Meeting the Family (FT, Closed. ATTN EE Nations)

[Azaranthia]

Beta Quadrant, Milky Way Galaxy
Sol System, Earth
Galgo Airlines Jet
Russian Airspace

His Majesty Rodrigo Damacio the First, Ruler of Spain and her Colonies, Protector of the Catholic Faith, Commander in Chief of the Spanish military, High Admiral of the Navy, Royal Commander of the Army, Agent of God, and enemy to all who opposed Spain, and Honored Friend to the Third French Empire, Sweden and the Netherlands, was en route to St. Petersburg for an high-level meeting with Tsar Nicholas. Rodrigo had brought Spain back onto the road of greatness again; they had reformed the government and colonial system, allowing for less conflict in South America and thus allowing them to gradually buy less and less food from other nations, reducing their expenses, and ensuring the economy was being shifted over to production, the obtainment and refinement of metals, and claudia, and had even entered into an alliance with France, Sweden, and the Netherlands. All this was done, but he had one final thing to do before he could cement Spain's new start: he had to get to know his fellow cousins.

He was just a name to the many rulers of this world, an unknown factor who was playing at king. He needed to meet with them and show them what he was capable of and fully joining this family of monarchs that ruled their world and the space around it. Now, he could have started with his fellow monarchs in the Cytherean Alliance but Martel was busy with the business in Afghanistan and other things, and Sweden and Netherlands could wait since they were already on friendly terms. So he had to take his pick of what nations to start with, and he had only a few real good ones to bother with. Portugal was one, due to being neighbors, but they were a quiet one and not one that was acting abroad, just maintaining the status quo, they could also wait. America was a tricky one; the population hated the Americans and he had his own dislike of them due to their constant attention on trying to take Spanish territory and the aborted Spanish-American War under Ortiz's reign. So he would remain at only maintaining channels. Japan was in a similar situation, due to their ridiculous claim in the New Eden system and their general conduct. He might meet with them if they asked but it'd be a meeting with little benefit as France was their ally and the both of them did not like each other.

So that left Britain and Russia. Germany was a divided and weak thing, without even a proper royal ruler; he could not waste time until they got their act together. Out of the two, Russia was the more important as, as much as he didn't like it, Russia dominated this planet and general space territory. They were capable of fighting wars deep in the galaxy; Spain would have problems fighting one at home. It was best to meet with them and work out some sort of accord as well as becoming friends with the Tsar at least. Which was why he sent a request to meet with the Tsar and was surprised when it was quickly accepted, with the addendum that the Tsar was curious about the new Spanish monarch.

So this is how he found himself on his private jet, or rather a jet of his private airline, and was beginning to land in St. Petersburg. He expected a welcoming party and thus only brought a small honor guard, four of his best Royal Guard. He was beginning to break in the half that was lazy nobles and rich boys; he had to reduce their number a bit for the ones who were truly lost and leave space open for those that were worthy, while the rest underwent hellish training to fit the role of being his personal army. The plane landed and his aide turned to him. A lovely woman by the name of Rayen Vargas, she had been recommended by one of his advisors and she had performed her job wonderfully. She had such a vibrant personality, she was able to perk him up when he was tired or feeling the weight of being ruler more so than usual that day. "Your Majesty, when you are ready...."

He nodded. "I know, Rayen." He stood up, outfitted with the royal red and yellow robes of Spain. He had modified it a bit, giving it a bit of an ostentatious flair with some gold lining and borders here and there, but kept it within reason. It was not as decorated as the true royal robes but he was not here to show up the Tsar in his domain and plus he despised excessive frippery. He exited the plane, followed by Rayen and the four escorts as he stepped out and touched the ground for the first time in an hour or so, and was met by a welcoming committee. Smiling, he nodded as they approached. "Greetings, gentlemen, it is an honor to be here in your country."

[OMGeverynameistaken]

St. Petersburg, Ivan VII Interstellar Spaceport

St. Petersburg's spaceport was busy throughout the entirety of the year, a virtually solid mass of small vessels coming and going. Dignitaries, corporate executives, nobles and so on, either choosing to make the trip from orbit in their own private shuttles, wishing to avoid the tax levied on goods moved via the elevator or arriving from some other location on Earth that did not warrant a trip up to orbit.

Despite this mess, the King of Spain was an important enough visitor that it was judged worthy of assigning him his own airspace corridor. For a day, an entire runway was dedicated to this task. Vanships from the Imperial Konvoi were assigned to patrol it, while agents of the Okrhanka swept the areas where some Basque separatist might launch an attack from. While the King of Spain might not have known it, a good portion of the Tsar's personal security force was working to ensure his safety. Of course, this being St. Petersburg, these efforts found no evidence of plots or assassins, but they were not wasted in the eyes of the Tsar or Russia's political elite.

Knowing the Spanish king's preferences, a fairly small reception was organized. A company of the Preobrazhensky Lifeguard had been assigned to escort duty. The very moment the plane's engines ceased, the immaculate uniforms and spotless boots of the LIfeguard were already arrayed in squads before the exit ramp, arms presented and regimental banner dipped deferentially. At the end of the line, the regimental band was blasting out the 'Marcha Real' for the king's descent and inspection of his escort.

As soon as the Spanish anthem was completed, an officer emerged from the ranks, saluted the king and bellowed, in Russian, "Your Majesty, the Preobrazhensky Regiment welcomes you to Russia!"

This said, the rest of the troops, apparently acting on this signal, shouldered their muskets, turned their heads to face the plane and bellowed in unison: "YOUR MAJESTY! WE WELCOME YOU TO RUSSIA!"

This accomplished, two further figures appeared, apparently by magic or some form of teleportation, at the end of the line, although the more likely explanation was that they were waiting behind the nearby carriage to make a more dramatic entrance. One, dressed in a formal suit and top hat, was clearly an official of some sort, most likely from the department of foreign affairs, while the other, in his black kaftan and kubanka, was definitely an officer of the Okhranka, an impression confirmed by the presence of the badge of that particularly infamous division of Russia's state security force on his hat, a dog's head over two crossed brooms.

Both of the men removed their hats as they approached and offered deep bows, the politician speaking first in barely accented Spanish, "Thank you, your majesty. I am Andrei Bartolovich Kollas, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I will be at your disposal for the duration of your stay here. This is Captain Sergei Anatolivich Potemkin, in charge of your security. He understands Spanish well enough, but is not confident in his ability to speak it at length."

The Okrhanka agent offered another slight, somewhat apologetic, bow, "They give me one month to learn, what to do?"

[Azaranthia]

Rodrigo hid a smile as the honor guard sent to meet him saluted him and bellowed out a welcome. He was fluent in many languages, including Russian and he understood what they said. When the troops shouldered their muskets and welcomed him, his four guards did the same, but only saluting in return. When the two men appeared out of nowhere, the King turned to face them; when they bowed, he nodded in acknowledgement. As they introduced themselves, he couldn't help but smile. The Okrhanka agent, Captain Potemkin, was a refreshing change of pace; a man who could be honest with himself and others. When they finished introducing themselves, he spoke up. "I am King Rodrigo Damacio the First, it is an honor to meet the man who handles the foreign affairs of the Russian Empire with such skill and the good Captain Potemkin." He turned to the latter with a lazy smile, speaking in Russian. It was accented, something he tried to get rid of and failed, but still rather fluent. "It is alright, good Captain, as long as we do not have to resort to charades to talk to each other, I think we can make do."

He switched back to Spanish and continued speaking. "I thank you for the welcome, and I do wish to request that we begin moving to wherever our next destination is. I do imagine you wish to show me your wonderful city a bit; I'd do the same in your shoes."

[OMGeverynameistaken]

Potemkin nodded his acknowledgment, apparently preferring to remain mute otherwise, something which rather fit with his particular character in any case.

Kollas gestured to the carriages, which, besides the obvious lack of horses, had the other telltales of the self-motivated sort used by the rich to travel in style. These were rather somber black affairs, the sort used by government officials on business. Three of them were lined up here, "If you would take the central carriage, your majesty, myself and Mr. Potemkin will ride escort duty. Your guards may ride on the outside if they wish to accompany you. A route has been cleared to the Summer Garden and we may leave at your convenience."

The ride was of moderate length, while it did not take the shortest route to the Summer Garden, this option had clearly been selected for mixing the best of all worlds, providing a comfortable ride, while avoiding the less desirable parts of town and giving a good view of several of the city's more famous landmarks, including what was locally referred to as the 'Formerly Hollywood Walk of Fame', most of the famous plaques having been transplanted in the mid-23rd century.

Eventually, the Summer Garden was reached and the carriages came to a halt in front of the modest Summer Palace. The first 'true' palace built in St. Petersburg, it was a modest building, indeed, it was much smaller than many of the noble palaces which flanked the park, its red and yellow brick exterior contrasting sharply with the marble and granite edifices which towered around it. As a historic landmark, it was of some importance, being one of several rumored spots where Peter the Great stabbed a saber into the boggy swamp and declared, "Here shall be a town."

Indeed, the building was so humble that the only thing that indicated the presence of the Tsar was the 'residence' flag, the personal standard of the Tsar in St. Petersburg, fluttering from the roof's spire, and the pair of hulking Palace Grenadiers standing at attention by the main entry.

The interior was positively spartan by the standards one normally associated with the Romanov family, lacking even what one might call a 'proper' entryway, the front door simply emerging directly into a small anteroom with coat racks, a butler appearing directly behind the party in that special way all true butlers can, to offer assistance with whatever articles of clothing the king and his escort wished to divest themselves of. Those with a keen eye might notice the rather rough looking jackets which hung from several of these, as well as the fine lady's shoes lying in dangerous proximity to a fair sized pile of what was undoubtedly the sort of dirt generated by knocking mud off of one's shoes.

The butler, who positioned himself between Rodrigo and the mess, then spoke up, managing to inject the obligatory butler-drawl in spite of his heavy accent, "His Imperial Majesty awaits you in the west parlor, directly that way. If Your Majesty does not object, I shall escort your guards to the Guard Room." Guard Rooms, a fairly common feature of many palaces, generally had one of two purposes, either fronting an important suite, or being a sort of formalized barracks where, after a long day of stiff-necked preening, staring contests with rival diplomatic escorts and goose-stepping, a man might unbutton the top of his collar, remove his imposing miter and indulge in a well earned bit of low-end betting on whatever local sport happened to be on the local entertainment devices with his comrades from the other side of the red carpet.

[Azaranthia]

Rodrigo let himself be escorted into the self-propelled carriage indicated by Kollas, with his Royal Guard taking up positions on the outside. He was to be in the center, with Kollas and Potemkin to ride in the escort carriages; he chuckled. It did pay to be King once in a while, you could get little gifts in life like this. Once they were situated, they began their trip down through St. Petersburg. As he had hinted at, it was quite a scenic route they took through the city. You could say what you want about the Russians, but this was one of their most beautiful and awe-inspiring cities. You could see why they wanted it to be their capital. He even had to laugh a bit when he saw they had taken the former Hollywood Walk of Fame; it was interesting to see them save such a piece of history.

When they came to the Summer Palace, Rodrigo had to nod in appreciation. As monarch, he knew that you had to have ostentatious things like the royal outfit and the main palace to show off your power and awe those who come into your domain. But it was important not to have a ninny in power who thought that it was all that mattered. Nicholas knew how to get to business and Rodrigo could appreciate that. Even so, he was still surprised by how small and spartan the place was. The royal flag was the only indication of this being the Tsar's residence, and even was lacking in large doors. When he was escorted in, he noticed the ragged coats hanging on the nearby coat rack, hanging above a pair of fine shoes being threatened by the pile of mud made from people stamping the mud off their shoes.

He was quiet and thoughtful as he let the butler aid him in removing his heavy coat and hat, putting them on the rack. He had decided to go for a normal approach with his outfit. He wore the yellow and red of his nation, with a royal cloak to signify his status as monarch. But it was a simple gold shirt and black pants, with a red vest on over it. He also held a box that held the gift he was going to present to Nicky: a preserved Russian uniform from the First Great War, an old Papal Ring from the Orthodox Church, and a well-preserved wine bottle from the Spanish royal cellars.

He paused as the butler stood in front of him and spoke of where to find the Tsar and letting him know he would be escorting his guards to the Guard Room. He nodded. "I have no objection to this." He nodded to the guards, who understood this to mean for them to be on their best behavior. They saluted and walked off after the butler. They came into the guard room and saw the other soldiers sitting and playing cards, relaxing on their bunks or standing on duty. They gave them respectful nods before finding a place to sit and set down their weapons, ensuring the safeties were on before finally relaxing. They would maintain a distance unless given an invitation to join in. For all they knew, Russia had secret hatred for Spain and the soldiers were itching for a chance to fight; they couldn't have a diplomatic incident break out and thus embarrass their king.

As they settled in, Rodrigo stepped into the west parlor and noted the man sitting in the chair; one of the most powerful men on this world, arguably the most powerful. He studied him for the first few seconds it took Nicholas to get used to his arrival. He was a well-built man with a finely-kept beard and clothing. He could see the wear and tear of rulership in the bags under his eyes, his tired smile and the sense of burdened responsibility behind those eyes. He nodded at him and walked forward when he stood. He extended a hand and shook the Russian Tsar's hand.

"Cousin, it is good to finally meet you. I apologize for not organizing this earlier, but dire matters had to be taken care of in the Empire." He then held out the box. "I know you get this all the time, but I couldn't have our first meeting go without a friendly gift. One of my finest wines, a recovered ring of an Orthodox Pope, and a preserved uniform from the Great War, if you have an interesting in history."

[OMGeverynameistaken]

(OOC: Orthodox Pope?
I think the nearest equivalent would be a Metropolitan of one of the major divisions (Russian, Eastern, Oriental, Byzantine).)

Nicholas stood as the Spanish king entered, and smiled as the gifts were produced, "And you as well, my cousin. It has been a very long time since Russia has received such important guests from Spain. I had thought to make more of an occasion of it, but I understand you have cultivated something of a reputation for modesty and frugality." The Russian Empire was, of course, well known in Europe and across the world for its massive displays of wealth, military power and conspicuous consumption. Even in a room as modest as this, the sheer wealth of the Empire was obvious, in such touches as a redwood table, bearing the cypher of the Russian-American Company, a gift which had probably cost the RAC a year's profits.

The West Parlor was, as might be implied, an austere but clearly well funded room, a set of extremely old chairs, quite possibly older than both of the monarchs ages put together, and a sofa sat before a large fireplace, the building having been constructed in the days when such fireplaces were a requirement if one did not wish to freeze during winter. Various portraits adorned the walls, the unidentifiable relatives of some long dead monarch.

"Your gifts are well received, however. I may receive many like them, but all such gifts are welcome." Nicholas gestured to a chair, waiting for his guest to be seated before himself sitting down, whereupon a servant appeared bearing a tray of tea. This was, silently, placed before the two men. "Now, what brings you to St. Petersburg, my cousin? I understand you are not here to see the sights, which caused the Minister of the Court no end of suffering."

[Azaranthia]

OOC: Heh, sorry. I made the post late at night and didn't bother to look into if a Orthodox pope existed. I just went with a gut choice, which was very wrong. Just replace pope with the title of whatever big wig rank is appropriate.

IC: Rodrigo gazed around the room, taking in the sights of the redwood table and the other furniture that had to be quite expensive. He had to nod in respect; Nicholas managed a down to earth and more open look to a room but still leave a hint at the power and wealth of the Russian Empire. A similar strategy he had for back home; he began to like this Tsar even more. It made the chances of them coming to an accord even more likely. When the Tsar mentioned his reputation, he gave a small smile. "Seeing as the past reputation of the Spanish kings has been one of overindulgence and greed, I intended to show even further the new direction Spain was going in."

When Nicholas gestured to a chair, Rodrigo nodded and took the seat. A servant appeared with tea and placed it down onto the table. Rodrigo grabbed a cup and took a sip as Nicholas began talking. He left an opportunity for Rodrigo to start talking and the Spanish king took it. Setting his cup back down, he began to talk.

"As you have become aware, Spain has been undergoing a series of programs to reform its economy, its administration, its way of life in some ways. We are well on our way to becoming the proper state we should have been but for poor decisions and corruption. I came here to meet my Russian cousin so we could open dialogue and measure each other, see what we are like and thus have a better relationship for our nations. But I also came here to give you an idea of Spanish interests and plans, nothing that we don't plan on being public anyway as we all need our secrets, but enough so you can know what we plan and speak of any issues. You can also put forth any ideas or discussions you wish to open with Spain, and get the ball rolling on any....projects you might be working on in regards to other nations."

He left the hint at that; Nicholas would surely understand what he was getting at and took a pause to breathe before speaking. "Spain has joined the Cytherean Alliance, as you well know, to foster military and economic security and to deal with what seems to be a constantly shifting mass of power and balance we have in our world today. We follow the principles of the Alliance firmly; we do not seek to start wars, unless given no choice, but we will work to finish any that are forced upon us. I am not an imperialistic man, cousin; I only seek to rebuild Spain, to bring her back to her glory when she stood amongst the Russians, British, and French as an equal, not a decrepit old man dreaming of glory days long gone. War is a means many take for such rebirth; I choose the harder but more rewarding road.

I do intend to hold onto current Spanish possessions, save for any land deals worked out, but I will not advance on any land unless war or rebellion has taken hold of it. And with this, we come to the...Americans." The tone he said that last word was filled with equal parts disgust and contempt. "I will not sugarcoat this, cousin; I despise the Americans. We both know the dangers and weaknesses of such systems. We also know of the past...disagreements Spain and America has had with each other. Especially the recent attempt to take Mexico and our solar colonies which ended with that treaty which demilitarized the Mexican border. Only for a new government to completely disregard it and militarize it again. I do not trust them, Nicholas; that kind of behavior matched by their threatening pose towards us and their excessive militarization and I am forced to prepare means to deal with them. I am sure you are aware of this, but I do wish to add I do not intend to start a war to regain old territories; after all, I'd have to do the same to you for California, and really...what's the point of wasting lives for centuries old baubles and grudges?"

He laid back and paused, letting the words sink in before speaking up one final time. "I apologize, brevity is not my strong suit. That is the current state of things, aside from an interest in expanding our colonies outside the Solar System, but every nation worth its salt is doing that, so that is nothing new. Any problems with my policy and intentions? Anything you wish to suggest?"

[OMGeverynameistaken]

Nicholas waited patiently until the Spanish king had finished his speech, nodding encouragingly from time to time, before speaking, "Of course, my cousin, I can only agree on the matter of the Americans. We deal with them because we must, not because we...like them. If there is one piece of land on this globe I would prefer to see in the possession of the British, it would be the strip of land from Maine to Georgia.

"Of course, we cannot assist in any conflict with the United States unless we are attacked first. We are bound by a treaty of non-aggression and, of course, the rather formidable Rocky Mountains. But you may also rest assured that in any conflict, Russia would not support your enemies, and Spanish ships would find friendly port at Russian space stations."

"Regardless, Russia has no objection to Spain maintaing its current holdings or, indeed, expanding them, so long as it does not conflict with Russian interests which...seems quite unlikely on Earth...and in space, well, there is an infinite universe to expand into, so we should have little trouble there. Spanish trade is welcome on all Russian worlds and Spanish ships are welcome to dock at Russian facilities to refuel and so forth."

"In fact, at present, there remains a little money in our international assistance fund. While quite modest, we can offer Spain a small loan, perhaps something for your government to disperse to private interests or invest in some infrastructure project. Although more may be available shortly, if we are required to...extract our investments from Afghanistan."

[Azaranthia]

Rodrigo smiled when he heard the Russian Tsar mention that he understood the plans Spain had and was not looking to interfere in them as long as Spain did not force their hand by attacking or encroaching on their lands.He nodded and chuckled a bit."Have no fear, Cousin, I do not intend to disturb the Russian people with any action of mine. I do still have my wits about me, thank you."

He took note of the mention that Russia did not particularly like America but would do nothing, especially with a non-aggression pact with them. They would be fine with Spanish ships refueling at Russian ports and Spanish trade was welcome. Then Nicholas mentioned that they still had some money left in the international assistance fund and Rodrigo gazed at him for a long moment before speaking.

"How much is left exactly? I do not wish to take too much if I don't need all of it and deny someone else the aid they need." Rodrigo was going to be careful as he did not want to overrun his nation with debt and give Russia an undue hold over his people and his ambition with such a loan. But the more money they could get, the better, as it would accelerate their military and economic expansion and revive the Spanish economy just that much more.

[OMGeverynameistaken]

"Of course," Nicholas smiled slightly, "There are, however, those who do not take such a wise attitude towards our Empire, nor do they so readily believe in our good intentions. The English, as you know, are a suspicious lot and have, indeed, been rather paranoid about Russia since the 19th century, or even before."

"As to the aid fund, I believe something like one trillion roubles remains. However, much is earmarked for various other projects. I believe that, for Spain, we could allocate some five hundred million roubles. Not a terribly large amount, but, as I said, sufficient for some infrastructural project or investment into business."

[Azaranthia]

Rodrigo nodded. "That sounds a solid enough sum; we don't need to be greedy after all. Just forward any paperwork that needs to be done to our offices in Madrid and we should be able to handle things no problem from there." He shifted and gazed around once more, thinking. He took notice of how he mentioned the English as being paranoid of Russia and thus always moving against them instead of leaving them be for the most part.

He coughed lightly and spoke. "Now, it is my turn to hand the force of the conversation back over to you, Cousin. Is there anything you would wish to propose or discuss while I am here or shall we retire for now and count this meeting as successful?" He was not sure of anything beyond the attempts of Russia to reduce conflict on Earth as for what Russia would want with other nations but he braced himself in case the Tsar decided to throw him for a loop with a demand or request.

[OMGeverynameistaken]

Nicholas considered for a moment, "Spain is an upstanding nation, and while as a member of the French alliance I do not believe that a suitable document could be worked out for a formal alliance between our states, I believe a simple pact of non-aggression and friendship would be do-able." Nicholas smiled slightly, pouring himself more tea, "Provided you are agreeable, of course."