Daniel was fidgeting.
He wasn't a fan of this involuntary reaction. When he'd asked SAI to turn it off, she had politely informed him that you couldn't turn down your brain's reactions, so he had to choose between all of his reactions or none of them.
As he was about to meet the 8th Sector Commander of the Federation, one of the most famous officers of the last war, he'd resigned himself to acting like a human.
He was standing with Lt. Lincoln in the Cargo Bay , which was filled with neatly stacked boxes of the Components required to upgrade the Venator. They were separated by their Modules, and Daniel could tell he still had a few more to obtain before he could upgrade to Light Cruiser.
"Sir, why are you so nervous?'
Daniel glanced at Lt. Lincoln, who looked as cool as ice. He was so far unimpressed with being about to meet Admiral Brosoth.
"Sector Commanders are held in extremely high regard throughout the Federation. They are extremely visible to the public eye, so everyone knows them, and they are all selected for exemplary actions in the face of the enemy. On top of that, Admiral Brosoth is famous for holding the 8th Sector against an entire Imperial Invasion Fleet with only a third of the Sector Defense Fleet."
Lt. Lincoln still looked thoroughly unimpressed. Daniel sighed, knowing that his attempt to impress the Alien Marine would fail. Lt. Lincoln and the Sergeants had told him what they could remember of the United Systems and, apparently, it had controlled nearly half of the Milky Way Galaxy.
Compared to the Quadrants the Federation and the Empire were fighting over, it made sense that Lt. Lincoln had a lackluster response to a "mere" Sector Commander.
Although, from what the Marines could remember, the United Systems had been at war with something called the Coalition of Alien Star Territories, or COAST. The COAST was a near-peer to the US technologically, but they had less habitable worlds than the US, so their ability to produce soldiers was lacking.
They'd been at a stalemate for centuries, and the US didn't actually want the COAST's territories, since they had more planets than they could possibly need. However, COAST had a nasty habit of stripping their planets of resources, something the US had cured itself of centuries ago. So, the COAST really wanted the US's worlds, and had resorted to violence more often than not.
Daniel considered the political make up of the US, something that he was very unnerved by.
Apparently, the US had four branches of government, the Executive, the Judicial, the Legislative, and the Military. The Military branch had been, at first, an extension of the Executive Branch.
However, as the US's sphere of influence expanded to the stars, and they kept meeting hostile Alien Navies, the Military had been separated into it's own branch and now maintained the defense of the US.
According to the Marines, this system had worked for hundreds of years, since each branch maintained the ability to counter the others in some form or the other.
While Daniel was lost in thought, SAI notified him of the approaching AV carrying the Admiral and his family.
He refocused on the present, earmarking the study of the US for the future.
He instructed the Cargo Bay doors to open, and stood against the wall with Lt. Lincoln as an AV slowly hovered through the opening, setting down in the middle of the Bay.
He'd considered having the Admiral arrive in the Drone Bay or the Marine's Hangar, but he figured that might shock the Admiral a bit to quickly.
Daniel started forward, suddenly very aware that he was technically a projection given substance by millions of tiny robots.
As he neared the AV, it's door swung upward, revealing a stocky man with greying hair, a bushy mustache, and a perfectly laundered Naval Uniform.
The uniform was black, indicating active duty, and had grey and green lining. A myriad of medals and merits were arrayed on the left of the Admirals chest, covering his heart.
Behind him, two heads poked around his back, and Daniel smiled at the two siblings he'd conversed with.
The Admiral looked him up and down, and Daniel worried that he'd seen through the projection.
"Greetings, Commander Venata. I'm glad to finally meet you, and to be able to thank you in person for rescuing my son and daughter."
The Admiral bowed his head slightly with his right hand covering his medals, showing the maximum amount of respect an officer could show a civilian.
Daniel also bowed his head, although without the hand over his waist, as was custom for a civilian greeting a soldier.
Soldiers covered their hearts, signifying their willingness to protect the heart of the Federation, while civilians covered their waste, signifying their willingness to work for the Federation.
The greeting was similar to the one practiced in the Empire, although it was nobles who covered their heart, and soldiers their waist, while civilians kept their arms at their sides, signifying subservience.
"I'm honored the Sector Commander found the time to come to my humble ship. Thanks is not necessary, I was only doing my duty."
The Admiral's smile widened, obviously pleased with the formal greeting and humble response. He'd been trained in such practices in officer school, and had come to appreciate their intricacies and symbolism.
"Nonsense, Commander. I read the report. You were there for a different reason, and under no obligation to escort the hostages back to the Jal System."
Daniel kept his head bowed.
Brosoth straightened, signaling the end to the exchange, before extending his hand.
Daniel swallowed, before reaching his gloved hand out to grasp the other man's.
They shook twice, before letting go and stepping back.
Daniel searched the Admiral's face for a reaction, but only saw gracious content in the older man's eyes. He nodded once to the Admiral, before turning to look at the two children who'd appeared to the right of their father.
He repeated the greeting with each of them, all three doing the civilian greeting.
"Hello again, Dylan, Velmeria. I trust that the FDII has treated you well while you were with them?"
The two nodded, staring quite pointedly at the scar on Daniel's face. They remembered him having one from their interaction two weeks ago, but it seemed to have grown longer and also become slightly more violent-looking. Of course, they discarded that thought, believing it looked different face-to-face.
Dylan answered first.
"Yes, Commander. Ms. Velcom's staff was very helpful, and they were kind enough to allow us to walk around the Trade Ring under guard."
Daniel was amused at the young man's overly polite attitude. The image was broken when his sister began jumping up and down.
"It was awesome, Commander Venata! We got to go to all of the restaurants, and we saw a holo-film at the theatre, and we even got a tour of the Ring Police HQ! Oh, Oh, and we got to meet the Magistrate!"
Daniel smiled, even as Dylan and the Admiral looked noticeably put out by Velmeria's lack of etiquette. Technically, as a civilian, she wasn't required to learn it in any great detail, but obviously her father had tried and failed to instill some form of poise in his daughter.
"That's wonderful, Velmeria. I haven't gotten the chance to explore the Trade Ring yet, but I'm glad you have enjoyed the FDII's hospitality."
Velmeria smiled brightly at him, and Daniel was beginning to fell quite charmed by the little girl's energy.
He turned once more to the Admiral.
"Admiral, I would be honored if you would accompany me on a tour of my ship."