The Imperial Ball

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21

«Former…» began Lothar, but Katrine was quick enough to avoid him an unforgiveable gaffe.

«Lady Bishop, it’s a pleasure to meet you… and we’ll be glad to follow you the Ball Room» smiled Katrine, slightly bowing to the East Malaysian woman.

Offering her arm to her escort, Katrine waited for the woman to lead the way, then smiled at Lothar, a mildly reproaching glance in her eyes.

«You haven’t read the brief I had prepared for you, love… have you?»

As he simply shook her head, the young Empress sighed. Men…

22

Amanda may have been old by human standards, but she was still good at hearing, she lead them on their way and spoke to the man at the same time. His name escaped her for the moment. “And as I do think you are wonder how I am former Empress, is very simple. Thirteen years ago I was force to resign by the two imperial families formally in power. My family of the Bishop’s and the Phelps. I don’t use my title of ‘Empress’ that much since it is just a title to me nowadays, but I do get a lot of respect because I am the forerunner to what Glendale has done now.”

By the time she was done speaking, they where at the very large table, where some people where already seated. She smiled and pointed to the two seats to the left of the thrown-like seat.

She was about to say something else when the music changed and a spotlight came on pointed to the top of the stairs, which was close to the table.

The intercom system came on also, “If you will now take your seats now unless you are a member of security, Empress Bishop, or assisting people to their seats. Empress Glendale Jung will be entering in five-to-ten minutes waiting on certain guest; please be swift.”

Amanda gave her respect to Empress Katrine and companion, then went to make sure the rest of the people going to be at the Empress Table where going to be in the right place. ‘Empress Bishop? I tell them everything to use Director…funny what happens when a woman comes into power…she actually gives you respect.’ Amanda thought to herself as she was hurrying to get everyone in the right place.

23

Imperial Palace
Eastrovia, East Malaysia

“Circular orbit. City limits. Don’t get more than five minutes out.”

The shuttle crew gave an affirmative signal through the hatch before lifting off of one of the Imperial Palace’s many shuttlepads. As the shuttle flew away, Vire Khaz turned to the entrance, relying on a variety of palace staff to guide him from the docks to the Grand Ballroom.

Lord Khaz wore the same thing he wore every day: A suit of sleek, ornate, but still quite functional powered armor in jet black, with a little red trim here and there. He had removed its helmet and those of its weapons he could remove, partly out of courtesy and partly because the exceptions were easier to conceal. It was a little out of place, but still very formal in its own odd way.

As the last of his motley collection of guides showed him the way to the ballroom entrance, Khaz dutifully took his place at the door and waited to be shown in.

24

Glendale looked over at the wall clock to her left and knew the announcement would be coming over at any moment, she could feel it; as soon as she thought that, it happened.

The intercom came on, “Attention guest, will you please stand for the Empress of East Malaysia, Glendale Jung.”

On cue, Glendale turned the corner of the staircase. The stair case wasn’t that much to walk down since it came down into small platform then branched off into two smaller stair cases to the ballroom floor.

She held onto the railing, walking carefully but not slow. The spotlight made her dress sparkle, her crown, which she hated to ware was doing the exact same thing as always; the only reason she knew it did was because people tend to bring cameras to the event and take pictures. She could see the flashes from the cameras and it was annoying but she gave her best smile as she made her way down to make her speech.

25

The Dannistrian Prime Minister P’aanil F’orrlason-Smith and the Governor-General Marie Clahrk’sohn both arrived slightly late in a small motorcade that discretely arrived at the venue. The two were escorted by their entourages as they entered the Imperial Palace. They bowed to Empress Glendale as they took their places.

26

Glendale made it to the small stage and noticed a few people running late and hurrying in as she started her speech.

“Please be seated,” everyone sat down and she waited a moment for everyone to get settled before she started. "I would like to welcome you to the 167th Annual Imperial Ball. This is a event of formal dress and casual dining; among other things. Traditionally this event has been held exclusively to high up East Malaysian government members. This year I have opening it up to the leasers of East Pacific nations.

Being the first time it has been held in this Ballroom, I get the honor of making this speech with a grand entrance of sorts. But I’m not really going to make this speech that long but I am going to give our newly acquainted guest with a little history of this event.

167 years ago, Emperor Tyler Bishop, wanted an event so that he could better get-to-know his new fellow government persons, but he realized to keep the ones with more power closer. As The Star Empire of East Malaysia was young and the aftermath of the Kingdom of East Malaysia has left this nation torn down the middle.

It took a few years after that to where traditions came into play but over the next hundred years it became an event for fun not to keep people under watch.

Now as I am opening the door and changing this event once again. I am going to let you know what you can do exactly at this event.

First off we have dinner, which you order from the touch-menus in front of you, they have dishes and drinks from every nationality represented here. Place your order and they will be right out to you. After dinner, you can eat more, dance, make a speech, and most of all socialize; have a good time.

With that, let this Imperial Ball begin. Thank you for coming."

Glendale quickly left the stage and down the short set of stairs and approached her table.

27

As Glendale finished, Khaz clapped half-heartedly, keeping his silence. He was much too distracted. His eyes flitted to and fro, taking in the unfamiliar room. Those columns over there…good cover, but they wouldn’t last long. Entrances…one, two, three. The last two are locked. Not an issue…for now. In his mind, he pictured the likely angle of advance of a fire team trying to take the room. Or at least, that’s how I’d do it. He quickly turned attentive and smiled as Glendale walked by, abandoning his thoughts for the moment.

28

From a hidden radio concealed on his ear Ludwig received up to date info on the battle being fought by his army and issued orders throught a hidden mic on his mouth with allowed him to subvocalize his words with almost no facial movement.

As Glendale approached her table, Ludwig is nudged by his wife in order to stop what would look like daydreaming to an outside observer and pay attention to the ball.

“Ludwig, let Drakkengardian officers do their jobs for a change”
“Ok, ok. Its just the job never leaves me.”
“More like you´re the one who never leaves the job, even though we´re here both to have fun and improve our country image abroad, isn´t it?” speaks Alexa while offering a warm smile to all who looked at her
“Yes, you´re absolutely right dear.” says Ludwig with a stern face and without giving much attention to his wife

For as he and his wife talked, Ludwig eyes fixed on Khaz as he remembered the Kandarinese as nothing more than an old legend. After a good look on the powered armor and some thoughts about magic and psionics Ludwig realized his hand had moved to his concealed gun on its own, as his instincts equaled legends becoming true to menace.

“Guess i´ll ask for a memo on our deep penetration ordinance just in case.” Ludwig whispers to himself as he release the gun.
“See, there are the Dannistrians, probably the only long time friend our country has. You could at least smile to them.” says an slightly upset Alexa after another nudge on him(but still smiling).

29

Jennifer Ward was acting a waitress, so she could stay close to Glendale plus also not to make it look as if she has more security than the other leaders, because she doesn’t. As she nonchalantly did security checks and assisted with anyone who needed help with the touch-menus.

Meanwhile Glendale started conversation with Lord Khaz first since the Kandarinese were the closest nation East Malaysia had to an ally, with mutual defense. “Lord Khaz, it is nice to see that Kandarin was able to send someone, how are you?”

30

Prime Minister P’aanil F’orrlason-Smith looked around to see if he can spot any familiar faces in the room. One of the military officers with him in the entourage looked at the Drakkengard people and acknowledged them with a nod in their direction.

“Drakken?” P’aanil looked a bit confused, “I thought they were had shut themselves off from the outside world?”
“They did,” the officer replied, “Until recently. Although having said that they haven’t shut themselves out from us. As you will know from history classes, ever since the big Dannistrian rebellion of 1905 we have maintained some form of ties with the Drakken people. They were indirectly responsible for the gradual process that got us better treatment under colonial rule to our eventual independence. Though I have to say it is a little funny to see them here as I thought balls were not their sort of scene.”

31

The night wasn´t being easy for the Drakken entourage as no one on it was old enough to remember a time before the isolation. Also being their first time abroad, and surrounded by foreigners after a lifetime seing them as enemies, is fair to say that tension was very high on them. But as members of the uranium guard, the elite of Drakken army, they kept their cool even after noticing the Kandarinese, and quietly start screening the area to pinpoint threats and planning the evacuation on what they were starting to see as a hotzone. The nod from the Dannistrian officer, while not enough to put them at ease, certainly improved the troop morale, and they quickly added their allies on their evacuation plan.

Ludwig on the other hand, had more pressing matters to attend…

“Can you stop that?” asks Ludwig after the last nudge, as he smiles and nod in the Dannistrian direction acknowledging them as well.
“Don´t know. Can you stop behaving like if our table was a trench?”
“At least i can say i never had such a beautiful woman as a squadmate before.”
“You handsome devil…” says a blushing Alexa, as given the facts that both genders are conscripted in Drakkengard and Ludwig spent most of his life in military, to her was like if him had said she was the most beautiful woman he ever saw.

After seeing that Glendale was busy talking with Khaz

“The host looks busy, so why don´t we go talk with the other leaders while she doesn´t come looking for us?” says an smiling Ludwig after standing up and offering his hand to his wife.
"Oh, okay. It will be fun."says Alexa as she takes his husband hand.

It cames as no surprise to Alexa that Ludwig leads them to the Dannistrian first.

“Prime Minister F’orrlason? I´m Ludwig von Drakken, president of Drakkengard, and she is my wife Alexa. You might not remember me, but i´m the son of the former president Karl von Drakken. I´m pleased to finally meeting you in person.”

OOC: Dannistaan, feel free to use my characters as needed to continue this conversation. And Ludwig omitted the Smith on purpouse as Drakkengard still dislike the British… And the US, and the Russians, and… Yup they aren´t keen on forgiving.

32

As Khaz meticulously worked out his ideas about how best to defend the room, to accompany his aforementioned attack, he couldn’t help but notice that one of the other guests was staring at him. From his review of the guestlist, he determined it to be one Ludwig (von?) Drakken, of one of the local juntas. Khaz determined to speak to him later.

As Khaz turned away from Ludwig, Glendale appeared - seemingly out of nowhere - and started plastering him with niceties. Their contact had been brief before, so he’d never quite grasped how irritating her voice was. He turned to face her. “Oh, well. Quite well. As long as the blockade is succeeding, I’m happy.”

33

“I do hope that the blockade is successful for you. I have read before how good your campaigns usually are, of course back when I was in the Aerospace Navy.” Glendale looked around for a moment and seen Empress Katrine with her companion looking around and messing with their menus.

“I was nice speaking to you Lord Khaz, but the night is young and I’m the host. We will speak again,” Glendale turned around and faced Katrine while thinking, ‘When I get that old I hope not to be like him.’

“Katrine. It has been a while, how is your homeland?”

34

“Ah yes!” P’aanil replied warmly, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, President von Drakken. I actually do know of your father, Karl von Drakken…well, my grandfather and father did and would tell me some interesting stories about him. A good man if perhaps a little uptight, but a good man nonetheless.”

P’aanil shook von Draken and Alexa’s hands, pointing out the Governor-General to them.
“May I introduce the Governor-General of Dannistaan, Marie Clahrk’sohn and Lieutenant General Koh’ror Wa’tahr, the officer who acknowledged you earlier.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mr. President,” Marie shook the couples hands.
“Likewise, Mr. President,” Lt. General Wa’tahr followed.
“So, what brings you to the ball and how have things been in Drakkengard?” P’aanil asked.

OOC: No problem Drakken. The English surnames are sometimes dropped by the Dannistrians themselves, especially those who have a harder stance against previous colonial rule.

35

After Ludwig and Alexa finished shaking hands with the Dannistrians, Ludwig answers with a smile:

“What would bring someone like me to ball, you say? Just look to my side and you see the answer.” Ludwig exchange a quick glance with Alexa after saying this.
“But i hope my presence here will improve Drakkengard relationship with the other east pacific countries as well.”
“And Drakkengard is doing great, my open doors policy is being an success. Our economy is growing fast and crime is virtually non-existant. Even called an utopia by a political magazine.”

After that Ludwig lowers his voice so that only the Dannistrians could hear:
“Our military is quickly improving as well since several of our wunderweapon projects are being field tested on Pommpistan…”
Ludwig observes the Dannistrian reactions to the news and continues
“I wish i didn´t had to do it. But since diplomacy failed, we had to enforce the fulfillment of their part of the contract… But talking about a more urgent subject, why i´m the only one here worried about that elf in power armor? Don´t tell me everyone else here knew the kandarinese existed.”

A few seconds later
“Where are my manners, coming here only to share my worries with you… Please, do tell me how things are going in Dannistaan too.”

36

Glendale wasn’t the only one who was feeling a bit uncomfortable because of Khaz’s attitude. Katrine hadn’t had the pleasure to meet the Kandarinese Commander before… and in that moment she was realizing it wasn’t such a pity, after all. The elf’s mere presence was enough to make her shivering and she couldn’t miss the let’s see what would be the best way to kill everyone inside this room sparkle inside his dark eyes. Instinctively, she had moved a bit closer to Lothar, whose reaction was definitely different. For him, Vire Khaz wasn’t a regular elf. Moreover, the fact he seemed to have an I could kill everyone attitude was definitely irrelevant. The two important things were far simpler. First of all, leaving aside moral judgments of sort, the Kandarinese was a capable military commander, and having the chance to meet him was definitely an honor. Secondly, the elf was armed and he was wearing a battle armor: consequently, there was no doubt he would have had a sensible advantage, in case of a fight. That had been wise. Far wiser than wearing a gala uniform and nothing else.

«Uh?» he surprisingly interjected when Katrine touched his arm. In a moment, his attention was dragged back to the room… and namely on the woman in front of the two of them.

«… therefore, due to these problems, in order to protect Michelsland we’ve decided to look North for a much needed alliance. Our newly arrived Iremian neighbors seemed the right choice… and our respective Heraldic Councils have given their clearances after having perused those boring issues about lineages and so on»

As the East Malaysian Empress amusedly nodded, Katrine smiled to her, slightly turning towards her companion.

«So… this silent and a bit embarrassed man at my side is Count Lothar of the De Cordes, one of the most ancient noble families of Irem»

Unsure on what he was expected to do now, Lothar bowed to the Empress.

«Major… uhm… Count Lothar De Corde at your service, My Lady. I’m honored to meet you… and I’m glad to bring you the salutations of Lord Elistar Reziel, from New Irem»

37

“Let the honor be mine Count Lothar De Corde,” Glendale said to the Count but turned her attention back to Katrine, “you seem to have made a very good choice in who you have chosen to be in an alliance with. Their are a few small islands that are within our boarder that are separate indites at a lower technological level but they are seeking membership as states. They have gone on hard times.”

Glendale noticed that they had not ordered yet, “I know you two must be hungry, please order,” she looked down real quick and ordered from her menu. She got the Five Leaf Forest Salad with Gold Tree Syrup dressing and Coconut Juice.

Then she noticed someone approach the stairs to speak, it was Gregory Cole, Governor of Bishop, she could only wonder what he was going to say. ‘Great, more indirect Jung-bashing. I wonder what how much the Bishop’s pay him to be their spokesman.’ She continued to talk to Katrine and the Count as he spoke.

38

OOC: Hope I’m not too late!

Imperial Palace, Eastrovia

“I told you we should’ve responded to the letter, now we’re late” fussed Lisa Joseph, spouse to President Alexander.

“I know, I know. At least the kids are here”. President Jospeh wasn’t too keen on going to foreign dinners like this one, but it was his diplomatic duty, as his premier keeps on saying. The children of the couple Vitaly, Alana, and Peter were present, and all family members were wearing their military uniforms, except for Vitaly, whom many considered a playboy. He was wearing a fine tuxedo and stuck out in contrast to his family.

“Vi” said his brother, Peter “I really wish you would wear your uniform, you embarras us”

“Now, now” said President Joseph “It’s his choice to choose an attire that is -esoteric - at most”. He pushed open the doors to the main lobby of the palace as he said, “Now help me find out where this…event is, so we can properly greet her majesty”. Those words brought a foul taste to his mouth.

39

Amanda Bishop, heard in her ear piece that President Alexander and guest of Bakostrovia had just entered the complex and has been directed to the ballroom. Amanda already turned from where she was going to set down at the table with Glendale, to the entrance they where entering from.

She was reviewing her mental notes on the way, and realized that as far as she could remember Bakostrovia has never send a formal representative to Eastrovia, by the time she was in range of the door it opened with a guide leading the way.

They where obviously looking at the design and architecture of the palace and didn’t notice she was there. “Welcome to Eastrovia, capitol of East Malaysia, and home to Empress Glendale Jung. This is the Imperial Palace’s Grand Memorial Ballroom. I am Director Amanda Bishop, Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Diplomacy. Also I am the former Empress of East Malaysia. Now, if you will follow me, I will take you to your seats with the other leaders.”

40

“Hmm” said Alana “I see they find use for royals when they’re used up”

“Hush” said President Joseph “We must maintain our manners, please” Luckly for them, Mrs. Bishop hadn’t heard them. They were walking along with the Director, noticing the arcitecture. “The arcitecture resembles the antiquidated styles used by the Bourgeoisie royals of the past” said Alana to her mother. Lisa did her best to silence her daughter, but Alana continued. “Such displays of opulence are disgusting, why did I even come?”. She was unable to continue as her mother placed her gloved hand over her daughter’s mouth. They continued on in silence.