April, 835 AS - Planet New London, Southwark Governmental District
Ordinarily the Southwark Governmental District was buzzing with life to the point it often looked like sheer chaos. However, the streets passed by the delegation were mostly empty as if swept clean of life for the sake of making an orderly impression on the guests. Naturally, the delegation looked right through that farce and paid it no second thoughts.
The Kusari delegation, consisting of no less than six diplomats, the soon to be sworn in new ambassador to Bretonia as well as the Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister themselves, arrived just the evening before and was set to arrive at the Mayfair Grand Hotel for the first day of the summit within the next ten minutes.
A distinct combination of a tense atmosphere paired with the noticeable anticipation radiating solely from the Prime Minister made for an awkwardly quiet ride. The last minutes being used by each individual finalizing mental preparations for the upcoming ceremonial greeting and the main dish; negotiations, discussions, planning with their Bretonian and Crayterian counterparts.
In transit through the Southwark Governmental District, high above in speeder traffic and through the smog. Minister Lily Ward was sorting through a folder titled "Carlisle Treaty" flipping across to a page [CIS-CLASSIFIED: YOUR EYES ONLY] detailing a map of the Inverness system. Along with a report regarding operation "Alter Call" and post operation threat assessments of the systems inhabitants. After looking through mostly blotted out text. Lily closed thee folder and handed it to an assistant.
"Could you hand me the Harris file?" Being handed a new folder at her request titled "Harris Treaty" she opened it up to look over the proposals for the charters of the Treaty of Harris alliance. Lily called to the driver. "How close are we to the summit?" "Won't be long now, we're almost there!" the driver called from his seat. "What? Can you not see it through all that smog?" The driver chuckled as the shuttle pulled into the Mayfair Grand Hotel. The Crayter delegation hurried inside the hotel, Lily attempted to hold her breath until she was well inside the building as the rest of the other delegates coughed making their way in.
Guides lead them to the conference hall where the Kusari delegation and prime minister were already seated. Minister Lily Ward took her designated seat and offered a personal greeting to Prime Minister. "You are very timely Prime Minister. Even as a guest you are the first to arrive! Though in my experience, whenever Bretonia hosts us they always seem to wait to enter last so they can announce themselves and make a show of it. I'm sure we'll still be kept waiting." Lily Ward scoots her chair in as both delegations waits for their gracious host to arrive and announce the start of the Southwark Summit.
The visiting delegates had been attended to by a host of junior government functionaries and serving staff, offering refreshments, tours of the hotel facilities, and opportunities to relax and unwind before the difficult work of the day ahead. After a suitable period to collect themselves, the visitors were guided to a conference hall. The wait stretched on slightly too long, before the party of senior Bretonian politicians swept in.
First was Sir Ambrister Jones, Bretonia's Prime Minister. He smiled warmly first at Kusari's Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and Ambassador, followed by Crayter's attendees. Despite putting forward a bright and cheerful facade, the man appeared tired and deeply stressed. He moved down the line of delegates, shaking hands and thanking them for their attendance.
He was followed by Vernon Mortimer. The portly Minister of Defence's normally jovial face was now grim set and preoccupied, his eyes repeatedly flicking down to the PDA on his wrist, checking for notifications. Something was clearly going on that deeply concerned the Minister.
Next was Benedict Thomson, the Foreign Secretary. The wily statesman had once been described as "more weaselly than a sack of mustelids", and clearly relished the thought of verbally sparring with his counterparts. Of the three Bretonian Cabinet members, he appeared the most sanguine, beaming at the assembled party with what seemed to be genuine enthusiasm.
After a few minutes of small talk and introductions, Prime Minister Jones moved to the head of the procession. "Thank you all for being here today. Despite all of our states' difficult histories, we have found common cause in our mutual interests and enemies. We are honoured to host these talks to discuss the ongoing economic security of the Colonies, and the future of the Tau sector.
Given a number of rapidly evolving concerns, I would like to invite you all through to the adjoining chamber where a meal will shortly be served. Following that, a briefing will be provided by the Right Honourable Minister Mortimer, followed by the Right Honourable Minister Thompson."
As the procession moved through to the dining chamber, the Kusari delegation also began to receive messages - updates from the Kishiro and KOI facilitators supporting the Somerset taskforce. They had been evacuated from the staging area. The final update before a communications lockdown had been imposed indicated something big and unannounced was happening.
Following a brief exchange of pleasantries with their Crayterian counterparts, the Kusari delegation took up their hosts offer to overplay the significant time it took for the Bretonian representatives to arrive through means of unwinding. Whereas the six diplomats were preparing to leave for their individual meetings about much more mundane topics not relevant to the greater scheme, Foreign Affairs Minister Toshinori Kojirou used the time to engage into a delightfully lengthy conversation with the hotel staff, whereas Prime Minister Sanae Miyasu patiently waited together with the new Ambassador to Bretonia, Sawao Fukizumi, talking about generic matters over a cup of tea.
During the proper round of greetings upon the Bretonians arrival, each of the three Kusari representatives took note of their Bretonian counterparts appearance - though while they shared an attention to such details about others, they were hardly equal in covering up their own emotional state. Minister Kojirou appeared to radiate nothing but genuine friendliness during the exchange of pleasantries, a trait he proved to showcase even during peace negotiations with the Gallics. Prime Minister Miyasu on the other hand showed off a barely disguised curiosity and excitement, despite giving it one of her best impressions of being serious. The Ambassador settled on staying brief, seemingly with his thoughts elsewhere.
These tens of minutes later when the three nations delegations were on their way to the dining chamber, notably only Minister Kojirou briefly stopped in his tracks to confirm the contents of the message. Prime Minister Miyasu instead merely smiled knowingly, as she had been briefed about the anticipated timeframe and a few project details days before the departure towards Bretonia already.
The procession was seated in a horseshoe around a long conference table, which had been set with items from the Grand Service - a dinner set loaned from the Royal Household. It consisted of ornately wrought silver-gilt plates and cutlery, many commissioned more than three hundred years ago by one of Queen Carina's distant forebears. As the last of the delegates entered the room, discrete men in suits closed the doors behind them, signalling with nods and murmered confirmations that all VIPs were now in place.
One of these officers - possibly the security detail lead - drew a small device from his jacket pocket and pressed a button. For a moment there was a near imperceptible whine that rapidly down-pitched into a low drone, before disappearing completely. Those present who had participated in national security briefings before would likely recognise this as an electronic dampening field, intended to prevent unintended ears from listening in.
Sir Ambrister Jones took his place at the head of the table, with Kusari Prime Minister Miyasu on his right and Crayter Foreign Minister Ward on his left. The rest of the group were dispersed across the seating plan according to rank and seniority. "Please, do be seated," Sir Ambrister smiled. Serving staff moved forward to withdraw chairs for the guests. A susurration of small-talk and introductions filled the room as the politicians sat and greeted their dining partners.
It did not take long for the first of four courses to be served, with regal waiters and waitresses sweeping into the room with the entrée. The dish was poached Grafham langoustines, set on a nest of cucumber alongside a basil mousse and chilled tomato consommé. Benedict Thomson sighed in appreciation as he speared one of the crustaceans on a fork.
"These wonderful creatures are farmed on Cambridge, did you know? The Grafham Reservoir is renowned for them. Preserving the genestock and adapting it to Sirius truly is a Bretonian contribution to Sirian cuisine." He paused with a wry smile. "I'm led to believe on Earth, these were once known as Dublin Bay prawns." He shot Prime Minister Miyasu a knowing wink, as if they were two old friends in on the same joke.
Minister Ward was stunned at her first dish of the night. The prawns before her looked somewhat delectable but the assortment of clashing tastes made her remember what "Sirian cuisine" looked like as she yearned for the local seafood from Yuma. After eating a prawn and trying the cucumber to follow, she apologized to the Prime ministers "My apologies, I wasn't so well informed. This venture has been really last minute for me. Had we known about this summit sooner I'm sure President Ellis would have certainly been delighted to have joined us." As the meal continued Minister Kojirou, who was seated to Wards left, leaned over "Do you think they'll give us a live one to take home? I would keep one as a pet!" as he wiggled a prawn over his plate with his fork. "It's the only good thing in this meal." Lily gave a polite giggle back "Would you keep it in a bowl or a pond?"Minister Kojirou paused to think "Hmmm, a bowl. They don't look like they need much." Lily would leave the consommé mostly untouched as the waiters whisked away the finished meal.
In stark contrast to Miss Ward, Ambassador Fukizumi seemed to be not just well accustomed to Bretonian cuisine but an unusual fan of it, finishing the starter faster than anyone else despite not having rushed visibly. He turned his attention to Mister Mortimer after the waiters left with his empty plate, "Minister Mortimer, I'm glad to finally make your acquaintance. Although I suspect we will not meet very often after today, it is a true honor to myself to serve the growing bonds between our nations as the next Ambassador and I hope the upcoming... events bear the fruits we all hope for."
Prime Minister Miyasu barely managed to take a bite of the crustaceans and the basil mousse before Mister Thomson spoke to her. She paused mid-chewing for a moment, swallowed and met his words with a quiet chuckle hidden behind her right hand and an impressively well trained facial expression of amusement. "Oh, so these are a Cambridge delicacy too? You see, Mister Thomson, I had the great pleasure to spend a few weeks on Cambridge many years ago. The way Bretonia preserved all kinds of livestock over the centuries is indeed most impressive. I suspect the next course will feature another of Cambridge's renowned products, hai?"
She let a brief smile slide, this time not hiding it before she going back to the starter - finishing it in moderate speed.
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