Ishiyo arrived at the earlier then the invitation had stipulated. She was not sure if it would be necessary or not to submit to a security pat down. Regardless she was there with a pair of gifted glasses tucked in a pocket. Her dress uniform was immaculate, though it was her normal dress uniform and not the extravagant outfit of last night. She had spent part of the morning polishing the various metal badges and buttons to make sure they shined.

Much of metal bits were more decorative or the generic medals the Crane gave out for relatively mundane accomplishments. But nestled among that were those few decorations that marked her a pilot with at least five kills to her name. An Ace.

Sometime later, an elderly man dressed in lavish orange kimono waded into the gardens, followed by two attendants and a hovering holo-drone, the small device slowly circling the lord-governor. One of the assistants was carrying an ancient comms device on his back, the poor man struggling to keep his back straight. Younger of the two assistants carried a densai, mumbling softly as they approached the Crane.

"Good morning, Daidoji-san!" the governor greeted the Crane pilot heartily, bobbing his head. "I hope you have had your rice? They tell me the grub's pretty good at the inn." The grub was little better than standard military rations, but as the governor had lived on rations the most of his life, he had lost touch of what qualified as 'good food'. The old man observed the Crane for a moment and then grinned. "You got all the candy alright." he pointed at Ishiyo's medals. "What kind of Charlie-Foxtrot you had to fly through to get all those?"

"The lord governor means 'hardships'" The servant carrying densai quipped, just in case.

Ishiyo had expected a lot of things, mainly a man who was dignified yet stern. She got a man who seemed more at ease and jovial. Which was really for the best, she had tried hard to keep the placid and graceful look her instructors had drilled into her as the Phoenix approached...but even a child could see the excitement and wonder on her face.

"Asako-sama, it is a great honoh to meet you," She had wanted to sound dignified but her voice came out more like a school girl meeting some childhood idol. Which was close enough to the truth. "Yes, yes I have eaten. Thank you Asako-sama...I hope you-eh morning meal was good as well. And thank you as well foh indulging a girl in a childhood flight of fancy." Ishiyo brushed her jacket, trying to dispense some nervous energy.

"Oh...well most of them are just foh passing some qualifications," Her cheeks reddened a little, normally the medals didn't bother her but frankly at this moment many were embarrassing to her. She wished she had just worn the combat ones, even if it would have made her chest look basically bare. But regulations were regulations.

Her smile brightened a little as she pointed to two of them, "These were for my involvement in the Crane's anti-piracy action last yeah and this was in recognition of my fifth victory and my status as an Ace pilot. Though I have an actual total of six kills and 4 assists. I was flying with the 312th Naval Figtheh Squadron aboard The Golden Heron."

"Honor? An old geezer like me." The governor chuckled, shaking his head. "I'm just a relic of good days gone by." Both of his assistants seemed rather concerned, though the one carrying the comms unit looked perhaps more worried. "Ah, yes. They do serve breakfast at the castle. The kitchen staff is pretty good!" Which was to say that he had professionals in his staff. "Small comforts for an old man." The servant carrying the densai coughed softly.

"Qualifications? They give you candy for that?" Naokuni asked Ishiyo as he settled to stroll, beckoning her to follow, the drone hovering above them. "What's with that. Like, wings I get, sure, but what else?" The old man eyes her chest, though his gaze was focused more on her medals than anything else. "Though, I guess you're young still. You've got still time to fly." the old man laughed, again. "Thank you for humoring an old man like me, Daidoji-san. It gets awfully stuffy up there." he waved in the direction of his castle. "Paper-pushers and other such folks everywhere." Now both of his assistants were coughing and trying to look way. "I am sure you know the type, the ones that always get between you and the... honorable target." He clearly had been thinking a more colorful term. "Anti-piracy? Oh Good. Send them all to Meido if you ask me!" The governor snorted, sounding delighted. "Golden Heron? Daikyu? Or something smaller?"

"Closer to the Unicorn's Junghar," She replies, embarrassed again about the medals. "Officially it is a derivative of the Yumi...but the fighteh wing was reduced foh greateh engine mass and more storage. She is fast Asako-sama, and can stay out longeh then most comparable vessels. Perhaps not best fit foh a full fleet battle but capable when making quick targeted strikes." The Crane pilot relaxes, "And foh running down pirates."

"As foh the medals, oh marks a few milestones. Good behavioh and the like." Which was an evasive way of saying Crane like their soldiers to look impressive so they just make up reasons to give them shines.

Her eyes flick to the aides and her smile turns more sheepish, "I am ratheh lowly in rank Asako-sama, my squadron commandeh and his assistant take the brunt of the paperwork. Foh now I remain more able to worry with the business of flying and making sure my fighteh can fly and fight. The mechanics onboard were skilled but I like to know any small changes to my assigned craft."

"Ah, Junghar. Fine vessel, quick and slippery as a greased peacock lizard! Just bit tight with the space, with all the engines and hangers. Had to share quarters with five others. Still, Unicorn are big people so the beds were fine." Luckily the governor was a fair bit shorter than your average Unicorn so he could fit well in their bunks. "The mess hall too, we were eating in shifts and still it was like a pack of sardines!" Mirth glimmered in his eyes as he recalled his youth.

"Pfft. Pu... ahem, wussy candy then. Well, you got all the time, Daidoji-san, to earn some real candy!" Whatever that meant, the governor's aids looking both rather puzzled. "Mhmh, the best part of the job! When you get to be the commander, suddenly you get all this paper on your desk! I mean, slates. But sometimes paper. The Unicorn really, really loved their printers. Maybe because they sound like horses. Bah." Naokuni rolled his neck. "And then, if you live long enough to settle to a nice job? The slates won't ever end!"

Ishiyo's blush deepened for a moment, her hand fiddling with one of the medals. She should have just worn the combat ones and damn the regulations. "Yes Asako-sama, I hope to return my squadron afteh the miai."

"Oh..." She blinked remembering one reason she had accepted the invitation. "Forgive me Asako-sama...but might a ask foh a boon." Her grin turns sheepish, "I was hoping you would sanction a meeting. There appeah to be several pilots here and I was hoping foh a sort of get togetheh of them all. And perhaps Asako-sama might wish to join in...see the latest generation of pilots. Maybe even regal us with stories of you-eh Fighteh pilot days?" She spoke with a sort of almost childish earnest.

"That's the spirit Daidoji-san. Get married and then get back to doing good work. Send those scoundrels to Meido, all of them!" The governor's advisors were less than impressed with their liege, but were also evidently rather used to his boisterous nature, the one carrying a densai now harassing said device with great vigor. Perhaps they were taking notes for the future.

"Boon?" The old man seemed perplexed. "I mean, I guess there's no harm in asking?" Even a Daidoji could hear the hesitation in his tone. "Uh..." the governor began, only to be interrupted by the assistant with the densai. "I am afraid that is impossible. Lord Governor simply won't have the time. He has all the duties.." The old man glanced at his assistant, scratching the back of his head as he smiled sheepishly. "That's probably true. There's this expansion we have been planning. To build a new perimeter. To make space for more houses. To bring in more people and industry!"

Ishiyo was crestfallen but nodded none the less, "I understand Asako-sama, it was a selfish request of mine." Her smile returned, "Still...if I may we are here now." Her eyes light back up, "Would it be alright to heah a story of you-eh flying days? Which was you-eh best kill...I mean aerial victory?" She shifted a bit, "I know what is printed but, I very much would like to here you-eh personal account."

"One achieves little, if one aims low, Daidoji-san. Please keep that in mind." The governor didn't seem particularly upset, used as he was to others knowing his schedule better than he did. "That's what I think, at least." The old man chuckled, mirth glimmering in his eyes. "Story of my flying days, humm. I suppose I could, I suppose I could. Though, are you sure you want to hear an old geezer like me to talk about a war everyone has already forgotten, hmm? Maybe you should tell me of your deeds." Naokuni 'suggested' instead.

"I would imagine there is much I could learn from you-eh stories of wah long past." Ishiyo's smile returned, "But I suppose a few of my own as well. Would Asako-sama prefeh my first victory in the stahs or my latest battle, where I downed three enemy fighters in one sortie." She let some pride slip into her voice, yes others had managed more in a single battle but for a young pilot barely into her twenties...it was pretty good.

"Mhmhm, from an old geezer like me?" the governor laughed, his assistants looking awkward as ever. "We didn't exactly fight fair you know. There were all the Spider and only few of us. We took our victories where we could. Lost many good men and women. It was a messy business, that I tell you." The assistant carrying the comms unit was frowning, unsure what to do or say. "It is't too hard to gun down someone when the are hellbent on chasing your friends!" For whatever reason, the man didn't seem to consider himself much a hero. "We did what we had to do."

"Three pilots? Now how in the name of Fortunes a young lass like you managed that?" Naokuni asked, visibly impressed, the assistant carrying densai face-palming.

Ishiyo for her part listened intently, her own opinions on war still shaped by youth. Still she greatly respected the man and had seen and heard of other skilled warriors who had felt much the same. "Asako-sama is a man who counts victories not in enemies killed but comrades saved." She dipped her head in a bow of respect.

"And yes Asako-sama, three pirates." Her own youthful excitement reasserted itself. "We had tracked the pirates to theih main supply base, some hollowed out asteroid. The Golden Heron's task force linked up with a modified cruiseh, modified to carry a cargo of Iron Warrior Marines and theih associated landehs and breaching craft, and its escorts."

"My squadron was first sent into to wrestle control of the space around the asteroid. During the approach, I managed to shot down one as it was aiming to pass undeh me." She demonstrated the relative positions of the planes with her hands.

"My second came afteh I was sent back to escort the Iron Warriors assault craft in. One of the pirate fightehs slipped through and was lining up on a breaching shuttle. I caught him before he could complete the attack run." Again she moved her hands to demonstrate the positioning. "Incidentally I also helped one of the shuttle's gunners get a kill when I fired wildly from much to fah away at another attackeh going after the shuttles. I knew I was not going to hit but hoped it would spook the otheh plane. It worked too, they fell right into the shuttle's defensive turret." She smiled amused, "The shuttle crew bought me a box of candy foh that."

"The third..." She hesitated a second, "Well I engaged in reckless behavoih. I saw a fighteh line up on me and instead of just trying to come at them and disrupt theih fire...I went straight at them, not firing until they panicked and broke off. I raked the bottom of theih fighteh. When I got back to the carrieh I was reprimanded foh foolish behavior. We very nearly crashed into each otheh."

"I mean, well." the governor scratched his chin. His illustrious career was largely result of Phoenix propaganda - the networks presenting him as a man willing to put his life at stake to fight for a cause and while this was largely true and while he qualified as an ace, his squadron had taken mauling during the conflict. This still bothered the man. "I wish I had been able to save more." he added diplomatically, his assistants nodding in unison.

"Ha, those pirates were never that good fliers, I think. That's why they bully the merchants and transports I wager. No honor either." Naokuni nodded, convinced that whomever *coughmantiscough* sponsored the privateers had to use low quality troops for the job. "Flying escort sucks, doesn't it. I mean, it's honorable and all that, but you know..." The assistants looked at each other. They clearly did not know. The drone buzzed still above the two, occasionally rotating around as it scanned the scenery.

"Uh, reckless behavior on a bird! Best thing you can do pants on, Daidoji-san! That's the salt of life, don't you think!" The old man was both obnoxious and loud. "That kind of stuff takes some balls, that's for sure." He glanced at Ishiyo, realizing that she was in-fact, female. "Bravery, that's what it takes. Audacity and daring."

Ishiyo positively beamed at the compliment looking again more the fixated schoolgirl then the dashing fighter pilot. "Those were my feelings! But my squadron commandeh considered it an unnecessary risk." She nods then adds a hasty, "Asako-sama."

"As for escort Asako-sama, it is more stressful having to watch out for anotheh party in the fight. My squadron mates can handle themselves but even the best skilled shuttle pilot is limited by theih craft." Another nod, "Of course one could say without a fighteh escort its not like the Marine trained pilots would even be able to know how to fly straight toward a big rock." Her voice took a conspiratorial quality. "Almost as bad as bombeh pilots in that regard."

"Well, fu...fu... disregard them. It's the results that count! I mean, had you messed up, of course you would have been at fault." the governor nodded vigorously. He too had lived dangerous once. "See, we were volunteers. All of us. Flying Unicorn planes. Old, beaten Hakuba's. They were old back then and they are still in service! Reminds me of Firebird - 4, that thing has been flying for what, five decades now?"

"Well, there's that too." he nodded. "But, well. I was usually too busy worrying about my own squad. You know, we flew quite a few missions like that, being a volunteer unit. Not that dangerous and something that someone had to do. Patrol flights in quiet sectors, escorting shuttles, you can probably guess. It was really busy three months, though. I didn't get to fly with bombers myself, the Unicorn have their Baraunghars and well, ain't Hakuba keeping up with them, with them zipping in and out of real-space!" Laughing, the governor patted his belly.

"My own squadron were flying top of the line craft, first shipment of them in fact. KNN has been plastering the picture all oveh though afteh theih use in the anti-piracy campaign" She tapped her chin, "I remembeh the Hakuba's had a reputation foh reliability. Mechanically reliable and...well something about them always made the priests importuning just go smootheh. But at this age...you must have felt like you were flying an actual relic."

She looks away for a moment pondering something, "Forgive me Asako-sama...this may be too personal a question but...why did you volunteeh? Clearly it was not foh glory."

"I bet they have. That's how those guys work." the governor nodded knowingly. "Their duty, so." he shrugged, brushing the matter how such organizations often bent the truth under the proverbial tatami. Anything repeated often enough eventually became the truth. And so foolhardy young hothead had become a warhero.

"Reliable for sure. Could take a hit or two, as long as you didn't get your engines hit. Or your cockpit. Lots of redundancy. The Unicorn know how to make their birds." he added. "The Moto and Iuchi engineers were all over them. They'd put these charms in the cockpit and in the engine compartment. Good luck they'd say. Worked for me at least." The old man seemed amused. "Ah why? See, Daidoji-san, I was young and fool. Full of vigor and devoid of sense." The assistants facepalmed both.

"Asako-sama still seems quite young and lively foh his age." Ishiyo responded, smiling, "If I might say so. Of course I suppose I am in my young and foolish phase. But...honestly I just love to fly, there is...just something about it, being suspended in space surrounded by the stahs. The rush of speed and at times its like the whole galaxy was an open book and you could just choose to go anywhere in it as easily as turning a page." She blushes, "Sorry...I was rambling."

The Crane brushes off some imagined dust to give her a little time to recover. "The Unicorn have always been good at breeding mounts," She mused, "The mechanics have just changed. From warhorse to stah fighteh. Oh I believe theih are at least two Unicorn pilots here Asako-sama. Too young for you-eh flying days, but perhaps they knew some of you-eh old comrades."

"Oh, Daidoji-san is is all too kind." He laughed, patting his belly even as his advisors looked at each other in dismay. "We've all been young and foolish. But sometimes you need a bit of foolish to get things done." Now it was the governor's turn to glance at his assistants. "Oh yes." the old man nodded vigorously. "Very much so."

"Well, so they say. But the farmers here know a trick or two, too! We've been breeding otori for decades now and it's been working out pretty great! We get bigger and more docile animals." He sounded rather proud about that. "You'll see that later today." the governor added, offering Ishiyo a conspiratorial smile. "There are? Hum-hum. I might have seen their papers, yes." The assistants nodded - their superior had indeed gone through every applicant. "But I wouldn't want to bother them. I am sure they have their hands full with my beautiful city!"