Disgraced
Copyright© 2025 by Ogreface
Chapter 13: Festival Season
Carlos and Bill were sent off somewhere once Dane and Nick returned to work of the sleds. Over the next few weeks they were busy every day, but had evenings and weekends to themselves. They even went to town and wandered around the beachfront boardwalk.
Dane looked for the two girls he and Nick met before they left on the Windvane but didn’t see them. They encountered Agosto on the base, but he was busy with a boot camp class and just waved at them.
“Can you two dance?” Dupre asked midweek afternoon two weeks later. They were relaxing on the couches in the entertainment room watching some news on the big screen video, and as was custom, didn’t even bother to sit up when the lieutenant walked in.
“Sure, if I want to embarrass myself and my partner,” Nick said.
“Depends,” Dane said.
“On what?” Dupre asked.
“The event, the dress code, minor stuff like that,” Dane answered with a shrug.
“Do you have a mess dress suit?” Dupre asked.
“Ah..., no, we are NCOs, and I’m a conscript,” Dane said. “I have what I was issued with, four sets of marine fatigues. The one set of civilian clothes I was wearing when the duke of Sagan kicked me off the planet I outgrew during boot camp.”
“The duke of Sagan kicked you out?” Dupre asked. “What did you do, seduce his daughter?” Dane chuckled at the imagery and decided enough time had passed, he didn’t need to feel embarrassed anymore about why he was a marine.
“If that was the case, I would have had reason to feel guilty. Actually, my two half-brothers caused some problems and as usual, they picked me to blame,” Dane said. “Both my sire and the duke was highly embarrassed about events so they kind of reacted emotionally.”
“Well, now you are a sergeant,” Dupre said. “You are allowed at least a set of office wear. That is the same as an officer’s mess dress. Tomorrow we go have a talk with the quartermaster.”
Dupre seemed hard-up to find somebody who could dance so the next morning he and Dane went to the clothing store. Dupre told the supply sergeant what Dane needed, which didn’t make much sense to Dane since fancy dress types were not handled in boot camp or specialist training. The supply sergeant consulted his data terminal before responding to Dupre’s request.
“Okay, lieutenant, I can issue him office wear,” the sergeant finally said as he got up from behind his terminal. Dane stood still and followed instructions as the sergeant measured him in all dimensions. Then the sergeant started packing clothing items on the counter.
Dane has seen many officers in office wear, as well as a few sergeants and master sergeants. He knew what office wear looked like. He was surprised when the dark-gray pants he was handed had a thin red beading along the outside seam down both legs.
“What is the red beading for?” Dane asked.
“It’s the bloodline,” the sergeant said. “Only marines who were in battles where blood were spilled get to wear that. Your record says you are entitled to a Wounded Warrior medal as well, but you have not been presented with one, sorry, until your record states that you have been formally awarded the Wounded Warrior, I can’t issue you with the ribbon.”
“Most rangers have bloodline pants,” Dupre commented, causing the sergeant to frown and consult his terminal again.
“Nothing here about Sergeant Galan being a ranger,” he said.
“Not yet,” Dupre said. “A matter of time. Let’s get back to work.”
That Day-Five afternoon, just after lunch, Dupre told Dane to go shower and get dressed; they had a date in the city. Dane was still a bit short on detail about this dance, but he didn’t argue. Half an hour later a private hovercraft arrived outside the camp main gate. Dupre was dressed similarly to Dane, except for his shiny lieutenant pips, and a fancy silver cat-eye with green irises in front of silver crossed sabers badge above his left jacket pocket.
“The ranger badge is more than just a badge of achievement,” Dupre said as the driver of the hover craft, an older gentleman who politely nodded at Dupre, took off. “Rangers often operate alone or in pairs, not as part of a company or platoon. If a ranger need something, like more ammo, he cannot ask his platoon commander for authorization. Being a ranger means you can requisition it yourself.”
“Do you know if the ladies are here yet, Simon?” Dupre asked as the hovercraft settled in front of a lit-up hall with a number of people in evening wear entering.
“Both the ladies was due to leave from the Brasher residence, My Lord,” Simon said.
“I guess they would not wait outside for us,” Dupre said.
“My Lord?” Dane asked with a raised eyebrow once the hovercraft took off again. “You want us to call you on your last name, but in the meantime you are noble born?”
“My sire is the viscount of Brunswick,” Dupre said as he gave Dane a smirk. “I am the second and youngest son, thus not the heir. Besides, I checked up on you after what you told me about your relationship with the duke of Sagan. You are also noble born, and the oldest son, but weirdly enough not the heir. Care to explain that?”
“The middle son, son of the viscountess, who happens to be the daughter of a duke, is the heir,” Dane said. “I am the oldest, and the son of a commoner concubine. I assume the viscountess threw a hissy-fit to get her son to be the heir.”
“Anyway, your sire is a viscount, as is mine, so you keep calling me Dupre,” he said. “That is an order, sergeant,” Dupre gave him a big grin as he said that.
The butler seemed to know Dupre and also called him ‘My Lord’. Dane warranted a polite nod. The ballroom was fairly full, with many more females in fancy long dresses and tight bodices. The men were outnumbered around two to three. Around a third of the males were marine or navy officers with Dane the only NCO around. A casual glance told him that he and Dupre were the only ones in uniform with bloodline pants.
“Ah, there they are,” Dupre said as he nudged Dane. The two females he headed for were quite pretty but not really matching up to Dane’s standard of measurement. He doubted if any female would ever match up to his dream crush, Lady Alita Deering.
“About time, Leo,” the taller of the two ladies said.
“Lady Helen, Lady Lynn, meet a good friend of mine,” Dupre said. “Sergeant Dane Galan. Galan, meet Lady Helen, daughter of Baron Brasher, and also my betrothed,” He said as he bowed and kissed the hand of the shorter girl. She blushed and smiled shyly. She seemed quite smitten with Dupre. “This is my sister, Lady Lynn, daughter of Viscount Brunswick.” Dane gave a court bow but didn’t try to kiss her hand.
“Mmm, tall, not a ranger, yet you have a bloodline,” Lady Lynn said as he examined Dane.
“Believe me, dear sister, he will get his ranger badge shortly,” Dupre said. “He is also entitled to the Wounded Warrior decoration.”
“Wounded in action with the enemy?” Lady Lynn said as looked questioningly up at Dane. “Galan? Are you related to Lady Lynelle or Lady Winona in the Sagan system?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Dane said. “I prefer to state that I am actually related to Debra Galan.” Lynn’s eyes grew big in surprise.
“So, you are the missing son, the third son of Viscount Calgary,” she said as she hooked arms with him and started tugging him towards some empty tables along the edge of the dance floor.
“I am not missing, my lady,” Dane said with determination. “I know exactly where I am, as does my sire,” Lynn giggled as she and Lady Helen fluffed their dresses before they sat down.
“Let’s go fetch drinks,” Dupre said.
“If your sire is a viscount on Sagan, does that mean you know the Deering sisters?” Dupre asked as they waited to be served. “I heard they are really outstandingly beautiful.”
“I have seen them from a distance,” Dane said. “My sister is best friends with the duke’s youngest daughter. I never really interacted with them.”
“I heard that the duke has no sons, not even illegitimate ones,” Dupre commented as they headed back to the girls with their drinks.
“I heard that the oldest daughter and her betrothed agreed to let their first son become the duke’s legal heir,” Dane said.
Once the dancing started Lynn grabbed his hand and dragged him onto the dance floor. She was instantly into enjoying herself. She even complemented him on being able to dance and to stay off her toes.
“A lady’s toes are definitely not to be stomped on, my lady,” he said without thinking. He really didn’t mean to flirt with her to that extent, but his comment slipped out. “I would much rather kiss them than step on them.” He only realized he went too far when her eyes grew huge as she blushed.
As the evening progressed and Dane danced around the dance floor with Lynn, he received a number of contemptuous looks from the other officers, looks that quickly changed to looks of surprise when they noticed his bloodline pants. The other ladies seemed to ignore him until they saw who he was dancing with, and then their interest suddenly perked up. Dane noticed but ignored any subtle flirting from other women.
In spite of the too intimate comment, Lynn tried to stay on the dance floor for as long as she could. Only when she got tired did she drag him off the dance floor. She claimed to be wanting to watch him dance, so she even picked one of the many wallflowers and ordered Dane to dance with her. The girl was quite shy, and with a flat chest. She also didn’t have a pretty face, but she eagerly stood when Dane bowed in front of her. They exchanged first names only and danced two dances before a lieutenant suddenly cut in. She seemed pleased with that, so Dane bowed and thanked her.
After that Dane was claimed by Lynn again and this time she stayed on the floor much longer. She mentioned once that Helen was curious about dancing with him, but she ignored the hint. Lynn would much rather dance with Dane than with her brother.
“I really hope you will be available for the summer festival season,” Lynn said as they walked out when the dance party came to an end. “I really had a great time.”
“You were hogging him all night,” Helen complained.
“So? He is my date,” Lynn said as she hugged Dane’s arm.
Dupre decided to go home for the night, so he told Simon to drop Dane off at the base before he left with the two girls in another hovercraft.
After the weekend, they went back to the secretive hangar where they continued modifying the two sleds. The navy engineering team were experts but to keep things as secret as possible, only two engineers were assigned to them, so the four rangers had to step up and help. They learned all kinds of new skills, like welding, wiring, electronics, and non-metal fabrication. While they had a definite target for the sleds, they didn’t have a set date of implementation yet, so the work was progressing slowly. They also documented each step.
“Up for another dance?” Dupre asked at the start of the next weekend.
“Sure,” Dane said. “Your sister doesn’t seem to mind dancing with a mere sergeant.”
“Festival season,” Dupre commented with a chuckle. “Nearly makes me wish I was not already betrothed. Last year Lynn spent the festival season on Bova as guest of the duke’s daughters. This year she is staying here, but she might end up being the host to a few ladies from other systems.”
“Does all noble families do that?” Dane asked.
“No, only the daughters of dukes and viscounts,” Dupre said. “The daughters of barons are not high enough to get invited to other systems, but they do attend balls and stuff in other districts, with the daughters of other barons. It is not a requirement but most of the time a duke or viscount tries to get his daughters married to the sons of other dukes or viscounts, and if the son is the heir, even better.”
They were fetched again by Simon, the assistant butler of Viscount Brunswick. Before they entered the hovercraft, Dupre examined Dane’s uniform in detail. Dane has developed a marine mentality, so his clothes were always very neat. Once he was satisfied, Dupre nodded, and they got in.
“This ball is at the duke’s palace,” Dupre said. “I specifically asked the duke’s secretary about inviting you, but apparently Lynn asked for you as well. It seems her request counts for more than mine. You will most likely again be the only NCO there, but you have three things counting in your favor; my sister likes dancing with you, you have a bloodline, and you can dance.”
“I am fully aware that these festival season balls are purely a way for noble ladies to try and catch a suitable husband,” Dane said. “I also know that I have nine more years before I can even start thinking of a wife. Us commoners don’t normally bother to get betrothed, we just take a suitable girl and set up house with her. If I was in a position to get betrothed, I would select a girl of seven or eight years of age. By the time I am done with the marines, she will be the right age for marriage.”
“I never thought of it in that way,” Dupre said. “I have six more years, and Helen is only sixteen. She will be twenty-two by the time I am ready to get married.”
Lady Helen was waiting for Dupre when they got out of the hovercraft, but Lynn was not around. Dane wandered around outside the dance hall, admiring the rather extensive gardens in front of the ducal palace. There were dim indirect lighting along the many paths, but they didn’t show much except that there were a number of trees that formed some intermittent canopies over the garden.
“There he is!” a female voice called. “Dane!” Lynn called as she came towards him and hugged him in a decidedly inappropriate manner. “I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. Actually, I’m sure you already know her.” Dane was standing halfway down the grand entrance steps when Lynn called out to him. As he climbed up the steps towards Lynn, her guest came into view from behind her. The result was that Dane missed a step and nearly face-planted in front of the two girls.
He was a bit red in the face when he straightened up and looked into the blushing face of his arch-crush, Lady Alita Deering. Lynn giggled and continued to tell Dane that Alita was visiting for a month. Dane was at a loss about how to behave, but then he stuck to the basics.
“Evening, Lady Alita,” Dane said as he bowed properly while taking hold of Lynn’s hand.
“Dane?” Alita muttered in surprise. Dane was sure it was the first time in her young life that she actually said his name. Then Lynn dragged both of them into the dance hall.
For the rest of that evening Dane did his best to give Lynn the time of her life. The only time he didn’t dance with her was the one time when she picked him a relatively cute but terminally shy wallflower to dance with. The poor girl was too shy to say a word even if she giggled nervously at his lame jokes. The moment that dance was finished, Dane went back to where Lynn was supposed to be sitting except she was being led onto the dance floor by a young male with a prominently displayed baronial medallion around his neck.
Even with Dane being Lynn’s partner, a number of marine officers tried to dance with her. With Alita in attendance, and not having a formal partner, the officers and other young noble-born were just about standing in line to get her attention.
Alita was already on the dance floor as well, so Dane sat out that dance. He was thinking of asking another wallflower to dance but ended up watching Lynn and Alita as they danced. Both girls were exceptionally graceful and attractive on the dance floor, and a pleasure to watch.
Alita might have been his secret crush but typical to their past lives, he never got closer to her than to dance past her a few times, or to fetch both girls some refreshments. They again didn’t even have a chance to talk. Dane was curious about news from home but was reluctant to start asking Alita questions. He was still convinced that if his banishment were to become public knowledge on Cornell, then he will be banned from attending any further dances. He would not care, but he was concerned about embarrassing Dupre.
After the party, Dane finally had the first opportunity ever to actually touch Alita when he helped her into the hovercraft. Simon first dropped the two girls off at the viscount’s home before taking Dupre and Dane back to the base. Lady Helen was spending the night with Lynn and Alita. With the three lovely ladies and only the two men in the hovercraft, Dupre gave most of his attention to Lady Helen. Dane was sure it was a self-defense mechanism, to not get into trouble with his betrothed with a beauty like Alita around.
“Next weekend the duchess is having her grand ball,” Lynn announced as the hovercraft waited for clearance to lift off among the flock of other hovercraft.
“What was this then?” Dupre asked in confusion.
“A practice run,” Lynn said. “We already have invites. Alita, you have four invitations to that ball, all from noblemen. We need to sort them out this coming week so you can pick who to respond to.”
“Didn’t you also get some invitations?” Helen asked Lynn.
“Some, but I like to dance with Dane,” Lynn said.
“Dane, what happened to you?” Alita suddenly asked. “We were attending the festival season, and suddenly you were just gone. Nobody said a word. Debra refused to attend any balls since then, which made Athena upset. I can now see that you ended up in the marines, but you and I are the same age, which means you are still only seventeen. You should be a bit too young to be a sergeant in the marines already.”
“Only seventeen?” Lynn exclaimed. “Something tells me there is a good story behind how you got to be a sergeant at age seventeen.”
“More like horrific,” Dupre said. “I don’t know the detail, but Major Gallagher mentioned a battlefield promotion. That means it might be an interesting story but not a good one.”
“This might come as a shock to everybody here, but my half-brother accused me of something horrible,” Dane answered Alita’s question. “He liked to do that since we were kids. Anyway, I was guilty until proven innocent, and combined with the fact that both Viscount Calgary and your father felt rather embarrassed, I was banished from the Sagan system and conscripted into the marine corps. Your father had me transported to the launch facility where they kept me until a shuttle lifted off. Two months later I ended up here on Cornell as a marine conscript.”
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.