The greatest concentration of power the Barony of St. Aldwin had ever seen was, for this brief moment in history, gathered in a single room in the secret basement of the Cove House.

Red velvet benches climbed up gradual steps to the strange chamber's eight walls, enough room for two hundred people, but today everyone was gathered at the round table in the center of the chamber. There were perhaps fifteen people in all, representing the largest and most influential powers behind the Hichi Accord.

Alain sat between Sophie and Elsie Rhovnik, and Pierre Laroche, the Baron of Albany. He kept one hand on the bulky headphones supplying the various envoys here with translation, due to a number somewhat less than comfortable with Common English, but the other headphone was slid back to let him hear the English all the clearer. The minute frown on his features was ever-present and apparently unchanging, the poker face finely honed over the years finally turned to peaceful means; he wrote furiously at almost all times, and every so often handed a note to a page passing behind him.

King Aminor of Urson, Sophie Rhovnik's eleventh-hour suitor, had the floor, and it wasn't his passing interest in Alain's fianc?e that had the young baron concerned and plotting whether he should lay his aces on the table...

Aminor slammed a fist down on the table to punctuate his point. His speech wasn't angry but deeply impassioned which could easily be mistaken for anger. "Without a mutual defense clause in this treaty, this treaty is as useless to Urson as a toothless dog lying at the threshold. We have the Asitranians threatening the demilitarized zone that between our two lands that has stood for generations. We need the promise of support from our allies!"

Sophie's linguistic skills were a genetic gift. Just as Sophie's headphones lay before her on the table so did Elsie's. Therefore, without the need for translation each understood the President of the Council of Ministers of Ebardias when he spoke up in his native tongue, nodding in agreement to the translation of Aminor's words being piped into his headphones. "With the increasing democracy of our neighbors, we no longer feel the threat that my dear friend of Urson does. However, my people understand the plight of his people. We find it equally important to include language in the treaty to promise military support for our allies."

Pierre Laroche spoke next, and Alain had not failed to notice the man never seemed to stand to speak, nor utter a single impassioned word. His weapon was his surprising coldness at the negotiating table, contrary to his otherwise gregarious nature. "And what form precisely would this military commitment take? By agreeing to send forces in the event of a war, we may make ourselves seen by neighbors and rivals as a body for the express purpose of the conduct of war. Wearing a sword, as they say, only encourages a fight."

There were rumbles of agreement from several of the envoys at this, including the Prince of Akor and the Vrasheen Chancellor, but across the table disapproving frowns, heads shaken, murmured words exchanged. Every other detail of the treaty had been agreed to: the free trade, the extent of technology sharing and their commitment to nonproliferation, but here in the eleventh hour the envoys seemed on the edge of dividing firmly into two separate camps.

It was late in the treaty, but still not beyond the possibility of falling apart. Alain beckoned subtly to Elsie and Sophie, leaning their way and murmuring, "Option 3 will rein this in... Think the time's right?"

Aminor was doing his best not to meet Elsie Rhovnik's gaze. He might be the king of a wealthy nation and commander of its military but having grown up in a court that had been ruled by his iron-fisted mother until her death a half decade before, he always found the similarities between Elsie Rhovniks and the Queen Mother -- Helen of Urson -- frightening to say the least. Even nearing forty with gray touching his hair around his temples, Aminor was not immune to the effect of a stern frown.

Elsie gave a slow nod without tearing her eyes from Aminor, disappointed with the attempt to slip such a large controversial issue in at the last minute, but Sophie let her equally pale blue eyes jump over to Alain. "Now would be good before Aminor manages to ruin all of our hard work," she murmured beneath her breath.

Alain didn't even take a moment to nod at Sophie. "If I may," he said, seemingly out of the blue, and stood. He had been silent for the last half hour. The effect? Breaking the silence now grabbed a solid hold of everyone's attention, keeping them more interested in his point, and that much less in forming their next counterpoint.

"All of us here have seen the horrors of war, in its many unfortunate forms," he began, setting his hands on the edge of the table, staring across it at the King of Urson and offering him a slow nod, a small validation of his concerns. "And while we conduct ourselves as peaceful democratic nations, not all of our neighbors have chosen the same path. That said..."

He turned his head fully to Pierre Laroche, who stared back, brought a hand to rub thoughtfully at his chin. "We should be careful not to conduct ourselves as aggressors do, not for fear of reprisal, but in the name of setting a positive example for our neighbors on how nations literally worlds apart from one another can have stable, peaceful and mutually beneficial relations. As the leader of a fledgling democracy myself," his gaze ticked to the envoy from Ebardias with a subtle smile, "I am sure there are many others out there that could use a strong example to guide them. We shall not form a standing cross-realms military force, a weapon as potent as any Carolus bomb."

Solange would have been proud... and honestly, it was as much butting heads with his cousin's clever attache over the years as any other factor that gave him a gift for politics. "However, given the danger presented by undemocratic and aggressive nations, we should also be prepared for the worst. I propose that in the event of an aggressive military action or threat against any member of the Hichi Accord, that we initiate a lend-lease program with all due haste to cheaply and speedily provide the resources for rapid mobilization, so that the threatened state can be fully prepared to defend its sovereignty before its neighbors can mount an attack."

It was the best that Aminor could hope for. He knew it as well as every other member of the table. This treaty had always been designed to be an economical agreement, not a military one. If he pushed the issue it would only cause the member nations to walk away from the table. Pursing his lips, Aminor pretended to consider the matter, running his thumb over the ridge of his knuckles.

There was a silent moment before the full translation reached the ears of the delegate from Ebardias. He gave a firm nod in response to Alain's words. "I feel the Baron has brought up an excellent compromise. Such aid would make all the difference to a land under attack. If the other member nations are in agreement, this would be a clause that we would be thrilled to see included in the Accord."

As much as Alain wanted to look aside to the Rhovniks for an exchange of nods, he didn't dare. This was Aminor's moment. Let him keep his pride, and give him time to spin a response that would make him feel confident: with Ebardias on board, Urson following was inevitable. The baron watched the king carefully, awaiting his response.

Aminor gave a single, slow nod to signal his acceptance. "If language to that effect were presented to us, my Chancellor and I would strongly consider it."