Princess Aurelia bint-Damir.
Salon, Bridge Deck, Yacht Aurelia.
I did not need her to go into specifics.
I knew of a disaster relief exercise of a pandemic of some flu or the other sweeping over Kyrenaia, a country of 539 million people, including the colonies, with disastrous effects depending on the government reaction.
If, for example, the Sultan went and said "Humbug!", hundreds of thousands of people could die in the worst case scenarios. Back in the day, I had been a part of the Hammam Advisory Council of the Sultana, a top-secret group of people, who officially did not advise the Sultana.
Granted, a flu was not a bioweapon, but it went into that direction.
But on to happier topics: "If I remember correctly, the Jaldascor was some sort of ceremony, right?", I asked - and for all I knew, it could be certain brand of pudding, I had literally no idea and was guessing.
Princess Fara bint-Dardan.
Salon, Bridge Deck, Yacht Aurelia.
"That all sounds quite familiar.", I said with a smile, "Especially sorting the mayors by the size of their communities is a familiar thing... it seems to be almost universal." I let a beat pass. "I must admit, I sometimes envy the Selkie: They have their Elders, their mayors of the cities, the mayors of the towns and villages, the Clan-Heads like Mistress Cathlong, the High Priests and High Priestesses and the heads of the many Guilds, which still exist - and no one knows, where who is in any order of precedence with one exception: When an Elder speaks, one shuts the cake-entrance hole and listens."
I rubbed the back of my head.
"Something, I, too, hat to learn.", I added with a grin at that particular memory, "Believe me, old sods they might be, but they have a lot of experience punching misbehaving youth up the head."
Prince Damir ibn-Razia.
Salon, Bridge Deck, Yacht Aurelia.
I noticed the tear, took out a tissue and handed it to the other man - tears, in our culture, were not a sign of weakness, but he might wanted to wipe it away.
"A tragic story.", I commented with a nod, "It reminds me a bit of a story Amina, Amina bint-Karim, the Khana of Sheliak and a distant cousin of mine, once told me. Her father, Karim ibn-Tarek was a huge fan of air racing and in 2012, with the economy and especially tourism industry of Sheliak in a huge upswing, he finally managed to fulfill his long-time dream: The Oea Air Race. Unfortunately, a month before the first race, he died of a sudden heart attack. Amina ascended to the throne and had the air race being hosted, herself opening it... and, to her and the audience's surprise, the pilots formed up before the race, already in the air, in a formation known as tayar aljanah almafqud. You might call it the Kyrenaian Version of the Missing Man Formation."
I smiled.
"Karim-Khan was a good man. A bit old-fashioned, when it came to economic thinking, but a good man.", I said, nodded.
Abbas listened with interest.
Prince Elian ibn-Sarah.
Salon, Bridge Deck, Yacht Aurelia.
"Interesting.", I said, "Are you sure, that such stories are not simple coincidences, like when a desert mouse 'shows' water to travelers?"
Razia nodded. "Find a Desert Mouse and you find water.", she spoke in Kyrenaian, then repeated it in English before adding: "An old saying of the Badawi. My Sergeant during my Service was one, he had a whole book of wisdoms and saying for every opportunity."
I nodded. "And he most likely knew more, too.", I said, then nodded to the Petrenkos, "Either way, let's leave it as a case for the behaviourists. In the meantime, do you collect anything?"