Shores of Plenty
To: His Most Eminent Majestic Highness Tsar Xavier Alexeitovich Caesar Agustus Andropov II
From: Overlord Sheikh Navarrone, Commander of the Aumanii Armed Forces.
"To the desk of the Tsar,
I would like to thank you for your generosity with the Tundarian refugees. I've heard that they have been a source of some trouble for your nation and for that I apologize, however I am uncertain of the specifics. Taking into account our new friendship, I would like to make an offer to you and your nation which, I believe, would benefit all of us greatly. I believe it would be rude to do so over telegram and would like to discuss this opportunity in person and at your leisure.
~Yours gratefully, Sheikh Navarrone."
TO: Overlord Sheikh Navarrone, Commander of the Aumanii Armed Forces
FROM: His Most Eminent Majestic Highness Tsar Xavier Alexeitovich Caesar Agustus Andropov II
Overlord Sheikh Navarrone,
First off, let me assure you that the problems of the refugees are not problems to Derscon. They seem to be working out the problems by themselves.
We would be happy to invite you to come to the Kremlin to discuss these issues.
Tsar Xavier Alexeitovich Andropov II
To: His Most Eminent Majestic Highness Tsar Xavier Alexeitovich Caesar Agustus Andropov II
From: Overlord Sheikh Navarrone, Commander of the Aumanii Armed Forces.
"To the desk of the Tsar,
Excellent to hear that you are interested. I will attend the meeting myself. I will arrive in several days."
~Overlord Sheikh Navarrone.
----
Several days later, Rekjyavich-Andropov Military City...
Navarrone pulled the lapels of his storm coat up around his neck as he stepped off the plane. Snow coated the ground of the city, so desolate, especially since he had just come from Desh...a tropical paradise.
'Good afternoon, Overlord!' boomed the voice of a man wearing jet-black business suit. 'I am Foreign Minister Zheleztsolupp Kabanov and this gentleman to my left is Lord General Kruchina Drakonov.' Kabanov and Drakonov met Navarrone half way down the steps leading from the plane. Navarrone shook hands with Kabanov and Drakonov before saying 'This place is very...white...'
Kabanov laughed heartily and said 'They say "it snows...and then snows...and then snows..."' Navarrone laughed at Kabanov's colloquialism. 'If snow fell on Desh then I'm sure pigs would be flying in hell.' Kabanov laughed again, clapping Sheikh on the shoulder jovially. 'We wouldn't want to keep the Tsar waiting. Here, let me take you to the limousine.'
The men departed toward the Kremlin.
To speed things up, the Foreign Minister and the Lord General took Navarrone through the underground tunnel connecting RAMC Airport to the guardhouse outside the Sentinel Walls.
Coming out of the guardhouse, Navarrone finds himself standing next to a large tower connected to a pearly-white wall, its colour amplified by the snow. The Foreign Minister turned to him.
"These are the Sentinel Walls. They are the walls surrounding the Kremlin Square, and the buildings and gardens inside. This tower is where we'll enter." Navarrone could see that construction was going on around him, as Xavier wanted the guardhouse connected with the tower itself. It would be fine, really, it was directly in front of the tower, so it wouldn't look bad.
Entering the decorative door into the tower, Navarrone could see that the reason the decorative door wasn't reinforced was because there was an energy barrier on the other side of the small room, which was subsequently deactivated once the door behind them closed. They walked a bit further to find another energy barrier, which was deactivated once the one behind them was activated, and they continued to walk down the very long hallway through the tower and the Sentinel Wall -- which was enormously thick.. After going through the same procedure they went through to get in, they came out on the other side, the snow continuing to fall on them. The Foreign Minister turned again to Navarrone.
"A lot of foreigners become upset with having to walk all this distance. May of them are used to being carted on vehicles. Dersconi, however, enjoy walking, and there are always things to see you miss while you're driving. My apologies if you are uncomfortable, but we shall be there soon." Navarrone shook his head.
"No, it's fine, I enjoy a walk every once in awhile."
They continued to walk on the path along the wall, Navarrone and the Foreign Minister walking side by side, and the Lord General tailing behind them. It was relatively foggy, but Navarrone could see a large "Functional Palace" as the Dersconi called them, and he could make out something in the distance...some sort of spire. It was a fuzzy picture, though, with the fog.
"That is the old Palace of the Congress. It hasn't been used for a congress for several hundred years, since Tsar Aleksandr Andropov IX dismissed the congress. It's now used as the Royal Theatre, since that burned down about one hundred and seventy years ago. Now, the Imperial University stands in its place. Had we gone through RAMC, we would have seen it. It's a very nice place."
They continued walking, and then they came to the Kremlin Square, and Navarrone could see what he thought he saw earlier in the fog. In the centre of the square stood a massive spire reaching up into the heavens -- even from his angle, he could not see to the top. Several other, curved, smaller spires came out of the ground around it, forming almost a cup around the spire. At the base of the spire, the ancient design was very clear in that people could go in.
"That is what is only known now as the Andropov Tower. It is the tallest structure on the Prussian Continent, and it is also the oldest known structure on the continent, built thousands of years ago. No exact date has ever been determined." They walked up to the massive tower, and to Navarrone's right he could see a massive cathedral, made of some architectural school that he's never seen before, some sort of space-Gothic and Mayan combo, with a flare he's never identified, but common around Derscon.
"That is the Cathedral of the Empyrean, also known as the Kremlin Cathedral. It's the largest church in Derscon, and the only church on the Prussian continent to rival it is the Presbyterian Cathedral in New Geneva. No one assessed which is actually bigger, but everyone in Derscon thinks that the Kremlin one is bigger. Which is, of course, not founded in nationalism at all." Navarrone nodded and turned around to look behind him, seeing a massive garden.
"Ah, yes, the Kremlin Gardens," the Foreign Minister explained. "Beautiful floral arrangements all centred around our icon, the fountain." Navarrone could see in the middle of the garden stood a fountain in the middle of a flower arrangement...that was guarded?
"Why the guards?" Navarrone asked. The Foreign Minister smiled.
"Because that fountain has the same properties of de Leon's fabled Fountain of Youth, and the flowers you see around it are Amarathine flowers -- named after an Empire found in Dersconi folklore and legend. The flowers themselves never die, and they actually give the fountain its properties. That's why it's guarded. Not only with the guards, but with the forcefield as well. Invisible, naturally, as to not detract from the beauty of the garden." The power of the flowers was clear, as the entire garden looked new as ever, even in the dead of winter.
In front of him, though, was where they needed to go. The Grand Kremlin Palace.
"That, obviously, is the Grand Kremlin Palace. It is actually composed of four buildings all infused together. The building in the front is the Reichkanzlerhof, where the bureaucratic work of the Empire gets done. The main building is the Kremlin Palace, and the building on top of the Kremlin Palace is the Tsarheim, the private residence of the Tsars, and where their private office is. The fourth part is relatively secret. Most Dersconi don't even know about it. Hell, I don't know anything about it, other than it's there. I don't even know where, other than it's there. Anyways, we best get moving, it's going to be a long hike." At that moment, the Lord General walked up to them, accompanied by Veliky Kynaz Tarakh Andropov, Xavier's younger brother.
"Welcome to the Kremlin, Overlord Navarrone. Thank you, Kabanov, Drakonov, I will take it from here." At this point, two cars pulled up, and each of Navarrone's escorts stepped in one, and they were driven away to where they needed to go, leaving Navarrone and Tarakh alone. Tarakh turned to Navarrone.
"Now, if you'll just come with me, I'll get you to my brother in a jiff." Navarrone was ready to follow, but Tarakh only put a hand on Navarrone's shoulder, causing a bright light to flash around his hand. "Don't worry, it's painless." Suddenly, they were surrounded by the bright light, which flashed, and when it subsided, the guards noticed they were gone.
**
Star Office
Navarrone appeared in the centre of the office, slightly dazed, but recovering quickly. Tarakh was gone, but when he looked up, he saw Xavier standing by the window, his cape dancing with the slight breeze created by the environment control.
"Sorry if that was uncomfortable, but it saves time. Please, have a seat. Drink? We have everything you can possibly think of." Tsar Xavier wasn't a large man -- being only 23 -- but he wasn't small. He was slim, but well-built, and 5'11.'' He had medium length bright white hair, but he had a dark energy that could be felt about him. It was a powerful energy, but a dark one. He seemed respectable enough, though.
Xavier motioned to the chair in the room, and when Navarrone sat down in the chair (which was more of a semi-formal lounge chair, rather than a desk chair. Derscon is all about comfort.), Xavier sat down in the one aside, the small table in front of them both for their drinks and any notebooks they might have wanted.
"Hopefully, the cold wasn't too bad for you, Sheikh. I understand Desh is a tad different. Oh, and you make call me Xavier. There is no bad blood here."
'Alright, Xavier. This is a nice place you have here.' Navarrone looked around the office, taking it all in. 'Shall we get down to business? This week has been...hectic...' Sheikh said that with a hint of strain. His job got more stressful over the last few weeks.
Xavier chuckled. "Yes, well, it comes with the territory, unfortunately. Would you like anything to drink? Anything that the Imperial Wine and Spirits Shoppe (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=531565) has we have, and we have more, too. I wouldn't want to appear inhospitable." After drinks were given by Xavier (Xavier didn't have the SPG around, and never allowed servants into the Star Office), he gazed out the window for a few seconds, but snapped out of his thought process quickly.
"Well, first off, I'd like to clarify something that you mentioned in you telegram; the refugees from Auman really aren't as troublesome as you may believe. While, yes, they have been in a state of virtually civil war, we've let them run their course, as I've been informed that this is the...natural sway of things. However, after several articles from an embedded reporter, and after reading several reports, we changed our policy to more accurately reflect the consensus and generally stop the fighting. At the moment, they are not posing any trouble, or anything of the likes, and are generally living better than what they were during the camp wars." He paused to take a sip of his drink.
"But yes, that's the general summary of the refugee situation. I regret to say that their numbers have...dwindled in the civil war. There is a report I can give to you, if you'd like, about who all is there, and the estimated casualties of the civil war, and the current camp statuses." He paused to take another sip of his drink. He didn't bother to press about the issue Sheikh mentioned over the telegram. Navarrone would mention it when he was ready.
Navarrone decided not to press the issue either, for the sake of diplomatic convenience. 'I trust they are well.' Sheikh said, holding a glass of bourbon in one hand while the other jangled a set of keys in his pocket, casually. 'I'm here to talk to you about an opportunity for trade, Xavier. I'm not talking about one or two freighters every couple of weeks. I'm talking about billions of tons of material per day.' Sheikh was determined to get down to business.
Xavier swirled the contents of his glass around, showing no real disapproval of what had just been said.
'Me and my friends would like to offer you access to a trade network so fast that we can allow near instantaneous transport of goods from...say...Desh to Derscon.' Sheikh was starting to sound like a snake-oil salesman.
Xavier cocked an eyebrow and said 'Oh really?'
'Yes really.' returned Navarrone, not missing a beat.
'No way...' said Xavier, placing his drink on his desk.
'I suppose I need some kind of proof. Good thing I brought some.' Navarrone said, reaching into his inside coat pocket. Sheikh produced a paper-thin sheet and handed it to Xavier.
'Tap the center of the page.'
Xavier took the device from Navarrone and tapped the centre of the page, setting it back down on the table.
Once he set it back down, a holodisplay of the galaxy appeared, and then split in half, zooming in on two alternate sections of the galaxy. There were several indicators that one could see to show that it was actual footage, which Xavier paid attention to.
On the left, it showed a merchant convoy in one sector of the galaxy, entering a Hermes Gate, and, on the right, it showed them exiting said gate on the other side of the galaxy, in just a few seconds. Xavier was fairly impressed. And I thought only Amarathine Imperium technology was capable of this.
"Not bad, not bad," he said, as the device deactivated. "So, you've caught my attention. Do carry on."
'I would like to extend to Derscon an invitation to join the Hermes Alliance. A group of nations whose goal is to expand the member economies through fiscal and military cooperation.' Navarrone watched Xavier for a moment, judging his reaction before speaking further.
'The gates are the axis on which it all revolves. With this technology we can ship trillions of tons worth of goods per day. Our citizens can go on day trips to each other's planets, which, I shouldn't have to say, is good for tourism. Not to mention the jobs that having the gates in your system would create locally.' said Navarrone as convincingly as possible.
Xavier had some questions, however.
'The Hermes Alliance? What am I expected to do?' said the Dersconi Emperor, trying not to bite off something he couldn't swallow.
'Your commitment to the organization is simple. Protect the technology of the gates. Protect yourself and other members from piracy. If war is declared on a member by a foreign power you must aid them...this falls under protecting the technology. How you aid them is up to you. Monetary help, hospital staff, full on military intervention. It's a pretty open category.' Navarrone waited to see what Xavier had to say.
Xavier sat and listened to Navarrone's proposal, interested, undoubtedly. The nation of Auman has always been one Xavier has been interested in, and admired, specifically in their having to put up with the degenerate scum on Mars.
"Okay, the commitments are reasonable -- nothing any other alliance wouldn't demand. The gates...I like the gates, and I'm always a fan of trade." He continued to think about the alliance more. There is no governmental structure of Hermes, so no loss of sovereignty. There is but the gates, and all of the economical boosts they bring. And defending allies, but that's to be expected. Xavier nodded, smiling slightly.
"I have to say, you're a good salesman, Navarrone. I'm inclined to say yes. Anything else you'd like to add, though, before I make my decision?"
'Yeah, I have one more thing to add.' said Sheikh with a glimmer in his eye, 'We're all going to make a lot of money.' Navarrone extended a hand to Xavier and asked 'What do you say?'
Xavier smiled at Navarrone's last comment and shook his hand firmly.
"I believe you found yourself a new friend."