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.