Beyond - Legends The Winds of Erilnar (AU, OC)

Erilnar
Royal Palace

Queen Carley Heraat sat on her throne and extended a hand to her husband Jack who sat next to her upon a less ornate, though no less substantial, chair. The pair listened to various diplomatic overtures from a variety of independent systems eager to establish diplomatic relations with a stable Centran government. Carley gave them their time but ultimately her mind wandered to more important matters. Matters of state. Matters involving her brother, Rafe, and his new wife, Isabella. She dismissed the diplomatic corps with a wave of her hand.

"My queen," the page said in a raised voice, "Rafe and Isabella Heraat ask for an audience with your majesty."

So he's using his birth name. He must feel safe, secure. Time to see what he wants. Carley thought as she nodded her head in approval.

"Let them enter," Carley stated as she looked over at Jack with a reassuring gaze.

Carley returned her attention to Rafe and Isabella as they entered the royal chambers. The pair bowed and courtseyed in appropriate Centran fashion. She gave a subtle wave of her hand to signal they could rise to their feet. No one spoke. Carley simply studied the pair for a long while. All that could be heard was a clock down the hall quietly counting down the strokes of time.

"I've noticed you have accepted your family name," Carley said, "and have chosen to come out of seclusion."

"I have," Rafe replied, "to honor our mother and our family."

"May her memory rest in peace," Carley said.

"Indeed," Rafe replied.

"You must be Isabella," Carley said turning her attention to her sister in law, "you're as beautiful as they say. You come from a powerful family. I hope you enjoy your time at court. If you have free time we have some beautiful gardens you can walk and explore."

"Thank you, your majesty," Isabella replied, "you're too kind."

"Congratulations on the birth of your son, Shay, and heir to the throne of Erilnar," Rafe said, "we got him a gift. Nothing too outrageous."

"Thank you," Carley replied, "how kind. We are ever grateful for your generosity. Rafe, what can I do for you?"

"I am seeking a position at court, your highness," Rafe replied, "something suitable for my station."

"I see," Carley said, "well one position comes to mind. Something that might suit you and your experience in the wars. I need someone to oversee our veteran affairs programs."

"Veteran affairs," Rafe said, "as you wish."

"You're disappointed?" Carley asked.

"I had hoped for a position of more influence," Rafe admitted.

"Such as?" Carley asked.

"The diplomatic corps," Rafe replied.

"The diplomatic corps," Carley said, "is not suitable for a man of your talents. I need a man who can keep my soldiers happy, fed, and living comfortably in retirement. I also need a man who could keep training programs going in the event I need to call up the veterans. You have served, quite well given your war record, and would command immediate respect."

"I shall accept my new posting," Rafe said as he cast a glance over to Isabella.

"Good," Carley said turning to Isabella,"we're having a ball tonight. I hope you've brought your fine clothes."

"I have," Isabella said.

"Excellent," Carley replied, "because it will be the first ball of my reign. I hope it will not be the last. Go, enjoy yourselves, dinner is at the standard time and then we shall dance."

"Thank you," Rafe replied as he bowed low.

The pair took their leave.

When they were gone Jack turned to Carley and said, "That was rough. You should be careful around them. Veteran affairs? Well done."

"It's a posting of little consequence. Oh it will keep him busy but its nothing that he can use to turn against me. Even if he gathered the veterans under his command to topple my reign he wouldn't get far," Carley said.

"Why is that?" Jack asked as the pair retreated to their private quarters.

"They swore an oath to me," Carley said.

"You honestly think they'd hold to it if push came to shove?" Jack questioned.

"I know they would," Carley replied, "I led them to victory. I led them to peace."

"What did you think of Isabella?" Jack asked.

"Why are you attracted to her?" Carley asked with a grin.

"No," Jack replied, "but she seems ambitious."

"Her father is very influential," Carley replied, "Erik Fohm is dangerous."

"Then now more than ever we need good leadership," Jack replied.

"That's why you have me, dear," Carley replied as she kissed Jack.

Tag: @Trieste; @jcgoble3

 

Erilnar
Royal Ball

"Lovely turnout tonight my lady," Jack whispered as he twirled Carley throughout the dance floor.

"I insisted what's left of the noble class show up," Carley replied as she gracefully moved as one with her husband, "and to refuse and fall out of favor with me is hardly a good thing right now. For anyone."

"There's so few of their number," Jack remarked looking about the room.

"Many of them fell at Dilonexa. In some ways I am forever indebted to them and in other ways I have so many vacancies to fill. Peerages, lordships, earldoms, oh the list is endless," Carley said.

"They don't all need to be filled at once," Jack advised, "take your time. Remember you want to surround yourself with smart, capable people. Loyalty helps."

"Thanks," Carley said, "I'll remember that. You have a way of giving me the long view don't you?"

"We play to our strengths don't we?" Jack said.

"And our weaknesses," Carley admitted.

"I believe your brother wants a dance with his sister," Jack said as he deftly guided Carley towards Rafe who was inching closer.

"He probably wants to talk shop," Carley grumbled, "I just want to relax."

"You need to find a peaceful way forward," Jack reminded his wife with a delicate kiss on the lips, "because the Centrality cannot afford in any way another war."

Carley nodded and was gently spun away from Jack into the open arms and patient eyes of her brother. She gazed into his eyes as the siblings moved throughout the dance floor. Eyes that resembled their mother's, Rayna Heraat.

"Enjoying yourself?" Carley asked.

"Immensely," Rafe replied though he sounded slightly bored by it all.

"Tell me," Carley said, "what are you getting out of all this? You know you can't challenge me. Not openly."

"I don't want to challenge you," Rafe replied, "but I do want what I am entitled to receive."

"Veterans affairs is a good position for you," Carley explained, "because I need someone to keep an eye on the military for me. Someone who can win the veterans over. Someone who can prevent open rebellion."

"I deserve more," Rafe insisted.

"You'll get more when you prove you can handle this assignment," Carley replied, "don't push against me, Rafe. You won't like the results."

"Don't threaten me, Carley," Rafe shot back, "unless you want another endless civil war."

"I could crush you in seconds," Carley sneered.

"And I would become the martyr the people so desire," Rafe replied, "and you would forever be embroiled in unbelievable internal turmoil."

"I'm willing to take that chance. Are you?" Carley said.

Rafe didn't reply. In fact he gulped and remained silent.

"The position is solid," Carley replied, "and this gives me a chance to see what you're capable of achieving. Come with me and together we can do what our mother and aunt could only dream of doing."

"And what was that?" Rafe asked.

"A strong Centran government," Carley said, "one that would never bow to the foreign powers again."

"On that point we agree," Rafe replied, "never again will the Centrality be a playground for foreign affairs, weapons, or ideas."

"Good," Carley said with a smile, "and I'm going to need your help in preventing that from happening again. That starts with a strong military."

"Veteran affairs," Rafe said shaking his head.

"Think of it as an opportunity to somewhere else," Carley said, "and if you reward me with loyalty I'll reward you with whatever you desire."

"Even your throne?" Rafe questioned, "I want in the line of succession."

"My son is first," Carley replied in a cool tone.

"And yet your son has no protector should you meet an untimely end," Rafe pointed out.

"My husband-"

"And if he dies? What then?" Rafe pushed.

"Then I find a Lord Protector," Carley said.

"You're looking at him," Rafe replied.

"I don't trust you," Carley said.

"In time you will," Rafe replied, "you will."

"We'll see about that," Carley said as she broke from Rafe's embrace to return to her husband's waiting grasp.

Tag: @Trieste; @jcgoble3

 

You know, maybe Carley should talk with the Queen Mother. Succession plans, contingencies, keeping nobles happy...

 

Tund



"Father," Anna Frohm, 22 years old and middle sister of the Frohm family, said, "I don't understand the urgency to have me married. I won't take any man."



"I don't want to be married either," Sophia Frohm, 20 years old and the youngest daughter of the Frohm sisters, replied

"My daughters," Lord Erik Frohm replied urging both of them to take a seat, "you must look at the bigger picture. Your marriages will cement Centran legitimacy and policy for decades. You must seek marriages outside the Centran realm if we are to wield true and lasting influence. Now, I've already reached out to the Hapes Consortium-"

"Hapes!" Anna groaned, "Those men are a bunch of sith-whipped pansies who couldn't stand up to a woman if they tried."

"Hardly husband material," Sophia added crossing her arms, "why can't I get anyone local and noble like Isabella?"

"Because the queen has no other blood relatives of marriageable age," Erik reminded his two daughters, "regardless you will be married. You know if you stayed here I would have to choose for you. I doubt that would make you happy."

"Why don't I get to decide for myself here in the Centrality?" Anna pushed.

"We're old enough," Sophia added.

"Centran law puts the husband first in all matters and if there is no husband then the father gets to choose," Erik reminded them both.

"I hate the law," Anna said.

"I'm going to change it," Sophia sharply stated, "besides we all know the queen is the one in power."

"She's the queen," Erik replied, "the rules are different."

"By different you mean they don't apply," Anna reminded her father.

Lord Erik Frohm pinched his eyes. A small acquiescence of acknowledgement that his daughter was correct in her assessment of the situation. Still he knew that a political marriage with Hapes was what was best for the Centrality. He had the political capital to swing such a deal and his standing with the queen would increase exponentially if he could secure a potential alliance. Even an economic alliance would do as the Centran economy needed all the help it could get.

"Both of you are going to find yourself married to Hapan nobles. That's the end of the story," Lord Erik Frohm insisted as he gathered his thoughts about him.

The pair knew better than to challenge their father. He did provide for them in every way and they didn't want to risk losing favor with him. He had a reputation for being ruthless. Unkind. It wasn't that he was doing this out of love. He was doing this to enhance his own prestige and reputation within the kingdom.

"Am I understood?" Erik asked.

"Understood," the pair replied in a subdued manner.

" I've already reached out to my contacts on Hapes. Go get yourselves ready for the day in your finest clothes. I want to make the best impression. Remember you're not doing this for just me but for all of the Centrality," Lord Erik Frohm reminded his daughters.

"For the Centrality," Anna repeated.

"For the Centrality," Sophia said.

"Good, now, let's move forward shall we? On to better things," Erik said with a smile.

Tag: @Trieste; @jcgoble3

 

Somehow I think Anna and Sophia are going to find a way to avoid this arranged marriage.

Also, Centran law is extremely outdated. Perhaps the sisters can find a way to update the law to be less sexist while they're at it.

 

Erilnar
Royal Palace

"Nadine," Carley said looking up from a holographic map of the Centrality, "a pleasure to have you here. You've been winning lots of races lately. Moving up the ladder. Your racing career shows a lot of promise.

"Thank you, your highness," Nadine said with a curtsey, "but there's still so much to do."

"There always is," Carley replied, "tell me why you race?"

"Speed, for the thrill of it, pushing the envelope, danger-" Nadine replied before Carley cut her off with a wave of her hand.

"You mistake my meaning," Carley said, "why do you race?"

Nadine looked down at the floor and then back into the eyes of her leader and mentor. "I race because women in the Centrality do not have a voice. I race because I one day pray that we will have equal rights with men. That we will be equals at the table. My aunts and mother fought in the Great War. On both sides. They never backed down to any man in and in fact led companies of men in some of the hardest battles of the war. When the war ended they were told to return home to the tasks of housekeeper and cook. I grew up admiring my mother so very much."

"Ah, I know the feeling well," Carley said with a knowing smile, "you and I fight the same battle."

"We do?" Nadine asked.

"Women's rights," Carley said as she came around the holographic map and placed a hand on Nadine's shoulder, "and believe me I'm working on this issue every single day."

"When will our voices be heard? I'm out there competing every day against men who think I'm just a little girl who belongs in her room playing with toys," Nadine asked.

Carley smiled and shook her head, "I'm doing everything I can to change Centran law. Even a monarch doesn't have all the power in the realm, if you can believe that. What you can do, Nadine, is beat the men that much harder and faster. You must push them. You must break them. And in your races you will know victory like you've never had before."

"I watched tape of your races on Roon," Nadine said, "you were incredible."

"I wasn't the best," Carley admitted, "but I was good enough. You'll get there yourself."

"What if I don't want to just be good enough?" Nadine asked, "what if I want to be great?"

Carley smiled and replied, "I expected nothing less from you. Come, follow me."

The pair made their way to a turbolift in the castle that took them down to a private hangar bay located deep in the rock foundation of the grounds. Carley activated the lights as the massive hangar bay lit up. It was vast, endless, easily the size of a great shipping warehouse. Vehicles of all kinds littered the hangar bay in pristine condition.

"Wow," Nadine exclaimed.

"You haven't seen anything yet," Carley said as she guide Nadine down a row of vehicles.

She stopped at the head of an open wheeled racer. It was painted with the insignia that Carley used to use when she was racing on Federation Speedway on Roon all those years ago. It was in pristine condition and looked better than the day it left the factory floor.

"Is that?" Nadine exclaimed pointing.

"Yes," Carley said as she stepped into the cockpit, pulled on her helmet, and turned the ignition, "the one and only."

"I can't believe you kept it all this time," Nadine said examining the open wheeled racer.

"Somethings are hard to let go of," Carley admitted, "and I was so much more than just a queen."

"Yes, I can see that now," Nadine said.

Carley jerked her head behind her, "There's another open wheeled racer with your name on it back there. You want to be the best you need to learn from one of the best."

"No way," Nadine said, "you want to race?"

Carley gunned the throttle sending a loud roar throughout the hangar bay. It was a call back to her young roots on Roon. It was a call back to the innocent days of her past. Before her exile from Tesserone, before the dawn of Tesserone, before even, the winds of Erilnar had called her home.

"What's out there?" Nadine asked as she slipped into her own racer.

"Open road and freedom," Carley replied.

Tag: @jcgoble3; @Trieste

 

I'm glad Carley is on board with women's rights. And equally glad she hasn't forgotten her roots. She will truly be a great queen.

 

Ah, but is there a Phyllis Schlafly lying in wait in the Centrality?

 

Hapes Consortium
Customs

Anna and Sophia Frohm stepped down the landing ramp of their shuttle and were immediately herded into a Hapan customs processing center. Their documents from the Centrality were heavily scrutinized as was their reasoning for being in the Consortium. No baggage that they'd brought was left unturned. Everything was searched.

"I feel so violated," Sophia grumbled to her sister.

"Tell me about it," Anna replied as the pair waited in a hallway for what felt an eternity.

Finally a Hapan customs official arrived and guided them into a nearby office.

"We've determined you're not foreign agents working to overthrow the Consortium," the Hapan official stated, "but we do want to know once more why you're here."

"To be married to Hapan nobles," Anna admitted.

"That isn't a crime, is it?" Sophia asked.

The Hapan official's face softened slightly and with a wry grin replied, "No, hardly. In fact we've been needing foreign blood infused into the male lines around the Consortium for some time now. You know, to stop a coup."

"How is me marrying into the Consortium nobility going to stop a coup?" Anna questioned.

"Foreigners are heavily tracked in the Consortium. We know what you are doing at all times and with whom," the offiicial replied, "and should any Hapan noble marry you we will know what they're up to as well."

"Can we go now?" Anna said feeling uncomfortable.

"Not quite," the Hapan official said, "there's more you need to know."

"Go on," Sophia urged.

"You might be aware but under Hapan law we decide whom you marry," the official explained.

"That's not what my father said!" Anna said raising her voice.

"Your father was wrong," the Hapan official replied, "but if you want to fight me on this I can most certainly put you on the next flight out to Erilnar."

"Anna," Sopha said placing a hand on her younger sister's arm, "don't fight this. We can't go back to the Centrality empty handed. We promised father we'd do this for our family honor."

"Fine," Anna grumbled, "I see I have no choice."

The Hapan customs official grinned and stamped approved on all the appropriate places and paperwork. When the official business was done the official reached into the desk and procured a datapad.

"Going to take our blood now?" Anna quipped.

"Hardly," the Hapan official replied, "but before you leave today you and your sister will have, with my guidance, selected a Hapan noble worthy of your name."

"I can't believe we're doing this," Anna grumbled.

"We must be strong," Sophia said as she settled in next to Anna, "are we allowed some freedom to pick a noble from this list?"

The Hapan official did a slight head tilt and replied, "I'll allow you the liberty of picking from this list but again we get final approval."

"Alright," Sophia said taking the datapad off the desk, "from the top. Here we go."

Tag: @Trieste (for the idea) and @jcgoble3

 

OOC: Many thanks to @Trieste for this fantastic joint post! Was a pleasure!

Hapes

The datapad that Anna and Sophia Frohm had received from the "helpful" customs official contained the most curious dossier they'd ever seen. It was nothing like anything they would have ever encountered in the Centrality. It explained that they had the luck of arriving during "the season," the height of courtship among the Hapan elites. During this time there were parties that encouraged the marriageable prospects of the Consortium to mingle.

More important, according to the datapad, were the visiting hours. At specified times in the late morning eligible bachelors were at home to receive the attentions of women. Such meetings took place in the presence of their families (most often their fathers, who encouraged matches as they saw fit, probing to determine the quality of suitors their sons had attracted). Light refreshments were provided for visitors and if a woman was specifically invited to return she was often met on her repeat appearance with flowers or other tokens of favor.

It was, frankly, the oddest thing that the Frohm girls had ever seen. When they'd tentatively checked out a few of the names on the list, they found drawing rooms packed with other aspirants vying for the attention of handsome gentlemen or cavernously empty spaces occupied by insipid dunces.

After three days of the rounds, they felt no closer to achieving their father's objective than when they'd stepped on the shuttle to leave the Centrality. If anything they felt further away. When there was a knock on the door of their hotel room and they received a hand-written invitation on flimsi to meet Dame Dorriah Morningstar the next afternoon at the Dorfeather Hotel. The young women looked at the flowing calligraphy and couldn't remember visiting any family named Morningstar. They decided that there was nothing to lose by accepting the invitation.

It wasn't until they stepped onto the curb in front of the luxury hotel that they realized that the invitation didn't include a room number. Unsure of what to do next, they stepped inside tentatively and looked about the marbled lobby.

"Misses Frohm?" a bellhop said, approaching them.

"Yes," Sophia replied.

"This way please."

The bellhop took them to the lift and pressed the button for the third floor from the top. "The suite at the end of the hall," he instructed, withdrawing before the doors shut and leaving them to ride alone.

Stepping out of the turbolift, they looked each way before choosing what looked to be the right direction. Their footsteps were absorbed by the thick carpet. Reaching the door at the end, Anna took a deep breath and knocked.

It slid open to reveal a tall woman with traditional Hapan good looks. "You're punctual. How refreshing." She walked deeper into the suite with a signal for them to follow. "Come." The quarters were lightyears better than what Anna and Sophia had for themselves. For starters, they had walked into a sitting room and their hotel room could fit inside it. The truth was even without a bed they would have rather slept here if they could afford it. "Sit. Something to drink?" Darriah Morningstar was already pouring one for herself from a generous selection of bottles.

Sophia Frohm was still getting her bearings as she examined the generous selection of bottles nearby. This entire trip had been a virtual whirlwind and nothing like she had been expecting. Hapes, so far, had left a terrible impression on her. She missed her homeworld of Tund. Even the ruins leftover from decades of warfare seemed friendlier than the room she now found herself occupying.

"No, thank you," Sophia replied, "Anna likes liquor. I don't. I don't drink on business."

Her younger sister, Anna, wasted no time in selecting a bottle of something local and pouring herself a drink. Sophia rolled her eyes. Anna was always into parties. She was the life of whatever party that could be had or discovered.

"Why did you invite us here? We're total strangers. Outsiders. Foreigners," Sophia asked.

"You got the datapad when you arrived, didn't you?" Darriah said, taking her seat. She folded one leg over the other with the ease of practice. "The first thing you should know is that whoever gave it to you almost certainly took a kickback from the families on the list. It's disappointing the lengths some families go to in their quest to secure off-world credits.

"You might be foreigners, but unlike most of the adventurers who come here looking for buccaneers, you bring titles of your own." She ran a finger around the lip of her glass absentmindedly, her eyes on the Frohms. "And you come here on your own, conduct your own business. You are...more Hapan than most of our visitors."

"Yes, we got the datapad," Anna said, "but there's got to be somebody better than what we see on the list."

"We certainly want advantageous marriages," Sophia admitted, "we'd have a lot to lose at home if we couldn't maintain or advance our station. My family is in a prime position to move up the social ladder with the Centran monarchy. Queen Heraat is young and has surrounded herself with capable advisers. One area, though that she needs is capable women and women who are stable and married."

"Don't you know a family, anyone, that could put us in a position to return home victorious?" Anna questioned.

"Yes, the great Queen Carley," Dorriah said, one eyebrow moving up a hair. "One must make an impression to have influence. That we share."

Dame Morningstar put her drink down and leaned forward, hands clasped and arms resting on her knees. "What you need is something to bring to the table. Something that gives you power. Because that's the thing about the galaxy, isn't it? Men never give anything freely, do they? And they respect nothing so much as power--or what they think is power, at least. I believe I can provide what you need."

Dorriah leaned back on the couch, but her pose was anything but casual. "Tonight, I can arrange for you to meet my sons, Amenadiel and Uriel."

Sophia and Anna looked at one another for a moment. Dorriah was certainly hoping that her sons would be chosen. It was clear, though, that she had incredible influence was nothing to pass over. Both sisters quieted any doubts in their minds for it was their minds, not their hearts, that would be making this decision.

"We would like that very much," Sophia said speaking for the two of them, "however can we repay you?"

"Awwww," Dorriah cooed with a smile. "Aren't you two just the most polite things? As if you'd only be getting husbands out of the deal." She picked up her drink again. "This is Hapes, ladies. When you do things right, everyone walks away with something. In this case, it's the same thing. You two--or one of you depending on if both of my offspring aren't to your liking--get to be the ones who deliver the Centrality a navy worthy of its new place in the galaxy. I get to be the one to sell it to them. My sons, your husbands, are the link that will make that happen--and encourage an enlightened direction of your fledgling monarchy that I suspect your father and his friends will find attractive.

"The three of us? We will usher in a new bond between the great monarchies of the galaxy."

Tag: @jcgoble3

 

​

Erilnar

They came from all corners of Centran space. They came from all walks of life. They marched as one down the capital streets of Erilnar making their inexorable way to the palace gates which had long been shut and locked. They came peacefully. They came with purpose. Clear intent. They came with one goal in mind: equality. The movement had been building for years and now finally was bubbling over into the streets. Action and change needed to happen now.

They were the women of the Centran citizenry. Housewives, educators, service personnel, governesses, and even former military personnel though their number were few and far between. All of them stood together, arms locked, as they chanted outside the palace of the Centran monarchy, their voices as one, their cry stirring against deep seated repression and centuries old misogyny.

"Equality!"

"Freedom!"

"Representation!"

Day after day the crowds grew and grew. The Erilnar spaceport was absolutely overloaded and the air taxi services were at capacity. As quickly as a new group of women were shuttled to the protest others replaced them waiting to go. All could feel that something big was happening. Something uncontrollable. Something necessary.

Sir Erik Frohm looked out the palace windows as the crowd grew day by day. He knew better than to try and put the crowds down with a military response. This movement was too big. This movement was too real. It needed to be addressed sooner rather than later. Before the situation worsened.

"My lord," an aide whispered, "we must get you to safety. Should that mob break down the gates first they will come for you and the others on the Royal Council."

"Run? Now?" Sir Erik Frohm said, "No that would be unwise. Especially since the queen is not leaving. I will not leave until she orders me to do so."

---

Queen's Private Chambers



"Lord Frohm," Queen Carley Heraat said, "we have a problem in the Centrality."

"Yes, your majesty," Lord Frohm replied, "we do. As your most trusted advisor I regret I should have seen this coming. Something like this would never have happened during the war."

"No," Carley replied, "it would not have because these women were off supporting their husbands, sons, and brothers, in that horrible conflict. Generations of men have died on both sides and all we have done to share our gratitude is relegate them to second class citizenship at best."

"I could call in the guard-" Frohm suggested before being cut off by a wave of the hand from the queen.

"I will not take any course of action that leads us down the road to violence," Carley replied, "and I will not take any course of action that will destroy our fragile union. There are forces every day that challenge my reign. That challenge me. I will have none of it any longer. Change will happen now."

"My queen," Lord Frohm said clearing his throat slightly, "surely such change must be debated by the Royal Council. Must be adopted slowly, cautiously, over a period of time. Months, perhaps even years."

"My lord," Carley replied, "I have never been one to wait to seize the day. We have momentum on our side. Out there are the voices of our mothers, our aunts, our sisters, our daughters dying to be heard. Listen to them! Listen! They are crying out for basic rights and I am of no mind to deny them. My mother, Reyna, died fighting for the Eastern Centrality in a decades long war she never started. She would roll over in her grave if I deny women their basic, fundamental, rights."

"If you go forward you risk tearing the Centran monarchy apart," Lord Frohm cautioned.

"If allowing women to have equal rights and access to the fundamental rights of a Centran citizen will tear this monarchy apart than we have no monarchy at all, good sir! No! We have something worse, something unimaginable, something unspeakable," Carley replied, "we have a total loss to our way of life. Without women, good sir, we are nothing."

Lord Frohm paused and held his tongue.

"Lord Frohm," Carley said, "are you with me or must I go alone?"

Silence.

"Your daughters do they have equal rights? Do they have choice as you hurriedly shuffled them off to Hapes to get married?" Carley challenged.

"They-" Frohm paused and gave Carley a look as if to say how did you know?

"As your mother raised you up to be the great man that you are did you ever stop to wonder and think did she ever have dreams of her own that were never realized? Hopes and wishes?" Carley insisted.

"My-" Frohm stammered taking a step backward.

"Did you ever wonder about your wife and what becomes of her life after her daughters have grown and left the household? Does she have passions that you nurture and goals that you support? Does she tell you what she longs to do, something that she has buried deep down inside?" Carley pushed.

"I-" Frohm was at a loss for words as he stumbled over a nearby chair.

"You are either in this together with me, Lord Frohm," Carley said stepping closer as Frohm instinctively backed away, "or you are on the outside looking in and are banned from court. Consider your legacy. How you would want to be remembered!"

"My queen," Frohm said falling to his knees at her feet, "I-"

"I shall ask one last time, Lord Frohm," Carley said with a voice of steel, "are you with me?"

Lord Frohm thought of his daughters, Anne and Sophia, his mother who'd passed away in the last year, his wife who for all he knew was down there in that crowd. Could he deny them something so basic, so fundamentally theirs, and if he did deny them or stalled this in any way would she ever love him again?

"I am with you my queen!" Lord Frohm gasped.

Queen Carley Heraat spun on her heels, ripped open the balcony doors overlooking the hundreds of thousands before her, and to much acclaim raised her fist in solidarity with the movement down below. A tremendous roar erupted from the crowd below. A roar that was as if the souls of all those Centran women who had come before were finally being heard for the first time in their lives.

The signal was clear to all present.

Queen Carley Heraat, as soon as she was able that day, signed into Centran law by way of royal edict a series of sweeping reforms for all women in the Centrality that gave them equal rights, opportunities, and support such as their male counterparts had possessed for centuries.

"So it has been written," Queen Carley Heraat declared to the crowd below, "so it shall be done."

Tag: @Trieste; @jcgoble3

 

Tund
Veteran Affairs Office

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Rafe Heraat surveyed the rebuilding efforts on Tund from his pedestrian office. One of the few still standing from the war. Tund, a city besieged for nearly half a century. A city that even now struggled to provide stable electricity and clean water to the few people who still called the city home.

Rafe months ago had quickly gathered the leaders of the Tund legions and veterans together to hear their concerns. To have a safe and public venue for addressing their grievances against the crown. The list of grievancest was long and brutal. It was the kind of list that would crush any regular person not suitable for the task.

He had spent the next month sending correspondence after correspondence to Erilnar in the hopes that the Royal Council would take up the matter of veterans compensation. The veterans issues most pressing to him were the pensions that were already small, their acreages awarded to them not worth farming, their length of service for those in active duty stretched out well into their twilight years with no end in sight. It was a miracle the legions hadn't revolted even though by rights they had every reason to do so.

Rafe was aware that the Tund legions had been reorganized following their ill advised support of Master Tel Adain. Tel Adain's death at the battle of Dilonexa and the subsequent reshuffling of the Tund legions to prevent such insurrection again was a swift move by the queen to consolidate power. Power that she had won by force. Power that she was unwilling to relinquish despite growing pressure from the Centran nobility.

Rafe could only help the active duty service members so much. Those issues he addressed daily. The other issues involved how to keep veterans who'd left the service in active, engaged meaningful employment. Reconstruction proved just the ticket as it provided ample work and decent pay. In return Rafe received monthly installments from the crown to provide housing for the veterans, their families, along with additional supports.

It was an arrangement that Rafe initially despised but as time went on he grew to love and eventually use to his political advantage.

---

Erilnar

"You requested my services, your majesty?" Fenix Tano asked as he gently rose from his bow.

"Yes," Carley replied, "Someone close to me has fed me information regarding the shuffling of finances."

"I fail to see how this would require my professional talents," Fenix replied.

"Finances between two great powers," Carley said.

"I see," Fenix said, "how may I serve you?"

Carley casually tossed Fenix the datapad. He hesitated accessing the files. He wasn't about to go prying into the queen's business.

"Go on," Carley insisted, "read the first file."

She paced back and forth while Fenix read the information. When he was done the two exchanged a look of understanding.

"This kind of information in the wrong hands could be incredibly damaging," Fenix said, "it could bring down both governments mentioned in the report."

"I need you to find out the truth of this report," Carley said, "and return to me as soon as you do."

"As you wish," Fenix replied with a slight bow.

Tag: @Trieste; @jcgoble3

 

​

Erilnar
Royal Quarters

"We are needing to fill a spot on the Royal Council, my lords," Queen Carley Heraat instructed her councilman, "and I aim to meet that quota today."

"I have a name to put forward," one councilman said.

"As do I!" Another added.

"Not this time," Carley replied, "forgive me if I don't want another Centran nobleman breathing down my neck about liberalizing my reign. About the lost voices of the landed aristocracy. How my support for Centran women and their natural rights has done nothing but sunk my reign before it has even truly begun. And if I hear one more word about ties with the Hapans I will personally see to it that you never return to court again!"

The room fell into a heavy silence.

"Now, my proposal, my lords, is for someone with fresh ideas. Someone who has survived the war. Someone who knows the Heraats but is not one of us. Someone who can be a stabilizing force on this noble council," Carley suggested.

"Whom did you have in mind?" a councilman asked.

Carley looked up to an aide and said, "Send her in."

The aide nodded and opened the broad doors at the other end of the council chambers. The councilmen turned to look at the incoming party with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance. They weren't used to having the queen dictate their every action. In all actuality they helped run the government when the queen had her hands full with other, more pressing, matters.



"Lady Catriona Khomri at your service, your majesty," the woman stated with a curtsey.

"Lady Khomri," Queen Carley Heraat replied, "please take your seat at the council."

Looks were exchanged at the the table as Lady Catriona Khomri took her place amongst the other nobles. The move was highly irregular. The Royal Council hadn't even been consulted and here the queen was installing members and avoiding proper protocol and precedent.

"Now," Carley said, "we were discussing the development of infrastructure. And no word on our Hapan connections for once. I want to focus on something tangible. Something real. Let's begin ,shall we?"

---

Tund
Frohm Estate

"You certainly have secured advantageous marriages for your daughters," Lord Waalsing, governor of Renatasia, said as he had a private dinner with Lord of the Exchequer Erik Frohm.

"To be quiet honest, Waalsing, I had very little to do with the matter," Frohm admitted, "in fact Hapan customs took matters into their own hands. It was by divine providence that my daughters married so well. I imagine more Hapan nobles will slowly come back to our way as we begin our plans to expand the influence and prestige of the middle class."

"A middle class that should have a voice," Waalsing said cutting tenderly into his steak.

"You mean a legislative body, a Parliament," Frohm questioned.

"Indeed," Waalsing replied, "a place where every man-"

"And woman," Frohm added.

"Yes," Waalsing said clearing his throat, "can have their voice heard. We must liberalize the monarchy if we are to survive what is to come."

"And tell me, Lord Waalsing," Frohm said with the hint of a smile, "what is to come?"

"A great reckoning," Waalsing replied.

"Tell me more," Frohm said as he sipped from his wine glass.

---

Bonadan
Corporate Sector

Fenix Tano had completed his mission.

The report had not only been verified but the information in it was incredibly damaging to both the Roon Federation and the Corporate Sector. It was the kind of information that could bring down both governments in a heartbeat. He could see now why Queen Carley Heraat wanted the information in her possession. It was an incredible bargaining chip to ward off stronger, more aggressive, powers.

He smiled as he shuffled his way back to the Bonadan spaceport through crowds and cordons of security. It was good to be working for a cause again. Something worthwhile. Something meaningful. He couldn't wait to present the information to the queen. She would be pleased and would reward him handsomely.

His only regret was that he hadn't gone to work for the Heraat clan before now.

---

Nar Shaddaa
Mayor's Office

The war against Addison Vehn had gone poorly.

Lilly Vehn was pacing back and forth as the latest reports were beginning to flood in that her public relations and economic campaign against her sister, Addison, had failed miserably. Addison had proven, once again, to be untouchable. Lilly hated admitting defeat but even she knew a losing cause. It was time to pivot.

She looked out at the skyline and wondered in her heart of hearts what Kaitlyn Vehn would've done in her situation. Lilly had incredible power as mayor of Nar Shaddaa. The kind of power that nearly rivaled other beings who ran entire interstellar governments. She knew deep down she had to apply that power in a positive manner. She had to make real and lasting change.

Lilly reached for her comm. unit and dialed the appropriate frequency.

"Hello?" Came the female voice on the other end.

"I've made mistakes," Lilly admitted, "we need to meet. I want us to work together and I have an idea. Something that would make Kaitlyn proud."

---

Tund

"My men need more than weak guarantees from Erilnar," hissed the current commander of the Tund legions, "I am barely holding them together. They're tired. They're over worked. They want real reform. They want a real voice. The crown isn't listening!"

"Believe me," Rafe Heraat, head of Veteran's Affairs, replied, "I'm aware of the crown's shortcomings in this matter."

"Then what are you going to do about it?" the commander asked.

"You do realize that I command considerable power," Rafe replied, "but also must show considerable restraint. I have my own game to play with the crown and I cannot be seen to support open rebellion. Besides, didn't you lot learn your lessons after you turned on her the first time?"

"We made her what she is!" The commander hissed, "She never would've marched on Erilnar without our help! We won the frakking war for her. The entire thing fell on our shoulders."

"Come now," Rafe replied with a wry grin, "that's revisionist history. No, the Tund legions won the war because they struck a deal with their CSA backers who were funneling them arms across the Centran border. Besides, I heard you also made friends with the Phantoms to go after certain targets if it kept those boogeymen off your backs."

"What are you suggesting we do?" the commander asked.

"You swore an oath of loyalty," Rafe replied, "but you didn't swear an oath to be cast aside and forgotten. For your voice to be crushed. There are many ways to get the crown's attention. To feel heard. I have just the idea and it has the proper support in the right areas for it to work."

"Go on," the commander replied as he took a seat across from one of the most powerful men in the Centrality.

---

Tesserone
Roon

"She's pushed everything so hard," Eleanor complained as she finished her drink.

"You're drunk," Verity pointed out with a slight shake of her head.

"And what if I am?" Eleanor blurted out.

"It shows to me just how far you've fallen," Verity replied, "and to say I'm disappointed in you, Eleanor, is the understatement of the decade."

"So I like to imbibe a little," Eleanor said slurring her words a bit, "whats the sharm, er harm, in that?"

"You've lost your way," Verity said as she finished her own drink, "because the daughter I raised and saw make a difference in this galaxy would never stand for an upstart like Queen Carley Heraat. She would have put her in her place. She never would've been pushed around. Reacting to everything. Getting drunk in her father's study every night reminiscing about the mistakes of the past."

"I've fought her every chance I've gotten and every chance she has outmaneuvered me," Eleanor groaned rubbing her temples.

"Then stop frakking playing by the rules," Verity snapped, "and start frakking fighting like a Vehn."

Eleanor sat quietly in her chair. Her drunken stupor had just been shattered. She'd been smacked upside the face by her mother, Verity, a formidable woman in her own right. Her mother always had the right things to say at the right time. It was the gift of being a parent, she supposed. Although she hadn't always done that with her own daughter, Grace.

"I don't know which way to turn, Mama," Eleanor said after awhile.

"The only way you've ever turned," Verity corrected, "to your heart and to the path of what is right and good. You still have an opportunity to fix your mistakes. The galaxy still respects our name. If you can believe it."

"I'm running out of time," Eleanor admitted.

"We all are running out of time," Verity replied, "but ours is to decide what to do with the time given to us. Now you can either slink here in this study and be whipped about the galactic stage by this young queen or you can stand for the values that your grandfather instilled in the old RTO and the Federation and fight! Values that still matter in this day and age."

"I need to rest," Eleanor said, "I can't even think straight."

"Go rest," Verity replied, "and tomorrow when the dawn comes get ready to fight."

---

​

Erilnar
Royal Quarters

Queen Carley Heraat waited patiently while the crown was placed on her head. It was the same ritual that was performed morning after morning. The crown was a reminder of the burden and challenges of the position to which she now found herself. A position besieged by the great powers of the Roon Federation, Republic, Hapan Consortium, and Corporate Sector. A position besieged by disloyalty from the nobles she thought she could trust. A position besieged by the growing aristocracy and the calls for a more liberal monarchy.

"You carry such a heavy burden," Jack commented as he quietly came up next to Carley and kissed her on forehead.

"No more than usual," Queen Carley Heraat replied.

"Is there anything I can do to help, such as it is?" Jack asked.

"Just be there for me, now, more than ever," Carley replied, "especially as we head into dark days."

"Besieged on all sides?" Jack asked.

"You have no idea," Carley said.

"I might have a solution," Jack replied.

"Oh?"

"It won't take care of everything overnight," Jack said, "but it'll be a start to lightening your load."

"I'm all ears," Carley said.

"I thought you would be," Jack replied, "now, here is what we're going to do...."

INTERMISSION​

Tag: @Trieste; @jcgoble3

 

Moving and shaking all over the place.

The scene between Verity and Eleanor was particularly good. The verbal (and perhaps physical?) slap to the face was perfect.

And an intermission! Wonder what's happening next?

 

I know I usually write a lot of threads...but that post there puts even me to shame! There's a lot happening on several fronts here!

 

Erilnar
Heraat Raceway



Nadine Noor, 19 years old, ripped off her helmet in frustration and threw it across the warm asphalt of Heraat Raceway. Smoke and the smell of burnt brakes punched her hard in the nose. The recovery vehicles were on their way. Another beautiful day wasted. Another promising run compromised.

Nadine was pissed. She'd just finished one of the best placement laps of her young career only to have her driver side front tire rip to shreds on the final hairpin turn. She barely recovered in time to hit the strong inner retaining wall. Fortunately the airbags had deployed and her neck brace had prevented the whiplash from causing a fatality.

She unbuckled herself from the cockpit and emerged from the wreckage. She wasn't about to stay down. Not this time. She had questions and she needed answers. She waved off the medical droids. There was only one person she wanted to talk to at this point: her crew chief.



"Where the frak are you getting your tires from? That's my second blowout in two weeks. You're frakking lucky I'm not dead," Nadine said raising her voice as she confronted her crew chief over the roar of passing racers.

"Frak Nadine. I can't believe this. We get our tires from Roon," the crew chief replied.

"Find a different supplier," Nadine challenged.

"There aren't any," the crew chief replied.

"You telling me in this entire galaxy that Roon is the only manufacturer of open wheeled tires?" Nadine questioned raising her eyebrows.

"Open wheeled racing is an eastern Outer Rim sport, Nadine," the crew chief replied, "you know that."

"What's the company that makes the tires?" Nadine asked. She wasn't privy always to the technical parts of her car.

"Uh," the crew chief frowned as he looked at his datapad, "uhm."

"Tell me," Nadine fumed.

"Northern Tread," the crew chief admitted.

"No they're the small fish," Nadine cursed, "who owns them?"

"Karr Pharmaceutical," the crew chief said with a frown.

"Let's go," Nadine ordered.

"What are you doing?" the crew chief asked.

"Getting to the bottom of a very serious problem," Nadine replied.

Tag: @Trieste; @jcgoble3

 

II Avali, Druckenwell
Karr Pharma HQ






"My father's death last year has offered me a rare opportunity to change my perspective on life," Chief Executive Officer Gryffyn Karr, older brother of Addison, Liberty, and Lilly, said to the board members of Karr Pharmaceuticals.

"For years I've been obsessed with one thing. One thing," Gryffyn said as he walked around the conference room table, "making credits. No matter what I wanted to make credits. To be the richest man on Druckenwell."

That drew a few chuckles from the board.

"But it struck me as my father lay dying before me in the hospital how fragile life is and how short our time in this galaxy becomes as we age," Gryffyn said, "and that's why I'm proposing a significant shift in the direction Karr Pharma is heading."

A few members of the board coughed and shuffled uncomfortably in their seats.

"I'm sorry did I say something wrong?" Gryffyn challenged the board.

"We just don't have the capital to shift our entire business to a new venture," one of the board members spoke up

"Actually," Gryffyn corrected, "we do have the capital."

"And where is this money coming from?" A board member asked.

"The Centrality," Gryffyn replied, "and that's all I can say."

"You'd take Centran money over Federation or Republican credits?" A board member challenged.

"I'd take anything if it meant we could get ahead of our competition and turn in a full four quarters of profit," Gryffyn said.

"The Centrality is unstable. They're one small shake away from disentegrating. We can't take on that kind of risk. Your father wouldn't have approved. Don't make us call your leadership into question," a board member said.

Gryffyn looked down at his hands and then back up at the board, "You can vote me out of you'd like. I won't stop you but I'll tell you that Karr Pharma will die without me."

"We'll take our chances," a board member replied as Gryffyn was escorted from the room by security.

Hours later, Gryffyn Karr, was the former CEO of Karr Pharmaceutical.

His datapad chimed. Frowning he looked down at the message.

Apparently he was now going to Nar Shaddaa to discuss the future with none other than his estranged sister, Lilly.

Tag: @Trieste; @jcgoble3

 

Erilnar
Royal Palace

"You seem troubled, your grace," Lady Catriona Khomri asked Queen Carley early one morning as the pair walked in the courtyard of the royal palace.

"I brought you in to the council, Lady Khomri, because I needed to show the people that I could elevate a woman to a position of power," Queen Carley said.

"And yet, your grace, you hold the most powerful position in all the Centrality," Lady Khomri gently reminded.

"Yes, well, they can't all be queen now can they? I needed to show the people that they could be elevated to a position of true power. You know the nobles hold a considerable amount of sway. I needed a female to steer the group. To provide balance. Perspective," Queen Carley replied.

"Ah, so I was the proverbial public relations stunt," Lady Khomri said with a wry grin.

"You are the closest thing I have to a sure thing," Queen Carley said, "you served my family for years. I brought you close because I need you now more than ever."

"Tell me what troubles you," Lady Khomri quietly prodded.

"If you can believe it, Hapes," Queen Carley admitted.

"Hapes? What about the Consortium?" Lady Khomri questioned.

"They're an established monarchy. Females rule supreme. You'd think with my reforms that'd be a good thing but I find it challenging to navigate. The Consortium has been breathing down my neck to conduct an official state visit. I have nothing to show of Centran strength. I am undermined by Centran nobles pursuing Hapan marriages, my brother Rafe continues to push against my edicts with regards to veterans, and our nascent economy is barely keeping the kingdom afloat. Not to mention our ongoing troubles with the Federation," Queen Carley admitted.

"Permission to speak freely," Lady Khomri requested.

"Go on," Queen Carley said as the pair meandered their way through the large courtyard.

"Rafe is a threat but not your first problem. He's angling to be Lord Protector. He wants power. Having him be in charge of veteran affairs is simply your way of keeping him under wraps. You were smart to send him to the Tund legions. If they rise against you again, which I highly doubt, you would be able to move your armies against them quickly. The Centran noblemen find women in power a threat. They are challenging you on every front because they wish to keep the old paternalistic Centran traditions alive. They're marrying into Hapan families to not only destabilize your government but also cause problems for the Queen Mother," Lady Khomri replied.

"You're saying I have a connection with the Queen Mother without even really trying," Queen Carley stated, "and I should view Hapes as more of an ally than a threat."

"We have few legitimate governments backing our sovereignty. Ties with the Consortium could go a long way towards our long term goals," Lady Khomri pointed out.

"I knew bringing you into the fold was a good idea," Queen Carley stated with a smile.

"Your reign faces unprecedented challenges. Challenges that your mother, Reyna, never had to face. Not in the same way. She was fighting a war to hold together the old Centran monarchy. You finished the war and now must build the peace," Lady Khomri said, "and that is all the harder."

"Send a message at once to Hapes. It's time to meet. Two monarchies with a mutual enemy," Queen Carley replied.

Tag: @Trieste; @jcgoble3

 

Nar Shaddaa
Mayor's Office
New Vertica

"You've done well for yourself," Gryffyn Karr commented to his youngest sibling, Lilly.

"Thank you," Lilly replied as she offered Gryffyn a drink which he readily accepted, "I see Karr Pharma has parted ways with you."

"I should've seen it coming," Gryffyn admitted, "but my pride and arrogance got the better of me. Now, what am I?"

"A man with a great deal of untapped potential," Lilly replied, "and power."

"I think you're mistaking me for someone else," Gryffyn replied.

"Anyone that tries to go toe to toe with Addison and nearly win in the end is powerful in my book," Lilly said with a wry grin.

"Family quarrels are often the worst," Gryffyn replied, "but you know that better than anyone. Your family is Vehn-"

"Mere legalities," Lilly corrected, "and my blood family is Karr."

Gryffyn nodded as he finished his drink, "Then you of all people understand the challenges that lie ahead."

"They're not insurmountable," Lilly admitted, "but they are difficult."

"Why did you ask me to come here?" Gryffyn asked.

"Nar Shaddaa hangs in the balance," Lilly said, "because on one hand we have our established ties with the Federation. On the other we have our nascent ties with the Centrality, the Tion Hegemony, and the Corporate Sector Authority. The Hutts are only interested in credits. I want something more for Nar Shaddaa. I want true change. Lasting change."

"You want the city to go back to the days of Kaitlyn Vehn, don't you?" Gryffyn asked.

"I do," Lilly admitted, "and yet I do not have the political capital nor the money to see my vision through. I need your help."

"You need my money," Gryffyn replied cutting to the chase.

"Yes," Lilly said, "and in return I'll help get you back on the board of your beloved company."

"That's a tall order," Gryffyn replied, "what guarantees do I have?"

Lilly walked around to her desk and opened a drawer. She scribbled something on a piece of flimsi and handed it over to Gryffyn.

Gryffyn's eyes widened as he read the piece of flimsi, "I see."

Tag: @Trieste; @jcgoble3

 

I see some interesting possibilities emerging...

 

​

Tesserone, Roon

Sean Vehn grunted as he pounded another metal t- post into the ground with his fencing tool. It was the hundredth t-post today. The new fence line that the Vehns needed on Tesserone was taking shape nicely and looked to be as solid and long lasting as the ones that had come before. His muscles ached and his body screamed at him for water but it was only the morning and there were many more posts to pound into the dry ground.

He reached for another post, sighted up and down the fence line, and prepared to pound again with the tool in his hands when a shadow fell over his position. Instinctively he reached for the blaster rifle that he always kept nearby. Clutching the wooden stock he spun around to face the shadow weapon at the ready.

"Easy, Sean," Eleanor Vehn said raising her hands slightly, "how's the job coming along?"

"Oh, you know," Sean replied putting his rifle down, "just another day in paradise. What brings you out this way?"

"I have a job for you," Eleanor said.

Sean wiped sweat from his forehead. That wasn't a request. It was an order. From family, no less. He hated the way his past always snuck up on him like a nightmare. Always there and never gone.

"Eleanor," Sean said as he took a step back from his mother in law for some water, "I'm out of the game. I promised Grace I'd never take up that life again. Ever."

"Once a Phantom," Eleanor started.

"Always a Phantom," Sean replied automatically, "but I've learned there's more to life than killing."

"Perhaps," Eleanor replied, "but you're needed now. The Federation needs you. Your family needs you. You're one of the best soldiers we have. Besides, this job doesn't involve killing anyone."

Sean had been itching for something more than fencing jobs and property maintenance. He just hadn't vocalized his desires with anyone else. Not even his wife, Grace. He felt ashamed to have hidden his true wants and desires from her but in some ways they weren't even fully formed yet. They were just strands of cognitive threads floating in the wind.

Sean folded his arms across his chest and sighed, "What's the job?"

"I'm sending you to the Centrality. I need you to get in close to the royal family, to the queen," Eleanor instructed, "feed me information. Your cover is simple, really. You're a wayward soldier looking for another life."

"The Centran royals are heavily guarded," Sean protested, "that won't be easy."

"I've got a few contacts in Centran High Command. They've agreed to allow you to embed with them as you'll be joining up with Rafe Heraat, the queen's brother, and his legions on Tund."

"I don't know much about the Centran political situation but weren't the Tund legions the ones who rebelled against Queen Carley's authority and marched with disgraced Jedi Master Tel Adain?"

"Yes," Eleanor said with a smile, "they were."

"You're wanting me to bring the monarchy down from the inside aren't you?" Sean asked.

"I never said that," Eleanor replied.

"You didn't have to," Sean said.

---

Later That Day

"You're what!?" Grace yelled behind closed doors as Sean wearily settled into bed beside her. She was pacing across the room in the way she did when she was really upset.

"I didn't feel like I had a choice!" Sean replied raising his voice in frustration.

"It's my mother," Grace replied, "you could have just said no."

"Nobody says no to your mother," Sean replied as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

"I do," Grace said, "and I'm going to talk to her right away about this. I'm sure this is all one big mistake. One miscommunication after another.

"Don't," Sean said blocking Grace from leaving the room, "don't. There's no use. I leave tomorrow morning for the Centrality. Please don't be upset with me. I've done everything right, Grace, but if I refuse there will be repercussions for the family."

"Repercussions?" Grace asked, "What kind of repercussions?"

Sean sighed, looked down at the floor, and then back up into Grace's eyes, "The kind that could destroy the entire life we've built."

Grace fell on the bed and buried her head in her hands.

"This old world is ending, isn't it?" Grace said.

"I'm afraid so," Sean replied as he sat next to Grace and held her hand.

It was all he could do to keep himself steady in the face of the coming storm.

Tag: @Trieste; @jcgoble3

 

Sierra is going to get annoyed with a whole different branch of her relatives.

 

II Avali, Druckenwell

Eleanor Vehn looked sharp and intelligent in her business suit as she prowled the corridors of Karr Pharmaceutical with her security escort. Her high heels pounded the marbled flooring as she inexorably made her way to the conference room. She held her head high as the double doors leading into the conference room were opened for her and her alone as she made her way around the oblong table filled equally on either side by suits who had voted her into a position of power.

"Welcome, all of you," Eleanor said as she examined each and every one of the board members in turn as well as acknowleding the holocameras flitting about the room for the broadcast, "welcome to a new era. It is my sincere pleasure to announce to all of you and our shareholders abroad that Karr Pharmaceutical is dead."

Murmurs flew throughout the room.

"From its ashes a new company will be born. A company committed to the Federation defense network. A company committed to the prosperity not only of Druckenwell and Roon but all of our great federation. A company that is efficient, forward thinking, and environmentally responsible," Eleanor stated, "and with great pleasure I give you: Vehn Industries."



"Now let's open the floor to questions," Eleanor said.

The room erupted in a sea of hands and energy.

---

Nime, Roon
Presidential Suite

"Eleanor's on the war path," Addison Vehn said to her younger sister and President of the Roon Federation Liberty Karr. The pair watched the announcement of the creation of Vehn Industries with great interest. Addison was visiting on personal business as she hadn't seen her sister Liberty in some time.

"I can't believe she liquidated Karr Pharma in one fell swoop. Just like that the empire that our grandfather built is gone," Liberty said.

"I wonder how Gryffyn is taking all of this. He was the most heavily invested out of all of us," Addison remarked.

"I heard he's hanging out with Lilly Vehn these days," Liberty said.

"Double trouble," Addison said.

"You got that right," Liberty admitted, "and Eleanor's going after the Centrality the only way she knows how."

"Why does it matter so much to her?" Addison asked.

"The Centrality is Eleanor's greatest failure. Correction: The Vehn family's greatest failure. She's doing everything she can to right a wrong," Libertys aid.

"Why doesn't she approach the Centrality where they're at? Queen Carley is approachable," Addison questioned.

"Because it would require Eleanor to admit that it was all a big failure," Liberty replied, "and that the Vehn way is flawed. It opens up so many more questions about the last half century or so and the Federation's role in the eastern Outer Rim. With the Centrality pursuing relations with Hapes and casting aside the Federation it makes her position incredibly more precarious. She no longer has influence on Erilnar. Not in the same way."

"I'm not sure her plan will work out," Addison remarked.

"Neither am I, sister," Liberty replied as she folded her arms across her chest, "neither am I."

Tag: @Trieste; @jcgoble3

 

OOC: Many thanks to @Trieste for another joint post.

Erilnar
Centrality

Queen Carley breathed a measured sigh of relief. The two monarchs were entirely alone. Even their aides had retreated behind the closed doors of the ornate conference room overlooking the capital world and city of Erilnar. For a moment she didn't know what to do with the silence between them. Ultimately she decided to do very little and simply let the tension of the moment fade away.

Carley quietly cupped her hands together and turned to face the Queen Mother.

"Well then," Carley began, "let us talk and get right to it. I'm curious if you can provide some additional background information as to why Centran nobles are marrying their daughters off to Hapan nobles. I'm aware of my own regime's need to liberalize but these moves must be taken slowly. I need to know why Hapes and if there's something more going on that I need to pay closer attention towards?"

"Don't worry," Sierra said, "If we were trying to take over, we wouldn't send our sons. We'd send our daughters." She smiled briefly.

"As to how we got to this point, it seems the ambitious mothers of the Consortium got the idea after your Lord Frohm sent his daughters to the Consortium in search of husbands. They see women with titles who will actually marry their sons. I don't mean to offend, but these men couldn't marry women of similar standing on their own planets. Their families see an opportunity to expand their wealth and power, even if only through expanding trade through new partners in the Consortium. They hope I will approve of these new relationships because of the crown's cut through taxes, but they gain more than I do.

"I have no designs on your worlds," Sierra stated. "The Consortium's strength lies in its borders. We could never keep and defend a tract so wide as the Centrality. You have nothing to fear from me, but this combination of our nobles presents a danger to each of us beyond their ordinary ambitions."

"Lord Frohm," Carley quietly repeated, "I should have known. I appreciate your candor and honesty. I never once felt that Hapes was a threat, per say, to the Centrality but it puts me at ease to know that I must reassert myself within my own kingdom. I don't mind if our nobles seek out marriages elsewhere. That is natural. It's the political maneuvering that goes with it that makes me nervous."

"I would think keeping a close eye on the nobles in both our realms would be a wise idea," Carley suggested, "if nothing else to know of any potential threats before they grow to be too difficult to contain."

"Tell me," Carley said switching to a different tack, "how are ties with the Roon Federation these days?"

"Our relations are normal, productive," Sierra said casually. "Where we have shared interests, we come together in common cause. Some in the Consortium don't view them as a serious partner, the memory of the short-lived RTO undermining the Federation's credibility. They think the Federation will meet a similar fate. They conveniently forget that our stability of government has not been a peaceful one. After all, a Queen Mother was killed in my lifetime." The galaxy did not know that she had killed a second to take the veil and throne for herself. "I was not coddled in the Cluster. I know how difficult the Federation project is. It is because we have three millennia of history that I have patience with them.

"You, of course, have less reason to view them so indulgently," Sierra allowed with a motion of her hand. "Some of my cousins have not known when to stay in their hyperlane, to put it nicely."

"Their meddling in our affairs weighs on me heavily," Carley admitted "and I feel that I spend a constant amount of my time fending them off. They think because they funneled money and arms to the Western Centrality during our fifty year long civil war that they can continue to interfere in our politics. It's no wonder I have spent a considerable amount of effort to solidify alliances with the Tion Hegemon and the Corporate Sector Authority. And yes I must say that some of your relations do not know when to keep their nose out of our business."

"Which brings me to our business. We clearly should continue to develop trade relations if nothing else to show solidarity for our monarchies. We are so different but alike in one very strong way," Carley said, "our mutual distrust of outsiders."

"Agreed. The preliminary agreement our trade representatives have negotiated in advance are acceptable," Sierra said. "The only issue is one for the two of us alone: how do we ensure trade strengthens us and not those in our queendoms who seek what we have?" The Queen Mother raised one eyebrow, inviting ideas.

"Hapes nor the Centrality really has a free market. We control who benefits from the trade and who does not or am I thinking we have too much power?" Carley suggested with a grin.

"Perhaps here you do. In the Consortium, we have just as many economics elites as those with titles. My ability to reward allies is limited. For example, take the deal Lord Frohm has been pursuing to outfit the Centrality with a new navy. There is only one firm who could deliver those ships and it is is in the hands of my Minister of Defense. She has her post only because it makes it more inconvenient to pursue her ambitions." Sierra looked out the window at the royal grounds. "My predecessors made concessions to keep the peace. They have been good for the Consortium, even if they make my life more difficult." She turned back to Carley. "I suppose I should ask if you even want a new navy." She gave a small smile.

"You make your point quite clear," Carley admitted, "and Lord Frohm has his uses. An ambitious man is a well honed tool in the box if you catch my drift. I have brought him to heel in the past and should his dreams and desires go beyond mine then he will be brought to heel again. You see, much like Hapes, I keep those men who would openly challenge my throne busy with projects. Take my brother, Rafe who is married to Lord Frohm's eldest daughter, for instance. He is away on Tund performing his duties per my direction. Duties I know he is loathe to perform. I am sure he is waiting to lash out against me at the earliest opportunity. I am not blind to his ambitions and yet I use them to keep the Tund legions under control."

Carley paused and looked out the window.

"Peace has been so fleeting for my people. We are barely over a horrific civil war. It should be a time of healing and yet I spend all my time barely keeping the pieces together."

"As long as those projects keep the pieces together instead of undoing what we've done. Peace may not make history, but peace is good: for those that live under it, for those that rule over it. We both benefit from stability in the Centrality."

Sierra stood next to Carley and shared her view. "So how do we get there in a way that empowers us and not our rivals, foreign and domestic?"

"We start by being honest with one another. Communicating well and clearly in times of crisis. So much of the peace, for better or worse, relies on how we rule. You and I have a unique opportunity to build a bridge that cannot be destroyed by our enemies. Perhaps we need to go beyond trade. Something deeper, longer lasting. I am open to ideas. We are both young and yet wise beyond our years. The best of our reigns are before us. Not behind us. I have not known you long, Sierra," Carley paused unsure if she should use her counterparts first name, "but I feel we can quickly become good friends."

"If we were males, it would be easy, Carley," Sierra said, reciprocating the familiarity. "We'd just start a war to distract our people."

They shared a laugh over that.

"But as we know better, we need something different. We need a Great Work. And before I leave, we'll figure out what it is."

Tag: @jcgoble3

 

Excellent post, perfectly capturing just how alike Sierra and Carley are in so many ways. Well done to both of you.