“We this ohma is of concern with the suffering of Petalweft salts, it is unbecoming of traders to leave our partners worse off for our business. Bring forth the testimonies and metrics!”

The massive beast of the Perilous Puff representative squirmed back and forth within the meeting space. Jaws snapping with eagerness and limbs grasping and snatching in a friendly almost flirtatious manner.

All around it gave Pylo the impression of perhaps a loose and irreverent tone. Lighthearted and jocular in spite of the seriousness that she professed.

[https://i.imgur.com/Gy60waV.png]

The Redweed External Affairs representative who so far had yet to volunteer their name bobbed and flailed cilia in an assertive but calm manner.

A film of display polymers was unfurled from the panels behind them. Drawn by a few motile instruments of one kind or another. Pylo only briefly skimmed the sub-sentient processes of the things to confirm they were not relevant contributors to the proceeds.

The display flickered momentarily and then shined with an expanse of meaningless gibberish as far as pylo could determine. Although the various representatives in attendance turned their gaze to apprehend it.

Pylo skimmed and listened to their own abilities to make sense of it while the minister spoke.

“The clerical stacks of Petalweft salts performed primarily need evaluation and resource allocation works in the resource distribution sector. As well as sundry collating and numeracy processing work for its neighbors and whatever polity wide works could be managed for those ministries and offices over extended in their missions”

Everyone else seemed to find hints of productivity targets, raw data throughput and resource debt balancing and deficiency flagging in the lightshow of meaningless patterns in the display polymer.

It was enough for Pylo to cede that there was probably valid and justified.

The minister continued

“However after the questionably motivated injection of highly volatile agreements into the stack and the rapid resource allocation surplus and then subsequent labor demand crash that precipitated, along with the monumental explosion of debt for the laboring clerk stack population it is expected that Petalweft Salts’ clerical district and via knock on effects the entire community of twelve million citizens will be in a state of total emergency support dependence. This is expected to be even further exacerbated by a catastrophic clerical population explosion as during the boom almost the entire adult population took on reproductive contracts and gestated hundreds if not thousands of offspring each.”

Pylo held back scoffing at that. She needed to stay sharp and follow what everyone else was getting out of this discussion and the flickering display behind the minister.

“As such it is expected that the entire community of Petalweft Salts and its upcoming future population will become an exorbitant drain on the rest of the polity for generations to come. The acts of Pylo Courtesan’s charges have been disastrously injurious to the citizens and serviles of Redweed. We are estimating twelve percent increase in starvation related deaths under our most optimistic efficiencies across the entire polity no matter how well we balance and redistribute. It is liable the death toll will be much worse.”

Pylo turned to the ohma to see if it was satisfied, when it snapped its jaws in affirmation to the slightly lingering way Pylo swayed her distils she took the center of attention.

“These are projections and approximations, estimates about a future that are mired in the perspective of static and short term locals. I am willing to accomodate real and immediate costs to the community of Petalweft Salts for the sake of cordiality and future good dealings in this Port of Redweed but I won’t be held accountable for a disaster waiting to happen! If your internal population centers are so fragile then the very place you are saying my passengers so injured would be long extinct by the time I or any trader returned for dealings with you”

She furled her limbs closed together as she drifted back to cede the focus of the tribunal.

“-Due . Payment . Rendered . Services . Disasters . Against . Tests . Enact . To . Duty . Of . Traders . Trials . For . Inoculation . Disaster . Prevented . Port . Preserved-”

The floating aggregate of machinery and disparate thought centers chimed in.

Although Pylo could see that some of the translation apparatus available to those present seemed to be a bit lagging in digesting that response.

The Ohma boisterously interjected before anyone else could respond/finish translating.

“Elements of the vessel lingering rose! We concur, it is good service by the trader Pylo to crack the faults and weaknesses of the Redweed ecocosm if Petalweft salts’ fragility had been let to spread and rot the infrastructure of the larger port it would be frail and sickly thing. Awaiting the first cruel passer to gouge out its heart and leave the rest of us to scrape at a drained and grist-less corpse of a world”

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

The other traders made gestures or harmonics of agreement. Pylo simply stayed quiet and non-committal. That excuse actually worked in a situation like this? She only knew it was where the bar raid tradition came from.

She and other traders of course clung fiercely to the excuse when they left wakes of property damage in their wake right before lifting off into the future away from all their problems, but she had never heard it used seriously before.

Huh. Learn something new in every port.

The minister seemed disturbed, flaring with several long light patterns before finally settling into verbal discourse.

“Is the tribunal expecting Redweed to pay for the service of destabilizing a territory into utter dependence and as such dragging significant percentiles of citizenry within Redweed into subsistence conditions? We are supposed to pay you for ruining the livelihoods and futures of our citizens? Surely I must be mistaken in the translation treasured guests and traders.”

The representative of Lutish chimed in response, raising a few of its fore-limbs.

It reminded Pylo a little bit of her childhood in its stubby limbedeness and the wide petals of its outfit.

“No it is not in anyone's interest to enact FURTHER costs to the port of Redweed, the price of the lesson is well contained in the failures of your own ecosphere and internal infrastructure. Take heed of the failure points and rebuild with greater robustness to random intrusions in the future.”

The minister seemed ready to flare up with a response before it gestured with head and limbs that it was going to continue.

It was certainly NOT like a child in its motions, there was an aching grinding quality to those movements.

“This act was ultimately to the betterment and health of the Port of Redweed, Use it as a lesson in better practices and more robust markets. However that does not mean that there is not a discrepancy and diservice in these proceedings which the Courier Vessel Tunie and its interests must address.”

Pylo tilted her head at the other trader.

The bulk of the Ohmu hoved over the both of them and snapped its beak with curiosity. Voice and manner keen and friendly with a lust for gossip.

“Oh-ho-tee-la! Is there an imbalance you see? Elaborate for us!”

The jerky, grinding limbs of the lutish representative bowed a bit to each of them and the minister.

“I believe the vessel of Tunie was quite over-paid in grist for its stored trade of goods as a sign of good will on the part of Redweed? Considering the rise of their sudden need it only seems fair that Pylo Courtesan take on a relief contract with them to repay the favor?”

Pylo whirled around to consider the rest of the tribunal, someone was trying to sneak her and Tunie to be the ones footing the bill in this matter a lot worse then she was expecting. Contracts could be dangerously termed!

She spoke up sharply but as politely toned as she could manage.

“It is not I hope the habit of those present for the tribunal to volunteer a fellow trade ship’s holds on a contract burden they themselves are unwilling too! I and Tunie are very appreciative of the full stores we have been given in grist but I’d hate that any other vessels who have received such generosity were trying to get away without offering their own aide in Redweed’s difficulties.”

The minister spoke softly into the mulling silence that the other traders were unwilling to fill and make themselves a target for ‘charity’ and giving up their own covetous stores of fuel and other valuables from the port.

“What relief services would the Traders be proposing to serve Redweed’s needs that could resolve the issues in Petalweft Salts if not significant resources for recovery from damages?”

The lutish representative was smug up and down its body length and practically sang in delight in every distributed node of its intelligence.

“Why emmigration of course! If Redweed’s resources are being strained by an imminent population boom and damaged ability to feed and house its citizens in Petalweft Salts it is the ideal time for the Trade vessels to offer what is ultimately their greatest ability to serve this need. Passage for the citizens of Redweed to better ventures!”

Pylo had a sudden premonition of thousands of chaotic demanding passengers.

Filling Tunie’s holds bulging to absolute capacity.

Dragging on their transits with heavy bulky gasses and water!

She momentarily lost track of what else was said while she entertained the horror.