Dead Star Dockyards

It had been about a few centuries since the Arboreal Maiden had last done paperwork in anything resembling a significant amount, and she found it no less boring than she had back then. If anything, the fact that it wasn't in English made it even more tedious. Sanctum-Script, a tool she had viewed to be so useful for storing and conveying information in the past, was something she now saw as an active hindrance. Having to separately interpret every single character both independently and in relation to the symbols to its left or right was just too time consuming.

"This one . . . no, we've already given them four in the past two years."

So what was she doing? Well, she wasn't looking over job applications or reading the specifications for a piece of equipment like she had seen people in the various movies make themselves busy with, though it was similar in a way. The Arboreal Maiden was reviewing and issuing commissions to be granted to various willing parties.

"Five commissions in seven years . . . four of which were deemed to be of unsatisfactory quality. They can't be trusted for this one."

She had to make sure that the kingdom she chose for each contract was capable of completing it to the desired standard while also being certain that she was being fair to all parties. These commissions were requests for materials or services, payment almost universally being turned down by the contractor, so it was for the most part acceptable for the quality of the received product to be lower than the highest possible. Quality, while nice, was only half of what the Sanctum desired in these commissions. Everybody needed to be given a fair chance at satisfying the needs of the Sanctum if they wanted to maintain their neutral status.

"This one looks decent . . . fifty commissions in forty seven years, all of superior quality save for their first three assignments, and on the smaller side as far as kingdoms are concerned." One of these nations who claimed to be capable of fulfilling this order had caught her eye, which would normally be suspicious for someone trying to be neutral. "I must admit, the fact that they have a Verdant Globe under their control makes me hesitant to select them . . . however based on their track record and frequency of commissions they have been given thus far it would be discrimination to not consider them. Please have the Merchant see if this nation is better suited for any of the other jobs we have available this time around. I do believe they may be best suited for this task though."

The Arboreal Maiden rolled up the sheet of paper, tying it with a thin leather strap before handing it off to one of the Skwiven. A salute and a squeak, and the squirrelly little creature was already scampering out of view.

"Hmm, while I do not wish to make a decision based on a nation's lack of history completing commissions, I owe it to the two of them to ensure that they receive the required goods in the desired quality and within the proper timeframe . . . given the youth of their king and their current rate of expansion I would recommend that the Marshall or one of his subordinates contact them about the potential for providing a piece of artwork to be displayed on the Oberlux, most likely some sort of weapon."

Once again she rolled and secured the parchment, handing it to another of the Skwiven. This Kingdom was practically brand new, and as such did not have much of a resume to present to her. They didn't know what they were good at in relation to everyone else.

"Remember, this one should be handled by the Marshall. He should be able to grasp the quality of their weapon smiths better than the Merchant. Hopefully this task will provide them an opportunity to find something they can produce to a high level of quality."

Another salute, another squeak, and the Skwiven was darting away.

The Arboreal Maiden waited for the Skwiven to get out of earshot before sighing. Should she call for them, more Skwiven would arrive to act as couriers for her, however she did not want to continue. The job may not have been over, but she was finished for the day. She had gone through a few hundred applicants today, a few thousand in the past few days. They hadn't exactly applied for this commission in particular, for the most part they were just applying for a commission in general, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't be able to find someone capable of fulfilling the incredibly specific needs of the Terrans.

Honestly, she had given up on fulfilling every desire, though she had to admit that she had been able to 'fill' more of the conditions than expected. Whether or not they would actually be able to fulfill their orders to satisfaction was an open question, but at least she had found someone who could provide trace amounts of iridium.

How exactly these people had managed to identify the iridium as a separate and valuable metal was beyond her knowledge (that intel wasn't on the forms) but they had marketed as one of the 'precious metals' they could provide. Could they actually do anything with it aside from polishing? No, but Arc had managed to identify and confirm it based on visual and factors and the Arboreal Maiden's estimations of its density. Should Donovan and Arc be provided with a sufficient quantity of the metal, they should be able to do . . . something . . . with it. 

Personally, she thought the most likely use would be as a building material for a forge or reactor due to the high melting point and relatively limited reactivity when exposed to other elements, but Arc was being awfully silent about it.

ping

Speaking of, a notification from Arc had just popped up. 

"Hm? Tomorrow, is it? I suppose I have been a little bit too absorbed in work recently to keep track . . . I wonder if I should make an appearance as Chestnut this time around."

ping - another notification, Arc's response to her.

'While I do not have the authority to force you otherwise, I would strongly advise against such an action. Diana has invited someone she wishes to build a diplomatic relationship with, someone not from the Theocracy.'

The Arboreal Maiden sighed, frowning slightly. She had hoped Arc would have taken it as a joke. It wasn't like she could take on her secret identity in front of the Holifanians there anyways, they would be able to see through it easily.

"If you say so. May I ask who this individual is?"

ping - 'To use what I believe is the full and proper method of address, Crown Prince Merndil of the Bulsarzian Empire.'

"One of the great powers? I see she has been hard at work. I should remind her not to go too overboard in her involvement with them, most of the great powers are not on the best of terms." The Arboreal Maiden took a moment to jog her memory. She had lived through the reigns of so many great powers that it was pretty hard for her to remember the more recent ones. Many of them hadn't really made much of an impact or impression yet. "I believe house Bulsa and their vassals are embroiled in a rivalry with another great power, the Vrie Imperium, and its premier noble family. Still, I cannot say I know much about their current relationship. Advise her to proceed with caution, she may end up making an enemy equally as powerful as the ally she desires to secure."

ping - 'We have been made well aware of this already, and are fully willing to accept the risk that comes along with this course of action. Certain information has been revealed to us about the current situation within the Bulsarzian Empire that makes heavy involvement with them desirable. Would you like to know?'

She sat in silence for a few seconds, pondering.

"Under most circumstances I would say no, however my investment in your future compels me to make sure you are not misguided in your motives. Please, reveal to me what it is that you know."

ping - 'Understood. The Bulsarzian Empire is currently being threatened with a succession crisis. The legitimacy of the Crown Prince is being challenged by the Third Prince, who has a separate mother. The Second Prince was disinherited on account of his unfitting behavior, so there are only two factions at present. While we are unaware of the general allegiances of the nobility of the Empire, Diana believes that we may be such an influential factor that it would be irrelevant.'

"Hm, yes, I suppose mounting an effective resistance would be impossible if Donovan managed to make interplanetary movement impossible. Do keep in mind that resistance placed on the capital may make such arrangements impossible though. Do you know if the prince has a sister?"

ping - 'I am not privy to that information. Why is it that you ask?'

"I have lived to see more than my fair share of succession crises. While it is rare, I have heard of scenarios where both contenders for inheritance are slain within a relatively close time-frame of each other. Should such a thing happen, it is not out of the question for the First Princess to ascend to the throne with the blessing of the upper nobility. A political marriage between her and Donovan before the crisis comes to fruition may be beneficial."

ping- 'Are you insinuating that we murder one of our closest allies in a bid for territorial expansion? You are aware of the fact that we cannot yet handle that level of expansion, yes?'

"While I must say that is a possibility, that was not my implication. I was insinuating that should Crown Prince Merndil fall in the war for the crown a rapid dispatch of his brother, the other contender, will make it so that your investments are not completely lost. The nobility may not take kindly to an interloper dynasty suddenly gaining control, but I don't think you should have much difficulty handling them after they have exhausted themselves amidst the crisis." The Arboreal Maiden shook her head. Arc didn't even know if there was a first princess, nor did it know if she was on good terms with the Crown Prince. "Should Donovan prove himself to be powerful enough in the field or in command, those that were fighting in support of the Crown Prince probably wouldn't raise too many objections."

ping - 'I see. While I agree with this plan to some degree, getting Donovan to play along would be impossible. It has already taken more effort than I feel it to be worth in order to get him to consider the prospect of union with Queen Titanyana.'

"Queen Titanyana, is it? Am I to assume that her situation is not as bright as we had hoped?"

ping - 'The estimates of the Holifanians place the time life will become impossible to sustain on planet Nekh somewhere between 40 and 60 months. Factoring in the newly estimated travel and production times, we should be saving a roughly equivalent number Nekh in the worst case scenario as we had with our previous estimates, however Donovan has been expressing an extreme amount of anger at this.'

"I can imagine. He doesn't seem like the type to get carried away by emotion, but having the minimum population he was expecting to start with cut down to a fourth of even his least optimistic estimates would be enough to enrage anyone, myself included. The worst part is that he can't blame anybody for it."

ping - 'I was thinking the same thing . . . Truth be told, I am a little bit upset by this development as well. I cannot claim to be enraged to the same degree as Donovan is, however the fact that our time tables for population growth have been set back five years or so means that an appreciable amount of work on our part has been made almost completely worthless. We simply won't have the people to accomplish those tasks.'

The Arboreal Maiden shook her head. That was just as bad of news to her as it was to them. As far as she was concerned, their successes were her successes, their failures were her failures.

"I believe that the phrase is 'Man Proposes, God Disposes,' is it not? I suppose it is a decent lesson for him that things won't always turn out the way he wants them to."

ping - 'I am afraid that lesson has been pounded into him quite frequently over the course of his life. The problem he faces isn't that he failed to plan for the worst case scenario, but that we didn't expect to fall into the middle ground between worst expected and worst possible. The only upside I can conceive of is that 100% literacy should be achieved a few decades earlier than we had been expecting.'

"There's a bright side to everything, I suppose. Do make sure that he doesn't overdo it though."

ping - 'I believe that is already taken care of. Donovan has agreed to allow me to restrict his access to software he can work on when I feel he needs to spend time with Diana. Please express our apologies to the Great Csillacra, but we may not be diverting all of the latex it is supplying to construction. Doctor Helmsguard only prepared 100 condoms for them.'

The Arboreal Maiden buckled slightly as she read the message before doubling over in laughter.

"Oh you don't need to worry about that! The Great Csillacra is more than happy to provide as much latex as you desire! I imagine it will be thrilled to learn it is being used for something besides a weapon of war." Once again, she shook her head. This time she was getting rid of the slight burst of joviality she was experiencing. Aside from it being a dangerous state of mind for one such as herself, the next topic was not a particularly happy one. "How is Lady Tempest? Is she handling the loss well?"

ping - 'From what I hear, she hasn't left her room since Donovan brought her back. Thus far only Gretts, one of the staff at the barracks, and Petunia, the maid who delivered the news, have been in or out of her room. Donovan and Diana have been hesitant, instead deciding to give her time at my request. It is my understanding that Diana may attempt to sleep next to her tonight and try to talk her through it given she has experienced something similar, but if she isn't willing to move in the morning then Donovan will carry her to the testing grounds by force if necessary.'

"You are really going all out on this demonstration, aren't you?"

ping - 'I have told you before, this is the only time we will be showing off our capabilities before an audience outside of our borders. I have already produced the ammunition required for the demonstration as well as the ammunition required to fill the magazines of the Pegasus to full. I cannot justify redirecting my limited production capacity towards ammunition so that we may provide another demonstration. Donovan has made it abundantly clear to me that Titanyana needs to see what exactly we can do to an invading ship if she is to be reassured of her people's safety. We can afford to make her a little bit angry in the short term if it means that she is more cooperative in the future.'

Once more, the Arboreal Maiden sighed. She did not agree with his method, but it wasn't like Donovan had another option. If Titanyana was depressed because she feared for the lives of her people, then this was an excellent way to demonstrate just how safe they would be under Donovan's control.

". . . have you three decided on a name for the planet yet?"

ping - 'No. Donovan does not care what it is called so long as a proper alphanumeric designation code is set up, while Diana wants to see and feel it before coming to an answer. I am quite partial to names such as Frigg, Hestia, Shashthi, and Vesta, the names of gods or deities associated with the home or education of children.'