The Taoiseach II

It had been a never-ending grind for Patrick since that fateful cabinet meeting, but, surprisingly, the news was not actually all bad.

Further tallying of the island's food supplies and agricultural capability indicated that, for the moment, feeding everyone would at least not be an issue, though the populace chafed under the rationing they'd implemented. But at least the food continued to flow, which was more than could be said for power.

With no new incoming oil and significantly less gas immediately inbound, they'd had to implement extremely strict controls, which nobody was happy about. Civilian vehicle usage had all but been cut off, and priority use was given to emergency services, while many companies, especially construction and transport, had been ordered to set aside their pre-existing schedules and serve the government exclusively. Fortunately, it seemed that the sheer madness of the situation left nearly everyone too dazed to push back against such measures, at least for the time being. He'd authorized the outfitting of a new survey operation in search of oil in their new environs, but collecting and processing such data, nevermind extraction and processing infrastructure, would take ages even if it DID find anything.

At least their current position didn't seem terribly cold at the moment, so heating wasn't an immediate concern. He could already imagine the freezing elderly...

The North remained as an issue, but after a series of panicked back and forths with Belfast, a temporary working arrangement had been reached. They were, obviously, operating under similar emergency measures, and nobody had the time or manpower to concern themselves overly much with the border, so he and his counterpart had agreed that a porous arrangement suited everyone best, at least for the time being. Goods and people were passing back and forth, and while the Northern Assembly and the Dail would have to make a more permanent accord eventually, that would suit for now.

Speaking of the Dail, that had managed to similarly reach an equilibrium, for the moment. The opposition had, it seemed, deemed the current situation worth standing behind the government for... though how long that would last was anyone's guess. Especially if he didn't sell this next part to the Dail with extreme care...

In his office were three other men, and while Brennan was a usual fixture, the other two stuck out like sore thumbs,

"Now then... Lord Baratheon, I have been told that you've been granted the authority to negotiate the terms of our... arrangement?"

Across the desk sat one of the most severe looking men Patrick had ever met. From their prior conversation on the radio, he knew this to be the king's brother, 'Master of Ships,' and lord of a place called Dragonstone, which they now knew from traded maps was an island near the capital of Westeros. The man in question nodded, "His Grace deemed that it would be it would be swifter to come to terms here and submit them directly to your council, than wait until you could send someone to King's Landing. Since he intended to send me to investigate already, I was granted this task in addition to the existing one." He didn't seem pleased by that fact, if Patrick was judge of anything.

The Taoiseach looked at the other man, "And you sir?"

The bearded fellow, who unlike Stannis had declined to sit, nodded, "Ser Davos Seaworth my lord. I'm of no account, simply his Lordship's attendant."

Patrick shrugged and returned to the king's brother, "To business then: now, I discussed it with your brother, but the terms he offered were... well there are complications with them." Stannis said nothing, so he continued, "Providing bodyguards to your king, this we could do easily, it's the other two that are troublesome."

"I rather imagined they would be," Stannis said, a voice as dry as any desert, "but in what specific ways?"

"To start with, I must clarify my own position somewhat: though I am the leader, my powers, and even the powers of the full Dail, have... limitations. Parts of our fundamental legal framework you see. As such, there is a limit to what I can agree to... which, I will be frank, prevent me from subjecting Ireland to any sort of tributary status."

The medieval lord's eyes narrowed, and his jaw set, "Then for what reason are we having this conversation?"

Patrick raised a placating hand and continued, "Because, Lord Baratheon, there is much we can do for one another... and I believe we can still satisfy your brother regardless," he pointed out the window, "You've seen our ships, and you've seen Dublin, tell me Lord Baratheon, what did you think?"

Stannis' head tilted a fraction, but he never broke eye contact. It was a tad unnerving, admittedly. "There are many things you people possess that our people would call sorcerous, though your men assure me otherwise."

"Well one thing we possess is quite advanced farming techniques. Techniques that let this small island feed, normally, about 7 million people." If the lord was surprised by this, it didn't show, though his attendant did.

"That's... that's more people than-" Davos began, only to be quieted from a look from his master.

"And you intend to offer these secrets in trade?" Stannis asked, turning back to Patrick.

"In due course, but that's not my point. My point is that our island's transportation has been, as I'm sure you can imagine, quite disruptive. Most importantly, we've lost all our trading partners. Instead, we have your country, vast as it is."

"In short," the Tanaiste said, interjecting for the first time, "we need people to deal with, and you seem the only option on hand. And so we shall mollify your brother."

"You just claimed your highest laws forbid you from accepting one of his demands."

"Yes, and no," Brennan replied, "we cannot, legally, declare Ireland a tributary. However, your brother, if I am correct, is more interested in lip service on top of his other demands. This, we can do."

"TO WHICH END," Patrick continued, "we are prepared to acknowledge your brother as 'Suzerain of the Sunset Sea.'"

"...but not of yourselves." Stannis noted.

"He already expressed that he had no interest in interfering with our governance of ourselves, as I recall."

The other man was quiet for a moment, then asked, "And your issue with the actual paying of tribute? I know little of your laws, but from what you've described, this would seem a violation as well."

"It would be... if we called it a tribute." Brennan responded, "But we will not. Instead, it will be presented to the Dail as a form of standing tariff. A price of doing business in your country."

"A thin excuse."

"It's what we have," Patrick replied. "Our powers are not infinite, as I imagine your brother's at least nominally are, and given the situation I'd rather our dealings be candid. More than that however, we have the issue of how, and when, exactly payments must be made. Our current currency is mostly paper." At Stannis' confused look, he clarified, "there is some coinage, but it's not what we primarily use... in fact most don't even use the paper these days, though that will likely have to change."

"For a wide variety of reasons, Lord Baratheon, we are going to have to significantly alter our monetary system," Brennan said, "and that's without the issue of setting an exchange rate between our money and yours. All of this will take time."

Stannis considered this information, then offered, "My brother cares little for numbers and coin, in truth. Provided I return with your troops and their foreign weapons immediately, and an agreement regarding his authority, I believe he will accept a delay in actual payment. Additionally, he already agreed, on your radio device, that you would need time to order your lands after this event. To that end, I offer 5 years time, and 10% of your annual income thereafter, in coin or in kind. In the interim, you may make your dealings in Westeros as you please, as long as you keep the peace."

Patrick made brief eye contact with Brennan, then returned to Stannis and offered his hand, "Very reasonable, Lord Baratheon. I believe in 5 years we can all make great progress together."

Stannis looked at the hand for a moment, seemingly unsure what to do with it... then shook.