Why not both? [RESTRICTED]

[Dread Lady Nathicana]

The Kajali as well. Surely Mballa had to be pleased with the turnout thus far.

Naiya paused, maintained her pleasant expression, then answered Shodey back via those silent means.

‘You weren’t kidding about the Supreme Emperor, were you? I mean it in the most polite way, but I think the good woman needs some off-duty fun. I swear, when I … ‘ The line of thought abruptly stopped, and the slightest blush touched the young woman’s cheeks, remembering back to all the times she had been similarly stressed and distracted. And in several instances, teased over it.

‘In any case, yes. Vitras. Don’t worry on my account. I intend to be all sweetness and light so far as I can manage it. Those issues aside, I’ve my own reputation to begin establishing here. And I’ll be damned if I let an insect like him jeopardize that.’ The strength of those words was clear and unwavering. The polite expression remained unruffled.

“I should probably introduce myself and greet our hostess,” she said aloud, tactfully hanging back to allow those who had arrived before to speak with Mballa first.

[Sneaky Bastards]

"Supreme Emperor, it is a pleasure to meet you and thank you for hosting us." Asami clasped her hands in her lap and bowed before the Supreme Emperor in greeting. She then turned to the other representatives nearby, bowing before them as well. "A pleasure to meet you all, too." she said, smiling as she stood straight again.

Force of habit... Skip the bowing, just nod and smile. Like the Supreme Emp said, its informal.

"I look forward to catching up on things later. We've been too quiet for too long. But if you would excuse me, it was a long trip from Earth spent cooped up in my quarters reading reports. I could use a drink to unwind a little." Asami said, giving a small nod to her fellow representatives before she made her way towards the refreshment table.

[Sakkra]

Ghrrgg looked about the Council Spire for a time. It was his first time being here after taking up the mantle of Prime Liaison, and familiarizing oneself with a new environment isn't always a bad thing. He assumed his seat was the one that looked like a squat titanium mushroom since none of the other dignitaries had the girth to place themselves on it without looking comically ludicrous. Doorways and exits here, here and here....

His BioComp fed information into his earduct as he looked about at the dignitaries of countries he was keenly aware of, and others less so. Their uniforms and symbols of office, rank and authority were noted as well. His mouthplates ground together at the greeting from Supreme Emperor Ipolla, with the BioComp monitor scrolling out the translation. "Good cycle, Supreme Emperor Ipolla. Trusting all is well in Segments and yourself, yes?" The BioComp translators aren't as savvy as a symbiotid translator would be, but for reasons still being researched, symbiotids tend to die quickly when attached to a Deep One. The running theory is the ridiculous amount of sodium in their carapace, as well as the low-level hypersonics that make up a Deep One's language.

The Prime Liaison made his greeting and continued on into the Council Room so others would be able to enter freely.

[Scolopendra]

"You're quite welcome, Secretary. Please make yourself at home." The Supreme Emperor motioned to the table that the Bastard made a beeline towards. Said table would be found to carry the usual sorts of bagels, crackers, fruit, vegetables, cheeses, and deli meats as would be expected from a decent party tray; a selection of fruit juices, soft drinks, pots of kawfee, coffee, and paroo; bottles of Karmabaijani scotch, bourbon, and rye; Dominion wines; sake from the Shogunate; raki from the Segments... well, let's just say there's a lot of alcohol sitting around. One, Mballa thought it might loosen people up and two, she desperately hoped that some of the most powerful people in the Galaxy could manage their consumption responsibly.

Sakkrans were big, and not uncommon. Ipolla was used to them. Deep Ones, well... they were bigger. And sounded like very polite rockslides. For everything she's seen, it's probably notable that Ghrrgg impressed her enough to make her temporarily forget about stupid sexy Silaco.

Good thing this is an open-air event, or people might start getting claustrophobic. "As well as could be expected, all things considered. The country's stable"--she added a silent 'now' in her head--"and I'm healthy. No complaints. Hopefully all is equally well with you and yours in the Herpetological Empire." She smiled pleasantly--the big ol' lizards had been nothing but the best of friends to the Segments--and stepped aside to let him talk or pass along as he wished.

[Sunset]

With less than seventy-two hours to drink their fill of Keth’s street-level culture, Kimiko and Sun-Ye headed straight for the downtown district and the one place that opinions would flow as freely as beer: Bars, pubs, and watering holes. Their first stop was a nice looking formal establishment that fronted a busy side street. It was early evening and already a nice crowd was making their way in from the nearby businesses.

Slipping in behind another patron, Kimiko held the door open for Sun-Ye as the pair gladly exited from the cold outside. A few heads turned as they entered but they quickly returned to their previous attentions as soon as they’d crossed to the long polished bar. Sun-Ye slid onto a stool and held up a pair of fingers for the bartender, “Draft!”

Waiting for her order she turned and looked around. It was nicely crowded, a brisk trade, and filled with what looked to be working-class men and women. A television hung in one corner was playing a local game and she glanced at that but kept her ears tuned for anything that sounded interesting.

Most of the patrons looked relaxed, just the average working man or woman having a drink after a long day, though there were a few suits. The boss taking his crew out for dinner or a casual meeting after work. They looked comfortable, not upscale nor downtrodden. Middle of the road people, which was exactly what kind of opinions they were after.

The bartender arrived and Kimiko took her drink before catching the woman’s eye, “What’s the best place to go to see the local culture?”

“Ehm,” the woman said pensively. “I dunno. You can try the Sherdarth Square, that’s where the Black Palace is. There’s a museum and theatre there. If there’s a lot of guards that means the royals are around and you might catch a glimpse of them.”

Sun-Ye watched with interest as the television went to a local news broadcast. It wasn’t the usual nearly-topless anchor that Sunset often had, but there was bound to be a conversation or two started as they dived into local news.

‘...last night’s city council meeting featured a lively debate between the Mayor Vladislav Tolebelskiy and Larissa Gladkova, sitting on the Municipal Council, on whether or not the city should renew the use of a real Christmas tree or continue with the holographic tree as has been used for the past three years...’

“Yeah, and I heard they wanted to make it a ‘walking tree’. You know, it would amble around the streets talking to people and wishing them well,” one of the patrons muttered across the table. “More expensive, I’m sure.”

“Cause an accident or three. That’s what I’d be worried about.”

‘...And the election campaign for the local Ketharian legislative, the Parliament of the Fiefdom and Duchy of Kethar, continues. The Kadets - recently joined by the Vasilevs’es own sister Her Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess Vethara - are catching up on the ruling Conservative Party.’

This Kimiko paid a bit more attention to, looking around the room to gauge the reaction of the patrons.

‘Kethar uses a proportional system for a unicameral legislative, like all other Fiefdoms of the United Kingdom of Dakathia and Cardinia, and we’ll most certainly see the Conservatives lose their outright majority in favour of a plurality.’

Patrons at the bar began debating whom the Kadets, as the Constitutional Democrats were also called, would form a coalition with.

“It could be a grand coalition with the Conservatives, or an opposition coalition with the Liberal Socialists.”

Others argued that the Conservatives could just ally with the reactionary National Patriotic Christian Alliance, “Could still play the kingmaker, depending on the outcome.”

“Yeah, but they’re losing more and more votes with each election. Taking them on would mean you’d have to form a new coalition for certain in the next.”

At this particular pub, the patrons seemed more split between the Liberal Socialists and the Constitutional Democrats, with the group nearest to the Sunsetti women clearly having a consensus in favour of a coalition between the two.

Some other patrons, however, considered that all of the politicians were total idiots and that the world be a better place if they, the patrons, were in power and they could then do things like lower taxes and raise social allowances.

‘... the Foreign Affairs Ministry has confirmed that preliminary talks are indeed being held with individual member states of the Triumvirate of Yut in view of the Empire’s potential and hypothetical joining of the alliance.’

This was certainly of interest to the Sunsetti as the patrons discussed this latest bit of news somewhat vividly, opinions becoming quite split between those who wondered why the hell should the self-sufficient Empire join an international alliance, whilst others agreed that the Empire could not really go all alone through the Universe. Overall, however, it does not really spark that huge of a debate and quickly fades into discussion of other news and of sports and various events in life.

Flipping a few bills onto the bar, Kimiko headed for the door, pausing only to pull up her hood against the bitter winds outside. Scattered flurries of driven snow raced down the street as they headed into the waning evening. A few streets and a few turns and another likely place caught their eye.

A sandwich board in front of an open alleyway advertized live music and it could be heard buzzing from further down. A hand-painted sign pointed down a long set of stairs and posters for bands covered the nearby walls. Tripping down the stairs the pair found themselves in a low-ceiling converted basement bar favored by the young.

Loud music blared from ceiling speakers to compete with the crowd of young patrons talking over it and each other.

Sun-Ye looked around with a grin. This was more her type of place. Young women in short skirts and tight dresses were everywhere and she pulled off her own jacket to show off her own tight-fitting outfit before finding a place at the bar. It was several spaces down from Kimiko but that was ok. Waving over a bartender she pointed to a bottle of clear liquid on the shelf.

“...my term’s coming up next month. Gonna be shipping out to BFE.”

There was a familiar term! Turning she looked the young man over. He was standing with a group of his friends and she tuned in on their conversation. Some were wearing some kind of uniform and these seemed to be the ones who were in the army or having refreshment training.

“It’s just a year and then it’s only refreshers. You’ll be back out before you know it.”

“So says you. You got a discharge for… What was it…”

Laughter drowned out the answer but it was followed by an explanation on how to trick the recruitment commision into a discharge followed by another in how to move into Civil Defense, which seemed to be a popular way of avoiding anything dangerous.

“But hey, look at the bright side of life! If we join Yut, you might get shipped to even more exotic places!”

“Oh, just sod it already…” a girl interrupted the talk as she pulled close to the young man that was going into his mandatory service. “They’re not gonna send a citizen soldier that far from home anyway and he sure as hell is not going professional.”

At a nearby table the talk had turned to politics and Kimiko tuned into this. While the young women and men at the table were dressed very much differently from the older generation, they seemed to have a reasonable interest in politics if not a more trivial reason to follow it.

“...he keeps following Vethara around like a puppy dog. She goes Kadet, he goes Kadet. She could start eating puppies and he’d chow down on a schnauzer.”

“Jealous much?”

At the end of the bar a stack of leaflets drew Kimiko’s attention and she scooped one up.

‘Young Republicans Meeting? Could be a good place to get some street-level opinions...’

But no, the meeting was long past and the fliers just more coasters for beer. There were several others though with everything from group ski trips advertising plenty of girls and free beer to fashion shows put on by aspiring young designers on a budget. It was time to move on and another few bills hit the bar.

“Someplace far more upscale,” Kimiko suggested as they climbed the stairs. “Wealthier.”

Sun-Ye nodded, her breath forming long white trails in the chill air. “Up it is!” She pointed up and out of the alley to where one of the taller buildings in the city could be seen on the skyline.

There were still lights on inside. Perhaps a private club or the like that would be willing to play host to a pair of diplomats from far-off Sunset?

[Kaenei]

The various members of the Kaeneian delagation had dispersed to examine interesting views from windows or occupy themselves with trivial matters until the conference proper started. One, however - the representative of the KISS - found his way back to the Deputy Governor-General's side armed with glasses of ice ... And a little water.

"I do believe that is Naiya D'Aquisto," Vitras motioned with the glass he had only just accepted. "Isn't it interesting?"

"In what way?" Siasen replied, his gaze following his superior's gesture.

"If one had no eyes to see, or otherwise simply did not ever catch real sight of the woman and had nothing more to go on than her relevant KISS file, one would believe her a deviant; a product of the union of a sworn enemy and a harlot - one whose legs were as quick to open as her mouth. A potential destroyer of states and peoples and a grave threat not only to the security of the Serene Union but, arguably, this entire star system."

The KISS Agent nodded in thought, "She is a most unstable element."

Vitras cocked his head to the side, "Indeed; and yet to look at her, you would be enraptured, would you not? Quite stunning beauty and grace, hardly qualities one would associate with whatever-it-is that spawned her. Not exactly what I would imagine if I had nothing more than so-called intelligence to act upon. It is a quite potent warning; nothing is ever quite as it seems."

The Deputy-Governor glanced about himself, taking in the varied representatives. "It is not until you truly look to see, that you begin to appreciate just how crowded this star system is. It is also a near-certainty that the Governor-General and Riordan are in one of these nations, seeking who-knows-what."

"It is a grave concern," Siasen nodded. "Who knows what they are plotting."

Vitras brought the glass to his lips and sipped. "Likely nothing that will concern us in the short-term; the Triumvirate mobilises for genocide and war, not for regime change or to act on the personal orders of one of its mere members. She will find a temporary harbour, perhaps. Some respite in Sunset, or the Shogunate; perhaps even the Segments, or the Dominion. I do not know. I do know, however, that it will do her little good.

His eyes narrowed. "One day, Sophia will have to return home."

[Dread Lady Nathicana]

It was absolutely beautiful, this view from the top. It was perhaps ruined somewhat by the presence of Vitras and his KISS cronies, but that was no fault of their hosts – who it was time to greet.

“Supreme Emperor,” Naiya said, stepping forward after the woman had a moment to see to the others, and at least catch a breath between. “Thank you so much for having us all here. It really is fantastic, this view here.”

She offered her hand in greeting, opting for the less invasive approach with the impressive woman. There were some things that almost reminded her of her mother, and others that were absolute worlds apart. Galaxies apart more like. Naiya kept her smile polite and warm – she really did rather like Ipolla so far, and had been impressed with how she’d carried herself in all the times she’d seen her, or had the opportunity to hear her address her allies. There had been some sparks up on Machiavelli, between her and Nathicana, but that was to be expected. And again, no harm done. Her mother could likely provoke a saint in certain circumstances, after all.

Vitras now … she could feel the occasional twitch from that direction, if that were the correct word for it. Her eyes and attention were on their hostess, but her awareness spread a bit further. Situational awareness, her uncle would call it. Simple as breathing, it had become for her. There was no fear, which was quite possibly a good thing. But there were currents of dislike, and discomfort. He didn’t seem happy to be here. And he didn’t seem happy to see her, either. Fear simply wasn’t a part of it.

Other sensations from the gathering group felt like the expected surface emotions. Anticipation, relaxation, hunger, contemplation, observation, curiosity. It would be an interesting conversation, one way or another. Hopefully, it would end with an addition to their circle. Time would tell.

[Scolopendra]

"Imperatrice," Ipolla replied, accepting the offered hand with a firm grip of her own. Since she was wound up, after a fashion, her natural coping mechanism was to be wound tight in posture and bearing. Still, the Iron Dame cracked another smile at Naiya's observations. "Exactly the reason why I picked it. If I'm going to force everyone to come to Titan in a sort of symbolic return to the roots of the alliance, then I may as well make it pretty. After all, the get-together was your idea. I chose to execute it."

Credit where credit was due, after all. Even though she still wasn't absolutely sure she could absolutely trust the Dominioner at face value--on the account of Naiya's mother having been decidedly more oblique and the Dominion itself full of intrigue, rather than some fanciful prophecies from a time-traveling starship whose ill portents had already been disproved by events--she still found the young woman worth her time. Quick, smart... if she was solid to boot, then Mballa felt they could make a great team. Which would make her own impending and inevitable voting-out a shame, but such is life.

"Anyway, make yourself at home, and let me know if you need anything."

[Dread Lady Nathicana]

The young woman’s grip was firm and confident, but in no way in competition with her elder’s. She made eye contact when she spoke, and kept her stance open – all those little things that made a difference, however subtle. “I was simply inspired by those who’ve done this before, for much longer than I have – yourself included,” she answered modestly. “I just hope the efforts here bear some fruit. I’ve got a good feeling about it. Thank you again!”

There was no need to monopolize the woman’s time, and she had been invited to partake, and not doing so would be rude. Host, guests … it was a subtle ballet that the Dominion natives had been engaged in for time immemorial. Or at least, so said tradition, which ranked about as high on their social scale. Her smile still comfortably in place, enjoying the subtle breeze, she excused herself and partook of a small plate of finger foods – the fruits, vegetables, cheeses and meats primarily, and a plump bagel to accompany it, were the things that caught her eye. She tried one of the juices that didn’t look familiar, and began wandering the periphery as well, though her steps lead her seemingly accidentally into a crossed path with Vitras.

She looked up in surprise as she turned, making sure she didn’t spill anything, then brightened in recognition. “I’m terribly sorry, Deputy Governor-General,” she began, balancing the small plate and her glass in her left hand, then offered a polite little bow, though she kept her eyes on him. “I’m afraid I was lost in contemplation there. I’ve never seen Port Aurora from this vantage. It’s rather breathtaking.”

If he extended his hand, she would of course accept. However all her previous experiences had suggested the Kaeneians were uncomfortable with physical greetings, and kept themselves more aloof. Yes, she was being somewhat naughty. Perhaps. But there was nothing quite like a first impression, and she wanted to get a proper one on him.

[Sakkra]

Ghrrgg clapped his claw on his chest-carapace, with a slight report coming from it, at the Supreme Emperor's greeting. "Empire is well. Kraah is busy. Hunt season on Sslaa IV pleases many." A small jet of hot air escaped his carapace plates on the back of his neck as he bowed slightly. "Be safe. Be well." He then slowly shambled into the council room so others could be greeted and pleasantries exchanged. It would do no good to monopolize the hostess, after all.

Stepping in, he got a view from the Spire's windows and all that lay before it. His eyes scanned the room on all sides, noting the various dignitaries; some of acquaintance to his people, and others not so much. Then he scanned over the table affording all manner of goodies for those smaller of stature and girth. Not much appealed to his piscitarian tastes, but the cistern of Paroo got the interest going. The much smaller manipulating digits esconced in his claws came out as he handled an over-sized fluted mug and poured some of the noxious muddy brew in it. A short sip and he felt worlds more at ease.

[Kaenei]

Vitras had encountered many unusual things in his life. Some of those things had tried to kill him and, in the course of those encounters, he had killed some of them in turn. So, when he was quite suddenly accosted by the very creature he had otherwise been discussing in apparent privacy, the Deputy Governor-General fell back on the time-and-tested three steps any capable field agent of the KISS should endeavour to follow.

Maintain composure.

"The fault was my own I am sure," Vitras replied smoothly, bowing his head in greeting. "The delights of a banquet are universal; the power a fruit platter holds to influence the leaders of entire nations and worlds must be seen to be truly believed. Regardless, there is and was no harm done."

Initial Assessment.

"This is the first occasion I have had to visit Port Aurora, indeed Titan itself," He continued; his own eyes panning across the view of the city from high above. "It is certainly quite unique and I am pleased to have made the journey - if only to improve upon my poor record in touring the various lands of the Triumvirate."

The Deputy Governor-General took a moment to bring his glass to his lips and drink. "In fact, save for today's visit and, of course, the Dominion, cannot recall having personally met any representatives of any of the Triumvirate. In reference to the Dominion, allow me to take this opportunity to offer the congratulations of the Serene Union in your ascendency to the title Imperiatrice. Alas, it proved impossible for myself to attend the Coronation and quite unfortunately, the Governor-General herself has been ... Indisposed as of late."

Investigate.

"On the business of why we are here," He ventured, "Of what do you know of our new applicants? The exchanges between Tarasvoka and the Serene Union are minimal, to say the least. We have crossed paths only once, briefly, when they saw fit to protect Skeelzanian assets from our economic blockade during the events of our short-lived war with the Sternreich. Sufficed to say, we did not particularly welcome that."

"Still, the events of that unpleasant situation highlighted many truths otherwise hidden or ignored," Vitras pondered. "They were not the only ones to prove that in times of crisis, some friendships are to be less relied upon than others. Can those seeking future friendships be trusted, thus?"

[Sunset]

Sneaky Bastards

Rebuffed, Erika went for the traditional refuge of the diplomat: The snack bar. Not being particularly hungry she went for the liquor instead of the fruit and poured herself a shot of Rượu đậu nành. The potent soy liquor was something of a Martian commodity with both it's East Asian roots and soy base, a popular if enforced meat substitute on the Red Planet.

Taking a careful sip followed by a quick finish she set the shot glass down on the table and looked over to find herself standing next to Secretary Tsukada. A Sneaky Bastard. Allies and all, she still had to giggle a little bit at the name. How on Earth had that even happened? It was more than fitting for the one ally she knew little to nothing about though and perhaps it was time to change that.

"Secretary Tsukada!" She turned and put out a warm hand for a nice gentle handshake, "How nice to meet you and..."

A bump from the floor beside her attracted her attention and she looked down to spy a piece of fruit that had somehow dislodged itself from a tray rolling across the carpet towards the slate.

"Excuse me." A quick step and she bent over - high heels, mini-skirt, and all - to scoop the apple up and another quick step to place it carefully back on the pile.

"Sorry about that." Calculations flooded through her head. It was probably the Deep One. More than enough mass to cause the apple to dislodge. Oh well. She'd have to get acquainted with him next.

"Erika," she smiled at Asami and poured herself another shot, "And I love your outfit!"

[Dread Lady Nathicana]

Definitely a dislike of the situation. And definitely not out of fear. Oily, was what his demeanor brought to mind. Fluid, adaptive, difficult to hold.

Naiya smiled warmly at his reassurance that all was well, and listened attentively to his continued answers, occasionally sipping politely from her own juice. She maintained eye contact, but only so much as was expected and polite. Not challengingly, not evasively avoiding, merely with polite interest that would be expected at such a function. It was all a delicately balanced exercise.

“My sincere thanks,” she murmured demurely, another polite nod at his recognition. “I wish both you and the Governor-General well, in whatever it is you’re dealing with. The rigors of overseeing such a vast empire as the Serene Union, must be difficult at times.”

“As for the applicant nation,” Naiya began thoughtfully, as if more closely examining his statements concerning the Tarasovkyans. “I know there was a great deal of mistrust, and numerous accusations leveled during that entire debacle with the Skeelzanians. It was a disappointing chapter in our overall involvement, from what I’ve managed to sift through. The Tarasovkyans appear to have been supporting their ties and allies, the Concordat was up in arms over matters, and we had a number of unflattering accusations being leveled. Our own ties with the Serene Union were decidedly strained throughout, and aside from past economic agreements, and our usual stance on sovereignty and due process, I’m still not entirely certain why there was so much vitriol involved.”

It was true enough. Her mother had deliberately kept her in the dark during a great deal of that, and no hounding of Cesare had given her any better insight. What she didn’t say was that most of it could likely be laid at the feet of several very proud and stubborn personalities, and a refusal to come to the table as opposed to resorting to war. That would do no one any good here.

“I cannot change what has happened in the past. All I can do is work towards the future, in the hopes that we might make things better, and not repeat previous mistakes and poor choices. It is with that hope that I intend to support the application of Taraskova to the Triumvirate. If nothing else, they have proven to be stalwart supporters of those they are tied to. In previous dealings, they have been reliable. And with their likewise changed course, and the often dangerous and unpredictable currents in the international sphere, it would appear to be in our collective best interests to expand our circle of friends, rather than continue to be stagnant, or worse, increasingly exclusive.”

“I realize I have the benefits and limitations of youth and exuberance in my court, but I can’t help but think that clinging to past offenses, both real and imagined, or creating enemies where there are none, will be our detriment. Not our salvation,” Naiya said, with due conviction. Whatever else was going on with the man, that much at least she held true. Unfortunately, this entire exchange was most likely falling on deaf ears, if he had his mind made up. Especially if she herself was seen as one of those enemies.

“My apologies, Deputy Governor-General. This should all likely be saved for the actual discussions, and not be pressed on you while we’re simply meeting and mingling,” she stated, nodding politely. “If you’ll excuse me, I should probably make my introduction to the others as well.”

[Kajal]

After politely thanking Mballa at the close of their exchange, Ambassador Tavaar made his way over to the refreshments table as well, firstly because he had no real idea what to do next, and secondly because he had found himself somewhat thirsty. Ilna and Meru more or less immediately took seats at the far side of the room, away from the primary delegates, where they tapped at electronic devices that may or may not have been work-related.

Vaan, meanwhile, was staring out the windows at Port Aurora, while the ambassador made his way towards the Sunsetti and Sneaky (or was it Bastard? He'd have to get Meru to check that) representatives.

Of course, as soon as he glanced out the window, the Secretary-General had bent over to pick something up off the floor, and Tavaar walked right into her.

"oh hell, sorry, my apologies, I didn't mean to..." Tavaar started, as the color drained out of his face.

[Menelmacar]

As Vaan stared out the windows, he might catch a view of the MIV Gilthoniel, the Menelmacari ship of state, so to speak, making its way into one of the arcology's larger docking bays, large enough at least for the vessel, which had in times past been a destroyer in the Menelmacari fleet. Like any other Menelmacari warship, she gleamed in sun-gold and blood-red, while other parts were fugilin, blacker than black, seeming to suck in the light itself; but from this distance, details were hard to spot, and Gilthoniel vanished after a few moments as she docked, again out of view.

It had, indeed, been far too long, far too long, since the Eternal Noldorin Empire of Menelmacar had immersed itself in the affairs of the Triumvirate. Menelmacar had always been there when needed, but things were quieter and less dangerous in these circles than they had once been, and the Empire had turned its attention to more urgent affairs. But, here they were; indeed as one might expect previous issues with the Taraskovyans woud likely play a role, and the Legislative Unit had been entirely correct in that supposition.

For such an auspicious occasion -- in truth less so because of the Taraskovyan application than because well hey, the elves haven't been around here in a while -- no less than Lady Sirithil herself was in attendance, and with her the Prefect of State, Lord Túrelio, and the Prefect of Trade, Lady Serindë. They had a guest, along for the ride, Katryna Silaco of Sunset, who had been in Menelmacar visiting family, and not long after docking the elevators slid open, unleashing elves and human alike onto the gathered attendees.

The Elentári, for her part, was quite pleased to see the Supreme Emperor -- an overblown title, certainly, and one that at least one incumbent had apparently left specifically to keep from becoming accurate -- apparently available, and angled in her direction. One thing the Segments had always done well, is choose its leaders; she had every intention of acquainting herself with this one.

[Scolopendra]

While for a moment Mballa had her attention momentarily distracted by the goings-on at the snack table, the ping of the elevator doors brought her back to her greeting duties. Whatever was going on over at the table was between rational adults of the rational Triumvirate and could be handled by them.

She brushed briefings on previous Triumvirate social gatherings away from her mind to maintain her priority-justifying fiction and smiled pleasantly as Sirithil approached. The ancient--of course, not that she looked it--Noldo empress certainly stood out in a crowd, in more ways than one, and wasn't particularly hard on the eyes either, to boot. Still, and perhaps unsurprisingly just given that this is the Triumvirate and it is rather diverse, she wasn't the most extreme on either axis as far as the Supreme Emperor was concerned. More importantly than aesthetics, she was a piece of the puzzle with regards of the stated point of the whole shindig: the Menelmacari were expected to resist Taraskovyan membership.

This would be an opportunity to find out why and, if possible, start working towards a resolution. A very 'Pendran thing to do, really.

Mustn't be standoffish with this one. After forcing herself to unwind just a little, stupid sexy Silaco momentarily forgotten in the importance of the moment, Ipolla turned to the elf's approach. "Elentári," she said with a politely acknowledging nod, "I'm glad to finally meet you in person and that you could make it to our informal get-together. I won't insult the good ship Gilthoniel by asking if you had a pleasant trip or not, so instead I'll ask if there's anything I can do to keep things pleasant for you?"

She ran what she said back through her head in slow-time. Nah, not obsequious. Maybe a little too familiar? Well, beats 'me Mballa, welcome Titan, we work now.' After a few thoughts, she sped things back up to normal. She'd heard a few people preferred to overclock all the time, usually n-Achievers who figure there's not enough milliseconds in a second. It wasn't something Mballa could see the appeal in.

[Kaenei]

"But of course Imperiatrice," Vitras acquiesced with a dip of his head. "It has been most interesting to meet your acquaintance. Thank you for your time."

Finishing the last dregs of his drink, the Deputy Governor-General nodded to himself. "That, at least, was reassuring."

"It was?" Siasen - who had remained utterly silent throughout the exchange between the two senior statespeople - finally ventured.

"It was," Vitras mused. "If nothing else, we can discount her being the product of some strange, occult process that didn't involve her mother. I would recognise the intellect of the Dread Lady anywhere, even in her descendents. At least then, that is not a fabrication or a lie."

Finding his way back to the group, Lieutenant-Major Zan Zantan spared a moment to regard the KISS Agent with a mixture of barely-repressed disdain and impatience. "The Menelmacari Delegation has arrived," He practically interrupted. "You asked to be informed, Deputy Governor-General."

"Thank you," Vitras replied dismissively, angling his head around to locate said party. "Let us see if we can secure a few moments' discourse with the Elentári."

With Siasen in tow, he made his way through the throng ... Until he was ambushed by Erika.

Without pause or hesitation, he met her hand with his own. "Secretary-General; I am pleased to meet your acquaintance."

The Lady-Protector of Elvenkind would have to wait, for the moment.

[Sunset]

Kaenei

Not that long of a moment.

"And yours, Deputy Vitras. Just a quick 'hello and how are you' since I can see you are already underway," Erika smiled warmly. She'd seen the Elentari enter, along with her own daughter, and Vitras was clearly making a bee line for her.

[Menelmacar]

Co-op with Scolo.

---

Sirithil had eschewed the Daggerstar Crown and the Nauglamír on this occasion, having opted instead for a simpler golden circlet set with padparadscha sapphires, brilliant orange stones to match the orange robe embroidered with gold that she was wearing. Unusually for her, she also did not appear to be in any way armed on this occasion, perhaps in recognition that she was, here, entirely among friends. This contrasted quite a bit with the Supreme Emperor, who wore the usual double-breasted duty uniform of the Segments, in government Persian blue and civilian jet grey. Rather than a crown or circlet, bordered triple-triangles on the high collar and a gold-piped purple badge on her left breast indicated her office. Such as the two nations had always been, and yet, they still got along.

Sirithil gave Ipolla a smile warm enough to melt snow; she didn't think Mballa had been too familiar or obsequious at all. It had come across just right. "Supreme Emperor Mballa Ipolla, yes? It is an absolute pleasure to be here," she said, "and likewise a delight to meet you as well." she said, "It has been far too long, and whatever we may think of the Taraskovyans, it is good to have an occasion to see old friends.” She knew well that most in attendance would have guessed already the Menelmacari would not be overjoyed with the Taraskovyan application, and there was no particular sense in hiding it.

Right to the chase then, I guess. “Or at least the new faces of old friends,” she said with a close-lipped grin. “That is a good part of the reason for this little even: it was Imperatrice Naiya D’Aquisto’s idea, over there,” she indicated the younger woman with a nod--as always, credit where it’s due--”and so while the Taraskovyans are on the unofficial agenda they’re as much an opportunity as a topic. Since they’ve decided to go the unofficial route, I agreed with the Imperatrice that something like this could bring up any concerns or disagreements and see what can be done about them--or, if there’s too many, to just politely wave them off.”

Sirithil cast her gaze over in the direction of Naiya. “Ah, yes, recently crowned, I understand? Dreadful I was not able to attend that occasion,” she noted with a frown. “Matters of state arose I could not avoid.” She lingered a moment on Naiya, there was something there the Imperatrice was trying to hide; she was clearly doing the best she could at it, but it did not entirely escape the Elentári’s perceptions. She looked back to Mballa. “I am not here, of course, to simply stonewall them, you understand. I truly hope that our issues with Taraskovya can be resolved.”

“And, of course, we stand ready to help,” Ipolla replied. It was a very Scolopendran thing to say. “They’ve sufficiently impressed the Leg-Yoo, which, given our background as relatively--” she almost said ‘anti-monarchic’ “--liberal is actually quite impressive. Em-Cee-Pee S.H.O.D.A.N. over there has been working with them increasingly closely over the years, which is itself pretty impressive given that not too long ago they wouldn’t give each other the time of day if it was on a wall clock between them.” Augmented as she was, she noted the elf’s longer-than-momentary glance at Naiya but didn’t ascribe anything to it. “Considering all that, I’m quite hopeful that some resolution can be had.”

Sirithil laughed musically at the comment about the clock. “And, being both the one who runs this whole thing now,” she said, “and a Scolopendran, finding that resolution to some degree stands on you, I understand. It won’t be easy, of course, the issues run the gamut and in at least some cases they are likely to outright deny involvement.”

“I’ve never been one to turn down a challenge,” Mballa said with more than a hint of Iron Dame in her. “Which, admittedly, has been less than useful sometimes.” A momentary glance towards the Dominioner. “Still, even if we can’t get involved, we probably know someone who can. Of course, it may also be that not everything needs solving. What’s it called?” She slowed down time to run a quick lookup on her onboard dictionary. “‘Satisficing,’ there we go. Not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. We’d take that.”

Sirithil glanced over at Naiya again as well, then back to Ipolla. “I’m familiar with it, yes,” she smiled. “There are some of these issues that make our support a non-starter and need to be resolved; others that are not such a big deal and were, in fact, resolved to our satisfaction many years ago, but which the Taraskovyans have had lingering anger over...which may have caused some of the others. In attempting to resolve group A, group B might come up. For all I know there’s a group C of issues they have with us that we don’t have full awareness of. Still, we would more than welcome your help, and that of anyone else. Certainly SHODAN has already helped to a degree in being that intermediary, since they were obviously not comfortable coming to us directly.”

The Supreme Emperor nodded, and found herself oddly struck by the thought that enough business had passed for the time being. She could ask about the Kaeneians and whatnot, but that could be presumptuous. Just because they were both inclined to be opposed didn’t really mean they were a natural bloc, or, at least, that there wasn’t daylight between them. “The good thing is that beside a healthy sense of urgency there’s no real time factor on this. Patience is a virtue, as they say.”

Looking for something to small-talk, she noted the minor incident over at the snack table. “You’ve been at this longer than I have. I guess minor incidents are to be expected?” The woman said with some humor behind her voice, nodding momentarily to the table.

“Oh yes,” Sirithil answered with a chuckle. “Actually, I’ve found that a diplomatic conference that passes with only minor incidents is an extraordinary success.”

“From hearing the Elders talk about it,” the human said, “these minor incidents are actually bonding experiences. ‘Better to have an alliance of friends than of aligned parties,’” she quoted from somewhere. “So I should welcome them.” This was hard for the control freak in her to accept, so maybe saying it aloud would help.

“They’re right,” Sirithil answered. “These are all the sorts of things that you look back on later and laugh. An irritation at the time? Possibly, even likely. But in the larger picture, they’re harmless, and keep things interesting.”

“I can’t help but think you’ve seen plenty of interesting things, then,” Mballa half-teased. Only a quick mental warning to herself kept her from adding ‘in your time.’ Yes, the Elentári was ancient. No, it would not be diplomatic to point this out. Especially since she didn’t have Kraisee around to be the actual diplomat to her blunt force trauma.

Sirithil wouldn’t have actually minded in the least. “Oh yes. There certainly isn’t all that much that would surprise me, by now, certainly.”

“Anything that stands out?” the Supreme Emperor pried.

“There was the time I got kidnapped at a conference, of course. In Lavenrunz. Nasty little business with Whispering Voices,” Sirithil said. “All worked out well enough in the end, of course, or I wouldn’t be here. Fortunately there’s nobody here who’d try, or I’d have brought more Mornahossë.”

“That… doesn’t sound like a ‘minor incident.’” The Scolopendran had been briefed, or, more accurately, it had appeared in the diplomatic file. “I was thinking more along the lines of let’s-all-have-a-laugh stories.”

“Ah! My mistake,” said the elf with a nod. “I thought you meant ‘things that might surprise me’; I’d be surprised if it happened here, after all.” Sirithil smiled. “One rather memorable moment was at the surrender of TurtleShroom. Very pious, religious people, the TurtleShroomers, just the sort of time and place for an Allanean necromancer to do a striptease on top of the negotiating table.”

Mballa’s face simply turned stony upon imagining it. “Somehow I fail to be surprised.”

“Of course it wasn’t as much of a problem as it could have been,” said the Elentári, “TurtleShroom had been at war with the C’tani for close to two years as a result of state policy directing the persecution of sapient equines -- ponies. They were there to surrender quite unconditionally, and it was far from the greatest of the indignities they’d earned.”

“Fair enough.” Mballa thought for a moment, then remembered to slow things down to do so further. The end of certain threats changed the equations, as it were; the Triumvirate would be freer to act as it once did. Then again, mission usually bloated to and past capability, and the overall state of the alliance and the world at large had changed. A different battle for a different time. Back to normal speed. “I won’t lie; I certainly hope nothing of the sort happens here.” She looked around and figured what the hell, why not. “I’d also be lying by omission if I didn’t say that I might actually approve of it depending on who exactly did it.”

Sirithil laughed. “I’m in complete agreement, as it happens. With both statements.”

Mballa grinned back from behind closed lips. “Well then. Sadly we’ve not got glasses charged for a toast, but here’s to things we can can look back at and laugh, neh?”

[Sneaky Bastards]

Sunset

Asami looked over the selection of drinks at the table, trying to decide what to start off with. With such a wide selection it was tough to choose. Part of her wanted to be brave and try something that she had never heard of before. The other part wanted to go with something familiar. In the end however, the latter won out. Better safe than sorry.

Asami poured herself a glass of Shogunate sake and was about to take sip when she heard her name called out. "Ah! Secretary-General Silaco! It's a..."

She had just started to extend her hand to shake the Secretary-General's when the rogue fruit rudely interrupted. "Pleasure to meet you too..." she said, trailing off as she watched the apple get collected and returned to its pile of origin.

"Asami." Smiling back, Asami finally took a sip of her sake and glanced down at her outfit after recieving the compliment on it. "Thank you, but its really nothing special. Just something I kinda grabbed out of the closet in a hurry."

Taking another sip of her sake, she turned and looked around the room, taking note of the new arrivals. "Quite the turnout, and the party keeps growing."

[Dread Lady Nathicana]

Ah Vitras. He was indeed a dangerous one. She’d seen enough of the reports to know it. Even if she was certain that in spite of her current standing as Imperatrice that not all the information had been shown to her. There were holes of sorts dealing with matters during the entire timeship debacle. Her mother was good, yes. But that was a matter she intended to get to the bottom of. It may not be pertinent to the matter at hand, but it was certainly relevant to the larger problems they were dealing with on the account of Vitras himself.

Naiya glanced thoughtfully over at Shodey. That was a point of contact that she needed to press more on the matter, given her involvement, and her mother’s involvement. And those bits that she suspected had been glazed over. And …

Gods above and below … she had shown up. In person. Of all the times and places …

It wasn’t that Naiya had any dislike for the Noldorin ruler. She hardly knew her, to be honest. Between the lack of direct contact, and her mother’s own quiet evasions out of her own private fears, they had never met in person previously.

No, it wasn’t that at all. It was the fact she was who and what she was. With a very long history, a great deal of power and intuitiveness, and quite likely a great deal more knowledge than she herself had about what she was, all instruction from her father, and the ‘discussions’ she’d had via the master stone aside. Even a lifetime of education crammed into days was not enough to satisfy all the questions. Nor was it a proper replacement for actual life experience.

This could be a problem. No one was supposed to know. Here, of all of these, only Shodey knew, for a number of reasons. And there were twice as many reasons why no one else should find out, let alone allow that knowledge to spread. The careful planning, the potential fallout … Why was Sirithil eyeing her like that?

A reflexive curse in Dunnish nearly made it from mind to lips before she checked herself. This was neither the time nor the place for any of that. Did I slip? No, shouldn’t have … maybe it’s simple curiosity. That would account for it.

She nodded and smiled to others if she managed to catch their eye – most were involved in conversation, and she was disinclined to interrupt any of it, especially whilst turning over this new complication in her mind. It was inevitable that at some point we’d meet I suppose … can she sense the passive reads? Maybe there’s something to the physicality that shows up for them that doesn’t for others. Oh JesusAllahBudhaFanged-God, as if it wasn’t enough for Vitras to be here. No, no, making too much of it, surely.

Perhaps she should greet the Deep One – that too would be a new experience. She wasn’t as familiar overall with the Sakkrans as her mother had been, and had yet to make the trip out to their holdings in the Sslaa system. It was on her list of things she needed to do, granted, but long travel …

Ok, now they’ve both been looking over here. What the Nine Hells are they talking about then?

There was a feeling of being in someone’s sights. That telltale itch between her shoulder blades, only it wasn’t fear of any physical harm that had her feeling twitchy.

Wait. Wait, wait, wait. I’m the new kid on the block. Of course they’re going to be curious how I handle things. And here I am, mentally setting myself up to pop over what’s likely nothing. I hope. I’m acting as bad as mama on that point. There’s a plethora of reasonable reasons … there it is again. Smile, just smile politely, nothing to see here … well, if I keep standing around and nibbling there’s going to be something to see. The new Imperatrice gawking like an idiot. Right then.

A refresh on juice was what was needed, surely. Which did give her the opportunity to at least greet the Sakkran representative.

“You know, I don’t think we’ve ever managed to brew a proper pot of Paroo,” she noted to Ghrrgg, smiling close-lipped out of a lifetime of habit. “Not to Sakkran standards in any case. Hopefully the Scolopendran effort has been more of a success.”

[Sunset]

Sneaky Bastards and... Kajal?

Erika narrowed her eyes for a moment, but only for a moment, then laughed brightly. Certainly the Sneaky Bastards weren't sneaky all the time, were they? Then a sudden bump and she very nearly acquainted herself with Asami's cleavage as someone nudged her from behind.

"Oh hell, sorry, my apologies, I didn't mean to..." Tavaar started, as the color drained out of his face.

Another laugh and Erika waved it off, "Accepted, Ambassador Tavaar. No scratches on the paint." Stepping back so the two-some made a three-some, she turned back to Secretary Tsukada, "Secretary, Ambassador... Jeren," And his sparkly coat she thought to herself, "Asami."

"How was your trip, Jeren?"

Looking over the Ambassador's shoulder she watched as the new Imperatrice joined the gang at the table and struck up a conversation. It really was getting crowded and a moment later it became more-so as Katryna joined them, Erika moving aside to make the three-some a quartet.

[Kaenei]

"A pleasure, of course," Vitras returned the greeting. He was far too experienced - and professional - to allow the relief he felt at the interruption being only transient to be palpable; instead he swiftly shook the Secretary's hand and in an elegant, almost choreographed move, swung away and continued through the crowd. Spying Sirithil still on conversation with the Supreme-Emperor, the Deputy Governor-General settled instead on terminating his move at a nearby buffet table.

"It would look a little too obvious, perhaps, if I engage in conversation directly with the Elentári," He spoke quietly so that only Siasen had any hope of hearing. "Make use of yourself and greet one of the Elven Lady's attaches. Perhaps they can give us an indication of her mood and motivation. If the opportunity arises, present our own to them."

Nodding, the KISS Agent made his way from the table. Vitras, instead, indulged in a moment of rare indecision. Perhaps he should try the cheese?

On his own initiative, Siasen decided that the Menelmacari Prefect for Trade made for the most suitable initial exchange. If she responded favourably to the KISS Agent's initial overtures, she could quickly be introduced to the Deputy Governor-General with little fanfare. After all, what could possibly be misconstrued (however actually true) about a conversation with one who specialised in trade? That the Serene Union did little of it with the outside was surely a minor footnote.

"Lady Serindë ..." He began with a respectful bow. "My name is Agent Siasen, representing the Serene Union. My apologies if I intrude, but I had hoped perhaps to capture your attention for a short word regarding why it is we both find ourselves here."

The Representative of the KISS kept his voice low, but his face passive. It would not do to keep his words from prying ears, only to betray the desire for secrecy by having what he strove to hide written across his features for anyone of sufficient experience or expertise to recognise. He suspected there were a great many such experts in a meeting such as this one.

"Perhaps you would like something to eat?" He suggested. "Although, if I may make an impromptu suggestion ...To avoid the Scolopendran cheese. I am led to believe it is an acquired taste; one I have certainly yet to acquire it seems."

[Reploid Productions]

Capital complex, Arpia - The Shogunate

I swear, some days, I really wonder why I put up with this. Secretary of Foreign Affairs and temporary acting Shogun Tsume Dragonis had to firmly resist the temptation to pinch the bridge of his metallic snout.

"You aren't going." The mechanical drake iterated for what was probably the fiftieth time that morning, and he'd stopped counting since word first came down the line about the Taraskovyan request and the subsequent gathering on Titan. "I know you want to, but until we get everything sorted out from that bloody Queenie-napping fiasco, no."

Under ordinary circumstances, the blunt temper of one Lady Shogun Firefury Amahira was mostly tolerable. This was not ordinary circumstances, not by far. Even fitted with the fanciest of thaumaturgic visualization magic-something-something gadgetry out of Camp Restricted, trying to carry on a conversation with the reploid-sans-functioning-body was an exercise in trying even Tsume's store of patience, with the meta-whatsit-manifestation apparently having a bad habit of fading out whenever Firefury's attention wandered.

On the bright side, Firefury had been rescued after the terrorist attack on the RPDC-Queens Wing that had left the diplomatic carrier little more than scrap and most of her personal air guard dead. Plus the whole kidnapping thing, which had led an embarrassingly large contingent of a multi-national military and police search on a merry goose-chase through Sol. When the orange reploid's blasted-out body had been recovered near Machiavelli station, it had nearly set off a civil war in the Shogunate owing to a truly shameful lack of established documentation for chain of succession and a handful of particularly bold Nekoa Imperialists who'd kept a low profile for a very long time. The main instigators, one Jara and Telmon Tiyani had been gunned down by security personnel at the capital complex, and their 'son' and would-be new Emperor Azair Nekoa would have met the same fate save for the entirely unexpected arrival of the presumed-dead Firefury via...

...Tsume still wasn't sure what the hell to make of all the thauma-whatsit weirdness that seemed to be up with his boss. Najoedo, the Eldest of the Keepers and presumably That One Guy Who Really Knows This Stuff was similarly baffled. But the fact remained that until they managed to get Firefury back into a functional physical avatar, she was in no condition to be trying to run a country, nevermind running off-world to try and handle international matters.

And she made sure that everybody in earshot was aware of her annoyance by this. When she could keep a visible manifestation going long enough to be heard without the aid of the thaumaturgic gear that was being installed all over the complex, anyway.

"Firefury, he is right." Even the ancient Keeper was clearly annoyed, Najoedo forgoing the usual honorary suffix he used normally when addressing her. "You cannot hope to fulfill your usual duties with your inexperience with the Arts, neverminding the unusual state you are in right now."

"I've been on vacation for months!" Firefury none-too-tactfully whined, arms crossed and scowling.

The effect would really be a lot more intimidating if you couldn't clearly see the wall through her. Tsume settled for keeping his snark to himself. "And whether you like it or not, you're on vacation until the Thaumaturgic Institute and Camp R teams manage to get you fixed up and physically present again. Which is going to take time."

"I can be present enough!"

"You fade out of view whenever you get distracted. And you get way too easily distracted at the moment." Tsume answered his boss' scowl with one of his own. "It's bad enough we keep getting visits from the Hellsing guys, and even folks who have a basic understanding of thaumaturgic science are going to be put off by a freaking ghost acting as a national leader. Besides, in case you forgot Queenie, my usual title IS 'Secretary of Foreign Affairs.' This falls under my normal job description anyway. You just need to focus on practicing this thauma-magic-Arts stuff with the Keepers and working with the Institute and Camp R teams for now. Plus you've got those new government documents and everything to work on, since we are NOT having a repeat of Mr. Unexpected Heir to the Old Throne Showing Up."

"Yeah, yeah. Time's past for the whole 'Shogun before an empty throne' nonsense and so on." Firefury relented with no good grace. "Fine, I'll leave the diplomatic shmoozing to you. But I am not promising to stay off Titan entirely."

"Queenie, you had better be talking about Camp Restricted. The last thing this conference needs is Hellsing showing up chasing shadows!" Tsume actually growled, showing fangs. "You know damned well that whatever is up with you is driving them up the wall!"

"I will keep an eye on her." Najoedo levelled his own firm stare at the recalcitrant reploid. "In fact, I've just asked a few of the others to start setting some basic wards around the complex to ensure she doesn't shirk her current responsibilities."

"WHAT?!" Firefury shrieked. "You are NOT penning me in here like a kid in time-out!"

"When you stop acting like one, perhaps we can revisit this." Najoedo smirked, the ancient man apparently amused by the outburst.

RPDC-Zeroel - Port Aurora approach
"He really did that?" The diplomatic carrier's EI gave Tsume a disbelieving look while handling the usual approach and landing protocols. "Oh wow, I bet you're glad to be off-world for awhile!"

"Zeroel, you honestly have no idea." Tsume sighed. "She's good at what she does, but when she's in a temper like that, I swear, there is no reasoning with her."

"Can't really blame her. Even for a reploid, she's pretty unusually attached to that whole singular physical avatar thing." The EI shrugged. "I'm used to it, so's every other shipmind in the fleet, but she's got some adjusting to do. I'm sure she'll settle back down soon."

The Shogunate delegation was going to be kept relatively small; just Tsume and Zeroel as representatives. Given the nature of the meeting, it was deemed poor taste to bring a large entourage; and should the need arise for additional personnel, Sierra and her team would be readily available on board the ship. Plus, it ensured that Skyraider of the Diplomatic Corps wouldn't get a chance to terrorize some unsuspecting romantic partner. Stories were still floating around about an illicit encounter years and years ago involving Skyraider and an at-the-time very highly ranking Ardan official.

"Dealing with things back in Arpia, coming here for this get-together is practically going to feel like a vacation." Tsume noted later, as the pair of mechanoids made their way to join the gathering-in-progress.

((OOC: Whew. Figure summarizing the what-happened from my last thread was going to be more viable than trying to carry on and wrap said thread up. Also, boo on final projects week and stuff, srsly.))

[Scolopendra]

Council Spire Greetings

Another ping from the elevator, another set of guests to properly greet. "Excuse me, Elentári," Mballa said to Sirithil with a polite smile. "Duty calls." While not a short woman by any stretch of the imagination, she maneuvered around the taller elf and made her way to the elevators in time to catch the two Reploids--

Ping and slow. -Boss: remem Tsume acting Shogun and reploid; Zeroel is diplo carrier and shipmind.-

She didn't speed things back up quite then just to check to see if she had her monologue feed off, lest her distractions become a gag back at the office. The transmit icon was a faded OFF AIR and a menu later she'd confirmed her headware was set to RCV ONLY so she cleared all that from her vision and returned to normal speed.

--or rather, the one Reploid and the other shipmind as they disembarked the lift. They reminded her that she wasn't the only one who had the internal reorganization blues.

The Second Firefury Incident, as it was coming to be known, was another of those things that happened on her watch but was mostly handled by institutions she didn't have to interfere with. Space Patrol and International Rescue did their jobs as well as could be hoped, in hindsight. Hindsight also indicated that publicly finding the Lady Shogun's 'corpse' and thus instigating a National Contingency Black wasn't really the best course of action. Meanwhile, helping to apprehend and perforate those responsible for 'piracy and murder against Triumvirate citizens' helped ameliorate that to some extent. The legal and sovereignty issues that brought up had mostly been put to bed by reconfirming that SPIR enforced Triumvirate international law and, where that incident had overlapped with Shogunate internal affairs, had acted with local permission. In the end, however, it meant that the Shogunate also had to redefine the legal basis of its entire government and, moreover, that it had to do so while its chief executive was quite literally a ghost.

The OPO desperately wanted in on that, out of a combination of curiosity and eagerness to help. That HELLSING on the federal-Triumvirate side of things was already involved and spooked all to hell only made them more interested. Ipolla found the whole thing a mess and wondered if Shogun Amahira knew just how lucky she was to have someone like Tsume to take up the slack.

"Acting-Shogun Dragonis, Diplomatic Carrier Zeroel," the augmented human greeted them, using the common 'Pendran understanding that ship class was generally equivalent to rank. "Welcome to the Council Spire." She paused for an instant while she overclocked to think of something appropriate to say to acknowledge the situation but not bring undue attention to it. "Please relay to the Lady Shogun our well-wishes."

Okay, it made being ethereal and not exactly dead sound like having a head cold. Still, it'd do. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

She figured the open-endedness of the question was valid, given the context.