A small group of Commandoes mobilized by Pretorius garrisoned the town. Martial law was in order as Boers wielding guns marched the streets. The farmers were dispersed, and Pretorius temporarily took charge of the Boer district.

"So why did he do it?" Pretorius asked one of his men.

"Harrie Victorie wanted to launch a coup and seize control of the town, becoming the Commando."

Pretorius nodded before dismissing him.

A man bashed his fist against the table upon hearing his words and stood up.

"Veldkornet Vincent, what are you planning to do?"

Vincent Boddewijk sighed and sat back down.

"It would be wise to not let your emotions get the better of you. It is not that man's fault. He was capitalising on the unrest that was already present in this town. Your son is no Voortrekker leader, and he lacks the reputation needed. The only reason he is the Commando is that they know that I'm indirectly ruling the Port. You should know that."

"My idiot son should have said something about this instead of burdening himself with these half-ass measures."

Vincent grumbled and took a big puff of his pipe.

"Speaking of…" Pretorius said as he heard the footsteps by the door. Someone knocked on it and Pretorius told them to come in.

Opening the door, Jan was greeted by Pretorius and his father. His father sent an angry gaze his way, but Pretorius was stoic in his expression.

"Jan Boddewijk. Let me make myself clear. You are not the Commando of this port. The true Commando is me. The people do not see you as the Commando, they see you as my underling, and thus an extension of my authority. There is nothing noteworthy about you nor a connection between the residents here and you. All the success you gained is directly or indirectly due to the extension of my reputation, authority and respect."

Letting his words sink in, Pretorius watched Jan who also held a stoic expression.

"Nonetheless, I will admit that the problem you're facing is rather unique. And with your sole authority, you were unable to handle it. In such a situation, you should escalate the matter to me, your Commando-General. So, on behalf of you, I shall temporarily take over all matters relating to this town's governance. Now then, do you have anything you wish to let me know?"

"What are your plans, Pretorius?"

Jan calmly asked, and his father huffed.

"The Zulus have been taking advantage of you…" His father uttered before stopping once he realised Pretorius was glaring at him.

Heaving a sigh, Pretorius explained, "There is a massive imbalance of trade. The Zulus are dumping all their goods onto the local market, resulting in this unrest. For now, I have expelled all Zulu merchants and goods from the Boer side of town. The Zulu Veldkornet has been complaining about my harsh measures, but the Boer populace is satisfied."

"However, their markets are closed. Let me ask you if you were a part of the Zulu petite bourgeoisie or elite, would you eat your locally grown maize every day?"

"Of course not."

"You would look to eat other sorts of food on other days. We grow other sorts of food, so where are the Zulu petite bourgeoisie and elites lining up to purchase them?"

Jan fell silent.

"Something is wrong here. And the Zulus have been manipulating their markets so that this trade imbalance exists. Coupled with the fact that they have failed to adopt a currency similar to ours, they had full control over what entered and left their markets. Due to your lack of authority, you were unable to adopt such measures, and could only apply stop-gap measures."

Jan nodded.

"Now I'm here. And let us put an end to these half-baked measures and solve the root cause. I have sent Flight Commandoes to scout out ahead during the night discreetly. There is a Zulu army massing behind in Zululand. They are equipped with spears, but the scouts have noticed a few signs of artillery and artillery pieces accompanying them. If push comes to shove, we will abandon the port and let them have it. And we will fight at a place where the terrain advantages us."

Pretorius took out a pocket watch and observed the minute head ticking by.

"I have arranged a meeting with the Zulu Veldkornet, the Zulu Commando Princess is on her way and is likely to attend halfway through our meeting. Jan, do you have anything to say about them that would help in our later negotiations? This is out of consideration of your previous encounters with them."

Jan took some time to think as the two men watched him. His father had a grim expression but a sliver of kindness leaked through here and there. Pretorius seemed calm and was paying close attention to his every word.

"The Veldkornet is known as Nokuthula but she serves as a mere representative. The true figurehead behind their operation is Princess Cetshwayo who is rather young. If she was human, she would look around 15 to 16 years old."

The two men looked at each other in surprise, before turning back to face him.

"Such a young elf?" His father remarked as he caressed his head, feeling an oncoming headache.

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Pretorius held firm and quietly nodded before proclaiming, "Let's go. I've brought Sarel Cilliers if conflict does break out. He'll quickly implement an anti-magic zone if things go south."

"I doubt Nokuthula would have the authority to escalate things. The ball is in our court."

"Let me remind you that if conflict does break out, Commandoes from all around South Elfrica will be mobilized. They will head this way, and crush whatever remains of your Zulu force." Pretorius declared in the room.

Zulu warriors carrying guns sold by Jan kept the guns close by. Spears were slung on their backs. And they had a smaller spear on their side, meant for throwing.

The Boers already had loaded their muskets before entering the room, and with a single pull of their trigger, a shot will ring out. However, if conflict does break out, close-quarters combat will ensue, and it was obvious the Zulus would have the advantage. The plan was after opening fire with a fiery salvo, they would all beat a hasty retreat and fight somewhere else.

Nokuthula yawned, shooting Jan with a curious gaze.

"Good to see that the Commando was still fine after the turmoil a few days ago."

"The turmoil would have never existed if you Zulus…" His father went into a tirade, but Pretorius put a hand on his shoulder.

Whispering into his Veldkornet's ears, "Any more of this and I'll send you out. Do not try to start a fight here. We will not be able to win."

"It's good to see that the representative of the Boers in South Elfirca has a cool head. I suppose if it was otherwise, the Republic would have ended a long time ago."

His father stared daggers at the Zulu provocation, but the Zulu warriors at the other end stared back at him. Feeling a little intimidated, he backed down and deferred to Pretorius.

"Now then," Pretorius took a seat, waiting for the other two men to take seats as well before continuing, "Let us discuss affairs relating to the trade imbalance."

"What imbalance, we have little interest in your goods. It is the Boers who have too much interest in your goods."

"You can continue buying time with retorts like this until your princess comes, or we properly negotiate this. Do you wish to do your job properly to discuss things so that your princess can give the go-ahead, or shall we continue playing around due to your lack of confidence?"

Pretorius words shut Nokuthula up. With a grin, he went into his prepared speech.

"The petite bourgeoise and elites of the Zulus are unable to access the goods provided by the Boer market. So, I must first ask, why is this so?"

"I serve as their middleman. And all I can say is that you Boers are unwilling to obtain our goods. We offer you leopard skins, ivory, and our produce. But there has not been much uptake."

Putting his hands on the table, Pretorius clasped them together, before gesturing with them.

"To a farmer, what use is your ivory and leopard skin to them? This clash is due to our differences in currency. You and I both value different things. An important thing to you is cattle. Yes, to a certain extent, every Boer I have met desired more cattle. But there comes a certain point where one wants something else other than cattle. Whether it be improved tools from Britain, opium or whatnot, these can't be purchased with cattle."

Pretorius put a coin on the table. It was an extremely polished British Pound Sterling. He slid it across the table passing it to Nokuthula.

Unfazed by the coin, she picked it up to twist and turn it. A few seconds later, she placed it back on the table.

"It's a pound sterling. Nothing special about it."

"This is what is used to buy other goods on a global scale. A man could work hard and earn such a coin in a week. If that man is working and is skilled in the trade, he could earn it in a day. Plus, the coin's head features the King of the United Kingdom of Britain, Ireland and Hannover, William IV. This is so that anyone around the world can recognise him if they have the coin with them."

Nokuthula slid the coin back across the table, and Pretorius kept it in a pouch.

"Here's how I want our trade to be facilitated from now on. Whenever you purchase our goods, you pay our men with this. But if they wish to have cattle, then pay them for cattle. When our men buy goods from you, allow them to pay in either cattle or with the pound sterling. What makes things different from the previous system? In summary, you will accept the pound sterling as currency from now on."

Nokuthula shrugged.

"I won't be able to pay your men in pound sterling as we lack the reserves. It would take some time for traders to pay us in pound sterling so that we can build up an appropriate reserve."

"Over some time, your elites will be able to build an appropriate reserve, and they will have full access to our goods. Now, these coins are not only used in trade with us. No, it is a global currency belonging to Great Britain. Whether you're trading with Portuguese or Dutch or British merchants, they will all bow down to this coin. That is how powerful the coin is."

Nokuthula listened to his words and asked.

"Is that all?"

"That is all. I believe that this arrangement is amiable to your people?"

"I'll have to ask the princess if this is acceptable to her. This does not only concern me. It also concerns the other Zulu chiefs following under the princess."

"If she refuses, is it possible to ask another princess instead? I believe there are multiple Zulu princes and princesses. You can have multiple lovers, yes?"

"That might be the case. But it was Princess Cetshwayo who supported this collaboration. I will not help in your endeavours to open contact with other princesses."

They made small talk about various affairs before the lady of the room arrived.

"Let it be known if conflict does break out. I'll have every one of your Boers massacred. I don't care if your children and wives get caught in the crossfire. Scum from your kind deserves it."

The teenage-looking elf strolled in and spoke in poorly accented Dutch. She was wrapped in copious amounts of leopard skin, but she held a firm gaze and took a seat beside Nokuthula.

Nokuthula began whispering into her ear, likely giving her a rundown of the events.

That firm expression mellowed out and she felt embarrassed from her declaration likely enflaming tensions.

Pretorius looked to the side and scratched the back of his head. He returns to face her with a sagely look of camaraderie.

The Zulu conversations could be heard from the other end of the table. It seems they wanted to let everyone in the room be privy to their expression.

"What? That's reasonable. So did I just mobilize all these men for nothing? How am I going to justify to the various chiefs that I mobilized them for nothing."

The Zulu warriors were exasperated upon hearing her words.

"Princess, you could tell them that it was because of their presence that such a favourable deal hatched. You should thank every one of them for coming personally. I don't think they were looking for a fight, so I'm sure they will be satisfied."

The Princess smiled and left the room to handle the mobilized chiefs.

"I believe that is all. If there is nothing else to discuss, then we can end this meeting." Nokuthula got up from her seat and left the room along with the retinue of armed Zulu warriors.

The Boers heaved a sigh of relief, relieved that combat did not break out during harvesting season. Even if conflict broke out, few were willing to fight. The farmers would only reply to the summons by saying that they would respond in a few months, after harvesting season.

"It looks like that has settled things. I hope you understand that such a favourable outcome was only achieved due to my authority. Next time, if you have to deal with a similar issue, do not be afraid to escalate it to me."

"I will, Pretorius. Thank you for your assistance."

"It's what a good leader should do. They would help their subordinates in need when they can. Now, I shall be stepping down as temporary Commando of Port Mpande. I'll hand the position back to you."

"What about Harrie Victorie?"

"Ahh… the trekkers who tried to initiate a coup? I have deported him and his followers. For daring to take action against you, a representative of me, that showed how little they saw of my authority. Thus, they deserved it. I doubt any of us would shed any tears if we hear of their demise during their trek. They are likely trekking to the region of Transvaal or the Oranje Free State. Veldkornet Vincent, anything to say?"

His father removed the pipe from his mouth and let his eyes lay on his son. Studying his features, he shook his head.

"I have a son too you know. I wouldn't just leave it like that. Oh, I see. It must be me. I'm sorry for intruding in your personal space," Pretorius beat a hasty retreat.

"I got nothing to say though!" Veldkornet Vincent yelled after the fleeing Pretorius and sighed. Putting his tobacco pipe on a table, he turned to face Jan.

"Pretorius is right. If you got any problems, don't be afraid to contact either me or him. We have way more experience dealing with such affairs. This ain't our first rodeo and won't be our last. A newcomer like you will make many mistakes. We'll help you pick yourself back up."

Patting Jan's shoulder, his father followed after Pretorius.

"Wait for me, you bastard! Don't just leave me here!"

He called after Pretorius and ran after him.

"Good to have you back, boss. Pretorius worked me to the bone." The head of Port Mpande's administration greeted him as he entered his office.

"The other task I entrusted you, contact with Belgium machinist merchants? Have you done so?"

"Yes, I have arranged a meeting between the two of you. His ship should be arriving sometime tomorrow."

"Great, do remind me tomorrow."