Warin
Lord Tristin Weylin was Lord of Bloom, and greeted Warin and his crew warmly through sub space communications when they arrived in the system. The lord was as powerful if not more than his own father. The recent System-lord of Bloom ruled the second most important world of the Commonwealth in population, and wealth. It had once been the single most important world in the Dragon’s Head Nebula in the time of the Fabian Dominion, and even after their withdrawal.
The System itself had been a thing of awe to Warin. More than five billion people on that single world, and more than twice that number called the system itself home. He had thought Holderness was a busy system, but Bloom put Holderness to shame. It had also once been ruled by his own ancestors when they had been kings of Umbria which was made up of the Bloom and Holderness Sectors, and expanded further south in the Furia and Anchorage Sectors.
Umbria had been the first kingdom to fall to the Great Savage Host of Rothgar’s children as they took revenge on the king of Umbria for the death of that Furse king. It had not been the last kingdom to fall. All the Old Blood kingdoms had fallen, but only Daxholm had risen again under Osgar the Great, and from his kingdom came the Commonwealth which now ruled most the Dragon’s Head Nebula.
Warin had looked at the system in envy from the deck of his flagship. He had refused to abandon the smaller frigate, ‘Ice Hammer’ for the larger starship. What it lacked in size it made up for in it’s build, tech, and most important crew. Bloom was a massive world, but had changed hand so many times since the fall of the old kingdom of Umbria. It had been almost twenty five years since the current lord of Bloom had been granted the title after the former’s lord death fighting the Furse. His heir was suspected of treason it was said, although his sister was queen. She was dead now as well.
“Couple days in system would be nice,” Commander Vextale the ‘Ice Hammer’s’ Quarter Master said as the starship made it’s way through the system of Bloom. “Three, four days. Bet I could make a killing. Fill our coffers and stores.”
“Two days,” Warin grumbled. “No more than that. We have places to be,” he said, although he wanted to say otherwise. He wouldn’t mind spending more than a few days on a world like Bloom, and he had no doubt that Madalyn Vextale would thrive on a world like Bloom instead of the small backwater minor systems they had spent the last several years in.
“Yes ser,” Madalyn said, and Warin heard no bitterness in her voice.
“We will be back though, after the wedding on our way home. Make sure you stock up on trade goods for the return voyage,” Warin told her.
“Aye aye Captain,” Commander Vextale said with a small smile.
“Commander Foote,” Warin called out to the ships head of the admin department. “Make sure everyone that wants it gets some leave,”
“Yes ser,” Foote replied.
“Quiver,” Warin said, and looked to his Ops and intelligence officer.
“Already on it captain,” she replied but his head never left his work station. “I already have several contacts on the world, but we will set up more, and begin setting up intelligence gathering missions. If there is news, it no doubt goes through Bloom.”
“Very good,” Warin replied. His crew knew what to do. It made him feel useful though. The other ships would be doing the same.
“Commander Otis, inform Lord Weylin that we would be happy to join him for his feast at his hall on his estate. Tell him that my father has gifts for him, but our stay will be short.”
