Beyond the Sea

[Salem Ave]

On the world of Hapes, even the gun turrets were beautiful. It was both a flaw and an admirable quality of the Hapan people that they could not abide a lack of beauty, in any capacity. The turrets mounted on the outer walls of the Reef Fortress would most likely never be used; they were – like so many facets of Hapan society – for show.

They had been designed to look as if they were part of the fortress's grand architecture, yet there was no mistaking them for what they were. Elegant in design, lethal in application. Their barrels pointed towards the sky, not towards the boat that carried Salem towards the royal family's island retreat.

His boat was not the only one crossing the waves that morning. There were others too, coming in their dozens, each one dwarfed by the Reef Fortress above.

Salem stood at the front of the ship, looking out over the sea at those other boats. Each one represented a planet or a family or perhaps both. All of them parts of the Hapan political hierarchy, all drawn together by their Queen for a single purpose: to listen to Salem Ave.

When he stopped ashore onto the isolated island that Reef Fortress had been built upon, it wasn't as a trade envoy or an ambassador of the Onderonian people. He was something larger now, a truth reflected by the men and women in Alliance uniforms who followed in his footsteps as he entered the fortress.

[Razielle Alastor]

Going to Reef Fortress had not been Chume Razielle's idea. The notion had come from a miniature queen, one day while she had been huddled over a microscope, making notes on a datapad. Beatrix had quite calmly announced that plant samples from the conservatory were boring. Razielle being the indulgent mother she was, and happy to encourage the obviously scientific mind of her child had asked her what she would like to study next.

Fishes, had been Bea's answer.

Fish, Razielle had corrected.

It was days later when they had left the Fountain Palace behind for the royal family's seaside retreat. Since then Beatrix was most often found in one of the Reef Fortress's many aquariums. Some were crafted by artisans to be up to the standard of beauty that Hapans demanded. Gilded tanks with fanciful statuary, so many colors of underwater flora and fauna so as to be a living painting. Beatrix had surveyed them all, but her favorite one was deeper in the fortress. It was just a sandy, briny tank that no one but her seemed to care about, but it was open to the actual ocean and bigger things than fish swam in and out of it, capturing her attention for hours at a time. She sat on a padded bench, sketching sharks until Lira, or Mars, had the odious task of telling her it was bed time.

..But it was not just a visit for pleasure. It was also to be an official event, and to that end Chume Razielle was dressing to receive the first ships bearing not only the Hapan nobles, but someone far more important.. Lira had helped her dress in a diaphanous sheath of silk the color of the turquoise sea, with a tight fitting dress of shimmering silver beneath it. Silver sandals, and a crown studded with pearls and exquisite shells were set out for her.

"You want me to wear that?", she asked with a pinched look.

Lira could not hide the answering grin. "It seemed appropriate, Your Grace."

"Oh please. I'll carry a trident too, shall I?" Razielle scoffed, instead replacing the much simpler crown she normally wore atop her coiffed head.

[Salem Ave]

It was not long before Salem entered the Reef Fortress's war room.

It was an unusual venue for an ostensibly peaceful gathering, yet with its ample seating space and round-table it was difficult to argue against it. Nevertheless, Salem had to suppress a small smile as he arrived to find many of the Hapan delegates already crowded around the table. Many looked as far from war-like as they could, although some of the Hapan houses had a great affinity with the Royal Navy and styled themselves after the fashion of Battle Dragon captains in crisp-cut blue and gold suits.

Having foregone his official allegiance to Onderon, Salem had left behind the grey and green half-cloak that he had so often worn on his travels to Hapes. Instead, he wore a dark suit with a white shirt, open at the collar. He had left behind his escort, though an aide remained at his side. His arrival drew a few glances, but no more than others. As much as the Hapans disliked beings not of their culture, they had a special dislike for their peers and rivals within Hapan society.

For the time being, he would remain standing. At least until the meeting had officially begun.

[Razielle Alastor]

Entering the war room with the usual pomp that was her due, Razielle spared no special attention for anyone in attendance. Rather the Chume seemed to glide straight to the gilded, high-backed chair pulled out for her use. Though the meeting table had no head, the chairs were nonetheless all angled toward her own. Her attendants hovered close by, but none of them were seated, reserving the limited space at the table for the representatives whose presence had been requested. It was a mixed bag of those loyal to her.. and those thus far lacking in the sense to be.

Being seated, her elbows comfortably resting on the arms of her chair, hands folded in her lap, Razielle arched an expectant brow as if she were looking around for someone specifically. Violet eyes alighted on the familiar visage of Salem Ave, followed by a satisfied nod.

"Ahh.. Minister Ave, very good. I see no reason to delay further."

Meaning anyone not already present and accounted for would not be missed.. Chume Razielle was ready to begin.

[Salem Ave]

Now there were darker glances in his direction. After hovering out of their seats for a moment, in deference to the Chume, the gathered nobility of the Consortium sank to their chairs, still muttering among themselves in spite of Razielle's arrival.

“Most revered ereneda,” Salem began, bowing his head to Razielle.

“Lords and ladies of the Consortium,” he went on, his white eyes taking in the faces of the dozens of men and women who were watching him with an apparent mixture of distaste, disinterest and disapproval. He recognised a handful of them, from dossiers he had studied regarding the Consortium – but there were many others who were strangers to him.

“I understand that there has not been a gathering of this kind - bringing together all of the Consortium's noble houses - since before the time of Chume Ishara and so I consider it a personal honour to attend this most.. momentous of occasions. I hope you will all join me in extending the warmest of welcomes to your kinsmen from all sixty-three worlds of the Consortium.”

He looked to Razielle now, pausing a moment to allow her the chance to welcome her loyal subjects if she chose to do so.

[Razielle Alastor]

Sitting there as calm as a morning breeze, the fact that the Chume was considering a matter of extreme violence was definitely not apparent in her demeanor. Though true, nonetheless. Even as Minister Ave was voicing his honor at being present at this most historic gathering of houses, she was considering just how very much she would enjoy rising right up out of her seat, katana in hand. She could see what kind of record she could set in taking off sixty-three or so heads. Such thoughts were not betrayed in the practiced smile upon her face. Outwardly, erenada seemed in a pleasant enough mood, but neither was she a fan of wasted time. She was not about to spend the next hour personalizing a greeting to each delegate around the table. Even any eye contact she made with someone from one house over another could be cause for speculation at best, disruption at worst.

Instead, Razielle nodded her regal head slowly in affirmation of the importance of the event, before speaking.

"Quite true and like our precious Beatrix, this event bridges the gap between the past, and our future. It is our pleasure to witness such unity from our loyal houses. Welcome to Reef Fortress island.."

It was as much of a welcome as they were likely to receive, and more than some deserved. There was nothing insincere in her delivery, but it was clear she meant to get to the point.

[Salem Ave]

In speaking the name of the young Queen-to-be, it was as if Razielle had cast a pebble into a pond. Unseen, thanks to the peculiar genetic make-up of his species eyes, Salem studied the faces of the noble delegates and watched as the ripples created by that pebble passed over and through them. To their credit, there was barely any hint of a reaction – but Salem had a keen eye. As much as the Hapan's loved nothing more than pomp and ceremony, keeping sixty-three of the most powerful and influential Hapan's together in a room for a too long was asking for trouble.

“I am conscious,” he went on, picking up where Razielle had left off, “That you have many other duties to attend to, so we shall make this meeting as concise and focused as we can.”

“I come before you today on behalf of the Alliance of Free Planets. In the last years of her reign, Queen Mother Ishara,” - in the hush, the word ereneda echoed a dozen times, as though the noble Hapans were offering some pious reverence to their departed leader - “Took the first, bold steps towards bringing the glory of the Consortium to the Galaxy at large. Without compromising sovereignty or security, she laid the foundations of a new age of prosperity for the Hapan people – a foundation which the Alliance of Free Planets would like to help you all build upon.”

[Delphnye Sarpin]

"An eopie's snout under a tent."

It was uttered with practiced discretion. In fact, the demeanor of Countess Sarpin never flared with the passions of her words. Her face retained the distant aloof chill that decorum in this farce demanded. The words found the ears of her only intended mark, the woman seated to her left.

"We should be surprised that it remains satisfied to come in from the cold only so far?"

The reason of their meeting was foregone trivium. Minister Ave pierced the veil not as a conquering barbarian, after all. No, of course not. It was a more...noble venture. After all, the Queen's Steward had been so...convincing.

"I do wonder how such curious lodging arrangements work in which we take in boarders and have the honor of paying the bill for the pleasure of doing so. Listen closely, for I expect the explanation to be both artful and ludicrous."

Only now did the Countess's expression brighten into a thin, disingenuous smile.

"And we shall be ever so gracious to receive such a well-crafted tapestry of lies. Perhaps we'll put them to parchment and frame them on the wall."

[Salem Ave]

Silence did not denote acquiescence where the Consortium was concerned, rather the opposite in fact in the Minister's experience.

Over time, he had accumulated an understanding of the due order within the Hapan court. Since the beginning of their alliance with Queen Adraudia of Onderon, there had been voices of dissension in the patriciate of the Consortium. Most of it came from the ducha's of the noble houses, whose pedigree was every bit as pure and long-lived as house Alastor, if not more so. Gadot, Saccard, Beauvillier, Lecavalier, Al'Gray, Viljoen - and Sarpin.

As guarded as one had to be in the company of the Hapan aristocracy, these were the women to pay the greatest heed to. Even now, Salem observed the Countess Sarpin muttering to Lady Al'Gray, a brittle smile on her face.

“In this undertaking,” he continued, “The sanctity of the Consortium's borders remains paramount in my mind. What the Alliance proposes is not the dilution of Hapan primacy but a confluence of interests. The Consortium finds itself at the centre of newly established Alliance territory and so it it is only prudent that it should have a voice in the governing of the Alliance as a whole, to ensure that Hapan interests are given the representation they deserve.”

[Valois Al'Gray]

Lady Al'Gray tilted her head only a fraction towards the Countess Sarpin, her eyes remaining focused on the face of Salem Ave all the while. When she spoke she kept to the Hapan tongue, refusing to pander to their guest by speaking their aptly named Basic.

“The sanctity of our borders,” she murmured, her voice dry as gold wine. “It will not be long before the mists (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Transitory_Mists) see as much coming and going by the Alliance as the queen regent's bed-chambers.”

[Anastasie Irimore]

This day's events were not only the first gathering of the kind in more than an age. They were also occasion for the first official appearance of the new Ducha of House Irimore, having come into her title somewhat sooner than expected. Not only the newest, but the youngest of the heads of the royal houses, Anastasie knew her youth was going to become a point of jealously for some of the more aged flesh of the Hapan court - and she did not care.

Her posture was a picture of perfection, listening as the meeting began. A look of almost perpetual amusement turned her features upward in a pleasant expression, belying the turbulence beneath her reserve. She knew her opinions on whether or not Consortium space should become trafficked with provincials from beyond the mist were of no concern to the Queen Regent. She did not need a fine set of wrinkles around her eyes, or a sagging bosom, to establish that.

[Delphnye Sarpin]

A fresh face caught Delphnye's attention, and she canted her head slightly to regard the youthful Ducha of Irimore.

"And a new face among us, friend."

Again she spoke within earshot only of Lady Al'Gray.

"I wonder how the Queen Regent's honeyed words will find her? Doesn't the flower of youth retain a sweet tooth?"

It was rhetorical at this point in any case. Ducha Irimore represented an unknown quantity to her - a curiosity. There would be time enough to try and ascertain where her heart rested on the very well-put case Minister Ave now established in prostituting their honorable nation. And speaking of such prostitution...

"A confluence of interests, he says. I see only one interest. Is he hiding ours behind his back?"

[Razielle Alastor]

The advantage to this meeting was that Chume Razielle was already quite aware what would be involved in the particulars of the Consortium getting into bed, so to speak, with the Alliance of Free Planets. It was a curious position to find herself in, not really listening to Salem, but in this one instance it allowed her to focus her attention elsewhere.

Having already familiarized herself with both the room, and the predetermined seating arrangements, she could now sit back and observe her loyal subjects, in the way her master had taught her. Keeping the attentive guise of Razielle Alastor carefully in place at the head of the table, Anxia directed her senses outward, toward those seated around her. Like a huntress arachnid perched in her web, she waited for the unwary to attract her attention. Instead of vibrations caused from struggling prey in a web however, she utilized the abundant flow of emotions oozing around the table as her compass.

Disdain, open malice and hostility were cleverly hidden away beneath pretty bonnets and the sort of artifice that could only have been bred in Consortium space. Chume Razielle's expression betrayed nothing, yet violet eyes nonetheless slid over the seated women with a haughty look that implied she found them as utterly lacking as they found her. The difference was - she had no problem tearing out an organ or two for them to better inspect their beautiful Hapan innards.

"We recall Mother Ishara's agenda." The chume finally deigned to given her active attention to Minister Ave, eyes snapping from the new ducha that she had not yet had the pleasure of intimidating, back to Salem. "Not her sudden interest in the affairs of free planets."

[Salem Ave]

There was an almost imperceptible twitch in Salem's fingertips, the tick thankfully hidden on account of the fact that the Minister had tucked his hands neatly behind his back while the Chume spoke. He had felt Razielle's keen inspection of the war room and merely pursed his lips in response.

“I recall a woman who valued, above else, the well-being and wealth of her people, ereneda. How many of you sitting here today do not have some vested interest in the economy of this Cluster? By coming to terms with the Alliance, you will gain access to fresh, fertile markets and trade avenues. Goods may flow into and out of the Consortium, to and from all corners of the Galaxy.”

[Razielle Alastor]

The Chume's expression implied that she was less than convinced. Despite whatever personal interest Razielle had in the outcome, she was the Chume, and facts were facts. The Consortium had existed for thousands of years without outside interference. It was in no danger of slowly fading into political obscurity and their wealth was extreme. If they were going to be honest, which they were not, the coin of the Hapan realm was of much higher value than that of those beyond the Transitory Mists. There was little benefit to them in the establishment of trade with the Alliance of Free Planets if the demands for their singular goods could not be met. The Hapan people would not be cheapening their worth to accommodate lesser neighbors.

Yet, Razielle did recall some of Ishara's interests. One of the first things she had demanded in the terms of the Onderon-Hapes Coalition was live game to be transported to Hapes, for the purposes of breeding new predators to hunt in their untouched wilderness lands. Hunting for sport being one of the athletic pursuits deemed acceptable by the culture's standard. Their goods may flow outward from the Consortium, gaining them a pittance - but it was what would be flowing from all corners of the Galaxy into Consortium space that concerned the Regent.

"A voice.. to represent Hapan interests. Minister Ave, that sounds distinctly like you are requesting a volunteer."

[Delphnye Sarpin]

For whatever else could be said of this farce, the details of this particular point of discussion would at least offer an insight into the Chume's intentions. Introduction into the Alliance would mean, naturally, representation for the cluster among the larger body politic. The regent had many ways to invoke this. She could raise one of her loyal creatures outside the Consortium assembly to represent Hapes. Delphnye considered this unlikely as it would offer marginal benefit to the regent beyond a reliable means to convey a message. She had Minister Ave's ear enough for that.

No, the more likely outcome was to appoint an enemy. It served the dual purpose of removing a threat from close by and serving them the dubious 'honor' of passing the Mists to wheedle and cajole amongst the mongrels. More to the point, such an enemy would have very little chance of openly using her station against the Chume and her figurehead queen. Such a Senator would be a very polite species of hostage, her very actions under a microscope and far enough from the regent to make effective machinations extremely difficult.

The only question was who the Chume felt assured in naming as such, because her enemies certainly had friends.

[Salem Ave]

“Two volunteers, in fact.”

The significance of that number was, in all likelihood, lost on the gathered nobility. That the Alliance had been swayed into offering the Hapes Cluster two seats in the Senate gave the Consortium a greater representation per head than a great many other worlds who were clamoring to become part of the newly founded Alliance. Only the Bothans and the Mon Calamari, founders of the Rebellion, along with the Cizerack Pride, could claim the same degree of influence in the Senate.

“It falls to the Chume to select her representatives.”