[color=fff200]Most Serene Key Republic delegation[/color]- [color=6ecff6]Bartholomew Hemingway[/color] / [color=007236]Alexander Suttbray[/color]

Bartholomew could hardly contain the urge to shiver in the face of young Marie’s withering gaze. The girl unnerved him on a level he couldn’t quite describe. In his youth, Bartholomew had seen some off-putting things, to say the least. The Garden held many things not meant to be gazed upon by the eyes of men, and he had unfortunately witnessed them, but this teenager’s simple gaze elicited the same primal fear which he had felt back in those days. Bartholomew peered down at his broken watch, avoiding Marie’s eyes for a moment. The abnormally long and skinny fingers of his right hand all took a turn rapping the glass, resulting in six sharp clicks.

Having collected himself a bit, Bartholomew looked back up, focusing just above Marie’s eyes. “Trade was at the top of our agenda, of course. Your refurbishing of the Pittsburgh steel mills is of particular interest to us, as steel is currently in rather high demand in Key West. At the moment, most of Key West’s trade is funneled through the small port of Point Lookout, with travel further westward being deemed too risky for most Key merchants. However, in the interest of its citizens, the Most Serene Key Republic would like to negotiate the safe passage of Key merchants into some of your eastern territory, to better facilitate efficient trade. As it stands now, the conflict between your own people and the Church of Atom keeps many Point Lookout-borne goods from reaching your… nation.”

Bartholomew said all of this with a practiced culture and grace, delivering it in his Floridian drawl. Despite his outer decorum, however, he still remained unnerved by the girl. This situation did not become much better when a fly suddenly dropped onto her plate with a soft sound, seemingly dying midair with no explanation. Bartholomew’s appetite vanished.

Meanwhile, Alexander Suttbray sat in silence beside Bartholomew, plunged deep in his own thoughts. His business with the Cult of Ug-Qualtoth was more delicate, and best discussed away from prying eyes. The Cult was certainly not the only focus of the Key delegation today, however. As he looked around, he spotted a number of delegations that were to be spoken to before their departure- The newly arrived Vesyanian Confederation, the covert, intolerant Enclave, the Church of Atom, and the Van Graffs, as a start. Before Alexander could even begin formulating a strategy for the day, however, chaos gradually took hold of the room.

In short, war was declared. The New California Republic had apparently already commanded the invasion of the Legion’s northwestern territory. This was entirely unexpected by both Bartholomew and Alexander, who were hoping to help with the revision of the Treaty of Goodsprings, as per the request of His Serenity. Such a bloodthirsty move was bold, and it was amazing to Bartholomew that the NCR had not consulted with their friends in the East before this strike. From here, things escalated quickly, with Lucius leaving to join the defence of his nation and the ‘King’ declaring that any military operations near New Vegas would be met with deadly force.

Too baffled to interject quite yet, Bartholomew took a long drag off of his pipe, mulling over the map which had been provided to him. This NCR under young Kimball was certainly a rash one, and Bartholomew didn’t necessarily think that was a good quality. He had been entirely prepared to come here and discuss peace in the West, along with steps towards it in the East. Investment in the Legion, westward railroad construction, a new set of international wartime laws- all of these plans were suddenly overshadowed by the new troubles of the West.

Before he could stew over the issue anymore, the delegation from Texas finally arrived, moving to take their seats beside the two men of Key West. Both Bartholomew and Alexander stood as Mr. Harris and his companions approached the meeting table. Both Key delegates offered their hands to each of the Texans before they took their seats.

“I’m glad you could make it, President Harris,” Alexander said with his soft, Tidewater voice. “It is always a pleasure to find friends in this far-flung city. You’ve missed quite the show, unfortunately. Mr. Kimball has declared war on the Legion- without consulting their allies in the Hoover War, mind you- and House has declared that any military operations in Vegas territory will not be tolerated. This war will certainly affect our fair Gulf in one way or another.”

Alexander gave the Ghoulish Texan a wide smile before quietly pushing out his chair and standing before the table. He spoke again, just loud enough so the room could make out his honeyed words.

“Quite a surprise, I must say. Mr. Kimball, may I ask what your exact reasoning behind this strike was? The Keys were hoping to promote peace and prosperity throughout the war-torn West, so I pray you have a just cause for the resumption of conflict in the region.”