"Commander Harry James Potter, 17011864, of the UES Scipio" A slap. "Really, Commandant Potter, and here I thought the rising star of the United Earth Navy would have something more interesting to say than boring protocol, it's all propaganda I see. Now, answer me, what were you doing in Phobos Station, dressed like a civilian, no less."
Harry Potter glared at her and Captain DeLacour of the Gae Bolg found herself taken aback by the intensity of his green eyes, she took a step back and looked over her prisoner, hair disheveled, bleeding lip, loose clothing, a far cry from the dashing Navy Officer known as the Tyrant's Bane, son of the noble House Potter, family to the Imperial Family, the intensity he always had to him was still there though, and even bound, he held himself high.
What could such a man be doing in that dump of a bar, no one would expect someone like him...
"You were hiding." The minute twitch and the widening of his eyes told her that her guess was right, her mind began to go on overdrive, why would someone like him be hiding? Set up to become the Captain of a Battleship, the son of an Admiral, heir, had friends in high places, brushed shoulders with royalty, his political enemies were cowed, and there were even rumors...
She turned her back on him and left abruptly, as her sister often said, Fleur DeLacour can't resist an enigma.
In two hours, she returned, through the sliding door before it even fully opened, her triumphant smile made even the normally unflappable Commander Potter pale.
Fleur slapped a datapad on the steel table and swiped her hand to the side, making the walls light up with images while Harry paled further.
"An arranged marriage, you were running away from an arranged marriage,” she chuckled, though she couldn't help but feel sympathy for him, especially as he closed his eyes and sighed and with a weary air.
Fleur turned to look at the holopictures, Potter was there, in dress uniform, more medals than most officers with double his service time, and on his arm a beautiful young woman, long raven hair, a designer dark green dress showing her curves tastefully, a pretty picture, however it was, as her grandmere always said, the eyes that had the answer.
They were blue and cold, as cold as the ice on Europa, the high definition of the image betrayed Potter, to trained eyes his radiant smile was false, much different than the one he had on the rare occasions they got pictures of him in a relaxed environment.
"She is pretty, and very rich." She looked at the datapad, "Heiress to the Greengrass Terraforming conglomerate, marrying her would make you one of the most powerful men in the Empire." He didn't have a reputation as a ladies' man, despite the newspapers trying for it, his only mildly publicized relationship was a fairly common one with an heiress from a Security Firm from Mars, and it had been years.
Potter remained silent.
Fleur pursed her lips, "With your ransom, I could buy an asteroid base, refit this ship, and even buy one of those fancy Solar Sails." Potter turned to look at her, glaring, and for the first time, she saw resignation in his eyes.
"I wonder why someone who breached a Dreadnought with nothing but an exo-suit and a pistol, or did an orbital drop in nothing more than Power-Armor and a piece of metal, is afraid of a woman." She paused, considering, "Is she abusive, perhaps...toxic?"
Potter raised his eyebrows, but remained silent.
"I will send a Subspace call to Artemis Station, I am sure Admiral Potter will be eager to see her son returned safe and sound."
"She would have to care to be abusive, or toxic."
Fleur looked back at him, hiding her surprise at him speaking, "Pardon?"
"Daphne Greengrass would have to care, to be abusive, she isn't, she does everything that is expected of her, she smiles when needed, laughs when needed, keeps silent when required by protocol." The tiredness of his voice, resignation and even fear, was distinctly familiar, he spoke again mimicking a formal tone and a Martian accent, "We shall have a ceremony befitting our stations, could even be on your mother's flagship, we shall assume my family's business, so of course, your military service shall end, we could even throw a party for it, I am sure the Empire will be grateful for your contributions, they may even let you keep one of those fighters you are so fond of, our hangars can surely take care of it."
He closed his eyes.
"We shall have two children, an heir and a spare, don't worry about gender, our doctors can guarantee your firstborn will be a male to carry our name, we can live on Earth or Mars, though I prefer the latter.”
He lowered his head and after a moment continued.
“I don’t want to marry her, I don’t love her, I don’t want to leave the Navy, I love flying and just being there in space, doing something and my family doesn’t need this marriage, this is just my grandfathers having a pissing contest again, as they have been doing ever since my parents married.” He looked up at her, “ Every day I am grateful for having joined the Navy and be a little away from all that.”
Fleur sat on the table, looking at him with a touch of sympathy in her eyes, “So that was your plan? To hide away in that dingy bar and sneak out of the system? How come there isn’t already a system wide search for you?”
Harry snorted, “My plan, was just to get so drunk I would only be mildly annoyed when my grandfather’s men came to drag me in front of him so he could scold me and talk about duty and honor,” he spat as he shook his head, “And I am on leave, had some months accumulated, the...ceremony is supposed to happen in a year or so.”
Fleur closed her eyes and looked upwards, swinging her legs in front of her, “When I was 17, I was told I would have to marry a man 20 years my senior, some Ice merchant from Europa, so I grabbed my sister, who had a similar arrangement, and ran away, my grandaunt had married a Privateer from Antares, he took us under his wing, and, so, here we are,” she gestured around them.
Harry looked at her a bit differently now, and as Fleur looked back, she was clearly debating with herself.
As Fleur studied the man in front of her, she felt similar to how she had felt what now seemed to be many years ago, when she had grabbed her little sister and ran away from their small home on Ios, her crew would probably take issue with it, Gabby would be delighted and it would certainly bite her in the ass.
But she was Captain Fleur DeLacour, Flower of the Cosmos, and the youngest Pirate Lady in the Galaxy.
“I have a proposal, Monsieur Potter.”
Harry looked at her, his eyebrows raised in surprise, but there was a glint of hope in his eyes.
“I am in need of a skilled pilot, and you fit the requirements, come work for me for these months, it probably won’t solve your problems, but, at least, you’ll have some freedom.”
She was somewhat pleased when his jaw dropped.
It was a stupid proposal, she thought suddenly, why would a decorated Navy officer work for a glorified Pirate-
“Ok, I accept.”
Fleur had to hold herself so her jaw wouldn’t drop, she looked at him, searching for the veracity of his words, he had a small smile, far more honest than any she had seen in those pictures, and it made him look a tad roguishly handsome.
Her instincts told her he was being truthful so she nodded and raised her hand to shake his, but remembered he was cuffed to the table, before raising her eyebrows when he gave her a firm handshake and the handcuffs clanged under the table.
Fleur decided to take it in stride.
“Good, we have a contract by Bones Security to deal with some pirates in Alnitak, but we’ll need to book a shipyard to make some repairs, we can’t exactly fight pirates right now.”
Harry seemed to think for a moment, before he nodded to himself.
“I know someone who can help with that, and they owe me one.” He said when it looked like she was going to protest.
“I am not taking my ship to some Navy shipyard, no matter the dirt you have on it’s commander.”
Harry laughed, “Oh, they aren’t Navy, but they have some of the best engineers in the galaxy, ever heard of the Black Fleet?”
Fleur's eyes narrowed, “How would someone like you know where to find the Black Fleet’s hidden base.”
Harry smiled roguishly again, “I have my ways.”
Well, in for a Penny in for a Pound.
“I take it those shipyards are nearby.”
“Sirius system.”
“Sirius Black has his hidden base in the star system he's named after!?”
Her new pilot just smiled at her, and she sighed, she really brought this on herself, didn’t she?
“Well, welcome aboard then, Monsieur Potter.”
“Thank you, Captain DeLacour”