[img]http://pre10.deviantart.net/a8e4/th/pre/f/2014/253/7/b/cityscape__01_by_dylanpierpont-d7yi6o1.jpg[/img] [b][u]The Winter Palace Brandenburg Praetoria[/u][/b] “...and that, your Imperial Majesty, concludes Lord Sir Castlereagh’s proposal. Once again I hope this message finds you in the best of health, and look forward to our next meeting. On behalf of your Majesty’s government, this is Lord Chancellor Edwin Wenzel Metternich. Message concludes.” The holoprojector flickered off. Imperial Queen Catherine Romanov reclined in her seat slightly and tented her fingers. She cast her gaze around the sunroom, enjoying the warmth that was so rare on Praetoria. This particular sunroom was not to be confused with [i]the[/i] Sun Room, a massive banquet hall in the Constanietsy wing of the Summer Palace. This sunroom was a personal retreat in the Winter Palace, the section of the Imperial Palace Complex reserved for the Royal Family’s day to day living. She was not alone of course; various Su’urtugal guards of the Imperskiy Vichnesk were camouflaged around and outside the chamber. Joining them were two Su’urtugal from Lord Captain Commander Martuf’s own retinue, causing some friction in the room. Nobody was allowed to bring armed guards into the presence of the Imperial Queen; nobody except Lord Captain Commanders of the Yanissan principalities, as their constitution required they have armed guards at all times. It was one of the many complexities of Imperial law that had caused some real headaches in the early days of the Commonwealth, but nowadays everyone had gotten used to it. If Su’urtugal were capable of pride, the friction in the room might have been called professional rivalry. Catherine and Martuf themselves effortlessly ignored the discomfort of their guards; being surrounded by them since birth made one very good at ignoring them. Martuf joined the Queen in tenting his fingers. She shot him a quizzical glance, suspecting she was being teased, but Martuf feigned innocence. It was the Yanissan who finally broke the silence. “Well, that’s all nice and good, except both Castlereagh and Metternich completely underestimate the difficulty of fighting the Xim in their territory.” “So you’ve said before,” Catherine replied, “but you didn’t see fit to advise either of them on the subject?” “They’re on Corinthene right now. I hate Corinthene, not enough sleaze,” Martuf said dismissively. “You find Praetoria sleazy?” “Not at all, your Imperial Majesty, but it certainly is decadent, which is almost as good.” “I’m so glad we could accommodate you. Can we get back on topic? I’m still inclined to accept Castlereagh’s proposal. Regardless of the Xim’s defensive capabilities, the war with the Federation demonstrated how poor their offensive capabilities are. A mutual defence pact with the Federation would cost us very little, but gain us a great deal of goodwill, and possibly an ally in other potential conflicts.” She was right in many ways, Martuf noted with just a touch of pride at the Queen’s diplomatic sense. Still, he decided to press the issue, partially to test her and partially because he didn’t think the Federation would make a very useful ally. “We may be better off trying to reach a preemptive diplomatic solution with the X’Cor.” The Queen shook her head. “You know as well as I such a thing would cost Metternich his government. And a constitutional crisis if I tried to Mandate it through. Nobody [i]wants[/i] diplomatic resolutions with a bunch of disgusting slavers. The entire population is practically waiting for the X’Cor to try something so we can kick their asses back to the stone age.” Right again. Martuf himself knew that the X’Cor slave rebellion was wrapping up, which would leave the X’Cor free to resume their expansionist tendencies. They were still a ways from open hostilities, but understandably the populace of the Commonwealth didn’t sleep very easily with hyper-militaristic slavers sitting at their northern border. “I’ve made up my mind on this, though of course I appreciate your input Martuf,” the Queen said resolutely. “This is about accruing diplomatic goodwill, something we’re rather in need of. I’m going to issue a Royal Mandate on the subject and give Metternich all the support he needs. I want envoys in Federation space within the week.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b][u]Federation-Commonwealth border 3 days later [/u][/b] A Reliant-class battlecruiser, the [i]Anna Karenina[/i], dropped out of warp well on the Commonwealth side of the border and began broadcasting. “This is RCNS [i]Anna Karenina[/i], Captain Arthur Wellesley speaking. We are carrying a diplomatic delegation and request permission to enter UFS space.”