on rereading the last few chapters i wonder if our successes at the conferences will push the fact that we knighted nunnally (and implied that we are boinking her) will get pushed into the background as old news or if our newfound fame will cause it to get more of an reaction than it would otherwise have
Semper Ad Meliora (Code Geass/Britannian Royalty Quest)
- Thread starter Slayer Anderson
- Start date
- Sci-Fi
- Location
- SF Bay Area
Similarly, I am wondering if we might have made an error in bringing Euphie to Indonesia and Milly to Tunguska. If we had brought Euphie to Tunguska, we might have been able to get some influence with the Euro-Brittanians, and maybe made some inroads with Europe since in the words of Milly, Euphie is an excellent political manipulator. Similarly Milly might have benefited more from Indonesia and maybe have secured the deal for Brittanian Knightmares in Indonesia.
Although to be fair at the time we made the choice who was going where we didn't know Euphie had Romanov blood, and we were slightly miffed that she signed us up for a conference without asking.
Although to be fair at the time we made the choice who was going where we didn't know Euphie had Romanov blood, and we were slightly miffed that she signed us up for a conference without asking.
We brought Kaguya to Indonesia, and I think that worked out fairly well all things considered. That being said Euphie for this conference would have been prudent in hindsight.
I think our choices were rather good. Especially in hindsight.
First of all not taking Kaguya to Indonesia would have turned out catastrophic in hindsight. First of all the choice who goes where was in turn 8. Before we even found out about the attack. If Kaguya was not part of our delegation we most likely wouldn't have gotten the option to tell her about the attack. Simply because she didn't have the "need to know". Even with us taking her we had to choose if we would warn her beforehand. And without the warning and other interactions Kaguya wouldn't have sent the letter. Mostly because we wouldn't have taken her Personal action (major argument for it was that we were padding our chances of success for the Indonesia Conference). No letter means no Chinese cavalry at the last moment. Without the Chinese reinforcements we would have had to retreat. The orders to start retreating were about to be given when the fleet was spotted. And that would turn the result from "holding the line against overwhelming forces and winning" to "a decent combat showing but it was still a retreat in the end". Taking into account that Slayer stated that if we hadn't taken the actions we did and were so lucky in our rolls we would have been caught by surprise and forced to make a fighting escape while most likely protecting some delegates.
As for the Tunguska conference. While Euphie could play some politics and help us on the international stage she wouldn't be the best choice for our long term goals. We want to be part of the space race. At least I want and enough voted to start Hashima tech tree that I don't think I am alone. By taking the major industrialist who is allied to us we got an early start on negotiations with the Steiner Konzern. We have a real chance of getting them to work with us and the Ashfords instead of Guinevere. The Steiner are allied with/under the Weinbergs. The Weinbergs are mostly on Guinevere side but through allowing Gino to work with us keep their options somewhat opened. If we don't get the Steiner to work with us ASAP then our industrialist sister who likes to work on bigger projects will most likely use her contacts to snatch them up. Which will increase our competition.
Euphy would most likely help with the ruffled feathers and might have gotten us the samples without starting a generational feud with Euro Britannia but I as we aren't really focused on playing in Africa or Europe interacting with the other delegations would be spreading us to thin. We don't want to open to many fronts for our limited actions to deal with.
As to the samples I am curious what will be the DC for grabbing some of them with an Intrigue action.
First of all not taking Kaguya to Indonesia would have turned out catastrophic in hindsight. First of all the choice who goes where was in turn 8. Before we even found out about the attack. If Kaguya was not part of our delegation we most likely wouldn't have gotten the option to tell her about the attack. Simply because she didn't have the "need to know". Even with us taking her we had to choose if we would warn her beforehand. And without the warning and other interactions Kaguya wouldn't have sent the letter. Mostly because we wouldn't have taken her Personal action (major argument for it was that we were padding our chances of success for the Indonesia Conference). No letter means no Chinese cavalry at the last moment. Without the Chinese reinforcements we would have had to retreat. The orders to start retreating were about to be given when the fleet was spotted. And that would turn the result from "holding the line against overwhelming forces and winning" to "a decent combat showing but it was still a retreat in the end". Taking into account that Slayer stated that if we hadn't taken the actions we did and were so lucky in our rolls we would have been caught by surprise and forced to make a fighting escape while most likely protecting some delegates.
As for the Tunguska conference. While Euphie could play some politics and help us on the international stage she wouldn't be the best choice for our long term goals. We want to be part of the space race. At least I want and enough voted to start Hashima tech tree that I don't think I am alone. By taking the major industrialist who is allied to us we got an early start on negotiations with the Steiner Konzern. We have a real chance of getting them to work with us and the Ashfords instead of Guinevere. The Steiner are allied with/under the Weinbergs. The Weinbergs are mostly on Guinevere side but through allowing Gino to work with us keep their options somewhat opened. If we don't get the Steiner to work with us ASAP then our industrialist sister who likes to work on bigger projects will most likely use her contacts to snatch them up. Which will increase our competition.
Euphy would most likely help with the ruffled feathers and might have gotten us the samples without starting a generational feud with Euro Britannia but I as we aren't really focused on playing in Africa or Europe interacting with the other delegations would be spreading us to thin. We don't want to open to many fronts for our limited actions to deal with.
As to the samples I am curious what will be the DC for grabbing some of them with an Intrigue action.
- Location
- Brazil
Maybe one of the pirates can smuggle it.
- Location
- South of North
It depends on exactly what you'd want to achieve.
...and as much as these are hindsight observations, I'll go on records as saying that there's yet more information about other things that will make you reconsider these reconsiderations at a later point as well.
What I will reveal is that the characters chosen to accompany you were far from the worst combinations you could have chosen to go with.
- Location
- Pennsylvania
I am vibrating with anticipation of the next update!
Also, fun fact I just found out, Armenia was ruled by a royal family at one point that claimed descent from a mythical fae sea creature linked to the island of Avalon:
Melusine or Melusina is a figure of European folklore and mythology, a female spirit of freshwater in a sacred spring or river, usually depicted as a woman who is a serpent or fish from the waist down, much like a two-tailed mermaid. She is sometimes referred to as the Serpent Mother of European Royalty. https://atlanteangardens.blogspot.com... According to the book, "The Serpent And The Swan: The Animal Bride In Folklore And Literature," the name "Melusine" was used as an abbreviation of the words 'Mere des Lusignan' or 'Mother of the Lusignans.' The House of Lusignan was a royal house of French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, from the 12th through the 15th centuries during the Middle Ages. Although her prominence has faded she still continues to cling on in popular culture due to her usage as the logo for the Starbucks coffee corporation.
- Location
- Space
I don't think his population, or he will accept that, also there are pretty much lot of other ways beside Brittanian feudal oaths that are just as good in binding him to us . From trade deals binding our economy together with various pirate polities ,to military league's to bind our militaries together all worded in a form in which Weber can justify as not selling democracy for a title to his population while still having same effect as him accepting us as his feudal overlord.
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- Location
- Pennsylvania
They could do what Canada did IRL. Acknowledge Charles as their symbolic sovereign and basically agree to fight our enemies but otherwise be independent.
When the overt pirates and criminals are dealt with, the SIC is going to be an incredibly thorny issue. The population is vividly anti-Britannia, look at these excerpts from their dossier: ""Their ruling council does understand exactly what killing a member of the royal family would do to them, even if much of their populous would prefer to attack New Caledonia if they knew a royal had taken it as his base." "Given their independent mentality this will likely require overwhelming force or the devil's own tongue to bargain them into surrender. The best outcome would likely involve guaranteeing them some form of self-governance in exchange for disarmament, though you would have to convince them of the worth of your word. Expect a professional and dedicated mindset in their armed forces, likely coupled with a belief in their own sovereignty."
Surrendering sovereignty is THE big no for them, so getting them to voluntarily surrender it seems extremely difficult. Frankly, I don't really see an endgame that can maintain our alliance. If there is one, it'd have to be after a lot of shared existential struggle against outside groups.
Surrendering sovereignty is THE big no for them, so getting them to voluntarily surrender it seems extremely difficult. Frankly, I don't really see an endgame that can maintain our alliance. If there is one, it'd have to be after a lot of shared existential struggle against outside groups.
Mazeka
You must be joking
- Location
- United States
Speaking of pirates, I just realized something: It's been 271 pages in since the Pirate Dossiers mentioned Roanapur, and there's only been one mention of Black Lagoon.
Anyone want to hazard a guess as to the gang's AU misadventures in Northern Australia?
Anyone want to hazard a guess as to the gang's AU misadventures in Northern Australia?
- Location
- SF Bay Area
I did have a thought at some point for an omake where an analyst that works for the Ashford Conglomerate named... Jeremiah Stonehill... Got abducted while traveling in the Coral Sea By a group of pirates. The idea was that this guy was an unintended casualty of Kaguya and Milly's ploy for knightmares. Along the way they encounter Becky, a Brittanian citizen from Manhattan who (following numerous thievery and murder charges in the Empire) fled the Homeland, and found work on a patrol boat out of Roanapur, and known for using a pair of pistols in combat. Sorta give a recap of the first arc of Black Lagoon where "Stone" is now the business manager of the Great Barrier Company out of Roanapur. Also was going to imply that Becky was a sort of recurring enemy of Greta as she always "just slipped through her fingers". I had a vague idea that the "Great Barrier Company" got hired for a job infiltrating New Caledonia or Bourgainville and the whole thing turns into a comedy of errors similar to the rescue of the Princess from the Death Star.
Ultimately the omake fell apart for a few reasons. Couldn't figure out who would be hunting "Stone" in the opening arc, could have been Kaguya's father but at the time we didn't know much about him. The timing also didn't work. The last problem I figured that Stone, Becky and the rest of the Great Barrier Company got away from Greta due to sheer absurdity of their plans... and for the life of me I couldn't think of how that would be done. Let's be honest Greta's not going to bring just a helicopter after all.
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Mazeka
You must be joking
- Location
- United States
Have Rock remain a Japanese salaryman, employed by a small accounting company being bought out by Sumeragi. As Rock was unwittingly assisting in some of the company's less-than-savory activities, the company burns his files and leave him for dead.
Becky (Revy) and Benny are wanted by ISA for homicide and hacking respectively, and Dutch is a gun runner with an unknown past in West Africa.
Greta would never be seen or be involved at all, only spoken of in conversation as "The Butcher of the South Sea", the new boogeyman out to slaughter them all.
- Location
- SF Bay Area
Well great now I got to write the dang thing.
The Atelier of the Prince – Part 1 by meianmaru - Canon (+10 Omake Bonus)
meianmaru
The Devourer of Fiction
A word of warning, this omake contains spoilers to Warframe due to me using it as a source from which to steal ideas for inspiration. None of the really recent stuff, and really only relating to a name of one object important to the plot, but if you want to avoid anything even touching to Waframe's main plot, I suggest you avoid this omake too.
*****
The Atelier of the Prince – Part 1
Entry 1
As I record this, my private workshop in what Crowley and his followers are starting to simply call "the Temple" is nearing its finished state. While the members of the psionic research team are still not yet even approaching the strength that seems to be the average among the craftsmen of the New Heaven, several of the methods I have shared with the researchers, when combined with their previous studies, seem to have allowed them to at least compete with the pirates in sheer skill. With that, and what I can only call excellent cooperative techniques made possible through the utility of rudimentary telepathy, has resulted in them sychronizing their use of psionics in a way that has them approaching a point where their assistance is actually useful. With this, I can say that this particular pet project of mine is being completed ahead of time, with only a couple of minor issues requiring my direct oversight.
Indeed, I must compliment Crowley and his research team. The fervor they display towards completing my orders, while slightly off-putting even when directed to a royal, has its uses. With excellent work-ethic being one of them, apparently.
On the workshop itself: When I compare it to the fragmented memory-recordings of the ancient master alchemist-craftsman, or at least those parts that I have managed to internalize and comprehend, it comes up short. With no chance yet to integrate the advances of the modern science and technology, not to mention whatever Jaeger will be able to potentially contribute once I make sure that he can be trusted with this knowledge, well. Lets just say that whatever tools I have made myself, or have directed to make? They would have been seen as so primitive and crude that no real craftsman of the ancients would have deigned to touch them, or even allowed their apprentices to work with.
Not to mention those tools being very limited in numbers, as I have not had the time to yet introduce to my "students" the methods of making anything other than sakuradite, with which they have luckily reached a passable degree of speed while shaping, and actually quite excellent precision when creating it out of the seed material.
Regardless, the tools are mostly just rods made out of psionically-made materials, with primitive sakuradite "circuits" imbeded into their surface. They give me a slight edge to focusing my telekinesis to appropriate patterns when creating, molding or analyzing the same type of material as the rod, though I think that Crowley and the others might benefit from this effect more, especially while their own training remains still incomplete.
However, to make better tools you need the tools to make them, and so on. This should luckily be easy enough to address. What I need is just time to replicate and perfect my use of the recorded techniques, then pass on the basics to the research team and guide them to perfect their own mastery. After they become competent enough to work without my direct and constant oversight, basic toolmaking should be well in their ability, and I will be able to focus on the more complex problems, like my idly theorized hybridization development.
Also, this will at the very least make analyzing the glut of psionic weapons we have come into possession of easier, a high priority as some of them are only on a loan. This way, I hopefully won't have to do the majority of the analysis-work myself and then pass on what I know to Crowley, but instead have my underlings understand what they are seeing when looking at a complete end-product. Even if I have to teach them how to actually make those same end-products, concrete samples should be extremely helpful for them to get a better grasp for what they are aiming for, and even useful for myself to clear up some of the intricasies in the more complex parts of the designs shown in the memories, that still remain somewhat shrouded to me.
Meanwhile, as that project is being finished, hopefully before I have to leave for the second conference I am visiting this year (may it be less eventful than the last one), I tinkered on a project based on what could be almost said to be a sudden whimsy.
The Crystalline Orb, or the Ancient Orb as Crowley has started calling it... The warning flung from our forgotten past to our current now, and the reason why I still wake up occasionally covered in cold sweat and in the throes of existential horror... Its idea was conceived in suicidal grief, and crafted with the intent of bitter rage aimed at the Destroyers. As such, perfecting its primary functionality guided the design of its shape, its beauty and ease of use only an incidental concern, aside from the Orb being distinct enough that it would draw the attention of the eye.
As such, I've decided to add a very slight modification to it. Not the internals of the orb itself, as we are nowhere near even to blindly aping an inferior copy of it, let alone changing the functions of the only existing artifact of its kind.
No, I have simply decided to slot it into a pendant of my own making, harkening back to the aesthetics of the civilization that made it, in the ways how they shaped this gold-seeming material of theirs. This does not improve the ease of delving into its depths by more than a miniscule amount, accomplished by slightly "tuning" the connection to my own psionics via three small interface-ports now holding the orb connected to the rest of the pendant. Note that this effect works currently only for me, as the interface on the surface-layer of the orb is already baffingly complex and well-optimized for interfacing with a relatively broad range of minds. Future tunings for the device or its copies will likely require personalization for each individual separately.
As banal it might sound, the main purpose of the modifications is to have the chain of the pendant there just so that I don't have to hold the Orb in my hands while using it. Because more than trying to improve upon the design of an advanced psionic data-storage device that we still don't fully understand, this was more of a test about seeing if I myself can make something that works together with something this advanced, or at least not hinder its original functionality. With no issues that I can detect, I think I can safely deem this test a minor success. It could be even incorporated into future designs, as a psionic data-storage/-computation device that would always be available to you instantly with only a literal thought has a variety of uses.
And then there is something that has to be said about symbols.
This is the only known comprehensive recording of the human civilization of our ancestors, whose advances in the mysteries of the mind still exceeds ours. Not only that, but its almost a perfect recording of everything that makes the man who made it at the moment just before his death him, without the recording being that man himself.
The glimpses of the strength, utility and beauty of that civilization, and the man who imprinted it into an immortal recording. Compressed into a jewel the size of the palm of my hand.
And yet, it has no name.
It is something truly unique, crafted by the hands of a genius gone mad with their loss. Its idea formerly a vague shape, idly daydreamed at their peak of civilization, and only laboriously finished in the agonizing years after the end with their dwindling tools. And then, to exceed what was possible with what was at hand... A sacrifice. To burn the shadow of the man, his civilization, and the warning of Destroyers lurking in the void into its crystal depths. A man and the cosmos in one.
Such thing has only one fitting name. I name you... Vitruvian.
*****
The Atelier of the Prince – Part 1
Entry 1
As I record this, my private workshop in what Crowley and his followers are starting to simply call "the Temple" is nearing its finished state. While the members of the psionic research team are still not yet even approaching the strength that seems to be the average among the craftsmen of the New Heaven, several of the methods I have shared with the researchers, when combined with their previous studies, seem to have allowed them to at least compete with the pirates in sheer skill. With that, and what I can only call excellent cooperative techniques made possible through the utility of rudimentary telepathy, has resulted in them sychronizing their use of psionics in a way that has them approaching a point where their assistance is actually useful. With this, I can say that this particular pet project of mine is being completed ahead of time, with only a couple of minor issues requiring my direct oversight.
Indeed, I must compliment Crowley and his research team. The fervor they display towards completing my orders, while slightly off-putting even when directed to a royal, has its uses. With excellent work-ethic being one of them, apparently.
On the workshop itself: When I compare it to the fragmented memory-recordings of the ancient master alchemist-craftsman, or at least those parts that I have managed to internalize and comprehend, it comes up short. With no chance yet to integrate the advances of the modern science and technology, not to mention whatever Jaeger will be able to potentially contribute once I make sure that he can be trusted with this knowledge, well. Lets just say that whatever tools I have made myself, or have directed to make? They would have been seen as so primitive and crude that no real craftsman of the ancients would have deigned to touch them, or even allowed their apprentices to work with.
Not to mention those tools being very limited in numbers, as I have not had the time to yet introduce to my "students" the methods of making anything other than sakuradite, with which they have luckily reached a passable degree of speed while shaping, and actually quite excellent precision when creating it out of the seed material.
Regardless, the tools are mostly just rods made out of psionically-made materials, with primitive sakuradite "circuits" imbeded into their surface. They give me a slight edge to focusing my telekinesis to appropriate patterns when creating, molding or analyzing the same type of material as the rod, though I think that Crowley and the others might benefit from this effect more, especially while their own training remains still incomplete.
However, to make better tools you need the tools to make them, and so on. This should luckily be easy enough to address. What I need is just time to replicate and perfect my use of the recorded techniques, then pass on the basics to the research team and guide them to perfect their own mastery. After they become competent enough to work without my direct and constant oversight, basic toolmaking should be well in their ability, and I will be able to focus on the more complex problems, like my idly theorized hybridization development.
Also, this will at the very least make analyzing the glut of psionic weapons we have come into possession of easier, a high priority as some of them are only on a loan. This way, I hopefully won't have to do the majority of the analysis-work myself and then pass on what I know to Crowley, but instead have my underlings understand what they are seeing when looking at a complete end-product. Even if I have to teach them how to actually make those same end-products, concrete samples should be extremely helpful for them to get a better grasp for what they are aiming for, and even useful for myself to clear up some of the intricasies in the more complex parts of the designs shown in the memories, that still remain somewhat shrouded to me.
Meanwhile, as that project is being finished, hopefully before I have to leave for the second conference I am visiting this year (may it be less eventful than the last one), I tinkered on a project based on what could be almost said to be a sudden whimsy.
The Crystalline Orb, or the Ancient Orb as Crowley has started calling it... The warning flung from our forgotten past to our current now, and the reason why I still wake up occasionally covered in cold sweat and in the throes of existential horror... Its idea was conceived in suicidal grief, and crafted with the intent of bitter rage aimed at the Destroyers. As such, perfecting its primary functionality guided the design of its shape, its beauty and ease of use only an incidental concern, aside from the Orb being distinct enough that it would draw the attention of the eye.
As such, I've decided to add a very slight modification to it. Not the internals of the orb itself, as we are nowhere near even to blindly aping an inferior copy of it, let alone changing the functions of the only existing artifact of its kind.
No, I have simply decided to slot it into a pendant of my own making, harkening back to the aesthetics of the civilization that made it, in the ways how they shaped this gold-seeming material of theirs. This does not improve the ease of delving into its depths by more than a miniscule amount, accomplished by slightly "tuning" the connection to my own psionics via three small interface-ports now holding the orb connected to the rest of the pendant. Note that this effect works currently only for me, as the interface on the surface-layer of the orb is already baffingly complex and well-optimized for interfacing with a relatively broad range of minds. Future tunings for the device or its copies will likely require personalization for each individual separately.
As banal it might sound, the main purpose of the modifications is to have the chain of the pendant there just so that I don't have to hold the Orb in my hands while using it. Because more than trying to improve upon the design of an advanced psionic data-storage device that we still don't fully understand, this was more of a test about seeing if I myself can make something that works together with something this advanced, or at least not hinder its original functionality. With no issues that I can detect, I think I can safely deem this test a minor success. It could be even incorporated into future designs, as a psionic data-storage/-computation device that would always be available to you instantly with only a literal thought has a variety of uses.
And then there is something that has to be said about symbols.
This is the only known comprehensive recording of the human civilization of our ancestors, whose advances in the mysteries of the mind still exceeds ours. Not only that, but its almost a perfect recording of everything that makes the man who made it at the moment just before his death him, without the recording being that man himself.
The glimpses of the strength, utility and beauty of that civilization, and the man who imprinted it into an immortal recording. Compressed into a jewel the size of the palm of my hand.
And yet, it has no name.
It is something truly unique, crafted by the hands of a genius gone mad with their loss. Its idea formerly a vague shape, idly daydreamed at their peak of civilization, and only laboriously finished in the agonizing years after the end with their dwindling tools. And then, to exceed what was possible with what was at hand... A sacrifice. To burn the shadow of the man, his civilization, and the warning of Destroyers lurking in the void into its crystal depths. A man and the cosmos in one.
Such thing has only one fitting name. I name you... Vitruvian.
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- Location
- South of North
Just a status update, the next chapter is under construction still, but this week's been pretty crazy.
A friend of mine who runs a local game store had jury duty and I was called on to sub for some of the work they needed doing, in addition to my regular gig. So I've basically been pulling double-shifts this week, in addition to my mother's birthday having been (checks time) yesterday, now. I've got one more shift to pull tomorrow, then things should relax. Right now, update's looking like Sunday or Monday.
Thank you for your patience.
A friend of mine who runs a local game store had jury duty and I was called on to sub for some of the work they needed doing, in addition to my regular gig. So I've basically been pulling double-shifts this week, in addition to my mother's birthday having been (checks time) yesterday, now. I've got one more shift to pull tomorrow, then things should relax. Right now, update's looking like Sunday or Monday.
Thank you for your patience.
- Location
- USA
Sorry you have so much on your plate right now, but thanks for the update and we are all looking forward to the next chapter!
Tunguska Conference: Part IV
- Location
- South of North
Tunguska Conference: Part IV
As surprising as it is, your suspicions were ultimately correct.
By the end of your conversations regarding sakuradite trade, you were beginning to suspect a much more complicated political situation in the Japanese upper political echelons than was at first apparent. You didn't particularly believe this would cause anything like a true party-schism for the nation of islands. After all, though they purported to allow multiple political groups in their election system, in practice the Progressive Democratic Party held a near death-grip on the national-level diet and had for over thirty years after the reorganization of the government following the Pacific War.
But, more relevantly, the impressively conservative and nationalist political party had enjoyed even greater majority shares of the vote following the fallout of the Taiwanese Liberation Front terrorist attacks.
Perhaps it was a case of too much success?
But, for whatever reason, Hachiro Sumeragi had given you his personal promise that as soon as the first shipment of sakuradite arrived in a Japanese dockyard, he would break off his daughter's engagement to Suzaku Kururugi, 'freeing her' to act as a long-term liaison to you, personally.
He had initially balked at the idea of receiving only half of the initially-proposed loads of sakuradite in exchange for the bargain, but you'd managed to talk him around by pointing out that, in relying on the Stadtfeld shipping interests to do the hauling, the exchanges could get underway almost immediately. There was also the fact that, for all that Japan was not going to monopolize your bargaining chip, they would know exactly how much of the precious resource would be moved, where it was going, and how often shipments would be underway. While the market would shake up a bit from this news, that knowledge would doubtlessly allow Hachiro's bloc within the Kyoto Group to further consolidate their Zaibatsu's hold.
Problems, after all, are just opportunities in disguise.
"Those were impressive negotiating tactics," Milly praised with a smirk on her face. "I suppose it doesn't hurt that you managed to secure Kaguya's stay on the island indefinitely as well."
You roll your eyes lightly. "Depending on if Li Xingke becomes a long-term fixture on New Caledonia as well, I very much do not relish the thought of attempting to corral such a high-ranking Chinese Federation official without her skills."
Milly chuckles. "I see, I see... and as she's now going to be a formal part of your retinue, what... position will she be assuming?"
This time you cut the blonde a mild glare. "I'll likely give her the choice of which department she wishes to work under, unless you have an idea as to where her skills would be best applied?"
Milly looked skyward for a moment, considering the subject. "Well, her most obvious talents lie in diplomacy and stewardship-related tasks and you don't have a subordinate to look after the latter, yet."
You... had been thinking of offering Milly the position, but would she bring it up like this if she, herself, hadn't considered the alternative? Kaguya, from what you know of her, would be a worthwhile candidate to take over your island's finances and building projects. She would also be remaining on New Caledonia almost year-round, as opposed to Millicent, who would need to commute between your island and the homeland at least a few times every year.
It's something worth considering.
For later.
"In any event, I'll need to see what Kaguya herself has to say on these recent developments," you wave her off, "any speculation on tasks I could set her to is pointless unless I secure a certain level of cooperation from her."
Milly hummed and seemed to agree with you, or at least demonstrated a willingness to put the discussion aside for the moment. You had other business to discuss, as well.
"...it's not that I don't agree with you about the security concerns, Lelouch," Milly shook her head. "I simply think you're overestimating the vulnerabilities it would expose the island to. You will need to allow a broader range of civilian traffic into your port at some point and this was a great opportunity."
You frown a bit, almost a scowl. "As I've said, though, there are operations which are more important than you know at the moment which I can't in good conscience endanger simply for a cut of tax revenue."
Milly huffed, the motion turning into a sigh. "As you say, then, your highness."
You grimaced, that never boded well.
"Should I suppose that Duke Stadtfeld's vessels will be exempt from this declaration?" She presses with a raised eyebrow.
Biting back a groan, you silently affirm you were correct. "I do not anticipate much traffic from the duke, honestly. The arrangement I hope to present him with would see his ships make port in the Philippines, more likely than New Caledonia. Perhaps Nunnally's lands, even."
"But they will occasionally?" Milly pushes further.
You grudgingly nod. "On rare occasion, yes, I have seen ships under his flag make their way to and from Area Eight in the south. Owing to our mutual understanding, I have allowed them safe harbor in those instances."
"And have you suffered any espionage attempts?" Milly asks, crossing her arms under her chest with the look of a woman about to capitalize on a victory.
Raw Rolls: 61 (Infiltrators) vs. 64 (Shinobi) (Shinobi have much higher bonuses, easy victory.)
"We have." You state bluntly, bringing your glass to your mouth to disguise your smirk at the half-second of stunned surprise on her face.
"Lulu, wha-" She cuts herself off, scowling.
"They're tertiary operatives, or worse," you wave her off. "People who are hired by someone, who are in turn hired by someone, who are hired by yet another person, and so on and so forth. None of them know their pay masters and following the trails back almost always leads to dead ends. Inference shows the likely suspects, though: a few of the pirate leaders in Australia, the governor of Area Eight, a few that we might be able to pin on the EU. That sort of thing. There have been a few close calls here and there, but my security people are reasonably sure no one has slipped through."
Milly's shoulders slump. "Very well, Lelouch vi Britannia, I'll concede the point that you might be in the right, here, just don't make a habit of it."
Of what, Milly, proving you wrong?
But then, you suppose she has a point. No one, least of all intelligent and beautiful women, enjoy being proven incorrect in their reasonable assertions.
You frown as you look at Grigoy Abrahamian, considering the situation his nation finds itself in, and come to a decision. Pulling off your glove, you grasp the ring your mother gave you, the ring which bears the Vi Britannia crest, and hold it out to the man, who starts in surprise as he accepts the stamped silver band. With only a moment's hesitation, you drop it into his palm.
"This is the part of the conversation where I try to convince you that Britannia would make a good ally, particularly since our conquest of the nearby regions will soon mean we are in a position to open trade with you." You stated, then take a sip of your drink. "But anything in that vein would be blatantly self-serving to the point it would convince you of nothing."
Grigoy frowns and looks at the ring you handed him. "Then..."
You nod. "Take my ring. It is a sign of my favor towards your plight. Present it to whomever appoints your diplomats and inform them that presenting it to my sister Cornelia will cause her to hear you out with the gravity your case deserves."
Gears turn behind suddenly-sharp eyes. "You say, specifically, your sister?"
"Indeed," you state, finishing off your drink. "Britannian generals, though undoubtedly skilled, are political beasts. That is not to say Cornelia remains free from entanglements entirely, but my sister places great value on a people's force of arms, honor, loyalty, and other less substantial qualities than lucrative friendships. The ring I've given you will not speak for your polity, merely ensure that when you speak, you are heard."
"I see," the man nods, sketching a poor, if recognizable bow. "You have my thanks, your highness. Though... is your ring not quite valuable?"
The implicit question, of course, is obvious.
You chuckle, a bit darkly. "A signet ring bequeathed from any of my siblings would have the weight of history behind it, no doubt handed down for generations. My mother won her station as Empress through personal achievement after beginning life as a commoner." You motion to the ring. "It is only some dozen years old and, should it be lost, another can be made. Should it be lost in the service of aiding a nation, I think that a worthy price. Disregarding anything unfortunate, my sister will return it to me with a letter of chastisement over my behavior."
Abrahamian stares at you for a long moment, then nods. "Though I cannot speak for anyone in my government, I will do my utmost to see that your offer is given the weight it deserves, your highness. If it is not, I will ensure the return of your ring, personally."
You part on good terms.
Assassination Attempt:
???: 86+15+10+15= 126 // Crit: 05+26= 31
Shinobi Bodyguards: 79+14+20+10= 123 // Crit: 27+23= 50
Exfiltration Attempt:
???: 73+20+10= 103 // Crit: 14+03= 17
Euro-Britannian Military Police: 70+19+10+20= 119 // Crit: 46+19= 65
Capture, or... ?
???: 71+??= ??
???: 86+15+10+15= 126 // Crit: 05+26= 31
Shinobi Bodyguards: 79+14+20+10= 123 // Crit: 27+23= 50
Exfiltration Attempt:
???: 73+20+10= 103 // Crit: 14+03= 17
Euro-Britannian Military Police: 70+19+10+20= 119 // Crit: 46+19= 65
Capture, or... ?
???: 71+??= ??
A mere ten hours before you were planning to leave, one of your bodyguards felt something was amiss with the loading crew for your plane. After your stay had been unexpectedly extended to account for 'engine trouble,' and a few of your agents had put the suspect crew members under surveillance, their suspicions had been borne out when it was discovered that your plane's lubricants had been laced with an advanced magnetically-activated explosive.
You sigh as you finish skimming the report, Milly anxious at your side. Given some of the tricks your bodyguards had used, you hadn't allowed her to read the entire thing, but it was impossible not to inform her of the broad strokes of the situation.
"...and to the best of your knowledge, our hosts haven't decided to hide away any survivors?" You ask, dropping the document on the table with a flat noise.
"No, sire," the squad captain replies, his body stiff at attention. "A pair of my subordinates were able to account for all of the enemy operatives' bodies. Two of them used suicide pills while the third detonated some form of explosives. Analyses are still underway to determine the origin of what equipment could be salvaged."
You lean back and cross your arms. "I'll save them the trouble; everything will point to Euro-Britannian, Rus, or European military surplus. It would be easy to believe any of the three would make an attempt on my life, regardless of the political realities behind such an act."
Rubbing at your eyes, you turn to Milly. "I think it best if we let sleeping dogs lie in this case. Once the plane is triple-checked for repairs and further sabotage by the crew Jeanne is sending, we'll head back to New Caledonia by way of Tokyo."
"I think that sounds good," Milly nods, obviously attempting to relax. "Though it is good to know that your men are so skilled. It will set my grandfather's mind at ease next year when I take up residence on your island full-time."
Millicent Ashford SL Progresses +1 to Rank 4.
You blink, taken aback by the declaration, and Milly giggles at the look on your face even as Kallen, leaning against the doorway and obviously very armed, rolls her eyes. Nunnally would probably be in on the mockery as well, were she not sitting in a multi-meter tall war machine in a cordon surrounding the temporary safehouse you'd taken up.
The blonde flicks her hair back, "really, Lulu, this was something of a dress rehearsal to quiet the naysayers on the Conglomerate's board of directors. There were plenty of fuddy-duddies who wanted to see me married off to advance the business' interests, after all." She basks in the moment. "This has more than proven my grandfather's stance in supporting my decision to further cement our alliance with your family."
You... suppose you will need to make a decision, then.
Milly will...
[ ] [MA] Assign Milly to direct your Stewardship Department
[ ] [MA] Assign Milly in a subordinate role to...
-[ ] Diplomacy
-[ ] Learning
-[ ] Stewardship
...and you suppose you will need to address the matter of Kaguya earlier than anticipated as well. The Sumeragi heiress will...
[ ] [KS] Assign Kaguya to direct your Stewardship Department
[ ] [KS] Assign Kaguya in a surbordinate role to...
-[ ] Stewardship
-[ ] Diplomacy
-[ ] Her choice of departments.
QM's Note: I was totally planning an assassination scene where someone tried to kill Lelouch, but quite honestly, I'm a little exhausted with this turn so I just let the dice dictate what happened. If there had been significant consequences, there would have been a vote, but this was something of a rush-job given everything and odds weren't good for it to even seriously endanger you. If they'd managed to beat your bodyguards, there still would have been rolls by the military police to discover the plot.
In the event of voters recommending both Kaguya and Milly for the Stewardship position, there will be a run-off.
ONE HOUR MORATORIUM! DO NOT VOTE FOR ONE HOUR!
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@Slayer Anderson Everything past this point has become invisible text for some reason. I thought the site was glitching out at first.
- Location
- South of North
Fixed. Misplaced pair of brackets.
Mors
Searching for immanence
Ninajs, bitches. Ninjas.
I'm sad we didn't get an actual scene of the assassination attempt, but the ?? in the capture roll really makes me the think the cabal after our mado scientisto is the one behind this.
- Location
- Goose Land
I'm thinking Milly for Stewardship and letting Kaguya choose.
Should help a bit for the fact that we basically bought her service from her father.
Should help a bit for the fact that we basically bought her service from her father.
Overall a quite successful trip, and we're finally on the home stretch of this year!
In regards to the vote, a reminder about the two stewardship focus areas they each have. Personally I think Milly's focus is better for our circumstances while also being the better political pick. So I favor her for the lead job. Kaguya would do fine working in either department so I don't have strong feelings there.
In regards to the vote, a reminder about the two stewardship focus areas they each have. Personally I think Milly's focus is better for our circumstances while also being the better political pick. So I favor her for the lead job. Kaguya would do fine working in either department so I don't have strong feelings there.
Right, in terms of suitability for the stewardship position, in pure stat terms there is no difference between Kaguya and Milly who are both at 21.
Amusingly, I think that this means that both of them would have the lowest specialist stat of any of our advisor positions.
That means we should be looking at what else they might do.
One thing I will note is that our Stewardship dept is currently being used to mask our spy network:
Kaguya is very, very good so I'd be aware of the possibility she could see through this. We'll need to move to secure her loyalty either way though, so its a judgement call on how much this concerns you.
Amusingly, I think that this means that both of them would have the lowest specialist stat of any of our advisor positions.
That means we should be looking at what else they might do.
One thing I will note is that our Stewardship dept is currently being used to mask our spy network:
Kaguya is very, very good so I'd be aware of the possibility she could see through this. We'll need to move to secure her loyalty either way though, so its a judgement call on how much this concerns you.