Roania:
One of the oddities about the Dominion line of communication had been, for some time, a little thing they liked to call Spook. It all went back to Einstein and the bit on 'spooky interactions', and discussion on it could be rather long and tedious for anyone not interested in quantum entanglement. In layman's terms, it simply meant that they had a nigh instantaneous method of communicating, broken down into groups and cells, and teams and the like, routed through various centers who then connected to other nodes, and more or less had a vast amount of intel within easy grasp.
It wasn't perfect, of course, and it relied on them having proper knowledge, and doing the legwork to get said intel, or access to allied infobanks, and so on. Still, they maintained a quiet pride in it, and the somewhat unusual man who'd accidentally, it seemed, given it to them.
Were it not for Spook, maintaining a place like Machiavelli would be a logistical nightmare, even with the top-of-the-line security Op they had hired. She was infallible. They were not, after all. But thanks to the system, and to their attention to details such as foreign dignitaries, whether present on business, pleasure, or in the case of some, as a punishment of some sort, word had long since spread about the young Reixanxi princess, and how to operate in regards to her highness. At least all the staff knew, and they in turn tended to pass the word on to those they held in regard, in order to avoid embarrassing incidents.
The standard, as it stood, was to offer at all times the proper deference where possible, the desired awe that she appeared to demand, and appreciative responses insofar as her presence and appearance were involved - but most importantly, to remain very much hands-off. 'Look, but whatever else you do, do not touch.' Whether an excuse of rules, of policy, of honor - which a few found rather amusing for various reasons - or anything else that came to mind, said excuse was to be made, and if necessary, assistance called for via Spook - for those who had access, which included station security and staff, and any visiting persons of note who ranked high enough to warrant it.
Code S was to be considered only at extremes, and if all other options had failed. It was rather fervently hoped that such measures would never be required.
And so it was, while others were taken up with the newest arrivals, the entrance of the tiny princess was greeted with decidedly appreciative looks, lingering stares that stopped just short of being offensive yet made no pretense at being anything other than they were - taking in a beautiful young woman from head to toe, and enjoying the view.
Lixuan was near immediately offered refreshment by one of the mobile valets, though to her, he kept his eyes down and bowed a bit more than just his head, then backed away a couple of steps after she responded and either accepted or declined, before continuing on his rounds.
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Kinstantia:
"Pleasure, Lieutenant," Bernardo replied warmly, offering a hand after the salute. His service was a very long time ago, and had of a nature, been brief, and saluting simply wasn't one of his usual nuances.
The girls of course offered very welcoming smiles and managed to wordlessly offer a bit more in how they moved in their slight curtsies while still hanging gracefully on either of Bernardo's arms when not in use.
"I'm not certain any of us are capable of meeting them all in one lifetime," Bernardo said thoughtfully to Kai. "Though its no doubt a worthwhile goal. We've discovered much more than we had ever expected, given early on we were entirely unaware of anything beyond Sol, no less anything that wasn't human, when we first became aware of the breach in reality that seems to have enabled all of this."
He wasn't certain of the Kinstanti approach to it all, but it was the prevailing - and most comforting - theory the Dominion natives had to answer for all the oddities in time-flux, physical locations, historical hiccups, and all the rest they'd encountered. God bless the 'Pendrans for that particular contribution, among many others.
"I suppose we're a rather friendly bunch all in all. Trade, as you might have noticed, is my personal and professional interest, and getting along tends to help with that. We would be more than happy to help you along in that regard, meeting and greeting some of the more approachable nations and governments out there - at least those that we're aware of currently. We probably have a few we'd recommend avoiding as well, though some no longer seem to be present in this particular timeline."
"So far as a formal meeting, we can manage that as well. Just let me know who you'd like to include, and I can have our people put it in motion. I'm certain our Imperatrice would like to make your acquaintance, if nothing else. As for attractiveness, well," he chuckled deprecatingly. "One can't argue good genetic stock, one supposes. We've been gifted with a rather rich history of it all, and we rather like the way it's all panned out. I would almost suggest a similarity, just going off of yourself, and some of your staff and crew, if that's not too presumptuous."
