Though the newly arrived Pilots had some training in dealing with the Koleska and the Koleska on the Station had some experience dealing with Max and Nico, the atmosphere when Commander Yuri led their group into the ballroom where the event was being held was tense, to say the very least.
"Good to see you all made it here. Welcome to the Koleska Empire, everyone. This is Commander Yuri, the Station Commander and our host here. It looks like there are still a few aspects of our varied cultures that everyone isn't used to yet, so if you have questions about etiquette, feel free to ask me or Subcommander Nico." Max greeted the room, drawing everyone's attention.
Before anyone could give the usual responses, one of the Koleska blurted out the question that was on all of their minds.
"How are we supposed to tell them apart? Are they all at the same rank? Did they bring nothing but System Governors?" The adjutant asked before he could stop himself.
Nico laughed but gestured for Max to answer.
"A lot of them are near the same rank, but you can tell the ranks by the markings on their clothing. I have sent you all a list of Cygnus Military insignia. They use the markings to tell the rank and wear identical uniforms to show solidarity as a group." Max informed him.
Nico sent the ranking marks to all of the Koleska while he was talking, much to everyone's relief, and Max searched for other obvious things that he should mention. It should have all been in the tutorial materials. But with species so different, it was easy to think that certain things were obvious and skim over them, only to get a shock when you actually met.
For example, the Koleska considered their chitin as good as clothing and only wore enough to show their rank. But that left many of them wearing little more than strips of cloth over their shoulders, and their bodies somewhat resembled a textured latex bodysuit over a human form, and the heads were so much like human skulls that the first impression that the Cygnus Pilots had gotten was that this was a group of undead bondage enthusiasts.
The Koleska began to relax once they understood who was in charge and what the extra markings for flight staff, Unit Commanders and such meant.
The impression that the Cygnus group had gotten hadn't changed, though.
Max turned to the nearest wing leader and motioned for him to speak. "Just spit it out. Everyone is thinking nearly the same thing, so you might as well say it."
The man gave a rueful chuckle and rubbed his nose before speaking. "Well, you see, the chitin looks like the outfits worn by people into a certain sexual kink in our society, so a collection of Koleska looks a lot like a fetish orgy. We were warned that the Koleska, being exoskeletal, didn't wear a lot of clothes, but somehow, I had expected pants."
His Koleska was somewhat broken, and he had used some Human Standard words, but the Koleska managed to follow well enough to look around embarrassed and then burst into laughter, with their spines vibrating against their shells.
"It's like meeting the Nolan. They cover their whole bodies in cloth, and they refuse to speak with us unless we do the same, calling it shameful and exhibitionist." Commander Yuri laughed.
The last word was not in Koleska. They didn't have a word that correlated to exhibitionism. The closest they had was a word that meant 'slumming it' by wearing minimal clothing to go pick up dates from lower-class areas without being called out for being outside your own social circle.
The humans laughed and nodded while Nico smirked. "It's like that, except with the implication that your species has a great enjoyment for more aggressive and mildly violent breeding practices."
With that, the tension in the room was clearly broken, and the groups began to mingle, with the Koleska going to search out their social peers now that they knew who they were.
A few minutes passed as the waiters brought drinks around, and one of the Pilots moved close to Max, intending to ask him a question but unaware that he could read minds.
"Yes, I suppose it is a shame. But I will warn you that the Koleska would view casual ass slapping as an aggressive mating ritual, so no matter how good the ass looks, you can't spank it." Max whispered to the Pilot.
"I know, but it's a shame, really. To have an ass like that, and it's covered in a hard shell." The Pilot sighed, then walked away with his curiosity shelved.
Human soldiers were much more physical with each other than the Koleska were, and Max could tell that some of the locals were a bit panicked at the level of friendliness that the new Pilots showed. Grabbing and hanging off each other was more intimate to them, and these were strangers. But the humans were determined to teach the Koleska to dance since there was music playing.
"This is complete chaos." Commander Yuri whispered to Max when he made his way back to where the human leaders were standing.
"I think it's going well, though. I don't sense any violent intentions, and nobody has gotten overly offended yet. Once they have time to get used to each other's culture, I think that they will develop some strong friendships." Max shrugged.
"True. But do the humans know that the Arisen has been forcing them to stand down while we fight? I think that they aren't going to be as accepting of the situation as you are." Yuri asked.
"I'm sure there it's part of why they're so friendly today. They know that they won't be fighting unless the Arisen fleet actually attacks the planet or the Station, and they don't want your crew to think that they don't care.
Standing back and not fighting when your allies are is considered about as unacceptable of behaviour as is possible in our society, so it's going to be a tough adjustment for them." Max agreed.
Hopefully, these calm days would continue, though, and they wouldn't have to see it constantly.
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