A Common Trade

[Kay-Larr]

Kay found herself guided to the far side of the table. She bowed her head as she was greeted, the advisors getting to their feet. She sat down, quietly thanking the lady before turning her attention to the others at the table. "Thank you, gentlemen."

She looked to the foods provided and began to pick out a few samples to put on her plate. Her time alone was well spent and she was quite rested. Even more so than she figured. Perhaps she could look into that more when she gets home.

Kay looked to the men, doing her best not to pry too much into their conversations. [member="Eddak Manod"] was delayed. That was no bother. "It's alright. I have had my fair share of run ins with Gamorreans on other worlds, so I know full well of what they are like. Perhaps you could....relocate them?" That was always an option, though it could hardly be determined as the right one. Yet it was a far better last resort than extermination or genocide.

((So sorry for the delay. Life isn't letting me post as often as I'd like. Hopefully things will improve quickly))

 

[Eddak Manod]

[member="Lady Kay"]


One man scoffed up in a chuckle, "Oh, Queen Lady Kay, that speaks as if they are mindless primitives." Another man on the opposite side of the table spoke up, "Oh, quite. Some of them wield blasters, which a few of our men are able to be trained with. Unfortunately, the Gamorreans have been here for almost a thousand years, maybe, maybe more. They've ran everyone off world that ever tried to settle here, unfortunately." Finally Alfred spoke up in a respectable tone to Queen Lady Kay, "Unfortunately, Queen Lady, the Gamorreans here are rather against aliens of any form that are not Gamorrean - they fight anything, especially humans. We won't leave because our ancestral settlers wanted to leave the chaos of the galaxy after the plague. Out there? It's tragic and unspeakable, you're lucky to raise a family without someone bashing down your door and enacting Martial Law because they demand more labor for the war machines. I regretfully admit that what we have with the Gamorreans is war, but they aren't the only thing we're fighting."

Before Alfred could mutter another word, Eddak pushed through the nearby door in slight frustration. Behind him, one of his military commanders was still speaking to him but sighed and went silent as the door slowly swung back and closed. Eddak took a deep breath and took his palm, wiping his face of his stress before straightening his outfit. Everyone at the table stood as Eddak approached and took his seat. If Queen Lady Kay chose to stay seated, Eddak wouldn't take any offense to it. She is not his Queen, after all, her presence is respectable enough. "Queen Lady Kay, I am terribly sorry for that, I hope you didn't have to endure too much of the yelling from the other room. Not only do we have the pig-lizards to deal with, but it seems we have a pack of nasty, rabid Massiffs terrorizing one of our outlying settlements. Hopefully... I've given what the men need to neutralize the mutts before they become a threat." While Eddak was talking, a neatly dressed man entered the room from another door, carrying a silver platter of Roast Gornt, so large, it's about six pounds. "Anyway, no time for complaints. Would you like to try Galderra's famous meat?"

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nodded. If the Gammoreans were there first, then perhaps they had every right to fight the humans. It was hard to pinpoint who exactly would be in the right. If only they could co-habitate peacefully. Or at least come to some kind of accord. Still, she understood what brought these people here. The Galaxy as a whole was an unkind place.

[member="Eddak Manod"] soon entered. Kay got to her feet as everyone else did. She was a guest, so she had to be a good one and show her respect. She sat back down as the others did. Massifs. She'd encountered one of those before. It was owned by a bounty hunter that managed to catch her. Nasty things.

She raised a brow as the main dish was served. "Your advisors kept me well entertained during our moments together. Your delay is quite alright and completely understood." Kay licked her lips a little as the smell of the roast gornt smelled delicious. "I would love to try some, if you please."

 

[Eddak Manod]

[member="Lady Kay"]

Eddak grinned and brushed his hands together as he watched the platter of Gornt was brought in, "if you didn't notice, Lady Kay, we have a lot of Empire of old inspiration, even Gornt was used in Imperial meals. When our ancestors started up here, they took shelter in an old abandoned Imperial Outpost, used it as they farmed and constructed houses, even our first weapons came from it. Eventually, the outpost turned into our fort, and the buildings nearby became the town you see today." Eddak stood, nodding to the butler and approached the side of the table, picking up the platter. "Even our military, using old Imperial armor. I hope none of that brushed off ill-like for you?" He continued, turning to approach a very small table against the wall which he sat the platter on, picking up the knife to begin slicing it. Eddak loved serving himself food, by no means was he a chef or aspire to be one, but he liked being the one with the knife in general.

"I assure you, we hold no affiliations with any Imperials even though we use all of their items, haha. We simply adapted our own with theirs, and a lot of theirs became very convenient for us." The butler had moved out of Eddaks way until he had almost finished slicing the Gornt. He picked up a few plates and walked to the side of Eddak, handing him a couple plates as they both picked from the roast Gornt and filled the plates. Eddak turned to look at Lady Kay and walked towards her, offering her one of the plates he held. A sizable proportion, very large, much larger than any common meal, with Gornt left over. "There wall a lot of good in old Imperial tech, don't you think?" He finished, walking over to his seat to partake in his own dish.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nodded as she listened to [member="Eddak Manod"] spoke. She could see some of the old Empire influences. Commenor had some of the same, but not to that extent. "Some of the governments that have Embassies on Commenor are also Imperialist in nature, or rather they were influenced by them. I haven't turned them away, so I won't be turning you and your people away either."

She looked at the rather generous portion handed to her and blinked. She was hungry, but not -that- hungry. Still, Kay would at least try to eat as much as she could. She cut herself a small bite and ate it, smiling somewhat as the meat seemed to almost melt in her mouth. It was cooked quite well, with plenty of moisture. She cut herself another piece. "The old Empire did have a lot of good tech. They were just....misguided. But any tech could be used badly if they were put to use in the wrong hands."

 

[Eddak Manod]

[member="Lady Kay"]


Just as the other men started digging in, so did Eddak, paying extreme attention to Lady Kay while the others stayed quiet. "That's good to hear! The Empire's technology, and a bit of their culture were strong and tall, like a wall around a family. It's why we stuck with it. Made the place feel homey, and a place you want to fight for. Now, now," Eddak chuckled, a few of the Advisors grinning, "before any reporters, or even you, start to think otherwise; First of all we didn't have a leader starting out. Our ancestors were merely a community helping hand in hand, and defended each other. Even today, I don't go and... mm abuse the culture to make Pzob militaristic and fight for me. I'll be honest, I control Pzob, but I also don't control it. The people elected me into a Monarchy, the people control the local militia. As you can see, I have maybe a few guards posted here amongst us," he said, waving his fork about pointing at some, before getting another piece of meat, chewing it, and getting it down quickly to continue.

"I have guards in the space port, the docks, in space patrolling around Pzob, the fort is stocked with them, but the local militia out numbers the Guard, and they always will. The Guard is under my control, and the people control the Militia. Yes, of course, I can make demands and give orders. But...Pzob must be balanced. We can't lean one way or another. We have the local hostilities, and then we have the galactic hostilities, and in times like this, our peace and freedom can be easily compromised. We are still a community. We must look out for each other. And we aren't xenophobic, which is why I've decided I want to put an embassy, a large bastion, in the name of Commenor, in the dead center of Galderra." Eddak grinned, raising his nearby glass, "Do I have any objections?"

The men widened their eyes to look at Lady Kay, then back at Eddak. It had become a situation where the men who have mostly been in the business and running end of the town were faced with a newcomer, who only knew military tactics and thrusted into ownership and claim of their management, making them work for him, and this was his first... 'strong arm' decision. Or in other words, a forced decision. They looked around at each other before reluctantly raising their glasses. "No, King Eddak," one Advisor spoke up, "we would love for Commenor, and the beautiful Queen Lady Kay, to be our ally, and friend."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay ate her meat while [member="Eddak Manod"] spoke, being sure to cut her meat into small slices. She listened to the history that he gave and nodded. They had every right to protect themselves and their way of life, just as others did. It wasn't as though they were aggressors either.


To the offer of an Embassy for Commenor, Kay blinked in surprise. She had expected a trade deal, nothing so large as an Embassy. Her eyes moved from one advisor to the other as they piped up their support for such a pact.

Kay smiled and bowed her head, speechless for a moment before finding her voice. "King Eddak, gentlemen, I would be honoured to accept your offer. Our two worlds would benefit greatly. And might I be so bold to offer you an Embassy in Chasin City?"

 

[Eddak Manod]

[member="Lady Kay"]

Eddak grinned, almost with a sinister look. He was happy with Lady Kays response, if not overjoyed. "Thank you, Lady Kay. In these troubling times, with war waging just planets away, we should keep closer ties to those who rather just protect their people." Quickly he ripped off another piece of the meat and shoving it into his mouth. He chewed it hastily humming in a delighted tone the whole time until he grabbed his glass, going to raise it. He swallowed down the meat and took a breath to speak, but he was swiftly interrupted as a man in military attire walked in. No armor, but military dressing.

"I don't care, it's important I must- My King!" the man spoke as he bursted through the door, staff close behind but staying out of the dining room. The man took a hard look at Lady Kay, recognizing who she was... or how important she was, and suddenly felt ashamed for his action. "M-My King, I've attempted to contact you but no one would allow any comms through, it's important."

Eddak grimaced, his cheeks clenching as she showed how upset he was. He sat down his glass and threw his utensil onto the table by his dish. Not in a dramatic manner, just in a sense to 'drop everything he was doing.' "Well, speak up Commander, you are in the presence of a Queen, best not keep her waiting." he said, crossing his arms.

"It's the... uh," he choked a moment, thinking about whether or not to speak such in front of someone not in a military position nor part of Galderra. "The northern Encampment. The last official word was a pack of roaming animals having a small attack, that you heard, but it seems the Gamorreans were using them. The northern encampment is lost, no word for hours. Gamorreans are attacking the southern encampment as well. Scouts reported Gamorreans by the western conflict area again." The commander was obviously nervous.

Galderra was far from military encampments, having much territory and protected lands. Unfortunately, as much manpower Galderra had, they went too far, becoming eager, and stretching thin. The few encampments the only border camps protecting the edge of the territory. Eddaks eyes widened and he became short of breath, as if his nightmares came to fruition. "The Gamorreans haven't been so strong since the war my grandfather was in... Do we have reports on numbers?" Eddak stood up, walking towards one of the troopers that stood guard. The Advisors took no time to waste, knowing exactly how this was going to pan out. "Get a shuttle over here, now!"

"The reported numbers, we... We don't have accurate reads. But they are overwhelming, my King. We need to man the wall..." the walls of Castle Galderra were at the heart of Galderra. Free from any conflicts, not seeing a single Gamorrean for at least a few years, but the Gamorreans had once again quickly regained their numbers.

Eddak took the troopers weapon, "Lady Kay, I'm sorry, I had no idea they'd keep with the myths of old and be so quick. If the northern encampment has already fallen, they will be here soon. We're the only fortification between the camp and Galderra, but we don't have the full garrison. Getting you out is my top priority. Commander, take my horse, if Galderra isn't getting the comms you get the word to them. I've always heard the stories but they were tge stories to put children to sleep." his last sentence being whispered, Eddak was actually a little afraid.