"Welcome to the
Austrana," Beatrice said with a bow as her guests arrived. "If you would be so kind as to follow me, I have arranged for us to meet in the Gray Lounge," she continued, leading them down the corridors of the Imperial Yacht to their destination.
The Gray Lounge "You see
Austrana used to be an ocean liner, so I've seen that some of her features are maintained," the Empress explained as they entered the Lounge. "You'd be surprised how useful a fully stocked bar can be, and I've often hosted parties and other functions for her crew in this very Lounge. Please, if you would join me in having a seat over here," she said as she motioned to an area to the side of the Lounge.
A more intimate setting chosen by the Empress for her guests to converse. "Excuse me, Patrick," she said on a first-name basis with one of the staff, "a glass of Pyrena mead if you would? Whatever my guests should like as well, though the Quinntopian vodka is off limits at this time," she said with a grin.
"Now then, the reason I am here is because we've caused quite a stir, from the whole slavery purchase to our respective actions which followed. I know how I am viewed by some of you, and the first step to reconciling our differences is for us to remove any
gray areas; you do not know me all that well, and I do not know you all that well, hence in certain actions we take there is so much room for misinterpretation. As you are my guests I leave the floor to you; what do you wish to know, how do we move forward in ensuring our respective nations do not draw so close to the precipice of war yet again? Perhaps, most importantly, shall we be capable of perhaps forging a path forward not in confrontation with one another, but perhaps in cooperation?"
Beatrice paused, "Us sitting here together is already a mark of progress, whatever should happen next is fully within our hands to determine."