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Post by alexanderthegreat on Jun 12, 2012 11:01:38 GMT -5
To Alexander, 'Duo' was a name that held negative connotations, a shame because there was nothing wrong with the name itself but because of the history of the one man there'd been a noticeable trend in avoiding naming a child it even after the thousand or so years. Not that it was a concern of Alexander's right now, he wasn't speaking with Duo, he was speaking with Benjamin and it seemed that Benjamin himself was a bit concerned that Alexander would somehow make the unfair mistake of tying them together--was that what other nations were doing? Change in ruling around the world had happened, very few of them nowadays were still the same people he would meet with every other week in Trucido's castle and even most of them were closed-minded. He would have thought that the changes would have made for more open-minded individuals to take leadership around the world but it seems he was horribly wrong.
Alexander in recent times wasn't dealing with a lot of the other nations. It had been steady peace so far, he had on this side of the world the allies he needed--Crepusculum was at his back and he'd even managed to cool things between Santo-Luce and Nerezza, both countries of which for centuries had been sworn enemies.
He looked into Benjamin's eyes and as the man leaned in, Alexander sat back, hands falling uncomfortably to his knees. The way the older man talked, despite his concerns, spoke with a power that was mesmerizing, and for the briefest moment enchanted the Santo-Lucian king in more ways than he felt was right; Zeke recognized the slightest look in Alexander's eyes and shifted uncomfortably, a short sting of jealousy nipping him and passing quickly. The king, despite the slight disturbance kept his gaze sternly on Benjamin and took a slow breath to flush out emotions and re-fill the space with logic.
"...I know what it's like to feel unaccepted. People from my own kingdom, my own castle, tried to murder me," he spoke slow, starting off fairly quiet but volume gradually coming as he got serious and, it seemed, pushed back a little, "I know only too well what it's like to start with seemingly nothing, to have to suffer through hell itself before you get that helping hand and people start realizing and accepting your intentions and worth. Many are under the impression that because I was born into this I had it handed down to me easily when it was far from the case."
He stopped himself before he got to the point of 'too loud' or even yelling. He folded his hands in front of him and added in with a much more regal tone, "Make no mistake, President Benjamin, Santo-Luce will help you. Or at least I will." Alexander ended his thoughts with a bit of a smile. It was seeing this that made Holmes smile now for this was a sweet nostalgic trip for him, for a moment he was almost convinced he was listening to Bradley again and not the, usually, carefree son Alexander. It showed how much the boy really had grown in the past couple of years.
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Post by Benjamin Kírix-Unda on Jun 12, 2012 11:39:31 GMT -5
Just a couple years ago Benjamin could recall sitting down at his table with his wife and children, hearing recent world-wide events from friends who often ate breakfast with him. He recalled hearing the news about Alexander taking the throne, the wild playboy was hardly fit to take it yet here he was, leading a Santo-Luce that was fit to play a strong role in the Allurom.
What Alexander just said? It was perfect, Santo-Luce (or simply Alexander) would support Unda and that was all he needed.
"Your Majesty, you don't know how many sleepless nights you just saved," he smiled before adding, "Well, until the next thing comes up."
He sat up, simply to stretch his legs before turning back to Alexander, "I do not wish to bother you much more, but I do have one more thing to present you with."
He sat back down before speaking once more, "Take this as a goodwill from Unda to Santo-Luce. As you know we have a mission going on down in Vuoto but we need to supply it faster than we are currently doing... if you were to allow Santo-Luce's ports to be used by our Navy than we'd consider an attack on your nation as an attack on our interests."
What was he basically doing? In turn for Military use of Santo-Luce's ports, Santo-Luce would have the strongest Navy in Allurom at its protection if needed.
"It would help both of our nationals defense," Benjamin continued, "Unda's Navy would follow whatever rules you lay down and we'd demand the utmost respect from our sailors. But if you allow it then we can help guarantee that no invasion from the sea on Santo-Luce would be possible."
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Post by alexanderthegreat on Jun 12, 2012 12:06:54 GMT -5
Holmes's gaze turned to Alexander immediately. This was indeed something big for Santo-Luce and not necessarily something even Holmes had expected from the Undian 'President' he called himself.
Alexander kept his stare on Benjamin. Even he knew he was taking a gamble on this, regardless of what Benjamin said but even Alexander knew too well that if you didn't take a chance on someone you'd never really know what they might bring about. It was too true in his case, he himself was a living example. What would that say about Alexander if he couldn't pass it along to someone else who also needed it?
"Your navy would respect our nation's laws...I don't know what kind of things your military would be dealing with but we'd advise you that some weapons from Ketulunanox and the Chalybs we've prohibited, just as an example. If your navy is doing more peacekeeping than it is strictly fighting this shouldn't be much of an issue, though."
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Post by Benjamin Kírix-Unda on Jun 12, 2012 12:16:15 GMT -5
"We intend to expand our mission to three other coastal cities in Vuoto, any fighting that happens will be for defense only," he could tell he shocked Alexander, and that didn't surprise him at all. Normally this was rushing things, in a single meeting they had accomplished so much and now Benjamin wanted to make a defense pact that would guarantee the mission in Vuoto could expand as well as the fact Unda's Navy would now protect Santo-Luce's shores as their own.
...Needless to say, Benjamin was very shocked that Alex was even considering such an idea!
"Our Marines carry Undian made weapons, part of a program to raise domestic manufacturing," he nodded, "However, we can make sure those weapons are locked in the ship's armory before they disembark onto your ports."
He paused for a moment before reassuring the King, "I'm not sure how much my word means to you, but I promise that if our Navy shows anything but the utmost respect to your people we will pull them back followed by a public apology to the victims of whatever crime I'm sure they would not commit."
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Post by alexanderthegreat on Jun 12, 2012 12:52:49 GMT -5
It was a bit shocking for Alexander to consider it, there was a lot about it that could easily go wrong and even he could already feel the pressure his citizens were going to put on him for accepting, at times, even some weapons coming close to Santo-Luce's borders. It would undoubtedly be a very touchy subject to bring about...he'd probably have to actually write a speech to give rather than go into it with his own charisma naturally leading.
Though where Benjamin was promising security, he couldn't rely solely on that--this was a meeting that took two to cooperate, he couldn't allow just one side to promise protection of Santo-Luce. Alexander would have to brainstorm extra ideas, maybe make a point of discussing with his own military's general about moving guards around to secure the area further.
With his own brain ticking away again he smiled at Benjamin and said, "Your word means enough to try. As your own people show graciousness to mine I will push for my own to do the very same. I can't see this particular idea of us opening our ports for military goals being well-liked to the public in Santo-Luce but that will be a task on my own agenda to deal with. Aside from that I can start having arrangements made as soon as you need."
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Post by Benjamin Kírix-Unda on Jun 12, 2012 13:51:03 GMT -5
"That's great!" Benjamin practically yelled, the sheer delight about how this meeting was going could not be described in words. "If your Generals decide for this to be a good idea than I will assign my most trusted men to make sure everything runs smoothly." He glanced to Brea for a moment before looking back at Alexander.
He sat up from his chair, stepped over and once again held out his hand to shake, "Shall this moment mark the beginning of Undian-Santo-Lucian relations?"
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Post by alexanderthegreat on Jun 13, 2012 12:23:09 GMT -5
"I'll make sure it works," Alexander said as he looked over to his own captains, "I've got what I consider a very reliable, trusting team."
As Benjamin held his hand out again to Alexander he got up and, more smoothly than earlier, grabbed ahold of it and even managed to join in on the actual shaking rather than stand there and look silly. Something about world leaders shaking hands with each other gave him a tickly feeling in his stomach, this was so unorthodox.
"I do believe this is the start of something great, something we can make to expand in future plans."
It was odd, politics never really had Alexander thinking before, and here he was actually getting excited for this.
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Post by Benjamin Kírix-Unda on Jun 13, 2012 18:54:59 GMT -5
"Indeed," Benjamin nodded, "A new era for Unda and Santo-Luce has begun and perhaps even for the world." The facts were that if this military pact went through Santo-Luce gained access to Unda's Navy, which could help secure Santo-Luce's trading routes and coastal cities. Unda would gain a new base of operations, pushing its sphere of influence further out into the world, making Unda a global player whether or not the world wished to admit it.
At least under Benjamin's rule, he knew Unda would be a power of peace, not war like so many of his other predecessors.
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Post by alexanderthegreat on Jun 14, 2012 22:00:53 GMT -5
"I'm glad to have been able to have this discussion with you, Sir--err...President Benjamin," Alexander said warmly, "it was enlightening. I'm unaware of you and your companion's accommodations while you're here in Santo-Luce but by all means, feel free to request what you will here to spend a night or two. I have no problem giving you your own guest chambers at all, we're more than happy to serve."
He looked over to Holmes who put on a polite smile, nodding in agreement. With the serious issues aside (for now), it was time to offer and provide their foreign guests the best of what Santo-Luce had to offer...which was just about everything relaxing, refreshing, and entertaining! The country itself probably could pass itself off as a spa as it was.
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Post by Benjamin Kírix-Unda on Jun 16, 2012 21:00:05 GMT -5
The idea of taking a vacation would make him feel extremely guilty, so he would simply consider any other time he spent here just part of the business trip. "It would be an honor if I could stay a night, now that this meeting is out of the way, perhaps I could really absorb the beauty of this country."
He then snapped his fingers before adding with a smile, "As long as you promise to come visit Unda sometime, alright?"
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Post by alexanderthegreat on Jun 21, 2012 11:27:26 GMT -5
"I definitely recommend a trip to the beach, then," Alexander chuckled. The beach was his favourite place and had been for years growing up--except for when he had to hide from his father's guards as they soon figured out where to find the prince and 'escort' him back home to be punished. Ahh, good times.
"I would be more than happy to visit Unda. I love my home but I do quite enjoy travelling to other lands. Makes for a good cultural experience." His eyes drifted then to Zeke, who easily recognized the look in Alexander's eyes as a subtle screaming of 'LET'S GO YOU'RE COMING WITH ME I WON'T TAKE NO AS AN ANSWER'. In response, Zeke smiled widely.
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