Augustus & Estelle: The Story of a Romance?

I've speculated - loudly, and at length - about the possibility of my darling diminutive Governor falling in love with my unexpectedly badass Station Commander. And I've explained - loudly, and at length - just why I believe this pairing works so well.

But we haven't spent much time talking about the how.

So, for those of you out there who also think they're meant to be - and I know you exist - how do you think it would happen? And when? How sturdy a cluestick will/would it take to convince Augustus that she's actually in love with him? How long will Estelle wait before she just pins him up against a wall and snogs him stupid? Will Michelle Henke and/or Victoria Saunders and/or Loretta Shoupe and/or Gregor O'Shaughnessey get sick of the mutual pining and moony calf-eyes and just lock them in a closet until they sort themselves out? And what do you think it would take to wake the two of them up to the fact that they've been slowly falling in love ever since Monica?

Have at ye olde speculation, mateys!

roseandheather wrote:I've speculated - loudly, and at length - about the possibility of my darling diminutive Governor falling in love with my unexpectedly badass Station Commander. And I've explained - loudly, and at length - just why I believe this pairing works so well.

But we haven't spent much time talking about the how.

So, for those of you out there who also think they're meant to be - and I know you exist - how do you think it would happen? And when? How sturdy a cluestick will/would it take to convince Augustus that she's actually in love with him? How long will Estelle wait before she just pins him up against a wall and snogs him stupid? Will Michelle Henke and/or Victoria Saunders and/or Loretta Shoupe and/or Gregor O'Shaughnessey get sick of the mutual pining and moony calf-eyes and just lock them in a closet until they sort themselves out? And what do you think it would take to wake the two of them up to the fact that they've been slowly falling in love ever since Monica?

Have at ye olde speculation, mateys!

Gregory seems to catch on to some of these things a bit more slowly than the gals do. But is Augustus still single, me asks ye all? If he still be a bachelor admiral, then let the closet locking begin!

SharkHunter wrote:

roseandheather wrote:I've speculated - loudly, and at length - about the possibility of my darling diminutive Governor falling in love with my unexpectedly badass Station Commander. And I've explained - loudly, and at length - just why I believe this pairing works so well.

But we haven't spent much time talking about the how.

So, for those of you out there who also think they're meant to be - and I know you exist - how do you think it would happen? And when? How sturdy a cluestick will/would it take to convince Augustus that she's actually in love with him? How long will Estelle wait before she just pins him up against a wall and snogs him stupid? Will Michelle Henke and/or Victoria Saunders and/or Loretta Shoupe and/or Gregor O'Shaughnessey get sick of the mutual pining and moony calf-eyes and just lock them in a closet until they sort themselves out? And what do you think it would take to wake the two of them up to the fact that they've been slowly falling in love ever since Monica?

Have at ye olde speculation, mateys!

Gregory seems to catch on to some of these things a bit more slowly than the gals do. But is Augustus still single, me asks ye all? If he still be a bachelor admiral, then let the closet locking begin!

We haven't heard so much as a hint about a marriage, though we didn't for Sarnow either - but Khumalo's got quite a bit more screentime than Sarnow in the grand scheme of things, and it's a bit more relevant given how far away from the home system he's posted. We hear quite a bit about how much Aivars misses his wife, for instance, so I would assume that similar information would be relevant in Khumalo's case if said information existed. Ditto Estelle, particularly as she is likely to be parked in the Quadrant for quite a long time.

But when all is said and done, they really are perfect for each other - or they are now that Augustus has woken up to his own strength and courage! I can quite easily imagine their relationship (she actually smiles at the sight of his face on her com, after all, at a time when she didn't have much of a reason to smile) turning romantic, and in fact almost sneaking up on them from behind and pouncing before they even know it's there.

I hereby also nominate the closet-locking.

Well Rose, you know, near-death experiences has a wonderful side-effect of sobering one's mind and focusing one's thoughts. I always wanted to see Khumalo operate under Honor just to see how he'd handle things working with the Salamander. Maybe another monumental defense of Basilisk Station where Khumalo is deemed lost, but somehow survives. And if Khumalo and Estelle both think the other is lost but they both survive? Well, that'll send them running to each other like one of them won the lottery. The love-lottery.

Disaster often fuels love.

Remember Hamish stroking the monitor when sweet Sally came back to him?

I can see the two of 'em pining over each other via long range, Khumalo's wounded ship limping back to orbit, romantic fashion.

"Oh Estelle."

"Oh Auggie."

If I need to pull out all stops ...

Then Estelle in a little black dress with her dark 'sandalwood' complexion, with brown eyes and black hair, high-heels and a sparkle in her eye fails to crank Khumalo's engine then he has a busted crankcase.

Frankly, I really hope that, the next time they share screentime, those two show "extreme respect for ability" and "inability to enjoy personalities" in equal measure. I am kind of getting tired of everybody in the books who is a white hat being on or tightly associated with Team Honor. Hell, even all of the good guy Peeps are on Team Honor!! I always felt that Khumalo would be a good candidate for a person who is honorable, good, competent, and just doesn't like Honor or any of her friends for some reason. He would acknowledge her skill and could work with her just fine, but he would rather not have a beer with her, if you know what I mean.

On the other hand, it may just be my inner A-hole.

roseandheather wrote:I've speculated - loudly, and at length - about the possibility of my darling diminutive Governor falling in love with my unexpectedly badass Station Commander. And I've explained - loudly, and at length - just why I believe this pairing works so well.

But we haven't spent much time talking about the how.

So, for those of you out there who also think they're meant to be - and I know you exist - how do you think it would happen? And when? How sturdy a cluestick will/would it take to convince Augustus that she's actually in love with him? How long will Estelle wait before she just pins him up against a wall and snogs him stupid? Will Michelle Henke and/or Victoria Saunders and/or Loretta Shoupe and/or Gregor O'Shaughnessey get sick of the mutual pining and moony calf-eyes and just lock them in a closet until they sort themselves out? And what do you think it would take to wake the two of them up to the fact that they've been slowly falling in love ever since Monica?

Have at ye olde speculation, mateys!

crewdude48 wrote:Frankly, I really hope that, the next time they share screentime, those two show "extreme respect for ability" and "inability to enjoy personalities" in equal measure. I am kind of getting tired of everybody in the books who is a white hat being on or tightly associated with Team Honor. Hell, even all of the good guy Peeps are on Team Honor!! I always felt that Khumalo would be a good candidate for a person who is honorable, good, competent, and just doesn't like Honor or any of her friends for some reason. He would acknowledge her skill and could work with her just fine, but he would rather not have a beer with her, if you know what I mean.

On the other hand, it may just be my inner A-hole.

Yeah, definitely just your inner a-hole.

Actually, though, I agree with you. I doubt there's going to be any "dislike of personality" going on with Augustus and Estelle, given that we've already had considerable evidence to the contrary, but we know Estelle is quite possibly the biggest Honor fangirl in the known Honorverse not named Thomas Theisman or Shannon Foraker, and it would be quite interesting to see Khumalo and Estelle butting heads on the subject of "Honor Harrington: Respected Fleet Commander But Not My Kind of Person or The Greatest Human Being In the Known Universe?"

crewdude48 wrote:Frankly, I really hope that, the next time they share screentime, those two show "extreme respect for ability" and "inability to enjoy personalities" in equal measure. I am kind of getting tired of everybody in the books who is a white hat being on or tightly associated with Team Honor. Hell, even all of the good guy Peeps are on Team Honor!! I always felt that Khumalo would be a good candidate for a person who is honorable, good, competent, and just doesn't like Honor or any of her friends for some reason. He would acknowledge her skill and could work with her just fine, but he would rather not have a beer with her, if you know what I mean.

On the other hand, it may just be my inner A-hole.

RFC has already given us Sir Yancey Parks in The Short Victorious War. Which was some time ago.

--snipping--

Vince wrote:

CrewDude48 wrote:...
On the other hand, it may just be my inner A-hole.

RFC has already given us Sir Yancey Parks in The Short Victorious War. Which was some time ago....

I think Lester & Chin would both indicate grudging respect but perhaps not like HHH very much, given that they've both been on the receiving end of more than one spanking by her units.

Likely both Oversteegen and Khumalo won't necessarily like Honor a whole heck of a lot because they indicate that their basic politics are more towards the "Conservative" side than the Crown Loyalists, but they like everyone else in the Alliance has to respect her competence and that she lives up to her name.

SharkHunter wrote:Likely both Oversteegen and Khumalo won't necessarily like Honor a whole heck of a lot because they indicate that their basic politics are more towards the "Conservative" side than the Crown Loyalists, but they like everyone else in the Alliance has to respect her competence and that she lives up to her name.

It does make you wonder how many glasses were raised over Honor's "Black eye" when news of Solon reached the fleet. In reality, the Solon losses were little more than a love tap compared to other battles (Henke being lost/captured was probably the biggest outcome of the battle, other than Honor's black mark in her scorebook). Members of the "Salamander - BOO!" club probably took a little glee at the outcome and hoisted a few in private.