Mid-rim System
Pleasure World Eudaimonia, governed by House Wander
Emerald Garden Pleasure Den

“- and a happy short, victorious war indeed.” Concluded Claus Wander as the holomovie documentary on the glories of Fleet Admiral McAllen during the Dominion War closed to credits, before turning to his movie companion to gauge his response to the film. “My good Earl Demansk? Was the movie not to your liking?”

“What? Oh, it was certainly a spectacle to the glory of the good Admiral.” Replied Earl Ernst Stavos Demansk, snapping out of his former focus upon the holodrama and how he had mentally focused upon dissecting its blatant glorification of a unglamorous leader to remain sane watching the flick. He kept his true feelings about the HD to himself however, not wishing to take a step that would aggrandize his host. Or jeopardize the real reason he was having a “sleepover” with a member of one of the greatest Houses in the Empire instead of commanding his House Fleet in the Haven war.

“Blatant history-changing garbage in my opinion.” Declared Claus Wander, to Demansk’s surprise as the blonde-haired and handsomely young looking noble was served more wine and pastry treats by a bunny-eared biosynth serving girl. “Completely ignoring the contributions of our Federation allies! I comment the chutzpah of the Admiral for his careful editing of the film to that end, but still such a monument to ego, don’t you think?”

“Indeed ser.” Demansk carefully stated, which only invoked another laugh and order for more wine from the blonde-haired noble, who was acting more like the young teenage boy he appeared, then the century-old man he really was. Demansk may have looked like the noble’s father from an outsider’s point of view, but the simple fact of the matter was that he was in fact very junior to Claus and etiquette demanded he treat him regardless of appearance. Even if it was a futile gesture with the hedonistic man-child.

“Come now Demansk, if I wanted another yes-man to share a movie with, I would have made one.” Beckoned Claus. “Your honest opinion, please. Do I have to make it an order to pry it out of you?”

“McAllen was a fool and a incompetent.” Immediately grounded out Demansk through clenched teeth, which did not abate as Claus adjusted himself in his reclining couch and beckoned for him to continue. “He wasted battleships of the wall against a numerically inferior force that was already short on supplies and endurance. Sequential waves of small craft would have drained them even further and forced them to waste expensive munitions on expendable ships, while the core of his fleet would have remained intact to press even deeper into their lines instead of this blasted settlement we let ourselves get bribed into. Bought into, lets not mince words. All because our bean-counting Solar Chancellor didn’t see more profit in the venture. THAT is what ended the war, not words.”

“And there is the man I invited to join me tonight.” Smugly said Claus, who then gestured for the next course of the night’s amusements as a pair of buxom biosynth girls walked up. “Care to partake, Demansk? Unless your not into the bosomy sort. Or do you like boys? Don’t think I haven’t noticed so much you have been looking me over.” Demansk grunted at the allegation, which Claus seemingly ignored. “Not that I mind, its just that I am booked for the next month. Would a clone of me suffice?”

That was another paradox of this meeting, Demansk noted as he tried to curb the reflex to bark an angry retort. More than twice his chronological age, and yet the blonde noble near continuously indulged in his preferred flavor of hedonism in his eternally youthful body. Orgies, debauchery, a harem of reportedly hundreds of tailor-made biosynths. Even among his hedonistic House, Claus was exceptionally lecherous. But only among biosynths, he had no taste for “real” people of any kind. But his incessent focus upon distractions than business finally made the warrior-noble snap.

“Are you done with your games, my Lord?” Growled Demansk. Less in anger at the not-so subtle prods at his personal preferences than impatience finally deciding his course to cut through the senseless activities. “Because I did not come here to play with your dolls.”

“No, you came here to suck up to someone with more personal wealth than ten times your entire House’s wealth, and with some of the best and plentiful biosynth labs in the Empire under their personal ownership.” Claus replied, uncaring of Demansk’s tone towards him as he appeared to be more focused on how the two biosynths were playing with eachother’s bodies for his amusement. “Yes, I did read your proposal Demansk, it was quite a lot of droll drivel and lorem ipsum dolar set. And frankly it just isn’t like you to try being so roundabout in things, you just arn’t good at it and you never bribe properly. What are you really after in your petition for my personal funds?”

“In a word: the Empire.”

“Oh. How boring. And that is two words.”

“Damnit Claus, can’t you see the Empire is facing a crisis?” Growled Demansk. “The empire is dying.”

“Dying. Died. Has died. Will die. I heard all variations of that before Earl. Either tell me something new.” Claus gestured for the girls to come to him, seeing as his sleepover buddy didn’t want any tail (literally considering they were biosynth catgirls). 

“It is dying because it isn’t big enough.” 

“Okay. Thats new.” That caught Claus’ attention, to the point of waving off the pair of naked biosynths so he could listen quite attentively. “You have my attention. And I say it again: what are you planning?”

“To shake things up in this stagnant empire with a new conquest founded upon economic gain instead of territory, and not out of tax-gouging or bribery.”

“Holy shit. You really are a believer. Alright, this is going to be a clusterfuck no matter which way you go my friend, so how can I help you make it a really, really big one?”