((Collab Post between Letter Bee and Vilageidiotx))

Lucrecia Calimlim smiled as she got her way. Apparently, Ethiopia thought nothing of the idea that the Philippines would just use her fulfilled requests to imitate Ethiopia's unique products, including Coffee. Coffee from the original source of the plant; it was going to make the Philippines rich and cut into that Desta's profits! Did she just notice the Minister of the Pen being silently furious as she did the equivalent of politely asking: 'Can I cut into your profit margins?'

Well, nevermind. Time to go back to her car and once inside, change into a more conservative long dress of opaque cotton fibre, as well as tie up her long hair into a decent bun. She would then ask her chauffeur to drive her to the Bahr Negus' office in Addis Abbaba; time to conciliate the person giving the Philippines a battleship against his will.

As the car drove to the small, Italian-style manse protected by grey-clad naval personnel, Lucrecia began to clear her head of all thought. She knew she had to convince the Bahr Negus to be friendlier to the Philippines, and to do that, she would have to appeal to his recently-stoked Anti-Desta sympathies. Not that she minded pissing off that snake...

News of the Bahr Negus's recent arrival in the capital had sparked her interest. The Naval leader was a governor as well, given authority over four cities: Assab, Massawa, Djibouti, and Mogadishu. The first two were small port towns, but Djibouti and Mogadishu were thriving cities, the pearls of East Africa, and control over them made the office of Bahr Negus a formidable one. Hamere Noh Dagna was an infamously prickly man, but his importance made suffering his personality worth the effort.

The Admiralty Building had once been a house, this was apparent in its layout, but it was converted to allow a small number of offices. The front room had a sofa, a few decorated wooden chairs, and a handful of paintings; two in the Ethiopian style, and a third that was a plain European style painting of a dreadnought at sea. Lucrecia didn't have to wait. She was ushered into the Bahr Negus's office. He was an ugly man with a pinched face. He greeted her coldly.

"So. It's your people who are absconding with one of my ships."

Lucrecia nodded. "Yes. While we won't lie; we [i]need[/i] ships, we would have preferred it if the battleship was freely given instead of wrenched from your hand by someone who cares only for his coffers. So I came here on my own initiative to see if anything can be done to mend relations; far better a Bahr Negus who is open with his loyalties and resentments than a slippery Minister of the Pen."

She pursed her lips. "Especially a Minister of the Pen whose products push out my own nation's. Thankfully, he has no legal recourse to prevent me from acquiring his cherished coffee beans and cuttings and marrying them to the Philippines' own plants, allowing us to sell the same products he does to the American market. Not that it would push him out of the business entirely, but the competition should sting a little bit. Point is, despite your resentment for us due to the forced gift of a ship, we have the same snake to deal with - Desta."

The old bulldog laughed. "I would call that treachery. But the Minister of the Pen has not been my friend, so I will not be his. We'll keep what you said between us, eh? Want some coffee?"

A smile from Lucrecia. "I would be honored to have some in your presence."

Hamere Noh rose like a mountain shaking of its roots and went do the door, opening it a crack. "Coffee!" he shouted, shutting the door and going back to his seat. "You seem to have a vendetta against our Minister of the Pen. Why's that?"

Lucrecia explained as concisely as he could, "Because he lacks loyalty to anyone but himself. I won't lie; I am a woman and that has been a source of suspicion since Eve. But if I am like Eve, Desta fits the role of The Serpent. Our country has many enemies and many weaknesses, but it tries to make something of itself anyway. And for that, we need serious allies who would not melt away when the sun grows too hot. A person who helps us only because of greed and convinience is not the friend my nation needs." 

They coffee came in two small cups and was served black. Hamere Noh took a sip. "You wish to reform the world, Ms Lucrecia?" 

A warm chuckle as Lucrecia sipped her coffee. "Please, the world is too big to reform, even for one modern-day Eve. But to make a small slice of it better and defend it like a shieldbearer, that's what we want. And my country, it is crawling up from the muck and onto a worthy place in the world ladder." She purses her lips. "Much like yours, by the way, and I mean that as a compliment. And I think that we can both help each other."

A question. "Most of Ethiopia's foriegn trade - both imports and exports - come through your territory, right?"

"Yes."

Lucrecia answered, "Well, the Philippines has just approved a bill establishing 'Special Economic Zones' where trade is more...free. Some are concerned that this would give too much 'privilege' to the cities, but our redistributive mechanisms ought to make up for that for a generation or two. But enough tangents; name something that your four cities produce, and I can promote its importation into the Philippines. Name a good that your cities need that the Philippines has in abundance - we produce fish, dried fish, dried tropical fruits, coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut and pineapple fibre, and a lot of alcoholic products - and we will export it at below-market rates. Your prosperity is Desta's jealousy, and also, in time, our prosperity."

Hamere Noh laughed a big bullish laugh. "You're a merchant? I thought Communists don't like that. Here is the thing; probably the biggest export out of Djibouti is coffee. Desta's coffee. I get enough of a cut from revenues to live well, but I am no merchant. I'm a soldier. I don't want pineapple fibres. I was boats, and good men to man them. If your people want to sell things in my ports, I'll welcome the customs duties. If they don't, well, they don't. But I'm not Desta. I'm not interested in what floats in and out of... what is the port of the Philippines, something Spanish probably? The only thing floating into your harbor that I've ever cared about is gonna be that ship. That's why I'm here. I don't want to see it go."

Lucrecia nodded, "Priscilline Conclliarist, actually; we're much more lenient." A sigh. "I do not wish to alienate someone more dependable in his own way than Desta is. But my country is under an invasion threat [i]right now[/i]. Your ship gives us a fighting chance of victory when before, our best hope was to hit-and-run and hide from the shadows. So in the absence of any way to make good the debt...all I have are sentiments and empty words."

Disappointment was evident in her voice. 

"There is not much I can do for you" he said, "But we aren't enemies. Your feelings about our Minister of the Pen has made my day."

Lucrecia then finished her coffee and got up. "Thank you. Your non-enmity is all I can ask for." 

A deep bow of respect before she turned to leave.