B17

It took a month or so for the dust to settle enough on Morgraine's War, and reconstruction aid to flow to various damaged planets, notably to Gotterdamerung, where an anti-vehicle rocket and Sniper Artillery attack by Hidden Infantry in Valhalla City damaged stores and buildings around the spaceport during the seizure of the City, and to Koskenkorva, where the Capital City of Elysion suffered from a month-long siege, complete with starvation and bombardment efforts. At the same time, surveys and censuses had to be sent out and shattered military units had to be rebuilt. The bureaucracy was in overdrive over the next month just trying to absorb everything, and I suffered through Daily Baronial Council Meetings and multiple consultations with Baroness El-Fadil of Lackhove and Baroness Konstantinos of Koskenkorva, along with the newly promoted Baron Jorgensen of Gotterdamerung. General Jorgensen had earned it for the planning he'd done as well as the capture of Koskenkorva.

By the end of the month, a full accounting of everything put our total population as of the end of January of thirty-twenty-one at six-hundred-seventy-five-thousand people across eleven planets, with a nominal GDP of around two-billion-seven-hundred-fifty-five-million C-Bills a year. Militarily, we were fielding two Aerospace Flotillas at full strength and Six Combined Arms Regiments likewise at full strength, with a further three Combined Arms Regiments being assembled, equipped, and trained and a further Aerospace Flotille being assembled, trained, and equipped. There was also an equivalent number of militia regiments available to be called up in wartime. 

The position this put me in, relative to the other Periphery Powers in the Coreward Near Periphery, was somewhat akin to that of Bulgaria in the First Balkan War on Old Terra. I was, currently, the most individually strong state in the region, with the Oberon Confederation beating me in military and population numbers, but not in military quality or in economic power, and Redjack Ryan on Butte Hold matching me for industry but failing to beat me in terms of military numbers or quality by a significant margin, and slightly behind on population. The Belt Pirates of Star's End had me beat on sheer military numbers, but not quality, and matched me in population, but not at all in economics.

In short, I could likely win a war with any one of my rivals, but if they ganged up on me, they would win. I was a rising regional power, but that's all, the first among equals in a backwater area of the Periphery, which was already a backwater compared to the Inner Sphere. I'd need even more population, industry, and military power to truly be considered a power in more than just the Coreward Periphery. Likely I would need allies as well. As it stood, I wasn't even in the top five most powerful states in the Periphery, I was at best number seven on that list, and it was a distant number seven to boot.

Perhaps that was why, when I was told by Minister Kowalski of the arrival on New Ålborg of a pair of Embassies from Successor States, along with two from the Periphery, I was so surprised. Surprised, but still eager to see what could be gleaned from meeting with the ambassadors. Of course, the two Periphery Embassies were expected, Hendrik Grimm sending an Embassy was expected, but I was surprised to hear that the Ambassador was his daughter, Ella Grimm. The Embassy from Redjack Ryan was even more expected. He likely wasn't happy that the son of a dead vassal had gone and killed his lover and taken her worlds for his own. I'd likely get an ultimatum to return Gotterdamerung and Lackhove to him or face war. That was why I chose to speak to his Ambassador, Ivy Upsalom, last.

What I was interested to know was that both the Lyrans and the Draconis Combine had sent Embassies, and while I was fairly certain the Combine was going to offer their usual submit or pay the price negotiation strategy as a cover for espionage, I did wonder why they would choose to send Alyssa Friedrich, Heiress to the Earldom of Alshain in the Rasalhague Military District. That suggested an attempt at seduction, though why they'd put an important Earl's daughter in the line of fire like that was anyone's guess. She was supposed to be rather attractive in a strange way, though from what I'd been told, she had a sort of odd energy to her that some found just off-putting enough for Seduction to not be a likely outcome of this meeting.

Meanwhile, the Lyrans sent a more tried and tested diplomat, Julius Lyste, Count of the Sanguine Valley and Uncle of Duchess Sandi Lyste of Rastaban. Unlike the majority of the Lyste Family, Julius chose to go into the Lyran Diplomatic Service rather than take up an executive position at Rastaban Agricultural, the Family's Interstellar Conglomerate that manufactured AgriMechs, Fertilizer, Genetically Modified Crops, and all sorts of agricultural implements. Count Lyste had been a part of the team that had negotiated the Free Worlds League's Exit from the Third Succession War and was an old hand at diplomacy. The word on him was that as soon as he felt that his age was beginning to preclude the constant travels of being part of the Lyran Diplomatic Service, a position as head of the Legal and Contracts Department at Rastaban Agricultural was waiting for him.

I decided I would see Count Lyste first, then Alyssa Friedrich, followed by Ella Grimm, and finally Ivy Upsalom. I could stand to start these meetings with someone who was at least a little inclined to be a friendly face. Of course, I would have Ministers Kowalski and Huber nearby just in case I needed their diplomatic or economic expertise. As I adjusted my uniform, I realized this would be the first time I sat on my father's throne in the Great Hall of the Baronial Palace. It wasn't an imposing seat of polished marble and blue velvet flanked by two Medium Battlemechs like the Archon's Throne on Tharkad, nor was it a gaudy thing of Gold and Jade like the Celestial Throne on Sian in the Capellan Confederation. Instead, it was an understated chair of lacquered redwood with the armrests carved in the shape of two bulls heads, as per the Poniatowski coat of arms. The only large expense that went into it, went into the craftsmanship, rather than the materials.

As I sat down on the throne, I nodded to the guards at the door and they opened the door to the great hall. In came Count Lyste, who was a thin man with a thin gray beard and wavy gray hair hair. He arrived with a single bodyguard, though I'd been told that there were more he'd left behind. The Bodyguard's helmet covered their whole face, and with the bulky ablative armor they wore, I couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman underneath. Count Lyste stopped short of the throne before offering a shallow bow, straightening before beginning his prepared speech.

"Pleased I am to see that the stalwart friends of the Lyran Commonwealth in House Poiniatowski have come so far in such a short time. Truly, my Lord, you are cut from the exact same cloth as your father." Began Count Lyste, trying to butter me up now with meaningless pleasantries so that I would be more inclined later to concede more of whatever points he wished negotiated. It was a tactic that would have worked on the likes of Maria Morgraine or Redjack Ryan. It wouldn't work on me and frankly, it was just a tad insulting that he thought it might.

"Please, let us save any congratulations until after the negotiations conclude. Such felicitations seem just a tad premature, do you not think?" I offered, which was courtly language for get to the fucking point.

"Ah, of course. To the heart of the matter, then. I have been tasked by the Archon to ascertain your intentions toward the Lyran Commonwealth and to see if some mutually beneficial arrangement in regard to the borders, matters of trade, and so on can not be reached. What the Archon offers as a sweetener is several favorable trade deals to supply certain LCAF units with various items of equipment, along with a treaty of friendship and amity with the Lyran Commonwealth, and full diplomatic recognition of your nation. I understand that not even Hendrik Grimm has been recognized as more than a Bandit King as of yet. This would give you a certain level of leverage over him and others out in the Coreward Near Periphery." Offered Count Lyste.

"That is quite an opening position. May I ask what border arrangements the Archon wishes made in exchange for these?" I Questioned. Once more, that was courtly speech for what's the catch.

"The Archon asks that you do not advance any further south than Ilium. A friendly polity taking hold of the Periphery is one thing, but to then have that polity suddenly be put in a position to flank our northern border by striking from bases in Vulture's Nest or Awyron is another matter altogether. Should you find cause to turn not-so-friendly in the future, that would put you in a position to cut off and pocket large swathes of our Northern Duchies, including the entire Duchy of Apollo. The Archon is naturally worried about such potential." Answered Count Lyste.

I nodded at that. It made sense from a strategic perspective. Periphery Regimes and attitudes change all the time, and such a critical tactical weakness would be a complete liability in the event I changed my mind. Likely, the Lyrans would wind up taking the reprieve offered from my agreement to the provision to seize control of Vulture's Nest, Awyron, Svalstad, Kola, and Melville to widen the front a bit against a potential future backstab from my end of things. Fortunately, I was able to pretty handily agree to that. What exactly would I lose? A collection of six worlds of twenty-thousand people each that would need investment and further colonization to even begin to turn around? Hard pass.

"I can agree to that provision. What else?" I pressed.

"The Archon would like you to eliminate the threat of Pirate attacks into Lyran Space from the Belter Pirates of Star's End, preferably at some point within the next few years, five at the most." Informed Count Lyste.

"Consider it done." I agreed. I was planning to do that anyway if I was being honest. This just gave me a bit more incentive to get it done sooner rather than later.

"Then there is the matter of trade, customs duties, and currency exchange rates." Insisted Count Lyste.

This was where Minister Huber stepped in to prove his worth. He skimmed over the draft of the treaty that Count Lyste had written up and found that they were going to attempt to peg the value of our Gulden at twelve Pfennigs, or roughly twelve percent of a Lyran Kroner. Minister Huber refused and countered that if we were to do business with the Lyrans in the Future, then we would accept no less than pegging the Gulden at half the value of the Kroner. That was countered with a quarter, which was countered by forty percent of a Kroner, which was countered by thirty percent before finally, both sides agreed on thirty-six percent, or a little over a third of a Kroner, which was even better than the Taurians got on their exchange rate. A rough calculation via symmetry also meant that a New Ålborg Gulden was worth roughly a third of a C-Bill. which put us sixth overall for the strongest currency in the entire Human Sphere.

Then there were the Trade Deals, the Archon wanted us to supply the First Lyran Guards Division with Specialized Ammunition, Ferro-Fibrous Armor Plates, and CASE Storage Modules for autocannons. The best part about that was that it was an indefinite contract, meaning that so long as we kept up delivery the contract would continue and we would keep getting paid. This would bring in approximately one-point-two-billion C-Bills of revenue each year over the first five years the contract continued. Furthermore, the Lyrans wanted to purchase a license for the Jamerson-Ulikov Water Purification Technology for use on the world of Kikuyu in the Vesper Marches. Apparently, the colony they put on there to mine the radioactive ores and heavy metals had begun to sicken due to radiation and toxic metal tailings in the water. That was going to net us a one-time lump sum of one-hundred-million C-Bills.

Minister Huber adjusted things just enough so that we were being paid slightly more on these trade deals for slightly less concrete delivery times before he signed. Then he fell back and let Minister Kowalski look at the Draft of the Treaty of Friendship and Amity. Scanning the draft, Minister Kowalski accepted, rejected, or offered amendments to the treaty as he studied the draft.

Some of the provisions, such as the granting of mutual Most Favored Nation Status for the purposes of trade and navigation, along with the guarantee of safety of vessels whether within New Ålborg or Lyran Jurisdiction. the Mutual right to search a ship of the other's coming out of an enemy port for Contraband, the right to due process of law if contraband is found on an allied ship and only after being officially declared contraband may it be seized, the restoration of goods seized by pirates, the Mutual assistance, relief, and Safe Harbor of ships both merchant and of war in each others territory during times of crisis, and the right to appoint consuls to each other's capitals, were acceptable as is.

Others, such as the provisions related to the hiring and furnishing of privateers during a time of war were rejected outright, as we had no need to hire privateers and did not issue letters of marque to begin with. Still others, such as the provisions relating to joint embargoes needed further elaboration, as we refused to be leashed to Lyran Trade Policy as if we were a protectorate. Minister Kowalski even added a few suggestions of his own, such as the mutual right to trade with enemy states of the other as long as those goods were not contraband, and the granting of a free port for merchants from New Ålborg at Apollo and one for Lyran Merchants at Zertarum.

Both sides went back and forth on all aspects of the series of treaties and trade deals for several hours, but by midnight, we both had something we were willing to sign. I signed there in the great hall, while Archon Steiner had provided an electronic signature via datachip to sign remotely. It appeared she had complete faith that Count Lyste would be able to get a deal that she would be able to live with. As the New Ålborg Accords were signed into law, I couldn't help but feel that we'd made a huge step forward. Unfortunately, by the time Count Lyste and his oddly silent, strangely androgynous bodyguard left the Baronial Palace, it was creeping up on one in the morning.

I had little ability to deal with the oddities of personality and intrigues of purpose that Alyssa Friedrich presented. I turned in for the night. It would prove to be quite a prescient move, enough so to make me actually believe in the gift of foresight that my family was reputed to possess. Quirky did not even begin to cover it. She seemed possessed of a sort of neurotic energy, long black hair bobbing about as she spoke, waving the red streaks around like streamers. She practically bounced from topic to topic with nary a pause or coherent train of thought between tangents. By the time she'd left, I found myself wondering just what exactly had been discussed. I would find out later that evening. 

When I made to turn in for the night, I found a neatly folded, paper letter wrapped around the handle of a tanto dagger next to my pillow. Unwrapping the note from the dagger, I found a small fable written in impeccable handwriting about not disturbing sleeping dragons for fear of their wrath. The message was coming through loud and clear. We could have killed you and held our blade, if you become a problem, we can easily retract that mercy in the future. The next day was spent primarily with Minister Simowitz, revamping our security protocols against Ninjas. It didn't leave much time to speak with Ella Grimm. 

When I finally did speak to her, the conversation would prove far less rattling in hindsight than the conversation with Alyssa Friedrich did. . .

XXXX

AN: I'm breaking the envoys into two parts as this is getting a bit long. But, yeah, this was a big step forward toward a true partnership with the Lyrans, while meanwhile, the Dracs have decided to pull the old Assassin Leaves a Message in Saladin's Tent trick on Jozef. DEST is the closest thing the setting has to real, actual, ninjas, so it would have been rude for the Dracs not to use them to get their point across. Plus, I think it fits the Dracs to a T, a deadly threat delivered in a subtle way, but no less lethal for it. It's an attempt to cow the latest periphery upstart into not crossing them.

The Big thing here, though is the New Ålborg Accords with the Lyrans. I took a lot of inspiration from the Seventeen-seventy-eight Franco-American Treaty of Amity and Commerce for the meat of the Accords. It's definitely going to create a boom in wealth for Jozef from the free ports, most favored nation status, and trade agreements, which is only going to stimulate the New Ålborg economy further. Plus, it gets full diplomatic recognition from the Lyrans, which includes currency exchange rates, which also go through ComStar for supplemental exchange rates between the local currency and the C-Bill. That de facto forces other powers who want to trade with ComStar to lend some tacit measure of diplomatic recognition as well, which will have interesting effects.

At any rate, the next chapter is going to be the meeting with Ella Grimm and then Ivy Upsalom delivering Redjack Ryan's Ultimatum.

Stay tuned. . .