Status Report (Azoth)

Thread's PL: 60,000

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It has been a few weeks since the construction of the embassy had begun. For all intent and purpose, the embassy part of the building was done, furniture and all, but the spaceport bits was... a much bigger project, and was expanding each and every day that passed. The emperor wanted the best for his first stone, that Earth could be proud of their embassy, and as such, would have a better opinion of Arcose as a whole. The question remained on who to hire as ambassador, but that could wait for now, since he was using the newly finished building as HQ for now.

Amongst the other few things he had to take care of for the day, Azoth noticed a message from Mint. Sure enough, with a quick feel using his ki sensing, his arcosian ally was not too far from here. The emperor played the message, then smiled lightly. News from Plant, and from a source he could somewhat trust, that was the perfect thing for today! Maybe the crime boss would have met Cheri, Zuqetta, Beowulf, Nasu, or Amara! News from them would certainly not hurt right about now, since they had gone silent for months now.

Quickly enough, seeing as he was arcosian, people directed Mint to Azoth's office in the embassy, a large room with arcosian decors, something that would look like the office of one of the casino owners back on the moons, with a lot of emphasis on luxury and decoration.

When Mint inevitably entered the room, Azoth would step up from his chair and go to meet his arcosian partner in person, extending his hand for a shake.

'' Good to see you Mint! I see your journey on Plant was a fruitful one! Would you fancy a drink perhaps? Something to eat? Or just a comfy seat to rest? We have it all here, I really went all out on this embassy... used some of the funds we took from the old nobility. What do you think of it?''

The Emperor was visibly in a good mood. He finally had something concrete to show, a clear message to send to the galaxy, and it was taking physical form after so much time!

As they shook hand and Mint confirmed that his travels to Plant were fruitful, Azoth nodded in agreement. The two of them, by splitting up, had managed to cover a lot of ground, and depending on the kind of information his partner had for him, they could have done a significant amount of progress for Azoth's goals. If Mint ended up playing a bigger part than what Azoth had imagined for him, he certainly wouldn't mind... who was he to deny someone progression, after all? Besides, the crime lord, despite being a criminal, had been nothing if not reliable since the fall of Hibernal and his ascension to the throne.

'' Wine it is then! You'll have to excuse me, I don't have a lot of expertise when it comes to choosing these, so I just picked a bottle I fancied between these that were proposed to me.''

The emperor said as he got out a fairly expensive bottle of wine. It was not visibly the most expensive it could get, but it was described as having a lot of taste, and the arcosian was one to appreciate strong flavors in his life, so maybe that would be the right one for him. He would serve two glasses and hand one to Mint.

'' You're right, this place was pretty expensive. However, if things go even somewhat according to plans, trading with Earth will be fixing that gap in no time... I heard estimations between 6 months to a year from my advisor on the subject. The spaceport, on the other hand, will take more time, but we had to show some goodwill if relations with Earth are to be positive.''

The emperor explained. He had not left any of this to random chance and had a few experts get him several possibilities for success or failure. Overall, this was a move in the right direction and Arcose's coffers were in good health.

'' So! Tell me about Plant! You mentioned a Queen, so the Saiyans have found their monarch? You also got in contact with my ally amongst the Tuffles, Cheri. Glad to see everyone seems to be in their right places.''

Of course, he knew there was much more to it than that... the fact that Saiyans had a queen and that he hadn't heard of Zuqetta in a while was alarming, to say the least.

Mint was one to get right in the meat of the subject, and Azoth knew that he was trying to get some information out of him as well, which was not a bad thing in itself. He needed people that did not completely agree with him around so that he would not devolve into a tyrant in his own way. The fact that the crime lord was careful with his interaction simply meant that Azoth did not have full control over him, and that, in the emperor's mind, was a good thing.

Hearing of the situation of Plant, the arcosian emperor became somewhat alarmed. Why did nobody report to him that the newly crowned Saiyan Queen was about to re-ignited the war? Were the Tuffles not aware? What about Amara? So many questions spiraled in his mind, but he kept a cool face in front of Mint. So that new queen was partially demonic, and did not want him interfering in the war uh? Interesting.

'' Well, it's not like me to say that, but we're hardly going to ask her permission to get involved. The ball is in her camp to willingly discuss with us or not. I will certainly not stay in my seat while the Tuffles get annihilated. If she wants to be Queen, she'll have to learn that diplomacy plays a huge part in monarchy, even with absolute power over her own people.''

Azoth cared for the Saiyans as well, due to his ties with Amara. There was no way he would let himself be sidelined while a genocide happened... not on his watch, for sure.

'' What about the Tuffles? Are they aware of this? If we move in, that'll force this Queen Rosemary to discuss peace negotiations, unless she is crazy enough to think she could oppose everyone else... the peaceful ending of this war wounds further than anticipated... hopefully, I can manage to reach her through diplomacy...''

The emperor sipped a bit of his wine after swirling it in his glass a bit. It was about time he showed up on Plant himself, leave the rest of the construction to his people, since he already had every permit needed.

Azoth and Mint seemed to agree that the Queen of Saiyan's interdiction to come to 'her' planet would have to be ignored. This would most certainly sour relationships with the saiyans, but it would be a pitiful show of weakness if he was bossed around by another monarch that couldn't even get their planet together. What the crime lord said was also right, the biggest problem is going to be to sit both sides at a table and figure out a way to get a ceasefire without anyone having to empty their coffers, which in itself was quite the task to undergo.

'' Yes, getting peace between the two will be a challenge, but I owe it to my principles to try. If it comes to it, we'll pick the side opposing the first to attack. Although... if that side doesn't want our help, then I am unsure if we should remove ourselves from the conflict or side with the others... we'll have to see at the moment, I suppose.''

He would answer, massaging his temples. This situation was a mess, and it was about to get worst, as Mint mentioned that the Tuffle's side had a wild card played there... Yangcong... that rat was still alive.

'' You've got to be kidding me... Yangcong is still alive. I have no problem believing that, wouldn't be the first time he was supposed to be dead. ''

Azoth paused, turning his attention to Mint and giving him an approving nod.

'' You made the right choice not to side with him, he is not to be trusted. But if he is down there, asking people to betray me, then we'll have to take care of him while we're there... ''

Another pause, this time, the emperor sighed deeply.

'' But if the Tuffle actually sides with him... that makes things even more complicated... I don't think I can just look at it from outside anymore, I'll have to make my way to Plant and assess the situation in person. Of course, you are welcomed to return with me, but I would understand if you wanted to keep your activities going on Earth. ''

The young arcosian finished his glass of wine and looked outside the window of his office. He was already leaving Earth again, and not even to go back to Arcose.

'' Anything else? Any opinion of yours? I trust your judgment as to what I should know before going.''

Mint's words reached Azoth when he spoke of not throwing his judgment on joining the 'defending' side. It made him realize that, while good on paper, it would have technically placed himself against his own movement when ascending to the throne. It would have been obvious to people outside of his ascension, but to him, it was quite the revelation that Mint brought him. Of course, he wouldn't let too much of that appear, going for a knowing nod after Mint was done speaking. He then would confirm what he changed his belief, although his voice spoke with certainty.

'' You're right, I shouldn't base my judgment upon who acts first if the conflict is to ignite again. I shall decide when and if the time comes. In the meantime, I will keep in mind your report, and compare it with my own observations when I'm there, to have the best idea I can have of the situation.''

He replied simply. He had a good idea when he decide to keep people with different beliefs and values around him, exactly for that kind of situation. He was not to rule with an iron fist, although the decision was still his to command.

When the crime lord spoke of using Yangcong as a foothold in the Tuffle politics, Azoth was not too sure what he meant by that. Did he mean using the fact that they would defeat him and delivering him to Tuffle justice as goodwill, or did he mean to use the fact that Yangcong tried to kill him as leverage to essentially blackmail the Tuffles? Because one of those options was impressively not Azoth-like. Nevertheless, if the Tuffles chose to ally with this traitor, then it would sour their relationship with Azoth a great deal and would need to be talked about.

'' I believe we should keep Yangcong as far as possible from our peace negotiations. If he managed to make his way in, then I will do what's needed to keep him out of it or punish those who chose to side with him. He is not to be trusted, and will only betray everyone on his path to power. He did so in the past.''

That Tuffle plague seemed to get his nose everywhere, and it was rapidly hitting on the emperor's nerves. Surely, they would confront soon enough, and when that happens, he would make sure to have his message clear as possible.

Mint chose to follow Azoth back to Plant, a good choice for the empire. As his ally said, the both of them made for a great display of power, and bargaining would be easier that way. It got the emperor to smile, seeing how far they had come as a pair. He really felt like he could trust Mint now, much different than when he actually took the throne.

'' Our actions on Plant will determine its future, and as such, you are right to say that we have to carefully pick what path we want to take in this conflict. If the worst comes to pass, then I hope we can at least organize an evacuation, rather than genocide. I refuse to be remembered at the emperor who ended yet another species.''

'' Your words are not only a base to compare with others, as we stand, you are the one person I bounce ideas off. Since we disagree on some things, I like to have your opinion on things, it helps me mitigate my most... passionate ideas. Between you and me, I really like this way of doing things, it allows for more discussion, every idea has at least gone through 2 people before being presented to the public, and I think that's a good thing. Of course, I intend to have more people with us eventually, and get ideas from them as well... it's a whole thing, really.''

Azoth answered Mint. He was still underestimating how much the emperor was trying stuff up with him, and for now, it was working pretty well. Slowly but surely, he was allowing Mint ideas to matter, and in term, the crime lord was making more. Of course, Azoth kept control of what was actually going on, but hearing his people out would be his strong point.

The subject of Yangcong was pretty intense, to say the least. Both of them had strong feelings regarding the Tuffle criminal, and it was a nice thing that they felt the same about him because Azoth wouldn't budge on the subject much.

'' I have no preference yet for any of the camps, that much I can tell you. Tuffles would be great technological allies, while Saiyans have their fighting proficiency and all. Both of these people would make for great allies in the federation, so there is really no 'picking the best for us' when we look at it that way. ''

The Emperor would turn back to the window, showing the streets below. Earth just had so little of these conflicts, it was weird to go from here to anywhere else in the galaxy.

'' We're gonna leave soon, just so you know. I don,t intent to wait much longer, since the construction of the spaceport is going nicely, and the arcosian embassy is basically done. I can keep doing the work here from my ship after all.''

So it was decided, Mint and him were going to Plant to finally take action on the conflict going on for far too long on there. Of course, as much as Azoth wanted to be the 'great solution' to whatever was going on, he remembered Amara's words, that he would have to trust the connections he made more than himself, still rang in his head. He was a bit torn between Mint's desire to intervene as themselves and the words of Amara, so he would have to discuss with her when they arrived. The emperor shook his head to get his mind back on the situation.

'' Very well then! We shall go tomorrow if you don't mind. I have some things that need to be sorted out before I leave, so you'll also have some time to... I don't know, maybe have an earthling meal? I'm sure you have business here, but I won't ask you about it. ''

As soon as he was done saying that, something on his communication device made a chiming noise. He turned to look at it, and his eyes widened. A signal from Amara, that they agreed upon she would send him when the Plant war would get worse.

'' Change of plan! We're leaving right now! One of my contact is sending me an emergency signal. Whatever is going on with the war, it just got worst. Go pack your things, I'll meet you on the Freezing Horizon.''

He said to Mint before getting up and preparing to leave. Of course, he would wait for his associate's reaction. This alarm has visibly shaken Azoth into action, and he was looking much more serious right now. The fact that he hadn't got any news from anyone from Plant, and now suddenly there is a signal told him that the situation had to be either dire, or they finally got the chance to get through him, which in both cases, was pretty urgent.

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