New Windsor, New London
New London System

The room Aela entered was a lot simpler than she had thought it would be. The floor was covered in a soft azure material, much like her own skin. Great arched windows graced the right side of the room, giving her a good view of what looked like a garden of sorts, likely the interior of this palace, while the left showed more pictures of what she assumed were very important people. The walls were panelled simply with a light brown wood, and all the furniture she could see was made of the same coloured wood. They also made use of the same azure material on them, save for the one in which a particularly big and regally dressed Human as sitting with his back against a red tapestry with those two animals she saw earlier, the regal Varren and the Horned creature, on its background in the center. Aela guessed that he was probably the King of the nation, and her nervousness only grew.

She caught Perkins giving her a little look. "Please," he said steadily, trying to keep her relaxed. "Stay calm and follow my lead. Don't speak unless spoken to and try and answer all his questions honestly. Understood?"

Aela could only nod and follow Perkins as they slowly approached the man who led what Aela suspected would be one of the most influential nations in the galaxy.

King Alexander I of the House of Windsor was a very worried man right now. Though few know it, Bretonnia was in a very bad situation. Centuries of overindustrialization had led to what his analysts were telling him would be an inevitable famine within a few generations, even with Planetform's projects on Harris and Aeia. Neither Terraforming project would be able to finish in time to stave off famine. At that point, they would have to go to Liberty for financing for food from what would probably be their Synth Paste company, eventually leading to another Rhineland.

That would basically be signing the death of Bretonnia. That simply could not be allowed to happen, so Alex swore to himself upon learning of it from his advisors. So when he had heard they had made real First Contact with Aliens, Alex saw his chance. These aliens were quite possibly the key to new territory. New arable territory that BMM won't touch. He just needed to get on their good side, show them just how much more reasonable Bretonnia is compared to the other nations. Knowing the Kusari, he suspected that they wouldn't even want the aliens near them if possible. Liberty just saw an open door for new people to exploit while Rhineland… Rhineland was something else entirely. They used to be a giant, his father had told him of the old Empire, and they were indeed the only force that could have definitively rivalled Liberty. Since the war though… They were a broken people, and they could lash out. They were another problem to solve, though… if he handled things right, new Anglo-Germanic relations could be improved considerably with a potential economic alliance. Bretonnia would be the gates to the new world, while Rhineland guards it.

In theory at least.

So it would be best to smile and wave and be the courteous host to this alienly beautiful woman who was now approaching him. Another reason why, unlike most situations, he was entertaining them here in his home and away from other eyes. He trusted his security well, and while he was no George X, he was certainly no slouch when it came to any of the martial arts. He was reasonably sure he could defend himself in the absolute worst case scenario here today. Now was the time to represent the absolute best of Bretonnia.

He personally saw the fact that these aliens being eerily familiar, full of an easy feminine grace one wouldn't be hard pressed to find amongst the nobility or richer ladies of Liberty, as a good sign. If they looked like humans, maybe they'll act like them. That would most certainly help reduce the potential problems he could have.

"Welcome!" he said cheerily, as he rose and approached to meet them halfway. "I am King Alexander the First of Bretonnia, ruler of this humble nation. May I have the pleasure of knowing who I am greeting?" he said, looking at the young lady before him.

Alexander could easily sense her nervousness when she replied, "I am Dr. Aela D'Avo of the Asari Republics, here representing the Citadel Council in these most fortuitous times."

Really, looking into that very human face of hers, Alex could've sworn he was talking to some young noblewoman trying to make a good impression on him. With that elegant white dress of hers that both hid and accentuated, she could've been yet another of the many ladies of the court.

"Please, relax." he said encouragingly. "Though I am King, here we may dispose with much of the protocol involved. I find that such tends to slow things down far too much, especially in this kind of situation where you wouldn't know protocol anyway."

She seemed to relax a bit, though her escort, the Commander Perkins, was clearly starting to sweat. Typical for your average commoner really when they were in the presence of their king.

"Yyyes your Highness," Perkins stammered.

"Please relax," he said firmly to Perkins. It seemed to do the trick and he assumed to have gone into a familiar military-style at rest. Whatever worked for him Alex guessed. Then, he turned to Aela, "Now, I understand that you doubtless have many many questions Dr. D'Avo. Please feel free to ask them. I hope to entertain anything you may ask, and if I cannot answer them, I shall deign to direct you to someone who can," he replied cheerily. After all, these people would have the good sense to take notes on her as well. Learning is a two way street after all.

The Asari, Aela, looked a little surprised at that. Alex figured she didn't expect a Monarch to be so blunt. Still, she made an admirable recovery. "Your Highness," she continued formally. Good call on her part, though whether it was something that was conscious or not was not something Alex knew. "While I do have many many questions, I was more hoping that you would be the one to ask me them."

Ah. Offers of knowledge. Always good, but for this, Alex thought he would need a more relaxed atmosphere. That would help loosen the clearly green diplomat's tongue. "Since you so kindly offered," Alex replied, trying to keep his voice as charming as possible. Just the same way he won over Miranda. "Please prepare the table. It is approaching dinner time, and it wouldn't do to have our guests starve. Please tell Terry to prepare the 'diplomatic' dishes please," he said into his communicator via his Neural Net.

"Please, sit down," he said to both Perkins and Aela, gently indicating towards the chairs. "We shall have dinner here soon, and I have many questions about this Citadel and your Asari Republics." If he could find out how they worked, or if they were anything like the other Houses, he was confident he could put Bretonnia firmly on top in any of their negotiations.

With a little luck, he might even bring about a new Pax Bretonnia, and eclipse his ancestors.

Dinner in Aela's eyes was an exotically lavish affair. They were still in the same room, except now, where normally in front of the King was a corridor between chairs, there was a rather grand dining table, carved from a wood so dark it was almost black. Several exotic looking dishes were on top of the table and three places had been prepared right next to the King. She could make out familiar utensils at least: delicate looking glasses, plates, several spoons, forks, and knives. She could see little differences between the utensils, so she wasn't sure which to use. It looked like Perkins wouldn't be of much help here either because she could see a little bit of worry in his face.

Still, from her seat, she patiently waited, deciding to mimic the one person who definitely knew what to do in this situation; the King himself. Soon enough, one of those black suited servants came in with a tray loaded with a few bowls. He set one down in front of her and she was pleased to discover the aromatic orange soup with a little dash of white on top. She carefully waited and observed both the King and Perkins, not touching the food for a while. She saw the King take a wide brimmed spoon and she carefully mimicked him as he ate. She had a little spoonful of the soup, careful to mimic his actions. The soup itself proved to be a wonderfully creamy and earthy soup. Simple yet hearty, it was one she would try and duplicate if possible. When the King took a small sip out of his glass filled with a little clear liquid, she did so, and was rewarded with a light alcoholic beverage that reminded her of Thessian red wine. It was a little fruitier though and seemed to compliment the dish before her.

"Your Highness," she cautiously inquired. "I'm rather curious as to the nature of your… environmental policies." It was indeed an issue. When the Krogan touched a world before the Genophage, they tended to destroy or devastate garden planets. It reduced limited living space for everyone. Efficiency is important in Citadel society; there were only so many places one could live in, despite FTL. Though she did hope that with these Human Jumpgates, exploration could increase and help expand the amount of living space.

"I'll be honest with you madam," King Alexander said severely as the servant took away the bowls and brought in small plates with what looked like a salad. "I'm sure you have seen Leeds, the Southampton debris fields, basically the effects of Bretonnia Mining and Minerals when they have been… unregulated so to speak."

"You mean a single company has managed to do this, all because you didn't regulate them?" she asked incredulously. It was hard to believe this was all the effect of a single company. Several yes, a whole government yes, but a single company?

"BMM has a government charter. My ancestors were… desperate. Bretonnia was the last of the Houses to arrive, and in order to compete and not be swallowed by the others, we had to industrialize quickly. We effectively gave BMM carte blanche to do what they needed to do, damn the effects. Look what we have now though." he ended, looking her in the eyes.

"We Bretonnians only have three planets. Three planets to feed and clothe over 12 billion people. Most of that from a single planet. Even if most of my people don't actually live on planets, they still need food and clothing, and all that has to come from somewhere. What our ancestors were thinking when it came to trying to match ourselves to the other Houses to have their children bear the cost, I have no idea. What I'm trying to do here is to fix my ancestors mistake. Ever so slowly, I'm beginning to convince Parliament that BMM's operations aren't necessarily in the best interests of Bretonnia. Sadly it took the Founder's Day Rebellion for some of them to see it, but now I'm able to start regulating them better. We in Bretonia intend to fix our mistakes, no matter how long it may take."

So these people have realized their mistakes then. That was a good sign, the Krogan have yet to learn from the Rebellions. They were still their crude selves, and while they could in fact theoretically recover from the genophage with their birth-rates, they still refuse to stand and learn from their mistakes. These humans meanwhile were seemingly trying to improve things.

"I'm glad to hear that Your Majesty," Aela said diplomatically. "While the sheer scale of production Leeds is capable of is impressive," terrifying even, especially in comparison to what many Citadel planets were capable of. "The pollution I witnessed there was frankly disturbing."

"I understand. Many visitors to Bretonia often comment as such when they pass through Leeds," King Alexander sorrowfully replied.

A little thing caught her attention though. King Alexander mentioned five sleeper ships, yet there seemed to be only four Houses. What happened to that last ship, the… what was it's name? She decided to ask him only after the next course was served, what looked like a cut from some land animal, with a little slightly translucent sauce served with it and some more green vegetables.

"Your Majesty," she said carefully. "I must ask for the sake of my curiosity. I remember you mentioned earlier that there were five ships that left… Sol. What happened to the fifth? The… Hispaniola I believe?"

"The Hispania…" King Alexander said slowly after a brief period of silence. "No one really knows what happened to it. We never found the ship even after over 700 years here. There are however whispers that we have in fact been in contact with them for a long while now. Rumor has it that two of the most powerful criminal syndicates in the Sirius sector are the children of the Hispania. The Outcasts, and the Corsairs."

"These Outcasts from their name alone don't seem very threatening to me your Majesty," Aela replied a little light-heartedly. After all, if they were outcasts, how would they recruit new members?

"These Outcasts are the source of a drug that plagues the Sirius sector, Doctor. Cardamine is a narcotic with a near 100% addiction rate. It creates an intense sense of euphoria and energy in the user. Many people don't even build up a tolerance for the drug, and so choose to dose themselves up with it continuously to avoid the inevitable withdrawal symptoms, of which include severe psychosis, occasional respiratory problems, and in the case of long term users, even death. We've also recently discovered that long term use also results in genetic damage. They've used this drug to effectively string and addict several other criminal groups. Their web of influence is steadily growing and more and more people are getting addicted to the drug."

"The Corsairs meanwhile are pirates pure and simple. Unlike most however, they are smart, coordinated and very good pilots. Few can match them in a one on one fight, and those few are often the very best of the House Navies, and a select few other groups. Only the Outcasts can really lay the claim to match them pilot for pilot. They raid shipping in nearly every system known to us, and they rarely leave survivors."

Shocked wasn't quite the word to describe Aela's feelings on the revelation. It was, however, close enough. How could they let such groups continue? Even though Mercenary bands back in Citadel space were powerful, they were still constrained by the law, if only just. Pirates back home didn't even come close to the level of organization these groups sounded like they had.

"Why don't you just… hunt them down?" she asked.

"We've tried," King Alexander replied despondently. "The thing is however, that no one has ever found their bases. I mean obviously someone knows where they are based, but no one is reporting it to us, and frankly I understand their worry. These are amongst the most powerful groups in the Sirius systems, and chances are, those groups are based somewhere in the very distant parts of the Sirius sector, on the Edge worlds. Barely explored territory, accessible only through dangerous Jumpholes, full of hazards and of course, those two groups trying to make sure they keep their bases secret. The only thing that seems to work in our favour is that these two groups actively hate each other, though no one knows why."

Wild space. The way he described these… Edge worlds, thy sounded like a miniature version of the Terminus systems, yet somehow more lethal. Though she did wonder, what were these Jumpholes?

"I think I'm beginning to understand the situation here in the Sirius sector Your Majesty," Aela cautiously replied. Her understanding being that it was practically the Terminus systems here, despite the veneer of law and order these Humans claim to profess. While true that space is big, it's just not possible for there to be so many criminals that can escape unnoticed right? "Which is why I believe that it is in Humanity's best interest to join the Citadel."

"Oh? Pray do enlighten me how it would most definitely help us. I've received the reports Lord Barstow has mentioned from your Captain. Is there something that your Captain T'Loni failed to mention?" King Alex inquired.

"The Citadel fleet can most certainly aid you here in this situation. We have the ships and people to help you hunt down these pirates. Also, after seeing what I have seen, I'm almost sure that Humanity will quickly gain a Council position. You would most surely be able to quickly get a say in the most important alliance of species in the galaxy," Aela said, trying to win over the King. If they could get Humanity to join, think of all the technology, the improvements in lives! She was also sure that they could expand further, enabling more and more people to no longer be crowded on planets. It would usher in a new age of exploration!

King Alex's face though, was scrunched up in what Aela thought was deep thought. "This is something that I will have to think about for quite a while."

"I understand completely Your Majesty." Aela said. This was indeed a very important decision to make. It would take both time and effort to convince others that it was the right course.

"In the meantime though," he said, switching to a more jovial tone of voice. "Let's have us some dessert."

Dessert was a simple green jelly that Aela personally found very refreshing. The King, meanwhile, had elected to ask some of his own questions now. "Tell me, what are the Asari Republics like? What are you Asari known for?"

That… was going to take a while to explain.

"Back home on Thessia, I think the best way to describe things are run there is that we are a very active democratic society. Everyone participates in government decisions though we often listen to the what the Matriarchs, our eldest and most respected members nearing 1000 years old We all participate and voice our concerns on the extranet, our version of interconnected computers which I'm sure you have as well."

"The Neural Net, but please, do continue."

"Because of this level of democracy and the fact that each of our planets are effectively a different government, sort of like a city-state but on a planetary scale, we're known as the diplomats and mediators of the galaxy. Each of those planets are a republic in themselves, hence the Asari Republics. We're also the technologically and culturally dominant species in the Citadel, being both a founding member and the oldest known FTL species. That is until we encountered you Humans. Until we can match our timelines we've no way of knowing how long you have had access to FTL, and judging from your mastery of physics, I must say, chances are you must have been exploring space for quite some time."

"But that is just speculation on your part yes?"

"Indeed it is Your Majesty."

"Then I must be of the opposing opinion that we aren't as old as you think. Perhaps the Coalition, if they are still there at least, but not those of the Sirius sector. Our scientists think that it took us several millennia to get here from Sol. Several millennia of us in cryostasis, our culture, our technology, all frozen in time, so that the Coalition could never catch up with us and catch us off guard, and free to rebuild. "

Millenia. Generations of Asari could have been born and died in the time it took these few human to reach their new homes. Goddess, she couldn't think of anything that would lead to something like that being enacted by the Thessian Government.

"All the same, I think we've had a wonderful time getting to know you Doctor D'Avo. This was a wonderfully educational dinner here, no?"

Aela thought about what she had learned here tonight. Humans were essentially exiles, and have no plans on going back. They were most definitely capable of changing and learning from their mistakes. Most importantly of all, they seemed like decent and reasonable people who tried to make do with the situation they had and solve their problems, however ineffectually, in terms of the pirate problem at least.

Things could have been a lot worse.