Sovereigns of the Seas

"Permission to come aboard, sir."

"Permission granted."

A CFA officer shook off the slight physical discomfort that always came after routine teleportation.

He had exercised his body as of late in order to increase his tolerance of frequent exertions. He also exchanged a hefty amount of CFA merits to optimize his genes and increase his endurance to unnatural levels.

All of these augments along with his vastly improved work ethics over the years provided a reasonable explanation why he was able to shoot up the ranks all of a sudden.

In order to make the best possible impression on the first day of his new assignment, he especially grew a neat, tight-cropped beard.

It was not as flamboyant as the exaggeratingly curled gray mustache of the captain of this fine warship, but the commanding officer already showed indications of greater appreciation.

It was small moves like these that helped to accelerate a junior officer's career.