The Diplomat

**The Diplomat** is the eighth episode episode of the original Airship Pirates series

## Plot

At the balcony of Frigga's residence in South Haven, Bellamy tells Frigga that he has been thinking about what is going on out there with the war between the Kingdom of Lanier and the Silver Empire, as well as how many people will be killed that night, ranging from five to ten thousand. Frigga, on the other hand, thinks that the death count will be higher before mentioning that she has heard that Imperial ships have been spotted above the dragon reaches. In response, Bellamy reminds Frigga that it was said that wars would be short and terrible after the Kingdom invented the white missiles before guessing that they got it half right. Frigga uses that statement as an argument for why South Haven should stay out of the war reminding what she told Bellamy about that their legitimate trading business would eventually exceed what the pirates brought in. Bellamy asks Frigga how much business she will be doing when the surrounding lands turn to ash, before hinting that the Capals of the Silver Empire will turn on South Haven once they are done with the Kingdom, but before he is allowed to finish, Heloisie, who has returned with Captain Scott, asks Bellamy for assistance with the destroyer's head line that had come loose. Bellamy and Scott heads to the destroyer while Heloisie stays with Frigga. Heloisie express her impression with the enterprise that Frigga has built and that her merchantile business is mentioned in courts across the Kingdom and that her ravens are seen everywhere. Noticing the lack of enthusiasm for the Kingdom's offer, she asks Frigga if she does any business with the Silver Empire. Initially hestitant to answer Heloisie's question, she eventually admits that she does some business with the Silver Empire, but not much. In addition to that, she admits that she does not like the way the Silver Empire's way of doing business, as the Capals will cheat at every turn and that it is even more infuriating that they can do this legally as well, to Heloisie's surprise. When Heloisie asks Frigga what her concern is if it is not the Silver Empire, Frigga reveals that if they accept the deal, Bellamy will put his entire will behind it and the Silver Empire will have no chance, but that will be a deal the Kingdom will be unable to afford, saying that in five to ten years when the bounties become a mountain of debt, that whoever is King then will find it easier to bomb South Haven then to pay them, before revealing that the recipe for sucess was to build a business that will last decades down the line rather that lining the pockets tomorrow, and that South Haven will never get paid under the current conditions. Realizing that Frigga's trading business is paying a lot of taxes, tariffs and fees to enter a port in the Kingdom, Heloisie suggests that instead of bounties, Frigga will get a credit that will allow the ravens to enter any Kingdom port free of charge if she can keep the credit. While this will reduce the Kingdom's tax revenue, it will allow the Kingdom to export its goods to new markets, meaning that both sides will benefit. Frigga eventually gets onboard with Heloisie's suggestion, before asking if that mooring line came loose on its own, to which Heloisie admits to helping it. Frigga comments that the destroyer could have come loose and crashed into a house, which Heloisie assured that there were no risk of that. Captains Scott and Bellamy then returns to Frigga's residence, with Scott commenting that he could not believe that Bellamy designed the mid-ship weapons belt on the destroyers, having told the boatswain the day before that it was the only part of the ship that never breaks down. While Bellamy was revealing the trick to its sucess, Frigga interrupts before calling them to hammer out a final deal.