Tarbert Mansion was probably the most majestic edifice between New London and Kyushu. It was not overly ornate, unlike the usual Bretonian governmental architecture, as costs had to be spared, but it was large enough to house what would in the very near future be a planetary government for Planet Harris. It was not a very tall building, but it did stretch over a vast area and it was surrounded by lush gardens, as a display of Planetform's hubris in their everyday business of playing God. Starting from today, it was to be the site of a great conference between some of the greatest powers in the region.
The first to arrive were representatives of the Crayter Republic, followed shortly by the hosts themselves, the Bretonians. On the 7th came the Kusarian representation, and finally, on the 9th, a diplomat from Natio Octavarium, who had so far been excluded from the whole affair and were invited by the Crayter Republic only when all preparations had already been made by the prior parties. After a day's rest, the formal talks could begin.
The Kingdom of Bretonia was represented by the head of the Foreign Office, Sarah Mountbatten, Duchess of London and daughter of the controversial Lord George Mountbatten, with her staff. This event awoke in her feelings that had been hidden, strong feelings, but mixed too. On one side, there she was, organising one of the most important conferences of the century. This was an enormous step forward for her career, and also a significant popularity boost at home for the government that she represented. But on the other side, she had to treat who used to be her enemies as friends, and those whom she owed personally, she had to be prepared to disregard for the sake of national interest.
Mountbatten started her career in the BAF, and not by her own will, but by her father's. This was during the Tau War and although her snobbish ways never made her the ideal fighter pilot, she did see combat and she developed a personal sentiment against everyone Kusarian. Only two years ago, she was still an SIS agent, and during one of her missions she caused what would be an incident with Natio, yet Natio not only forgave her and never spoke of it, but helped her too, although they had no direct use from it.
The future assembly hall was too spacious, so the representations met in one of the auxiliary rooms. It was equipped with a long table, more pots of plants and flowers than usually considered tasteful, courtesy of Planetform, a hologram projector, a few relatively mundane pictures of what could potentially be interpreted as art hanging on the walls, and a generous supply of non-alcoholic beverages, of course including tea, should the participants go thirsty. There was an ornate, but plastic chandelier hanging from the ceiling, with fake candles. The Crayterian, Bretonian and Kusarian representatives had all assumed their seats, with the Natio representative standing in the corner, as there was no tag set up on the table to demarcate where he should sit. Natio was meant to only be a spectator and not a participant. But the Duchess looked at him with guilt. If he only asked to have a seat, she was prepared to nod extra deeply.
<Post scrubbed. I'm retired, don't play the game at all anymore, and I shouldn't have agreed to this in the first place.>
"Yes, welcome", Mountbatten said with relief. "Have a seat over there, next to the Crayter delegation." Besides Mountbatten, the Bretonian delegation consisted of a Kusarian translator, a secretary, an assistant and a representative of the Whig party, whose function was to monitor Mountbatten in the name of the government. The Whigs held the government, in a coalition with the slightly weaker Royalists, whose leader Mountbatten was. The Royalists had held power without interruption since decades ago, only until last year, and Mountbatten did not like being monitored. The Whig representative, a commoner, a certain Neville Asquith, gave Mountbatten a surprised look at her unplanned hospitality to the Octavarium delegation. Mountbatten was aware of it, but refused to heed it. Asquith wrote something down. "But do remember your manners and only speak when everyone else is finished, Mr Riley", Mountbatten said in an attempt to make a compromise. Asquith nodded at her in acknowledgement.
When everyone had assumed their seats, Mountbatten rose solemnly and powered on the hologram projector, which caught everyone's attention. It showed Point 1 of the scheduled talks. "First of all, I wish all of you a warm welcome here, and I hope everyone feels at home. Some of us arrived only yesterday, but some of us have waited here almost a week, so let us start right away. This what you can read here is the primary reason why we have all gathered." Mountbatten then read Point 1 verbatim. "A peace treaty must be concluded between the Kusari Empire and the Crayter Republic as soon as possible". She then added what was not written: "And Natio Octavarium, of course". She followed with an elaboration of the Bretonian point of view: "This chapter must be closed if we are to form a united front against Gallia, about which we shall talk later. The condition that Bretonia has set is that Barra must be returned to Crayter. We have already agreed on this in letters. Other conditions will be up to the respective delegations, but I must urge them both to be prepared for a compromise -- proportional to their state's galactopolitical relevance, of course -- because what is at stake is far above this minor conflict." Pushing a button that activated a small red lamp, a gracious mechanism to ask for a word (which was not present at Consul Riley's seat), both Crayter and Kusari requested to speak. Mountbatten gave Crayter the word first, Bretonia's formal ally. She gestured the Kusari delegation to be patient, with a polite smile that expected understanding.
The Crayter delegation had been the first to arrive, and naturally had the time to wait for the rest of the participants, though it didn't seem to bother them much over the past week. Among them were the Foreign Minister herself, her secretary, and a member of the President's advisory committee, who only really seemed to be there to take notes, not unlike Lady Mountbatten's Whig representative, though with a considerably weaker aura of doubt. After all, Ms. Ward had negotiated terms with the Technocrats, which earned her a significant level of respect, even among the other Ministries.
As Mountbatten finished, motioning to Ward to speak Crayter's viewpoint, the Foreign Minister took a deep breath.
"Crayter has looked over the terms discussed through the neural net communiques and have continuously found them acceptable, with a noted exception to the Helios. We've brought this up before, and remain adamant about the wreck fully. However, the Quorum of Ministers has agreed on a compromise that should benefit both Kusari and the Republic." She seemed stoic, her tone unrelenting. Crayter had exercised this viewpoint before during the informal discussions over the neural net, and didn't seem to be backing down, though the prospect of a compromise from Crayter's side was relatively new. "Once the Kusari and Natio delegations have had their say, I would be happy to go over Crayter's proposition."
Ms. Ward sat back a little in her seat, the presidential advisor jotting down what seemed already like a small script of notes. There was a certain look about much of the Crayter representation that seemed intrigued by Kusari's response to her start, and even the advisor drew a line to mark the change in speaker.
![[Image: X04Ng2q.png]](https://i.imgur.com/X04Ng2q.png)
The day the Kusarian delegation was making their way to Tau-31 and the orbit of Planet Harris became a small power display from Kusari's side. Despite the announced heavy escorts, the Bretonians did not anticipate to find two Destroyers, four Gunboats and a whole squadron of fightercrafts accompanying a heavily retrofitted 'Oasis'-class. Among the small fleet were vessels and many pilots veteran to the first Tau war, though many of them also enjoyed the hospitality of Bretonia under the banner of the Exiles.
Once the delegation found its way planetside, one of the Destroyers and its escorts turned around, temporarily bolstering the Akatsuki and her fleet until the conclusion of this meeting. The Destroyer remaining in a far orbit of Planet Harris was none other than the IKN-Wakamiya, a dated but famous Kaimon-class Destroyer which found its main engagements right here: around Planet Harris. As ordered by the Admiralty, following the introductions, the Kusarian escort forces remain fully quiet and avoid any direct contact with the Macduff battlegroup unless they were to get hailed by them first. Additionally, they were granted full permission to assist the Bretonians if the need arises.
A couple of days later, when the meeting finally was about to start.
The Kusarian delegation - consisting of Genrō Itō Shunsuke, the personal assistant of Toshinori-san merely referred to as 'Shirai-san' by the other members of the delegation, Admiral Okamoto of the 1st Major Fleet of Kusari and a seemingly civilian man well into his eighties, the crest of the Imperial family visible on his chest - took their seats.
Three of the four displayed a calm but confident aura. The old man on the other hand let a sinister smile show for a mere second, surely noticed by Miss Mountbatten as he was eyeing her directly. Admiral Okamoto was glimpsing at the Natio delegation, as the sole Admiral who even heard about them, he had a special interest in this profusely confident little nation which declared a war on one of the four main colonies.
The delegation listened quietly to the opening phrases of the Bretonian hosts, signaling their wish to talk right afterwards. Seeing Crayter gets the first word, Shirai-san quickly prepared to make notes.
When it was finally their turn, it was not the Genrō to take the first word but the old man. He started to talk right away, skipping the formal bow or any other form of tradition. Was it out of spite towards people he considers unable to honor Kusari's values or due to his age? Only he would know.
"Fushima Sadafusa of the Fushima Shinnōke, the oldest cadet branch of the Imperial family. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance."
His voice was almost shaky, yet calm and firm sounding.
"We thank you for starting off so.. quickly.. but I am afraid we will not yet address the Helios issue."
He ended his speech and Admiral Okamoto took over without a break.
"It would appear that the Crayter Republic felt uncomfortable about more than the Helios, our planned installation in Tau-31 seemed to displease you. Following your words, are we right to assume all concerns regarding this plan have been solved internally by the Crayter Republic?"
By his tone it was apparent that a sharp tongue was hiding behind the facade of his almost emotionless face, a sharp tongue just waiting to be unleashed.
Ward seemed somewhat taken aback by the mention of Kusari's desire to construct an outpost in Tau-31, which she'd heard from during the neural net discussions. The issue itself was more a problem of territorial claims and stubbornness, the latter of which was a quality Crayter seemed to be exuding quite a bit lately.
"We've discussed your intentions to establish a base in Tau-31, yes. Though it was unanimous among the Ministries that Kusari should construct it within Tau-29, since that is more your domain than ours, an alternative was agreed on that Crayter would lease the territory directly around the station's planned location to Kusari for however long the station remains under your administration. Whatever way Kusari intends to pay for this lease, I'm sure we can discuss it here."
Ward waited for their response inquisitively, though her secretary seemed a little less confident. Ms. Ward was known throughout her office for being more blunt than was likely healthy for a person in her position, but given the people arrayed against her it was a necessity here.
The advisor merely seemed to finish off a sentence, waiting for the next voice to continue.
Following the reply from Crayter's side, the Admiral briefly eyed Genrō Itō Shunsuke, who then took the word.
"We would like to hear an offer from Crayter then, a sum they would deem acceptable."
The Genrō's tone was almost friendly compared to the old man or the Admiral, his eyes briefly wandered over the other participants, paying special attention to the reaction of the Bretonians.
There was a spiteful gene running through the Mountbatten family. Sarah's father once tried to depose Queen Carina herself, convinced by false information that Carina was a usurper and that the throne was rightfully his, and he stopped short of civil war. When Fushima dared to look at her like he did, Mountbatten felt a compelling desire to use him to refresh her SIS martial arts training. She gritted her teeth. But she was pleasantly surprised by Crayter's willingness to make a compromise and she decided not to intervene in what was already developing favourably.
The response from Genrō Itō seemed more workable than one from the Admiral would have been. If nothing else, the tension in the air wasn't as sourly flavored, though the taste of uncertainty still loomed.
"Well, seeing as Kusari had offered to sell the wreck of the Helios back to the Republic, I believe that the wreck itself could be payment for this lease of our territory. Removal of the wreck from Tau-29 can be done by ISE supervised by CDI and the Naval Forces, and construction of the station in Tau-31 can be done by whatever domestic parties Kusari deems appropriate supervised by the Military and a member of the Naval Forces Admiralty."
Even the advisor who was writing notes stopped for a moment to listen, a slight but visible flex of his lip muscles before writing down the proposal in his log.
Even before the Crayterian finished, the Admiral whispered with the old man who then briefly eyed the Crayterians, the Bretonians and finally the Genrō. The Genrō briefly exchanged a few words with the old man after the Crayterian made their point and the old man then spoke up.
"A most interesting offer. The Empire of Kusari has a different offer to make, one that potentially satisfies us all."
He made a brief pause, his glimpse falling upon Mountbatten again.
"Kusari will sell the Helios to the Crayter Republic for a pure symbolic sum. The Naval Forces installation will be constructed at the Tau-31 Gate in Tau-29 to satisfy the Admiralty's demands. As the base will be within Kusari's territory, it will surpass the priorly planned border installation in size and capabilities."