NationStates Jolt Archive

A Press Conference outside the Office of the President, Glorious Humanity

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the Federation, Mark Albert."

There was a smattering of polite applause. President Albert took a moment to check himself over, examining every inch of himself. This was an important announcement, one that he had been waiting at least ten years to make. Maybe all twenty that he'd held the highest office in Glorious Humanity. His navy blue silk suit was perfectly pressed, his hair was combed and styled, his shoes were so polished he could see his reflection in them. Only his face really seemed off to him, as he ran his hand over his face, he felt the careworn lines, the signs of the stresses and strain his office placed upon him having left their mark. Still, though, he felt a lot younger than he had in a long time as he strode out onto the stage, waving to various people he knew and to the assembly in general, and the smile on his face was quite genuine.

The mood of those assembled was pretty good as well. Albert had chosen to hold this conference outdoors, taking advantage of a welcome break in the weather. It was the rainy season in Glorious Humanity, the tropical weather of the country completely uncaring of the human presence as it went on doing what it had done for hundreds of years, save for a few days during the season when no rain fell. Normally, on those days the sun came out to punish those foolish enough to think that no rain meant no discomfort, but today the sun was muted behind a bank of clouds, lighting but not overwhelmingly heating the carefully tended lawns around the President's Office. It had taken three hours that morning of careful walking and examining to determine a section of lawn that was solid enough to not be reduced to a mudpit by tromping feet, but it had paid off. One simply could not ask for better conditions in which to hold an outdoor event in Glorious Humanity.

The stage was actually only a small raised platform, with a deep blue carpet rolling up to it so the President could make his entrance without soiling his feet. Similiar carpeting was placed under the rows and rows of chairs holding well-dressed members of the country's government, several media reporters, and a smattering of foreign observers. For the benefit of the cameras recording the event, two poles had been erected like goalposts, and a large Glorious Human flag strung between them as a backdrop for the President. Everything was in order. Everything was perfect.

Albert stepped up to the simple podium that had been set up with microphones for him, nodding to the female aide who had announced him. She nodded as well, and stepped back to a row of chairs behind the podium, joining the members of the President's Council and a few other significant politicians directly behind Albert. The President took a moment to compose his thoughts, then looked out at the assemblage.

"Good afternoon," he greeted them. "I hope everyone's enjoying this wonderful day. It's such a rarity to hold an event like this outdoors, I know, but how could I resist? We normally need either sunblock or raincoats just to stick our heads out of our doors."

There was a rumble of laughter. Albert chuckled before continuing. "Twenty years ago, when I was first placed in this wonderful office, with its comfortable chairs, catering, big screen televisions, and endless paperwork, I could not imagine where I would end up today. I was only twenty-seven, wet behind the ears... and all over the rest of my body, since if I recall it was roughly this date that I was sworn in, and it was raining that day." More laughter. Albert let it die down before continuing. "Now here I am, forty-seven years old. The middle of human life, I think nine or ten in dog years, and maybe one in elf years." The laughter this time was a bit louder, despite their good relations with some elven nations, particularly Aelosia, poking fun at the "pointy ears" remained good humor in Glorious Humanity. Albert also laughed, then he got to the point.

"I have led this nation for twenty years, and in that time it has changed entirely from the land I grew up in. We've shaken off the shackles of indifference, stepped off the sidelines and onto the world stage as players in the great game. And then, not content with just this world, we stepped on to the intersteller stage as well, and began to play with the big boys and girls of the galaxy. We discovered we are not alone after all, and we have begun to forge friendships with the beings we share the stars with. We have seen our strength and our unity tested in the most dire circumstances, and in our very homes." At this, a few heads bowed. The Psi Revolt was still burned into the memories of everyone who had lived through it, a black mark on the country's history.

"But we came through," Albert continued, swinging the tempo back up. "We endured, and in the end we proved that our unity, as one species, one people, could withstand even the greatest threats from within. Today, we are still one people, one species, Humanity. And now for the reason I've called this today."

He paused for effect. "As you all know, the election looms soon. Soon, this country will decide who will hold my office for the next ten years. But it won't be me." He rather enjoyed the startled reactions of a few of the audience. He hadn't told anyone besides his closest friends and the President's Council what he had intended to announce today. "Two terms and twenty years is enough for me. I have no desire to rule until death, nor set up myself as a king forever. I think it's time I stepped aside and let someone younger and more energetic than me take over. I don't know who it will be, that will be up to the people of this country. But at the middle of my life, I feel like I will better serve my country in another role than this one. That is all. Thank you for your time. I will answer questions now."

(OOC: This RP is open to all, anyone wishing to join in may do so. I'm kind of curious to see if my election stirs any interest, and I intend to make this a story, not just a poll, so other players adding story is always good.)

"...I will answer questions now."

In the sudden rush of voices all clamoring for the President's attention, it was Jonathan Hammel who won out, with something near a shout of: "So what are your plans for the future, Sir?" He was young cocky reporter and native of Glorious Humanity who worked for the multinational Emirate New Network (ENN) headquartered in Glorious Humanity's neighbor the Drakonian Imperium. He had been hired right out of the college and had spent the last year attending the President's Press Briefings, first as wing to an older more experience report then replacing that man when he had retired.

As he received acknowledgement and the rest of the press quiet down Jonathan repeated his question. "Mr. President, do you have plans to serve Glorious Humanity in another governmental position, and is there the possibility you will retire?"

"Also, Sir," he continued, using his command of the floor to add in more queries. "What of the rumors that your friend, Minister of International Relations, Frank Pierce will be running for President? And finally, Sir, how do you expect this change to affect international relations, particularly in regard to Drakonia, Tersanctus, and the United Emirates?"

He through in the last questions carefully. The bulk of the ENN viewers were in Drakonia, Tersanctus, and Glorious Humanity as the three nations shared the small continent of Nusquam Esse. The bulk of the rest were in nations that were a part of the United Emirates alliance headed by Glorious Humanity's neighbors: Drakonia and Tersanctus. An alliance Glorious Humanity was not a part of, and consider the current strained relations with Drakonia, would never be.

President Albert smiled at the ENN representative. "I will answer questions one and three myself." He paused. "First, yes, I do intend to continue to serve my country. After my term as President is up, I will be joining the Ministry of International Relations as a diplomat. In this day and age, more than ever, we need competant negotiators to take us forward in our dealings with nations and peoples, and I relish the idea of such a posting." He had an ulterior motive for wanting to join the diplomatic corp, but he wasn't going to air it here. It would probably cause a riot.

"In answer to your third question, I don't know, honestly," he answered. "However, I do not see Glorious Humanity's position on the Emirates changing anytime soon. Drakonia and the Emirates are friends and trade partners, and we will not forget the assistance Drakonia gave us during the Psi Revolt. No one will be able to change that."

Leaving it at that politically ambigous statement, he returned to the second question. "Now, as for your question about Minister Pierce, I believe I'll hand that to the man himself." He looked over his shoulder. "Frank, if you would?"

In the row of seats behind the stage, Frank Pierce sat with the other members of the President's Council. He and Albert had expected this question; the rumor that Minister Pierce would run had been drifting around for a good while. Pierce had been one of the few people privy to the knowledge that Albert had been planning to not run himself, and when the President had suggested the idea of Pierce running, the Minister was unsure of it. He had fobbed off the question, resisted giving an answer yea or nay. Albert and the other so-called progressive thinkers in the country had continued to pressure him to consider it, at least, but up until now he had avoided the question most of the time. Now Albert had him on the spot, and Piece knew he finally had to come to a conclusion.

He got up and slowly marched to the podium, his expression as unemotional as the best card player's. Albert stepped aside and Pierce hesitated for a long moment before he spoke.

"This is not the first time this question has been put to me. Everyone seems to think I would make a good successor to Mark Albert. The President is one of my oldest friends, and I have always supported him and his dream for this country. And I continue to support it. We've had false starts, hiccups, problems, but today we are stronger than we have ever been before. Someone has to continue the work that Albert has started, to see it through to whatever end may come in the future." He paused, partly for effect and partly to collect his thoughts as he decided. He knew that he couldn't appear to be unsure of anything anymore. "I will see it through. If my country asks it of me, I will lead. As of this day and this hour, I am a candidate for the Presidency."

He glanced at Albert, then stepped back as the current President returned to the mic. Albert shook his old friend's hand and clapped him on the shoulder, smiling warmly. "I knew you had it in you, Frank," he murmured.

"I hope I do," Pierce also murmured through an equally warm smile for the camera's benefit. Then Albert released his hand and turned back to the microphones.

"Well, I believe that question has finally been answered. We have our first runner for my office. Now, are there any questions for myself... or for Minister Pierce?"

Glorious Humanity, Tersanctus and the Drakonian Imperium... old adversaries confined to the pages of history...

Or so Dzerzhinsky had thought. For the first time since the Nuclear War that had caused so much heartache, the Dyellians were in ascendancy in Klatch, particularly one faction of the turbulent Nation. The Royal Alliance.

The Tzar who had bombed the Drakonian Imperium so mercillesly had a daughter who even now was busily reconquering her Father's Empire, this time in the name of Democracy. This new turn of events was worrying for Dzerzhinsky. He sat in his office, staring at the door, idly clicking his pen as he thought.

His father was Felix Dzerzhinsky, who was now fighting a personal war against Otto Himmler in the frozen North lands of Klatch. This Dzerzhinsky was Vladimir, the son. He had been sent South to assassinate the Tzarina, but instead had joined her and been instrumental in forging the Royal Alliance with the exiled Political Parties.

He had exploited the chaos to bring his candidate within days of taking the Presidency. General Ming in Dyelli Beybi seemed unstopable, smashing his way inexorably towards victory in the South. It seemed his victory would be total, Military and Political, and then Dyelli Beybi would once more stand mighty, like a colossus astride the Klatchian continent, returned to it's rightful place at the head of the great Klatchian table.

But this was unexpected. He narrowed his eyes, reading the memo again as if willing it to change to something different. Glorious Humanity was having an election. What better time for attention to turn to the goings on in far away Klatch? Especially to Dyelli Beybi, who had blatantly refused to disarm their nuclear stockpile, especially now a new Tzarina seemed within weeks on seizing control of the contry and indeed the continent. Especially now when Klatch was at it's weakest in hundreds of years.

He screwed the memo up, then unfolded it again... unless he could convince them Dyelli Beybi was harmless... or at least distract them for long enough for General Ming to finish off the Imperials in Dyelli Beybi. Then with the Tzarina on the throne, Red Faction in Government, and a Dyellian President of Klatch, Dyelli Beybi would be unstopable.

He considered it for a moment, clicking his pen. No they must not be informed. Hopefully they'd all forget Dyelli Beybi for now. Then when unity in Klatch was reestablished they would need to pursue some way to subdue their persistant enemies for good...

"Minister Pierce!" The cry came up from somewhere in the crowd of yelling reporters, a male voice loud and powerful enough to carry over the din. "Minister Pierce, a few questions, please."

Pierce looked out at the man trying to get his attention, an older looking man with the beginnings of gray in his black hair. He was waving urgently with a hand that held a notepad. Sighing, the Minister returned to the microphone, which Albert yielded to him again.

"Art Chrims, Chambers News," the reporter identified himself. Pierce recognized the name, a cable channel that ran nothing but news stories, focusing mostly on Glorious Humanity. Immediately he was on guard, anything he said now would be broadcast to a national audience, possibly an international one.

"I know it's a little early to be asking this," Chrims continued. "But I think you've already given this some thought. Though I know we will get all the details when you debate whatever opponents rise to face you, perhaps we could get a feel now for where you might stand on certain key points."

"Such as?" Pierce asked.

"Well, obviously a huge question on the minds of the country today is the issue of nonhumanity," Chrims said. "As President Albert said, we now know, conclusively, that we are not alone in this galaxy, in fact humanity is not even alone on this planet. What are your feelings on nonhuman relations?"

"I think our course there is clear," Pierce answered promptly. This was a topic he had already faced in his own offices many times. "We share the galaxy with nonhumans, and many of them have much to offer humanity if we take the time to learn from them and understand them. We need only look to the simple, undisputable fact that at this time there are nonhuman species, such as the elves, that far outstrip us in technological achievements. There are species and races out there that have been plying the space lanes since before we even dreamed of going to the stars, and it would be foolish indeed not to benefit from their experience and knowledge. It is my opinion that humanity will be only made stronger by our contact with nonhuman and alien species, and I will encourage and push for new such contacts every chance I get."

The reaction to his words was mixed. Several heads nodded agreement, but at least as many shook, and faces darkened. A soft grumble murmured through the displeased faces. Chrim continued.

"Next, of course, is another issue of humanity. The Psi Revolt brought to light the weaknesses of our current system in dealing with this new form of human... evolution." He hesitated for a long, loaded moment before he said "evolution". "According to the Registry of Psionicly Gifted Humans, which as you know is a database than all Glorious Humans manifesting psionic abilities are required to register with if they wish to use their abilities in employment or for commercial profit, several million people now manifest psionic abilities, ranging from common tricks such as telekinesis and telepathy, to more esoteric and obscure powers, to some abilities that defy any categorization. Add in the numbers of the military Psi Corp, and we are looking at somewhere near at least eight percent of the population manifesting these abilities."

"And that's only the registered and practicing psionics," he continued. "What of the no-doubt large numbers of potential psychics and psionics that do not exercise their abilities, that hide them, or have simply avoided registering with the database? What do you see as the future for such gifted humans?"


Pierce thought a moment about how to phrase his reply before he answered. "There is no doubt in my mind that this phenomenon must be further studied and investigated." He held up a hand against the anticipated comment from the reporter. "Now, mind you, I do not advocate another program like the original Psi Corp. Locking up humans against their will for the purpose of research is unacceptable, regardless of the benefit to mankind. But before we can begin to do something about this evolution, we must know more about it. I would call on psionics to voluntarily allow themselves to be tested and studied, with incentive programs for those willing to do so."

"Fair enough," Chrim replied. "Last question for now. In ten years, when this election time rolls around again, where do you see the Federation of Glorious Humanity?"

Pierce smiled. "I see us expanding beyond our wildest dreams. In ten years time, at the rate we are progressing, we will be a power to rival the greatest of the old intersteller empires. Our technology and knowledge will continue to advance as we make new contacts and learn from them, and I see us stepping onto the stage of galactic politics with all the diplomatic power and will that has brought us this far on Earth. We will continue to become ever stronger, and the whole universe will know who we are."

"Thank you, Minister," Chrim said, scribbling on his notepad. "No further questions."

"Thank you for letting me speak my mind, sir," Pierce replied, then he stepped away from the podium.

The Constantine Convention Center, central Dulles
Next morning

The opposition did not take long to appear.

The Constantine Center was packed wall to wall with excited Glorious Humans, many of whom held various banners and signs proclaiming their support of Tixric Bauman. The center was full of energy, excited conversation among the people in their tiers of seats ringing a central stage. These were the conservatives of Glorious Humanity, and after weeks of wrangling, they had finally settled on someone. Now, with Minister Pierce's candidacy announced, they were ready to put forward their nomination.

The applause started near a large set of double doors, swelling as the candidate made his way down an aisle to the stage, prepared with a long red carpet rolled out from the doors to the steps leading to the podium from which he would address the crowd. He shook his supporters' hands as he walked, accepted high fives and even a couple kisses from women in the audience. As he made his way to the stage, music started, and several thousand voices enthusiastically picked up singing "His Triumph, Our Triumph", the national anthem of Glorious Humanity. One would almost think the man had already won the Presidency, such was the pageantry around him.

He raised his hands as he reached the stage, but the music and the singing did not calm down, and instead of trying to calm it, he joined in, "conducting" the audience with his hands as they all sang the last verse.

We stand today in peace proclaiming
That all mankind should stand
That the glorious flag should ever fly
Above all of the land
That all may come and see the dream
Forged by Mason's hands
His triumph, our triumph, the triumph of Man!

The music cut off with a final, thunderous flourish, and the audience applauded and cheered as Bauman adjusted the microphone. Anywhere else in the world, Tixric Bauman might have been mistaken for a Hispanic, with olive skin, black hair and eyes, and a neatly trimmed black mustache. Here, though, everyone knew he wasn't. Though the genetic mixing that had produced his family was a white and a native, the white in this case had been of Germanic, possibly Lavenrunzian, the native was an Asben, a member of the largest indigenous group in Glorious Humanity. The end result had been very similiar though. His dual naming represented his ancestry, his first name being Asben, and his surname belonging to his European parentage.

"Good morning, my friends," he greeted the audience, who immediately fell into quiet murmuring as he began speaking. His voice was another clue to his heritage, carrying in in the accent of someone who had learned Asben before he learned English. There was no trouble understanding him though, his English was perfect, with only the faintest trace of his background in it, just enough that you knew who he was. He very carefully cultivated that accent, because he wanted everyone to know who he was. Instead of the traditional navy blue business suit worn by GH officials, he wore a tan suit, still made of silk, though, and dark brown dress shoes. He was quite clearly trying to distance himself from Albert's government.

"I am glad to see so many of you out here today," he said. "It is good to see not everyone is too busy to care what happens to the nation." He looked around at his audience again. "Because I care, and because I care, I do not like what I see today, in this, Jonas Mason's dream."

There was more cheering, which died down again when Bauman raised a hand for silence. "You all know of what I speak," he declared. "Of the injustices done to that dream in recent years. Of President Albert's headlong charge into warfare, spitting on that dream! Did Mason truly cross Red River all those years ago so that today, we could repeat the mistakes he set out to fix?" There was thunderous agreement. "I tell you now, enough is enough!" He emphasized the point with his fist, which pounded on the podium. "President Albert, with his headlong charge to support the imperialists in Drakonia, nearly damned this whole nation to the fire with his stupidity!"

More assessment, the crowd was going right where he wanted it. "I promise you, each and every one of you, that I will get us out of that war for good. We shall not be the cat's paws of the Drakonians or their Menelmacari masters. I will establish a final peace between Glorious Humanity and the Klatch, and undo the last of Albert's mistakes there."

A pause for effect. "The Menelmacari... the Aelosians... the Vrakian walruses, as warmongering as the Drakonians they hate. Nonhumans. Quite a lot of them, out there. You would think, with so many, we would've found one by now that would support us as staunchly as our human allies have. And yet, who gave us aid when we needed it? Where were the Menelmacari, though we had given them aid in Fyrehart? Where were the Aelosians, who are supposedly such great friends of this country? Who stood with us during the horrors of the Psi Revolt?" He paused, and then dropped his fist hard onto the podium again. "Humans! That is who was with us! The Lavenrunzians, brave soldiers all, and the Drakonians, who, though they drag us from war to war like puppets, at least had the honor to return the favor! It was humanity, banded together, that overcame the psionic attack and preserved Mason's dream for the future."

Bauman looked around the room. "I tell you, what need have we of the nonhumans and their ancient enmities and wars? Let humanity take its own course, and not be drawn into yet another conflict that we gain nothing from save more enemies. The elves and the orcs may exterminate each other and all their puppets, but when I lead this land, Glorious Humanity shall focus on the affairs of humanity." The approval of that statement shook the walls.

"And such affairs await our attention!" he continued, seguing right into his next topic. "We are faced today with the emergence of a whole new subspecies of mankind, here in our nation. Whether you consider the psionics subhuman or superior is beside the point, the point is that their numbers grow every day, and show no signs of stopping. We must know how this phenomenon manifests, and if the psionics will not voluntarily allow mankind to learn from them, we must take that knowledge!" More thunderous applause, the crowd clearly loved his viewpoints. "We have seen the power of psionics, what could stop a maddened telekinetic from wreaking untold havoc in the town he lives in? Or telepaths, who it has been proven can control minds. What is to stop a rogue, a criminal, with this ability from taking any mind he wishes and bending it to criminal or even treasonous pursuits? No, we must be able to protect ourselves from such attacks, just as we protect ourselves from normal criminals today. And I for one, do not wish to place my security in the hands of the very people we seek to secure ourselves from. I will find a way for normal people to enforce the laws governing psionics, and control those manifesting the phenomenon. I will not let a fox guard the chicken coop."

"This year, when you vote, vote for someone who cares about this country, not the rest of the world, someone who will put our agenda ahead of that of warmongers and nonhumans. For I promise you, when I lead, I will lead this country to be the beacon of humanity it was meant to be!" The audience gave him a standing ovation as he stepped away from the podium and left the auditorium.

In a Deluxe Suite, the Pent House of any of the luxury Hotels of Glorious Humanity...

The room was in complete darkness, with only a image receiver, perhaps a television, on and spreading light through the place, showing the speech of Tixric Bauman. "...Someone who will put our agenda ahead of that of warmongers and nonhumans...", was the Asben man saying when suddenly the lack of power to the device rendered the screen empty and the man silent.

"Worrying, I could say", said a young, sweet voice using the english language with a long and delicate french like accent, as humans usually labeled the accent of native sindar elves trying to speak english. "These reactions are pretty common during times of strife, where moderate positions haven't been able to help..."

A critical, weak and long cough interrumpted the first voice, long enough to make people close by think that someone was throwing the lungs out. Soon one figure appeared, a young maiden covered by a long white gown, holding a bottle and a hankerchief. She approached to the long couch in front of the TV, where something bright and golden was lying. Soon, the young elf was helping someone to sit on the couch, giving the other a sip of the bottle and placing the hankerchief over her face.

The coughing seemed to stop for a minute, and a pale and thin hand removed the hankerchief from the face, revealing the features of the Aelosian Supreme Chancellor, Celestrianna Paelisi, although it looked more like an image of her corpse than of her former image.

The young woman, an aelosian Caregiver, said with a low voice, identifying herself as the first voice that spoke earlier. "Madame, you shouldn't be here, lacking the proper medical treatment. As you can see, not even these humans want any of us nearby. When you will listen to my words and go back home, where medics can properly tend your sickness?"

The first response the nurse got was another set of long, dry cough, until finally the noble elf, perhaps the second most influential personality in an empire of billions that covered several planets, was able to answer.

"Not yet, as you can see, a diplomat like me has a lot of work to do to help this people right now. They are in the way of dooming themselves into isolation, as we did some time ago. One thing is believing in the worth of yourself, and other to believe in the supremacy of yourself. The line is getting blurry here. Wars always make people think the wrong way around!", said finally the Chancellor, the golden light once present in her eyes and in her complexion gone, leaving an almost empty husk of a living elf.

"Before I can leave, perhaps forever, I have a task I must fulfill. And that means that I have to talk with a man, a man once powerful in this country, who maybe retains enough power to save his own people. A man I loved and that I think he at least was interested in me. And in said task I will need your help, as you may see, I am too weak for too much activity", continued Celestrianna, signaling the younger elf with her hand, to approach and offer the Paelisi courtier her ear.

And the Caregiver leaned over the couch, Celestrianna of the Golden Beak started to whisper her message to the nurse, giving her the instructions she needed.

Later that night...

A young figure, slim yet attractive and suggesting, sporting a long, wonderful dress made entirely of golden silk, down to her ankles, but with an opening from the hip that left open an entire fit and perfect leg, with an astonishing display of jewellery, walked through the lobby of the "Grand Journey" Hotel, her hair and features covered under a colorful hat, big enough to cover her face to the chin.

After taking a cab to her destination, without removing her hat or even turning her head sideways, she gave the driver her exact destination, and payed him a small fortune as a tip, placing first a bill with the words "Money makes memories dizzy" on it.

A block away from the Presidential Palace, the woman left her cab, and made the last part of her trip on foot. She paused for a bit, holding the gold purse in her hands, admiring the magnificent building before taking the final step forward...

Walking towards the gates, she paused right after she was asked to, not taking a step further.

With a both silken and sweet tone of voice, she asked to the guards, lowering the line of her hat even more over her face. "I would like to talk with the President Albert, if you are so kind, please", not trying to hide her foreigner accent.

The presidential palace, or House of the First Human as it was formally called in Glorious Humanity, was indeed a spectacular edifice. It stood five stories tall and stretched over five acres, a testament to older times when entire extended families of the incumbent had occupied the residence. The outer walls were sheathed in marble that in the daytime caught the light and reflected it in a dazzling burst of light, broken only by hundreds and hundreds of curtained windows that allowed various rooms to look out on the world. The central building was impressive enough, but two wings curved off from it, similiarly decorated, encompassing a beautifully landscaped courtyard, in the precise center of which an ornate fountain shot water thirty feet into the air. Even in the evening, the spectacle was visible, as massive floodlights strategically placed around the building and the well-tended surrounding grounds lit up the area for tourists to marvel at.

However, the most interesting aspect to the elven visitor was most like the large wrought iron gate, wrought expertly into a likeness of the face of the founder of the country, Jonas Mason, with letters over above and below the face declaring "This House Shall Be Home to All Who Lead the Dream". And in front of that gate stood a pair of black uniformed President's Guard, in boots polished to a mirror shine and black berets, with rifles held at their sides in the position of attention.

At first they were going to dismiss the visitor, as she had presented no papers or clearance. But something about her accent drew the attention of one of them, and he addressed her.

"Your name, reason, and business please?"

The woman spoke from under the line of her hat, in a more clear voice, that still managed to feel inside the ears as the velvet fabric feels on the tip of the fingers. "Celestrianna Paelisi. Imperial Chancellor of the Sindar Empire of Aelosia. I have come to offer the President my apologies for arriving late to hear his speech. I am supposed to be an old acquietance of his".

The young figure shifted her body weight from one foot to the other, sliding gently one foot in front of her silouette. "Just a social visit, I guess, although there could be discussed matters of state. Should I...Wait here, give you my papers, or both?", she added, letting just a corner of her mischievous smile to shine from under the shadow of her hat.

"Sindar Empire of..." the guard trailed off, then looked at his companion. There was a moment of stunned silence as they stared at each other.

A pointy ear? one of them mouthed incredulously.

Slowly the guard who had been speaking to the elven woman turned back to her. "Well ah, your Grace, I'm afraid we will have to see some identification now. Papers, diplomatic passport, something to prove who you are. You have to understand, the number of times we've gotten elves visiting the House is, well... you're the first, actually."

Meanwhile the other guard was quietly speaking into a radio, informing his commanding officer of this development. Unknown to Celestrianna (or whoever it really was), more guards were fanning out across the estate, ready to interdict whoever might be planning something. Elves did not just visit the House of the First Human, and the officer of the watch was taking no chances that this wasn't someone's idea of a prank... or worse.

The guard on the radio finished and looked at the elf again. "And you'll have to lose the hat. Take it off. We need to confirm it's really you, you understand, your Grace. Sorry for any inconvenience."

"Pointy ear. I have always liked that choice of words. After all, isn't just that, along another set of small things, what makes us all different?", said the young elf quite happily, taking the hat off and throwing it over the iron gate with a laugh. "I lost it, I already don't know where it is", she added moving her shoulders up and down.

Of course, for the guards, it was just another blonde elf, wearing a circlet of the most exquisite quality, with mating earrings. Her mouth was painted bright red, that contrasted with her rather clear and fair skin, so flawless that looked unnatural from the silky chin to the light pink cheeks. Her golden hair went down her sohulders as a cascade of the purest gold, and moved as she shook her head like the wheat under the summer's wind. In her clear blue eyes were inscribed the quiet sea surface of tropical beach. In other words, she was clearly a too young elf maiden in the prime of her long life, who inherited a good sense of social interaction and amazing looks, and was trained during all her life to take advantage of her talents.

"Well, laws and customs are law and customs. When Albert, and sorry if I skip his more formal treatment, entered my Palace back there in my country we had more trust in him, but I know that you, gentlemen, are just following the orders of those above you, nothing more, nothing less. And I am noone to make your job uncomfortable or difficult. Nice to know that I am the first to come here, I would be quite mad if he found another young sweetheart running into his arms", she said, adding winks, smiles, grins and openings of her eyes to make herself more emphatic, more pleasant, and more charming through her body language to make the guards forget her flawed accent.

Before they could answer, she finally looked for something inside her purse "Well, gents, here is my passport and my identification, the ArchDuchess Seal of the Paelisi House of Courtiers. Should you come out to get it, should I approach you, or should I toss it over the gate so you can check it? Just let me now", she added with a laugh, holding the holocard in her hand.

If the guards could possibly be more shocked by what the elven woman had said, they couldn't show it. The stunned expressions on their faces said it all, especially her quip about sweethearts. While Celestrianna Paelisi might have let her fellow elves know about her feelings, Mark Albert knew better than to let more than a few of his fellow humans in on his secret. Despite all of the progress that had been made in breaking down old prejudices, the political backlash of the relationship would've been tremendous. And thus, these two poor guards, already in the midst of an eventful night, would now be the catalysts of a whole bunch of rumors in the coming days regarding the President and the elf.

One of them stepped forward and extended a hand through the gate to take the documents she presented to him. It was a credit to their training that even though he was clearly shocked, his hand didn't tremble, and once he had the documents he took them back to the other guard, and they perused them, then chatted on the radio again.

**********************************************************

Mason's Study

The room was called Mason's Study, because that was what the first President had used it for. Mark Albert made use of it as a reading room, having moved in several bookcases full of his extensive personal collection. On the rare occaisions when he wasn't off doing something for his country, he would sit and relax here, reading either one of his books or any one of several national and local newspapers that were delivered to him.

Tonight he was doing the latter, or more accurately, he was solving the crossword puzzle. Ten across was sticking. For the fifth time he read the clue. "A six letter word for extremist." After a moment's thought, he suddenly grinned and filled in "Bauman". The paper in question, the Human Voice, was notoriously progressive, and their front-page article of Bauman's speech had been scathing. Albert had no doubt that the crossword was throwing another punch.

Of course, he thought. My last name is six letters too.

Albert was seated in a plush velvet chair near the center of the room. The paper sat on a solid oak table in front of him, and a small but ornately engraved desk lamp illuminated his crossword. Another plush chair was set opposite the desk, and a couch was against the back wall under a large window, so the President had a choice of places to sit if he felt like it. The room's overhead lights were dimmed, the wall scones turned down to almost off, producing just enough light so that the President wouldn't be blinded when he looked away from his paper. The soft light revealed deep brown walls, also real wood, and a tan carpet that one's feet could sink into easily. The rest of the space was given over to the bookshelves. It was cozy, intimate, which was precisely the effect Albert had wanted. The rest of the House was so big, designed to give a sense of granduer and power, so this one cozy room became a hideaway of sorts, for when the President wanted to escape the trappings of his office.

The was a respectful knock on the door, and Albert looked up. "Come in!"

The caller was Captain Tersing, a five year veteran of the President's Guard and the Commander of the Watch for the night. He had a piece of paper and a confused look as he came to attention and saluted. "Sir, there is a visitor for you."

"At this time?" Albert asked. He was about to ask if it was Minister Pierce, the old friends called on each other at all hours, and they'd spent a large portion of the day together, hammering out the beginnings of Pierce's presidential campaign. But the Captain's expression told him it most assuredly was not anyone familiar.

"It's an... elf, sir." The Captain's voice betrayed his confusion even more than his face. "She claims to be Celestriannna Paelisi, the Imperial Chancellor of Aelosia. She gave us papers, and they all check out."

Albert's eyes widened at the name. Celestrianna? he thought, his heart leaping. She was here? Without notification in advance? Why had she done that? Several possibilities leaped into his head, and he immediately stood, folding his paper and setting it aside.

"Send her in, immediately," he said.

**********************************************************

The gates of the palace swung wide open, and a double file of the President's Guard double-timed it down the cobblestoned driveway to greet the visitor. At their head was Captain Tersing himself, and he saluted the elf before speaking.

"The President had invited you in, and asks me to relay his apologies for taking so long to let you in. Please come with me."

The Guards formed up around the elven woman, and led her onto the grounds. At the head of the driveway they marched through the courtyard, around the massive fountain, and up to an impressive set of gold-inlaid double doors, which were swung open by a pair of uniformed servants. Most of the Guards turned away at this point, moving back to their normal patrols or off-duty time, leaving only Captain Tersing to escort Celestrianna in.

The foyer was vast, with white walls and tiled marble floor. The tiles were all white, save for a design of the Glorious Human flag in the precise center of the room. The walls were hung with evenly spaced portraits of the Presidents of the country, all one hundred and twenty-four of them, organized chronologically. Jonas Mason's portrait hung directly over the entrance, so one would see it staring down on them if they turned around and looked back the way they had come, and the other Presidents made a stately march down the walls. Mark Albert's own portrait was hung near the far end, and depicted the President standing in his reading room, a book in one hand, the other stroking his chin thoughtfully, the picture of scholarship that the progressives so liked to give.

Tersing turned off and went through a side door just before the end of the foyer, leading his charge down a much less grand corridor, though still richly decorated, up two flights of stairs, and finally stopped at the door to Albert's study. He rapped on it, and after a moment Albert called for him to come in.

The President was standing, hands clasped loosely in front of him, as the two of them entered. "Good evening, your Grace," he greeted Celestrianna with a formal bow. "Nae saian luume'," he added in Elvish as he straightened up, grinning. Then he nodded to Tersing. "Thank you Captain, you are dismissed."

Tersing saluted, then stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. Albert gestured to one of the chairs. "Please, take a seat. I'm very curious to know why you have come to speak to me." He took his own seat again. "Particularly with fake credentials." He leaned back in his chair, getting comfortable, and folded his arms. "You are not Celestrianna Paelisi, my lady. I would have known that even if I didn't know that Celestrianna is very ill, too ill to travel right now." Brief, but very real pain flashed across his face as he said that. "I guess the stories about elves being immune to disease were wrong. But you showed up here with her credentials, making no attempt to hide yourself, which is why I allowed you to be let in. So, I ask again, who are you really, and why have you come to see me?"

"You are sharper than the average man of your country, then I would have to accept", said the elf from under her hat, taking the offer of the president to take a seat. "But of course, that's not a surprise. In every nation, the leaders are smarter than the common populace. It has been called Rule by the Elite in theories, I think".

Relaxing her shoulders a bit, she finally took on answering the question handled by Albert. "Of course I'm not ArchDuchess Celestrianna of the Golden Beak, Head of House Paelisi, I am only an envoy, an envoy without the needed credentials to have a private meeting with the president of the nation of Glorious Humanity, and without the patience to wait for weeks through the normal channels".

The elf woman shrugged for a moment, taking a deep breath. "However, if I dissapoint you with the fact that I am not the Imperial Chancellor, perhaps I could comfort you with the fact that I was sent by the Paelisi noble myself, and that to speak to me is like speaking to her. In fact, I have the authorization to become her for the rest of her visit to Glorious Humanity, thus the credentials. I am however astonished to realize that noone around here knows you are a close acquietance of my superior. Are you ashamed of the privilege of enjoying the attentions of perhaps one of the most talented elves of my country, I wonder?"

Alkesh listened to the music of information, a song of communication that could almost be called cetacean. To those who were listening, those it didn’t refuse, those who had touched it, it was a whale-song that could be heard throughout most of the galaxy, though in differing strengths. Echoes bounced from world to world, and through the ships of the fleet, clustered around the base of the Orion Arm,

Though he did not speak in any conventional sense, therefore, he spoke.

“Are you certain?”

“WE are,” the song replied, “you are directed to proceed at maximum speed to this sub-set of humans, and do everything within your power to ensure that Order prevails during this governmental change. It is important to OUR goals that you succeed.”

He considered for a fraction of a second, mulling the matter. “I obey,” was the reply. There could be no other.


Aboard an aquatic looking ship, sweeping through the storm swept crimson expanse of hyperspace, the Vorlon considered the best way to carry out the decision of his cousins. An overt approach, it seemed, was best. His signal would be carried through hyperspace, to an outpost established at the distant fringes of the Sol System. From there, it would be relayed in a tight radio beam to a satellite orbiting Earth, dropped off in one of his rare previous trips, and from there, sent on to its destination.

http://www.necrontyr.plus.com/images/vorlflag.jpg
To Whom It May Concern, Glorious Humanity,

We have heard much of the distant and revered nation of Glorious Humanity, and as such, it has been decided that one of our kind should make the long journey to visit your shores in order to evaluate the veracity of such rumours.

We are impressed by the developments that reports claim you have made in some areas that have long stymied other cultures, and this vibrancy is both interesting and awe-inspiring.

We are heartened by the order and refinement that we are told is inherent in your culture, government and society. It seems to be an exemplary display for surrounding nations and factions on Earth, and we hope that it presages future developments.

We are overjoyed when we hear of your successful reintegration of Telepaths into your society, and dearly hope that similar magnanimity, refinement and humanity will be seen throughout the Sol Sphere in the future.

We are eager to see elections in Glorious Humanity, and eager to see the glorious future that glimmers upon the horizon.

Alkesh Naranek,
Ambassador at Large of the Vorlon Empire


It was good to be able to move in the light at last. Of course, light cast shadows, and he was aware that a certain degree of wariness was required on such a high profile assignment. The same hope that his slightly exaggerated, gushing message would reach the general public of his destination meant that it would almost certainly reach the wrong ears. On the plus side, there was little that could stop his enthusiasm for being able to be so brazen.

If nothing else, such bold movement would draw the gaze from other things, elsewhere.

---

OOCness: In case you're wondering, this is C'tan. I'll probably have to speak with Siri about a Menelmacary response to this.

Mason's Study

"In any society the best, brightest, and strongest should always rise to the top. Should a society have no means for such talented individuals to take their proper places, and make use of their talents, then that society is surely doomed," Albert quoted, grinning. "Jonas Mason's Teachings of Peaceful Society," he added, naming the reference. "I'm not sure if Celestrianna has copies or not. I rarely see the books outside of Glorious Humanity, but here they're the core of the government."

Her second observation made him sigh. He'd had a feeling this would come up sooner or later. "No, no I am not ashamed," he replied immediately. "But... God, how do I explain it to you?" He looked towards the far wall, though not really seeing it. How did one explain such things to a being that, to the best of Albert's knowledge, had not had to deal with racism for centuries.

"Glorious Humans are political animals, my lady," he finally began, groping his way through the explanation one word at a time. "We are well known and respected now for our ability to play the game of politics, both on the national and international stages. But that means that, well, you don't get to my level without knowing how the wind is blowing all the time. Though you wouldn't know it from just passing through, there is a very strong undercurrent of racism running through this country. Or perhaps speciesism is better? Either way, the end result is groups like March of Man, dedicated idealists who firmly believe that Mason's plan for the country did not involve nonhumans in any way, shape, or form. They meet, they exchange what few ideas they have, they talk, sometimes they take action. People like Tixric Bauman are their spokesmen." He spat the name like a curse, and paused for a moment.

"To cut short the windy chatter," he said. "If I made it public knowledge that I was in love with an elven woman, it would cause a furor the likes of which you wouldn't believe. Even neutral citizens who don't object to nonhumans might balk at the idea of cross-breeding with them. It would be a scandal, a major issue, and the opponents of progressive thought would be all over it. It would be a political mess." Another pause, and he grinned wrily.

"Do you have any idea," he continued. "Any idea how many times I've entertained the thought of inviting Celestrianna here, bringing her to a press conferance and introducing her, then kissing her in front of an audience of billions watching on the telly? Conservatives like Bauman would have apoplexy. That part I would thoroughly enjoy. I want to tell people, my lady, and if it was just my career to consider, I would do it in a heartbeat. I'm on my way out, after all, and I'm going into diplomatic service, where I'll be several thousand miles away all the time, if not light years away. What would my critics do to me then? But it isn't just me. My friends, my supporters, the whole progressive movement. If the conservatives or the anti-alien groups got an opening like that, it would be a disaster."

He finally looked at her again. "I suppose that's a cowardly way to look at it, refusing to admit love because of politics. And in a perfect universe this whole issue would be a moot point. This isn't a perfect universe though, and we have to deal with what is, even when it hurts us more than we're willing to admit."

A long silence ensued, then he shrugged and tried to shake off the negative feelings. "But I assume you didn't come here just to debate politics and romance with me," he said. "Celestrianna sent you with a purpose, of that I'm sure. Enlighten me as to what message she has for my ears, and I will attend her words most closely." One corner of his mouth turned up a little as he shifted into the somewhat silly-sounding formal speech, and he half turned in his chair to face her more directly. "And while we're at it, what is your name, my lady? Your real name, I mean. I'm sorry, but regardless of what credentials and authority you wield, I can't think of you as Celestrianna."

*********************************************************

The Pierce residence

Minister Frank Pierce was up late, and would probably be up later tonight. He was on his third cup of coffee, sitting at the dining room table and reviewing some notes from his afternoon meeting with President Albert. Their electoral brainstorming had led to some thoughts on campaign platform, speeches, slogans, advertising, all of the million and one details that went along with running for office, though sketched in only in the roughest terms. He didn't even have a formal campaign staff yet, that would come in the following weeks.

Actually, he had to admit to himself, he just couldn't sleep. The house seemed cold and empty these days, what with Thomas not around. Thomas Pierce, Frank's son, had turned sixteen, the age of adulthood in Glorious Humanity, and had stepped right into the diplomatic life his father had planned for him. There had been no fighting, no demands on either side, none of Frank insisting this was best while Thomas tried to go into something different just to spite his old man. Thomas had inherited his father's flair for politics and diplomacy, and his love of dealmaking.

At the time of his appointment to a training posting in Lavenrunz, he had also had personal reasons for wanting to be a diplomat. Those were the days of his puppy love affair with the Empress Aurora, when the Glorious Humans had chuckled at the lighthearted affection, while some stuffier members of the Lavenrunzian government had bitten their knuckles and worried. With Aurora married now though, and their affection cooling, Pierce had no doubt his son would request a transfer to someplace else pretty soon. He wasn't sure whether or not to grant it, nor was he sure where to send Thomas if he did.

But what concerned him more at that moment was Thomas' absence from the house. For ten years, ever since the painful divorce that had split Frank and Thomas' mother, Tanya, Frank had raised his son alone. Tanya had regularly missed child support, and skipped visits, and generally did not do much besides occaisionally call and snipe at Frank, and send presents on gift-giving holidays. Thus, Frank had tried to be two parents at once to his son, and the raising of Thomas had occupied his personal life to the exclusion of all else. Frank had never dated, never remarried, maintained only a small circle of close friends, and mostly raised his son.

Thomas had been a constant presence in the house and his father's life, and now that the young man was off on his own, the stately home where they had lived for all of Frank's tenure as Minister of International Relations seemed cold and empty. Even Beth, the housekeeper who had been around as long as the Pierces had lived in the place and was a close friend to both of them, could not make Frank feel at home. He figured it would be a while before he finally felt better about being alone in his house.

Quite suddenly, a phone blared into life, the electronic ringing jolting his eardrums as the stillness was shattered by the sound. Snapped out of his reverie, Frank got up and half stumbled to the phone, sitting on a small table away from the main dining table. He scooped up the receiver and mumbled a hello.

"Sorry to wake you, sir," the man on the other end lied.

"I wasn't sleeping," Pierce answered. "What is it?"

"An unusual message, broadcast to several major media outlets from an almost inactive satelliete in orbit," the caller answered. It was one of the two dozen or so minor functionaries that served as aides, secretaries, and sometimes buffers against minor issues for Pierce. They screened the things sent to his desk, and only passed on the ones that were considered enough of a priority to warrant the Minister's personal attention. Pierce struggled to put a name to the voice as the man recited the message from the unknown contact. Was it Pat, or Patrick, or Patterson? Somewhere in there. At this hour, his mind was not working that well.

"You're sure this is not a prank?" he said when the caller was done.

"Quite sure, sir," came the reply. "Reachstar picked up the signal coming in to the satelliete from deep space." Pat or Patterson or whoever he was was referring to Reachstar Orbital, Glorious Humanity's primary shipyards/docking facilities/deep space transmitter, hanging high in space in Earth orbit, miles above their heads. "They tried to trace it all the way back to the source, but couldn't," Patrick continued. Frank Pierce had decided the guy had to be named Patrick. That just felt like the right name. "It came from really far out."

"What about the farspace signal carriers?" Pierce asked. At the very edge of Sol, past all the planets and everything that pretended to be a planet, a series of automated relay carriers, supplemented by a a team of transmission trained telepaths, bounced long-range signals from GH ships probing the black gulfs between galaxies, and relayed them back to Reachstar. The comm systems also frequently picked up chatter from non-GH ships, and from time to time something significant came up. Anytime an anomalous signal was received, particularly a potential first contact, the first thing done by the Ministry of International Relations was to call Reachstar and find out if the farspace carriers had picked it up too.

"Oh, they got it," Patrick replied. "But they can't place it. This call came from way out."

The problem with relying on the farspace carriers for information was that they had no sensors. They were designed only to receive, not probe aggressively for sources. They would pass on anything they happened to intercept, but trying to extrapolate things like original point of origin based on what the carriers supplied was impossible.

"So," Pierce said slowly. "We have an unknown signal, possible new contact, unknown location or origin."

"It does not match any known alien frequency or call procedure," Patrick agreed. "Almost definitely someone new."

"I'm on my way in," Pierce replied, glad he had not changed out of his work clothes. "Send a response and see if we can start talking to them."

"Prepared message is already ready to go," Patrick confirmed.

"And wake up Deputy Minister Millhouse, let her know what's going on," Pierce added. Lacey Millhouse was Pierce's second in command of the Ministry, and nothing hit his desk without also hitting hers. Her clearance was as high as his, and they saw all the same files. He wouldn't dream of cutting her out of this, regardless of the hour of the evening.

"Already done, sir. She's coming in too," Patrick said. There was a pause. "Ah, where should we send the response to?"

"Send it to the satelliete," Pierce answered, already calculating in his head how long it would take him to reach his offices. "Hopefully that thing can either store messages or send them to its owner, and hopefully its owner will check his mail."

*********************************************************

TO: Unknown Contact
FROM: The Ministry of International Relations

Greetings and warmest wishes,

We have received your transmission and are delighted to discover another neighbor amongst the stars. We look forward to meeting with you and learning more about you.

Your message has raised more than a few eyebrows, because while you seem to know something of our nation and culture, we are at a disadvantage when it comes to you. We would like to know more about you, who you are, what nation and species you represent, and what brings you to seek contact with us. The fact that you transmit to us in our own language suggests you've had contact with humans before, which makes us think that maybe we already have a mutual friend somewhere in the stars, and that also makes us eager to learn more about you and your intentions.

We look forward to further contact, and welcome any further transmissions you wish to make.

"I guess you refer to the name I had when I was born, because right now, my name is Celestrianna, Sire*", said the elf, displaying a despective grin after hearing Albert's words. "My first name was Filaura nos Daeros, and I was born into a little family of artists in the Craftworld before the Imperial Chancellor adopted me and took me as her student, although I haven't used it in years".

"Regarding what I am here to tell you, well...After all I have heard of you, Sire, I suppose you expect me to talk with total honesty, following the directives of my Lady. With all due respect, President Albert, leader of the Glorious Humans, I will take my time to tell you a story", said the elf, taking a step forward and closing her eyes as to focus herself into what she was going to say.

The voice of the elf then suddenly changed, raising its volume no matter who could hear it, and started to roam and roar through the room with an epic tone, although it didn't lose its feminity or delicacy, such was the talent of the aelosian storytellers, even although translating their stories into another language made them lost some of their power to arouse, incitate and inspire their audience."Years ago, not so many, our own empire entered a crisis. We were under the rule of an unworthy individual that consorted with evil in its purest form as we elves know it, the emotion we call hatred. He used it to empower and embolden his own influence, and as a way to maintain himself in power. For us, those were hard times, and we were ashamed to recognize that not even us, the elves, were inmune to corruption". Due to the psychological efect of her own words, and not by any magical means, the lights of the study seemed to dim around her, as to portrait the loneliness and darkness of her people during those times of strife.

"He led us to war, and famine, and crisis. He used fear and terror as a weapon, and crushed our spirit with his subtle and yet merciless fist. He divided us, and caused the main families of our society to confront each other so they couldn't oppose his rule. Luckily for our people, we still had people brave enough to swim against the tide, and face the horror our goverment and our nation had become. We called them heroes, and rallied ourselves around them. Then chaos and bedlam took a hold on us, and brother fought brother, and every son and daughter of Aelosia* fought for loyalty, pride, revolution or change. Our cities were laid to waste, our armies vanished facing each other, our once magnificent society sank into barbarian war without end and vandalic practices, because even good ones had to resort to hideous means to prevail". A single tear rolled down the cheek of the storyteller, as to provide an additional effect to her story, but absolutely sincere.

Regaining the power of her voice, the messenger continued. "But finally, the best prevailed, and the evil was vanquished, and finally hatred was stopped, and we became to order our society. Many powerful amongst our numbers fell from power, and others rose to take their places in the new order. Internal squabbles still affected our relationships, and we knew that the evil we had defeated was still out there, lurking, stalking for an opportunity to return. We had won a battle, but not the war".

"Fear and hate leave a longer effect than we had hoped, and we were still in their grasp, even more as the main politicians and courtiers amongst us, the fabled Celestrianna of the Golden Beak amongst them, couldn't find a proper leader who could inspire our populace into elevated purposes. We had throw the evil away, but we weren't able to fill the gap left in power by the dissapearance of its authority"

"Then, we turned into the person that turned the tide. The first amongst equals that dared to disobey, rebel and face the evil within us. The one that marshalled our forces to victory, and didn't failed not once in his purpose of throwing out the tyrant. Military victories can bring respect, and create popularity. We thought we needed a strong leader, able to face again the darkness should it return, heroic enough to withstand his ground against anything threatening our empire". the elf paused, opening her eyes and staring directly at Albert, sinking her gaze like knives in Albert's own eyes. "In other words, human, we, out of fear, elected a military dictator*".

"We feared the outside, we isolated ourselves, in terror of what may come from other peoples. We resorted again to blind ourselves in our own fears, to avoid even worse fates to come. Fear, as even the most simple sentient knows, led easily to anger and hate. We convinced ourselves that we were happy, because under the protection of a mighty will and a powerful blade, nothing could happen to us again", continued the minstrel, her arms gently gesturing as she spoke, her feet slowly sliding over the floor of the study to move her around the space, as to add a simple slow, almost invisible dance to her speech.

"Then when we turned our gaze out of our home, we rediscovered your race, the night fearers, as we called you back then. The humans, the second born chosen to rule in our mithology. Some of us discovered how amazing you were, how interesting were your customs, how attractive your ways, how pleasant your improvements and inventive. Others amogst us discovered how disgusting was your cruelty, how dangerous your violence, how despicable your cowardice, and how fickle and treacherous you were", the elf paused again after this words, staring directly at Albert as accusing him of every flaw ever present in every human heart.

But then, even before he could say a word, or articulate a thought, she continued. "We realized how much we could gain interacting with you, and realized how much we could be gambling if we did. You were a risk, a great risk. In few years, we fought against you and alongside you, we cared for you and despised you, we loved you and hated you, we learned from you both things we wanted to know and others we didn't. Some times you treated us as friends, some times you despised and even slaughtered us. But fear was still in our hearts, and we decided to recluse ourselves from any evil, no matter how good could be contained in such evil"

"Our leader decided you were dangerous, and that although not inherently evil, you could be hosts for the most horrible of tendencies. We decided to ban you from our lands, to take a distance from you, to be apart from you and let yourselves slaughter at each other. We didn't desire ill fates for your race, but determined that you weren't worthy or receiving any kind of help, as you were unable to listen. That was the Human Banning Decree, that expelled both any humans from our lands and society, and expelled ourselves from yours"

"Such measures were a consequence of fear, because every sentient fears what they cannot understand, or what they cannot control, or what they cannot trust. Humans are not easy to understand, to control or to be trusted. Thus we threw a veil between your people and ours, to be sure of not suffering at the hands of anyone again".

"We, as your March of Men, firmly believed that our essence planned to extend in our empire did not involve non elves in any way, shape, or form. This story doesn't want to be aloof or arrogant, but we traveled already that path, because we were enclosed, as little children, in fear of pain"

"It took martyrs to convince our people, and our leaders, that you were worthy of consideration. That you were sentient beings equal, if not even better than us. People worked to death, for years, to make us correct our mistakes. Lady Celestrianna was one of said people, and discovered in you, amongst others, the virtues humans have that she wanted to show our people. Her feelings for you were a proof, and she didn't have shame or fear, as the others, to waste any possible effort to use it as such"

Finally, the voice of the elf returned to normal, and she relaxed, her eyes now just fixed in the wall over Albert's shoulder, speaking as in an absent state. "Here ends my story, that is also my message, and here starts my questions and considerations, as my Lady Celestrianna commanded me to tell you"

"She, amongst others, changed our views, and we were able to learn how to love you, and respect you, because we vanquished our fears. Now you threaten us, with showing us that we were right back then, and that our peoples must be apart. Do you have any idea of how many conservatives suffered a trance when she displayed openly she was giving her favors to a human? Or is that do you think that we do not have internal divisions and different parties, with different political views? Have you fought against elves in an open battlefield? How many humans have died at the hands of our people? How many humans have suffered open and public humiliation at our hands? Because we had. We had died at humans hands, and we have suffered your insults and despise, and yet we are here, hoping to be your friends, willing to forgive you, offering advise and happy to shower you with gifts"

The elf paused for the last time, again displaying her cynic and rather despising grin in the corner of her gracious lips. "So, I have to ask you, Proud Leader and President of the Glorious Humans, Why in the nine levels of Angband* do you humans fear us so much, Sire?"

*Sire: title of respect used by the aelosians to refer to nobles and important foreigners. Usually means that you acknowledge the target as a superior.
*Aelosia: Founder of the Empire with the same name, equivalent to Glorious humanity's Mason at levels of ideology.
*ShadowPrince: The military dictator she is talking about, elected after a bloody civil war that left most of the home Craftworld in ruins and provoked the abandon of most of the Empire's colonies. He withdraw from power after his Human Banning Decree was proved wrong.
*Angband: In elven mythology, equivalent to hell.

Mason's Study

Albert listened to the story, smiling a little as he fondly recalled a happier time, when he had first met Celestrianna Paelisi, and the Aelosian Chancellor had used the same magic to recite a legend of the elves to him. The story she'd chosen had been a love story, about an elf and a human who changed their races futures by being together. Celestrianna had been making a point then, and Filaura - he just couldn't think of the messenger before him as Celestrianna, even if her legal name was such and she had all the credentials - was making one now, with her story of more recent elven history. And the point was not missed.

When she was finished, Albert stood, and walked towards one of his bookshelves as he considered the elf's questions. His steps had taken him to a case devoted to history. There, on the first and second shelves from the top, at least two dozen books of Glorious Human history, from general overviews to specific events. One thick volume was devoted entirely to Jonas Mason's historic crossing of Red River. The newest addition to the bookshelf covered Albert's first ten years in office. It wasn't too wrong on most points.

The rest of the case was foreign literature. Three Lavenrunzian history books, a tome on the Klatchian-Dozle war, a general history of the Federated Klatchian Coast, a history of the Drakonian Imperium, an overview of Menelmacar's past. All told, at least fifteen nations and cultures were represented here. But his eyes were drawn to a set of books in the center of the fourth shelf down. The Aelosian history texts that Celestrianna had given him, what seemed like a lifetime ago now, with all that had happened since. Albert stared at them for a long moment, then he turned back to his guest.

"I think you've already answered your biggest question," he said. A faint smile touched his lips. "Humans have feared elves for the same reason you feared us. Lack of knowledge, and sometimes, only seeing the worst the race had to offer." He moved back to his seat and took it again.

"Do you know which elven nation we actually had a chance to observe first?" he asked her. He waited a few seconds, then answered his own question. "Thelas. Our first contact of any sort with elves came from our observation of the Thelasians, in their actions during and immediately following the Mirbach coup in Lavenrunz. We never had any official dealings with the Thelasians, but we saw how they behaved. And it didn't make a good first impression."

Another pause. "We also have had little to no direct contact with the Menelmacari, despite fighting alongside them in the liberation of Fyrehart. In that campaign, the elves promised assistance, but other than a couple of kill teams on special assignments, almost nothing was given. In that conflict, us humans were left facing a counterattack of Melkorians and Ardan allies, without any elven support once Lady Sirithil's strike teams had withdrawn, despite promises of extensive aid. I'm not going to go into extensive detail regarding the Fyrehart war right now, but suffice to say we would have had major problems if the Melkorians had not also withdrawn and left the rest of the Ardans hanging as high and dry as the Menelmacari had left us. Humans won in Fyrehart, humans allied with the good, but we did it for all intents and purposes without the elves."

He sighed. "I know none of this should really reflect on the Aelosians, any more than the actions of other human nations should reflect on Glorious Humanity. It reflects all the same, though, just as your treatment at the hands of humans has caused you to be suspicious of all of us, regardless of nation. I could go into more detail, regarding small treaties, minor agreements, a host of things we have seen the elves not do. I could step away from military matters and speak on trade deals we were not able to make, contacts we could not have. Heck, at this moment the Sindarin Empire of Aelosia is the only elven nation we even have regular diplomatic contact with! Which is really amazing in light of the fact that the Menelmacari have a control zone in Fyrehart that is supposedly under their administration now that the war is over. We're trying to rebuild a nation alongside the elves, and we hardly ever hear from them even then!"

He shook his head. "I think you get the picture. From the human viewpoint, at least in this country, the elves have shown us warmongering and bloodlust as bad as any human nation, while also displaying a talent for manipulating humans into doing a great deal of fighting and dying for them. The legacy of the elves is one of broken promises, failed support, and a lot of manipulation, with little coming in return, save a lot of pompous assertion of their own superiority. Combine that with a real lack of general knowledge of elves among the general human populations, and you see where our suspicion comes from."

He fell silent again, but only for a moment. "The Aelosian attempt to bridge the gap is not going unnoticed though, believe me. At least not in the halls of government here. I would love nothing more than to sweep all our mutual distrust and prejudice into the dustbin of history, openly love Celestrianna, and build a new era of cooperation between humans and elves. A whole new universe. It will take time, though. Right now, I suppose you could say we're somewhere in the middle of your story. We have begun to shake off our prejudices because leaders have stepped forward to fight against them, but a lot of work remains to be done."

His explanation complete, his thoughts turned to more personal matters, matters that, after a moment, he decided to voice. "But, enough of that. Does Celestrianna show any sign of recovering soon from her illness? And, where is she, right now? I think, now that it has been brought up, I should go and visit her. The duties of the President weigh heavily on my mind, but I should not let it shut out more important matters, as it has been doing." Clearly, he had no idea how close the Imperial Chancellor really was, and fully expected to hear that she was on the Craftworld, or at some diplomatic mission somewhere. The truth was going to be a major surprise.

"The Lady Celestrianna you are familiar with is currently in...Dulles. In a nearby place, waiting for me to tell her the consequences of our little conversation" said surprisingly the young elf, shrugging a bit. "Her location, for the time being, shouldn't be revealed, although I guess that you, with the resources you have at hand as President, won't have any trouble finding where several elves established their residence. After seeing the reactions of your guards, I concluded we're not pretty common here, or well welcomed", she added, witha slight cynical touch to her tone.

"Oh, and before and forget, she sent you a more personal message, although not even I am aware of its meaning", the elf smiled for a moment. "She specified that I should deliver it in elvish, and that you would understand it"

Closing her eyes and focusing for a moment, she pronounced a phrase in the ancient sindarin language, changing her tone to a sweet, loving voice that mimicked almost perfectly Celestrianna's own words "In the face of peril, Precious Albert, nations can always resort to martyrs. They are the only thing as powerful as heroes and villains"

The elf shrugged again, and smiled. "That was it, and I guess that marks the end of this meeting. Please tell me how should I exit this place, before you start giving the needed explanations to your guards"

We have indeed contacted humans before, and while we may have a mutual friend, we are not aware of any such involvement, instead our information about you is mainly from non-human intelligence sources. We are from a small area encompassing about a dozen stars at the base of the Orion spiral arm of this galaxy [coordinates attached] at various levels of both inhabitation and development.

This area is essentially spherical with the several deviations from a static sphere of four parsecs radius. The surface of ‘Vorlon Space’ can thus be described [Formula in parsecs centred at coordinates].

Our species require environment suits to operate in earthlike environments, and our preferred environments are an atmosphere predominantly of methane, sulphur dioxide, and carbon dioxide as well as significant (10%) oxygen content.

We are a species of semi-crystalline properties, and have existed for a relatively long time by the scale of galactic events…

The reply went on in this fashion for thousands of words. An answer that was lengthy and increasingly verbose, but ultimately, said next to nothing, and what it did say was all in the first few paragraphs. And for that matter, part of that was disinformation.

It did explain his intentions, though; he wanted, in no small part, to learn and ‘see’ – why the two were separate was difficult to tell, but here, there was a subtle play of words and semantics, hidden meanings.

---

OOC: This post sucks. But I spent far too long trying to figure out how to actually write a thousand word ‘cryptic reply.’

[OOC: This post is going to speed things up a little.]

Mason's Study

Now it was Albert's turn to snort. "Not common at all, my lady," he answered. "This nation's population has always been purely human. No elves, no orcs, not even some of the more unusual and uncommon creatures. The only sentient species that we know to have ever lived in this area is humans. No proof even suggesting the presence of another has ever been discovered." He shrugged. "I suppose that colors some people's thinking too, as much as all the other reasons for prejudice that I mentioned."

He reached under his desk and pressed a button. There was a chirp of something activating, and after a moment a voice came out of hidden speakers somewhere in the desk. "Sir?"

"Lady Celestrianna is ready to depart," Albert replied. "Please send someone to show her out."

"Yes sir," the man on the other end answered. "Anything else?"

"Yes, I'll need the line to Fox," Albert answered. "Have it ready."

"Understood, sir."

Albert and his guest sat in silence until a respectful knock at the door announced that Filaura's (Albert would never think of her as Celestrianna) escort had arrived. When the President answered the door, the uniformed guard on the other side came to attention. As Filaura was led away, back down the route she had come to get here, Albert went up the hallway in the opposite direction, bound for another room of his palatial residence. One that only the President and a select few people were allowed into.

*********************************************************

The Fox Residence

Director Harold Fox of the Ministry of Intelligence, formerly Military Intelligence before President Albert had formally merged the military and civilian intelligence services into a single unit, was fast asleep when an urgent ring next to his bed woke up him. He blinked a couple times, and peered at the wall right next to his bed. Most people would have only one phone next to their bed, if that many. Director Fox had four. One was a secure line direct to his office, a dedicated landline that did nothing else. The second one was his direct line to the House of the First Citizen. The third went directly to President Albert's offices. The last was Fox's personal phone, and was the only one that wasn't triple-checked every week for bugs.

The light on the President's home phone was blinking. Fox frowned, and reached for it, not bothering to flip on a light. He didn't want to disturb his wife, assuming the ringing hadn't already woken Cindy up. But after being married for twenty years, ten of them while Harold Fox had been Director of various intelligence services, Cindy Fox had gotten used to sleeping through calls regarding things she didn't need to know.

After two tries, he got the receiver. "Harold."

"Sorry to wake you." It was President Albert himself on the other end.

"That's alright, sir," Fox returned the lie. "What is it?"

"I have someone I need your people to find, tonight," Albert answered. "I'm coloring this one Vermillion Stage Six."

Now Fox was awake. "Country of origin?" he asked.

"Aelosia."

Fox avoided swearing by an act of will. "An Aelosian?" he asked neutrally. An Aelosian Stage Six?! he managed to not ask incredulously. What Aelosian ranking Stage Six would come here? One possibility immediately jumped into his mind, the one that Albert was carefully not mentioning. Harold Fox was one of the few people "in" on Albert's relationship.

"An Aelosian," Albert repeated. "Arrived here without normal diplomatic channels, in secret, and is somewhere in Dulles. She needs to be found immediately, and the information relayed to me. Shouldn't take too long, I do know that she left a paper trail somewhere."

"I'm on it. I'll call you when we've found her."

*********************************************************

The Ministry of International Relations

Frank Pierce had arrived and was on his third cup of coffee, trying to wake himself up fully, when the second message from the unknown contact was picked up, this time by Reachstar as it arrived. Reachstar forwarded it on to International Relations, and from there it made it to Frank Pierce's oak desk, hand delivered by courier.

The Minister sipped his coffee as he scanned the long message. After reading a few paragraphs, he could see where this was going. Anywhere but to his question. Nonetheless, the background information would be useful in building a profile of this new species. Assuming, of course, it was all accurate.

He sent the message back with orders that it be made the first file in a new folder regarding this species, the "Vorlons". Then he set about composing another message.

*********************************************************

TO: Vorlon Emissary
FROM: Frank Pierce, Minister of International Relations
RE: Greetings

As said before, greetings and warmest wishes to you. Your contact has become more than important enough for me to handle personally, but these long range communications don't quite carry the flavor of a face to face meeting. I would like to extend you an invitation to come and have such a meeting here. Given that you stated you wished to learn more about us, I am sure more could be learned from seeing with you own eyes anyway, as opposed to descriptions given by us.

*********************************************************

As it turned out, finding the elves hadn't been nearly as hard as Fox had feared. Especially not with the haste that Intelligence moved when they found out it was a Stage Six. By the time he reached his office at two in the morning, his team was already starting to piece their location together.

The color and number system was only a few months old, developed to allow members of the intelligence and law enforcement community in GH to quickly classify the importance of any given mission or event. Each case was assigned a color from a broad range. Vermillion was not that unusual, though it was taken very seriously, as it meant a foreign citizen was missing, and believed to be somewhere in GH. After that, a stage was assigned, one through eight, indicating the importance of the missing foreigner, with one being a common citizen, up to eight being a visiting ruler. Stages One through Four were handle by Internal Security, and would take the form of normal manhunts. Five and up fell under the purview of Intelligence, due to the absolute need for secrecy and circumspect action that the search for such an important person required.

Every major figure of the nations that GH had regular contact with fell into one of these classifications. In the Aelosian case, the Everqueen herself was a Stage Eight. Crown Princess Aliria was a Stage Seven. And Celestrianna Paelisi, believed by Intelligence to be the most likely third in line for the Aelosian throne, was a Stage Six. She wasn't alone, there were a couple other Aelosian officials considered important enough to rank Stage Six. But Director Fox could not think of any reason any of the others would want to come to Glorious Humanity, let alone do so in secret. Albert's personal interest in the results of the search pretty much clinched it.

Fortunately, though the Aelosians might have hidden their identities from the customs people when they came in, they could not hide their species. Customs submitted records of all foreigners allowed in to a central database that both Intelligence and Internal Security had access to. Finding the elves was a simple matter of hunting down anyone who had claimed Aelosian nationality at entry.

Finding where they went was a bit harder. There were two hundred registered Aelosians with current visas in the country. Those were eliminated from consideration immediately, Celestrianna and her handler probably had not gotten a visa, since they did not intend to stay long. They had most likely used fake Aelosian passports. Unfortunately, now it became harder. There were thousands of Aelosians in the country on passports. It didn't compare to the millions of foreign humans in the country, but it was still a healthy enough sampling that finding two, especially two under officially fake names, would be difficult.

Albert's mention that Celestrianna was in Dulles helped narrow the search some more, and eliminated three quarters of the Aelosians, who were registered as currently being in other cities. From there, another couple dozen were eliminated as couriers going to the Aelosian embassy. Fox was almost certain that Celestrianna had not contacted her country's embassy. A few others were listed as being here on buisiness, and they were also removed. Fox had a feeling that his targets had come in posing as tourists. With the list down to only a few hundred, Fox set a hundred operatives on calling hotels in the area.

At five AM, they hit paydirt. A night clerk recalled a pair of elves checking in at the Glorious Rest hotel, and taking the penthouse suite. What made them really stick out in the clerk's mind was that one of the elves had been very sick, but when the clerk had offered to send for medical help, the other elf had politely but firmly rejected the offer. Fox got a detailed description of the sick elf, and matched it to Celestrianna Paelisi. While there was a remote possibility that there were two sick elves with the same description, or close enough profiles to get a similiar description in Dulles, Fox was willing to bet he had found Celestrianna. Using his office's secure phone, he called the House of the First Citizen and informed Albert, who was still awake, of his findings.

At 7:45 AM, President Mark Albert arrived at the Glorious Rest hotel, accompanied by two President's Guard in plainclothes. The night clerk on duty was given a break by one of the Guards, who showed her his identification and told her that it was a matter of the higest security that she keep her mouth shut. He also casually mentioned the minimum ten year sentence for inadvertantly betraying knowledge of anything this secret. The girl confirmed to the Guard that this was the right place, and that, as far as she knew, the sick elf and her minder were in their suite, probably sleeping at this moment.

At Eight AM, President Albert was standing outside the door to the penthouse suite, hoping Fox had been right about his intel. After a few moments of mentally preparing, he knocked on the door.

Several seconds passed, without an answer, until finally an elf opened one half of the rather large door of the penthouse suite.

The elf wasn't exactly the typical stereotype of the aelosian maiden, displayed perhaps in Glorious Humanity through visual publicity and aelosian products ads. The female elf looked like carved out of a brick. She was taller than the usual human male, with broad shoulders and muscular arms. Instead of using the typical large gown of the aelosian women, this one was wearing a tight, copper bodyglove of an unknown material, with what looked like an utilitarial belt over her waist, that marked her imposing form even more. Her long white hair was dressed in a ponytail, and her rather gentle features were froze in an icy, emotionless expression.

Without showing surprise, or any emotion at all, her ice blue eyes directed a glance at Albert first, then at both guards standing behind him, staring at the three from head to toe, standing in front of door and yet covering the entire opening with her body, as to prevent onlookers to see whatever was at the ther side of the door.

"This is not room service. Am I wrong?", were her only words, using the classical flute tone of the sindar speaking in foreign languages, yet this time without any ornamental qualities.

From behind the President, one of the guards let out a low whistle at the sight of the Elven woman who didn't look anything like a normal elven woman. There was much more surprise than appreciation in the sound.

Albert just nodded in response to the woman's query. "You are not wrong. I am President Mark Albert. I was informed that someone here wished to see me."

He was more nervous than he cared to admit. He'd heard so much about the malaise that had taken Celestrianna, and he was almost afraid of how much damage it might have done to her. He wasn't sure how much it might hurt him to see her weakened and debilitated.

The towering elf woman directed a single icy glance of desdain to the guard who whistled behind the president, slowly shifting her head to peer behind the frame of Albert. Shifting her gaze again towards the human leader, she opened the door, saying a clear set of words as she did so. "Someone here wants to see you, President Albert, sire", she said, bending her back a little and sending her body forward, using the custom bow and addressing Albert with the title the sindar used to defer to clear superior beings, for sure a show of honor towards the Humanity leader.

Yet she stopped when the door was open, her left hand still holding the frame as to prevent trespass of the open portal "However, I am not sure if said someone wants to interact with your entourage. I know that in front of you our privileges as visitors grow pale, and that our right to privacy is void in your presence, but said someone would prefer to not be seen by anyone else than you, if that is possible. I hope you understand that this is my duty, and not a show of disrespect", she stated as a clear blonde elven maiden crossed the room behind the unarmed bodyguard, dressed in a golden gown pretty familiar to Albert, for sure the same elven maiden that visited his study earlier that day.

One of the Guards opened his mouth to say something, no doubt something sharp involving what he thought of the elves trying to dismiss them, but Albert held up a hand to silence him.

"It's alright," the President told them, his voice strangely subdued. "Go back downstairs. I'll be fine."

"Sir..." The same protesting Guard trailed off.

"I will be fine," Albert repeated. "Trust me on this. Wait downstairs. That's an order."

The two guards looked at each other, then the talky one made some noise that sounded like assent. The Guards went back down the hallway, and the President looked back at the elves.

"They're just doing their jobs," he said, smiling a little. "Ever since that sniper shot me in the arm during the Revolt, they never want to let me do anything alone. Always afraid someone else is going to jump out and get me if I'm not watched twenty four hours a day."

He took a breath, the smile fading again, then straightened and nodded to the messenger. "Hello again, Lady Filaura," he greeted her. "I trust you did not have any problems getting back here." Then, the small talk concluded, he looked from one elven woman to the other.

"Where is she?" he asked.

The massive elven woman stopped holding the door, letting Albert in with a gesture of her armoured arm, adding in a really flawed english. "I understand their duty towards their charge, President Albert, sire. It is my same duty, I cannot but support their zeal. We elves know about honor, even although you don't believe in it", said the bodyguard leaving the room as he entered and closing the door behind her, for sure standing outside in the hallway with her arms crossed over her chest, preventing anyone else to enter the suite.

As Albert entered, Filaura waited for him with a cold stare, for sure uncomfortable in the presence of the human. "Everything went well, according to your standards. She's in that room, in the couch. Should I announce you, or should you present yourself, President, sire?", she added with a tone filled with disdain and aloofness, pretty different from the initial stance of Filaura regarding the human leader. "I should add that the Golden Beak is not in her best days, so if you came looking to satisfy your carnal needs, she's not available, I warn you", said the young elf, throwing every protocol apart and being as rude as she could.

Albert stared levelly at the elf. "What an interesting change of perspective you take when among your own kind, my lady," the President commented, a hard edge entering his voice. "You come with talk of peace and cooperation, and yet here you are as bad, if not worse, than the humans you claim superiority over. You shame yourself."

He met her gaze, not looking away until she did, then continued. "I do not care how many centuries you have been in the universe compared to me," he said. "I will not, under any circumstances, tolerate comments like the one you just made from anyone at all. I have treated you with respect, and I would think your House would have taught you to do the same."

He paused for a moment. "As for your question, I am unfamiliar with the correct protocol in this situation. If you think it more proper to announce me, then please do so."

"I didn't leave your study in the best of terms, President", said Filaura, using her flute like sindarin. "Me and you shouldn't be surprised, the legacy of the humans is one of broken promises, failed support, and a lot of manipulation, with little coming in return, save a lot of pompous assertion of their own superiority and glory", she added as she picked a dropped towel from a couch, mimicking in a remarkable way the voice of Albert, the resemblance amazing.

"I am not among my own kind, I am in Dulles, and you still can get me imprisoned, or executed. I am surrounded by filthy humans, your own lackeys", she said with a disdainful grin. "My own efforts are limited in patience. You have treated me well enough as to achieve your ends and nothing more, I am treating you bad enough as to achieve my own ends and nothing more. It is called politics, grow up, and realize it". Filaura for sure was ranting, clearly out of herself as she almost raised her voice with those words.

"Regarding the Chancellor, you can enter if you want to, noone is going to stop you, it is not the case we could stop you, anyway", she said, adding in a low voice so noone else could hear them "Remember something, just in case, after she finally leaves to the west, I'll be charge".

President Albert could see there was no talking to Filaura at the moment. Oddly enough, the elf reminded him at this point of the similiarly rigid Tixric Bauman. The same smile in public, the same rotten core when allowed to discuss their real feelings. Albert decided, in the interests of diplomacy, not to bring that point up.

Instead, he simply nodded. "Very well, I will go see her, then, my lady." The President refused to be baited into returning the elf's rudeness, he'd already argued more than he'd wanted to. He bowed to her - a fluid motion that suggested long practice, and went to the door.

He knocked, then opened the door slightly hesitantly. "Celestrianna?" he asked quietly.

A soft and quiet cough followed the call from Albert, and a weak voice added afterwards. "Come in. I've been waiting for you", someone inside said, a voice similar to the one the President of Glorious Humanity heard once in the Craftworld, but now devoid of emotion, and oddly sounding like coming from a place far, far away from the room.

As Albert came in, he had a view of a figure laid in a long couch, in front of a rather large television set. The long, elaborated dress she was wearing, with layers and layers of golden, blue and white silk, velvet and linen, spreaded over the couch as a single pillow supported her head. The image was strangely similar to a fallen bird, stricken by a lightning or the arrow of a lone hunter in mid flight, the sheets that once covered Celestrianna were now in the floor, as she threw them away before Albert could see her.

The face of Celestrianna was as pale as a pure sheet of paper, her lips a weird and unnerving shade of bluish grey. Her eyes, usually orbs of amber filled with a smart intent and a desire for knowledge, were now barely brown pools of despair. Even in her stained status, she managed to smile with half her mouth to Albert, and issued a phrase of welcome. "So, you have come at last, I was waiting for you", she said, as she started to recover and try to stand up from the couch. Her weak arms failed to help her to regain her feet, and she looked just as if someone through a cruel joke made her feel her age as she was a human, and not an elf.

Instantly Albert was at her side, gently embracing her while at the same time preventing her from trying to rise. "Relax, Celestrianna. Yes, I'm here. I came to see you." He looked her over, looked at the wasted woman, and the shock and pain he was feeling must have registered on his face.

"My God," he whispered. "What has happened to you?" He'd been expecting her to be wasted, collapsed, but to see her this way was so much worse than he had ever imagined feeling. She had been so full of life, to see her dying pierced straight through him like the assassin's bullet that had come so close to claiming him not so long ago.

The difference was, the bullet had hurt less.

"You need medicine, a doctor," he said, stammering a little. "I-I can send for one, heck I can send for a whole hospital if I want to."

Celestrianna manages to smile again, and pats softly Albert's shoulder with one of her palms, without any strenght behind the hand. "I knew you were coming, eventually", she said, again drawing a small intent of smile through her sicken lips and her emaciated features.

Celestrianna stared directly at his eyes, fixing her pupils without any light on them in Albert's ones, and nodded slowly. "I'm relaxing now, no need to put that tragedy face at me, you look like and ancient greek theater mask", she added, before a cough attack interrumpted her for a few seconds.

"I'm sick, Albert, that is pretty clear, I think", said the elven woman as she snickered, and placed one dead cold palm over Albert's cheek. "Badly sick, and I do not need any doctors or hospitals, I am way beyond that point now. No light endures forever, all at some point during this existence, grow dim", as she spoke those words with accepted determination, another aelosian maiden tried to enter the room, dressed in white, but left after Celestrianna dismissed her with a wave of her hand. "See?, I have someone taking care of me, and that's enough. What about you?"

"Me? What about me?" Albert asked. "I don't know what you mean. I have people, sure. Servants, staff, a whole army of guards." He forced a smile. "A couple of them almost got into a fight with your security, in fact. I'm not lacking for people interested in my welfare."

He knelt next to the bed, holding her withered hands in his own. "I don't have you though, it seems. Strange, here when I threw in my lot with an immortal I never thought I'd have to worry about outliving her." Another somewhat forced smile, then a little whisper of a chuckle.

"Why did you come here?" he finally asked. "Why did you risk so much to come here? I'm sure you must have doctors at home who can care for you, elves who will do everything they can to help you. You could have sent for me, I would've come to the Craftworld for you. I would've gone anywhere for you. Why did you come here?"

"Life is ironic, don't you think? Sometimes it gives you centuries of idleness and then suddenly attempts to take all the time from you", said Celestrianna after a failed attempt of a laugh that ended in another fit of coughing.

"What did I risk, Albert?", said Celestrianna in a deep, low voice. "I risk nothing, I was already sick before coming, all I can get is benefits from coming here. Seeing you is already the biggest benefit I could get in my current state, alongside with the pleasure of having your hands holding my own", added the elf as a single smile crossed over her suffering and twisted features.

"Elven, foreign, human doctors are to no avail, Albert, we look like we do not age, but lately I have found that we both weaken and diminish with the centuries, and become fragile", she said, one of her hands leaving the nest of Albert's fingers and passing slowly over his hair, in a soft, tender caress. "I'm here fro one reason, the reason that has driven me through my entire, long, life. To stop hate when it is still unborn", as she said those words, her eyes, that suddenly recovered the inner fire that amazed and surprised so many beings across the universe, fixed as a pair of lanterns upon Albert's pupils, so piercing that the threatened to stab Albert's soul. "A bird told me that your people were close to giving birth yet another abomination".

"Tixric Bauman," Albert spat the name like a curse, perceiving what abomination she spoke of immediately. "You came all this way because of him?"

He sighed. "He wants to establish a policy of placing humans first in our negotiations with foreigners. He also wants to eject all nonhumans in the country, and codify laws forbidding nonhuman citizenship. You're worried he's going to be another Count Mirbach, aren't you?"

The President shook his head. "He worries us, myself and my supporters that is. He has a lot of popular support among conservatives who think we dove into the world too fast, and too hard. He's a member of March of Man, but he doesn't share their more extreme views, so he can still appeal to moderate types. Yes, he could be trouble."

A pause, then Albert sighed again. "But I can't stop him. We allow free speech in this country, Celestrianna, and I won't change that. 'The day you tell a man he may not speak his mind is the day you also forfeit the right to tell him he is a fool.'" He chuckled. "Teaching of Peaceful Society, Volume Three. Jonas Mason knew what he was talking about when he laid that down."

His expression turned serious again. "I understand your fears, and those of your nation, that if he wins it will spell doom for the close relations our peoples are developing. I share those fears. Yet, so far he has not broken our laws or violated any customs. He knows where the limits are, and he never crosses over them."

"So, I guess the fact that he is smart reduces the risk?", said Celestrianna, the sad look in her face casting a shadow over her fatigued features. "If something I have learned from my dealings with higher echelons of nobility, from heads of state, from dictators, presidents, tyrants, leaders, generals, is that power corrupts", she added, before a short burst of coughing interrumpted her.

"If he reaches power, he will be corrupted. I'm sorry, looks like it is the fate of all of us, sentients. Our own ShadowPrince was a gentleman enough as to realize that and quit before it was too late", continued the aelosian Supreme Chancellor as she placed a hand over Albert's cheek. "I am not advising to do anything but to use that marvelous system you humans developed, that thing you call democracy, to prevent him becoming greedy, corrupt, and wild. It is a downward spiral that once starts spinning, it can only be stopped by absorbing blood. Blood of foreigners, more likely, but more blood of glorious Humans than anything else".

"Do you really think Bauman will stop when he wins and expel all the foreigners and non humans?", said Celestrianna, grief depicted in her eyes. "No, Albert, once that step is taken, he will start claiming that every problem inside the country due to any trouble his regime may have is the fault of someone else, more likely a foreign nation. If he faces strong opposition, he will claim that non humans are interfering from outside the borders. And that will mean in the best scenario total isolation, with the downfall of trade and commerce included, and in the worst case war. We are affected, but we can live without Glorious Humanity if we choose to, as hard as that might sound. I am not here defending aelosian interests, but your people's interests, avoiding a possible crisis that will take you out of the international sphere for long, just after your successful entry. Do you want that for your people?", she said, a flash of determination, strong but brief, taking over her face.

"I didn't say that because he was smart, he was less of a threat," Albert corrected gently. "Indeed, the fact that he is smart makes him even more dangerous. As I said, he knows the limits, and he knows where he can push. As you say, if he wins, he will keep pushing, everywhere he can, until there is nothing he can't do. We'll end up another Iesus Christi." There was another name that had recently become a problem for the Federation.

"I am trying, but you must know how democracy works, my love," he told her then. "The people are the final deciders of who takes my office. When I said he has strong support among certain groups, that does not mean that he's swayed a large portion of the country. My supporters are not a small group you know, I never would've gotten this office in the first place, not to mention being reelected, if I didn't have a number of people who thought highly of me. I've convinced Minister Frank Pierce to stand for election on the same ideals I hold, and he'll work hard to make them a reality."

The President suddenly chuckled softly as an idea came to him. "You'd like Frank. He's a lot like you, a diplomat, a peacemaker. He's the Minister of International Relations, my best friend, and my closest advisor, so in rank he's more than a little like you as well. How ironic, my best friend and my lover both in the same field." He winked at her, a trace of genuine humor finally showing through. "I guess I just like that personality type."

Then he leaned forward and kissed her forehead softly. "We should not talk of politics so much, love. We don't have forever after all, it seems, and you don't need to exhaust yourself. You should rest. If you'd like, I can probably find a chair and sit with you tonight. There's nothing on my agenda tomorrow so important that I can't find an excuse to reschedule it."

"Of course I like Frank, dear. I want to meet him, I hope this democracy of yours give him victory", said Celestrianna, taking his hand and giving it a delicate kiss with her feverish lips. "But you are right, we talk too much about politics. We are political animals in the end, and politics drive us, feed us and fascinate us, otherwise we wouldn't be leaders", she added, her pale eyelids managing to wink to the Glorious Humanity president.

"Nothing could make me happier than you staying tonight, Albert. However, I have something I wanted to tell you first, after finding out you were retiring and offering your post to Pierce. Can you walk over there to that piece of furniture and retrieve the small velvet bag lying there for me?, if you don't mind, of course", said Celestrianna, pointing at a small table nearby with her lips.

"No doubt we are," the President agreed. "We are indeed creatures of the system, ruled by the very organizations we created." He chuckled. "Then again, there are silver linings. If I wasn't a great and mighty leader, how would I ever have drawn the eye of a fair elven lady?"

He stood up then and walked to the coffee table. He scooped up the bag, resisting the urge to peek inside it, and returned to the bed, where he placed it in her hand. "And what manner of elven magic might this be? A trinket with the power to tell stories? A light to banish all darkness? A fancy whistle, maybe?" The humor was coming more easily now. Celestrianna was right, there was no point in dwelling on bad things when they had this time.

"An elven bauble, without no doubt. Devoid of magic this time, although", she idly laughed containing her coughing once again. "Devoid of magic on purpose. The magic on the trinkets contained in this bag must be created by the holders of them, not brought into them by the purpose of their creators", said Celestrianna, turning serious for a moment.

Opening the delicate velvet bag, she held a pair of exquisite mithril rings in the opened palm of her hand, one with an embedded blood red ruby, and another displaying a dark blue sapphire. "Elven silver, perfect for storing the magic of emotions, or at least the mystics of my people claim. So...What do you think? Would you like to cast a certain spell upon them, my dear Albert, or is it a responsability too high for a leader of your status, a bothersome encumbrance to your duties?", said the aelosian Imperial Chancellor, with a stare full of intent fixed in the President's eyes.

Albert sensed that this was an important question, one he could not answer lightly despite the previous levity. It almost sounded like... he didn't let that thought finish. Was something like that what she was suggesting? In spite of the questions in his mind, he hesitated only a moment though, before nodding and placing his hands over hers and the rings.

"Certainly, Celestrianna," he said softly. "Show me how to work this magic, and I shall give it my all." His gaze fixed on hers. "All I have to give was yours a long time ago, and you know you can always ask for it. Nothing is a bother when it is done for you. I am not so high and mighty a leader that I would not put aside everything I have gained in an instant for you." For some reason, he felt like the flowery formality was appropriate. Something important was about to happen, that much he was sure of.

"We elves always have had a weakness for magical rings. Or any magical jewels, for that matter. We were, and still are, famous for distilling our more powerful emotions and thoughts into metals and gems, and the circular form of the rings is a symbol of cycles. The beginning is always the end of the beginning, the end always the beginning of the end, and so forth", said Celestrianna still holding the rings in her open palm.

"I know your proud people could perhaps find this fact disturbing, but you took some of our customs as yours as the centuries passed, perhaps not even remembering where you got them. There is indeed a human custom related with the giving of rings, can you remember me which one it is?", she asked, smiling broadly, in her eyes the hidden spark of happiness glowing bright again.

Mark Albert's mouth suddenly went dry, his eyes widening. He did know what custom she referenced. He knew exactly which one, and suddenly his mind flashed back almost twenty years. The day when Albert had sat in the audience, and stood up to applaud after a man made a speech very much like the one Celestrianna had just made, cycles, circles and all. The day Mark Albert had applauded his friend, Frank Pierce.

The day Frank and Tanya Pierce had taken their vows.

"Marriage," he finally whispered out loud, so softly even elven hearing might have had trouble hearing it. "Marriage. That's the human custom you're getting at." He took a deep breath, then chuckled. "You know, suddenly a lot of things make sense. You see, when Frank married his wife, twenty years ago, the official who performed the ceremony made a speech about rings, circles, and cycles. All of that. We humans may not cast magic on the rings, but we definitely pour emotion into them. Perhaps... perhaps our customs aren't so far apart as some humans and elves think."

He paused, recognizing the explanation he was stuttering out for what it was - avoiding the question Celestrianna had posed, even though she hadn't articulated it. "You're suggesting... us," he said then. A thousand thousand reasons why this was a bad idea clamored to make themselves known. Politics, international relations, the elections, there were so many reasons, all of them part of the system that he had devoted the better part of his short human life to serving and living in.

Yet, none of those reasons mattered when he looked back at her. It was so easy, so easy to forget everything when he was with her. Rank, prestige, both their careers, nothing seemed as important at that moment as the happiness in her eyes.

Slowly, he nodded. "There are ten thousand reasons, ten thousand political reasons why not, for both of us." He met her gaze squarely, all hesitation gone. "All my life, I've been a politician, and made decisions as a politician. You know where that has gotten me? To a life ruled by politics, a life where all my decisions depended on what others would think of them."

He leaned forward and touched his lips to hers. "I'm tired of being a politician. This time, I'm going to make a decision as a man. If this is what you want, then it's what I want. If you want me to marry you, I will. I love you, Celestrianna Paelisi."