Celebration, Part I

21st of Hope, in the 5th year of the reign of House Redwater, one minute and thirty three seconds before noon.  On Alshain Magna.

Salamah Laurent smiled as he worked, and it was mostly genuine.  He had woken up this morning faced with a problem, but one that felt like victory itself.  A risk, yes, but also a sign of how far he'd come in only months.  And as his own motto said: A victory without risk is a triumph without glory.

The planet of Circe was a market rich and needy enough that, were it not for a number of economic concerns, he might have made his home world there.  There was a real call for Minerals, especially precious ones like gold, silver, platinum and more.  The call was unbelievable, the profit margin impressive.  But only if the targeted surveys he was contemplating sending found something.  It'd cost thousands of dollars to send them out.  And what if the reason nobody was exploiting this opportunity was because there was no opportunity, because they had done the same surveys he was contemplating, and discovered nothing.

He had almost decided on sending out the surveys despite that risks when he realized the time.  He had a family gathering to address on the good news.  He stood and went do the door, which opened for him, letting him out into the somewhat cramped, but quite comfortable, quarters of the Castle, which was more like a house, or a little womb, surrounded by a fortress to keep out the weather, to keep out the world--one of the bigger expenses was a communications array good enough to make it through the inevitable winter snow-storms, to keep the flow of information offering.

The color scheme of the mansion had been decided on, it would be warm, with soft curves, a gentle, friendly place...or that was the idea.  He checked the time: just a few seconds to noon, he was slightly late.  The door opened, and he stepped into a somewhat large audience chamber, all of the seats filled with family members or staff--butlers, accountants, tech guys, but no maids--with a podium at the front.

His wife, Jamila was standing by the podium, and she smiled sunnily when she saw him.  He looked away from her blonde hair, which was really greying, and her smooth, tight skin, didn't pay much attention to her blue dress that went so well with her pale skin.  He didn't want to drink her in because, well, there were things between them deep enough that, for his part, he couldn't truly appreciate her features.

He picked a safe topic, or rather one that is the sort of dangerous that they could negotiate as long as they agreed to a collective amnesia of much of the past three years, "So, Omar's staying away?"  His voice softened, and he felt a spike of genuine affection for the boy.  And spike was the word, for it hurt how much he loved the boy, only two."

"Yes, our son would have been bored to tears, and we'd have to take him away before the drinking anyways," she said, patting him on the shoulder, "The nanny is doing her job fine, and we'll both have time for him tomorrow."  Salamah had more time for his son than he had for her.  "You'll do fine," she said with genuine affection, "Once they hear the news..."

He stepped up to the podium as she sat down.  Vincent was near the back, looking as slovenly as ever.  His brother was eyeing the food tray, or rather the drinks, with alcoholic hunger, his frame far thicker, older, stronger than Salamah's.  Next to him was his wife Josette, pretty and dead-eyed as usual, her clothes neat as ever: she was good at organizing things, but that was about all he could say for her.  Still, there were worse people for his brother to marry.  At least she wasn't the sort to enable his shameful addiction.

Salamah wasn't one either.  The wine was an expensive variant, with advanced nanobots in them.  They neutralized the alcohol if activated. It would be activated for his brother Marcus and himself, for different reasons.

And, near the back, looking as beautiful as ever, but eyes as furious and empty as ever, still in the same bad mood that had caused her to hurl an expensive vase at his head, was his niece, Marcus' daughter, Audrey.

The Laurent family was all there.

He began matter of factly.  "If the projections are accurate, we will end this month, provided there are no other expenses, with more than we entered it.  This is a momentous time, and I needed all of your help to get this far.  This is only the beginning of a long journey for this family, but if we can, in only a little over two months, get this far, we must continue to strive for loftier heights.  This month's surplus of $1000 is but a little of what we will achieve in the months and years to come."

Audrey stood up and said, in a voice as shrill as she was lovely, "Well, you're just going to spend that surplus on Vincent's ridiculous religious things, and your little 'surveys'," she said it as if they were somehow fronts for debauchery, rather than justified and necessary expenses that had already begun to pay themselves back, "So what is there to celebrate?"  She gave a sneer and looked around for support, her expression all but demanding it as her right.  The reaction was rather more mixed than she likely had hoped for.

"That we might start expanding our wealth?"  Vincent asked testily.  Marcus nodded, siding with whoever wanted a celebration that he hoped would involve alcohol. 

Josette temporized between her daughter and her Duke, "Well, it isn't perfect news, but it is something.  Will this party throw off the budget?"  It was said accusingly, but even she knew the answer: she was backing him without getting on the bad side of her daughter.

"No," he said, fielding the softball question, "It's all budgeted into the household accounts.  Now, if there are no other objections, perhaps we could bring out the food and drink."

Now, he thought to himself, if he could just avoid his wife and still mingle at the party, make sure nobody's feathers are ruffled, it would be a good start to a great afternoon.

Cast:

Duke Salamah Laurent.Age 48  Head of the Family, in charge of Geological, husband of Jamilla Laurent. 

Jamilla Laurent.  Age 55  Wife of Duke Salamah Laurent.  In charge of household expenses, among other things.

Marcus Laurent.  Age 37.  Kid brother of Salamah.  He is angry and violent when drunk.  An alcoholic who hasn't had a drink in several weeks, and not by choice.  Husband of Josette Laurent, father of Audrey Laurent.

Josette Laurent.  Age 37.  Wife of Marcus, Mother of Audrey.  Tries to be the peacemaker, but one can see where her daughter Audrey got her ability to be disliked by others, as well as her beauty.  She's a surprisingly good organizer, though, and works with filing and organizational systems for the Duke.  An apathetic, irritating individual.  An average duelist and administrator.

Audrey Laurent. Age 18.  Daughter of Marcus.  She has set herself up as an enemy of Salamah, perhaps hoping his slip might lead to her rise.  This is unlikely because she is a diligent, repellent dullard and a mediocre duellist and administrator.

Omar Laurent.  Age 2.  Son of Salamah.  The person his father loves most in the entire world.  He is a child of promising potential.