[member="Lady Kay"]
Ailred nodded, giving a smirk to the assistant to affirm his guilt of anxiety. He agreed and stood up from the bench, slowly and gracefully.
"Well, one does wish to be their best in front of royalty, no? Among other things, there is grief and pain to watch out for in these times." Ailred was glad the Queen had the time for him. Truthfully, he felt it was important, and if he was allowed to he would have chosen to sit on that bench for an entire day. He claimed it wasn't urgent, but that was in respect of the Queens duties, and the weight on her shoulders. In truth, it was just lowly business.... and... business over a friend.
Once Ailred had entered the Queens office and she was alerted to him, he stepped to the side out of the way of the entrance and gave a slow, soft bow out of respect. As usual, Ailred was a calm, yet stern speaker. With a hint of a whisper, but still a strong enough heard tone. A gentle man, holding something back.
"No, Queen, I am not here with bad news. However, I am sure you are prepared to question me on why I have brought a weapon to your palace, and into your office." He paused, taking a breath as he reached down for the
sword. It was tied by a string, wrapped around his waist. It was not sheathed, nor held properly on the waist, only held enough to keep it secure; there was no way to quickly ready it for battle. He slowly untied the strong which held the sword and reached over, gently laying it on Lady Kay's desk, and stepping back to stare at it before looking back up.
"As you may... or may not know... Eddaks sword was not found on his body," he continued, clasping his hands together as he readied himself to speak something winded.
"This was.... found struck in the dirt, outside of my home. As if someone took it, and stabbed the ground, to leave a message. There was also... something further in the investigation done by the Galderrans. At one time Eddak invested in cloning technology; some said he was going to attempt a cloned army, so that he would no longer have to keep putting family members at risk. They said they would continue to have jobs, just positions that Eddak would not have to force them to lay down their lives for him, anymore. One of the buildings that were used for this clone testing... which had been abandoned for some time, seems to have been accessed.... the investigators that have better suited technology at their disposal state that the facility was accessed... near the time of Eddaks death." Ailred put his hands up and shook his head,
"we have no evidence of anything, the attacker on Eddaks life was very thorough, just as thorough as the break-in to the old cloning facility. I don't know much more I could tell you other than what you already know.... but I felt .... Queen Kay, I felt you should have the sword. Eddak considered me a best friend, but he did a lot more for you than I think any of us can realize. He wanted an army not only to protect his world, but also to take weight off of your shoulders. He wanted to create more patrols in the CSA sector so that you had less to worry about. He made Wann orbital Station to strengthen the publicity of Galderra but also to show the bonds of which Commenor could create with smaller worlds. He saw you as the beacon of hope, to pull oneself out of what he considered the end of his people. He actually cared about you quite a lot, and I'm sure if he was here right now you'd know; you'd see it in his eyes. That twinkle you may not have noticed before, you would understand it now."
Ailred slowly turned as he spoke, looking for a chair to sit in and take comfort by relaxing. He has had a lot of stress on him, with his friend, his people, and now the entire world of Galderra, its politics, people, and its military. He was old, but he only just now started to feel his age.
"I apologize... I have come today, or I planned today, to speak with you about the future of Eddaks company. I know you wouldn't wish the burden of it, but I am hoping we can ease part of its burden together. Galderra Royal Treasury was Eddaks gift, chiseled and worked by his very own two hands, but the man - the friend - worked himself to limits neither of us could imagine. He handled.... everything. It would be as if you managed every decree, order, law, contract, message," he took a breath,
"every transport, every manifest, growth charts, expansion plans.... he was there. When he was offered a position to co-own a new vehicle facility on a planet half-way across the galaxy, he was there." Ailred chuckled slightly, in truth he thought of him as a mad man, but he was
his mad man. His mad best friend.
"The new ruler for Galderra will be decided, and I believe we have to liquidate some of the productions within Galderra Royal Treasury. I hope you can assist me with this." Ailred took a moment to breathe in deeply, refilling his lungs and taking some time for respite.