongside the Havenites over the last few years have given him the impression of a ragtag band of all sorts, so there was bound to be someone he could joke with over at the coffeehouse, if not the maybe-kinsman.
When they arrived at the coffeehouse, the barista greeted them and pleasantly introduced himself as Joey Glory. One of the first of his customers out of Alexei's comrades was a young lady who introduced herself as Chelsea Steiner. Sure enough, Alexei definitely recognised her from the briefing as the girl who first expressed her vote for the coffeehouse, but he also recalled her from elsewhere. He ventured forward with his maybe-kinsman if he decided to follow, and approached Chelsea.
"Might I could ask you something, Ms. Steiner?" He began. "Ah, pardon my rudeness, my name is Alexei d'Vexille. I was wondering if you were a mechanic pilot during the Battle of the Blue Mountains, a little while ago?" He wondered. I just thought I recognised you, but then again, I fought alongside a lot of the Havenites from Sydney." He added, hoping his intuition was providing generously another opportunity to socialise with his comrades.
He turned to the barista when he was free for a moment. "May I please have a coffee as well, a medium mocha with honey please?" Alexei didn't know what to expect at this point. 'Honey', these days, was mostly artificially synthesized, unless you were one of the fortunate Independant city-states to have one of the new strains of surviving bees. Most conventional bees perished without an abundance of greenery, and even back before 2077, Alexei remembered learning that bees were at risk of going extinct because of humanity's carelessness. Alexei's hometown was lucky enough to have a resident beekeeping family; going strong since 2007, in fact. A whole five centuries and seven decades of tradition, older than Alexei's family of 'defenders of virtue'.
In any case, he didn't necessarily expect Joey to have the 'premium' stuff.
One of their other comrades was a lot more open than Alexei, apologizing openly and introducing herself to everyone as Encarnación Mariano. The accent highlighted her heritage, if not for her looks and uniform. Alexei only recognised her as a leader of the Spanish Battalion that fled Paragon-led Europe. However, he did not have anything to strike a conversation with her, so he just stayed around Ms Steiner for the moment.