THE SULKIEST NAVAL OFFICER.

[sssiiiiirrrrr]

Good Mundane,

Glad though I am to be held in your high esteem, I am... concerned about your intentions for me.

Do not forget that I am first and foremost, an officer of His Majesties Royal Navy. I have a duty to my country and to my captain, and I cannot have you pursuing some alternate commission for me beyond the navigations of the heavens! Not any more than I could stand idle while you linger upon your indecision of my fate.

Will all due respect, you could offer me no landscape so wondrous as the sand and sea of the Indies, no adventure so great as the war on France, and no duty more honorable than my service to my country! I must insist that you allow me to return to it at once!

Now please, let's have no more of this talk. I wish to return at once to my ship.

Yours
Lt. Horatio Hornblower

Comments

[shakenandlimp]

You can't reason with mundanes. They'll have their own way about it, sir.

Ah. That is to say.

Lieutenant-?

[Says a man in a captain's uniform, with a golden epaullette on his right shoulder to mark him a post-captain with less than three years seniority.]

[sssiiiiirrrrr]

They ask too much! What they'd have is neither theirs to demand nor ours to give, Sir!

[And now: A lengthy pause. There might be the very slightest hint of surprise on his face as he registers that Bush has had... a few promotions in a very small period of time, but it smooths over quickly into a mask of polite assurance.]

Captain?

[shakenandlimp]

Yes. Yes, of HMS Nonsuch. She is a lovely little 74.

Under Commodore... ah, well. Commodore..

[This is awkward.]

Well, you, sir.

[dehorse]

Beyond the 'navigations of the heavens'?

[ Only a slight mockery-in-imitation of Hornblower's accent, there. ]

What is that, then? Fairyland?

[sssiiiiirrrrr]

[Hornblower hears the tiny twinge of mockery, Sharpe. He hears it, but he is too classy to rise to it.]

It could very well be, to hear the places she speaks of! Islands hanging in the stars, cities that crawl with beings beyond the reaches of the imagination...

[Not that he's curious about them or anything. Nope nope nope.]

[dehorse]

Oh, is that all? You're right, that does sound rubbish. I'd much prefer hardtack and rowing.

[heartbreaking]

Oh, but can it be? An officer of His Majesty's Navy lacking in a sense of adventure?

[sssiiiiirrrrr]

For an officer of His Majesty's Navy there is adventure enough to be found in the execution of one's duty, Sir. To go willingly away from it is tantamount to desertion!

[heartbreaking]

My dear man, you would do well to liberate your mind a little - [ a little patronising: ] - For those are postulations of a man who has sailed by the stars, but not among them.

[amphibinin]

I've heard that you get back the same moment you leave. Time doesn't pass in your home reality.

[sssiiiiirrrrr]

For that to be so, Sir, would defy all laws of... of...

[And then Horatio realizes that he is saying this to some kind of robotic frog, maybe? And suddenly his amazing logical answer regarding what is and is not possible seems... lacking.]

[amphibinin]

Not every universe is created equal. There are Pokemon in mine who can warp time and space as easy as you and I breathe.

[ex_fourmidable296]

I hate to ask this, but which war are we talking about? You tend to have a lot of them, you see, and I end up getting them mixed up.

[sssiiiiirrrrr]

Why, the one against France, Sir.

[YOU KNOW THE ONE!]

[ex_fourmidable296]

Oh, of course, the one against France! I really should have known better-one other question, though, what year is it again?

[THERE WERE LOTS OF WARS AGAINST FRANCE, HORNBLOWER, GEEZ.]

[notportly]

Take comfort, Lieutenant, in that these mundanes are a rather fickle lot. Perhaps yours will take heed of you this once: certainly their minds are readily changeable enough.

[sssiiiiirrrrr]

[Another captain! And not one who he knows he can politely argue with like he does with Bush. Instead, you get a sharp salute, Aubrey.]

Thank you Sir, that is certainly my hope. May I ask... have you found much difficulty with your own mundane?

[Or did she make you explore the stars and see wondrous sights? And is it okay if you have no choice in the matter?]

[notportly]

[Jack acknowledges Hornblower's salute: it's been far too long since he's encountered another seaman, and the gesture is very, very comforting. He hums thoughtfully and rubs his chin.]

Difficulty in a lack of difficulty, more like! She has tired of me lately, and it is as if I have been ashore for months. A far more miserable fate than anything else that child could spin out of her wretched little head, I should think.

[If the others are in mortal peril, at least it's INTERESTING peril. Jack's just about dead from boredom.]

[negotiates]

Ah, what could be better than the glory of war? [Said with perhaps a touch of mockery.]

[sssiiiiirrrrr]

I would say the survival of it, Sir. [Horatio's voice might be a touch snitty at first, but it softens quickly. Because manners.] But you must excuse me, it is not for the glory that I would return, but for the fulfillment of my duty.

[negotiates]

True. [He's impressed by this answer, and the mocking tone disappears accordingly.] Dutiful men are not always easy to find. It is, I believe, a virtue far more valuable than the pursuit of glory.

[characterdefect]

[STANDING OVATION SIR]

[standing ovation]

[it isn't sarcastic (unless)]

[sssiiiiirrrrr]

[WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT]

[u mock him]

Sir?

[patheticvillain]

Wow. I never met anyone boatsexual before.

[sssiiiiirrrrr]

I beg your pardon, Sir?