RP [Day 1] IRC YE 36

Valken kept to the background. His job now wasn't to lead the diplomatic efforts. That particular arena belonged to Charlie and Senator Izgimmer. Valken just needed to be a wall ornament, unassuming and unseen, despite his uniform. With so many other civilian and military delegates, he found it slightly easier. In these social events, the diplomats were the ones who mattered. The military was just there to look pretty.

"For all of my people? No, Emissary. My people are of the Sund Wakir. An ethnic group descended from the ancient warrior-caste that brought our people to our homeworld. The greeting I gave was one of peaceable neutrality at the meeting of two strangers. The hand over my heart signifying sincerity in my words, my bow was of respect. It is a gesture meant to be used by members of the diplomatic corps of the Commonwealth as a whole when encountering other species. However if I were to offer you the traditional greeting of my desert people, Emissary. We would have clasped arms, offered verbal greeting, then sat to share tea as a sign of hospitality and welcome amongst our caravan. The clasping of arms of course signifying we carry no weapons up our sleeves and are sincere in our desire for the meeting to forgo bloodshed and acknowledge one another as equals."

Appearing thoughtful in that moment he continued. "My people have many ethnic groups, and so our greetings vary from group to group. Whereas you may receive a warrior's greeting from my people. You may simply receive a curt nod and elaborate verbal greeting from the Ivuori. Or a firm but energetic handshake as well as jovial verbal response from the Curdatl. And so on. All told, we have eight ethnic groupings of Iromakuanhe each with their own variations in cultural identity. But maintain an overarching solidarity as a singular people and governmental entity. So you never know the type of greeting you will get!"

The man allowed himself a brief, but amused chuckle. Composing himself once more he went on.

"However, Emissary, I will remember your words, and take them to heart should we meet again. And greet you as our hostess, the Premier has done. I may well ask her for pointers later on to ensure I execute it perfectly if she would be so inclined to indulge an old man's interest in other species' cultural practices."

Kohaku listened to the Iroma making note of the various greetings he described. The diplomatic one would probably suffice for most situations here. But for further encounters between the two species an exchange of information would be a prudent course of action

"I thank you for sharing that information and look forward to another exchange of cultural information. Perhaps you can supply a data file at some time that I may share with my entourage; and we of course could supply you with one of ours. Or perhaps it would be better that if you have some time, you come to our embassy here."

She then turned to the Premier, "Perhaps we should head in. We do not wish to inconvenience the other delegates. I hope the images that I provided were sufficient. I thought it best to include a series that showed key events in our history."

Hustle, bustle. Hustle, bustle.

Despite this all being a relatively 'small' group of people, there was a lot of others to talk to. Evidenced by the fact that the Nepleslian Senator was talking to three people at once already. Completely on the ball, yet smooth and relaxed, he paid attention to them each best he could. Casually leaning back, he addressed the Helashio. "Johnathan, Senator, Mister - whatever floats your boat man. So long as you're not calling me an asshole for no good reason, it's fine," he replied. "And a little kickback with the Azorean and Lorath delegations? That'd be great!" the man smiled, spreading his arms out - palms up - in relaxed, arrogant exclamation. "Assuming Miss Nibbi's up for it of course," Johnathan continued, his eyes cautiously glancing in her direction for approval. She was the boss after all, not him. "I can't speak for Valken and Coast though," the senator explained, politely gesturing to the two men that brought him here.

'I must be missing something - aside from Nibbi and her assistant, there doesn't seem to be any big shots like Fate. And Nibbi is a little on the quiet side. She's likely worrying about something like Yamatai wanting to curb stomp them, and vice versa.'

"Are you two interested?" Johnathan asked the two Azoreans . "I'm sure you and Valken would have plenty to talk about considering you're both military," he offered. "Even if that's not the case, meeting new people never gets boring!" His sharp eyes caught something else however. One of the Azoreans decided to speak to the Abwehrans. Considering neither of the two parties likely wanted to be involved with any grudge-matches, that was definitely for the best.

'Xenos or not, it's a real shame High General Fate isn't here - she and the Abwehran Chielf Aide - Kaldrack I think - have a pair of big things in common for sure."

What a bummer.

Nibbi watched everyone sit down and get comfortable in their respective sectors of the round table. Nibbi took a look at her table and saw output from interpreters from delegates who chose to speak in their native languages. She felt her assistant's tail around her ankle and jerked for a moment before hearing Snider's surface thoughts - deducing that they were doing it intentionally to keep on the sly.

Well. You should see what they did to the Freespacers - they didn't even have the decency to give them a proper reacharound, she thought 'aloud' to Snider, keeping the appendage wrapped around her leg for a little longer and taking advantage of the two-way thought stream. The Nepleslians are up to something big. They bought a full entourage - covering Civilian, Military and both. She looked over to Premier Coast and swallowed a lump in her throat.

To her, that two metre tall slab of distilled, refined Nepleslium looked as though he was about to pull another Rok'veru out of his hat, the way he sat so supremely and confidently. The way he smiled at her earlier. I'll wait and see what they're playing at, for now we'll stay on the defensive. She then disengaged contact and gave Johnathan a smile.

"I would be 'down' for some relaxation together later, in that case," she replied to the Senator as she found her table's drink dispenser. Koto wasn't kidding when they said that it was personalised for each race and she smiled happily. She grabbed three wine glasses and filled them all up. The first one was slid towards Senator Johnathan, Snider was given the second and Nibbi took the last for herself and raised the glass. "A drink before it begins, then?" She was taking this drink for two reasons - the most obvious first one was to be polite. She knew the Nepleslians and the Lorath were friendly and this was just another act of goodwill and friendship between the two.

The second was because she was scared out of her wits. The hand holding the wine glass was still thanks to a perhaps uncanny stillness in her muscles from being trained not to display her emotions, but her heart and lungs were trembling to keep the illusion going.

As Snider let his tail linger around Nibbi's ankle, he kept his mind rather empty, for a Helashio that was an easy affair, and it let him receive what Nibbi had to 'say' to him. Yeah, well, I would not be worried, we're all friends Snider relayed, before he let his tail slip away, and his attention then went to the wine glass he was presented. For Snider, it was a somewhat questionable matter to imbibe alcohol, but, for the sake of diplomatic relations, he took the glass in hand and waited for any sort of toast, before he would simply down the contents after sentiments were spoken.

'Hey! She's blushing!'

Johnathan's ego immediately thought that the cute, meek looking Lorath delegate was interested in him. After all, who wouldn't? He was good looking, well built, and - the part that brought him all the way up to the position of Senator immediately kicked his ego between the legs and tossed it over a cliff edge. As much as Johnathan wanted to think that, it was unlikely that this particular group of egg-laying aliens would send someone so easily charmed as their representative when they had so much to lose. No. She was likely just as good as he was, if not better. Eyes briefly flicking over her curvy form, he spotted something else. Her breath was off. Like she was out of breath, maybe? Inside, the grin he had was mischievous.

The broad, cheery, honest smile he gave them however, was just that. "Nope!"

Nibbi's head tilted and her eyes widened at Senator Johnathan. She nearly dropped her glass of wine, the bulbous glass nearly pitching forward out of her fingertips. "No-puh?" she parroted back to the Senator in Trade, popping the 'P', incredulous, trying to smile and save face but her lips were quivering too much. She was putting active thought in trying to regulate her breathing now, slowing down so she didn't look like some hands-in-pockets schoolgirl.

He held his bright smile, and savored every single second of the lovely woman fidgeting. She looked utterly adorkable.

"Because if I'm having wine, you're drinking Whiskey!" Reaching over, he simply plucked the wine glasses out of both Nibbi and Snider's hands with a playful "Yoink!" before handing them to Coast and Valken. Moving fast, the Senator quickly worked the taps at what was originally supposed to be the Nepleslian table. First sliding one of the crystal tumblers of Raltian Whiskey over to Rayntax, then another to Asri with a wink, he pulled two more and eagerly sent them across to both Nibbi and Snider with a brash grin. To her, it was now plain as day that he was playing.

He held his own wineglass high, ever smiling.

There was a bit of a surprised expression on Snider's face, though, what he thought as he watched Johnathan redistribute the beverages was something quite mischievous on his own part; Its his funeral. Snider knew a thing or two about what to drink and what not to drink. He knew that Lorath-made beverages were firmly on his 'Should not drink' list for a reason; because there was much more to them than merely the effect of alcohol. For Snider, the amber colored liquid which he was handed was something of a one-trick pony, one that he had no hesitance to partake in. Though, for the Nepleslians, Snider had to wonder just what wine Nibbi had ordered to be on tap.

"Wa-?" she asked herself as she saw hers and Snider's glass taken from him before she processed what he'd said. She gave Snider a look as though she was asking him what'd just happened by flickering her eyelids at him. Then she watched Johnathan pass the glasses back to the Nepleslian delegates before filling new glasses and distributing them to the Azoreans.

Then she nodded lowly with an 'oooooooh', realisation hitting her like a Nepleslian advertisement delivered in shouts and purchased in installments of 29.95. She had always wondered what a good whiskey tasted like as she watched the amber fluid slide towards her.

Nibbi then held out her hand to receive the sliding Whiskey. "Hah! Ahah," she chuckled as held the whiskey tumbler aloft in such a way that it would've been complete with a lit cigar in her fingers - if they allowed such a scandalous thing on Yamatai though. "I like the cut of your jib, Johnathan!"

Valken left his isolated position and moved to stand besides the Senator. "Senator, another round for everyone and then a toast," Valken smiled. The crack on his hard face was genuine. For now at least, he wasn't going to worry about backstabbing and politicking. For now, he would have a drink and make a toast.

When all had their glasses filled and Valken his own, he raised it up in the direction of Charlie Coast. "A toast to the health and fortune of Charlie Coast," he turned towards Izgrimmer, "and the Senate of Nepleslia." He knew that would grind Charlie's gears, being the subject rather than part of a toast.

looking down at the sudden arrival of the glass of whiskey, Ryantax sniffed it before taking a sniff. Alcohol drinks weren't something knew for him, but he hadn't had a chance to try the amber liquid before him before. With a shrug and a smile he took a sip. it was interesting, the smoky flavor was something he hadn't be ready for, and the fact it burned like a thousand suns rolling down his throat was a pleasant surprise.

"It's good. As for the kickback... I'll have to confer with the other delegate, but it might be something worthwhile. And diffidently good for foreign relations." With another toothy grin he took another sip for the whiskey.

"Thanks!" Johnathan replied to Nibbi. "And I like your looks - the sash is great on you," he added, soon turning to Valken.

"Dom, that's a tall order, and this is probably going to be one of the only times a civilian Senator says these words without our Democracy crumbling; Yes Sir!" Jokingly saluting, the Senator immediately began to fill up several tumblers of whiskey on tap. While also moving to get a few wine glasses filled at from the Lorath table for those inclined, he called out to everyone that would hear. "We're going to do a toast everyone! Drinks are free and on tap guys - don't pass up the chance!" Noticing something off, he slid another one over to Rayntax. "Not so soon - wait for the moment," he softly chuckled. It only made sense that some of them never did get to do a toast. After all, it wasn't that doing a toast was universal.

It was alcohol. Alcohol was a universal language in its own right, and the Nepleslian Senator was intent on 'saying' plenty to everyone!

Dominic Valken said:

"A toast to the health and fortune of Charlie Coast"

Click to expand...

Dominic Valken, one of the best officers that Nepleslia had to offer.

He was extremely accurate in his suspicions of Coast's feelings of being the center of a toast rather than giving one. Coast had been to untold numbers of formal meetings between high military brass, and he always regarded such events as massive reassurances on the parts of several "career officers" that what swung between their legs was the largest in the land.

Coast simply swallowed his pride and raised his now full glass in the toast, before fully consuming the whiskey in the glass fully, letting the earthen taste of it wash over him.

Lowering his glass onto the table in front of him slowly, Coast crossed his legs and swiveled in his chair to face Nibbi's direction. "I'm shit at giving great speeches," Coast stood up from his chair and filled his glass again, "so all I will say, is that the bond between the Matriarchy and the Imperium will surely strengthen soon into a bulwark so that peace may not be shattered again." Coast placed a hand on Igzimmer's shoulder and shot a smirk at Valken.

Between the three, an observer would clearly see there was something brewing.

"And as for the Commonwealth..." Coast glanced down at Ryantax. "I will be as forward as I can. You are still yet a fledgling nation...but great fires can spring from the smallest embers. I am looking forward to what will happen when we witness your full strength." He glanced at Nibbi and Ryantax, and at Igzimmer and Valken.

"The Imperium has awoken. You will, all of you," Coast looked around the room to the multiple diplomats, regardless if they were listening in or not "find no better friend, and our enemies will find no worse foe."

A smile barely cracked Coast's iron visage as he downed his second glass and sat back in his chair. "Just don't fuck with our alcohol."

Nepleslian diplomacy was something which a liver could never be ready for, and for Snider, that was just a passing concern as he slammed down the first glass of Nepleslian whiskey upon the toast, then, came the words of Coast. There was no doubt in Snider's mind that there was much more Coast than the swaggering grunt-turned-politician that he seemed to be at a glance, that much came through in his words, the way he carried himself, the sheer degree of sincerity which poured from the man's very soul. It was not just a feeling of being uplifted by Coast's presence but also, there was a foreboding, even though Snider knew there was nothing for him, or the Matriarchy, to fear... there was still something that told Snider that the Nepleslian man before him was some sort of embodiment of a will that was unspoken, a will that was shared amongst everyone who ever wanted to know what it was to embrace what it was to be truly alive. With Coast's seemingly casual dismissal of his own intensity with his final words, Snider knew what that foreboding was, it was the feeling of apprehension, at the mere thought of what would ever happen if anything ever stood between Coast, his people, and their ability to live their lives to their fullest in the way which their hearts desired. Beyond apprehension, there was also pity, pity for those which would ever be foolish enough to try the man and his will.

Snider knew, there were no words for him to speak, it was merely time to drink down the amber liquid which almost served to bless the words which still hung heavy and strong in the air. Beyond the blessing, there was also an anointment, a respect paid to something shared between the Matriarchy which Snider sat in behalf of, and, the Imperium.

"Of course, Vonai Rya'ka," Yuumi said, patting Ahrim's arm again. The old Iroma never disappointed with his graceful prowess. "It's about time we get to business."

Yuumi spoke of the rules as she led the group past the tables, and welcomed them into the conference chamber.

The smell of whiskey teased her nostrils. Nepleslians. It was part of the setting, another cog in the plan as it was, to allow the Nepleslians their most important drink-of-choice. Besides which, if they were going to drink themselves to stupor, that was on them. It appeared, at least, that everyone was having a cordial experience. She could hope for no more than that, at least at the beginning.

"Gentlefolk," she said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "If we'll all take our seats, we can begin business here at this fourth intergalactic relations conference."

The main entrance door slid from its slot in the wall to seal the room shut with a light hiss, barring anyone from trying to enter without Yuumi's explicit consent. The room was signal-proof, with only the established terminals as a way to communicate with the outside world. Though each delegation had its own armaments, outside each of the chamber's entrances stood four armed and shielded Yamatai Security Agency personnel (the main entrance personnel stood by in a nonthreatening manner while Kotori to let her handle the table business).

Last, but not least, the chamber's most expensive and important security measure was reconfirmed — the zesuaium lining of the chamber essentially created a diplomatic vault.

With a quick bow to the Vonai Rya'ka and Ahrim, Yuumi went to her seat, with her back facing the main entrance. With the absence of the Gartagen Union, the table was uneven, with Yuumi appearing as its anchor.



Yuumi's bracelet synched with her terminal, and she took a sip of water from her cup while she waited for the others to take their seats.

Kohaku surveyed the conference room. She tried to discern a pattern to the placement, but failed to seen an aparent one. She took her seat and watched as her entourage settled themselves. The security escort remained out in the main hall with instructionsto be cordial. She noted that the Nepleslians were in a rather social mood sharing a drink. Given the propensity they had for liquor it was a fair bet that what ever they were sharing was alcoholic. While it seemed a bit premature for such activitivies to her mindset; they were not being disruptive so let them drink.

A gentle tap on her shoulder let her know that Geiars was there, she turned to her attendant. "Your datapad Vonai Rya'ka, and your requested Damuisa." Geiars said.

Kohaku handed her staff to Geiars and took the offered items. "Thank you, any word on Saflea?"

"Her ship is due to arrive midday local. I will have her things taken to your rooms in the Embassy." the Qaktoro said softly.

"Thank you, it will be good to see her." she replied and turned around in her chair. She placed the glass of Damuisa on the table and reviewed the datapad. After that she poured herself a glass of water from the carafe by her and placed it next to the other drink.

Once things were how she wanted them she gently lowered the hood of your cloak back to give her a wider field of view. She leaned back in her seat and sat with her fingers interlaced in her lap. 'Now for things to begin. From small beginings large things may grow.' she thought.

The aides of the Abwehran delegation looked at Washran as he came up to them and asked his question. The Oberbootsman merely nodded a greeting and left the question for the other two.

"We're Abwehrans." Klara replied informatively, though quickly as she moved to halt any words coming from Malwine. She knew the Nightwalker. Such a question would probably have led to 'so are you' or some equivalent of the reply. "We come from a heavy gravity world to the galactic south-southeast of Yamatai and sole species of the Abwehran Star Empire." the Chief Aide continued the informative statement.

"Though we have a three branches and a few sub-cultures," Malwine stated happily.

However, before more could be said, the IRC got down to business. Gerhard didn't participate in the alcohol consumption, but raised his glass of water in toast before turning to view his fellow representatives around the table. Sitting across from and next to species representing nations he had barely heard of before, the Minister of State vowed to make 'First Contact' as perfect as possible. The Yamataians were a species he was familiar with even though this was his first time off Abwehr. It was the same with the Iroma and Nepleslians. He knew of the Lorath, but have never personally met them until now. The Gartagen delegation was missing, much to Gerhards dismay, but sometimes that happened with interstellar travel.

Kotori had waited on the delegates Yuumi has been escorting to get inside, her thoughts on her mentor's mental direction unkindly sarcastic. The Empress' handmaiden and Taisho Yui's personnal assistant... lacking in authority? For someone whom pokes fun at her sister having a flair for the dramatic, you sure seem willing to flaunt getting such reactions, Yuumi.

Both handmaiden and personnal assistant being there was a sign of both the Empress and the Mistress Taisho wanting to make an effort to contribute to the conference. These were competent people sent due to keen personnal interest in the proceedings and making sure Yamatai looked prestigious. Himiko liked fostering good PR, while Yui was unfailing being her nearsighted 'Yamatai-banzai!' self. Butting heads over this meant possibly having to deal with either patron.

Ugh, it was an effort not to vocalize that sound of disgust, please no.

Kotori did see where Yuumi was coming from - the display, right outside the conference's doors, seemed so gaudy and graceless. She could just picture Yuumi later ranting something around the lines of "We're not a damn travel agency offering free cruises". On the other hand, the adopted Ketsurui noble didn't think it was a bad thing to offer the information and services; just that the over-zealousness of the effort seemed to be self-defeating. It just seemed too much like begging for attention. Yamatai didn't have to beg. It just wouldn't be prestigious to.

Still, though, this problem was on Kotori's lap and she had to deal with it. Fortunately, Kotori didn't plan on needing to pull rank: she was prettier, more charming and more winsome than Yuumi. She'd just get them to go along with what she wanted them to do. This wouldn't be a fight because Kotori wouldn't make it a fight.

"Excuse me?" She set all the people managing the two tables in a private telepathic conference: no sense airing dirty laundry for visitors to listen to; "The Premier bids me to request that - once you are no longer entertaining visitors - your tables be moved to the outer hall. It is her sincere belief that your display there will stand out for our guests better than right out of the conference chamber." She left it at that, hoping avoiding getting long-winded about the whys would sound more confident, to better elicit both compliance and trust.

These were professionals used to obeying instructions, so as long as she could portray that she knew what she was doing, they would be more likely to obey without question.