A Meeting under Moon and Stars (Closed)

[Kyrenaia]

If all the Astarians do not miss Damir's expression when the Handmaiden whispers into his ear, they do not visibly react about it. After all, considering the rumors they believed to be true about Damir and Aurelia, their respect for their host in that regard were about as high as the one he now had for the Morozovs.
All those bad thoughts however, are pushed aside when the Handmaidens bring the puddings, Adrean, Anna and their friends thanking the handmaidens with warm smiles. They listen to Aurelia's explanation, before nodding to her once she's finished and digging in too.

But just as the first bite reach their mouth and they start chewing, the six Imperials freeze on the spot as one, their faces locked in a neutral expression, their eyes suddenly seemingly becoming blank, no emotions or even life felt in them.
As they swallow, a few more seconds pass in silence, before the muscles of their necks visibly contract...
...Only for the quietness of the room to be suddenly shattered as six piercing cries - or more accurately, shrieks- emanate from the Imperials as they raise their hands to their heads, the high-pitched sounds of Alicia, Patricia and Anna's voices mixing with the deeper tones of their husbands. Horror, pain, misery, the sounds emanating from them reflecting all these feelings and more.
As the sounds die down, it's only to be immediatly followed by agonishing sobs, as the Astarians fall to their sides, some of them curling into foetal positions.
Whatever they were thinking about now, it was not happy at all.
Seems like Aurelia was right after all, this pudding was really worthy of the Goddess of Death and Destruction...

Princess Aurelia bint-Damir.
Large Dining Room of the Aurelia.
Okay, that was new.
I mean, sure, the cook did cook extremely well, but no one ever cried out in pain like our guests did - Dad was almost immediately on his feet, barking, in Kyrenaian: "Medical Emergency! Get me Doctor Tabalfina here!"
That spurred us into action: I was immediately at Colonel Morozov's side, looking him over, Younger Militia training kicking in - first aid. I could not make out something wrong. The others on the table were not alarmed as well, but were looking over their neighbours as well, worried expressions on their faces.
They were trained in first aid, like I was, but no one was a trained Doctor.
"Hey, hey...", I began, trying to get a response out of the man, "...what's wrong? Where does it hurt?"
It took only a minute or two for the ship's Doctor and a pair of nurses to appear.
He carried a Big Bag of Stuff with him, which would hopefully aid him in aiding them.
Nut allergy?
Of course, the first one under his attention was Adrean, the medical professional softly pushing away Fara. Dad, meanwhile, was composing a message in his head, or rather a number of messages: One began with the admission, that we might have accidentally have poisoned the Emperor of a foreign, sovereign nation... no one ever informed us about any food allergies.
A nurse softly pushed me away and I joined Dad's side.

[Astares Amauricanum]

When Aurelia tries to reach to him, Pavel's first reaction is to shrink away from the Princess, his sobs not decreasing in the slightest.
"P-p-please..." one would be able to hear faintly said in Astarian beneath the thunder of his cries. "...m-make i-i-i-it s-tttop."
For his wife, as well as for Adrean, Anna, Yuri and Patricia, the situation would be similar, shrinking away as the medics and nurses try to reach to them, while uttering faint complaints and desperate pleas among their wracking sobs.

However, after a few seconds as Adrean opens his eyes again and lets his hands go down a bit again, he sees a male person, a doctor apparently, trying to reach to him. Not his memories of pain and poison, just a doctor like him, doing what they both swore to do.
Immediatly, his mind comes back to reality, but as he does that, it comes at the price of a splitting and sudden headache, causing him to nearly roar another cry of pain.
"Aarrrgh!" he shouts, holding his head again, before suddenly calling "Phantoms, roll call!" in Astarian.
"Ph-ph-phan... Phantom 2 here." replies in Astarian too the meek voice of his wife lying next to him, before she syddenly shouts in pain too, apparently also suffering from a sudden headache too.
"Phantom 3 here." continues Pavel, his voice now more audible but still cut at times by sobs.
"Ph-Phantom 4." follows Alicia among her cries.
"Plague 1 here, pain, please standby" says Yuri, his sentence xur in half by a powerful sob, as he hold his head too.
"Vampire 1." finishes Patricia, holding her head like the other five Astarians, all the cells of her brain telling her they will explode any second now.
"Good." replies Adrean to everyone, still groaning from the pain, before turning to Doctor Tabalfina, barely visible through the mizt of his tears. "Doctor can you please get us some Tramadol pills, 200mg, and a glass of water each? " he asks in English, his sobs slowmy beginning to die down, just like for his wife and friends.

[Kyrenaia]

When Aurelia tries to reach to him, Pavel's first reaction is to shrink away from the Princess, his sobs not decreasing in the slightest.
"P-p-please..." one would be able to hear faintly said in Astarian beneath the thunder of his cries. "...m-make i-i-i-it s-tttop."
For his wife, as well as for Adrean, Anna, Yuri and Patricia, the situation would be similar, shrinking away as the medics and nurses try to reach to them, while uttering faint complaints and desperate pleas among their wracking sobs.

However, after a few seconds as Adrean opens his eyes again and lets his hands go down a bit again, he sees a male person, a doctor apparently, trying to reach to him. Not his memories of pain and poison, just a doctor like him, doing what they both swore to do.
Immediatly, his mind comes back to reality, but as he does that, it comes at the price of a splitting and sudden headache, causing him to nearly roar another cry of pain.
"Aarrrgh!" he shouts, holding his head again, before suddenly calling "Phantoms, roll call!" in Astarian.
"Ph-ph-phan... Phantom 2 here." replies in Astarian too the meek voice of his wife lying next to him, before she syddenly shouts in pain too, apparently also suffering from a sudden headache too.
"Phantom 3 here." continues Pavel, his voice now more audible but still cut at times by sobs.
"Ph-Phantom 4." follows Alicia among her cries.
"Plague 1 here, pain, please standby" says Yuri, his sentence xur in half by a powerful sob, as he hold his head too.
"Vampire 1." finishes Patricia, holding her head like the other five Astarians, all the cells of her brain telling her they will explode any second now.
"Good." replies Adrean to everyone, still groaning from the pain, before turning to Doctor Tabalfina, barely visible through the mizt of his tears. "Doctor can you please get us some Tramadol pills, 200mg, and a glass of water each? " he asks in English, his sobs slowmy beginning to die down, just like for his wife and friends.

Princess Aurelia bint-Damir.
Large Dining Room of the Aurelia.
The Morozov shrinked away, clearly in pain, as did the others, even from the nurses, who were readily recognizable as such by the Red Diamonds on their sleeves.
After muttering something in their own tongue, however, Adrean seemed to come to and asked the Doctor for some medication.
The older gentleman raised an eyebrow.
He was, as I was, well aware, that Adrean was trained as a Medic and did training as a physician - and as a Doctor, he should know, too, that giving medicine just because a patient, no matter his standing, asked for it, was Not A Good Idea.
"Not before I have assessed, what ails you, lad.", he said and began to examine the man, following the IPPA - inspection, palpation, percussion and auscultation. He focussed on the head. "Someone go down to the kitchens, please, and ask if they used anything, which might cause an allergic reaction."
"Nuts.", I said and pointed to the half-eaten puddings. A Handmaiden still departed.
The Doctor nodded, then turned back to Adrean: "Any food allergies known to you, lad? Including to nuts?", he asked, continuing his examination.
Meanwhile the nurses tried to reassure the other guests as best as they could. We moved a bit away, Dad and Fara discussing in hushed whispers, giving them space to work.

[Astares Amauricanum]

Adrean, just like the others, let the doc and nurses examine them, taking deep breaths and trying to not focus on the pain still hammering in their heads.
"Do not worry doc, the only things I'm allergic to was penicillin when I was a kid, and human stupidity which is unfortunately prevalent today." replies the Keisaer with a sigh as he rubs his right temple. Aside from that, no known allergies to any type of food."
"I'm just saying," says Anna from ehr hisband's side as she is also examined, "byt maaayyyybe we should have also sent them our own medical and alletgy sheets, just like they sent theirs back to us when we asked them with the invitation letter.
-You're right, mea culpa for me, I figured not saying anything would mean we do not have any problems." replies Adrean. "That said doc, if we had been allergic to one of the pudding's ingredients, you can very well imagine that we would not have eaten it. What we just suffered could be called: Food-induced, post-traumatic flashback. In other words, this pudding - which is delicious by the way" he says as he casts a glance to Aurelia- "has about the same taste as one meal that we ate in the past, during a very painful time, and so it caused our minds to drift back to those days. I suppose everyone will agree with that?" he asks around to his compatriots, to which they all answer with a nod. "That's what I thought." he finishes before groaning again as another jolt of pain, although way less intense, flares in his head again.
"Say Damir," calls Anna to their host after a deep breath as she rubs her head a bit, "do you mind if we go take a bit of fresh air on the bridge once your staff is done examining us, just to calm ourselves?"

[Kyrenaia]

Adrean, just like the others, let the doc and nurses examine them, taking deep breaths and trying to not focus on the pain still hammering in their heads.
"Do not worry doc, the only things I'm allergic to was penicillin when I was a kid, and human stupidity which is unfortunately prevalent today." replies the Keisaer with a sigh as he rubs his right temple. Aside from that, no known allergies to any type of food."
"I'm just saying," says Anna from ehr hisband's side as she is also examined, "byt maaayyyybe we should have also sent them our own medical and alletgy sheets, just like they sent theirs back to us when we asked them with the invitation letter.
-You're right, mea culpa for me, I figured not saying anything would mean we do not have any problems." replies Adrean. "That said doc, if we had been allergic to one of the pudding's ingredients, you can very well imagine that we would not have eaten it. What we just suffered could be called: Food-induced, post-traumatic flashback. In other words, this pudding - which is delicious by the way" he says as he casts a glance to Aurelia- "has about the same taste as one meal that we ate in the past, during a very painful time, and so it caused our minds to drift back to those days. I suppose everyone will agree with that?" he asks around to his compatriots, to which they all answer with a nod. "That's what I thought." he finishes before groaning again as another jolt of pain, although way less intense, flares in his head again.
"Say Damir," calls Anna to their host after a deep breath as she rubs her head a bit, "do you mind if we go take a bit of fresh air on the bridge once your staff is done examining us, just to calm ourselves?"

Princess Aurelia bint-Damir.
Large Dining Room of the Aurelia.
As the guests normalized, and realized, that they did an oopsie themselves by not sending back allergy sheets, the nurses and Doctor Tabalfina stopped the examinations. There was apparently nothing wrong physically.
The Doctor exhaled calmly as he packed up, apparently listening with only half an ear.
"Fresh air will do you good... as well as proper attention by a psychologist.", he said and raised a hand, "I presumed, that you are debriefed after each and every one of your little... excursions, and believe me, I know, how those work. Still, they do not replace proper sessions with a psychologist, which will help you against your PTSD." He let a beat pass. "Other then that, before you go, I need the contact information of your family physician, he should be informed about what happened. And he should be informed about you needing a little refresher, kid." He glared daggers at Adrean. "When another doctor treats, you do not ask him for any medication beyond a glass of water, especially not when you are asking for opioid analgesic agents!"
He took a breath, calming himself. Opioids did ring a bell with me - those were not harmless things and not to be used lightly. I knew, that Doctor Tabalfina was angry and that any try to intimidate him or to change his mind would be doomed, if not a stillbirth in the first place. It was easily visible to the point, that he could write I'm angry onto his forehead with pink marker and it would be less obvious.
"It is not only dangerous for all involved, but also simply rude. I do not know, which quack gave you your degree or if you drew it yourself with finger paint, but where I am from, said degree would get revoked.", he added, then took out a notepad and a pen. Adrean, I hoped, would realize on his own, that he was in the wrong here and just take the loss. "Now, the contact information?"
Once he would have the contact information, he and his nurses went back to the sickbay, the Doctor in order to write to said family physician or physicians.
Dad exhaled.
"You don't want to go to the Bridge for fresh air. The promenade is right outside.", he said and nodded to a Handmaiden, who proceeded to open one of the curtains, revealing a glass door, which she opened onto the Promenade Deck. It gave a good view of the coastline. "Off you go."

[Astares Amauricanum]

As Tabalfina lectures him, Adrean holds his gaze with a neutral look, his own eyes reflecting nothing.
Once the doctor has finished saying his piece and taken out his notepad, Adrean tajes a deep breath, before taking out his own notepad from his vest's interior, along with a pen, and starts scribbling on it.
After a minute and a half, he rips the page off and hands it to Tabalfina.
I apologize for having asked Tramadol doc. But what I was doing was only carry out what I've been taught during my training, as an opioid like Tramadol would be delivered in case of a sudden and intense pain, then would be replaced by less potent medicines such as paracetamol. And I didn't mean to act rude towards you or your staff, my apologies if you felt that way.
As for my personal physician:
Pr Erik Laren
Head of the Internal Medicine Department, Imperial Compound Hospital, Columbia District.
Vice-President of the Astarian Society of Internal Medicine
Phone number xx xxxx xxx xx
Mail: DrLarenErik@lupamail.com
FYI, he was the quack who gave me my degree.
Have a nice evening doc. And thanks for examining us.

Once he has given that to Tabalfina, ve looks back to Damir, before answering: "Thanks, but we'll take the Sun Deck anyway. We need to discuss things among us, and enjoy some time alone."
And without any other word, he turns on his heels, before going out the door, followed by Anna and the rest of his group.

Once the six have arrived on the Sun Deck at the bow of the ship, Adrean leans on the rail, just like Anna and their friends.
"So, what did you wrote?" asks Pavel after a few seconds of silence.
"That I was apologizing, but that what I was only asking was based on what I was taught. I'm sure Erik will love to hear he is a quack. I wonder if the good doctor will include this in the report he will send him." replies the Emperor with a sarcastic chuckle, before passing an arm around his wife's shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm sure he will totally appreciate to hear that, as the Vice-President of the Astarian Society of Internal Medicine." replies the Empress with a chuckle too. "So, what will you do?" she asks her husband.
"Nothing," he replies as he takes a piece of gum from his vest and starts chewing. "It would give them a pleasure too great to see that they have managed to irk us with such a small thing. I'm partially in the wrong too here anyway. Moreover, let's not escalate things, especially now that Damir has nothing but contempt for you two for having sullied his precious toilets with your need for sex." he adds with a sarcastic tone to Pavel and Alicia. Before they can answer, he adds: "Don't you worry, I'll make sure to make him understand that what we do is enjoy the present as it comes, Carpe Diem and all that shit, and that was a prime example. Besides, you didn't leave any spots did you?"
"Not at all." replies Alicia. "Everything in the little condom and down the trashcan."
"Good, good." replies Anna, before turning to Yuri. "Say Yuri, to get it over with, do you mind if Patricia hands your punishment now?"
"Sure, no problem." replies the male Petrenko with a nod, "but you're sure this'll not irk them more?"
"As Adrean said, we'll clear that later. And besides, it's a private matter, and this way they'll have the proof it has been adressed." replies the Empress.
"Okay then." replies Yuri. "Honey, you ready?" he asks as he turns to his wife.
"All set." Simply answers the brown-haired woman, before sending her right leg upwards, kicking her husband in the groin. As Yuri stays unmoving, but his face clearly showing pain, Patricia follows by three punches to the stomach, before grabbing her husband's arm, passing it over her shoulder while spinning on her heels, and flipping Yuri's body over her shoulder, making him land on his back with a loud THUD on the bridge.
"You good man?" asks Pavel.
"Yeah yeah, I'm okay." replies the male Petrenko with a groan, before his wife helps him up and captures his lips for a passionate kiss, as they wrap their arms around each other.
"Glad this is taken care off." says Adrean as he pats Yuri's shoulder once the couple have separated. "Let's not make the same mistake again."
"Yeah, just like you for the allergy sheets." replies Yuri before punching Adrean in the stomach.
"Touché indeed." replies Adrean while trying to not show any pain, before the whole group erupts into laughter, enjoying this moment among themselves.
Once they have finish laughing, they all lean again on the railing, the couples now forming, with each one having an arm wrapped around their loved one shoulders.
"The coastline is really beautiful tonight." says Alicia as she leans her head in the crook of Pavel's neck, as they all see the faraway lights of the coast in the distance.
"Yeah." replies her husband. "No matter what people think of our country, we will always love it."

[Kyrenaia]

As Tabalfina lectures him, Adrean holds his gaze with a neutral look, his own eyes reflecting nothing.
Once the doctor has finished saying his piece and taken out his notepad, Adrean tajes a deep breath, before taking out his own notepad from his vest's interior, along with a pen, and starts scribbling on it.
After a minute and a half, he rips the page off and hands it to Tabalfina.
I apologize for having asked Tramadol doc. But what I was doing was only carry out what I've been taught during my training, as an opioid like Tramadol would be delivered in case of a sudden and intense pain, then would be replaced by less potent medicines such as paracetamol. And I didn't mean to act rude towards you or your staff, my apologies if you felt that way.
As for my personal physician:
Pr Erik Laren
Head of the Internal Medicine Department, Imperial Compound Hospital, Columbia District.
Vice-President of the Astarian Society of Internal Medicine
Phone number xx xxxx xxx xx
Mail: DrLarenErik@lupamail.com
FYI, he was the quack who gave me my degree.
Have a nice evening doc. And thanks for examining us.

Once he has given that to Tabalfina, ve looks back to Damir, before answering: "Thanks, but we'll take the Sun Deck anyway. We need to discuss things among us, and enjoy some time alone."
And without any other word, he turns on his heels, before going out the door, followed by Anna and the rest of his group.

Once the six have arrived on the Sun Deck at the bow of the ship, Adrean leans on the rail, just like Anna and their friends.
"So, what did you wrote?" asks Pavel after a few seconds of silence.
"That I was apologizing, but that what I was only asking was based on what I was taught. I'm sure Erik will love to hear he is a quack. I wonder if the good doctor will include this in the report he will send him." replies the Emperor with a sarcastic chuckle, before passing an arm around his wife's shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm sure he will totally appreciate to hear that, as the Vice-President of the Astarian Society of Internal Medicine." replies the Empress with a chuckle too. "So, what will you do?" she asks her husband.
"Nothing," he replies as he takes a piece of gum from his vest and starts chewing. "It would give them a pleasure too great to see that they have managed to irk us with such a small thing. I'm partially in the wrong too here anyway. Moreover, let's not escalate things, especially now that Damir has nothing but contempt for you two for having sullied his precious toilets with your need for sex." he adds with a sarcastic tone to Pavel and Alicia. Before they can answer, he adds: "Don't you worry, I'll make sure to make him understand that what we do is enjoy the present as it comes, Carpe Diem and all that shit, and that was a prime example. Besides, you didn't leave any spots did you?"
"Not at all." replies Alicia. "Everything in the little condom and down the trashcan."
"Good, good." replies Anna, before turning to Yuri. "Say Yuri, to get it over with, do you mind if Patricia hands your punishment now?"
"Sure, no problem." replies the male Petrenko with a nod, "but you're sure this'll not irk them more?"
"As Adrean said, we'll clear that later. And besides, it's a private matter, and this way they'll have the proof it has been adressed." replies the Empress.
"Okay then." replies Yuri. "Honey, you ready?" he asks as he turns to his wife.
"All set." Simply answers the brown-haired woman, before sending her right leg upwards, kicking her husband in the groin. As Yuri stays unmoving, but his face clearly showing pain, Patricia follows by three punches to the stomach, before grabbing her husband's arm, passing it over her shoulder while spinning on her heels, and flipping Yuri's body over her shoulder, making him land on his back with a loud THUD on the bridge.
"You good man?" asks Pavel.
"Yeah yeah, I'm okay." replies the male Petrenko with a groan, before his wife helps him up and captures his lips for a passionate kiss, as they wrap their arms around each other.
"Glad this is taken care off." says Adrean as he pats Yuri's shoulder once the couple have separated. "Let's not make the same mistake again."
"Yeah, just like you for the allergy sheets." replies Yuri before punching Adrean in the stomach.
"Touché indeed." replies Adrean while trying to not show any pain, before the whole group erupts into laughter, enjoying this moment among themselves.
Once they have finish laughing, they all lean again on the railing, the couples now forming, with each one having an arm wrapped around their loved one shoulders.
"The coastline is really beautiful tonight." says Alicia as she leans her head in the crook of Pavel's neck, as they all see the faraway lights of the coast in the distance.
"Yeah." replies her husband. "No matter what people think of our country, we will always love it."

Princess Aurelia bint-Damir.
Large Dining Room of the Aurelia.
When our guests left the Large Dining Room, Dad exhaled, long and hard.
Of course, we would be speaking Kyrenaian now.
"By the Lioness' teats...", Elian mumbled and shook his head, "What a mess."
"Indeed.", Dad said and looked at one of the Handmaidens, "Please clean the pudding up and tell the chef to bring out the alfakihat... and please assist the Doctor and the nurses."
The Handmaiden nodded and moved into action, one of the younger ones running for the kitchens.
Dad motioned for me, Fara and Doctor Tabalfina to come closer. This was not a slight against Commander Shabaltay or against Elian and Rasha, but fact of the matter was, that we had more experience in dealing with such situations - that, and the Doctor had his own thing to share.
He showed us the note.
"Fine 'Vice-President of the Astarian Society of Internal Medicine'.", he said with quite a bit of biting sarcasm, "Can't even teach his bloody students to respect their doctors or their duties."
"Doctor, please.", Dad said and raised a hand, "Just report to him, what happened and your conclusions from it, as well as your recommendations and be done with it. Be assured, that your colleagues back home are more professional."
"And if they aren't, they won't be your colleagues for long.", I added with a grin.
That made the Doctor snort in amusement. "You are right. Though I will attach a PS, that I did call him a quack without knowing, who he was, and that I still call him a quack, especially since I know, who he is."
"Please also attach a PPS, in that case.", Dad said, "With best regards from me, the two of you are free to compare your doctoral dicks as much as you want, but leave us out of that. We have neither interest nor time in getting involved in such a discussion."
Doctor Tabalfina laughed. "That, I will do, Prince!", he said with a grin, then bowed his head to all of us and wished us "A good evening."
We said our good night wishes to him, then he was gone. His nurses had cleaned up with the Handmaidens, who had made the table look good again as well and who were removing the offending pudding.
"I have a feeling, that we will have a lot of drama with those people.", Fara said and sighed, "One of the issues of soldier-rulers without proper manners, care or upbringing."
"Sadly, a fact.", Dad agreed with a firm nod, "We do not know, what his father had in mind for Adrean, but fact is, it did not come to fruition and that is, what the Empire got. Gods, the Ruvians should be more thankful for Yoshio..."
We nodded, then I recalled something: "Though, one question... when the Morozovs returned, what did the Handmaiden tell you?"
"He fucked her on the toilet as a stress relief.", Dad replied and shook his head, while both Fara and I visibly lost any sort of respect we had for them. Luckily, neither of them were present. Dad, however, continued: "Hey, if they want to fuck, let them fuck, but there is a time and there is a place - and the toilet of a foreign mobile embassy is not such a place. Not to mention, that it speaks of a terrible lack of self-control that he can't keep it in his pants!"
Dad shook his head.
"One of the main problems with nepotism.", Fara said, then giggled, "Though let's be honest, you are also offended that they didn't ask you for a bedroom because now you look like a bad host." I giggled as well and Dad let out a short laugh. "More importantly, what now?"
"Well...", Dad and I began, stopped, looked at each other - Dad motioned to me. I was to present my idea, then he would rate. "We finish dinner and endure the rest of the state visit as planned. I must admit, that I personally look forward the most to the hiking trip."
Dad nodded. "Sounds about what I had planned. Would I be on any other vessel, I would have half a mind to abort this visit, but this boat is too slow and Kyrenaia too far away to cite a sudden emergency as a reason to abort." He glanced to me. This ship bore my name, after all. "No offense meant. In any case... I got what we came here for, as a verbal agreement. Adrean is willing to work with us towards keeping Marcella's little powder keg safe."
We both knew, that he would like it more in writing, but the time for that would come soon enough.
"You used that phrase?", I asked.
He nodded. "Yes. I just hope, that he doesn't tell anyone outside his inner circle the contents of a diplomatic conversation."
"He is supposed to be whatever counts as spacial forces around these parts.", Fara said and shrugged, "He should know how to keep his cake hole shut."
Dad nodded, though his eyes were still on me.
I knew, that he was planning something...
"Be it as it may...", Fara said and drew his and my attention, "...this was certainly an eventful dinner. Let's hope, that the dinners and lunches in the future with them do not get out of hand as well..."
We nodded. We would have to be on our best behaviour no matter what, though, even if it might clash with the local traditions.
We did have presents, though - presents for the Empire, not its Emperor.
Dad sighed, looked to the table. Elian, Rasha and the Commander were sitting again, the Handmaidens had retreated and left the Alfakihat, a marzipan confectionary shaped to look like fruits, already on the table. This was the dessert.
I had a feeling, that Dad would cut the digestive.
And I had the feeling, that Dad and Adrean would not become friends - they would work together, if the situation demanded it, but they would not become friends.
As we returned to the table, Dad quipped: "I'll certainly recommend Mother to serve them Mucmarseog - Pig's Pudding."
I shuddered as others laughed. We then had a bit of small talk in Kyrenaian as we awaited the return of our guests, unaware of the punishments going on.

[Astares Amauricanum]

Unaware of the discussion happening some decks below them, the Astarians continue to enjoy the night scenery for some time, until all of their smartphones ring as one. Picking them up, they all find the same message, telling them that the helicopter coming to pick them up will be there in 12 minutes.
"Well, time to get back home guys." says Adrean as they all put their smartphones in their pockets (and purses for the ladies.) "Go get changed, I need to wrap thing up with Damir, and write something for him." he says on a neutral tone, but with the clear untold message that this is an order not to be discussed.
"Aye." they all reply, before leaving Adrean and Anna alone on the deck, coming back inside to grab their bags and change.

Once alone, the Keisaer takes out his notepad and his pen, before starting to write something. However, after a few seconds, he curses hefore ripping the page off, before crumpling the piece of paper and putting it in one of his pants pocket.
After two more fails, he finally manages to write something that seemingly satisfies him, as ha rips the page off again, but instead showing it to his wife, who simply nods with a comforting smile, and folding it neatly, before the Imperial Couple walks back inside, towards the Dining Room.

As they reach it, Adrean simply knocks two times, before entering alone, Anna staying in the corridor and leaning on the wall, hidden from view of their hosts, her arms crossed.
"So everyone," says Adrean to the group, "we've just been noified that our ride coming to pick us up arrives in ten minutes, so we'll take our leave." As he says that, he approaches Damir.
"Damir, thank you for having hosted us tonight, thank the cooks for their work. The meal was delightful." he says with a smile, before his expression turns more serious and firm. "Also, sorry about the mess. More on this. Good night everyone." he adds to the group as he hands Damir the poece of paper, nods to the rest of the Kyrenaians, before turning on his heels and going to the toilets to get changed.

Unfolding the piece of paper would reveal the following words in English:

Damir,
as I have told you, sorry about what happened tonight. As Pavel's commanding officer, I will take responsability for what he did.

However, know one thing: even though I agree that it was kind of not the place for him to do what he did, I also think that the fact a Handmaiden reported what happened to you is, for us Astarians, a clear breach of privacy. This may be your boat, but as far as I know, when someone goes to the toilet, it's supposed to be his private business, his and his alone. Would you have reacted the same if, for example, he had vomited and dirtied the stool if he was sick? I'm willing to bet that no. Here, he didn't leave any trace of what happened, so that's his and Alicia's business and his alone. End of story.

Secondly, I'm pretty sure that right now, you don't hold us in high esteem. I won't lie, if you want to go home, I won't hold you back. But if you do that based only on what happened tonight, it's dissapointing. Anna, me and countless others could have many things to say that would make us not want to interact with the Sultanate, but we don't do that.
Why? Because of empathy, one of the values of the Astrum Lex, our code of honor. We try to understand what makes the other what he is, be in his shoes, see with his eyes. It does not always work perfectly, but it really helps go beyond stereotypes and prejudice.
That'w what me and others will have in mind during this visit, if you choose to continue with us after having read this.

To come back to Pavel and Alicia, if you've ever been in contact with veterans, you may know that after they've seen combat, something changes in them, and it affects them for the rest of their lives, for better or for worse.
Anna, me and our Personal Guards have been doing this for the past fifteen years, with ten years as Special Forces. Of all the things we've seen or done, one thing for sure, our faith in humanity is gone at this point.
While many would have crumbled mentally, we held on. And instead of relying on antidepressants or other related medicines, tobacco or alcohol, we instead found something else that is way more sane for the mind and body. Tea, chewing gum... and sex. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, and no, I'm not mocking you, it's the doctor in me that speaks. The rush of endorphins after intercourse has proven to be, at least for our group, to be as effective, if not way more effective, than a bunch of tablets or cigarettes.

As for me and Tabalfina, I recognize, I've not been professional towards him. My apologies.

In the end, whether or not you like the contents of this message, know that I've been honest with you here. I've heard that Kyrenaians appreciate honesty, even if it hurts.
So, in the end, do what you want. K
If you still want to go through the state visit, I will welcome all of you with open arms, if not, well, my regards to your mother.

Signed,
His Imperial Majesty, Keisaer Adrean Blachkor

[Kyrenaia]

Unaware of the discussion happening some decks below them, the Astarians continue to enjoy the night scenery for some time, until all of their smartphones ring as one. Picking them up, they all find the same message, telling them that the helicopter coming to pick them up will be there in 12 minutes.
"Well, time to get back home guys." says Adrean as they all put their smartphones in their pockets (and purses for the ladies.) "Go get changed, I need to wrap thing up with Damir, and write something for him." he says on a neutral tone, but with the clear untold message that this is an order not to be discussed.
"Aye." they all reply, before leaving Adrean and Anna alone on the deck, coming back inside to grab their bags and change.

Once alone, the Keisaer takes out his notepad and his pen, before starting to write something. However, after a few seconds, he curses hefore ripping the page off, before crumpling the piece of paper and putting it in one of his pants pocket.
After two more fails, he finally manages to write something that seemingly satisfies him, as ha rips the page off again, but instead showing it to his wife, who simply nods with a comforting smile, and folding it neatly, before the Imperial Couple walks back inside, towards the Dining Room.

As they reach it, Adrean simply knocks two times, before entering alone, Anna staying in the corridor and leaning on the wall, hidden from view of their hosts, her arms crossed.
"So everyone," says Adrean to the group, "we've just been noified that our ride coming to pick us up arrives in ten minutes, so we'll take our leave." As he says that, he approaches Damir.
"Damir, thank you for having hosted us tonight, thank the cooks for their work. The meal was delightful." he says with a smile, before his expression turns more serious and firm. "Also, sorry about the mess. More on this. Good night everyone." he adds to the group as he hands Damir the poece of paper, nods to the rest of the Kyrenaians, before turning on his heels and going to the toilets to get changed.

Unfolding the piece of paper would reveal the following words in English:

Damir,
as I have told you, sorry about what happened tonight. As Pavel's commanding officer, I will take responsability for what he did.

However, know one thing: even though I agree that it was kind of not the place for him to do what he did, I also think that the fact a Handmaiden reported what happened to you is, for us Astarians, a clear breach of privacy. This may be your boat, but as far as I know, when someone goes to the toilet, it's supposed to be his private business, his and his alone. Would you have reacted the same if, for example, he had vomited and dirtied the stool if he was sick? I'm willing to bet that no. Here, he didn't leave any trace of what happened, so that's his and Alicia's business and his alone. End of story.

Secondly, I'm pretty sure that right now, you don't hold us in high esteem. I won't lie, if you want to go home, I won't hold you back. But if you do that based only on what happened tonight, it's dissapointing. Anna, me and countless others could have many things to say that would make us not want to interact with the Sultanate, but we don't do that.
Why? Because of empathy, one of the values of the Astrum Lex, our code of honor. We try to understand what makes the other what he is, be in his shoes, see with his eyes. It does not always work perfectly, but it really helps go beyond stereotypes and prejudice.
That'w what me and others will have in mind during this visit, if you choose to continue with us after having read this.

To come back to Pavel and Alicia, if you've ever been in contact with veterans, you may know that after they've seen combat, something changes in them, and it affects them for the rest of their lives, for better or for worse.
Anna, me and our Personal Guards have been doing this for the past fifteen years, with ten years as Special Forces. Of all the things we've seen or done, one thing for sure, our faith in humanity is gone at this point.
While many would have crumbled mentally, we held on. And instead of relying on antidepressants or other related medicines, tobacco or alcohol, we instead found something else that is way more sane for the mind and body. Tea, chewing gum... and sex. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, and no, I'm not mocking you, it's the doctor in me that speaks. The rush of endorphins after intercourse has proven to be, at least for our group, to be as effective, if not way more effective, than a bunch of tablets or cigarettes.

As for me and Tabalfina, I recognize, I've not been professional towards him. My apologies.

In the end, whether or not you like the contents of this message, know that I've been honest with you here. I've heard that Kyrenaians appreciate honesty, even if it hurts.
So, in the end, do what you want. K
If you still want to go through the state visit, I will welcome all of you with open arms, if not, well, my regards to your mother.

Signed,
His Imperial Majesty, Keisaer Adrean Blachkor

Princess Aurelia bint-Damir.
Large Dining Room of the Aurelia.
Dad took the piece and said: "I'll read it later. For now, a good night and happy dreams."
We said our goodbyes as well, but we were quite certain, that Adrean was at the dining room with backup close. A Handmaiden, the same one Dad asked to lead our guest to the helicopter landing spot, the one where we could barely have a small helicopter land, would later confirm, that Anna had waited outside. No one minded, though it was a funny little charade: At least I was usually openly at my Father's side.
In any case, once he was gone, we sat down again, Dad putting the piece of paper onto the table.
He would read it later, as promised.
Once the guests had departed, and someone had told us that, he sighed and leaned back.
"Tara.", he asked of his Personal Handmaiden, "See to it, that every spot, where our guests have been, is sweeped and cleared. I don't want any listening devices or such things left onboard."
"It will be done, Prince.", she said with a bow.
Of course, they could only do so much, so they would do as best as they could to find anything left behind until we could do a more thorough sweep back home.
"Sarina.", Dad called out to my Personal Handmaiden, who stepped forward, shooting me a glance. I nodded. Whatever Dad had in mind, she should do it. He handed her the note. "Chemical sweep, then I need five copies. Please archive the original."
"It will be done, Prince.", she said with a bow.
Dad turned to the assembly. "Fara, Elian, Mister Shabaaltay, you will receive copies, so will Aurelia and I." Razia did not look miffed at being left out, but when in doubt, she could always take a glance at Elian's copy. "Once they are done, of course. For now... let's retire."
And so it happened.

---

Princess Aurelia bint-Damir.
Personal Quarters of the Aurelia.
Several hours had passed.
I had changed into something more comfortable, read my copy of Adrean's note, showered, thought about the evening while under the hot water, dried off and put on a bathrobe. Now, I was sitting in front of my dressing table, thought, while I combed my hair. Gods, this was getting too long... I might cut them after graduation, at this rate...
These were my personal quarters, there were some portholes, but they were small, so that no one could easily peek inside. Guards on the promenade deck also made sure, that no drones or something came too close to our ship.
My bed was soft and comfortable and I had shared it with others, mostly Aldhiyb, often enough. Cuddling that big, furred beast of a Sandwolf was always fun and with him by my side, I slept well - not as good as if I cuddled up to Dad or even Marcella, but he did watch my dreams. I had also slept with my father in this bed a few times, but I will not go into detail there.
For a moment, I contemplated whether or not I should go over to his suite tonight and let him keep all nightmares away, or whether or not I should try and brave them alone - I would graduate and begin Service soon and I can't be Daddy's Little Girl forever. I sighed. This would be a restless night, I felt.
Someone knocked on my door.
"Come in.", I bade in Kyrenaian, brush in one hand. Dad came into my bedroom, without a doubt, he had led himself into my suite. This was his ship, after all. He wore more comfortable pants and a dress shirt, smiled as I waved at him with the brush. "Hey, Dad."
"Hello, Aurelia.", he said with a smile, then put a small box onto the dressing table. He quickly drew my attention away from it by tapping the note. "I spoke with the others already, Miss Wasima's words were of particular funny note. She said something about them maybe needing a few lessons in how to put themselves into Kyrenaian Shoes before they visit the Sultanate." I chuckled. I would not say, that wholeheartedly I agreed, but she did have a point there. Das knelt down behind me, took the brush from my hands and began to brush my hair out. "Now... what do you think?"
I had thought a lot about it, so my first words were: "This is a farce."
Dad's eyebrow twitched, I did not know, if it was bemusement, doubt or surprise. I bet, that it would be all three.
"Let's ignore the first point as they apparently have quite different things in mind when it comes to the rights and duties of a host.", I said. Obviously Dad would want to know, if someone threw up in one of his toilets so that he could offer both medical assistance and dispatch someone to clean the toilet. Maybe those were foreign concepts to the Astarians? I did not know. "The second is basically telling us, that we can go home and abort this visit if we wish, but it has the added bonus of ruining diplomatic relations in the making, something he is very well aware, that we won't do without a good reason. As his behaviour doesn't qualify as a good reason, but it does qualify for us to put up certain conditions for an eventual return visit." Dad nodded. "This part about their code of honour, this..." I looked at the printout. "...Astarum Lex is in my opinion just pandering. Not of us, but of himself. He assures himself, that he and his will stick to their cute code and if we don't understand, all the more reason for him to call anything a cultural misunderstanding or us simply being too foreign for him to handle or whatever."
I made a short break. Dad let me have it, continuing his brushing in silence.
"The third part...", I said and sighed, "He seems entirely unaware of who we are and what we do the whole day long, now does he?" At this, Dad nodded. "I mean, sure, none of us is special forces, or whatever passes as such in the Empire, but we know enough veterans, both Kyrenaian and from elsewhere. I don't think, that anyone of them would steep so low and fuck their wives on a toilet like a cheap whore." Dad snorted in amusement. "Also, he is what, vintage 1990? He joined the Army with 15? I think, at this point, he needs a lot less fucking and a lot more serious psychological treatment. And a lot less playing soldier. Then he might also become a respectable medical professional." I exhaled. "That was my part."
Dad was silent.
"Thank you. I agree with you in many points.", he said, "Their behaviour tonight was unacceptable, but not to the point of giving us an excuse to return home. Although I wouldn't call his reference to their code of honour pandering, but rather self-assuring, I agree with you in the effect. He is preparing his excuses, not for anyone other but himself. He does not really know us, how we operate and how we tick and any try of his to try to predict or see through our own eyes is doomed to fail. He lacks the training and refinement." He shrugged. "One more reason why his father's early passage is a grave disaster for the Empire. He lacked the time to receive the training and refinement. One can't expect a child soldier, and that is essentially, what he was, when he joined the armed forces, to become suited for ruling an Empire just by putting a nice hat onto his head."
This time, it was me, who snorted.
"And I wouldn't trust his medical expertise either.", Dad added with a smile, then sighed. "So... we will continue with this visit. We will look forward to the hiking trip the most..." He threw me a wink. "...but we have one major change in the delegation's structure."
I looked at him, not via the mirror, but directly.
"I have already informed Mother and Mister Safir and they are sending out the appropriate letters. I decided to give the leadership of this state visit to you. You need the training.", he said and smiled at me. I was flabbergasted. "Congratulations, Aurelia. You are making me proud."
My mouth stood open for a moment, then I caught myself, swallowed. "This... is huge..."
"It is.", Dad agreed with a nod, "But you showed, that one can trust you with such trips when you made the one to Pankara Katarai a few months ago." He kissed me onto the cheek. "You'll do fine." He smiled. "Speaking of which, though... eyes forward and closed."
I did as he asked me to, anxious - not of what he would do, but of what was to come with the state visit.
The fate of the Sultanate might be in my hands - and I didn't even graduate yet! What if I screwed up? What if Adrean decided to make Kyrenaia into a thermonuclear desert because of a slight I did to him? What if...?
I felt Dad softly removing the bathrobe from my shoulders, having it hang loosely on the height of my shoulderblades, still covering my breasts. I heard the lock of the little box he had brought with him snap open. Something jingled lightly.
I then felt a little weight on my collarbone, then around my neck as my father fixed something around my neck, nestling with the clasp of the necklace for a moment. He then replaced my bathrobe, arranged it slightly. I felt him nod, then he kissed me onto my cheek. He rose and made a step back.
"Open your eyes.", he told me.
I did and... was speechless.
Around my neck was a silver necklace, finest, almost white silver, formed into a fine chain, held the pendant. As fine and as beautiful as the necklace was, the pendant topped it. Laid into silver were sapphires, their colour close to the one of my eyes, arranged into pieces, which reminded me of a Desert Rose, a type of sand crystal, which was a sign of great affection between family members.
My hand reached up, touched the pendant.
Dad stepped up behind me, smiling.
A moment later, he laid flat on my bed as I whirled around and jumped into his arms, embracing him with ferocious love and a huge kiss to the cheek. He laughed as he wrapped his arms around me with the same strength and love, pressing me close to him.
After a while, the strength in my embrace got softer as I shifted, putting my hands next to his head and looking at my father, who was still smiling, still holding me. The pendant hung between us.
"Do you think, that I am up for it?", I asked, a shake in my voice, "Leading this delegation, I mean?"
Dad reached up and touched my face, softly petted it. "I know it, Aurelia. You know, what you are doing and we will be with you every step of the way.", he reassured me, then reached up to kiss me on my forehead. "And Mother trusts you, Azad trusts you, Fara trusts you, Elian trusts you... and I trust you. And I trust, that you know, when to ask for help or advice." He smiled and I nodded, slowly, but I did. Then he added: "If you want or need, my door is open for you."
Needless to say, that I slept safe and sound that night, one of my father's arms wrapped around my shoulder.
The next day... we would be in the Empire Proper, arriving and received.

[Astares Amauricanum]

After Adrean reunites with Anna, the two simply exchange nods, before walking side by side to the toilets.
There, they meet with the rest of their group, already halfway changed in black camouflaged combat pants and shirt, along with a plate carrier and a inflatable life vest over it.
As Pavel starts putting on his left ankle-high combat boot, he turns his head towards his friends who enter the room, and raises an eyebrow.
In answer, Adrean simply gives a sharp nod, and the group goes back to change.
In just under a minute, the dress uniforms and illusion dresses fall on the floor and in the awaiting duffle bags, and are being replaced by combat boots, combat shirt and pants, a plate carrier, an inflatable life vest, as well as a balaclava and a FAST military helmet.
To top it of, the six Astarians put on their HUD sunglasses.

5 minutes later...
After having changed, and putting a harness on top of everything else, the group has been escorted to a small platform at the rear of the Aurelia, where indeed, a small helicopter could barely land.
"Icarus 1, this is Keisaer, we're at the platform waiting for extraction." calls Adrean in his throat microphone, itself linked to a radio.
-"Keisaer, Icarus 1, I have the Aurelia in sight, ETA 30 seconds. Mark the position with a flare.
-Roger, deploying green flare." replies Adrean before taking a green colored baton from one of his plate carrier pockets, and lighting it, causing it to emit a green, flaming glow.

As the sound of helicopter blades draws near, on the left of the yacht suddenly appears a black MH-20 with the marking of the Astarian Keiserlig Custos.
As the helo turns around and approaches the aft of the Kyrenaian yacht, it pulls out its landing gear and lights up its landing lights. When he is right above the platform, the left door opens, and a crewman can be seen lowering a rope with the winch, with various hooks attached.
As soon as the rope touches the ground, the Astarians hook their harness to it, each couple checking their loved one hooks as well.
"All right Icarus we're good, pull us up!" says Adrean in his radio.
"Roger." simply replies the MH-20 pilot, before lifting off.
Once it has risen high enough, the helicopter flies towards the coast, the six Astarians hanging below him, like they did countless times in the past during missions. After it has reached the coast line, the MH-20 drops the six on the beach, before landing as well, allowing the Astarians to get on board and not make the whole trip back to Coluùbia District hanging in the cold February night air.
Once everyone is aboard, the MH-20 takes off again and takes a northern bearing, towards Columbia District and the Silver Palace.

Later that night...
Silver Palace, Adrean and Anna's quarters, 3.00AM.
As the wind blows outside, and the snow falls on the ground, Adrean lies on his back in bed, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. For the past half-hour, the Keisaer has been awake, looking up at the ceiling, many thoughts going through his head.
"Mmmh... Honey, you awake?" asks the sleepy voice of his wife lying left to him, as she turns to face her husband, wearing a pair of panties and a T-shirt.
"Yeah, I am. Just have a lot on my mind with what happened tonight, and how they're going to react tomorrow when we tell them the whole story." replies Adrean with a sigh, as he rubs a certain mark on his abs.
"Don't worry, what must happen will happen as Mom says." says Anna as she puts her hand on top of her husband, rubbing the mark as well. "For now, let's sleep. Besides, you know I'm always behind you, no?" she asks with a small smirk, as she pecks her husband on the lips.
"Indeed. I've not said it enough for me, but thanks for always being here for me." he says with a smile as he rubs his wife's hair.
"You're welcome, but hey, what should I say regarding you, if not the same thing.
-Indeed. One thing though before we sleep: what do you think of Aurelia's nomination as head of the delegation? I feel glad for her personally, it shows that she's ready after so many years of training. Ahh, I wish we had those..." says Adrean with a sigh, as he reminisces over what could have been different if his father had not died and left him untrained to rise on the throne, only to be trained quickly by his grandfather.
"Sssh." says Anna as she puts her finger on her husband's lips. "Don't do that again please. I am glad for the Princess too. We'll see the rest tomorrow. For now, let's sleep." Finishes the Keisaerina as she settles her head on her husband's chest, and after a few minutes of cuddling, the Imperial Couple falls back asleep in each other's arms...

The following morning...
Sunday, February 2nd, 2020.
9.00 AM
Pentagon Lagoon Yacht Basin, Columbia District.

During the night, snow had fallen on the Imperium's capital, leaving it with a 80cm thick white blanket in the early hours of morning. Now, with the sun back in the sky, with a few clouds here and there as well, and the main roads having already been cleared by snowploughs, the Yacht Basin Arrival Esplanade has instead saw the snow being tamped to reduce its height, and make it not slippery for the guests.

Once that was done, a flurry of people had taken position around the Esplanade for the welcoming ceremony.
A red carpet had been laid down where the Aurelia's gangplank would be, then flanked on each side by a cordon of 10 soldiers in Dress Uniforms, belonging to the Imperial Army, the Imperial Air Force, the Imperial Navy, the Imperial Marine Corps and the Imperial Coast Guard; all in winter uniforms, their long coats going down to their knees.
To the right of the red carpet, the Astarian Air Force band was ready to play Adventu Fanfare, or Arrival Fanfare in Astarian, to welcome the guests.
Otherwise, some photographs were positioned around the Esplanade to cover the scene from various angles, and other armed personnel belonging to the Keiserlig Custos Palace Division and the Columbia District Metropolitan Police Department. With the terrorists threats targeting the Kyrenaians, specifically Prince Damir and his daughter, the Imperials did not want to take any chances with their security. Even a few tanks were parked here and there, and helicopters, both combat and transport, were hovering in the capital's skies.

However, the tension already palpable in the air had risen another level when fifteen minutes ago, an explosion occured in Downtown Columbia, on the other side of the Potomac River. Now, as a black column of smoke could be seen from afar, the siren's echo filled the air as without a doubt, firemen and others emergency workers were at work in the city.

A few minutes after the explosion, a convoy of three black armored limousines had arrived, escorted by black SUVs, as well as motorbikes.
Out of it had stepped out three people: First, Michael Foxter. 1.96m tall, short blode hair and blue eyes, well shaven, the 38-years old Astarian Secretary of State looked as if he was a decade younger. His smile, which one could indeed qualify as charming, had helped more than once to defuse bad situations in the past decade. Today, he was wearing a pair of knee-high, winter leather boots, a pair of grey formal pants, a cobalt-blue shirt with a green cravat, although it was currently not visible thanks to the long, dark green coat he was wearing over it. He also wore a pair of slim gloves, and a grey and red scarf around his neck.

Then, to his left, a woman, apprently in her middle to late forties, with long black hair reaching to the middle of her back, and golden-brown eyes. She's currently wearing a version of the Jarningur, the traditional clothes of the Imperium, consisting for her in a dark red, ankle-length skirt, a bordeaux-colored blouse with a grey sleeveless vest over it, and brown boots. Over it, a black long coat.
She was accompanied by a 2.01m tall man, with short black hair and a short beard, his right eye blue, the other being covered by an eyepatch, a scar going from it and to the left of his face towards his left ear. He is wearing a pair of combat boots, a pair of grey jeans with knee protection, a bomber jacket with fur around the collar, and a black beanie.Strapped to his right thigh, a Masada 35 pistol in a holster, and slung across his chest, a Nix Grevling PDR.
These two people are Agatha Blachkor, mother of Adrean Blachkor, and therefore Dowager Keisaerina of the Imperium, and her companion/bodyguard, Colonel Bradley Myers.

And finally, to Foxter's right, another woman, looking just like the first as if she was nearing the end of her fourties, but if one was to look at her ID card, they would see that she was nearing her sixtieth birthday. Her long, black hair was going down her back and nearing her hips, and her green eyes sparkled with joy and energy. She was currently wearing a Jarningur too, but with a pair of black pants instead of the ankle length skirt. Otherwise, a pair of brown boots, a grey sirt and a blue sleeveless vest, with a dark blue reefer coat over it.
One thing for sure, is that one could easily mistake Magnam Stohersisia (Grand Duchess) Jane Melnik, for her daughter Anna.

And so, as the four Astarians take position at the end of the carpet, they wait for the Aurelia's gangplank to be lowered, and for the guests to disembark, exchanging some glances and straightening their backs...

[Kyrenaia]

After Adrean reunites with Anna, the two simply exchange nods, before walking side by side to the toilets.
There, they meet with the rest of their group, already halfway changed in black camouflaged combat pants and shirt, along with a plate carrier and a inflatable life vest over it.
As Pavel starts putting on his left ankle-high combat boot, he turns his head towards his friends who enter the room, and raises an eyebrow.
In answer, Adrean simply gives a sharp nod, and the group goes back to change.
In just under a minute, the dress uniforms and illusion dresses fall on the floor and in the awaiting duffle bags, and are being replaced by combat boots, combat shirt and pants, a plate carrier, an inflatable life vest, as well as a balaclava and a FAST military helmet.
To top it of, the six Astarians put on their HUD sunglasses.

5 minutes later...
After having changed, and putting a harness on top of everything else, the group has been escorted to a small platform at the rear of the Aurelia, where indeed, a small helicopter could barely land.
"Icarus 1, this is Keisaer, we're at the platform waiting for extraction." calls Adrean in his throat microphone, itself linked to a radio.
-"Keisaer, Icarus 1, I have the Aurelia in sight, ETA 30 seconds. Mark the position with a flare.
-Roger, deploying green flare." replies Adrean before taking a green colored baton from one of his plate carrier pockets, and lighting it, causing it to emit a green, flaming glow.

As the sound of helicopter blades draws near, on the left of the yacht suddenly appears a black MH-20 with the marking of the Astarian Keiserlig Custos.
As the helo turns around and approaches the aft of the Kyrenaian yacht, it pulls out its landing gear and lights up its landing lights. When he is right above the platform, the left door opens, and a crewman can be seen lowering a rope with the winch, with various hooks attached.
As soon as the rope touches the ground, the Astarians hook their harness to it, each couple checking their loved one hooks as well.
"All right Icarus we're good, pull us up!" says Adrean in his radio.
"Roger." simply replies the MH-20 pilot, before lifting off.
Once it has risen high enough, the helicopter flies towards the coast, the six Astarians hanging below him, like they did countless times in the past during missions. After it has reached the coast line, the MH-20 drops the six on the beach, before landing as well, allowing the Astarians to get on board and not make the whole trip back to Coluùbia District hanging in the cold February night air.
Once everyone is aboard, the MH-20 takes off again and takes a northern bearing, towards Columbia District and the Silver Palace.

Later that night...
Silver Palace, Adrean and Anna's quarters, 3.00AM.
As the wind blows outside, and the snow falls on the ground, Adrean lies on his back in bed, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. For the past half-hour, the Keisaer has been awake, looking up at the ceiling, many thoughts going through his head.
"Mmmh... Honey, you awake?" asks the sleepy voice of his wife lying left to him, as she turns to face her husband, wearing a pair of panties and a T-shirt.
"Yeah, I am. Just have a lot on my mind with what happened tonight, and how they're going to react tomorrow when we tell them the whole story." replies Adrean with a sigh, as he rubs a certain mark on his abs.
"Don't worry, what must happen will happen as Mom says." says Anna as she puts her hand on top of her husband, rubbing the mark as well. "For now, let's sleep. Besides, you know I'm always behind you, no?" she asks with a small smirk, as she pecks her husband on the lips.
"Indeed. I've not said it enough for me, but thanks for always being here for me." he says with a smile as he rubs his wife's hair.
"You're welcome, but hey, what should I say regarding you, if not the same thing.
-Indeed. One thing though before we sleep: what do you think of Aurelia's nomination as head of the delegation? I feel glad for her personally, it shows that she's ready after so many years of training. Ahh, I wish we had those..." says Adrean with a sigh, as he reminisces over what could have been different if his father had not died and left him untrained to rise on the throne, only to be trained quickly by his grandfather.
"Sssh." says Anna as she puts her finger on her husband's lips. "Don't do that again please. I am glad for the Princess too. We'll see the rest tomorrow. For now, let's sleep." Finishes the Keisaerina as she settles her head on her husband's chest, and after a few minutes of cuddling, the Imperial Couple falls back asleep in each other's arms...

The following morning...
Sunday, February 2nd, 2020.
9.00 AM
Pentagon Lagoon Yacht Basin, Columbia District.

During the night, snow had fallen on the Imperium's capital, leaving it with a 80cm thick white blanket in the early hours of morning. Now, with the sun back in the sky, with a few clouds here and there as well, and the main roads having already been cleared by snowploughs, the Yacht Basin Arrival Esplanade has instead saw the snow being tamped to reduce its height, and make it not slippery for the guests.

Once that was done, a flurry of people had taken position around the Esplanade for the welcoming ceremony.
A red carpet had been laid down where the Aurelia's gangplank would be, then flanked on each side by a cordon of 10 soldiers in Dress Uniforms, belonging to the Imperial Army, the Imperial Air Force, the Imperial Navy, the Imperial Marine Corps and the Imperial Coast Guard; all in winter uniforms, their long coats going down to their knees.
To the right of the red carpet, the Astarian Air Force band was ready to play Adventu Fanfare, or Arrival Fanfare in Astarian, to welcome the guests.
Otherwise, some photographs were positioned around the Esplanade to cover the scene from various angles, and other armed personnel belonging to the Keiserlig Custos Palace Division and the Columbia District Metropolitan Police Department. With the terrorists threats targeting the Kyrenaians, specifically Prince Damir and his daughter, the Imperials did not want to take any chances with their security. Even a few tanks were parked here and there, and helicopters, both combat and transport, were hovering in the capital's skies.

However, the tension already palpable in the air had risen another level when fifteen minutes ago, an explosion occured in Downtown Columbia, on the other side of the Potomac River. Now, as a black column of smoke could be seen from afar, the siren's echo filled the air as without a doubt, firemen and others emergency workers were at work in the city.

A few minutes after the explosion, a convoy of three black armored limousines had arrived, escorted by black SUVs, as well as motorbikes.
Out of it had stepped out three people: First, Michael Foxter. 1.96m tall, short blode hair and blue eyes, well shaven, the 38-years old Astarian Secretary of State looked as if he was a decade younger. His smile, which one could indeed qualify as charming, had helped more than once to defuse bad situations in the past decade. Today, he was wearing a pair of knee-high, winter leather boots, a pair of grey formal pants, a cobalt-blue shirt with a green cravat, although it was currently not visible thanks to the long, dark green coat he was wearing over it. He also wore a pair of slim gloves, and a grey and red scarf around his neck.

Then, to his left, a woman, apprently in her middle to late forties, with long black hair reaching to the middle of her back, and golden-brown eyes. She's currently wearing a version of the Jarningur, the traditional clothes of the Imperium, consisting for her in a dark red, ankle-length skirt, a bordeaux-colored blouse with a grey sleeveless vest over it, and brown boots. Over it, a black long coat.
She was accompanied by a 2.01m tall man, with short black hair and a short beard, his right eye blue, the other being covered by an eyepatch, a scar going from it and to the left of his face towards his left ear. He is wearing a pair of combat boots, a pair of grey jeans with knee protection, a bomber jacket with fur around the collar, and a black beanie.Strapped to his right thigh, a Masada 35 pistol in a holster, and slung across his chest, a Nix Grevling PDR.
These two people are Agatha Blachkor, mother of Adrean Blachkor, and therefore Dowager Keisaerina of the Imperium, and her companion/bodyguard, Colonel Bradley Myers.

And finally, to Foxter's right, another woman, looking just like the first as if she was nearing the end of her fourties, but if one was to look at her ID card, they would see that she was nearing her sixtieth birthday. Her long, black hair was going down her back and nearing her hips, and her green eyes sparkled with joy and energy. She was currently wearing a Jarningur too, but with a pair of black pants instead of the ankle length skirt. Otherwise, a pair of brown boots, a grey sirt and a blue sleeveless vest, with a dark blue reefer coat over it.
One thing for sure, is that one could easily mistake Magnam Stohersisia (Grand Duchess) Jane Melnik, for her daughter Anna.

And so, as the four Astarians take position at the end of the carpet, they wait for the Aurelia's gangplank to be lowered, and for the guests to disembark, exchanging some glances and straightening their backs...

Princess Aurelia bint-Damir.
Large Dining Room of the Aurelia.
The Large Dining Room was our meeting spot, when we were all prepared.
All who would go on land, that is: Myself, Dad, Elian, Razia, Fara and Mister Shabaaltay, plus the Handmaidens.
A lot of things had happened already: There had been an explosion in Downtown, we had been (on request) informed about it maybe having to do with me and Dad and the fact, that some people believed, that he fucked me regularly. The news were speaking about the valiant police and firemen doing the rescue operations.
Fair enough.
We had docked and had received news from the bridge, that the security precautions had been upgraded, up to the presence of tanks. And our welcoming committee had arrived as well. Foxter, the Secretary of State, Agatha Blachkor, the Dowager Empress, her lover Bradley Myers (who was even armed, I mean, I can understand a ceremonial weapon or a sidearm, but we were not in a war zone!) and Grand Duchess Jane Melnik, who, admittedly, looked younger then she was. And there was the honour guard.
There had also been snow, around 80 centimeters overnight. A respectable height.
The thing was, people usually assumed, that desert people couldn't handle the cold - and forgot, that deserts could get really, really cold at night. Like, minus degrees cold. Sure, not Jalid cold, but still quite cold at night.
And of course, we were dressed for the ocassion, thick winter coats with fur lining, gloves and heavy boots with deep profiles. Underneath them, the men wore morning dress, Dad looking good as always, while the women wore pantsuits, carrying handbags.
Fara's first remark upon seeing me has been, how much responsibility could change how a person behaved.
I knew, what she meant, I carried myself with more purpose, grace and more adult.
The Handmaidens wore their typical dresses, but above them coats similar to ours, the hoods up. They would, as their duty was, stay in the background.
"So...", I said at some point, close to nine o'clock. "Everyone ready?" A series of nods replied sufficiently. "Then let's go."
And off we went, Dad held the door open for me as I stepped out onto the Promenade while two sailors lowered the gangplank. Handbag on one arm, Dad on the other, I moved towards the way off, stood at the top of the gangplank. The sailor next to it nodded, which was the signal.
I went ahead, down, Tara and Sarina behind us, Fara and Mister Shabaaltay behind them, then Elian and Razia, their Handmaidens behind them. What little lugguage we would take to the Silver Palace would be offloaded later.
We reached the bottom, my foot being the first one on Imperial Soil - one small step for a Princess and so on. I nodded to the welcoming committee at the other end of the carpet and turned my head to inspect the soldiers as it was custom and expected of me as I walked past them in measured, slow steps.
To be honest, some of the soldiers looked pretty cute. I knew a few lassies, who would make a pass at them, if they would meet in the wild. As that was unlikely...
At the end of the formations, the welcoming committee stood, and at an appropriate distance, which became even more appropriate with COVID, apparently, I stopped. Bowing my head, aimed at the Dowager Empress, I spoke, addressing them all: "Good morning. Thank you for receiving us on this... interesting morning." The adjective was chosen especially in regards to the explosion in Downtown. "Please allow me to express our sincerest hopes, that no one was hurt by the blast earlier today and that those responsible may be found quickly."
I knew, that the rest of the delegation had bowed just as deep and with the same aim.
Be his position as Foreign Minister as it may, Agatha was, as Dowager Empress, higher in protocol.
Now, the introductions would most likely follow - unless someone went ahead and shot down that shindig. We knew, who they were, they knew, who we were, after all.
It would be interesting to see, how this day would proceed.

[Astares Amauricanum]

When Aurelia's foot touches the Imperium's soil, the fanfare starts playing, and the guard of honor flanking the carpet snaps to present arms as one man, their movement precise and swift, alost like robots.
Once the Kyrenaians arrive at the end of the carpet, the four Astarians of the welcoming commitee bow, not only the head but the whole torso.
As Aurelia finishes speaking, Agatha gives a simple nod back to the Princess, her gaze showing that she understood the Kyrenaians protocol rules, and that she indeed knew who everyone was, and then gives a sideways glance and nod to Foxter, allowing him to give his part of the welcome.
"Good morning to you as well Princess, and to all of you as well." starts the Secretary of State with a warm smile. "I am Michael Foxter, Secretary of State of the Federalis Imperium. Please let me introduce Her Excellency Magnam Stohersisia, or Grand Duchess, Jane Melnik." he says as he turns towards the latter.
-A pleasure to meet all of you, Princess, Your Highnesses, Sir and Milady." continues Anna's mother, the last two words meant for Abbas and Razia. While saying that, she nods to the Handmaidens as well in the background.
"And Her Imperial Majesty, Dowager Keisaerina, Agatha Blachkor, and her companion Colonel Bradley Myers." continues Foxter as he then turns towards the last two persons of the group.
"Thank you Mr Foxter." replies Adrean's mother as she turns to Michael, before focusing her attention again fully on the Kyrenaians. "Princess, Your Highnesses, Sir, Milady, please allow me to welcome you all to the Imperium's Capital, Columbia District." she says with a happy, yet formal tone, as she nods as well to the Handmidens while saying that.
"Also, congratulations on your nomination as head of the delegation Princess Aurelia." she adds with a sincere smile. "It is indeed an interesting morning." she continues with a more normal tone,. "Regarding what happened, I am first happy to say that your delegation was not the target in that incident. It was rather directed towards me and Jane. Apparently, it seems that the remnants of a cult that my son and daughter-in-law took down two years ago wanted to strike back at them, and what better way to do so than target their own mothers, the ones who brought them in this world?"
"Do not worry though, " continues Jane, "no one was hurt, although two Imperial Guards were a bit shellshocked by the blast. We will tell you more during the transit to the Palace. However, since it happened on the convoy's itinerary to the Silver Palace, the road is now blocked, so we will have to use another mode of transportation." explains the Grand Duchess.

As soon as Anna's mother finishes her sentence, the fanfare stops playing, and the sound of helicopter blades suddenly becomes very audible for everyone on the Esplanade, having been masked for a few moments by the fanfare's sound.
Then, coming from the East and from the Kyrenaian's back, a large MH 53K Boffel helicopter appears above their heads, before stopping to hover fifty meters away from the carpet's end, and then starts going down, its landing gear pulling out, as he rotates to position his left side facing the group.The helicopter is painted in dark green and silver, with the words Astares Amauricanum written in red on the sides, along with the seal of the Imperial Executive Squadron 1, the helicopter squadron assigned to transport the Emperor, Empress, and other high-ranking members of the Cabinet.
"This is what we will be using instead!" explains Agatha with a loud voice to make herself heard over the MH 53K engine's noise. "We will also give you an aerial tour of the main landmarks along the way. Any questions before we go?"

[Kyrenaia]

When Aurelia's foot touches the Imperium's soil, the fanfare starts playing, and the guard of honor flanking the carpet snaps to present arms as one man, their movement precise and swift, alost like robots.
Once the Kyrenaians arrive at the end of the carpet, the four Astarians of the welcoming commitee bow, not only the head but the whole torso.
As Aurelia finishes speaking, Agatha gives a simple nod back to the Princess, her gaze showing that she understood the Kyrenaians protocol rules, and that she indeed knew who everyone was, and then gives a sideways glance and nod to Foxter, allowing him to give his part of the welcome.
"Good morning to you as well Princess, and to all of you as well." starts the Secretary of State with a warm smile. "I am Michael Foxter, Secretary of State of the Federalis Imperium. Please let me introduce Her Excellency Magnam Stohersisia, or Grand Duchess, Jane Melnik." he says as he turns towards the latter.
-A pleasure to meet all of you, Princess, Your Highnesses, Sir and Milady." continues Anna's mother, the last two words meant for Abbas and Razia. While saying that, she nods to the Handmaidens as well in the background.
"And Her Imperial Majesty, Dowager Keisaerina, Agatha Blachkor, and her companion Colonel Bradley Myers." continues Foxter as he then turns towards the last two persons of the group.
"Thank you Mr Foxter." replies Adrean's mother as she turns to Michael, before focusing her attention again fully on the Kyrenaians. "Princess, Your Highnesses, Sir, Milady, please allow me to welcome you all to the Imperium's Capital, Columbia District." she says with a happy, yet formal tone, as she nods as well to the Handmidens while saying that.
"Also, congratulations on your nomination as head of the delegation Princess Aurelia." she adds with a sincere smile. "It is indeed an interesting morning." she continues with a more normal tone,. "Regarding what happened, I am first happy to say that your delegation was not the target in that incident. It was rather directed towards me and Jane. Apparently, it seems that the remnants of a cult that my son and daughter-in-law took down two years ago wanted to strike back at them, and what better way to do so than target their own mothers, the ones who brought them in this world?"
"Do not worry though, " continues Jane, "no one was hurt, although two Imperial Guards were a bit shellshocked by the blast. We will tell you more during the transit to the Palace. However, since it happened on the convoy's itinerary to the Silver Palace, the road is now blocked, so we will have to use another mode of transportation." explains the Grand Duchess.

As soon as Anna's mother finishes her sentence, the fanfare stops playing, and the sound of helicopter blades suddenly becomes very audible for everyone on the Esplanade, having been masked for a few moments by the fanfare's sound.
Then, coming from the East and from the Kyrenaian's back, a large MH 53K Boffel helicopter appears above their heads, before stopping to hover fifty meters away from the carpet's end, and then starts going down, its landing gear pulling out, as he rotates to position his left side facing the group.The helicopter is painted in dark green and silver, with the words Astares Amauricanum written in red on the sides, along with the seal of the Imperial Executive Squadron 1, the helicopter squadron assigned to transport the Emperor, Empress, and other high-ranking members of the Cabinet.
"This is what we will be using instead!" explains Agatha with a loud voice to make herself heard over the MH 53K engine's noise. "We will also give you an aerial tour of the main landmarks along the way. Any questions before we go?"

Princess Aurelia bint-Damir.
Pentagon Lagoon Yacht Basin, Columbia District.
My greetings had been addressed at the group, but with Foxter taking over and introducing everyone from his side, we bowed our heads politely. It was clear, that they knew, who we were.
After him, the Dowager Empress took the word, returned our greetings and congratulated me, to which I replied with a small bow in gratitude. It was an enormous responsibility. She then informed us, that the explosion was aimed at her and Grand Duchess Melnik, some Cult apparently tried to get back at Adrean and his people for them being wiped out by the Emperor. Two men had been shellshocked, but nothing more. As the explosion had happened on our route to the Silver Palace, we now had to take a different vehicle for our transit and the tour of the city.
A helicopter, apparently, which landed a bit off - far enough away to not ruin the hairstyle, but near enough to still be loud.
Agatha asked, if there were any questions, which caused me to look at the delegations. No one was forthcoming.
"Nothing that can't wait until we are in the air!", I told Agathe, raising my voice to be audible over the heavy flying machine's engines. "Let's go!"

[Astares Amauricanum]

"Alright then, follow us!" replies Agatha, her voice still raised, as Myers raises his left arm and spins it a few times, while his right hand grips his PDR grip.
Immediatly, the Honor Guard, who until now had been unmoving and still at the present arms position, start moving and surround the group on the sides, their rifles half-raised and looking outwards, creating a protective ring around the group.
And so, the group, led by the Dowager Keisaerina, starts moving towards the MH-53K, whose engine's starts to die down, but with the blades still spinning slowly.

Halfway through the helicopter, a side stair door opens on the left side, just next to the cockpit, and two Imperial Guards in their traditional armor, their swords and daggers strapped to their backs, their helmets covering their faces, and their ACR rifles strapped to their chests, and pistols to their thighs; come out and flank the door on each side.
Then, a man appears, two-meter tall, apparently looking in his early to mid-fifties, with short black hair, a well-trimmed beard, and green eyes. Like his wife, Magnam Stoher, or Grand Duke, Constantin Melnik, General in Chief of the Keiserlig Custos, and father of the current Empress, wears a Fer-Jarningur, the formal version of the traditional Astarian attire. Today, he is wearing a pair of black, knee-high leather boots, a pair of dark green pants, a black shirt with a brown sleeveless vest on top. Contrary to Agatha and Jane though, he also wears a dark green cape, with fur around the collar, and tied at the front by a silver chain, with a clasp representing his Family's coat of arms. To his belt, a dagger in a sheath and a pistol are strapped, and he is wearing the iconic large black beret of the Imperial Guard.

As they reach the helicopter, Jane turns back towards the Kyrenaians.
"Princess, Your Highnesses, everyone, please allow me to introduce my husband, Constantin Melnik, head of the Imperial Guard, or Keiserlig Custos." she says in a loud voice.
"Good morning to all of you, and welcome to the Imperium!" continues Constantin with a smile and a small bow. "Climb aboard, we've got the capital to show you!" he adds with a playful tone as he turns around, inviting the rest of the group to follow him inside the helo.

Entering the helicopter would reveal an interior of white and cream tones, with at the front, two sets of seats facing each other on each side, while going towards the back, another set of two seats facing each other on each side, then another set, and finally, a large circular couch at the back, with a small bathroom closet to the right. All of it would be colored in cream-coloured leather, with some finish touches made of mahogany wood, like the armrests of the small tablets and bottle racks on the side.
While Agatha, Constantin, Jane and Foxter take their seats in the front, right side, the Kyrenaians are left to seat where they want in the chopper.
"Due to the COVID outbreak, please use some gel in prevention." says Agatha as she points to various dispensers placed around the helicopter with the words Hydroalcoholic gel on them.
Once everyone is aboard, the two Guards that had stepped outside climb aboard and close the door, before going towards the back and sitting on the couch.
Meanwhile, the helicopter's engine, although heard very faintly from inside thanks to a state-of-the-art soundproof isolation, starts powering up again.

[Kyrenaia]

"Alright then, follow us!" replies Agatha, her voice still raised, as Myers raises his left arm and spins it a few times, while his right hand grips his PDR grip.
Immediatly, the Honor Guard, who until now had been unmoving and still at the present arms position, start moving and surround the group on the sides, their rifles half-raised and looking outwards, creating a protective ring around the group.
And so, the group, led by the Dowager Keisaerina, starts moving towards the MH-53K, whose engine's starts to die down, but with the blades still spinning slowly.

Halfway through the helicopter, a side stair door opens on the left side, just next to the cockpit, and two Imperial Guards in their traditional armor, their swords and daggers strapped to their backs, their helmets covering their faces, and their ACR rifles strapped to their chests, and pistols to their thighs; come out and flank the door on each side.
Then, a man appears, two-meter tall, apparently looking in his early to mid-fifties, with short black hair, a well-trimmed beard, and green eyes. Like his wife, Magnam Stoher, or Grand Duke, Constantin Melnik, General in Chief of the Keiserlig Custos, and father of the current Empress, wears a Fer-Jarningur, the formal version of the traditional Astarian attire. Today, he is wearing a pair of black, knee-high leather boots, a pair of dark green pants, a black shirt with a brown sleeveless vest on top. Contrary to Agatha and Jane though, he also wears a dark green cape, with fur around the collar, and tied at the front by a silver chain, with a clasp representing his Family's coat of arms. To his belt, a dagger in a sheath and a pistol are strapped, and he is wearing the iconic large black beret of the Imperial Guard.

As they reach the helicopter, Jane turns back towards the Kyrenaians.
"Princess, Your Highnesses, everyone, please allow me to introduce my husband, Constantin Melnik, head of the Imperial Guard, or Keiserlig Custos." she says in a loud voice.
"Good morning to all of you, and welcome to the Imperium!" continues Constantin with a smile and a small bow. "Climb aboard, we've got the capital to show you!" he adds with a playful tone as he turns around, inviting the rest of the group to follow him inside the helo.

Entering the helicopter would reveal an interior of white and cream tones, with at the front, two sets of seats facing each other on each side, while going towards the back, another set of two seats facing each other on each side, then another set, and finally, a large circular couch at the back, with a small bathroom closet to the right. All of it would be colored in cream-coloured leather, with some finish touches made of mahogany wood, like the armrests of the small tablets and bottle racks on the side.
While Agatha, Constantin, Jane and Foxter take their seats in the front, right side, the Kyrenaians are left to seat where they want in the chopper.
"Due to the COVID outbreak, please use some gel in prevention." says Agatha as she points to various dispensers placed around the helicopter with the words Hydroalcoholic gel on them.
Once everyone is aboard, the two Guards that had stepped outside climb aboard and close the door, before going towards the back and sitting on the couch.
Meanwhile, the helicopter's engine, although heard very faintly from inside thanks to a state-of-the-art soundproof isolation, starts powering up again.

Princess Aurelia bint-Damir.
Pentagon Lagoon Yacht Basin, Columbia District.
As the honour guard began to surround us, I glanced to Dad - he exhaled for a long moment.
Once more, a drastic difference between them and us. Even under such a threat condition, someone having caused an explosion along the diplomatic route, we would not over-escalate like that. Sure, there would be emergency plans and methods to approach it, but this was... excessive.
By our standards, at least.
It was also very telling as to how secure the Astarian security forces perceived their own front yard to be.
Anyway, we approached the helicopter, only to be greeted by two heavily armoured and armed men, but also by the Empress' father, who was the commanding officer of the Emperor's Personal Guard. We bowed our heads politely as we were introduced, another one, who we knew and who knew us, then boarded the helicopter.
"Usually, when I use gel, it's a lot more fun afterwards...", Elian remarked, only to get Razia's elbow into his ribs for his troubles. Both grinned though, and a round of snorts went through the Kyrenaian Delegation, but we all used the dispensers, then took seats all over the helicopter.
It was a comfortable helicopter, well furnished - I had been flown around in helicopters straight from the front, but also in state transport helicopters, like of Grandmother's Flight Readiness and compared to the latter, this one could hold quite a candle. It was pretty comparable.
Dad, Fara, Mister Shabaaltay and I took seats in the front as well, though in the left seating group, Mister Shabaaltay and I sitting opposite to each other. He grinned, then remarked, in English: "It is weird to fly, but not being the pilot...", he said, but strapped in.
Elian and Razia occupied the other seating group.
The engine's sounds were picking up. That was a difference to Grandmother's Flight Readiness, when they flew, it was usually silent inside - though that depended on the model of aircraft.
I replied to Mister Shabaaltay: "I imagine it being a bit like sitting on a horse behind the rider."
He nodded.
"Do you have the license to fly helicopters?", Dad asked with a raised eyebrow.
The Naval Aviator smiled slightly. "I have the license to fly them, but neither to land nor to take off with them.", he replied with a slowly spreading grin.
I smiled at the slightly lame joke, turning to the other seating group and nodding. From our end, we were ready for the flying tour.

[Astares Amauricanum]

The Astarians present do not miss Damir's sigh, and understand the thinking behind it.
If they had replied, they would have said that they had all faith in the security precautions they had set up in thei own front yard, but despite that, they would not rest on their laurels, and keep acting as if a potential threat was in the vicinity. This way, by keeping the same MO as in a real situation and drilling the different procedures, if a threat would arise for real, they would act nearly automatically, thanks to having trained time and time again.

Anyway, as they board the helicopter and hear Elian's joke, all eyes turn towards the Prince with a raised eyebrow.
"And that was Prince Elian ibn-Sarah for you ladies and gentlemen." says Agatha with a small smirk. "Buy tickets for his one-man show in Kyrene. A show already cancelled." she finishes with a normal tone, before the Astarians present laugh a bit at the Dowager Keisaerina joke.

A few moments later, as the Kyrenaians finish seating, Agatha and Jane can be seen talking in whispers in Astarian with Constantin, asking him something with a worried face and tone. As the General gives his answer, the two women can be seen with a relieved expression on their faces, as they put their hands to their chests and sigh.
Meanwhile, Foxter looks towards the Kyrenaians and nods back to Aurelia, just as a lighting signal lights up above every seat, asking them to put their seatbelts on.

A few seconds later, the MH 53K rotor blades, having reached their maximum speed, take traction on the air, and the large helicopter starts to rise vertically, while slowly rotating counterclockwise at the same time.
"Don't hesitate to take photos if you want, we hope you'll enjoy the tour!" says Myers to the guests as he sits on the couch in the back with the two armored Guards.

As the helo rises more and more towards the sky, to the left side and the West, the Kyrenaians would be able to see one the first landmark of the aerial tour.
"Everyone," starts Agatha, " please let me introduce the Pentagon, the headquarters of the Astarian Department of Defense." she explains simply with a smile as she points to the large building outside.

[Kyrenaia]

The Astarians present do not miss Damir's sigh, and understand the thinking behind it.
If they had replied, they would have said that they had all faith in the security precautions they had set up in thei own front yard, but despite that, they would not rest on their laurels, and keep acting as if a potential threat was in the vicinity. This way, by keeping the same MO as in a real situation and drilling the different procedures, if a threat would arise for real, they would act nearly automatically, thanks to having trained time and time again.

Anyway, as they board the helicopter and hear Elian's joke, all eyes turn towards the Prince with a raised eyebrow.
"And that was Prince Elian ibn-Sarah for you ladies and gentlemen." says Agatha with a small smirk. "Buy tickets for his one-man show in Kyrene. A show already cancelled." she finishes with a normal tone, before the Astarians present laugh a bit at the Dowager Keisaerina joke.

A few moments later, as the Kyrenaians finish seating, Agatha and Jane can be seen talking in whispers in Astarian with Constantin, asking him something with a worried face and tone. As the General gives his answer, the two women can be seen with a relieved expression on their faces, as they put their hands to their chests and sigh.
Meanwhile, Foxter looks towards the Kyrenaians and nods back to Aurelia, just as a lighting signal lights up above every seat, asking them to put their seatbelts on.

A few seconds later, the MH 53K rotor blades, having reached their maximum speed, take traction on the air, and the large helicopter starts to rise vertically, while slowly rotating counterclockwise at the same time.
"Don't hesitate to take photos if you want, we hope you'll enjoy the tour!" says Myers to the guests as he sits on the couch in the back with the two armored Guards.

As the helo rises more and more towards the sky, to the left side and the West, the Kyrenaians would be able to see one the first landmark of the aerial tour.
"Everyone," starts Agatha, " please let me introduce the Pentagon, the headquarters of the Astarian Department of Defense." she explains simply with a smile as she points to the large building outside.

Princess Aurelia bint-Damir.
Aboard the Helicopter.
I was, admittedly, not really interested in the flying city tour, but Dad did the tourist thing, "Ah!"-ing politely, before he turned to me: "Quite fascinating, don't you think, Aurelia?"
"It reminds me a bit of the Qalat-Sydaljay.", I said with a small smile of my own, before explaining to the Imperials: "The Fortress of the Master of the Army... well, they are comparable by function, not by design, obviously."
"Indeed.", Dad said, then looked out of the window again. "When was it built?"

[Astares Amauricanum]

"From 1941 to 1943." replies Agatha with a smile to Damir.
"Originally, he was supposed to be built a bit more up north, near the Potomac on the same bank, but the architects and local authorities quickly realized that building it in that place would hide the view of the capital from the Arlington National Necropolis." continues the Dowager Empress as she points to west of the Pentagon, to a large area covered in grass and trees, roads going through the hill, and rows of white tombstones aligned in neat rows.
"So, the building site was relocated southern, in place of an old airfield. The Pentagon-shape was chosen considering the fact that since our mythology revolves around stars, the polygon you get when linking the five points of a five-branch star is a pentagon." continues Jane, as the helicopter new crosses the Potomac.

A few seconds later, they fly over a basin next to the Potomac, with grass and trees covered in snow surrounding it, and a building with a small cupola on the southern most part, while a bit further on the west side of the basin, another building of a similar size, but with no cupola and a flat roof stands in a garden.
These two buildings are two of the Primarch Family Memorials," explains Constantin to the Kyrenaians. "The south one with the cupola is the one honoring our family, the Melnin Family, and the west one honors the Morozov Family. They also house the crypts where the remains of the family members rest."

Now the MH-53K moves further north, the Potomac now to their left, and arrives on top of another building, large and rectangular, built in ghe same kind of stone as the Silver Palace. Starting from this building and going eastwards, a large avenue of grass, with a rectangular basin at the start, and some monuments visible along the way, with the avenue ending near a white building with a large cupola.
""We are now overlooking the Blachkor Family Memorial," says Agatha as she designates the building to the delegation. " the resting place of all Keisaers and Keisaerinas. Extending from it all the way down to the Capitol, the National Mall, surrounded by various landmarks." continues the Dowager Empress, as the hell turns right and preprares to fly now over the Mall.

And so, having positioned itself correctly, the helicopter carrying the guests now advances over the Mall.
First, it passes over the Blachkor Reflecting Pool, with to the right, he Korean War Memorial, and to the left, the Vietnam War Memorial. Further away from the latter, the Imperial Academy of Sciences and the Morozov Building, the Department of State Headquarters building and Foxter's workplace.
Then, as they continue, they now have the Ymir Gardens to the left, and the Colonial Wars Memorial (to honor the lives lost during the time the Europeans, namely the British, Spanish and French, occupied our land in the 16th century.) And below them, the World War Two Memorial.

On the right side, a few blocks away, the delegation might be able to now see clearer the explosion site, with the black smoke still rising but not as intense, and with various firetrucks pouring water with their hoses ovr it, while various ambulances and police cars are parked nearby.

As the large helo banks a bit to the right, Aurelia, Damir and the rest of the group will now see the Adrean Blachkor The First Monument, a white obelisk, 171-meter high, built in 1855 to honor the frist Keisaer and founder of the Imperium.
As it gets to the second part of the Mall now, they will now see:
First, to their right, the Holocaust Museum and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, (responsible for emitting various secure materials for government use, including bank notes.)
Next to them, the Department of Agriculture Headquarters Building, along with the Federalis Communicatio Commission.
To the left, across them on the other side of the Mall, two buildings of the Vanga Natural History Museum, who belong to the greater Vanga Institution, a scientific institution and union of 19 museums and research centers, named after the Astarian deity of Intelligence, Science and Culture.
Going on to the right again, a garden surrounded by three other Vanga museums, one of them the Afro-Amaurican Culture Museum. behind them, the Headquarters of the Department of Energy and the International Spy Museum.
Across them to the left, the Sculpture Garden of the National Gallery of Arts and the National Archives Museum behind them, where many important documents of the Astarian History are preserved.
To the right again, the Vanga National Air and Space Museum, housing a vast collection of planes and some spacecrafts. Next to them, the Columbia Public Observatory.
Across them to the left, the National Gallery of Art Main Building.
And finally, just before they reach the Capitol Building, the Native Astarian Museum to the right, and the East Building of the National Art Gallery to the left.

Now, they reach thethe Astarian Capitol Building. Its grey and white tone reflecting the daylight in its surroundings, its massive dome at the center, the stairs leading to it, the gardens and park surrounding the building. Contrary to other buildings though, the roof was green in color, most likely from copper tiles.
To the right, aka the south side, one would see three other buildings, each one 5-story high, with an inner courtyard, aligned in a row, and to the left, aka the north side, three other buildings as well, but with a slightly different designs.
"The South Wing," explains Foxter, "the one closest to us, houses the Represae Huset, House of Representatives, the lower house, while the North Wing houses the Forsta Styres the Senate, the Upper House. The buildings you see on each side are the office buildings used by their members. The south ones for the Representatives, the north ones for the Senators. To get from their office to the chambers proper, they can either cross the road or take an underground passageway."
As well, located between those two sets of offices, two other buildings who also belong to the greater Capitol Complex, the Headquarters of the Astarian Supreme Court, the head of our judiciary branch, and the Library of Congress, where major works in literature, music and cinema are conserved.
On some of the building's roofs, the Kyrenaian delegation may see a few SAM turrets, spinning slowly as they're tracking the helicopter's path.

The fly over the Mall and Capitol now completed, the MH-53K now takes a U-turn to the left, leaving the Mall now to their left.
After a few seconds of flying over Downtown, they now fly above the Columbia District City Hall, built in the same silver-white stone as some others they've passed before, his roof flat in certain places, but mostly covered by red tiles.
5 stories-high, in a U-shape, large stairs leading to a grand entry, with a large courtyard dominated by a large fountain (currently frozen) at the center. On the rear side, some cars were getting in and out of an underground parking garage.

And finally, on the other side of the large avenue, a 15-meter high wall stands proudly, with guardtowers every twenty meters or so, Astarian flags flying proudly over them.
Just across the City Hall and its Courtyard, a large portal, 11 meter high and 8 wide, set into a gate of stone, and flanked by two towers, with on the front, statues representing a Silver Eagle and an Astarian Wolf, two of he Imperium's endemic animals.
As for the Silver Portal, (actually plated in stainless steel mostly, with only a few silver parts.), on it can be seen what some people may recognize as the Keiserlig Seal, or Imperial Seal: a Silver Eagle, his head turned to the right, holding a sword in one of its talons and a crossbow in the other, and in his beak, a banner reading the Imperium's motto, but in Astarian.

Beyond the wall, the guests will now be able to see their destination: the Silver Palace. With its inner courtyards and various aisles, named the Silver Palace for a good reason, for the large cupola gilded in Silver, which reflect the sunlight rays, and the light grey marble stone used to build it, which gives an eery silver glow to the entire structure. The roofs are covered in slate tiles.
Next to it, a hundred meters to the left, one would see a smaller building built in a similar manner, built with the same stones and slate tiles.
"This building is the Keiserlig Custos Headquarters." simply says Constantin to the guests.
In the background, various other buildings can be seen as well, apartment building for the most part, as well as a small airfield on the West side, jouxting the wall separating the Compound from the Potomoac River.

Below them, as they now pass over the wall and into the Silver Palace's grounds proper, one can see that the paved road going from the Portal quickly separates in two, one going to the left, towards the Keiserlig Custos Headquarters, the four story building with black slates tiles being visible a few hundred meters away.
Going to the right though, is the path leading to the Silver Palace, flanked by tall, maple trees covered in snow, and some statues as well.
All around, a thick blanket of snow covers the lawn.

The MH-53K now follows the path going to the right, and after a few seconds (or two hundred meters), the treeline stops, and now reveals the Silver Palave Couryard in all its glory.
To the left, a large fountain, representing a young woman, in a simple, white sleeveless dress, holding a sword in her right hand and a basket of fruits in her left hand.
To the right, another fountain, this one representing a man in armor, with a light beard, holding a crossbow and aiming down the sights.

And finally, revealing itself close to the eye, the Silver Palace in itself. Built in a very special kind of grey-white marble with a slight silver glow seemingly emanating from it. The front entrance, with a set of large stairs leading to a set of massive wodden doors, currently opened. There were also columns supporting a balcony overlooking the entrance
And finally, now taking the main part of someone's view if they were to raise their eyes up, the Silver Dome, located just after the entrance aisle it seemed.

In the courtyard, the snow had been cleared and tamped, leaving only a small layer of it.

On the roof, some flagpoles were located, currently flying the Kyrenaian flag.
And in the courtyard, a red carpet was going from the Palace's entrance to a few meters away from the helicopter, flanked on either sides by three rows each of Imperial Guards in their armor, their Ensidur swords and daggers strapped to their backs, their black capes worn over their backs, and their Langasta lances held straight at their sides. They wear also wearing their Keiserlig helmets which concealed their faces.
Additionally, they were also carrying some modern equipment, as each one had his pistol strapped to his right thigh, and an M14 rifle slung around their chest.
Near the entrance, a military fanfare ready to play, all of them in Keiserlig Custos Dress Uniform.

"And we have arrived." simply says Jane as she stands up as the large helicopter touches the ground, before the two guards sitting in the back stand up, open the door and unfold the stairs, before getting out and standing at attention on each side of the helicopter.
"Princesses, Princes, Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the SIlver Palace." says Agatha, as she stands up and get out first of the helicopter, inviting the delegation to follow her.

[Kyrenaia]

"From 1941 to 1943." replies Agatha with a smile to Damir.
"Originally, he was supposed to be built a bit more up north, near the Potomac on the same bank, but the architects and local authorities quickly realized that building it in that place would hide the view of the capital from the Arlington National Necropolis." continues the Dowager Empress as she points to west of the Pentagon, to a large area covered in grass and trees, roads going through the hill, and rows of white tombstones aligned in neat rows.
"So, the building site was relocated southern, in place of an old airfield. The Pentagon-shape was chosen considering the fact that since our mythology revolves around stars, the polygon you get when linking the five points of a five-branch star is a pentagon." continues Jane, as the helicopter new crosses the Potomac.

A few seconds later, they fly over a basin next to the Potomac, with grass and trees covered in snow surrounding it, and a building with a small cupola on the southern most part, while a bit further on the west side of the basin, another building of a similar size, but with no cupola and a flat roof stands in a garden.
These two buildings are two of the Primarch Family Memorials," explains Constantin to the Kyrenaians. "The south one with the cupola is the one honoring our family, the Melnin Family, and the west one honors the Morozov Family. They also house the crypts where the remains of the family members rest."

Now the MH-53K moves further north, the Potomac now to their left, and arrives on top of another building, large and rectangular, built in ghe same kind of stone as the Silver Palace. Starting from this building and going eastwards, a large avenue of grass, with a rectangular basin at the start, and some monuments visible along the way, with the avenue ending near a white building with a large cupola.
""We are now overlooking the Blachkor Family Memorial," says Agatha as she designates the building to the delegation. " the resting place of all Keisaers and Keisaerinas. Extending from it all the way down to the Capitol, the National Mall, surrounded by various landmarks." continues the Dowager Empress, as the hell turns right and preprares to fly now over the Mall.

And so, having positioned itself correctly, the helicopter carrying the guests now advances over the Mall.
First, it passes over the Blachkor Reflecting Pool, with to the right, he Korean War Memorial, and to the left, the Vietnam War Memorial. Further away from the latter, the Imperial Academy of Sciences and the Morozov Building, the Department of State Headquarters building and Foxter's workplace.
Then, as they continue, they now have the Ymir Gardens to the left, and the Colonial Wars Memorial (to honor the lives lost during the time the Europeans, namely the British, Spanish and French, occupied our land in the 16th century.) And below them, the World War Two Memorial.

On the right side, a few blocks away, the delegation might be able to now see clearer the explosion site, with the black smoke still rising but not as intense, and with various firetrucks pouring water with their hoses ovr it, while various ambulances and police cars are parked nearby.

As the large helo banks a bit to the right, Aurelia, Damir and the rest of the group will now see the Adrean Blachkor The First Monument, a white obelisk, 171-meter high, built in 1855 to honor the frist Keisaer and founder of the Imperium.
As it gets to the second part of the Mall now, they will now see:
First, to their right, the Holocaust Museum and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, (responsible for emitting various secure materials for government use, including bank notes.)
Next to them, the Department of Agriculture Headquarters Building, along with the Federalis Communicatio Commission.
To the left, across them on the other side of the Mall, two buildings of the Vanga Natural History Museum, who belong to the greater Vanga Institution, a scientific institution and union of 19 museums and research centers, named after the Astarian deity of Intelligence, Science and Culture.
Going on to the right again, a garden surrounded by three other Vanga museums, one of them the Afro-Amaurican Culture Museum. behind them, the Headquarters of the Department of Energy and the International Spy Museum.
Across them to the left, the Sculpture Garden of the National Gallery of Arts and the National Archives Museum behind them, where many important documents of the Astarian History are preserved.
To the right again, the Vanga National Air and Space Museum, housing a vast collection of planes and some spacecrafts. Next to them, the Columbia Public Observatory.
Across them to the left, the National Gallery of Art Main Building.
And finally, just before they reach the Capitol Building, the Native Astarian Museum to the right, and the East Building of the National Art Gallery to the left.

Now, they reach thethe Astarian Capitol Building. Its grey and white tone reflecting the daylight in its surroundings, its massive dome at the center, the stairs leading to it, the gardens and park surrounding the building. Contrary to other buildings though, the roof was green in color, most likely from copper tiles.
To the right, aka the south side, one would see three other buildings, each one 5-story high, with an inner courtyard, aligned in a row, and to the left, aka the north side, three other buildings as well, but with a slightly different designs.
"The South Wing," explains Foxter, "the one closest to us, houses the Represae Huset, House of Representatives, the lower house, while the North Wing houses the Forsta Styres the Senate, the Upper House. The buildings you see on each side are the office buildings used by their members. The south ones for the Representatives, the north ones for the Senators. To get from their office to the chambers proper, they can either cross the road or take an underground passageway."
As well, located between those two sets of offices, two other buildings who also belong to the greater Capitol Complex, the Headquarters of the Astarian Supreme Court, the head of our judiciary branch, and the Library of Congress, where major works in literature, music and cinema are conserved.
On some of the building's roofs, the Kyrenaian delegation may see a few SAM turrets, spinning slowly as they're tracking the helicopter's path.

The fly over the Mall and Capitol now completed, the MH-53K now takes a U-turn to the left, leaving the Mall now to their left.
After a few seconds of flying over Downtown, they now fly above the Columbia District City Hall, built in the same silver-white stone as some others they've passed before, his roof flat in certain places, but mostly covered by red tiles.
5 stories-high, in a U-shape, large stairs leading to a grand entry, with a large courtyard dominated by a large fountain (currently frozen) at the center. On the rear side, some cars were getting in and out of an underground parking garage.

And finally, on the other side of the large avenue, a 15-meter high wall stands proudly, with guardtowers every twenty meters or so, Astarian flags flying proudly over them.
Just across the City Hall and its Courtyard, a large portal, 11 meter high and 8 wide, set into a gate of stone, and flanked by two towers, with on the front, statues representing a Silver Eagle and an Astarian Wolf, two of he Imperium's endemic animals.
As for the Silver Portal, (actually plated in stainless steel mostly, with only a few silver parts.), on it can be seen what some people may recognize as the Keiserlig Seal, or Imperial Seal: a Silver Eagle, his head turned to the right, holding a sword in one of its talons and a crossbow in the other, and in his beak, a banner reading the Imperium's motto, but in Astarian.

Beyond the wall, the guests will now be able to see their destination: the Silver Palace. With its inner courtyards and various aisles, named the Silver Palace for a good reason, for the large cupola gilded in Silver, which reflect the sunlight rays, and the light grey marble stone used to build it, which gives an eery silver glow to the entire structure. The roofs are covered in slate tiles.
Next to it, a hundred meters to the left, one would see a smaller building built in a similar manner, built with the same stones and slate tiles.
"This building is the Keiserlig Custos Headquarters." simply says Constantin to the guests.
In the background, various other buildings can be seen as well, apartment building for the most part, as well as a small airfield on the West side, jouxting the wall separating the Compound from the Potomoac River.

Below them, as they now pass over the wall and into the Silver Palace's grounds proper, one can see that the paved road going from the Portal quickly separates in two, one going to the left, towards the Keiserlig Custos Headquarters, the four story building with black slates tiles being visible a few hundred meters away.
Going to the right though, is the path leading to the Silver Palace, flanked by tall, maple trees covered in snow, and some statues as well.
All around, a thick blanket of snow covers the lawn.

The MH-53K now follows the path going to the right, and after a few seconds (or two hundred meters), the treeline stops, and now reveals the Silver Palave Couryard in all its glory.
To the left, a large fountain, representing a young woman, in a simple, white sleeveless dress, holding a sword in her right hand and a basket of fruits in her left hand.
To the right, another fountain, this one representing a man in armor, with a light beard, holding a crossbow and aiming down the sights.

And finally, revealing itself close to the eye, the Silver Palace in itself. Built in a very special kind of grey-white marble with a slight silver glow seemingly emanating from it. The front entrance, with a set of large stairs leading to a set of massive wodden doors, currently opened. There were also columns supporting a balcony overlooking the entrance
And finally, now taking the main part of someone's view if they were to raise their eyes up, the Silver Dome, located just after the entrance aisle it seemed.

In the courtyard, the snow had been cleared and tamped, leaving only a small layer of it.

On the roof, some flagpoles were located, currently flying the Kyrenaian flag.
And in the courtyard, a red carpet was going from the Palace's entrance to a few meters away from the helicopter, flanked on either sides by three rows each of Imperial Guards in their armor, their Ensidur swords and daggers strapped to their backs, their black capes worn over their backs, and their Langasta lances held straight at their sides. They wear also wearing their Keiserlig helmets which concealed their faces.
Additionally, they were also carrying some modern equipment, as each one had his pistol strapped to his right thigh, and an M14 rifle slung around their chest.
Near the entrance, a military fanfare ready to play, all of them in Keiserlig Custos Dress Uniform.

"And we have arrived." simply says Jane as she stands up as the large helicopter touches the ground, before the two guards sitting in the back stand up, open the door and unfold the stairs, before getting out and standing at attention on each side of the helicopter.
"Princesses, Princes, Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the SIlver Palace." says Agatha, as she stands up and get out first of the helicopter, inviting the delegation to follow her.

Princess Aurelia bint-Damir.
Arriving at the Silver Palace.
Dad had a blast during the ride, stealing the show with sounds of appreciation and "Aaah"s every now and again, but to be honest, I had other things on my mind. I will freely admit, that I was a bit nervous.
And, to be honest, the majority of the capitol left me unimpressed.
Sure, someone put in an effort with the monuments and memorials and so on, but... it didn't really connect to me. So, I gave polite nods at the explanations, gazed out of the window of the helicopter and giggled at Elian's comment about someone overcompensating with the obelisk (of course, that one was in Kyrenaian, so I doubted, that our hosts understood it).
What did make an impression was the Silver Palace - and I was sure, that it would be more impressive, if we were to drive up to it instead of fly at it, but generally, it was quite the landmark. Of course, you are listening to the thoughts of a young woman used to palatial architecture and who has seen quite a few of those buildings both on the inside and on the outside, so... take my words with a grain of salt.
The name was a bit on the nose, though I should not complain.
Though, on second thought, I was sure, that the Palace was not only palatial architecture, but also monumental architecture, built with a similar meaning to it then any other palace: To impress, to underline the magnificence of its inhabitants when compared to the little petitioner coming up those large stairs. We are everything, you are nothing! was the message practically inscribed on those doors.
Okan once told me, that the architecture and its symbolism reveals much about a culture. He then went on to explain, how Selkie-Architecture and Kyrenaian Architecture differed in many aspects and how those aspects underlined the fundamental differences between Selkie-Culture and Kyrenaian Culture.
I was sure, that he would have much fun dissecting the palace pebble for pebble.
There were a few flags flying in the wind on the roof, all of them a Kyrenaian flags, which was a nice gesture.
The welcoming committee was already there in the courtyard as we touched down, more soldiers armed to the teeth, wearing their traditional armour and newer weaponry, as well as another band.
Once we had landed, we reached for the handbags, the other things and, in Elian's case, one heard a crack.
"Sorry.", he said, swallowed. "Had a bonbon. Cracked it."
"That's not good for your teeth, Elian.", Damir said with a small smile.
I nodded, then, as soon as the helicopter had come to a complete stop, turned to General Grand Duke Melnik: "Please express our appreciation and gratitude towards the crew of this machine for their services.", I asked of him, then followed the Dowager Empress.
The snow was mostly cleared, but it was still slip-proof.
Dad joined my side almost immediately as we walked down the formation, the other two pairs following behind us with a small delay.

[Astares Amauricanum]

Aurelia was right on the fact that the architecture of the Silver Palace was not only palatial, but also monumental, but not for the same reasons the young woman thought about. For the Astarians, building the Silver Palace was primarly not meant to show the superiority of the Blachkor Dynasty over the Imperium citizens, but rather, a mean to show that despite all the suffering the Astarians had to endure at the hands of the Europeans in the 16th and 17th centuries, in the end, they succedeed in pushing back the invaders, and came out stronger.
Therefore, the Silver Palace was the testament of that spirit: bigger and stronger.
All of this would maybe be discussed at a later point between our characters...


Constantin nods to Aurelia in answer to her request,then once the whole group has disembarked, knocks on the cockpit doors and opens it. He makes a thumbs up to the pilots, who reply with a thumbs up too, and a set of handsigns.
The General nods, then disembarks the helicopter, and joins his wife Jane, standing at the front of the group with Agatha.
"The pilots say You are welcome Princess, and that they wish you and the delegation good luck and a happy stay with us." says the General Magnam Stoher, before nodding to Agatha, who then starts walking down the formation, the group of Kyrenaians following them.

As they walk, the rows of Imperial Guards snap to present arms as one man, their Langastas straight at their sides, as in the background, the Keiserlig Custos Fanfare starts playing the Kyrenaian anthem as a welcoming gesture towards the delegation.
Agatha, Jane, and especially Constantin review the formation with accurate eyes.

After climbing the stairs, passing under the balcony and through the wooden double doors, where one can see they are engraved with silver and bronze, representing stars in a circle, the group now enters the Entrance Lobby of the Silver Palace.
Rectangular in shape, about fifteen by ten meters, the two main things that would catch the eye first would be the floor and the ceiling.
The floor first, was a mosaic of different kinds of marble, silver grey and blue-grey, in wavy patterns, and arranged in a circle, twelve stars made of brass.
The ceiling on the other side, was a bas-relief made of different kind of woods, with different colors, (all natural, not painted.) representing the arrival of the first Astarian settlers on the coasts of America a millennium ago, proud Vikings getting off their ships and taming the lands, and meeting with the first Natives.
As for the walls, they would be made of white stone and stucco, with some woods engravings as well depicting plant and animals themes, such as a humming-bird drinking nectar from a flower, or an Astarian Wolf playing with his pups...
To the sides and the back of the Entrance Lobby, three sets of wooden double doors would reveal corridors leading to other parts of the Palace.

However, instead of the usual group of handmaidens, servants and guards to welcome the guests with some carts of snacks and beverages, the welcoming committee today is quite different.
Scattered around the Entrance Hall, 38 young people, half male and half female, divided in six squads of five people and two squads of four, are standing at parade rest.
Clad in black and dark grey Fer-Jarningurs, with a blood red cravat, awards ribbons over their left pectoral, they also have armbands on their left arm embroidered with a symbol representing the Kyrenaian moon and sabres surrounded by the twelve Astarian stars.
Aside from that, they also have forearm computers, as well as earpieces, throat microphones, and a pair of sunglasses currently pushed up their foreheads.
One can also see their Keiserlig Custos black berets tucked on their left shoulders, between their vest and their cape.

And finally, each one of them is armed to the teeth, four members of each squad having an Aquila ACR Assault Rifle hanging from a one-point sling, while the last member has an Aquila M1014 semi-automatic shotgun hanging from a one-point sling too; all with a holographic sight, a tactical light, lasers, etc.. They also carry a Masada 35 pistol strapped to a thigh holster. In terms of ammunition, thei either carry Assault Rifles mags in belt clips or a belt and a chest bandolier of shotgun shells, as well as six magazines for their pistols.
And like every guard, they also have their Ensidur swords and daggers strapped to their backs, the handles poking from behind their right shoulders.

(To the Kyrenaians, these people would be familiar, as their photos had been sent to them before their arrival. The group currently standing in the Silver Palace Entrance Hall was none other than the Personal Guards of Adrean and Anna, and also the current heirs of the Imperium Noble Families. With the number present, they would quickly see that there were four missing, and those four would be none other than Pavel, Alicia, Yuri and Patricia; the latters being most likely squad leaders of the two four-man squads.)

As Agatha walks in first, she looks around a bit worried, but as the Constantin, Jane and the Kyrenaians enter, the doors behind them close, pushed by some of the Personal Guards.
"Well, I didn't expect you to be changed so quickly!" exclaims the Grand Duke Melnik with a small laugh as he looks around to the young men and women.
"You know us General, three minutes shower included." says a young man (with black hair, blue eyes, and standing at 2.04 meters), with a small smirk; as he steps forward from his squad on the right, his M1014 shotgun dangling from its sling across his chest.
"Don't worry, we never doubted that." says Agatha with a smile too, before turning to the Kyrenaians.
"Princesses, Princes, Commander, Miladies, please allow me to introduce to you the people who keep my son and daughter in law safe everyday, their Personal Guards, and heirs to the various Noble Families of the Imperium. "

As Agatha finishes speaking, five more people, three women and two men, join the one currently standing in front of the delegation.
"Allow me to introduce." says Jane as she first turns to Aurelia and Damir: "Princess, Prince, this is Lieutenant Colonel Phillip Smetov and his wife Catherine. Their squads will be in charge of your security, Phillip for you Prince, and Catherine for you Princess."
"It's an honor to meet you Your Highnesses, welcome to the Imperium." says Catherine with a smile. "We hope you'll be satisfied of our protection." her husband adds with a serious smile.
"For you, Princess Fara and Commander Shabaaltay, Lieutenant Colonels Patrick and Alexandra Leonhart."
"It's a pleasure Commander, Princess." says the couple as they put their right fist over their heart and nod to the couple.
"And finally, for you Prince Elian and Miss Wasima, Lieutenant Colonels Maximilian and Ophelia Doppler.
"Prince, Miss, wlcome to the Imperium." say the Dopplers as they bow their heads lightly.

[Kyrenaia]

Aurelia was right on the fact that the architecture of the Silver Palace was not only palatial, but also monumental, but not for the same reasons the young woman thought about. For the Astarians, building the Silver Palace was primarly not meant to show the superiority of the Blachkor Dynasty over the Imperium citizens, but rather, a mean to show that despite all the suffering the Astarians had to endure at the hands of the Europeans in the 16th and 17th centuries, in the end, they succedeed in pushing back the invaders, and came out stronger.
Therefore, the Silver Palace was the testament of that spirit: bigger and stronger.
All of this would maybe be discussed at a later point between our characters...


Constantin nods to Aurelia in answer to her request,then once the whole group has disembarked, knocks on the cockpit doors and opens it. He makes a thumbs up to the pilots, who reply with a thumbs up too, and a set of handsigns.
The General nods, then disembarks the helicopter, and joins his wife Jane, standing at the front of the group with Agatha.
"The pilots say You are welcome Princess, and that they wish you and the delegation good luck and a happy stay with us." says the General Magnam Stoher, before nodding to Agatha, who then starts walking down the formation, the group of Kyrenaians following them.

As they walk, the rows of Imperial Guards snap to present arms as one man, their Langastas straight at their sides, as in the background, the Keiserlig Custos Fanfare starts playing the Kyrenaian anthem as a welcoming gesture towards the delegation.
Agatha, Jane, and especially Constantin review the formation with accurate eyes.

After climbing the stairs, passing under the balcony and through the wooden double doors, where one can see they are engraved with silver and bronze, representing stars in a circle, the group now enters the Entrance Lobby of the Silver Palace.
Rectangular in shape, about fifteen by ten meters, the two main things that would catch the eye first would be the floor and the ceiling.
The floor first, was a mosaic of different kinds of marble, silver grey and blue-grey, in wavy patterns, and arranged in a circle, twelve stars made of brass.
The ceiling on the other side, was a bas-relief made of different kind of woods, with different colors, (all natural, not painted.) representing the arrival of the first Astarian settlers on the coasts of America a millennium ago, proud Vikings getting off their ships and taming the lands, and meeting with the first Natives.
As for the walls, they would be made of white stone and stucco, with some woods engravings as well depicting plant and animals themes, such as a humming-bird drinking nectar from a flower, or an Astarian Wolf playing with his pups...
To the sides and the back of the Entrance Lobby, three sets of wooden double doors would reveal corridors leading to other parts of the Palace.

However, instead of the usual group of handmaidens, servants and guards to welcome the guests with some carts of snacks and beverages, the welcoming committee today is quite different.
Scattered around the Entrance Hall, 38 young people, half male and half female, divided in six squads of five people and two squads of four, are standing at parade rest.
Clad in black and dark grey Fer-Jarningurs, with a blood red cravat, awards ribbons over their left pectoral, they also have armbands on their left arm embroidered with a symbol representing the Kyrenaian moon and sabres surrounded by the twelve Astarian stars.
Aside from that, they also have forearm computers, as well as earpieces, throat microphones, and a pair of sunglasses currently pushed up their foreheads.
One can also see their Keiserlig Custos black berets tucked on their left shoulders, between their vest and their cape.

And finally, each one of them is armed to the teeth, four members of each squad having an Aquila ACR Assault Rifle hanging from a one-point sling, while the last member has an Aquila M1014 semi-automatic shotgun hanging from a one-point sling too; all with a holographic sight, a tactical light, lasers, etc.. They also carry a Masada 35 pistol strapped to a thigh holster. In terms of ammunition, thei either carry Assault Rifles mags in belt clips or a belt and a chest bandolier of shotgun shells, as well as six magazines for their pistols.
And like every guard, they also have their Ensidur swords and daggers strapped to their backs, the handles poking from behind their right shoulders.

(To the Kyrenaians, these people would be familiar, as their photos had been sent to them before their arrival. The group currently standing in the Silver Palace Entrance Hall was none other than the Personal Guards of Adrean and Anna, and also the current heirs of the Imperium Noble Families. With the number present, they would quickly see that there were four missing, and those four would be none other than Pavel, Alicia, Yuri and Patricia; the latters being most likely squad leaders of the two four-man squads.)

As Agatha walks in first, she looks around a bit worried, but as the Constantin, Jane and the Kyrenaians enter, the doors behind them close, pushed by some of the Personal Guards.
"Well, I didn't expect you to be changed so quickly!" exclaims the Grand Duke Melnik with a small laugh as he looks around to the young men and women.
"You know us General, three minutes shower included." says a young man (with black hair, blue eyes, and standing at 2.04 meters), with a small smirk; as he steps forward from his squad on the right, his M1014 shotgun dangling from its sling across his chest.
"Don't worry, we never doubted that." says Agatha with a smile too, before turning to the Kyrenaians.
"Princesses, Princes, Commander, Miladies, please allow me to introduce to you the people who keep my son and daughter in law safe everyday, their Personal Guards, and heirs to the various Noble Families of the Imperium. "

As Agatha finishes speaking, five more people, three women and two men, join the one currently standing in front of the delegation.
"Allow me to introduce." says Jane as she first turns to Aurelia and Damir: "Princess, Prince, this is Lieutenant Colonel Phillip Smetov and his wife Catherine. Their squads will be in charge of your security, Phillip for you Prince, and Catherine for you Princess."
"It's an honor to meet you Your Highnesses, welcome to the Imperium." says Catherine with a smile. "We hope you'll be satisfied of our protection." her husband adds with a serious smile.
"For you, Princess Fara and Commander Shabaaltay, Lieutenant Colonels Patrick and Alexandra Leonhart."
"It's a pleasure Commander, Princess." says the couple as they put their right fist over their heart and nod to the couple.
"And finally, for you Prince Elian and Miss Wasima, Lieutenant Colonels Maximilian and Ophelia Doppler.
"Prince, Miss, wlcome to the Imperium." say the Dopplers as they bow their heads lightly.

Princess Aurelia bint-Damir.
Entrance Lobby.
I always found it interesting to hear, how foreign musical ensembles tried to interpret the Kyrenaian Anthem - which, of course, not only involved Kyrenaian Instruments but was... well, Kyrenaian. And traditionally so, as it had its own tone system, microtones and a lot of other things, which an expert on the Oud knew and could explain, but I was not an expert on the Oud.
In any case, the band did a pretty good job as we inspected the formation.
Receptions with military honours were almost always the same: Young men (rarely women) in shiny uniforms with shiny guns standing in a line and trying to look impressive and demonstrating the result of hours of waxing shoes. Anthems played, salutes taken, variations existing. It was an important part of the diplomatic protocol, after all, stemming either from the guest inspecting his or her guards during a visit or as a show of trust - or as a show of aggressiveness, not "Look what I got as shiny toys!" but as "Look what I got to make your people dead!"
I preferred to think of it as a show of their readiness to defend us, if need should arise, and their ability to do so. It was similar in Kyrenaia, where it was celebrated as an assurance for the guests, that they were safe.
In any case, once that was done, we ascended the stairs, into the Entrance Lobby, where neither the ceiling nor the floor caught my attention first, but the mass of people. Uniformed soldiers, heavily armed and... I recognized some of them as the kindergarten group thingie Adrean still had running. The famed 1st Regiment of Nepotism (1st Imperial Astarian), his personal group of playmates.
Of course.
Something the back of my head was wondering if the reason Adrean still didn't have an heir was, that he and his wife took their guns into their beds and that he confused her vagina and the chamber of her gun in regular intervals... lock and load, indeed.
But seriously, was it some sort of nation-wide requirement for all uniformed personell to run around armed to the teeth every hour of the day, every day of the week?
In any case, we entered, got introduced to the heads of our respective security details, Dad and I got the Smetovs, the Leonharts for Fara and Abbas, the Dopplers for Razia and Elian.
"Thank you for the welcome.", I said politely for us all, "It is reassuring and deeply honouring to know, that the same people, who usually keep our host safe, will keep us safe." I let a beat pass. "Let's hope, that we'll not be in a situation, where we have to find out, whether or not we are satisfied with your services."
Let there be no mistake or misunderstanding: I trusted Sarina more with keeping me safe then any of them. And that would stay that way. I felt her presence not too far behind me, smiling reassuringly and proudly behind her veil.
"Now, let's proceed.", I said and smiled.

[Astares Amauricanum]

Phillip, Catherine and the others, given their experience, were pretty sure that Aurelia's words were just polite enough and not truly sincere. They did not think much about it. Another day at the office for an Astarian Personal Guard of the current monarch...

Before any of the Phantoms can reply, Agatha raises her hand in a gesture that makes everyone stop. Judging by the look in her eyes, the young Astarian Noble heirs knew that the Dowager Empress was going to ask something.
"Before we proceed, what has been changed for you all to be positioned here? she asks in English with a simple, yet a bit concerned tone.
"It's all very simple Agatha." replies Phillip with a small smile. "Due to what happened yesterday on the yacht, and since Adrean and Anna are a bit pumped up by what happened this morning, they want to clear any misunderstandings with our guests before the state visit proceeds as planned." explains the yougn Smetov as he designates the delegation. "In other words, explain to them what makes us tick, and clear any bias they might have."
"And since your son and daughter in law will not keep their words to them, there's no need to add an unecesary tension to the atmosphere by having 40 Space Marines armed to the teeth standing in the same room, doesn't it?" asks Patrick as he crosses his arms.
"Very well." replies Agatha with a nod and a neutral look and tone, before turning her head to the Kyrenaians. "In that case, I will just tell you one thing: Be honest in what you say." Although her tone was cordial, along with a smile, anyone who had two bits of intelligence would understand that this was a request that did not call for a negative answer. Or any answer at all for that matter. The Dowager Empress's will was to be obeyed, no questions asked.
"Shall we?" asks Adrean's mother as she extends her left arm to the side, inviting the Kyrenaians to follow her, before starting to walk forward.

[Kyrenaia]

Phillip, Catherine and the others, given their experience, were pretty sure that Aurelia's words were just polite enough and not truly sincere. They did not think much about it. Another day at the office for an Astarian Personal Guard of the current monarch...

Before any of the Phantoms can reply, Agatha raises her hand in a gesture that makes everyone stop. Judging by the look in her eyes, the young Astarian Noble heirs knew that the Dowager Empress was going to ask something.
"Before we proceed, what has been changed for you all to be positioned here? she asks in English with a simple, yet a bit concerned tone.
"It's all very simple Agatha." replies Phillip with a small smile. "Due to what happened yesterday on the yacht, and since Adrean and Anna are a bit pumped up by what happened this morning, they want to clear any misunderstandings with our guests before the state visit proceeds as planned." explains the yougn Smetov as he designates the delegation. "In other words, explain to them what makes us tick, and clear any bias they might have."
"And since your son and daughter in law will not keep their words to them, there's no need to add an unecesary tension to the atmosphere by having 40 Space Marines armed to the teeth standing in the same room, doesn't it?" asks Patrick as he crosses his arms.
"Very well." replies Agatha with a nod and a neutral look and tone, before turning her head to the Kyrenaians. "In that case, I will just tell you one thing: Be honest in what you say." Although her tone was cordial, along with a smile, anyone who had two bits of intelligence would understand that this was a request that did not call for a negative answer. Or any answer at all for that matter. The Dowager Empress's will was to be obeyed, no questions asked.
"Shall we?" asks Adrean's mother as she extends her left arm to the side, inviting the Kyrenaians to follow her, before starting to walk forward.

Princess Aurelia bint-Damir.
Entrance Lobby.
Contrary to what they might believe, I was honoured by them protecting us. It was the equivalent of attaching the Personal Handmaiden to a guest in Kyrenaian Terms.
However, their big disadvantage was, that I did not know them - like, anyone. Sarina, on the other hand, I knew for years and years now. It was a simple matter of trust, not of insult.
In any case, apparently, they were here to serve as a backdrop to an explanation as to 'what made them tick'. We were asked, in a rhetoric fashion, to be honest, by the Dowager Empress, who tried to wrangle back control of the situation.
The problem was, that the honest answer was... not exactly the diplomatic answer.
Of course, I could not tell them that and that meant, that I was in need of advice. Wisdom is not knowing everything, but knowing, that one does not know everything., as al-Hakim had written.
I smiled and bowed my head lightly.
"My apologies, but I am afraid, that before we do, I want to consult with someone, who has more experience in diplomacy then I have.", I told Agatha, truly sorry for the delay. "If you would please excuse my Father and myself for but a minute?"

[Astares Amauricanum]

When Aurelia finishes her sentence, all heads turns towards her, some of them with raised eyebrows.
"Sorry Princess, but your request is denied." says Agatha in answer as she crosses her arms across her chest. "You do not seem to understand the situation we're in right now. What my son and daughter-in-law expect right now is not a diplomatic answer, thought long and well in your head and wrapped up in nice words, but rather what you have here." he continues as he lightly taps her in the abdomen with her right index finger a few times. "It does not matter if you're going to say a truckload of insults to them. If that's what must come out, then so be it. But remember this, an artificial answer would only irritate Their Imperial Majesties, and not help you at all.
-And if I may add, Daddy won't always be here to back you up." adds Constantin with a serious tone as he casts a quick glance to Damir. "Some people here didn't have this chance." he continues, cryptically refering to Adrean who lost his father Kelariel.

"It's not time to learn anymore."says Phillip from a few meters away, with a small smile at the edge of his lips. "Put your notebooks back in your bag, your bag at the back of the room, and only keep a pen. The exam subjects are about to be distributed." finishes the dark-haired man with a school metaphor.

[Kyrenaia]

When Aurelia finishes her sentence, all heads turns towards her, some of them with raised eyebrows.
"Sorry Princess, but your request is denied." says Agatha in answer as she crosses her arms across her chest. "You do not seem to understand the situation we're in right now. What my son and daughter-in-law expect right now is not a diplomatic answer, thought long and well in your head and wrapped up in nice words, but rather what you have here." he continues as he lightly taps her in the abdomen with her right index finger a few times. "It does not matter if you're going to say a truckload of insults to them. If that's what must come out, then so be it. But remember this, an artificial answer would only irritate Their Imperial Majesties, and not help you at all.
-And if I may add, Daddy won't always be here to back you up." adds Constantin with a serious tone as he casts a quick glance to Damir. "Some people here didn't have this chance." he continues, cryptically refering to Adrean who lost his father Kelariel.

"It's not time to learn anymore."says Phillip from a few meters away, with a small smile at the edge of his lips. "Put your notebooks back in your bag, your bag at the back of the room, and only keep a pen. The exam subjects are about to be distributed." finishes the dark-haired man with a school metaphor.

Princess Aurelia bint-Damir.
Entrance Lobby.
"Alright, then.", I said with a small smile, shrugged. "Have it your way. Don't complain to me if Adrean ends up wetting his bed again, though."
Dad nodded and stepped up to me, offered his arm to link - an offer I gratefully accepted. "I, meanwhile, will teach my daughter.", he said with some pride in his voice, "And I know, that I am not the only one to teach her, General... a few lessons from many are more instructive then a lot of lessons from a few." He let a beat pass. "My apologies, I am not sure how familiar you are with Kyrenaian Philosophy. This quote was from ibn-Kindi, a famous 10th century philosopher and teacher to Khan Atif I., a ruler of the Khanate of Tanin."
"A place you for some reason have a connection to, don't you?", Fara said, stepping up to my other side, grinning as she took out her sunglasses and put them on, slim, fashionable ones. Abbas was on her far side. "I would now love to bring a quote from the Lone Bladesman, but they do suffer a lot in the translation."
Elian stepped up on Dad's far side, Razia on his arm. "They suffer when you translate them into Shamsiyyan, in English, they fly high over anyone's head.", he said, then turned to Smetov: "Though, Colonel, your metaphor needs a lot more work. While a test of the skills acquired is a desirable way to see the own capabilities, or lacks thereof, one never ceases to learn, even, sometimes, during tests... that is how I learned Integral Calculus."
Razia, smiling on his own arm, added to his words: "Likewise, one should avoid learning for tests and forgetting." Her words were accompanied by looking into our round. "Differential calculus, anyone?"
Eyes turned to me. "Just because I'm still in school does not mean, that I am good in Maths.", I said, "Getting there, though."
I think, there on display for the Astarians was, what made us tick:
For one thing, the family and friendships and connections we make, forming us, for no one is ever truly alone, everyone has someone, who he can rely upon as part of a society. Desert People are not lonely people, because in a community, it is easier to survive.
Then, there was the will to learn, from as many people as one could, as many things as one could. Striving to get better, always and in any field, was integral part of our culture, honing the skills to perfection - or to as close as we could. That included ourselves as well, taking our faults and trying to correct them, taking our mistakes and learning from them.
And there was philosophy - the English term's etymology was right on the money, philosophia, 'love of wisdom'. We loved wisdom, even more so if it came from different perspectives. It was not only about quoting ancient texts and from whom the sentences were, but also understanding their meaning and understanding, that, what laid at the core of Kyrenaian Philosophy: The lesson, that being wise was not knowing everything, but knowing, that one did not know everything.
"Well... if you or the girls need any help, give me a call.", Dad offered to me.
I nodded with a smile. "Will do.", I said and turned to Agatha, my arm still linked with my father's: "Then let the test begin."