Celestine System
Planet Eudaimonia
House Wander Estate of Ark-01

Amidst the visage of the peaceful ocean before him, Lord Radcliffe Wander could tell there was dark change in the air. Here, on Eudaimonia he could escape the growing darkness in court and among his opposite Nobility. The growing tides of war and conflict and the need to escape. No one would admit it, but he could see the writing on the wall and the reports passed his way by his agents that things were looking grimmer.

Which in a way, could be considered good for a man in his position. Business was thriving, for common-folk and nobility alike sought escape from reality that could be provided on the idyllic serenity on Eudaimonia. Resorts were packed, transport liners were arriving daily, and the river of wealth that flowed into House Wander's coffers was threatening to turn into a waterfall at this present rate of increase. Yet it was the unknown and unquantified nature of that flow of wealth that was distressing him so.

A soft hand on his shoulder snapped him out of his revere, as he turned to look upon the visage of his beloved wife in one of her flowing dark violet dresses, with her maternal empathy melting away the ice in his heart. "Is something the matter my husband?" Asked Lyndis as she pulled herself in close to his body as they both stood watching the sea.

"Its about our treasury. It looks like its about to explode again. We might need to buy a new Strauss numbered bank account to hold it all." Radcliffe replied, with a half smirk on his face which his wife returned. "I am worried about how our business is going a bit too well these days and what it means."

"Bread and circuses, luxury and excess, such is the purpose of our Houses as laid down by the Founding Charter and a purpose we have fulfilled beyond even our ancestor's abilities and resources. I know something deeper ails you Radcliffe."

"Its because of how much of that wealth is coming from the masses. We have a full battlegroup's worth of Ducal Fleet crew laid up for R&R, but the amount that their officers and crew are spending is being superseded in a hundred areas....we are being courted. By whom, I have yet to determine. But much of the wealth we are receiving is being paid in Gold and Platinum Throne Credits. I have a feeling we'll be receiving a visit soon. But whether it is from the Regent or another House seeking favor.....we know too little."

"Hm." Lyndis gave a little pout as she turned her husband's head to look into his eyes. "Well we will not be coming to any further answers on an empty stomach. Come, let us put these ill thoughts to rest. It is one of the few times we come together as a family afterall."

"Yes m'lady." Radcliffe smiled, following the guidance of his wife as she pulled him into the open dining hall where three of his children were already sitting together discussing the contents of a holo-screen before them. Adrian, his firstborn and rising star pride of the House Guard, soon to rise to his own command of the House Guard as a Commodore after his service in the Ducal Fleet. Nathan, the secondborn merchant son that was able master of the House's growing shipping and resorts alike. Victoria, the wolf-eared daughter who favored both fighting and song alike in the style of her mother.

If it wasn't for the knowledge that prolong made everyone in the room look less than half their true age, Radcliffe might have still doted upon his children as if they were still young teenagers. Sometimes he still did. Such as now as he shushed the House Guard at the doorway so he might sneak up on his children to see what they were so intensely focused on discussing amongst themselves. Which in this case were the exact same financial reports he had read himself just earlier.

"May I assume we are all on the same page?" He inquired, sparking a yelp and a jump from Nathan while the other two siblings calmly turned around and stood up to greet their patriarch who simply smiled warmly. "Good, then that saves me the trouble of broaching the fact that we are now stupendously wealthy and getting richer by the minute and we don't know exactly how."

"Our GDP has almost doubled in the last financial quarter and still rising." Commented Nathan. "While our investments into airship resorts have paid off big time, that doesn't explain the sheer amount of patronage we seem to be having from the Ducal Fleet and many noble houses far beyond the norm of the past 20 years."

"Or the number of advance bookings in every hotel, resort, and cabin there is to be had on this world and its moons." Added Victoria. "The bidding is much more intense than usual. I doubt its the work of any one person or House. But its also....how did you put it Adrian?"

"Disorganized. This kind of heavy spending by mercs and crew ratings and officers and lesser nobles is all over the place. Either its something really big pulling the strings, or everyone is just thinking along the same lines of thought all at the same time." Finished Adrian, looking to his father for his assessment to be judged. Radcliffe nodded in approval and gestured for his children to sit at the table as he took the seat at its head.

"You are all correct, although I wish you were not mirroring my own same doubts on the matter so precisely. Perhaps it is nothing and simply a tourism spree we are late in catching onto, but I would prefer to learn more about how this situation is coming about to come to a better judgement on things. And more importantly, to determine what to do with all our new money.....erm, where is Claus and Helena?" All three of the younger Wanders just sighed and rolled their eyes while Nathan pointed at the door over his shoulder.

"Helena is busy freshening up, you know how she hates mornings. Claus went to go wake her up." Explained Nathan, just as the chamber doors opened for the other two youngest Wander siblings to enter, the fox-eared girl in a loose robe being dragged along by the arm by a visibly young lion-boy in a set of silk pajamas and was waking up on his own as well. "Ah, speak of the devil. Hows our young lion doing today? Have a nice night Claus?" With the latter words being spoken as if implying the youngest Wander had been doing anything but sleep. Claus just smiled off the verbal jab.

"For once, yes I slept my straight-laced big brother." Retorted the youngest Wander sibling as he brought the still sleepy Helena to her seat and stifling a yawn. "I was busy all last evening talking with Lady-Captain Kasador of the Ducal Fleet in regards to an extensive platinum companionship vacation package on my resort and with some of my girls, and I needed the sleep for a change."

"Let me guess, she is spending far more than what would be considered normal for a captain of the Fleet?" Inquired Radcliffe as he watched the youngest of his children take his place right next to his mother, who proceeded to pet the lion-boy to his mock annoyance.

"Yes it was in fact. But it was more along the lines of Kasador being indulgent as a battlecruiser captain rather than coming into a lot of money and being told to spend it all here. I have a feeling she was doing it to try and impress me." Remarked Claus as he scooted in and scowled at his mother for being touchy, which Lyndis responded to with a smile that he couldn't retort against as he submitted to further petting. "So the source of this house's newfound wealth isn't coming from the Ducal Fleet. Directly at least. What are we going to do with it all anyway?"

"We are going to finish what my father started." Declared Radcliffe, sparking interest from all five Wander siblings as they attentively listened to what their patriarch had to say at the mention of the long-passed Klyber Wander, the man who sparked House Wander's rising star growth in recent years. "I'm ordering renewed investment into our terraformer reproduction plans, as well as planned expansion into the southern continent to extend our resort zones to match rising demand for comforts in these dark times as soon as we can confirm the new stations work. In addition, I'm ordering new work on the Legendary and opening negotiations with the Ducal Reserve Fleet for the purchase of new ships to expand our House Fleet. That in turn will require new discussions with the Regent's direct underlings or the Regent herself on the matter of our House's standing on stellar affairs. I am certain she will be amicable to the offers we can make. We have wealth, we must now use it while we have it, and pin down where it is all coming from while we are at it.

I will also be approving major increases to each of your discretionary funds, so if you see opportunities you will have the resources to seize them. I will speak with each of you in turn as to our House's next moves and my expectations of each of you, but it can wait until after breakfast. The chief is eager to try out his new waffle recipes ever since we got ahold of Yew Maple Syrup, and I quite look forward to his latest results-"