Dead Star Dockyards

Donovan did not mind the flurry of questions he was assaulted with after the Marshall's display. He could keep them to asking those questions one at a time thanks to some borrowed authority from the Arboreal Maiden, and he didn't need to answer them if the information he would be giving them didn't fall within their general capacity to understand.

The power of "I'm sorry" and "I'm afraid that's off limits" could not be overstated. Having the liberty to shut down any dangerous or bothersome line of questioning with a simple refusal was beyond convenient.

Eventually, the questions ended and the majority of the audience filtered away.

"So . . . am I to take it that I was invited to satisfy some sort of ulterior motive?" Merndil had waited for everyone he felt to be a security liability to leave before approaching Donovan and Diana.

Donovan looked to Diana, dumping the responsibility for navigating their relationship on her. 

"I don't think that this motive was by any means ulterior, Prince Merndil. I would argue that I made my intentions incredibly clear when I informed you that this would be a demonstration of our capabilities." Diana smiled, acting innocent as if to suggest that there was nothing suspicious about the trick she had performed. "I felt it prudent to give the person we consider to be an ally an idea of what we can accomplish militarily. It would be rather annoying if we failed to properly account for each other's potential when planning to deal with a problem, wouldn't it?"

"A problem?" Merndil raised a brow. "Are you referring to my brother?"

"I would never!!!" Diana feigned indignation. "Though, now that I think of it, the prospect of him usurping the throne is quite concerning. It sounds like we may already be making something of an enemy out of him, and I would much rather have an ally in control. Perhaps we could be persuaded to provide some . . . assistance . . . should he ever make a pass at the throne?"

Merndil crossed his arms, understanding Diana's painfully obvious implications. He appreciated that she didn't say anything concrete, that gave him a modicum of flexibility politically and permitted him to maintain their relationship as friends. It helped that her proposition was incredibly enticing, however it was also problematic. This proposition was too good for him.

Should even a fraction of the power displayed to him be provided during a conflict with his brother, he would be at a huge advantage. Even he knew that stopping an invasion while it was still in the void was close to impossible, but Donovan had just demonstrated that he could easily handle one. If Donovan built the navy Merndil expected him to, paralyzing or crippling the mobility of his brother's sympathizers and allies would be a walk in the park. There would be the aftermath of replacing all the lost ships of course, that would almost certainly be an expensive loss for the empire, but ships could be rebuilt.

The problem arose in the cost to him. Diana had made mention of 'persuasion' with regards to their assistance, no doubt requiring some form of compensation. He could handle a monetary hit, the Empire was wealthy, but he didn't think Diana would be content with money.

The Terrans had demonstrated that 'riches' were not something they were particularly interested in. Donovan might be intrigued by Seahrdrin, but his attention was occupied by the utility. Diana might display interest in various pieces of art, but her focus was more around the culture and history. Merndil had come to terms with the fact that, while the Terrans might have material needs, they were not their focus.

Should ever Merndil call upon his powerful friends, his 'close allies', he was going to have to forfeit something immaterial. He was going to have to give them something big.

"What would you desire in exchange for your assistance? Hypothetically speaking, of course."

"Hmm, well, the needs of the state are eternally changing, so I couldn't give you a definite answer for the future." Diana smirked. Failing to give him anything concrete to work with was a good way to avoid being tied down to his expectations. "That said, I can't imagine that our desires will be changing much in the foreseeable future. Perhaps a formal recognition of the partnership between our two - ahem - empires, going forward into the future. Whether that takes the form of an economic, military, or political alliance is something I've yet to work out, but I think it would be mutually beneficial for us whichever way we decide to go about it."

Merndil grimaced. 'Alliance' was a touchy term for polities as large as the Bulsarzian Empire. Simply put, there were too many internal powers with differing interests. Those interests often conflicted, making it somewhat difficult for the Emperor to cooperate with other entities for fear of angering his subordinates. That said, all of those offers were ridiculously enticing to him, if only because they opened up opportunities.

"What might an economic alliance entail?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing major. We would only ask for permission to freely market our products amidst your realm and be given the opportunity to purchase resources we may need in turn. I think that some of what we have to offer might be quite interesting to your subjects, and I find it hard to believe that such a large realm won't have something we need."

Merndil bit his lip. Generally, it is a bad idea to accept a deal you knew was going to benefit the other party but would have unknown effects on you. However that is only a general rule, and sometimes what you are interested in has nothing to do with the deal. Sometimes it was better to take the potential loss as a demonstration of your willingness to trust the other party. In this scenario, Merndil's objective was to find some way to ensure the Terrans would remain amicable to him and his empire.

"I think something could be arranged, though the laws of our empire would mean that individual agreements may need to be negotiated with some of the more stubborn individuals."

"That's fine. Just being given the blessing of the Empire's Sovereign should be enough to get most of what we want done."

Merndil frowned internally, though he smiled on the outside. Diana's words had been chosen very carefully to avoid an insult but imply what he knew lay in his future. She didn't mention the Emperor, only the person responsible for leading the Empire. She had implied the eventual death of his father leaving him with the throne without outright saying it.

"Sovereign, eh? You make it sound like my father won't be in the picture for much longer."

"Well, you never know. Your rivals, the Vrie, will probably try to capitalize on the feud between you and your brother by forcing a crisis. Much the same, I don't think it would be impossible that your brother would attempt regicide in an attempt to give himself an opportunity to seize the throne, nor would it be too much of a stretch to assume that some party that has grown discontent with your father or family would pounce on the chance to put themselves on the throne." Diana shrugged. This was a grave topic, but it wasn't anything Merndil hadn't thought about before. "Then again, there is every chance that your father just chokes on his food one day. Stuff like that has happened a few time in our history."

The crown prince, who had been drawn into a serious attitude, stood dumbstruck by the sudden pivot. A few of his muscles began to contract in an attempt to contain himself, but to no avail. Merndil could only laugh at the absurdity of the proposition. His father? Choking on his food? He could never see that happening!

"What? It could happen."

"Yes, yes I'm sure it could. I am simply incapable of imagining it." Merndil shook his head, the image of an ever frowning father coming to mind. He didn't frown because he was sad or disappointed, he was simply exhausted from his duties as Emperor. Having to sit through hundreds of complaints, opinions, and requests every day could put a pretty heavy burden on someone. That burden only grew when he had to take those messages into consideration when planning his direction of the Empire. "I think he would certainly get a kick out of the proposition though. Anyways, I have something else I wish to ask. Is that, um, that thing the one responsible for the displays during the party?"

Now it was Diana's turn to dump the conversation onto Donovan. Industry was his field.

"Yes, though I would prefer it if you didn't make any requests for art at the moment. As you can see, we are a bit busy with a much more important task, and we don't have much time to spare for a change in production."

"Ah, yes, of course. Princess Titanyana and her people most certainly take precedence over my curiosity. Shameful though it may be, I must say I was hoping for a demonstration of how you use light to cut through metal." Merndil lifted his hands as a show of surrender, smiling to show that he wasn't going to take it too harshly. "Perhaps in the future? It is my understanding that Hlapven is also quite curious as well, so maybe it would be more convenient if we could both be shown at the same time?"

Donovan and Diana fell silent. He had seen them communicate nonverbally before, but they weren't doing so now. Donovan was the same citadel of emotional obscurity as usual, however Diana appeared to be a little bit more willing to give away clues with her body language. Evidently, she had been saddened by something he said, or rather she had been reminded of something sad. The source of this decline in energy eluded him, but there was no doubting the severity.

"I think we might be able to show you that much." Donovan broke the silence, in all likelihood out of a desire to redirect the topic, but it was a surprise to Merndil nonetheless. Without wasting a moment, he brought one of his wrists close to his mouth and spoke into it. "Hey, Arc, do you mind engraving something on the steel plate somewhere we can see? The prince here wants a demonstration on laser engraving."

An indecipherable babble came from the strange bracelet, barely loud enough for him to pick up on.

"Is there anything specific you want engraved? Something like a building or plant or. . ." More noise emanated from the band. "Or maybe something like a portrait?"

". . . I think a portrait would be interesting."

"Alright buddy, portrait it is. Prince, if you wouldn't mind staring at the structure for a few seconds, it needs a good look at your face . . . alright, that should be good."

Donovan then walked past him and up to the plate. He inspected the face for a few seconds before pointing, 

zt zt zt zt zzzzzzt

Not even a moment after Donovan stepped back from the plate did a series of dots appear, followed immediately afterwards by a line forming an oval passing through them. 

bzzzzzzzt zt zzz zzt zt 

A series of lines forming a clear outline, likely his silhouette.

piiiiizzzziiii BZZZZZZZZZZZZ zzzzp zzzzzz siiiiiiiiiii

Primary features, his eyes, an outline of his hair, his nose, mouth, and ears.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

And just like that, it was done. It should be mentioned that the portrait lacked color, so it was by no means the most accurate representation of his visage, but it was shockingly close to what he saw in the mirror each morning.

"Incredible. . ." What more could he say? For the speed displayed, this went far beyond the quality expected. This was the work of a master, this was the result of light. "Honestly, that was probably the most impressive display I have ever seen. The metal that took the Marshall a great amount of effort to scratch was carved so effortlessly and with such skill that I would not have believed it had I now witnessed it with my own eyes. Truly, this is an event I don't think I will ever be able to forget."

"Hmm." Diana rubbed her chin. "How about we give you a memento to remember this by? Arc?"

Merndil looked up in shock to find the metal construct above him, and that it was far larger than he had imagined it to be. 

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ  plock ZZZZZZZZ

Merndil recoiled from the sudden sound of light cutting through metal. It was much more violent this time around.

"I'd give it a few minutes to cool off before trying to pick it up." Donovan patted Merndil on the shoulder as he got busy preparing the plates to be lifted. "Try not to drop it on your toes either."