NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: This happens right after the events of my revitalization story/RP which explained what happened in my two-year absence. If you feel like trudging through a 50-page document, you may want to read it (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=10116084#post10116084). If not, just carry on.



IC:



The Spring Festival had been held every year for as long as the people of Haraki could remember. The natives that lived there had long ago celebrated the melting of the snow with festivities, and it rubbed off on those who established the nation. It eventually evolved into the Festival of the Spring, or the Spring Festival. What it consisted of was a week of holidays from Harakian schools, lowered prices on most retail items, and many other thigns to celebrate the holiday. After that, most of it was up to the city and person itself. Many cities held parades, many people held parties. All in all, it was a festive time, as much a celebration of Haraki being at peace as it was a celebration of the coming of spring. This year, however, it was somewhat different.

Following the ousting of Prime Minister Angela Shepherd from office after a scandal, she had shot herself, and national hero Jaime Wolfe had been elected Prime Minister once more, despite constantly insisting he didn't want to return to politics. Most people could tell he was lying. He'd had his taste both ways, and everyone could tell he enjoyed the feeling of both being in power and being the leader of his people. They loved him, as they always had, and he managed to - in a way - bring back together a populace shattered into four pieces after a month of being Prime Minister again, a miraculous feat for anyone.

Now the festivities were upon them, only two days away, and Jaime had decided. With the help of his cabinet, he had announced the Festival this year would be not only a time of celebration for the country, but also a time of welcoming for other nations. Their leaders were invited to attend a smaller version of the festival as it had been long ago. It would be held in what had once been a rich man's villa hundreds of years ago, outside the city of Kiros, in what was most probably the most beautiful land in the country.

The purpose of this was twofold: First, simply as an extended hand of friendship to the world. A chance to make new friends and rekindle old friendships, and a chance to meet those who the Prime Minister may not have known in his first term. Second, as a chance to ring in Jaime Wolfe's new term with something special. The nation had never before invited people from other nations to come specifically to celebrate the festival, and so this was a first for the people of Haraki.

The festival will last for seven days, and will consist of what it used to consist of hundreds of years ago, when the nation was relatively young and everything was less advanced. The first night there would be a feast, a massive banquet with food and drinks from all around the nation. The second night would be a ball, in the old-fashioned air of the old Haraki. The third night there would be a concert by the Kiros Orchestra and Haraki vocal choir, held back in Kiros and requiring a short journey. That night would be spent in high-quality rooms in the Kiros parliament buildings. The fourth day and night, as was the old, old tradition, there would be a fighting tournament between those attending. The rest of the seven days is less structured, and can be whatever the visitors want.

Presiding over this festival, as in ancient fashion, will be the last surviving of the Haraki royal family: Prince and Princess Alek and Jane Haraki, aged 30 and 28, respectively, and Prime Minister Jaime Wolfe. There is an open invitation to all nations, provided they do not wish harm to anyone at the festival. Even if hostile relations exist with another nation attending, please set all these concerns on hold until the end of the festival, for all involved.

As said before, all nations are invited. (OOCly: Simply post your person/people arriving. Bodyguards are allowed, but don't go overboard or they will be asked to leave.)

OOC: Forgot to add in an event. Edited the above post.

Also, here's a nudge.

This post is entirely because I despise bumps on principle. So I had to come up with something that would serve the purpose in character. Sorry if it comes off as whiny.





Atherlon, Haraki:

It was a Friday. Honestly, Jaime Wolfe could take it or leave it. He'd had good and bad Fridays, emdiocre ones - He nearly died on a Friday once, and he won an election on a Friday once. Today would not turn out to be special. School had let out for the day, and therefore for the week, and all the teenagers were out enjoying the day. Jaime's day was almost over, but he was getting nervous. When last he'd been in office, nations had been clamouring for spots in diplomatic gathering, no matter who they were held by. Nowadays he'd received no confirmations, no replies. He was hoping all those planning on attending were simply holding out to the last minute.

He stepped up from his desk, picking up his jacket from the coatrack in the corner of the room, and pulled it on as he stepped out the door of his office and into his secretary's room. She was also just finishing up for the day, pulling on her coat. He looked at her hopingly, but she shook her head. "No replies."

"Damn," he muttered, walking for the door. "I'm supposed to leave tomorrow to start welcoming delegates at the Kiros airport that evening, and escort them to the villa. One day left for responses? Doesn't look good for us."

She shrugged. "I don't know abotu politics."

Jaime laughed. "What a lie. I'll see you tomo- when I see you."

"Hey, when in doubt you can just get drunk for a week in a medieval villa. Fully stocked bar, all that," she replied.

He laughed again. "Yeah, I suppose. See you."

OOC: Apologies for the liberties taken, but there wasn't much data on how Haraki treats tourists and such. If anything is wrong please tell me and I'll edit it as soon as possible.

The civilian superzeppelin vented its atmosphere ballast. Pressure within the rigid cells dropped from two hundred to almost zero atmospheres in under two minutes, letting the peachpit-shaped skyship rise rapidly into the sky with its six hundred passengers, before hydrogen-driven turbines engaged with a shrill whine heard far below on the ground, accelerating rapidly to a cruising speed of just under three hundred kilometers an hour, swinging into the wind for the return trip to the Distributed Kingdom.

Kira li'Starhavven cleared customs without too much trouble, because being a High King did have its benefits when used with discretion, even if her title got her strange looks from officials. There was also the miniscule barcode on the right breast of her azure, pseudo-military uniform, with a shoulder patch not found in any military service, but that was part of the image, nevermind who she was. It got her discounts in Weyrean skyports, which was important because she was paying airfare, which was not too cheap even in Weyr.

But that was all over with, and she decided that it had been a good idea to not wear the sword currently stuffed into her perfectly average, rather battered trunk, which she pulled behind her on a pair of spindly wheels while figuring out the best, most cost effective way to get to a cheap hotel, feeling her backpack slide down her shoulders, and pointedly ignoring the itch just behind one of her very long, tapered ears mostly concealed beneath and inside a very floppy hat whose green colour contrasted sharply with her brilliant crimson hair.

Kira was not an elf; genetically she was almost entirely human. Appearances and emotions, she had learned, unfortunately carried more weight than facts in the real world.

Her response to Jaime Wolfe had been typed up and mailed a week back, a variation on the usual 'Thank you, I will certainly come,' but she did not expect anyone to meet her. Weyr was not exactly the biggest fish in the pond. Thus, she did what any good traveler did since the invention of airports, and looked at the signs for directions.

No problem.





She was met at the exit gate of the Kiros airport by a somewhat squirrely man holding her name on a sign in front of his stomach. He had seen a picture of her and so knew what to look for, and stepped up to introduce himself to the conversation. "Hello," he said in a somewhat nasal voice. "I'm here to drive you to the villa. The Prime Minister arranged a chauffeur for you, since your destination is, how you say ... off the beaten path?"

To: Haraki Foreign Ministry (or equivilant thereof)
From: Klatchian Foriegn Ministry
Subject: Spring Festive Invitation

Due to the death of the Klatchian President King Vrak, we will be unable to have any Head of State to visit your fine land at this time.



Landgrave Wittlebach, Foreign Minister of the Federated Klatchian Coast looked down at the message his staff had sent him for approval. He knew it would cause a revolt in his staff if he forced anyone of them to spend a week out of the loop in Haraki. Let alone the fact that he was sending people all about to tell them about the new President of the Federation, and was going to have to deal with the obvious concern about the Vrakian succession which was going to be a bloody mess in less than a week.

But Landgrave Wittlebach was also head of the Klatchian International Opportuities Fund, and Haraki looked like a possible location for future investments. The Landgrave would always be a cutthroat buisnessman first and a statesman second. He leaned back and ran through the rather short roster of senior personel he had. Damn it...the bloody barrel is dry

A bump of something falling onto the carpet in the next room caused the Landgrave to turn his head. It was his only daughter standing there on a bookcase ladder. She had just dropped a book on the floor.

"Jes? What are you doing here this time of night..." He asked with a concerned look.

"Ah...well you see me and Andrew had a rather bad fight..." the attracive redhead began as she picked up the book.

"So you moved back in...again?" he asked with resignation. His model turned investment advisor daugher had now gone through enough engagements that he was seriously wondering if Tiffany's actually had a case of returned Wittlebach engagement rings. Of course considering the number of young men in the United Duchies who had her various posters on the wall it wouldn't be long before someone else tried to tie the wandering Jessica down.

"Yes..." She replied, picking up the book. Then moved out of the Library, obviously she did not want to talk about it. She had actually liked fiance number five.

The nobleman shook his head and looked down at the paper again. Really he didn't want his daughter meeting his new girlfreind. A rather attractive blond gymnastics star who happened to be only a year older than Jes. She had been upset enough with wife number four Sophie. Jes was like her mother in someways, a conservative catholic.

"Now all I need for her to do is discover Amy and Sophie and me...I'll never hear the end of it! If only she'd go off to the end of the earth for awhile..."

The Landgrave chuckled for a moment as an idea sprung into his head and added some lines to the message.


Jessica Aubuon Wittlebach, Baroness of Westfalls, will of be attending in name of her Uncle, Alexander III of the United Duchies. She has also been named a Special Envoy by the Foreign Ministry of the Federated Klatchian Coast.


*****

Jessica watched the clouds pass by the window of the Outer Ministry aircraft that was transporting her to Haraki. She leaned back and pondered the file before her for a moment longer before closing it. The engines of the Saab 2000 roared a it made its final approach. I can not believe my father sent me out on a diplomatic mission after that last disaster. What, he thinks I don't know about the gymnast and Sophie? That's the worst kept secret in the United Duchies

Jaime Wolfe breathed a sigh of relief. His car had arrived at the Kiros airport, and more replies were coming in all the time, agreeing to attend. He counted three so far. He hadn't expected too many - Following the recent disturbances in the nation, he wasn't surprised not everyone wanted to attend. He had already arranged for a chauffeur to meet the Baroness who was arriving, but he had nothing better to do than meet her personally. He was there waiting for the envoy from Tiburon, an old ally, who would be arriving fairly soon, but not soon enough for Jaime to not have hours to kill in an airport. He figured he might as well get acquainted with the guests.

The plane had already touched down and Baroness Jessice Wittlebach was being shown into the airport, where her chauffeur, a big man with a small chauffeur's hat that barely fit on his head, was already waiting. Jaime arrived just in time, and the chauffeur stood up from his seat. "Mr. Prime Minister," he said, somewhat surprised. "I didn't know you were here to meet her."

"Well, I might as well get acquainted," he looked at the man's nametag, "George. I'm going to be with these people for a week."

"Yeah, you're right, sir," George replied. Even though he was a big man, Jaime still stood slightly taller than him. He was not the kind of person one would expect to be a politician. He stood 6 feet 6 inches tall, with an expression on his face that always made him seem somewhat distant. He had once been described, unflatteringly, by a tabloid newspaper as "Half a yard from a thousand-yard stare."

That was when Jessica Wittlebach was showed through the door in front of them by an aide who had met her at the plane. "Ms. Wittlebach," the aide announced, "this is Jaime Wolfe, Prime Minister of Haraki."

"Ms. Wittlebach," Jaime responded, nodding his head. "Pleased to meet you." He extended his hand.

The aide had been greeted by a tall woman, over six one barefoot, dressed in a simple grey silk jacket and matching knee length skirt. She smiled warmly at the aide, the corners of her grey eyes actually wrinkling a bit. Jessica metally chuckled about the fact that the aide was apparently paying a bit too much attention to her legs than protocol allowed. Ah well at least I'm pretty and smart

Jessica was followed by a short, thin grey man dressed in a white buisness suit. He carried both the Baroness's luggage as well as his own. There was a nasty scar from brow to cheek and across the bridge of his nose; just missing one of his brown eyes.

Baroness Westfalls continued to follow the aide as he led her towards the airport. God men she thought as she followed along in his wake. Quite aware of some of the stares the aircrews were giving her as she walked past.

When presented to the Prime Minister she gave that same warm smile, "Quite nice to meet you Minister," She gripped his hand firmly and shook it. Hmm, I wonder if they realize that by using my least formal title their being a bit insulting...and why does the Prime Minister look like he's been doped?

She paused for a second, "I suppose I should introduce my armsman, Atticus." Jessica pointed at the man in white. Then stopped, looking a bit curious as what should come next.

To Prime Minister Jaime Wolfe of Haraki

We, the Greater East Asian Republic of Noir, are most pleased by being invited to your Spring Festival. We wish that this will be a chance to open up friendly and productive relations between our two great nations. Foreign Minister Lord Timothy J. Raft will personally represent the country of Noir in your celebration.

The Foreign Minister will depart from our capital at Miltia and rendezvous with several more personnel and official representatives of Noir at our city of Adean on Earth, then transit to your country of Haraki. Estimated time of arrival will be at 1350 Earth Standard Time on ********.

~~~|| Foreign Minister Lord Timothy Jacob Raft ||~~~

James S. Card
Secretary to the Foreign Minister

**Seal used with direct authority from the Foreign Minister**

---

Foreign Affairs Bureau - UMN Administration Building, Miltia

Daniel Holl walked into his small office at 7 o'clock in the morning, carrying his usual cup of coffee and a copy of the Global Daily datasheet. He like many others was working an internship after having 4 years in college and another year attending UMN Training Workshops to gain an internship at one of the many UMN Branches throughout Noir. Also like the hundreds of other interns working that day in the Foreign Affairs Bureau, a small packet containing their day’s agenda lay on the top of his desk. But along side the brown manila packet was a small white envelope that was adorned with the seal of the Noir Minister of Foreign Affairs. Daniel’s heart skipped a beat. Perhaps this was a promotion to the government office. He had been at the UMN for four years. Usually an intern’s third year, it was expected of him or her to have been assigned to an equal or lower position elsewhere within the UMN, not moved at all, promoted and moved up within the UMN, or moved into the official government offices. He knew that anymore passed an intern’s third year the chance of reassignment was rare. Daniel carefully picked up the envelope with his moist hands and held it as if it were a fragile artifact. Within the white envelope was a data stick which he hastily slid into the data slate he had on his desk.

To: Daniel Holl - UMN Foreign Affairs Bureau
From: Office of Foreign Affairs

Dear Mr. Holl,

You have been selected to accompany the Foreign Minister, Lord Timothy J. Raft, to Haraki to attend the nation’s “Spring Festival.” You are to report to the Miltia International Spaceport for transport to Adean today at 0800. You will arrive in Adean Aero-spaceport on ******** at 0900 and them rendezvous with the Foreign Minister in route to Haraki soon thereafter.

Transport and accommodations are covered on this data stick.

Alice Kousei
Assistant Secretary to the Foreign Minister’s Office

Daniel’s heart had been beating at a breakneck speed. This was his chance, a chance to move up in the ranks and achieve his goal at getting an actual government position. He started to sprint out of his office in order to show this opportunity off to his friend in the neighboring cubicle, but was stopped as he looked up at the digital clock on his wall. It read ‘7:43AM’. Immediately his face turned pale. He had about fifteen minutes to get to Miltia International for the 8 o’clock flight. Daniel quickly scooped up his data slate and slid it into his briefcase and took his flexipad from its desk docking station and slid it into a special pocket within his jacket. Several other interns looked out of their cubicles and office doors to watch Daniel Holl sprint out of the building.

Jaime nodded. "Atticus," he said in acknowledgement. Then he nodded to the chauffeur. "This is George. He's going to be your chauffeur to the villa. It's about twenty kilometres to the west of the city, it should take you about fifteen minutes to get there. George?"

"Yes, Mr. Wolfe," George replied. "If you could follow me ..." he paused for a moment, unsure of what to call her. The Prime Minister had referred to her informally, but he had a penchant for offending people like that. "Miss ... uh ..." he paused for another moment. "Miss Baroness," he finished lamely, and began to walk away to Jessica's left, towards one of the parking lots where the car - a fancy black sedan - was parked.


*


Jaime sat down in one of the airport restaurants and pulled his laptop from its case. Several people recognized him as either the Prime Minister, the former Prime Minister, or a national hero. Many walked right by. One person asked for his autograph, which took him quite by surprise. However, finally he was left alone and checked the messages he had been sent. There was one from Noir, which he hurriedly read, then checked his watch. It was 1:10 already. He pulled a cell phone form his pocket and amde an urgent call. "Yes, I need another chauffeur. Jaime Wolfe. Thanks ... Danny! Last minute, I know, I'm sorry, but it's urgent. Yes, thanks. Lord Timothy Jacob Raft," he read off the message.

"1:50 at Gate 14F. Yes, the government will pick up the bill. Thanks."

He hung up, and checked his messages again. Nothing. He hadn't received arrival details from Tiburon yet, and didn't know who else would be arriving, period. Oh well. It would all work itself out. It always did.

Adean International Aero-Spaceport – Adean, Earth

Immediately as Daniel stepped out of the walkway connecting the spaceship to its docking terminal and swiped his boarding pass across the scanner, he was accosted by two black suited gentlemen. Before Daniel was able to open his mouth, the two gentlemen identified themselves as aides to the Foreign Minister. But the small silver lightning bolt lapel pins they wore revealed that they were Special Agency officers. ‘Probably observing the Foreign Minister,’ thought Daniel in his head. The men led Daniel to a side door that connected to a series of hallways with other doors leading to other areas of the Aero-Spaceport. Their five minute trek through the hallways ended as they entered one of the many numbered doors that lined the corridors. The a rush of hot humid wind and the blinding light of the sun came down upon the trio as they walked out into what seemed to be directly onto the tarmac. Ahead of him, he saw a large delta winged private transport as well as two black limousines, all of which had an official Noir insignia emblazoned on their sides.

As Daniel and his two S.A. escorts walked the 40 something meters towards the aircraft, Daniel swore he saw the tall and stately gray haired figure of the Foreign Minister walk up the stairs into the aircraft. Behind the Foreign Minister was another rigid S.A. officer carrying two traveling suitcases and a briefcase that was slung across his shoulders. Exiting from one the limousines were two women wearing white flowing dresses, which seemed the most appropriate to the hot and tropical weather compared to the business suits worn by the previous figures. One had long raven hair and svelte figure. Daniel had already guessed that she was a noble from her demeanor and walk. The second woman appeared younger and had short brunette hair, and who seemed to be a more playful type when compared to the demeanor of the taller woman. The women were also followed by a suitcase laden S.A. man as they also disappeared into the aircraft.

By the time they reached the stairs, a military uniformed man had just disappeared into the aircraft and a black sedan had been backed up into the rear holds of the aircraft. Daniel loosened the drenched collar of his office shirt, he was already carrying his suit jacket in one arm while gripping his brief case with his other hand, as he walked up the stairs. He too disappeared into the plane and was greeted by a blast of cold air and the sterile smell of the aircraft’s interior. Dazed by the sudden change of temperature, he unconsciously handed his suit and briefcase to the waiting stewardess who then led him down the aircraft’s main corridor and into a small private cabin.

---

Kiros International – Haraki

They had touched down and taxied to the awaiting terminal gate only three hours after their departure from Adean. The short trip had gone by quickly that Daniel had barely enough time to repack his data slate that he had set up and connected to the aircraft’s SatLink and to pack the sweaty set of clothes he had changed out of. He was given a new crisp Government Issue suit by the stewardess after the aircraft had disengaged its SCRAM jets and had reached cruising altitude in the lower stratosphere. Daniel did not even have the chance to talk to the Foreign Minister, though he received a message from the Minister stating that they were to represent Noir at the Spring Festival. Nothing different from the message he had received back in the office a day ago.

The captain had announced over the aircraft’s PA system that the local time was five minutes till two. By the time Daniel had secured his briefcase and exited his cabin, the stewardess had informed him that the Foreign Minister had already exited the aircraft. Daniel looked down at his wrist watch. ‘1:56pm’. It had already taken account of the change in time zones and had adjusted itself. Gripping his briefcase he walked out of the aircraft and onto to the jetway, until he stopped abruptly when he remembered he had forgotten his flexipad in the cabin and the briefing letter. In a split second he had to quickly the corridor railing and save himself from falling on the ground as something in a hurry bumped into his back and fell onto the floor with a thud.

“Ouch!” exclaimed a girl’s voice. “Ow, ow, owww…Why’d you stop so suddenly?”

---

Lord Timothy J. Raft walked down the jetway accompanied by two S.A. officers. Each carrying a black non-descript briefcase. As they made their way down the jetway, they saw several people waiting outside Gate 14F.

Jaime Wolfe watched in horror as more than four people got off the plane. Quite obviously there were at least half a dozen people here from Noir to attend the festival, and he cursed himself for only sending one car, at the same time trying to rationalize it because they hadn't informed him of how many people were in their party. He picked up the phone, hit redial, and made his way through the system again. "Yes, just put me through to ... Danny! I need another car as quickly as possible. Same place as before. 14F. Five minutes? Okay. I'll try and stall them."

He hung up and turned to the chauffeur, looking down at his nametag before speaking. "Listen, Jeff, you're going to take three or four of them, I'll keep the others company until your mate arrives. There's too many for one car, especially counting luggage, so this is how it's gotta be."

"Okay, Mr. Prime Minister," Jeff the Chauffeur replied.

As the entourage made their way through Gate 14F of the Kiros International Airport, Jaime stepped forward to meet them. "Good afternoon, Lord Raft. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm Jaime Wolfe." He extended his hand, as much out of habit as as a formality.

Kiros International (Gate 14F) – Haraki

“Good afternoon to you too,” said Raft. He too extended out his hand and grasped Prime Minister Wolfe’s hand. “I am very pleased to meet you Prime Minister Wolfe.” Raft released Wolfe’s hand and noticed that the man was glancing at the two men behind him.The 53 year old Foreign Minister smiled and turned to the two S.A. officers to his left and right.

“The S.A. officer on my left is Lieutenant Henry von Katcher and the one on my right is Lieutenant Frank Vigil. I assure you they won’t be causing any trouble.”

Suddenly he heard a thud coming from the inside of the jetway. Raft turned his head and saw the girl that his daughter had introduced to her had bumped into a man, he was not yet acquainted with, walking down the jetway and had fallen.

“Ouch…Ow, ow, owww,” complained the girl. “Why’d you stop so suddenly?”

Raft turned back to face Wolfe and shrugged. “I had picked up some company in Adean before arriving here. I actually have my daughter and her friend here with me. As well as an intern from the UMN Foreign Affairs Bureau back in Miltia and a marine colonel from Fort Hood located in Adean. Plus I had several of our Special Agency officers accompany me, besides the two with me, but they will stay with the aircraft.”

---

“I’m sorry, are you okay?” asked Daniel as he put his briefcase down to help the girl. Daniel had recognized her as the short brunette girl who had boarded with the tall raven haired girl back in Adean. This time Daniel was close enough to see her in person. At first glance, it seemed that she could not be over twenty-five. This time she wasn’t wearing the loose white dress from earlier, but instead had swapped it for a more proper suit. Yet the décolletage of the suit was a bit more daring than the ones he had seen on the suit set up his female colleagues wear back at the office. Daniel’s face turned red as his eyes had drifted down towards the girl’s open collar. At the last second he averted his gaze towards the spot hanging just a little above the girl’s head, but he could safely say that the girl had gotten a light tan, probably from sunbathing back at Adean. He was too embarrassed to even comment on her sizes, which he already had a pretty good guess of what they were, though he let his gaze drop to view the girl’s face. The girl had a round and well proportioned face, with traces of Asiatic blood that went well with her short hair that was cut at about neck high.

“Yea…” muttered the girl, who had reached up and grabbed Daniel’s extended hand. She stood up and wobbled as she regained some degree of balance on the heels she wore. “Thanks.”

“Cassie! Where are you?” said a muffled voice from back inside the aircraft. “Cassandra! I told you to wait for me! Jeez!”

“I’m here Joan…I got bored and just rushed out,” replied Cassandra as she dusted off the bottom of her skirt and checked that everything was in order, save for her collar which she left as is. She had completely forgotten about Daniel already.

Jaime nodded, acknowledging the SA officers with a "Lieutenant," and nod of the head, then the same to the other, before turning back to Raft. "I'm sure we can find accomodations for the rest of your group. Because there are seven of you, you're going to have to take two cars. This is Jeff, one of your drivers. He'll take four of you in the first car, the other three will go in another which will arrive shortly."

Jeff nodded and tipped his cap to those in front of him. "Nice to meet you, sir," he said. "I don't know which of you will want to be in the first or the second car, but if some of you could follow me?"

Jaime smiled. Somewhat blunt, but straight to the point and honest. Probably good traits in a person, although not well-suited to the fine art of diplomacy. Jaime stepped back, and looked around for a place to sit down until the other driver arrived. There were several benches against a wal nearby, and he almost sighed in relief. It would have been trmendously awkward to have been simply standing there for several minutes with whoever stayed behind. "Lord Raft, it's a fifteen minute drive from Kiros to the villa where you will be staying. I will join you there this evening. I'm afraid I must stay here in Kiros to welcome the diplomats who will keep arriving. However, I assure you the area around here has some of the most beautiful land in the country, the villa you're headed for is a relic from the seventeenth century, built by a noble who had a fondness for large, exquisite buildings. There's also a full bar in case none of that interests you. Completely free of charge, of course."

Kiros International – Haraki

“Ah Prime Minister Wolfe, you don’t need to worry for the other personnel. The only ones that will be needing accommodations are my two bodyguards, the intern, the two girls, and me.” Raft said, attempting to correct Wolfe politely. “We are honored for your generosity and hospitality in offering accommodations for the remaining S.A. officers and the colonel. None are needed for them. I am sad to say that the colonel will not be attending this festival. The colonel has some business elsewhere and my transport will take him there and return here, though I persuaded him to come back after he is finished with this assignment.”

Raft then turned towards the man Wolfe had just introduced him to. The Foreign Minister smiled and extended Jeff his hand. Releasing his hand from the handshake, Raft took note that Wolfe mentioned something about transportation.

“Oh, none is needed Prime Minister. Rather, no additional transportation will be needed. We always bring along a motorcade on these diplomatic, political...” he paused for a split second “international relations building excursions. Though I believe we had only brought one armored sedan for this occasion.”

Raft looked back down the jetway and saw that his daughter had finally come out of the aircraft. The two girls and the man had begun to walk down the jetway towards the gate.

“If you can,” Raft said to Jeff. “Can you wait by the car, I will be with you shortly.” He faced Wolfe once again. Wolfe had stepped back a few paces to wait for more arrivals. “Prime Minister Wolfe, I would like you to meet some people I had brought with me.”

---

Joan walked down the jetway towards them. Unlike her younger counterpart, Joan was a woman of class and nobility. She held her head high and walked so gracefully as if she were gliding on air. Her hair was fluttered like a waterfall behind her, in spite of the fact that there was no sign of any breeze flowing through the jetway. Compared to Cassandra’s attempt to dress professionally, Joan was dressed up like a saint, yet her slender and extremely, ‘err…Well-endowed figure’ added Daniel in his head, filled out the suit so well that she could make the most aggressive businessman docile and do her bidding. ‘Dressed to kill…Literally’ thought Daniel as his mind searched for words to describe her. ‘Cassandra’s cute and all…But this Joan’s just hot.’ He rubbed his eyes as if dust had gone into them in order to keep himself from gawking any longer.

“Hehe…I fell,” laughed Cassandra. “Bumped into this guy over here. Uh, what’s your name?”

“I…” started Daniel. “I’m Daniel Holl from the UMN Foreign Affairs Bureau…”

“Ahh…The intern,” interrupted Cassandra. “Joan, didn’t your father mention picking up an intern or something before leaving Adean?”

“Yes, he did Cassandra.” Joan’s voice was heavenly also. Hearing it was like hearing the calm across the plains. It was a voice that would instantly put anyone at ease. Joan walked over to Daniel. “Hello, I am Joan, pleased to meet you.” She extended her hand, which Daniel shook hesitantly.

“Pleased to meet you Joan…” started Daniel.

Cassandra cut him off again. “That’s Lady Joan for you.”

“Oh I’m sorry, Lady Joan. Pleased to meet you Lady Joan,” finished Daniel. "And you are?"

"I'm just a friend of Charlotte. Cassandra Yui," the young girl said with a smile.

"Charlotte?" asked Daniel.

“Cassandra, you just have to make such a big deal out of everything. And pick ONE name or else you are going to confusing everyone.” said Joan. “My full name is Lady Joan Charlotte Raft. And I believe my father is waiting for you.” She nodded towards her father standing at the end of the jetway at the terminal gate. “You better hurry intern.” She winked.

Jumping to attention, I thanked Joan and quickly apologized to Cassandra for tripping her. Joan nodded and Cassandra laughed and easily dismissed it as a minor accident on her part for not paying attention.

Jessica sat in the back seat of the diplomatic sedan as it drove through the Haraki countryside. Her eyes scanned the scenes rolling by; her mind lost in thought.

Intresting, supposedly they do have royalty but so far the entire diplomatic staff of this mission has so badly mauled my name and title I would swear they were an upstart republic without any concept of nobility or address. Somehow it doesn't appear to have any malice behind it. Quite an intresting discord. I wonder if it portents some underlying social rifts or is just a byproduct of some lack of training in their Foreign Office? And this Jamie Wolf character is quite disturbing in some ways. I'm not sure if he is quite all there.

In the front passenger seat Atticus was sitting with a metal case in his lap. The armsmen said very little, just watched the road with alert eyes and the occassional glance at George. Finally he said something in a low, gravely voice "So George, I assume your not usually assigned to diplomatic transportation, what with calling a noblewoman 'Miss Baroness' rather than by her proper title Baroness Westfalls or even a my lady."

"No, to be honest I'm not," George replied, giving an uneasy look in the rearview mirror to try and make sure Jessica wasn't watching. "The business I work for provides drivers of all types and there's a special group who are the drivers for diplomatic occasions. I just recently got placed in this group, and I was sick on the mandatory training days, so I'm kinda having to learn from the school of hard knocks."

Another uneasy glance into the rearview mirror probably earned him a reputation as nervous, as he continued quietly, "The prince and princess are already there, at the villa, to welcome people. We used to be a constitutional monarchy, see, and then the King abdicated with support from Parliament and the people, and was assinated a few months later. The prince and princess were young when that happened, and were taken in by the Prime Minister at the time, Chris Ryan. Because we no longer have a monarchy, they're the last surviving royalty of the nation, and there will be no more. Even their children won't be given the titles. But still, it's tradition that the king and queen are supposed to preside over the Spring Festival, and since the Prime Minister wanted as much of the traditional ceremony as possible for this bit ... Well, the two of them ended up agreeing to act as the king and queen for the occasion."

He fell silent again. "Sorry, I'm kinda going on."


*


Jaime raised his eyebrows at the mention of a private motorcade. "You brought your own motorcade?" he asked with pleasant surprise. "Well, if you need any extra vehicles, we have two cars at your service - ah, here comes the second now."

A woman with long brown hair was running through the terminal, then suddenly slowed to a fast walk when she noticed the diplomatic group standing by the gate. She was wearing the same reddish-brown uniform and hat as Jeff, and came up quickly to Jaime. "Mr. Prime Minister," she said, somewhat out of breath. "I got here as fast as I could. What do you need?"

"We may not need you at all, Michelle, to be quite honest," Jaime replied, sneaking a quick look at her nametag before beginning to talk. "But if we do, you will be driving several of the group from Noir. Jeff, Michelle, why don't you go wait by the car Lord Raft has brought with him. They'll join you soon."

Michelle nodded and the two of them voiced their agreement before heading off, Michelle stopping to catch her breath a short way away. Jaime turned back to Raft. "Sorry about that."

Kira realized after a moment someone was speaking to her. She had been looking around, again, wondering if she should just get attached to the general flow and see where it would take her.

"Oh, hi," she bowed, grinning in embarrasment. She should have expected being met by someone. "I'm sorry, but where are we going? I'm afraid I've never been here before."

She grabbed the handle of her trunk, finding it still there and remembering too late that most places did not have Weyr's almost universal custom of keeping mass transit off limits to thieves and other forms of crime.

Kiros International – Haraki

“I hope we have not inconvenienced you about this minor transportation issue,” quickly added Raft. “But it is standard procedures for.” He paused, “for our safety, not that I am implying anything malicious about your beautiful country.” Raft turned to the trio that had walked up next to them, the two S.A. officers had stepped back several paces but still kept a watchful eye over the officials.

“I would like you to meet someone,” Raft said as he motioned the three to step forward. “This here is gentleman her is Prime Minister Jaime Wolfe. Prime Minister, this is my daughter Joan Charlotte Raft and her friend Cassandra Yui.”

Joan curtsied in response. “It is a pleasure to meet you Prime Minister Wolfe.”

Cassandra followed suit. “Nice to meet you Prime Minister.”

Raft turned to Daniel. “And this is a special envoy from the UMN Foreign Affairs Bureau back in Miltia. He is here for part of his training.” Raft stopped and turned to Daniel, hoping that the young man would get the message that he had not yet been introduced yet also.

“I am Daniel Holl,” said Daniel and he extended his hand towards Wolfe. “I am very pleased and honored to meet you Prime Minister Wolfe.”

Jessica did not turn to look at George but a small smirk appeared as she listened to why he had so badly mauled her name. Ah newbie with poor training, well I'm likely the bottom rung of the diplomatic visitors even if I am representing a nation of some fifty-six billion souls. I really do not have any portfolio in the Foreign Ministry or even the Outer Ministry of the United Duchies. I'm just a noble neice of a foreign monarch, quite low in diplomatic terms.

She caught George's second nervous glance out of the corner of her eye. It caused the Baroness great amusement. She metally giggled to herselfMy armsmen you should worry about George, he might do something to you for your lack of proper respect. Although how does a proper monarchy function without peers? Hmm, and completely getting rid of it makes the future princes of the relm more dangerous to your government, not less.

As Jessica mulled over George's comments without appearing to take notice. She just let the scenery roll past the window.

Atticus on the other hand did comment, "You can't get rid of Royalty that easily, their children will be royal. It doesn't matter if those brats have titles or no titles, they are still heirs to the crown. Don't you agree my lady?"

Jessica responded, "Hmm Atticus?"

"Royalty is still royalty even if the government says its not."

"Hmm, well the government losses any control of the situation actually, take my distant cousins in Germany for example. The German government does not recognize any titles, but presently Germany has more Princes now then it did before World War One. Specifically there are now what, nine or ten Wittelbach princes and princesses? The maximum number of living princes before World War One was three. A plethra of Princes cropped up after the end of the monarchy, not before. I forget what writter wrote that 'the single greatest way to increase the size of the noblity, is to be a republic.'"

Jessica returned to looking out the window after she made her comment. Atticus nodded and turned silent again watching the road and George's driving.

fifty-six billion souls? I think you mean five point six billion, given by your nation page. Just so you all know, for the record, I'm a nation of over two billion souls. Recently revived, in game terms.







The squirrely chauffeur beckoned Kira to follow him, offering to take her trunk as he began to explain the procedure and the conduct of the festival she was attending. "Not to worry. Most of the nations attending are new to Harakian diplomacy. The place the festival is being held is a villa built in the seventeenth century by a wealthy noble who happened to enjoy building large, exquisite manor houses and such, and then simply leaving them there in case he ever visited again. After his death, the villa fell into disrepair. Recently his descendants sold the villa to the government for a pittance simply to not have to take care of it anymore, and it has since been fixed up with modern conveniences as a place for diplomatic functions to take place."

They arrived at the car (Whether or not he carried her trunk) and he stepped in with the key to pop the trunk of the car open, lifting her trunk off the gorund and placing in the trunk of the car. He then walked around to the side, opened the back door for her, and then climbed in the driver's door. "Our trip to the villa should take around fifteen minutes, traffic willing. I hope you enjoy your stay in Haraki."


*


"They are technically heirs to the crown," George responded, "but the crown is no longer an official thing in Haraki. They have no power diplomatically, although many still look upon them as de facto heads of state. They still live remarkably well. Also the threat of them wanting to seize power back was drastically reduced by both the facts that the king abdicated of his own free will, as it was he that introduced the bill into parliament to dissolve the monarchy's titles and powers, and that the Prince and Princess were very young when this happened, so this is simply the way they are used to life being."

A single bead of sweat rolled down his forehead and dripped into his cheek, and he raised a hand to wipe it away. He was, quite honestly, very nervous. One of his first diplomatic assignments was to drive a woman and her escort, who seemed very keen on pointing out all the flaws in the Harakian government system. Although he knew they had a right to do so, and especially as foreign officials from a different government, still it made him enrvous. As one unaccustomed to diplomatic climates, he coudl have sworn many of the remarks were pointed just to make fun of him. He decided to continue talking, trying to fill the gaps. "A lot of people couldn't understand how a man with so much power would just give it all away, but to be honest, our last king was probably the finest leader we ever had, counting all the prime ministers. He acknowledged that centralizing power was too dangerous, because as everyone knows, power corrupts. So he, being the first person willing to give up his power, disbanded the monarchy to prevent future regents from seizing power and declaring the nation an absolute monarchy. That's also why he helped establish a system of parliament rather than one of a presidency: Again, trying to decentralize power."

He inwardly let out a sigh of relief. He thought he had fairly well managed to pull that one off, although, not being an experienced diplomat, he did not know whether such comments would appease or upset those riding in his car.


*


"Nice to meet you too, Daniel," Jaime replied, giving Daniel a firm handshake and releasing, then turning to the two women, whom he had not had a chance to make his acquaintance with due to the rushed introductions. "Miss Raft," he said nodding towards Joan, "Miss Yui," he said with another nod towards Cassandra, "lovely to meet you both." In proper formal tradition, he followed this with a slight bow, his eyes meeting the floor and noticing some carpet lint for a moment before straightening up again.

"Now," he said, putting an arm out to lead them away from the entrance terminal, "I'm afraid this is a somewhat awkward place to continue our conversation. A fine place for introductions, but I feel Gate 14F just is not the place to get better acquainted with each other. I shall show you to your cars, and then I must bid you farewell for now. You will be met at the other end of the drive by Prince and Princess Alek and Jane Haraki, the last of the Harakian royalty, and I will join you this evening. Much as I wish I could accompany you all, I have other, pressing matters I must attend to here in Kiros first."

Standing at the side of the group, he led them down to where the armoured sedan from Noir and one of the Harakian vehicles were waiting, along with Jeff and Michelle the drivers. Jeff looked inquisitively at Jaime, asking quietly, "Am I needed?"

"Probably," Jaime replied equally quietly, "there's five of them, and they only brought one sedan. I think you'll probably have to take two of them. Remember to stay right behind Michelle on her drive to the villa, we don't want them to get separated, since they are one big group. Even if you have to do something minorly illegal, you have the diplomatic flags on the car, so you're allowed."

Jeff gave a slight smile as Jaime turned back to Raft. "I'm afraid I don't think you'll all fit in one car, so I took the liberty of bringing in another one. With your permission, Michelle here will drive your armoured sedan with three of you in it, and Jeff here will follow behind with the remaining two."

"Thank you," Kira got in the back seat, buckling up for a very Weyrean reason. With no speed limits or any actual laws, being in a moving vehicle on a Weyrean freeway without a seat belt was a very easy way to get a one-way ticket into a hospital, or a morgue. Besides, it kept her from sliding around during turns.

"So, do diplomats stay at the villa," she asked after a moment, turning away from the car window, wondering what had happened to the placed where, presumably, other royals had held their various functions. Pantocreatonia and the Resurgent Dream did not lack for them, from what she had seen, and they were certainly proper monarchies, with parliamentary systems, and the various constructions left behind by old systems certainly did not just vanish. "Or should I find another place?"

OOC: Ah, the fifty-six billion (actually 66 Billion (http://www.lawl.net/sss/regional_stats.php?region=the_federated_klatchian_coast)) was a reference to the Federated Klatchian Coast (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/The_Federated_Klatchian_Coast)not A+H, (a bit confusing for those who don't deal with the uber nations like the FKC, Yut, the Reich, very much) Jessica has a temporary portfolio from the Klatchian President not the government of the United Duchies (A+H).

The Baroness made no comment to George's speil. Mentally she just sighed. How wonderful I've started a debate on the Haraki government with a newbie driver. Likely nothing he says is of any offical consequence, and really he missed my point entirely. Of course he could be something else entirely than a newbie driver, like an intelligence officer. Yes, perfect cover for an intelligence officer to try and pump questions out of me, a low level flunky with supposedly no diplomatic training. Quite original actually, although something seemed strange when 'George' was on a first name basis with the Prime Minister, damn it I am a fool.

Jessica continued to ponder the countryside. If he is an intelligence officer I'm out of my depth. I wouldn't be able to see a diplomatic trap right infront of my nose damn it! The slight smile on her lips had now vanished, and her eyes had become quite dark.

Atticus just mumbled "A self induced Cromwellian Dictatorship..." under his breath but let the matter drop.

The Duchy of Alcona had been born out of the English Civil War and the Protectorship of Oliver Cromwell. Considering how the Long Parliament and their 'Protector' had acted during that span of time, it was not surprising how Atticus thought of things. Like most people from a nation born in revolt against the heavy handed puritan dictatorship, Atticus did not see a Parliament as the guarantee of the people's rights. After all the Long Parliament had sat for ninteen years without calling for new elections of itself. It had also thrown out all the elected opposition members when they got too upity.

Of course Alconians did not really care what other nations did if said actions did not impact the United Duchies. Atticus dropped the subject because George was defending a subject which really was not a high Duchy or Klatchian priority.

Another major trait of Alconians was severe paranoia. Which led to the intelligence services of the United Duchies spending a great deal of time listening and watching what other nations were doing. Even when there was no obvious reason to do so. It was also the reason why the Baroness was seriously considering George as an undercover intelligence operative.

Ah. The Klatchian Federation is a new creation since my time, and as I've never had any dealings with them before I'm quite ignorant on the subject. I apologize.



The squirrely chauffeur responded to Kira, "Diplomats will be staying at the villa, to the best of my knowledge. There are no major towns nearby, except Kiros, so it would be somewhat hard to find lodgings outside the city anyway."

They drove on in silence for a short while longer before a large stone wall appeared on the right side of the road they were driving on. The chauffeur gestured to it. "This is the wall enclosing the manor grounds of the villa. We should arrive at the gate we'll be using shortly."

They drove on beside the wall, which seemed somewhat old but had been visibly repaired recently, holes fixed up with newer stones, and even a whole section of the wall had been replaced. It seemed it had been structuraly supported as well to keep the wall standing firmly. It was at least twelve feet high, much higher in some places. After another minute or two of driving, the car reached a black matel gate in the wall, and pulled in towards it slightly. The chauffeur turned to a camera staring blankly down at them above them, and waved. The gate, after a few seconds, opened for them, and they drove through. The gate closed behind them and the car drove on, much slower, through an area of the ground where the grass seemed unbelievably green and trees grew abundantly. Many seemed to have ensured their dominance during the time the villa had bee abandoned, and in some places the foliage seemed almost out of control. The ground was hilly, with a paved road running down it, winding somewhat through the grounds for a short while before rounding a turn and coming into view of the front of the villa.

It was a magnificent sight. The building itself, from the front, was three stories high plus the roof, and a fourth story could be seen rising up behind the opening. There was what appeared to be an old chapel off in one corner, with the church spire and belltower rising up above the rest of the villa, which seemed to be mostly made of stone, as the wall had been. This building was more uniformly new, having appeared to have fallen into a state of further disrepair during the time it had been abandoned, and been rebuilt more extensively. A small set of steps led up to a large wooden door inset into the front of the building, where the road pulled up and looped around. Tucked in beside the building was a large grassy area where several cars were parked.

The chauffeur pulled up in front of the building and stepped out of the car, walking around it to open Kira's door for her. "We've arrived, madam," he said politely.

As if to emphasize his point, the doors swung open and a large welcoming hall stretched out in front of them. "Go on, Madam," he said, beckoning her to go forward to the building.


*


In the other car, George fell silent somewhat awkwardly, as the car drove on. He broke the silence only once again, to say "We're nearly there. It should be only five minutes more, at most."

OOC: The FKC is just about old as you are actually (April/May 2003)

Jessica shivered as she looked at the tall walls. It reminded her of the time she was stuck out in that house on the moors. A memory she did not want to recall. She turned and opened the metal breifcase next to her, trying to use her breifing documents to push the horrific memory out of her head.

George's car pulled into the drive of the villa's grounds in silence. No-one dared to break the tension which hung in the air like a thick soup, drowning any thoughts of conversation which may have slipped into the vehicle's occupants' heads. As they drove the road up to the villa's front entrance, the car slowly came to a halt, stopping behind the other car in the small roundabout outside the main doors. George stood up, stepping outside the car and opening Jessica's door for her, as was the proper custom. The doors were standing open as Kira was walking up them and the other driver was standing at the side of his car, getting back in it.

The Baroness stepped out, her black pumps scrunching into the gravel of the drive. Her grey eyes locked onto the figure in something looking like a military uniform and a large, green floppy hat move up the front steps of the manor house. She pulled her eyes off immediatly and began to examine the structure.

"Thank You George..." Jessica stated in a pleasent dry tone, a mere social obligation rather than any real thankfulness.

Atticus stepped out of the car. He let himself turn slowly, examining the forecourt's walls and gates before slowly walking back to the end of the car. His eyes methotically probed the building for any signs of people hiding near the eaves or behind the windows.

Jessica waited patiently as Atticus got the bags together. Her eyes studying various parts of the building such as the cornice, windows, and the steeple of the church with her eyes. Her mind on the otherhand was trying to size up the situation. Hmm, a lot of recent work. If they have implanted bugs in my room then likely the'll be in the walls rather than somewhere more accessible to me. She gave George a quick sidelong glance, Hmm, I wonder if he knows I am on to him?

Atticus, now burdened with several bags, almost waddled up behind her. "m'lady..." he asked politely. Jessica turned and nodded saying, "Yes Atticus," before gliding towards the steps with the grace of her station.

OOC: Gwee. Finally have time to catch up on my posting. Sorry about not responding until now.

A festival? Just like old times, it seemed. Although it seemed modern times were an improvement over old- as they usually are- the diplomatic festival was one thing that one really could be nostalgic about.

[Sent Via D-Net]
[To: Jaime Wolfe, Prime Minister of the Socialist Democracy of Haraki]
[From: Abhinash Chandran, President of the United Solaris Federation of Tiburon]
[Subject: Festival]
[Classification: Declassified]

Prime Minister Wolfe,

In the hustle and bustle that usually entails modern diplomacy, I am pleased to see an old-fashioned casual diplomatic festival, and thrilled to notice the fact that one of Tiburon's oldest allies and a nation we have not heard from for quite some time, Haraki, is hosting it. We feel that it would be not only negligent on our part if we declined to attend but also that such action would fly in the face of decades- centuries, even- of our nations' friendship. Please expect my arrival within 45 minutes.

Sincerely,
Abhinash Chandran,
The United Solaris Federation of Tiburon

Shortly after, a private craft sped along to Haraki, carrying the President and Vice President of the USF. Both of whom were cursing to themselves for their lack of timeliness.

OOC: No problems, mate. Good to see you again.


Jaime breathed a sigh of relief as he read President Chandran's message. The nations that had only sent confirmation of being interested in possibly attending had solidified their presence at the festival. As Tiburon was one of Haraki's oldest allies and friends, and Jaime had been close personal friends with several of Tiburon's presidents, it was a relief to have finally received the message. That was all of them, though. Only four nations had expressed their desire to come, so far. Still, he would stay at the airport until evening just in case. :atecomers would have to be welcomed by a driver alone.

Already it was getting on towards three o'clock. The sun had reached its zenith and was heading down towards the horizon, although its rate would take it more than five more hours to completely sink below the horizon, near half past seven at this point in the springtime. He'd decided to stay until eight. Those at the villa could handle the diplomats until then.

He arrived at Gate 10D. It was one of the shorter wings of the airport, with onyl ten gates in total, and was the first of the three wings devoted to international flights. Thus 10D was one of the first gates built for international arrivals, and so was more luxurious than those built later, designed more to conserve space than anything else. There were actual comfortable benches around, and plants. Jaime checked his watch. There were still twenty minutes until Abhinash would arrive, and he'd already made the call to have a driver sent.

It turned out to be the squirrely man who had driven Kira. Jaime couldn't remember his name, so it was lucky the driver chose to sit on a different bench from Jaime, as it could have been quite an awkward situation. He checked his watch again. Ten minutes.


*


As Jessica stepped through the door, she entered a large entrance hall that had to streth much farther into the building than it appeared from the outside. It stretched up three stories, with a high, arched ceiling and a chandelier providing light for the room, along with gilded electric lights set into the walls. There were portraits on the wall, along with other paintings, many of them landscapes, mostly by famous Harakian artists. There were doors leading off to side rooms and a large staircase at the far end of the room, stretching up and branching out to either side, up to a balcony hallway three stories up. Doors behind the stairs seemed to lead farther into the large building.

Greeting them was an attractive woman in her late twenties, with long brown hair past her shoulders and green eyes that seemed to betray a deep-set sense of kindness. She was wearing a white and blue flowing formal dress and was followed by a pair of what looked like guards: Somewhat large men in suits, following her as she descended the stairs. A door on Jessica's right opened before she could say anything, and a smaller, thinner man in a tuxedo entered the room, standing off to the corner with his hands folded. The woman smiled and stepped out towards Jessica. "Welcome," she said somewhat exuberantly. "I'm Jane Haraki. Pleased to meet you."

Jessica responded as she had been trained from a young age towards royalty. She gave a formal curtsy as Jane Haraki approached, stating "Baroness Westfalls of The Federated Klatchian Coast your Grace." She rose again her gray eyes smiling at the other woman.

Atticus, standing behind Jessica, gave a small bow even with the large burden he was carrying.

The red head continued, "And I thank you for such a warm welcome to such a lovely land."

Jane gave a small curtsy in response, bowing her head in respect to the other royal, and blushing slightly at the remarks made by Jessica. "Thank you very much," she said to Jessica, as she took several more steps forward. "I am to welcome you and entertain you for the rest of the day, but I imagine you'd like to see your rooms and possibly freshen up first."

She turned to the man in the tuxedo, obviously some sort of servant or butler. "Please show them to their rooms," she said, stating her command with force but somewhat gently. The man nodded and turned to Jessica and Atticus.

"If you would follow me, Baroness Westfalls, Mister Atticus," he said, turning and walking back towards the large staircase the princess had descended from.

As he led them up the stairs and to the right, they passed a man in a black suit who was hurrying down the stairs from the left, down into the entrance hall. He passed by the pair with nothing more than a smile and a nod of the head towards them, as he was obviously in a hurry. His facial features were close enough to that of the princess downstairs that he was obviously Prince Alek Haraki. He had short brown hair and brown eyes, and appeared to have cut himself shaving on the left cheek. He continued down the stairs towards his sister, at a fast pace but slowing down as he reached her side. The manservant leading Jessica and Atticus didn't notice, but rather continued on his way, leading them up around onto the upper hallway and through a wooden door on their left. After a short walk through a long corridor, he arrived at a door and unlocked it, opening the door and handing them his key.

"This is your room, Baroness Westfalls," he said with a slight bow, "there is another room off it, which the door beside you," he gestured to the next door down the hall, "leads to, which has been prepared for Mr. Atticus." He handed her another key for the second room and walked away down the hall, back towards the entrance room.

The room itself was large, with a queen-size bed in the corner and a fairly large bathroom off it. It seemed designed for important guests, with a desk at one side and a table, several comfortable-looking chairs and a television. Electric sockets behind the desk seemed designed for plugging computers into. A door off the left side of the room with deadbolt locks on both sides led into an identical and reversed room made up for Atticus.

OOC: Apologies for the lack of postage.

"Thank you," Kira bowed to the driver.

She wondered briefly if she should ask about the luggage still deposited in the car's trunk, but thought better of it. These people looked like they knew what they were doing, by her standards. The last time Weyr had done something diplomatic, foreign delegations had been escorted to their residences via its public transit system.

Besides, there was nothing very important inside, and walking into the building's entrance hall she forced herself to not ogle and stare. It was not as big as the Tower of Kings' Grand Hall but much prettier and without a thick layer of dust and soot and decaying tapestry. Kira took off her hat, letting it sit on her shoulder, somehow maintaining its precarious position. The move seemed proper, somehow. The tourist part of her wanted to grab a camera and start taking pictures.

(OOC: sorry about the absence, school et al. OOC2: Beginning of this post occured before you received the call/message to move to the next terminal. But it isn't necessary for Jaime to reply anymore.)

Kiros International – Haraki

“Ah, sure, I was just about to ask how to get to the villa,” said Raft. He extended his hand again as he said he bid farewell to Prime Minister Jaime. “We will be seeing you later, to talk about politics. And how should I say this. Well, according to Malthus, more about the dismal science.”

Immediately, Jamie had received some sort of message and rushed off to another part of the terminal.

Raft headed off towards the car, but stopped suddenly. His daughter, Cassandra, and the intern were following suit and almost collided with each other. “Joan, Cassandra, why don’t the two of you go with your new friend Mr. Holl and see the local scenery first before heading up to the villa. I’m sure it would be nice to get a little fresh air after that flight.”

“Papa, I don’t think that’s really necessary,” said Joan. “I don’t think it would be convenient for Mr. Holl if he were babysitting the both of us.”

“I don’t think babysitting would be the word to use for this clumsy, pervert, molester” interrupted Cassandra.

“Ah, play nice Cassandra. I am sure that a respectable young representative from the UMN would know better,” said Raft.

“I, uhh…” Daniel had tried to speak.

“I hope it’s not a problem Mr. Holl. I know that later tonight you will get a taste of foreign diplomacy in action. I just thought you kids would want some play time after a long flight.”

Daniel opened his mouth to talk but was interrupted by Cassandra. She stepped in front of Daniel to be face to face with Foreign Minister Raft. “Since you insist, Mr. Raft; Joan and I will take care of Daniel and make sure he will arrive at the villa in one piece.”

“It would be my pleasure, my duty, to accompany your daughter and her friend.”

“Ah, very good then. I promise you, young lad, that you will get a lot of learning from this trip. Possibly a spot at the Foreign Ministry Office. Well then, I’ll be off. I believe you three should go with Jeff in the Haraki car and I will go with Michelle.” Raft turned towards Joan. “Joan, do you need one of the S.A. men to accompany you three?”

“Not really, papa. I believe we three can take care of ourselves. We’ll be up their shortly. The driver should know what time to be back and so on and so forth.”

“Have fun and be careful.” At this Raft turned around and headed towards the Haraki provided car, followed by his two S.A. men. Jeff had already taken the initiative and had the door open for the Foreign Minister. One S.A. officer had taken the front passenger seat, while the second entered after the Foreign Minister.

Edit: Fixed all the 'Jamie's in the passage w/ 'Jaime's

OOC: Jaime, not Jamie. Pronounced as if you just take off the E and pronounce it Jaim.



As Kira walked up the steps into the entrance hall, she was greeted by the prince and princess. She had watched the prince rush down the stairs, apparently late for some reason or another, and join his sister just as she moved forward to greet Kira, curtsying and bowing her head in respect. "Welcome," she said joyfully. She knew the woman's name, but was waiting for her to introduce herself so she would know what to call her. Some delegates from other nations became very upset when referred to not by their official titles, and as she didn't know the official title for this particular woman, she would leave it to her.

Alek Haraki also stepped forward and bowed. "It's wonderful to have you in Haraki," he said, straightening up from the bow. The prince was a handsome man. Once he had been considered to have large features unsuitable to a small head, but as he had grown he had also grown into said features, and they had combined to make a somewhat handsome man. He wouldn't win any beauty contests, but it was enough to make him a valuable diplomat.


*


Michelle drove off to wards the villa, while Jeff simply sat in the car for a moment, watching his three passengers enter the car and then turning and asking them, "So, do you want to go to the villa straight away, or spend a while driving around, maybe walk around some of the scenery around here first?"

In the other car, Michelle took a shortcut out of the city, avoiding traffic lights, and then pulled out onto a highway. There was traffic here, unlike the rest of the smaller highways. She simply drove along for a few minutes, until it appeared to be becoming more cluttered due to an accident up ahead, at which point she promptly took an exit off to the right, pulling onto a smaller highway and then turning left onto a smaller road with no traffic on it. "It's a shortcut," she stated. "The big highway runs right along the route we have to take but a few kilometres down, so it's faster to take it for a ways than the smaller roads. It's only about five minutes from here."

OOC: This post contains a flashback. Be warned...

Jessica inwardly shook her head as the Princess curtsied back. "Thank You yes I would like to freshen up a bit your Grace." Jessica followed the butler with only a passing intrest. She smiled at the Prince as he went past.

Jessica said "Thank You" as she was handed the keys to her quarters. Atticus placed down a few of the bags and hung the folding bag up before going into his room with the small remainder of luggage.

Jessica closed the door behind her and then kneeled down to one of the bags. She pulled a small black stachel out of one and laid it on the desk and opened it.

"Alright..." she started to say outloud but suddenly slapped her mouth shut. Now how do I use this bloody kit? she fumbled with the straps over a large silver plastic device that looked like a hand held scanner. Then she pulled out a small screen unit and linked the two units. Unfourtunatly that was all she could immediatly remember. She closed her eyes for a moment...
****
"Wittelbach!" It was the summer right after the end of Jessica's primary education. And she was stuck in Milita boot camp with a horror of a craggy old battle-ax sargent named Meijers. A woman who looked like the love-child of a wicked witch and frankenstein. And Meijers was shouting out Jessica's name like the young woman had just committed all seven deadly sins in thirty seconds flat right before her.

Jessica responded by shooting strait up out of her chair and replying. "Yes Sargent Ma'm" and looking strait ahead at the calkboard on the other end of the room. The sports illustrated swimsuit edition she had been clandestinely perusing fell to the floor unheard.

"What is this?" The sargent held up a silver plastic device that looked like a scanner and barked at the young Jessica.

"Well it looks like a scanner ma'm"

"What kind of scanner?"

"A handheld scanner ma'm"

"Wittelbach you must be a sore disappointment for your family, be seated... This is an Electronic and Magnetic Source Scanner that is deployed by the Outer Ministry to all diplomats on foreign soil. It can detect both electronic signals generated by independent bugs as well as the magnetic currents created by hardwired electronic device's wirering." She held up the small hand-held screen in her hand for the group to see. "Magnetic signals very from green to blue inverse of the strength of the magnetic feild source and from yellow to red propotionally for electronic emission sources. You start the unit by the button at the end here..."

****
Jessica Wittelbach opened her eyes, she was back in her quarters in Haraki, not some Alconian Milita training base. She tabbed the switch at the end of EMSD.

The 'scanner' began to produce an eiree blue glow. The Baroness held it up and began to slowly turn in the center of the room. Atticus walked in and stopped in the doorway.

"I never thought I would see a royal bow to a bleeding courtesy titled noble." He said in his gravelly voice.

Jessica stopped and gave Atticus a look between desperation and a desire to throttle the man. Atticus mouthed the words, 'keep talking' and indicated she should continue at her task.

"Well they are the equivilant of a monarchial appendix around here." Jessica replied.

"So their only purpose is to potentially kill off the body politic of Haraki? What a wonderful thought."

OOC: I might as well just tell you what you'll find, because I can't see a way to roleplay in there without acting out your characters for you. So, here you go:

There are hidden microphones in the hallway, as well as video cameras that are not hidden at the ends of the hallways, looking down them. However, there actually are no bugs in the rooms themselves. Haraki has strict privacy laws that allow people to do pretty much whatever they want without the government intervening or listening in, and foreign dignitaries are no exception. They'll observe what happens in what is outside private grounds for the trip (Namely, hallways, larger rooms, actual diplomatic functions, et cetera) but they won't actually bug rooms. We're very liberal with our civil rights in Haraki.

OOC: Thank You, I've left it so that Jessica will come back down after all the other 'primaries' arrive

Jessica shook her head as she arched her back to scan the cealing. Atticus was continuing to talk, almost to himself. "I am just wondering what happened to the peerage of Haraki? I mean it was a monarchy without nobility? Or did they just do a dyellian and feed all the nobs to the local apex preditor?"

Jessica stopped scanning. It was fairly obvious that the scanner had not picked anything up in the room. She handed the device to Atticus who preceeded to walk into his room. As he did so, the armsman broke into song.

"O Halloo nyn ghooie,
O Chliegeen ny's bwaaie,
Ry gheddyn er ooir aalin Yee,
Ta dt' Ardstoyl Reill-Thie,
Myr Barool er ny hoie,
Dy reayll shin ayns seyrsnys as shee."

Jessica closed the connecting door, muffling the sound of Atticus's poor, off-key singing voice. "Next he'll be singing the red haired girl. Which really is quite cheeky."

The Baroness pulled two small devices from the Outer Ministry kit and attached them to the room's windows. The small devices would use small pizo-electric motors to cause the glass to vibrate, and fustrate anyone using a laser mike to listen in on her.

"Well that seems to be in order..." She stated to herself as she looked about the room again. She then continued to unpack, making sure to place a long black case next to the bed and her pillow.

The small yet powerful craft landed gently on the tarmac, glistening as small rays of light bounced off the fuselage and headed in various directions. If one were to listen (very) carefully, the Tiburonese national anthem could be picked out in the background. It was a standard part of the entrance, a subroutine among many for the craft that carried them. Chandran didn't enjoy it much- was a grand bit of pomposity if he ever saw one- and kept it as low as possible except for occasions that needed it. Three people stepped out of the craft- the President and VP, of course, but also a reservist colonel, who would have been nothing more than a standard (if youngish) scientist and member of the upper middle management of Tiburon's Aerospace Force on the side if not for his history with Haraki (and Tiburon's history itself). And thus, President Abhinash Chandran, VP Richard Bell, and Col. Kiro Starfighter were on the tarmac, visiting Haraki.

Can't remember why I know Starfighter. I recognize the name, but can't for the life of me recall why. If you could just remind me, I'd be really grateful. Thanks.





As the three Tiburonese men were shown up a set of stairs and into Gate 10D, where Jaime and the squirrely driver were waiting, sittting on benches separated by a large fern. As the three were shown through the gate's large doors and up into the carpeted hallway that was D Wing, Jaime stood up, grinning, and walked towards them. "Abhinash!" he called out, "good to see you again!" As he got closer and recognized the other two men, whom he had not had as much dealing with in the past. "Richard," he said, nodding his head to the VP, "Colonel," with another ndod towards Kiro, whose name he had not know instantly but whose rank had been in a prior message.

"It's been too long, my friend," he said, stopping in front of where Abhinash was standing and extending his hand as a formal gesture of friendship, "welcome back to Haraki."

"Thank you for the welcome, milady," Kira felt like a broken record, smiling in return. She bowed twice, one to each royal, to a precise forty-five degree angle. “Milord.”

"It's an honour to be here." The shapeless, green hat took that moment to fall off her shoulder. Kira fumbled, caught it, her long ears twitching with embarrassment. "Sorry,” she bobbed forward, and her face turned a sort of crimson-pink, approaching the colour of her hair. "It doesn't stay on very much."

In Route to Villa – Haraki

“So Michelle, when exactly does this Festival start?” inquired Raft. “And I might not be asking the right person, but how are the Prince and Princess like? From a political stand point. Since you have a Prime Minister, what position do the Prince and the Princess hold in your country?”

The Foreign Minister looked out of the window and noted the traffic.

“Haraki seems to be plagued with traffic problems,” he said to himself, but loud enough for Michelle to hear.

---

“How rude,” whispered Cassandra into Joan’s ear “he didn’t even open the door for us.”

“Hush Cassie,” Joan put her finger to her lips. After silencing her friend she leaned forward to talk to the driver. “Anywhere is fine. Why don’t we take the long scenic route on the way towards the villa? Is that fine with you Mr. Holl?”

Holl climbed into the front passenger seat next to Jeff. He had closed the door for Joan stepped into the car. “That’s fine with me. I am just here to keep an eye on you two, so just lead the way.”

“Splendid. So, Jeff, we’ll leave everything to you.”

Abhinash grinned and walked briskly over to his old friend, leaving a poor colonel and Vice President behind to catch up. "Jaime! Good to see you!" he exclaimed as the two clasped hands in solidarity. He nodded in recognition of the assessment. "Much, much too long indeed. Oh, and before I forget, Vice President Richard Bell, and Colonel Kiro Starfighter." He nodded slightly to each of them as he introduced them. "Excellent to be back here in Haraki. Excellent indeed. I'd very much like to see how it's changed from before." It was all he could do to resist adding "old chap", one of numerous phrases he had picked up after his years living in Neo England.

OOC: If this is still open, then I hope this is ok, if not, well, just ignore this then. Oh, and Haraki, good to see you back...
IC:

The four powerful engines rumbled, pushing the heavy Boeing through the air at a leisurely pace. It was nothing spectacular, just a 747-700 painted in the Osea Republic livery. The blue and white jumbo jet, escorted by four F/A-18E Super Hornets was carying only a single passenger, President William Clark, leader of The United Republic, born of Osea Major, and aging diplomat, as most were. He was older than most other Presidents had been, pushing the sixty five year mark, but he had a youthful energy surounding him, and his full white beared had often attracted younger woman more than it pushed them away. He sat, letting the soft rumblings of the jet engines hold him in a state of near consciousness as he dosed in and out.

He had always prefered sleeping while in flight. The Republic had always prided itself on building a major air force, and in a nation of fighter pilots, he was the submarine commander. While the low ranked liuetenants and captians were getting all the glory for show boating in their fighter and attack aircraft, he quietly slinked through the depths in his attack boat. While the Air Force and Naval Air Force fought their ten minute long battles with point and click weaponry, he stalked the deep, prowling for enemy ships and subs.

He was jolted awake from his light sleep by a gentle hand on his shoulder. A pretty brunette flight attendant shook him awake gently, and pointed out the window. Three of the four F/A-18Es had slid back away from the 747, the fourth sliding in close. The pilot waved, then saluted, and banked away as the Boeing slid into Haraki airspace. Once, years ago, the escort wouldn't have been nessacery, but with problems brewing in South Belka, there was no way to be too cautious. "We'll be landing soon, sir," the attendant said, "is there anything I can get for you?"

Will shook his head no, thanking her, and righted up his seat. Soon, the Boeing was on the ground, the door opened, and President Clark was out on the tarmac, a single body gaurd closely following, scanning for a pick up of sorts. He had never been to Haraki, let alone out of the Republic, before, and he moved carefully in this somewhat alien land, hoping that the Minister of Foreign Affairs had managed to contact the proper diplomats and arrange for the arrival.

OOC: No problem, Osea. And thanks. For future reference for everyone, this RP will be open until it's over. Anyone arriving late will be, well, arriving late.



Kiros International Airport, Kiros, Haraki

Jaime grinned. "Not changed enough, not nearly enough at all. Can you believe I thought I'd actually retired? But no. I spent two years living the quiet life, attending diplomatic functions when no other former Prime Ministers were available, and then I get sucked back in because some power-hungry nationalist seized control of the country. Oh well. To tell the truth, I kind of missed it."

He turned to the other two. "Richard, Kiro. Good to see you." He turned, beckoning to the three men their driver. "I'm afraid I won't be accompanying you to the villa, not yet. I'll arrive later this evening, but the prince and princess are there to welcome everyone, so you shouldn't feel too lonely. This is your driver, he'll take you to the villa. I have to wait here to welcome more diplomats as they arrive. I know of at least one more on the way, I received the message while you were in the air."


*


One wing away, in gate 5F, a driver was calmly awaiting the arrival of President William Clark of the United Osean Republic. Haraki had never had much dealing with them before, but that was the whole point of the festival: Opening doors, making friends. The Prime Minister was currently indisposed with the Tiburonese visitors, and so the Boeing jet had been rerouted to a different wing of the airport to avoid an unpleasant encounter in the halls. Jaime didn't want the Osean leader to feel neglected, or unimportant.

And so, he had simply sent a driver. One of the more experienced of the diplomatic group, he was practically a dip0lomat in his own right. His name, Thomas Fields, was on a nametag identifying him as a senior driver in the diplomatic group, and he was waiting outside the gate where President Clark would be arriving. As the older, bearded man stepped through the gate, Thomas stepped forward. "Mr. President?" he asked, more as a formality than anything else. They both knew who he was. "I'm Thomas Fields, I'm to drive you to the villa. The prime minister is currently indisposed, or he would be here himself."


*


Villa outside of Kiros, Haraki

Jane Haraki barely suppressed a giggle as the hat fell from Kira's shoulder and she caught it with a somewhat clumsy reaction. She raised a hand to cover her mouth as she unintentionally smirked, and Alek simply smiled. "It's all right," he said, also stifling a small laugh, "we all have our moments."

A good first impression, he thought, I appreciate a person who doesn't have to be perfect when meeting other nations.

"Ah, here he is," he said, turning to another tuxedoed man who had arrived from one of the side doors. "This man will show you to your room. It's upstairs."

The man stepped forward, picking up Kira's luggage and turning to her. "If you would follow me, ma'am?"


*


Michelle glanced at the Noirian foreign minister in the rearview mirror. "We've been having a bit more problems with traffic just recently. The last government tried to impose a short-term solution to small-scale traffic problems by adding more lanes to busy streets and trying a large overhaul of the entire transportation system, but it didn't work. It just slowed us down a lot more because of the construction. The new government's been taking a different tactic, a large campaign to reduce the amount of time people spend driving and encourage carpooling and public transit, and have been spending money on that. Still, it hasn't been in place for long enough for it to start taking effect in a major way. I think if it gets bad enough, we'll probably end up subsidizing public transit so much that it'll be free to ride the bus, and that will be a fine day for us drivers. If they invent a way to have non-polluting electric buses, it would be a good system."

An unachievable dream, she thought absentmindedly.

"As for the festival," she continued, "as far as I know it starts tomorrow. The prince and princess I've never met, but I hear they're nice enough people. Their titles are absolutely in name only nowadays, ever since their father, the last king of the country, managed to get a vote passed in parliament to decentralize power and make the monarchy no longer have any power at all. He recognized somewhere down the line, a king or queen might be corrupt enough to use their position to seize power, and so took action to end the threat while he could. He established a larger, better parliament than we had before, and then abdicated the monarchy for good. He was killed a few months later, and we had our first real leader outside the monarchy, Chris Ryan. The prince and princess are, really, just good diplomats nowadays. They're here for the festival because they're trying to make it back to the roots for this, and since the king and queen always used to watch over it, they've arranged it so the prince and princess will be here instead. A sort of compromise."

They had pulled up alongside the wall by this point, and were approaching the gate. She glanced back at him again. "Almost there now, sir."


*


Jeff nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Fine with me," he said. "There's a lot to see around here. It's some beautiful land, so let's just get going and see what we see."

He pulled the car into gear and drove away, taking the fastest route out of the city and down to the south, where the northern Atherlon Plains started to expand into the wide-open southern deserts, then gradually pulling away towards the north-west, where rolling hills and thick forests started to dot the landscape.

President Clark (http://www.digitalhit.com/row/cp/connerygg56.jpg) moved forward towards the man, smiling. "Yes, Mr. Fields, that would be me," the President replied in his Scottish accent reading off the name tag, smiling. He came from the eastern areas of Osea Major, which was heavily influenced by the Celts, and he made no attempt to mask his accent or manerism, or even his much talked about Celtic charm that had secured him the election. He offered a firm handshake, and waved his body gaurd forward. The gaurd moved up, carrying a duffle with him. Clark took the bag from the man, and held it close to his side. "I'm quite capable of carrying my own bag, Agent Jefferson, and I plan to do so."

"I'm Thomas Fields, I'm to drive you to the villa. The prime minister is currently indisposed, or he would be here himself."

"Thats quite fine," Clark responded, following the driver out to the car. He refused any help to take his bags, following Fields closely. "So, Mr. Fields, any idea of how this little shindig is going to be run?"

Thomas shrugged. "I regret to say that I'm not a diplomat, I'm a driver. Anything I say about the festival will need to be taken with a grain of salt."

He opened the trunk and took President Clark's luggage from him, loading it in and shutting it again, stepping around to open the back door for the president and let him and the guard step in, before sitting down in the driver's seat and driving away. "As far as I know, the festival will be one week, with something different happening each day. The rest of the day outside these events will be general mingling and discussion between those in attendance."

Clark nodded. He could tell that Fields was more than just a driver, although he woudln't think intell. A higly trained driver perhaps, one that, despite being just a driver, was welll veresed in the arts of diplomacy. The gaurd relaxed, sensing little danger at all in this foreign land. He put his head back, and closed his eyes, remaining awak, his hand resting on the SigSaur on his hip.

Clark looked around breifly as the driver piloted teh car to the villa, and let a few minutes pass before deciding that the silence was marginally anoying. "So, Mr. Fields, tell me a little about Haraki."

Fields went to speak, but Clark soon cut him off. "And don't give me the usual political BS, I want to know what makes Haraki great for you to live in."

OOC: Now I just need to cut down on the run on sentences

Jessica was lying on her bed, studying the cealing with a detached look for a moment. She turned onto her side and grabbed the long case that she had placed there earlier while unpacking. She twisted the case in two directions untill the unit gave off a distinct metalic click. She then unscrewed one end of the case to reveal two basket sword hilts, and a flat hilt. Pulling on the larger of the basket hilts, a hand and a half sword slid out of the case without so much as a sound.

Jessica held the sword up above her at an angle, looking down the sharp edge of the blade towards the center of the room. The sword was a fairly utilitarian object, its beauty lay in the perfection of the design and the proportion of elements rather than any guilding or decorative strappings. The blade was not etched, just filled with the distincive whirls and veins of high carbon steel. It was not a decorative device, but a leathal weapon designed for use.

Jessica layed the sword down next to her and pulled the flat hilt from the case. It was attached to a short dagger. One designed to be thrown or used in close in work rather than in a sword fight. The baroness pulled herself up on her elbows and dropped the dagger under her pillow.

As she moved to lie back down on the bed, Jessica noticed Atticus standing in the doorway. She raised an eyebrow at him, "Atticus?"

"Just realizing that your out of practice m'lady."

"Your not suggesting..."

"Well m'lady you could use the exercise, your looking a bit puggy..."

"I am not, and I really think that it would be poor manners to wake everyone up at some god awful hour in the morning with you forcing me through a sword practice...."

Atticus humphed at Jessica's comment but said nothing more. Jessica, beleiving she had won the argument, stood up off the bed. "So are you ready to go back downstairs and behave like a good little minion?" Jessica asked with some mirth in her voice. Atticus was actually her father's armsmen, not hers.
"Quite m'lady." Atticus replied as he watched Jessica smooth the wrinkles out of her skirt and check herself in the mirror.

"Then let the games begin..." Baroness Westfalls stated as she glided out the door of her room, with Atticus falling in behind. Atticus paused to lock the door and turned to continue following his charge.

"Oh, great!" she smiled, letting the diplomatic image slip for a moment. "We'll see each other later, then?"

Her hands fiddled with the green hat, folding and molding it in and out of shape. "Thanks," she finally placed it back on her shoulder, following the tuxedoed man up the stairs.

OOC: Never fails. I wrote up a nice post to reply to Osea and the forum ate it.





Thomas glanced back at Clark through the rearview mirror. This was a tough question to answer. At the same time his answer needed to be specific and general, since he did not know about the government type or customs in Osea. Any one thing he said could lead to diplomatic failure for the entire festival, so he decided to keep it simple but specific.

"Well, really it's the way the government treats its citizens that I think is the best thing about Haraki. Everyone is equal, and the overwhelmingly libertarian government seems content to just let people do what they want provided they're not screwing with anyone else. In fact, because of the way the democratic system was introduced in Haraki, the government itself has a deeply-ingrained fear of turning away, asserting too much control over the citizens, or messing up the rights we enjoy so much.

"It's here that one of the largest dilemmas facing Haraki's government comes into play. The government has high taxes to afford massive government-run social programs such as welfare, social security, education and healthcare, which means high taxes on the high-income Harakians can keep the lower-income people running, but at the same time with very little spare money to spend on the side. Taxes usually hover around eighty percent, but they got up as high as ninety-four at the end of Bradley Albany's term - Our last Conservative prime minister, deposed in a vote of no confidence after two years of fairly incompetent government policies."


*


The tuxedoed man led Kira up the stairs the same way that Jessica and Atticus had been taken, up into the same hallway, even. They passed by the other two on their way downstairs, and the tuxedoed man, laden down with Kira's bags, could only manage a nod to them, making his way past and stopping outside the door opposite Jessica's room and turning to Kira.

"This is your room, Ma'am," he said, unlocking and opening the door and showing her a room nearly identical to Jessica's, with a few minor differences. He moved her bags inside, pulled out the key he had used to open the door and handing it to her. "This is your key."

The Baroness gave a short bow back to the under-butler and also to Kira.

When Atticus noticed the pointy ears, his eyes narrowed at the woman for a moment. The Klatchians, especially the Alconians, had a deep distrust of the Menelmacari.

The United Duchies had an early run in with the 'great elven queen's' outer ring of followers. This had left the impression that Sithril was a self-proclaimed elf goddess, which had rather left a bad taste in the mouths of many in the United Duchies

"Vel shen undy crivassan breagagh ben-jee peisht?" Atticus said in low tones to Jessica. His accent, much like that of South Africa, was quite obvious when speaking the celtic tounge.

Jessica glanced back at the woman with the pointy ears and a floppy hat. Her reply, also accented, was simply "Dyn." The Baroness didn't even pause her graceful stride, just continued to glide back towards the entrance hall.

Jessica internally laughed, Minion of the false elf goddess? god not unless the b*** has let things slip badly in the past years. However, her mind tugged at the memory the last time she had meet a Menelmacari elf. It had been in a manor house just as grand as the present villa she now occupied. But the dark events of that time began to seep up into her concious mind, like some god awful, deadly dark crude. Jessica had to pause for a second, leaning against the wall. She closed her eyes as she mentally stuffed the dark memories back into a tightly locked corner of her mind.

"M'lady?" Atticus asked with concern. Jessica turned and gave a pained smile to her minder before straiting back up. She instictively smoothed her skirt before resuming her glide back into the entrance hall. She was actually able to make her fake smile look genuine when she stepped back onto the grand stairs.

Clark nodded. "Intresting. Sounds like a nice place out here. While I'm not sure how I would feel about that taxation situation, it looks as if you have every held down nicely. Not quite the idea we have in Osea, but to each their own and all," Clark smiled. He watched the landscape pass by, and admired the area. "Say, how much longer till we reach the villa, and will I have a chance to meet this Jaime fellow? Not that I haven't enjoyed your company, been rather nice, but this old body doesn't handle long travel well," he chuckled.

It was part truth, and part outright lie. He had enjoyed speaking with Fields, and was anxious to meet the Prime Minister, but in reality, he was fine physically. Despite pushing the later years of the human age at 64, Clark kept in shape with a strict regimen of running, swimming, and boxing. He often felt better at his old age then he had at the younger age in which he served in the Osean Naval Infintry before taking command of his submarine. However, he did a good job of hiding, and looked up and just smiled back at Tohmas through the rearview mirror.

"Actually, we're almost there, Mr. President," Thomas explained, as the car turned left onto the road running alongside the estate wall, turning into the gate a moment later. "Just another minute or two longer.

"Unfortunately, the prime minister will not be joining you until this evening. As far as I understand it, he has prior and inescapable commitments he has to attend to back in Kiros before coming to the villa. He'll arrive this evening and be here for the rest of the week. In the meantime, the prince and princess of Haraki are here to serve as hosts."


*


Alek turned to Jane and said quietly, "I'm afraid I may not be able to take much more of just standing her in the entrance hall."

She turned back with a smirk. "You think you've got it bad? Try wearing a dress and high heels. We can just go into the room over here, the ... uh ..."

"Sitting room?" Alek prompted.

"If you say so. You know I'm bad with these formal things. This whole villa is a bit ... Well, you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do," Alek replied, before Jane carried on:

"We could go there and sit down. I'm sure there aren't many more delegates arriving-"

He looked towards the stairs to alert her to Jessica's presence as she stepped down off the bottom stair. The conversation had gone unheard, and Alek stepped forward towards Jessica as she stepped off the bottom of the staircase. "Baroness Westfalls," he said, stepping forward and bowing. As he straightened up, he continued speaking, "It is truly an honour to meet you. I apologize for earlier, for not stopping and introducing myself then. I am Prince Alek Haraki, one of the hosts of this festival."

Jesscia gave a curtsey back and tried not to curse at the young prince. "Well understandable your Grace. I seem to have been lucky in terms of traffic, that or my driver was perhaps a bit more expedient then normal." Or was an intelligence operative plant

She paused for a moment, waiting for either of her hosts to well guide her towards the next activity or the refreshments. One generally did not try to impose so early on one's hosts, of course the butler would have normally informed her about such things. But he had just handed over the keys.

Why does she look uncomfortable in those heels? the former model began to notice the signs of someone who was finding standing in high heels for long periods of time difficult.

Kira managed a short bow, limited in choices of response by the need to keep moving behind the tuxedoed man, who was carrying her one, battered bit of luggage.

She might have been amused at being taken for an elf; elves certainly would have been insulted for being lumped with Weyreans. The similarities between the two groups were nonexistent; Weyrean ears were three times longer than their eldar counterparts, in either case.

"Thank you," this time she didn't bow, taking the key.

(OOC: extremely busy, pardon the tardiness)

Enroute to Villa – Haraki

“That bad?” murmured Raft as he stared out into the distance.

Back in Miltia, bumper-to-bumper traffic and smog was almost non-existent. Almost one hundred years ago when the original terra-formers and colonists had begun to plan the new capital city on Miltia, they had taken in mind the negative aspects of a wide urban sprawl. Although petrol was widely available on the new planet, more advanced hydrogen, electric, and other alternative energy vehicles were being used. By now, at least eighty percent of the electric vehicles have been equipped with level one gravity control engines. Then these cars would be electronically linked to the highways that crisscrossed the city and the entire planet. These literally electronic highways both controlled the vehicle and at the same time replenished the energy of the vehicle.
The old capital, Adean on Terra, in other words Earth, had been victim to the same urban problems that were common to most cities. The problem had long been cleared up after the Re-bordering of 2115 T.C. Right now, the old freeways had been replaced by a more efficient series of automated highways that were similar to the highways on the rest of Noir’s occupied planets.

I wonder how long Michelle will keep driving without noticing that this car hovered when it was in drive, thought Raft silently. Raft’s thoughts wandered back to the present situation. From this point, he could no longer see the packed highway. What had replaced the view of the highway was the large wall bordering the villa. The wall seemed to be very baroque, but was already showing its age. Raft closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Ok, time to work. The car neared closer and closer to the villa entrance.

---

“Beautiful,” whispered Joan in the corner of her mouth. She was staring calmly into the distance. The countryside’s surroundings seemed untouched by civilization, although traces of settlements could be seen every so often. Daniel had already lost track of the time they had spent driving. It seemed that many hours had gone by, and it seemed they had already gone countless miles from the outskirts of the city. He was quite bored already. Cassandra, he was too afraid to call her by her nickname ‘Cassie’ for fear of some sort of violent repercussion from the small girl, had pulled out a flexipad from her purse and was playing a puzzle game. He had heard the family name Yui from somewhere, but he could not put a finger on it. It was someone of great importance. Following Cassandra’s lead, Daniel reached into his suit pocket to fetch his own flexipad. As he reached for usual flexipad slot, all he could grab hold of was air and cotton. Before leaving the plane, Daniel had slipped his flexipad into his briefcase that was now located deep in the trunk. Daniel slumped back into the plush front passenger seat and let out a groan.

“Mr. Holl, what’s wrong?” sang Joan’s voice. “You don’t seem quite refreshed.”

Daniel strained his head to face Joan. “It’s just that I grew up around this type of scenery. The forests and national wildlife preserves outside of Miltia were only a short drive from the small district I lived in. All these green hills and wide plains are indeed beautiful, but one can quickly tire from watching this looped nature sequence one can find in a documentary.”

“I envy you then. I have never experienced being surrounded by nature. I was raised on Ultima for most of my youth and I am actually in the process in transferring to the academy on Second Miltia. My visit to Adean was my first taste of a planet-side environment. So I suppose that I can endure this nature documentary a bit longer.”

“You mean you haven’t been on a planet, ever? Were you born on Foundation VI?”

“I was born on Miltia, but I don’t remember much about the capital. When I was old enough to enter school, I was sent to Ultima, Foundation VI if you want to call it that.”

“I see,” nodded Daniel. “Well, I assume that Second Miltia will be more to your liking since its environment resembles an actual ecosystem.”

“It’s still not the same,” Joan opened the window. Cassandra looked up for a second to note the commotion of the rushing wind entering the car, but then went back to her flexipad. “I visited Second Miltia enroute to Adean.” Joan stretched her hand out of the window. She angled her hand so that the wind would simply rush over and under her palm as if it were a wing. “If you’ve lived on a space station for most of your life, the sterile smell of the life support systems will be embedded in your mind.”

“I see.”

“Well, that’s enough talk about space for now.” Joan pulled up the window and continued to stare out into the far distance.

Daniel turned back to face the front. “Where are we headed to now?” he asked Jeff.

OOC: How do you generate the electricity for the highways, Noir? Just curious.





"You'll see," Jeff responded with a slight smile. A place had occured to him that the young Joan may really enjoy.

As the car continued on into the woods and hills from the plains they had been in before, having done nearly a full circle around the villa from where they had started in the east, the forests began to get thicker and thicker, until they were surrounded by so many trees and bushes that it was hard to see ahead past bends in the road. It had now been about five minutes since they had seen another car or house, and Jeff slowed down as they passed a rusted, corroded old metal sign stuck in the dirt at the edge of the road. "This is the oldest nature conservation area in Haraki," he explained as the car continued down the road, which became more and more inacessible as it went on.

"It's been in place for nearly a hudnred years, just letting nature take its course in these woods. Visiting is allowed, but no-one can build structures inside this section of forest. That's why it's grown so thick, and why you can see some trees that would be perfect for the lumber industry still standing."

The car reached a small space where the road stopped and there was a small loop at the end of it allowing cars to turn around, but the road itself continued, albeit as a path this time, and with a small rusted metal gate in place to stop cars from driving along the path. He stopped in the loop. "No-one lives here, but there are animals living in these woods that no-one has ever seen and that live nowhere else in the world. A long time ago, there were rumours the forest was either haunted, cursed or magical, but I think those legends died with age. Nevertheless, it's a wonderful place."

He turned to look back at his three passengers all at once. "We could carry on on foot, or turn around and head back."


*


The car with Michelle and Raft in it made its way through the grounds fairly quickly, then stopped outside the villa, where Michelle got out, looked around, and then opened the door for Raft. Inside, the prince and princess were facing away from the front door, talking to Jessica. Alek spoke again to Jessica, "Please, my sister will show you into the next room, where we have a late lunch set up for all those arriving. Please bear in mind, though, that the festival's customary banquet will be held tonight, so you might not want to eat too much."

Jane smiled gratefully to her brother, who was biting the bullet and assuming the role as welcomer for the villa iun her stead, and turned to Jessica. "Please follow me," she said, a small smile crossing her face, as she turned and walked to a door to the right of the large staircase. Opening it, she stepped through into a small room where a series of tables along the right-hand wall contained a large number of foods and refreshments in general. There were plates and cutlery on one end of the long row of tables, and chairs and small tables set up around the room. Many of the chairs were not at tables, but rather more comfortable semi-armchairs scattered around the room. It was on the outside wall of the villa, and so there were large banks of windows allowing natural sunlight to light the room, and allowing the beautiful grounds to show through the windows. A large pine tree blocked several of the windows on the far end of the room.

Jane Haraki stepped through, turning to Jessica to show her to follow. "Please, in here," she said, then turning to walk over and sit down in one of the comfortable armchairs facing both the door and the windows. "Help yourself to any food you want, or none at all."

Back in the entrance hall, Alek found a chair over at one side of the room and sat in it, accepting a cup of coffee from one of the servants gratefully, blowing on it to cool it down and taking small sips.

The Baroness nodded and followed Jane into the light filled room. Jessica first glanced about the room and then examined the food. She really desired a good cup of tea about now, but took some ice water and a small plate of fruit.

She stood at the window looking out onto the ground for a moment. Jessica turned her head and looked at Jane for a moment before speaking.

"New shoes?" she asked in a polite manner. "I would suggest not taking them off and rubbing your feet if you have to put them back on. If I learned one thing from years on the catwalk it was it hurts worse if you take them off and put them back on then just to leave them on."

It was rather a semi-intimate discussion to be having with a Princess. But then Jane Haraki seemed a touch out of her depth right now.

Villa – Haraki

Michelle led Raft and the two S.A. officers into the entrance hall to meet up with Prince Alek. The prince was sitting at one end of the room drinking a cup of coffee that was just handed to him. Raft stopped for a moment and turned to Michelle. “If you could, is it possible for you to head back to the airport and pick up our luggage?” asked Raft. “And take Lieutenant Vigil with you. I believe he knows where to retrieve the bags.” The Foreign Minister nodded to one of the tall imposing guards next to him. Raft bid his goodbye to Michelle and walked up to where the prince was sitting.

“Good evening, Prince Alek.” Raft bowed slightly at the waist before extending his hand. “My name is Timothy Raft. I am the Foreign Minister representing the Greater East Asian Republic of Noir. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

---

Haraki Nature Conservation Area – Haraki

“Hmmm,” Joan pursed her lips. “I’ll leave it up to you, Jeff. Whatever is more enjoyable. As long as we get back to the villa in time. I’m sure that would be all right with you Mr. Holl, and you too Cassie."

“Ah, yes Lady Joan. Your father told me to take care of you two. And like you said, as long as we get back to the festival in time, we should be just fine” replied Daniel.

(OOC: Maybe bring up energy sources during the talk, or this can wait till the Prime Minister gets back. Michelle could probably talk to Jaime while she waits for Lt.Vigil to get the luggage.)

Jane stopped with her hand halfway down to her foot already and breathed a sigh of disappointment. "Yes, I suppose you're right," she said, placing her foot back on the ground. "I just got these yesterday, so forgive me if I seem a little off. Thank you."

After a moment of silence, she felt it was her turn to introduce a topic of conversation. As she felt for now political affairs should be avoided, she instead focused on expanding on something Jessica had said: "What was it like being a model?"

Back in the front hall, Alek quickly rose to his feet as Michelle and the guard left, placing the cup of coffee on an endtable beside the chair. In his haste, he spilled some of the coffee onto his hand and swore violently for a moment under his breath. He pulled his hand back quickly, shaking it to get the hot coffee off, grabbed a cushion off the chair and wiped off his hand before turning sheepishly back to Raft. "Greetings," he said somewhat awkwardly, shaking Raft's hand, "it's nice to meet you."

Noting the large guard standing behind Raft, and seeing another of the guides coming from the door near the small group, he looked to the man and said "If you would take the bags up to what will be your room, I can show Mr. Raft around." The guide, hearing this, hurried over and looked expectantly at whoever he would be showing the room.


*


Jeff stopped the car and turned it off. "Well, then, I shall make a selfish personal decision, since there's not too much else to see around these parts. Let's take a walk, since I haven't been in here for a while. Besides, there's something nice some way down this path. Once we get there we'll turn back and head back to the villa."

He stepped out of the car, opening the back door for his passengers to exit the vehicle.

Jessica chuckled, "Not as glamerous as it seemed it would be." She placed her drink and plate on a small side table and then sat down. "It is really a form of physical acting, you have to project the design in how you walk, the stare you give with your eyes." She took a bite of apple. "And then switch to an entirely new costume and look."

Jessica pondered for a moment, "The worst is that you spend your time trying to figure out what the designers were thinking when they made the clothes, dealing with photographers who think bedding you is a perk of the job, other models who will do anything to destroy you if your higher up on the totum pole." She paused for a moment again.

"The worst problem is that, well your Grace, men tend to think models are close kin to porn stars and prostitutes. Truthfully a very poor career choice on my part. Now of course I give very wealthy individuals advice on when to buy and sell commodities, and occassionally represent the family abroad." There was a wry grin.

Atticus had by this time slipped back out the door and was standing outside the room, watching the events of the reception hall play out. The proper place for an armsmen, close at hand but not infringing on privacy.

He was a bit conspicous in his all white dress with the crest of House Wittelback on the right chest pocket.

After accepting the key and closing the door, Kira collapsed backwards onto the bed, sinking into the mattress. Kira stared at the ceiling, letting the world drop away.

After a while she sat up. Stretching, catlike, she let the hat flop onto the bed. The battered trunk sat a few feet away on the floor. Kira swore it was grinning. She sighed, lurched off the bed, tripped over her boots, and fell into the trunk's semi-soft material with a slight thud.

Muttering about bad luck, Kira emptied the trunk, depositing a pair of battered scabbards and a portable computer on the bed sheets. She stroked the handle, gently tapping a button three times in quick succession, until the trunk's rigid frame collapsed, and she was left holding a somewhat heavy box, a part of the zipper still smiling toothily. Kira slid it under the bed with a mournful scrape of little wheels on floor.

Clark nodded. "Excellent."

OOC: Sorry for a short post...don't have a ton to work with and I got school stuff to take care of.

OOC: Weapons are allowed. There is going to be a fighting competition for all interested parties, after all.





The car with Thomas and Clark in it pulled up the drive, stopping outside the door. Thomas turned his head to Clark, telling him "We've arrived, sir," as he stepped outside the car, opening Clark's door for him and then retrieving the man's luggage and beckoning him to the wide open door where, inside, Alek was talking to Raft. Michelle and the lieutenant walked out the door as Thomas approached it, and they exchanged nods.

Jane smiled slightly as Jessica revealed more about herself, throwing in a throwaway joke at the end: "Sounds like politics, but with slightly less sleazy photographers."

She sat there for a little while longer As Jessica ate, watching the Noirian car pull away from the villa down the road, and noted the fact that it was hovering and passing over the surface of the road rather than on it. Frankly, it did not surprise her. Harakians were no strangers to what some would consider 'futuristic' technology, although it was neither prominent nor apparent from their lifestyle and society.

Jaime grinned. "Not changed enough, not nearly enough at all. Can you believe I thought I'd actually retired? But no. I spent two years living the quiet life, attending diplomatic functions when no other former Prime Ministers were available, and then I get sucked back in because some power-hungry nationalist seized control of the country. Oh well. To tell the truth, I kind of missed it."

He turned to the other two. "Richard, Kiro. Good to see you." He turned, beckoning to the three men their driver. "I'm afraid I won't be accompanying you to the villa, not yet. I'll arrive later this evening, but the prince and princess are there to welcome everyone, so you shouldn't feel too lonely. This is your driver, he'll take you to the villa. I have to wait here to welcome more diplomats as they arrive. I know of at least one more on the way, I received the message while you were in the air."

The three nodded to the driver, and followed him into the car that was to take them. Not much was said- the President and Vice President were fairly tired, having come here as a break from a recently busy schedule more than anything else. Kiro, on the other hand, began engaging the driver in various bits of conversation as he drove- Kiro was not only because he had the greatest experience with the country.

What was most interesting was what the Harakians thought of the little change of power that had recently occurred. "Jaime getting power- what was it like, exactly, on this side?"

The driver laughed. "It was like Jaime Wolfe coming back to power. Of course he had to do so in a dramatic way, announcing his return to politics in the middle of an opponent's speech while he simultaneously deposed her for cheating and lying to us. There was a lot of indiginity in the beginning, since Ms. Shepherd had been elected and was fairly popular until Mr. Wolfe showed up and managed to depose her in one day back in politics.

"After that it was smoothe sailing. He was elected the head of the Liberal Party following Ms. Shepherd's resignation, and became our prime minister again. I think a lot of people would have been a lot angrier if it had been anyone else, but Mr. Wolfe is, with all due respect, a national hero for a good many reasons. Without his leadership following this scandal, I don't think the country would be back on its feet so soon.

"Of course, there are doubters. Some people think the tapes that were his evidence were faked, some think he was riding on his popularity to make a power play because he missed politics, to which many more people responded 'Since he's so popular, why wouldn't he have just re-entered politics then?' Personally, I think it's good having him back in office. The country fell apart for the two years in his absence, and appears to be rising up again with him back. Just my opinion, of course, but then again, what isn't?"

Villa – Haraki

Raft ignored the struggling prince, who had apparently spilled his coffee. No judging just yet, Raft thought to himself. The Foreign Minister smiled back.

“Noir would wish to open up political and economic trade with your country Haraki. It honors us that you would invite us to this festival.”

Lieutenant Katcher was carrying Foreign Minister Raft’s briefcase when Prince Alek had addressed him. Katcher looked silently towards Raft for instructions. Raft in turn nodded towards the large S.A. officer, who then turned towards the small guide and waited to be shown to the room.

---

Enroute to Kiros International – Haraki

Lieutenant Vigil sat silently in the front passenger seat of the car as it hovered along the road. Though he sat still, his eyes were slightly but quickly moving, observing his surroundings and memorizing the local terrain. This habit of his came from years of training and experience within the S.A. Memorizing possible escapes routes and bottle necks were required to be second nature in his line of work.

---

Haraki Nature Conservation Area – Haraki

Daniel had already climbed out of the front passenger seat and was immediately overwhelmed by the fresh clean air of the forest. The interior of the sedan had seemed to retain the smell of the airport. Now the scent of aviation fuel had been replaced by the smell of pine trees and moist ground.

“Thank you, Jeff,” said Lady Joan as she stepped out from the car. Her long raven hair sparkled as the thin streams of sunlight that made it through the forest canopy. Cassandra followed afterwards. Although her exit was not as grand, Daniel did not want to imagine much because she appeared so much younger than him and immediately told himself that imagining any further would just be plain wrong. Suddenly Lady Joan let out a short scream.

“What is it Lady Joan?” asked Daniel, running over to her. She had fallen backwards onto the ground.

“Something just…” She picked herself up and dusted off the dirt that had stained her skirt. “It was probably just a small animal.”

“Hey Charlotte, did you get scared by a little rabbit?” taunted Cassandra.

“Errr…geez! Cassandra!” exclaimed Joan.

Jessica chuckled at the joke. "I'm not sure really. But I do know that the papparazi love anything cute with a title." She turned her head slightly in thought,"actually I think they learned to avoid my cousins. One has a tendency to drive her tank over people who annoy her and her sister is one of those people you read in various pulp novels. You know being sent in to some hot spot or other to clandestinley solve the problem with a few well placed bullets. Personally I find military life rather too disiplined for my taste. So what about you your Grace? Am I sitting with a Special Forces Officer who could easly kill me with this slice of mellon?"

She held it up and smiled, obviously joking with the younger woman.

OOC: No I'm not as bad as Rave, although the way Jessica talks about them it would seem that way.

Jane laughed, responding slyly "Who says I need the melon?" After a moment of silence, she continued. "No, I'm a pacifist most of the time. I've never had any training in how to hurt people professionally. I think the closest I ever got to 'special forces training' was when I kicked a classmate of mine when I was twelve. Speaking of melon, you've gone and made me hungry," she said, rising from her chair.

She walked to the table and picked up a plate, filling it with a small amount of fruit and a muffin, poured a cup of English tea and walked back to her chair, placing the food on an endtable beside it and sitting down again, taking a bite of the muffin and washing ti down with a sip of tea. "My brother, though, he's a different story. He was what they call a classic 'guy' as a child. Ge enjoyed playing with fake guns, toy soldiers, fire trucks - you name it, he had it. He voluntarily served in the army reserve for three years from age sixteen, although of course was made a junior officer and never did much of anything. He seems to have settled down more recently, which is good."

In the front hall, the guide nodded to the lieutenant, showing him up the stairs and to a room in the same hallway as the others. In fact, it was three rooms: Two connected, and one not. They had heard that a large number of people were arriving from Noir and so had arranged a number of bedrooms for them. As there were only four bedrooms on each side of the hall, the Noirian delegation was sharing a side with Kira from Weyr, while Jessica and Atticus were on the other side, with two spare rooms left over, designated for the Tiburonese group. Further arrivals would be quartered in different rooms.

Alek turned back to Raft, seemingly recovered from the coffee spill. Although his hand still hurt a lot, there was no way he would reveal that in front of a man he had just met. "Yes, it's a shame our two nations have never had many dealings before. From what I've been reading up on your nation since I heard of your attendance, it sounds like a very nice place. I'd like to visit there sometime, life permitting. But that's a story for another day, and I suppose the reason you're here is to open the diplomatic ties we've been missing. For now, though, if you're hungry, we have a room set up with a late lunch for all in attendance. If not, I can find someone to show you around the villa."


*


Jeff looked alarmed as Joan screamed, spinning around in time to watch Daniel help her to her feet. On hearing her brush off the incident as being startled by a small animal, he looked incredulous, and was about to suggest they maybe get back in the car and drive away, when he saw the joy in her eyes at being out in such a place, and pressed on. "Well, I don't think there's anything dangerous in these woods anyway, so no need to be worried. It's just down this path here."

He indicated the path that seemed to simply be a continuation of the road but with a rusted metal gate shutting it off from vehicles. Much of the path was overgrown, but it looked to have been simply a beaten dirt track in the beginning. He beckoned for them to follow him, and set off down the path, at a slow pace for his passenger-guests to follow at easily.

Whoops! Here comes the BUMP Patrol!





Michelle's car pulled up outside the airport and she stepped out, Lieutenant Virgil walking over to where the luggage was. Michelle leaned against the car and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it and starting to smoke it quickly, when a security guard ran up. "Miss!" he shouted. "No smoking in public areas. You know that."

She looked around. The only people in this luggage section were Virgil, the guard, and her. "I'm not hurting anybody," she replied.

"A victimless crime is still a crime, miss," the guard responded sternly. "Now put that out."

"Hold it," came a loud voice, as a man in a black suit stepped out from behind one of the pillars, flashing a Haraki Intelligence Agency badge at the guard. "This woman has diplomatic immunity. She's part of the diplomatic procession from ..." he checked a folded-up piece of paper which he pulled from his pocket, "Noir."

The security guard grumbled, but knew he had no authority. Even though it was obviously a lie, the HIA man had beaten him. "All right, sir," he responded glumly, walking away. Michelle, confused, turned to the HIA man.

"What was that all about? Who are you?"

"I'm part of the HIA detachment here to protect the dignitaries while they're outside the villa. As your car was coming in, I thought I might as well come along and keep it safe."

At this point Virgil arrived back on the scene with the luggage, and the HIA man turned back to Michelle. "You'd better get back."

"Yeah," she replied. She finished her cigarette, stamped it out, and got back in the car. Virgil loaded in the luggage, got in the passenger seat, and the car pulled away.

Jessica nodded, "Well back home military service is compulsory from eighteen to fifty-two. Of course in the Klatch the flora and fauna as dangerous as any invading army could hope to be. So having a population trained to shoot strait does have some advantages. Although back home on Neubayern island the only really dangerous creature is the vampir hassen. And they tend to live up in the mountains or in deep forest groves."

Jessica stood and poured herself some tea as she continued to talk. "So I didn't see them much, my families holdings are mainly urban now. And they've been exterminated from Herzog Island where we tended to summer. Which is why I'm likely on the quartermaster's staff."

The baroness sipped the tea as she sat back down. "Quite nice, a blend of Keemun with some Blood Island Black. Of course if this were bought from an Alconian Tea house directly, rather than from the english well it would cost about twenty percent less." She sipped again, "After all, the english only buy it, ship it to their island, blend it, and then ship it to you. The United Duchies and Dyelli Beybi both grow it. Although Dyellian tea tend to be fairly harsh, grown in irrigated desert."

OOC: Technically I only meant English-style tea (i.e. not jasmine, herbal, earl grey, etc.) but whatever. I'll just roll with it.





Jane sipped her tea and somewhat quickly made her way through the muffin as Jessica spoke, then her eyebrows shot up as she started classifying the tea. "I'm impressed," she stated quietly, setting her teacup back on the endtable. "I could never have done that. All I knew was that it was tea, and definitely not Harakian. We've never been famed for our tea-growing capacities."

She leaned back in the chair, taking the last bite of her muffin and eating it fairly rapidly. "Isn't eighteen to fifty-two a long time to force everyone to be in the military? You'd think your economy would collapse. Unless you meant they must spend some time in the military at some point between eighteen and fifty-two, which makes more sense, and in which case I apologize for misunderstanding you.

"I spent most of my childhood that I can't remember travelling back and forth between our house in Atherlon and another in the mountains way up north. Then when my father died, I moved to Atherlon permanently, so Alek and I could live with our adoptive father, the first prime minister, who we grew up with. But apparently up in the mountains there were some nasty animals that we were always warned to stay within sight range of the house, and therefore the secret service agents with guns, for fear of them attacking. I can't remember ever actually running into any, but then again I can't remember much of anything about when I was that young."

Actually I thought you ment English Breakfast, which is typically produced by english tea houses...

Jessica nodded, "Tea is big buisness still in the United Duchies. And we happen to be as focused on it as the French are on wines. And no, most people like me are in the Milita, one weekend a month, two weeks a year. We have a similar system to the swiss in that regard. But we also have a more professional force. The Marines and the Navy, which is what my cousins belong to."

Jessica paused for a moment, "We lived until the creation of the Federation in a rough neighboorhood. The tea and spice buisness is,and was quite profitable, you could say we developed a culture to make hostile takeover attempts rather costly." She sipped at her tea again.

"The problem with vampir hassens is that they look so cute and harmless. Until they have their fangs into neck, that is. We lose the occasional tourist who doesn't pay attention to the warning signs or slips Pink Bunny Cola into the country and then drinks it. Seems that some of the chemicals in that Knootian concoction make hassens hunt you down for what ever reason. The Knootians still don't like the fact we've banned it for saftey reasons. And their one of our largest trading partners."

Jessica paused for a moment, considering the Princess. "So I take it you did not grow up in this house?"

Jane shook her head as she took a sip from her cup of tea. "No, no. This house ... I can't remember who lived in this house. Some rich noble hundreds of years ago built this place, because he had a bad habit of building houses just in case he ever visited again. He built this one, stayed here for a month, and then left. No-one's lvied in it since, and after he died it sort of ... fell into disrepair. Recently his descendants realized they still owned it and sold it to the government for a pittance. They spent a lot of money reconstructing it and modernizing it. You probably noticed the rebuilt wall on your way in."

She drank deeply from her cup and finished the tea before continuing. "I'll bear that in mind - both things, in fact - for if I ever visit the Duchies, which I hope to do someday. I love travelling. If I had my way, I'd see everywhere in the world before I die."

Jessica nodded, "That is a lot of world to cover. I am surprised this place wasn't used as a refuge during the recent unpleasentness, even in a dilapidated state."

"Well ..." Jane replied slowly, "the recent unpleasantness didn't really impact us here in the south. It was the north that was hardest hit. Smart bombs my ass. Besides, I expect the renovations and repairs were still underway. From what I understand, the villa is now a place for diplomatic affairs, and that those of us staying here for the week are the first to stay overnight in it for hundreds of years."

Kira stopped up the bathroom sink and dumped her head into the trapped icy water. She came up gasping for breath. Water dripped down her neck, soaking her white cotton shirt. Leaving the bathroom, she pulled it off, and draped it carefully over a chair so that it could dry.

Five minutes had Kira once again fully dressed, and she inclined her head to Lieutenant Katcher and his guide on her way back downstairs, adjusting her blue tie and, thankfully, not tripping over her own feet in the process. Without the floppy hat her dark blue uniform accented strongly her crimson hair, unkempt and slightly wet.

"Well ..." Jane replied slowly, "the recent unpleasantness didn't really impact us here in the south. It was the north that was hardest hit. Smart bombs my ass. Besides, I expect the renovations and repairs were still underway. From what I understand, the villa is now a place for diplomatic affairs, and that those of us staying here for the week are the first to stay overnight in it for hundreds of years."

Jessica visibly shivered, "That's nice...No abandoned, embedded seurity systems or hidden passage ways." She said it jokingly, but there was no humor in her voice. She looked like a rabbit who had gone down a warren hole to discover it opening into a lion's den.

The Baroness smiled weakly, "I made a promise to myself that I would never stay in an abandoned manor house again after the last one I stayed in."

Jessica stood up to pour herself a large glass of whiskey. "But like that poor girl in the Scream movies I seem to be stuck repeating the same old story over and over again." Jessica downed the whiskey like a sailor back from a eighteen month cruise.

"Well I just demonstrated why I should not be a diplomat. Little thing like an abandoned manor house makes me go to peices." She leaned on the table. "You'll have to excuse me your Grace, I allow my personel feelings too close to the surface these days."

I don't know where that came from, but I reused Jessica from an old horror story thread. Obviously large abandoned manors give her the creeps...

Jane's eyebrows raised. She couldn't help it. "Oh?" she asked, somewhat excited and somewhat ashamed of herself for being excited. "What happened?" she asked, before she could help herself. Her natural curiosity had taken over, and she couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the other woman. That all stopped when she saw the expression on Jessica's face, and in the interests of both diplomacy and the well-being of both women, she hastily added an addendum. "No, you know what, don't worry about it. It's in the past, and sometimes we should just let the past be the past."

She almost wanted to lean out and take Jessica's hand, give her some manner of support and comfort, but recognized that may well be a bad move diplomatically and personally, so she didn't, rather continuing, "Don't worry. We all have our own reasons why we're bad at what we do. Besides, I'm sure this house is far from Scream. Even though we can't see them, any axe murderers who tried to break in here would end up with a faceful of lead, I'm sure."

It was meant to be a joke, but didn't come out as one. It came out sounding almost as if she was bragging, and she inwardly cursed herself for such a stupid remark.

Villa – Haraki

“I would be even more honored if I had the pleasure of your company on a tour around your villa. Although you might not be in the position to discuss policy or the economy, I would like to learn about your country’s history.” Raft was threading on thin ice. However, he had encountered countless other situations such as this where he had to maintain an audience with a foreign leader. “My country does not have much data on your country and it would honor to add some information pertaining your nation my nation’s country references.”

Just sweet-talk them. Do not try to be too forceful. Compliments and more compliments.

---

Lieutenant Katcher placed Raft’s briefcase on the plush bed. Making sure that the door was locked behind him, Katcher proceeded to unlock the metallic briefcase. Inside the briefcase was a rectangle the size of a small textbook made up of some translucent rigid material. He lifted the textbook sized item from the case and placed it on top of the desk at the other end of the room. He pressed his finger on a small slot on a corner of the device and suddenly it lit up and displayed the Foreign Ministry’s login window. The Lieutenant then took hold of a small niche that was inset on the side of the device and opened it as if it were a book. He did this several times like unraveling a flyer or an old paper map. Soon he expanded the viewing area to over five times its original size before picking it up and mounting it on an empty wall. This machine was the Foreign Minister’s Dataslate, one of the military’s new expandable models. From the corner of the other half that he had not expanded, he removed a small pen like object. He walked over to the window, and pressed a button on the object that then caused it to unfurl a transparent satellite dish, which he mounted on the windowsill.

The Lieutenant silently double checked everything and exited the room.

---

Haraki Nature Conservation Area – Haraki

Joan, Cassandra, and Daniel followed Jeff deeper and deeper into the forest. Although it was only a few hours into the afternoon, the thick forest canopy had draped the forest floor in twilight. The whole forest was silent save for the random chirps of the birds and the rustling of small forest creatures in the bushes.

Joan had gotten accustomed to the new environment and was taking in every single bit of it and loving it. She was memorizing the contours of the land, the sudden dips, the shallow streams, and the large boulders that they came across along the path. Her green eyes quickly moved from one noise to the other, hoping to see a small fox, another rabbit, or a young fawn.

“So, Mr. Jeff, where are you taking us?” asked Joan.

Cassandra had returned her Flexipad back into its carrying case on hip and had donned a blue baseball cap that she had in her small backpack. She walked a couple of steps behind Joan for a second and had deposited her chewing g. Following behind Cassandra was Daniel. The man had a bored expression on his face; this was not new to him. He grew up in this kind of environment, he kept telling himself.

“Yes, tell us. I am interested to know also,” said Daniel, as he looked down the dark trail.

"Well then," Alek said, giving Raft a warm smile, "I shall give you the grand tour. Although before we begin, I should warn you that I just arrived today, so I know almost nothing about this place either."

He turned to a servant who had somehow appeared at his elbow. "COuld you please direct any other delegates who arrive to the sitting room for the lunch we have set up? Thank you." The man nodded and stepped back somewhat. Alek turned back to Raft and showed him through on of the doors at the back of the room, beside the grand staircase, on the left.

"There's a lot of redundancies throughout this villa, to be honest. In all probability, it's pretty much just like most villas you've ever been in. Dining rooms, kitchens, sitting rooms, bedrooms ... It's got them all. However, one thing it does have that no other villa I've ever been in is around the back. I'll show it to you, although it might take a little while to get there."

They were walking down a long hallway with doors on either side, increasingly more towards the back of the villa.


*


Jeff just smiled and uttered a small, barely audible laugh. "You'll see. It's spectacular."

This seemed to produce more irritation, so it was a good thing their destination was literally around the next bend. About fifty metres down the path, it took a gentle curve to the right and opened out into a clearing, although the forest canopy still covered almost all the ceiling, nearly blotting out the sky. In this clearing were three massive, carved stones, each at least twenty metres high, forming a perfect equilateral triangle about five to ten metres on each side. The stones, maybe a metre around, stretched high up into the air, forming rounded points at the top, and were almost perfectly smooth on the sides. Along each side of teh triangle was placed a stone slab about the size and height of a bench, and another circular slab in the centre of the triangle. Jeff stepped into the clearing and presented it with wide open arms.

"This is what I wanted to show you. It's some form of native structure, built for a purpose we can't figure out. The ancient people who lived on this land - called themselves Karaki - had built it when the land was settled. Nobody ever found out why or what its purpose was. Many people have their own theories, but none are proven."

Unfortunately, the tardiness was unavoidable. Matters concerning the Houses and unsurprisingly, the taxation thereof had come to a head, and an emergency session had been called to deal with it as quickly and quietly as possible. Word was sent on ahead through the proper channels, with all appropriate apology, and Calabrese soon found himself rushed onto one of the Dominion Lokis, and finally on his way.

And not a moment too soon. So help me God, if I have to sit through one more session with those over-privileged, whining sycophants, I will throttle every last one of them with my bare hands. Bastards. Even managed to cut short what promises to be a pleasant assignment for once, without undue stresses … although I suppose it will be interesting to observe a few things … and people.

He had not been terribly surprised when the invitation had come through that Nathicana had quietly suggested that given her full schedule, such a diversion would be quite impossible for her to attend herself, though she insisted that someone ought to represent the Dominion, in light of old ties that had been quiet for some time. The way that she had looked at him, her face quite carefully clear of any emotion, told him all he needed to know, and he was wise enough not to pursue the matter further. However much time had passed, there were wounds there that had not healed, regardless of how well she hid it.

It would be interesting indeed to meet the man who had managed to not only catch the Dread Lady’s eye, but her hand as well, for so long as it lasted. He had his suspicions on several points, having made it his business to keep abreast of things that concerned those around, and above him politically. One never knew what would come in handy, after all. These days of course, it was more for point of reference than anything else, and as matters with which to satisfy his curiosity.

Eventually his travels finally brought him to the villa, and on consulting the service there, was directed to the sitting room where the meeting had been called. Hoping he wasn’t unforgivably late for this as well, and being unencumbered this trip with what he felt were needless bodyguards, he slipped in quietly, looking around to take in both the décor, and get a look at any of the others who might already be there. If none were, he took a seat and made himself comfortable.

At last … to relax.


ooc: apologies for lateness, hope I didn't take any liberties in catching up, given previous comments on 'if you're late, you're late'. Let me know if so, and I'll adjust accordingly.

Villa - Haraki

"Really? I mean you do not live here in this villa?" asked Foreign Minister Raft. They had passed a third ornate sitting area, complete with wet bar and lounge. It was peculiar how the various rooms were themed. Raft thought briefly about his wife and her passion to decorate and then redecorate their home back on Miltia. She had some strange supernatural ability to stay within the budget every single time. Not that it is a bad thing, but it is just plain amazing, thought Raft. "Nonetheless, this is a beautiful residence Prince Alek."

Lost in the granduer of the villa, and the Prince's impromptu tour. Raft had begun to notice the intervals of brown wooden doors lining both sides of the corridor they were walking through. That has got to be the tenth door. And this corridor isn't as gaudy as the rest of the villa.

"So, where are we now, Prince Alek? What is this thing you wanted to show me?"

OOC: Sorry for not responding earlier- RL tangled up posting access.
The driver laughed. "It was like Jaime Wolfe coming back to power. Of course he had to do so in a dramatic way, announcing his return to politics in the middle of an opponent's speech while he simultaneously deposed her for cheating and lying to us. There was a lot of indiginity in the beginning, since Ms. Shepherd had been elected and was fairly popular until Mr. Wolfe showed up and managed to depose her in one day back in politics.

"After that it was smoothe sailing. He was elected the head of the Liberal Party following Ms. Shepherd's resignation, and became our prime minister again. I think a lot of people would have been a lot angrier if it had been anyone else, but Mr. Wolfe is, with all due respect, a national hero for a good many reasons. Without his leadership following this scandal, I don't think the country would be back on its feet so soon.

"Of course, there are doubters. Some people think the tapes that were his evidence were faked, some think he was riding on his popularity to make a power play because he missed politics, to which many more people responded 'Since he's so popular, why wouldn't he have just re-entered politics then?' Personally, I think it's good having him back in office. The country fell apart for the two years in his absence, and appears to be rising up again with him back. Just my opinion, of course, but then again, what isn't?"

Kiro nodded in agreement. "It's always beneficial for a country to have a unifying figure and force to stand behind during its most critical moments." He chuckled, and added, "Of course, it's also necessary for that figure and that force to be justified in their actions. Otherwise... well, history's shown that it leads to disaster. Jaime's an excellent leader. I believe Haraki's in excellent hands."

OOC: No problems, Tiburon or Nathi. Since the first day isn't over yet and people are still being met, just assume Calabrese was met by a driver at the airport and driven to the villa.



As Calabrese walked into the sitting room, he was greeted by the sight of Jane and Jessica sitting in opposite chairs beside the window, talking and eating lunch. On seeing the man enter the room, Jane's head shot over towards him and she stood up out of her chair, setting her food down and walking at a potentially unsafe pace over to the door, where she met him. "I'm sorry," she said, giving him a curtsy out of ebarassed respect. "I should have met you at the door, Mister ..." This caught her at a loss for words. She didn't know the man's name, and no amount of guessing would help her or make her appear competent. She was saved only when one of the servants appeared some five metres behind the man and held up a piece of paper on which was scrawled CALABRESE before disappearing again. "Mister Calabrese," she said, butchering the pronunciation somewhat, although not too badly. "I'm Jane Haraki, I'm one of the hosts of this festival."

She stepped back to allow him entrance to the room, beckoning to the food arrayed on tables against the right-hand wall and the chairs and small tables scattered around the room. "Please, help yourself to some food and a seat."


*


Alek laughed. "No, no-one's lived in this villa for at least a hundred years. Even the workers who renovated the place drove in from Kiros every day."

The two of them finally reached the back of the hallway and Alek opened a door, definitely not one of the fanciest in the villa, turning back to Raft as he did. "This is not the regular, fancy way of getting outside at the back, but the proper way takes a lot longer, even though it looks nicer." Upon seeing the look on Raft's face that seemed to betray thoughts about how he knew these things despite having only arrived today, Alek just laughed again. "I wanted to be an architect for about a year when I was seventeen. I learned how to read architectural labels of buildings, so why not use it?"

With that he stepped through into the room, a somewhat grungy room. Although still definitely an entranceway, it was much smaller, all on one level, and had nearly no fancy decorations. It seemed obvious it was a servant's entrance. Alek led Raft out through the door at the back of it, and out into the sun, which was now well on its way towards the horizon. The day was almost over, and evening was beginning. Alek wasn't wearing a watch, but it had to be at least six o'clock. The two men stepped out onto a grassy hill stretching down to a sudden drop. A wooden railing, at least a metre high, had been installed along the edge for safety, and a short way to the right a set of stairs began to wind their way down. Stepping onto the stairs after Alek, Raft could see at the bottom, at least forty metres down the sheer cliff face - which was covered in large rocks and rocky outcroppings, several overhangs, and some trees - a small lake, surrounded on all sides by trees and a thick forest not present around the front of the grounds. The lake's water was somewhat darker and somewhat greenish from all the trees around it, but it seemed it would be clear blue and almost like a mirror during the daytime.


*


The driver nodded at Kiro's statement, before pulling into the gate that marked the entrance to the villa grounds. "Well, on behalf of the country, thank you, I guess," he said to Kiro, before turning to the rest of the car and adding to all the passengers, "We've arrived."

The car wound its way along the road that led up to the front door, stopping several minutes later outside the front steps, at which point the driver stopped the car and stepped outside, opening the back door for Abhinash.

“My dear lady,” Calabrese replied, making a sweeping formal bow, and taking her hand gently if she allowed, lightly brushing the back of it with his lips, never taking his eyes off hers. “You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about, I assure you. Please, don’t trouble yourself on my account – though I believe I will accept the offer of a bite to eat.” He took a moment longer to look at her thoughtfully, then nodded his head again, releasing her hand. “A decided pleasure to make your acquaintance. Accounts I’ve heard truly don’t do you justice.”

He adjusted his jacket as he made his way to the table of food, speaking lightly as he took up a plate and began filling it with bits of this and that, seeming content to sampling a little bit of just about everything.

“It has been too long since our nations shared so pleasant experiences, no? There has been so much happen, on both sides over the past while Perhaps we can both look forward to more peaceful times in the future. I must say, a week of festivities and feasting is just what’s needed – getting away from the stress and strife of our usual responsibilities. I’m especially looking forward to the ball.”

Taking a cup of tea to finish off the meal, he brought it all over to a seat near the ladies, setting his things down, then nodding to Jessica before taking a seat. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, miss …” he trailed off, one brow arched questioningly, offering his hand in greeting.

Jane's eyebrows raised. She couldn't help it. "Oh?" she asked, somewhat excited and somewhat ashamed of herself for being excited. "What happened?" she asked, before she could help herself. Her natural curiosity had taken over, and she couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the other woman. That all stopped when she saw the expression on Jessica's face, and in the interests of both diplomacy and the well-being of both women, she hastily added an addendum. "No, you know what, don't worry about it. It's in the past, and sometimes we should just let the past be the past."

She almost wanted to lean out and take Jessica's hand, give her some manner of support and comfort, but recognized that may well be a bad move diplomatically and personally, so she didn't, rather continuing, "Don't worry. We all have our own reasons why we're bad at what we do. Besides, I'm sure this house is far from Scream. Even though we can't see them, any axe murderers who tried to break in here would end up with a faceful of lead, I'm sure."

It was meant to be a joke, but didn't come out as one. It came out sounding almost as if she was bragging, and she inwardly cursed herself for such a stupid remark.

Jessica seemed to slightly recover, "No, any axe muders who stalk me are in for a bit of trouble." She had a weak smile pasted on her face. "But there are worse things to be hunted by that a maniac with an axe." Her eyes dimmed again and Jessica poured herself another draught of whiskey. "I will be alright, just have to stuff the memories back in their box."

Jessica turned and sat down again, "I doubt your guardian would appreciate me telling you about it. Trust me being in a situation and watching it are completely diffrent."

Jessica relaxed a bit more when someone else stepped through the door. She rose and assumed her natural pose as an Alconian Baroness. Of course it was a bit difficult, Jane was playing the commoner at the moment which ment she should have introduced Jessica. No training whatsoever

The former model sat down with everyone and replied to Calabrese as he attempted to deal with the rather odd situation "Baroness Westfalls of The Federated Klatchian Coast at your service Mister Calabrese" Jessica was a bit more familiar with italian style names and approached the actual phasing more closely. She held out her hand with a tenative smile on her lips.

(ooc: egads my writter's block got the better of me for awhile on this thread...that and wars a a bi** when you seem to be running the entire bloody show...) And somehow missed the last two posts :confused:

She blushed slightly at Calabrese's compliment, and tried to cover it up by turning away, saying her thanks quietly, and sitting back down in her chair opposite Jessica. As Calabrese continued on and took his seat, she opened her mouth to introduce the other woman, but was cut off as she announced her formal title to Calabrese, and Jane shut her mouth again. As Calabrese got settled in to his chair with the plate of food, Jane turned her head back to him and continued talking.

"Yes, I agree. It has been far too long since our nations enjoyed pleasant experiences between ourselves. Although I can understand why we drifted apart after spending so much time so close, still it seems odd that we drifted so far apart. I'm looking forward to this week as a chance to rekindle old friendships, and, of course, start new ones. It's been too long since I attended a diplomatic function on Harakian soil, and especially not one of this importance. I've been celebrating this holiday since I was a child, and now I seem to be presiding over an international affair that happens to coincide with it. It will be a nice break away from my regular routine, I'm sure."

Calabrese repeated the polite gesture of taking Jessica’s hand and bowing over it to ever so lightly brush the back with his lips, keeping his eyes on hers til he released it, and sat back down again. “A pleasure indeed, Lady Westfalls,” he said simply, giving no indication whatsoever of discomfort or unease. Klatchian Coast indeed? Interesting.

He listened attentively to Jane, seeing she still seemed uncomfortable, and hoping to put her at least somewhat at ease. One couldn’t very well relax if everyone around was on edge, after all. “Well, I suppose that when some of the ties that bind are of a nature such as they were …” he replied, shrugging slightly and making a mild gesture with his hands as if to say ‘such things happen’. “Hopefully the past will not create any undue stumbling blocks in looking to the future.”

Not wanting to leave out the Baroness, he turned his attention towards her as he took a sip of his tea, then glanced between both women as he spoke.

“I’m certain the festivities will be wonderful. If I may, what are your plans for today, ladies?”

Jessica slightly tilted her head as Calabrese demonstrated remarkable manners. Her blue eyes stayed on his as he made the gesture. In some ways Calabrese made the Baroness appear more at ease. In reality she was focused on what nation Calabrese represented.
Quite polite, and appropirate. Doesn't realize that calling me Lady Westfalls is an insult, but quite polished.

Jessica sipped at her remaining whiskey. For Jane it was likely confusing, a woman who had been having a relatively bad emotional episode was now acting like nothing was wrong. Of course Jessica now had something other than the house and her memories to occupy her mind.


“I’m certain the festivities will be wonderful. If I may, what are your plans for today, ladies?”

Jessica smiled slightly at Calabrese and turned her head towards Jane. "I am not sure for myself, it depends what is on the agenda?" She dropped into a questioning pause as an opening for her hostess to inform them both of what the Haraki delegation had planned next.

"Well," Jane smoothly said, stepping right into the opening left for her by the other woman, "for the rest of today what we had planned was for the rest of the delegates to arrive and be greeted. Alek and I were to greet and converse with everyone, show you around the villa and so on, and then later on Jaime will join us from Kiros. At that point, the feast will begin. This is one of the facets of cultural traditions in Haraki. Where other nations and cultures may have feasts for Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter, our main time of eating a whole lot at one time is this, the Spring Festival. So, of course, since this has been a tradition for hundreds of years, we could not have a semi-traditional festival without it. That will be tonight, scheduled for around eight o'clock, as far as I can remember. Of course, it depends on the schedules of all those in attendance."

She finished her impromptu speech and looked back and forth between the other two, feeling she may have alienated them with her sudden overly talkative character. That was quickly dismissed as foolish whimsy, and she moved on to other matters. Standing and graciously acknowledging the others with nods of her head, she made her way past Calabrese and over to the table with the assortment of alcoholic drinks. Looking back through the window, where the sun was already far past its zenith, she turned back to the table and poured herself a small amount of scotch whiskey in the bottom of a glass and making her way back to her chair, resting the glass in her right hand on the chair's armrest and periodically taking small sips from it.

Villa - Haraki

The bright sunlight had blinded him for a few seconds. As his eyes adjusted to the sudden change of light, Raft slowly stepped forward outside the door. The green grass emitted a fresh sort of smell that was pleasing to the senses. “This place is a nice reprieve from the hustle and bustle of city life, is it not Prince Alek.?”

Followed Alek down the stairs along the a cliff, they arrived at a pristine lake. The setting sun had cast an orange hue over the glass surface of the water. The dark outlines of the trees created a dark looming shadow across the far end of the lake.

“Alek, how did you come to find this place? It is amazing that this place does not seem to have been intruded on by society.”

Haraki Nature Conservation Area – Haraki

Daniel walked up besides Jeff, “this place looks pretty impressive. Karaki, is that what Haraki is named after?”

(OOC: I will add to this...Just posting to show that I have not forgotten this thread.)

Jessica nodded, "Well it might seem to throw the schedule off, but I think I would like to take a walk outside. I feel that some fresh air would do me some good." Jessica shifted slightly, "Anyone care to join me, besides my armsman?"

OOC: Sorry for the dreadfully long hiatus. Terribly bad form, especially as a host and a thread starter.





"Oh, yes, of course," Jane replied, going to stand up quickly, then remembering her place and slowing down. "I'd love to take a walk. The grounds here are quite nice, I was looking at them this morning." She took another, larger sip of whiskey and subtly checked the clock on the wall. It was getting late, the sun was on its way down, and fairly soon the prime minister would be arriving. Then she'd get to watch history in the making as he talked to Calabrese. She knew he'd be at least slightly disappointed, for many varied reasons, but saw him as a good enough diplomat to hide that.

"Mr Calabrese, would you like to join us?" she asked. She knew he was still eating, but showed that she was thinking of waiting some time to finish the two women's drinks and also to allow him to finish his food.


Alek grinned. "I got here this morning to see what the villa's like, and decided to take a walk around the grounds. Come out into the back and see this, and I suddenly knew I like it here." They reached the bottom, stepping down onto a somewhat rocky shoreline that thinned out into a dark yellow beach with some strange form of near-black sand, and he crouched down and placed his fingertips in the water, letting the small waves of the lake lap up against his knuckles. "When I was a boy, there was a lake like this at my family's home in the north, up in the mountains. It was tucked away into a valley, and I used to go swimming there every day. I haven't been back there in years. This place feels like home to me." He stood up, shaking off his fingers. Little droplets of water fell onto the rocks, creating spraying patterns. "I guess that's why I feel like this lake is the jewel of the villa."

He started walking along the rocks towards the beach, occasionally looking back up at the top of the cliff. Except for the stairs leading up them, there was no sign of civilization up the cliff. The villa was far enough away that it could not be seen over the rocky outcroppings, and none of the smaller outbuildings were within sight.

*

Jeff shrugged. "No-one really knows what haraki's named after. It's existed for so long, everyone seemed to just forget to pass on the reason. A strange thing, that. There's probably records of it somewhere, but most people believe, partially due to word of mouth, parent to child, that it's sort of a mix of the two groups of people living here's words for the land. The Karaki people called it Karaki, and based off that the settlers called it something in their own language starting with an H that no-one can remember, so most people think it's just a mix of those two words for it."

He walked over and sat down on one of the benches, staring up at the rounded points of the pillars, far above him. "Absolutely no-one knows why they're here, though. Nobody can figure it out."

Calabrese smiles, and sets his plate aside, rising to his feet, adjusting his jacket, and offering an arm to each lady, should they choose to accept. “With such charming company, how could a man resist? And please, no need for formalities unless you feel you must – Cesare would be fine.”






ooc: Sorry for the brevity, but for the life of me, I couldn't think of what else - and no worries. I know all too well how things can get with rl and all, hence my sporadic postings.

Readjusting her tie for the sixth time, Kira entered the sitting room, long ears barely clearing the doorposts. Her boots thumped ungracefully on the flooring, and she wished she had the ability and the permission to wear something more suitable to the occasion.

"Mister Celabrese, miladies," she bowed at the waist to a precise thirty-degree angle, and deciding they were about to leave swiftly stepped out of their way.

The Baroness rose and took Calabrese's arm. "It is quite nice to meet a gentleman at these events."

Jessica blinked for a moment at the woman who had just strode halfway through the door and bowed. Jessica just simply returned the bow almost automatically, except her's was primarily of the head.

Whoever it was knew Calabrese, and so it appeared Calabrese should introduce her. Although it seemed odd that the new arrival would focus on one of the delegates and not the hostess. I wonder if long ears is part of the Dominion delegation?

Calabrese thought for a moment, before gently extricating himself from the ladies with a murmured apology and greeting Kira with a smile, and his usual greeting, if she accepts it – bowing and brushing the back of her hand with his lips, or simply the less intimate shake, depending on her reaction.

“Ladies, if I may introduce Her Highness Kira li'Starhavven, High King of the First Distributed Kingdom of Weyr. Your Highness, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. And may I present Baroness Westfalls of The Federated Klatchian Coast, and Lady Jane Haraki, one of our most gracious hosts,” he says, then looks around as if at a slight loss.

“It would seem we have three very lovely ladies, and but one of myself. Surely we have another gentleman somewhere about the villa who might assist, so that no fair rose should go unescorted?”

"Yes, we've met," Jane responded quietly, before raising her voice and adding "Your highness, always a pleasure," with a bow of her head to Kira. She set aside her drink and stood up, the lowering sunlight from the window behind her accentuating her features as it cast her into somewhat of a silhouette. "Perhaps we should turn on the light," she said with a slight smile. She hadn't realized how dark it was getting in the room until then.

At the comment about another gentleman, she started and raised a hand to her forehead, index finger touching, as if she had remembered something that made her feel stupid, or like a bad host. "My brother went to show the president of Noir around the villa some while ago, I believe. They're probably out back, knowing my brother. I know where he likes to spend his time. Believe me, ladies, and count this as a warning: He will try to impress you by showing you a pristine natural lake. He believes it will make him look sensitive, and all that. Really, he likes swimming, and he likes women. This lake, to him, is a way to get both."

Jessica gracefully curtsied to the King. A female King, not the first time I've heard of one but actually meet one in this day and age? "It is a pleasure your Grace to make your acquaintance." A king was usually not addressed as such, but a Prince or Duke was, so reverting to the older form at least allowed her to avoid implying something incorrectly.

Jessica raised an eyebrow as Jane warned them about her brother Showing a girl a pristine lake gets him women? Haraki girls either really love nature, or are just plain easy Jessica just smiled and moved up closer to Calabrasse. "I thank you for the warning, but who is going to warn him about us?" Obviously she was making a joke. Neither Jessica nor the King appeared to be naive young women, so perhaps the Prince was a touch out of his leauge.

Kira accepted Calabrese's handshake. She was not sure if she should say anything, knowing the Dominion's more than justified antipathy towards anyone associated with Arda.

"It's an honor to meet you, Baroness," she responded with a bow of her head to Jessica, catching none of the intended respect, or lack of it.

She just hoped the Klatch did not have significant conflicts with Arda; Kira thought somewhat highly of her predecessor for keeping Weyr together for half a century, but joining Arda must have been done when she was high, very high, and most likely lacking any common sense. The number of nations who either refused to deal with Weyr at all or who limited any chances of further ties because of Weyr's associations, which Weyreans blamed for a part of their problems, seemed to grow every year.

"Oh, I'm sure he'll figure it out soon enough," she smiled, turning to Jane. "Else we can recruit him as a second escort, if your highness wouldn't mind? That lake must be very pretty if it's enough to get him laid."

Jane blushed, shaking her head hurriedly. "No no, you misunderstand. He thinks the lake will get him laid. He thinks it makes him look sensitive. Really, it makes him look like someone who wants to look sensitive. Kind of backfires."

Looking around the room at the assembled foursome, she made a quick suggestion. "I think if we walk towards the back of the grounds, we shall run into him, and not be without an extra escorting presence for very long. I trust the Prime Minister of Noir would also not be unwilling to turn down such an offer."

She was just glad everyone was getting along with the Arda King. The nations represented in the room had apparently had enough unpleasant encounters with them to make them more than a little uneasy in their presence, and so she was slightly uneasy having these delegations in the same room. Nevertheless, all seemed to be going well. For now.


*


Around the same time as this exchange was taking place, Jaime Wolfe had left the airport and driven his car to the villa. Parking it in the small designated area off to the right and out of sight, he was slowly making his way up towards the front door. Having had a long day of waiting in an airport, he was not looking forward to having to be diplomatic right away. If all was ideal, he would go up to his room, maybe have a hot shower, and make himself lively again before dinner began.







OOC: Allanea, I have no problem with you joining the RP, but you'll have to enter the same as everybody else: Arriving at the Kiros airport.

Sandra Hernandez moved nimbly and gracefully down the staircase from the private plane that brought her to Haraki, a certain trace of nobility in her moves and expression. And, in fact, she was a certain sort of nobility – a heir to the ancient Hernandez family of Allanea. A powerful, centuries-old business empire – some said a cartel – the Hernandez family chose the brides for their sons and the grooms for their daughters for generations, sending both to the best private schools that money could fund them, and sparing no expense to improve themselve, mentally and physiclaly.

Sandra was the result. Dressed in relatively simplistic jeans and a T-shirt that only underlined her slender, graceful body, she walked with all the sense of balance and rhythm of a skilled ballet dancer – yet another one of the blessings of Hernandez upbringing. She saddled her bike – a sleek, plastic-coated piece of machinery – and started it off with an abominable, unsuppressed roar. Nobility or not, Allaneans were loud people.

The bike spun a ring around the small corporate aircraft and sped off towards the location of the party.

OOC: Edited, resubmitted.

Calabrese chuckled softly at Jane’s description of her brother. Misguided or not, one had to give props to the boy for effort at least. “Well being surrounded by such beauty, how could a man’s head not be turned?” he quipped, again offering his arm, then letting his free hand rest on Jessica’s for a moment before holding out that hand questioningly to Kira, which seemed at the time appropriate. Having no problems whatsoever with the Weyrean King, and having heard she seemed at times to almost feel out of place, he felt it best to make the gesture and perhaps help her settle in a bit.

Kira, after all, whether a fringe member or not, did not represent the once-empire overall. Euroslavia had been Ardan as well when the Dread Lady visited the first time. He was under no illusions that the name ‘Arda’ equated ‘enemy’ at first glance. The Dominion had supported, bled, and died for Konrad and his bid for power – the fact that it had all come to naught in the end was no fault of Kira’s, and there was no reason, diplomatically or otherwise, to shun or insult her or her nation.

“Perhaps then if you would lead the way, Lady Jane, as you are familiar with the villa? It would be a pleasure to meet some of the other guests. The more the merrier, no?”

Jane nodded and said "Yes, let's," although with a quick glance up at the clock. It was nearly half past six, with the dinner scheduled to start at seven o'clock. "We'll have to be fairly quick, though. The banquet's supposed to start in half an hour," she told them as she took his arm.

As the small group left the room back into the front hall, Jane at least was somewhat surprised to see the Prime Minister, Jaime Wolfe, walking up the hall towards the stairs, having obviously just come in through the big main door. He was dressed in a white shirt and tie, with his suit jacket over his arm, and was humming a little tune as he walked along. Jane raised her head up to look at him, surprised to see him here so early. "Jaime!" she shouted out.

He stopped with a bit of a start, and turned with an expression of having been caught on his face. When he saw the small group of people, he had no reaction except to nod to them all. "Yes?" he asked pleasantly.

"You're early. You weren't supposed to be here for another hour or so."

"Well, I decided to sneak back early and freshen up before dinner." There goes that plan. "I don't think we've been introduced," he said, walking up to the group ahead of him, and addressing his message mainly to Jane, who knew her role as a hostess and instantly began introducing the small group of people surrounding her.

Kira hesitated for a brief moment. Trying to look less nervous than she felt, she acceped Calabrese's offered hand, hoping she was doing the right thing. In Weyr personal contact was frequently discouraged because of simple prudence -- a starggering amount of potentially lethal material could be passed in a simple handshake despite the 'immune systems' built into clothing such as Kira's white gloves. In some cultures, Kira also remembered, it was polite to refuse the first invitation as a sign of courtesy.

"Thank you," Kira said, even while her mind went over the various errors she might have just commited, insulting Jessica first among them. She let Calabrese take the lead and tried her best to not step on his feet.

Jaime Wolfe seemed familiar, Kira thought, as though she had seen him before outside of briefing papers. She inclined her head by way of greeting, if Calabrese did not disengage to regain free use of his hands, instead of performing formal bow.

Ah, so here is the famous Lord Wolfe at last. Interesting …

Calabrese took a moment to look Jaime over quietly through the introductions, trying perhaps to see what it was about the man that had caught the Dread Lady’s eye. The thing that immediately struck him was that although he supposed he was what one would call a handsome man, he didn’t seem what he would have said was the Lady’s usual ‘type’. It was something indefinable, something he couldn’t put his finger on.

Of course he simply hated not knowing.

When it was appropriate, he stepped forward, offering a hand to the man, meeting his eyes with a steady, slightly questioning look.

“Prime Minister Wolfe,” he said, offering a respectable bow. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you. On behalf of my nation, and the Lady, I thank you for your most gracious invitation to attend. It has been … too long since our nations enjoyed a more intimate relationship.”

He knew exactly what he was implying, and had no doubt that Jaime knew as well. All part of the game, all intentionally designed to gauge reactions.

Cesare never broke his gaze, stepping back to join the ladies, and again offering his arms to whomever chose to accept.

Jaime nodded his head slowly as he shook Calabrese's hand, his eyes never leaving the other man's. It was clear there was a mild tension in the air, but he did a good job of concealing it from showing on his face. "Yes, well, what's done is done. Since it's in the past, I don't think we need dwell on it any more. It's high time our nations could enjoy pleasant company again, and it's been too long since I've enjoyed the company of someone from the Dominion. Please, do tell me what's been happening."

God damn. A lackey. She sent me a damn lackey.

Calabrese seemed both relaxed and tense at the same time to Jaime's eyes. He was very professional, quite definitely a seasoned diplomat and one obsiouvly well-versed in foreign affairs. However, at the same time there was something bothering him, and Jaime knew that if he gave the man what he wanted right away, his first impression would be ruined. Giving anything in too early was often seen as a sign of weakness, even if merely a tip of the head or a breaking of eye contact.

"You're quite obviously going somewhere," he said pleasantly, addressing the group in general and Jane in particular. "If it's all right with you, I should go up to my room and make myself presentable before dinner is served."

“Of course,” Calabrese offered easily, meant both for the ‘in the past’ comment, and Jaime’s polite excuse to prepare for the meal. “I believe we were heading for the grounds out back for a moment before the banquet was served? If we don’t see you there, I look forward to seeing you at the feast.”

He looked to the others with a charming smile. “Until then, shall we, ladies?”

Jaime gave a slight bow of his head. "I doubt I'll see you again before the banquet, so I will bid you goodbye for now."

To this, Jessica raised her hand slightly as if to draw his attention, speaking once he made eye contact with her. "Jaime, the banquet's supposed to start in half an hour."

He nodded. "Don't spend too long outside, then. Goodbye for now, all. Pleasure to meet you." And with that, he escused himself with an inward sigh of relief and fairly quickly made his way upstairs.

"Of course," Kira accepted Calabrese's offered arm with a silent almost-bow of the torso. Her eyes lingered on Jaime for a brief moment. She wondered what he had been reffering to, but said nothing, wishing her briefings and her memory were a bit better. Shifting slightly she turns to Jane as Jaime vanished from the room.

"Shall we rescue your brother, Lady Jane?"