The Reluctant Vassal's Guide to Living in the Frontier (with some Treason)

Radana resisted the urge to massage her temples at the fact the design team was deadlocked, disappointingly for a good reason that made it difficult to simply overrule. It seemed that while all were in agreement that a specialized aircraft was what House Iris needed, the nature of said focus was highly disputed. Half the room wanted an interceptor around winning the fight in the air, while the other insisted that a general all purpose aircraft that would be of more use everywhere.

Eventually, she held up her hand to forestall another bubbling round of roundabout arguments, taking charge as the moderator of the discussion. There were some fearful looks when she stood up to address the room, so she tactfully began with reassurance. "You all prove yourselves worthy during this discussion, but I fear that while my lady is very ambitious," Ambitious in the sense she wants to find a way to be lazy all day, "We have the resources to move only one project ahead to completion at the moment. Seeing how time-sensitive the nature of this request is, then I will simply have it be whoever can build, prototype, and refine their product first."

This earned a round of side-eye looks and slightly uneasy glances. Radana closed her eyes and reflected that this might not necessarily be the best or safest way to resolve the issue. It was entirely possible that corporate espionage or forced overtime might tilt the scales either project's odds. But she had little choice and besides, there was once critical thing: her best friend likely already had spies infesting these companies. If they pulled something dirty or abusive, the Solar Princess could more than easily notice and flag it for later review.

Though it meant more work for the perpetually complaining royalty as well. The Camelia Knight let out a very undignified snort at that, not caring about the slightly shocked looks from the suits. Serves her right for doing this to me again.


(Construct Post (Camp Barracks): 39 +17 (Kat) +1 (Wealth) = 57)

Progress: 5/3. Completed!

Camp Barracks have been built in Gawain. Wealth -2, Influence -2, Military +2

The vehicle salesman swallowed at the sight of the military lawyers examining the contract he laid out. After a quiet exchange with one another, they nodded and pushed the paper back to the dealership owner. "Acceptable." One of them gruffly told the relieved dealer and rose up from the chair. "Barely. We will be back if we hear you've changed the interest rates."

"Though if you keep your word, expect more than a few to come your way from word of mouth," The other lawyer mentioned with a nod. "The military does pay well after all."

"O-of course. I wouldn't want to take advantage of our brave soldiers!"


(Design Aircraft (Hellkitty): 59 +7 (Radana) +1 (Wealth) = 67)
(Design Aircraft (Witchfire): 99 + 7 (Radana) +1 (Wealth) = 107)

Progress: 4/6. In Progress.

You let out a low whistle while reading through the report, slowly shaking your head in a mix of disbelief and awe. "Wow. I have to admit, I was a bit suspect about the rate they were going through test pilots, but they actually did it."

"It's still in the testing phase, and hardly the most effective of outfits compared to our Guardian suits," Radana mentioned while bringing over a pot of tea. "It's also only working with this specific cockpit model at the moment with in-house software as well. They aren't sharing, despite the petitions of the other team."

You shrugged and dropped the report on your desk to pick up a filled cup. "They've earned the right to sit on those laurels for now, but I wouldn't count their rivals out yet. I'll leave it to you to decide if both sides deserve a fair shake at things. After all," You couldn't help and gave her a wide teasing grin, "You are the Marquise of Guns- ack!"

"Oh my," Radana flatly drawled at your choked coughing. "I think I may have forgotten to let the tea cool before serving. How clumsy of me."

"Curse this scorching yet delectable beverage!" At least she had a bottle of cold water to help cool your tongue down afterwards.


(Recruit Regiment (1st Andernian Guards): 28 +14 (Violet) +1 (Wealth) = 43)

Progress: 4/7. In Progress.

The door slammed open and the lights violently flicked on, inciting a round of exhausted groans from the slumbering recruits. Some even had the gall to protest, begging for sleep after a long day of physical training. The Drill Sergeant wasn't having any of it.

"You think the enemy's going to give you a chance for a good night's sleep?! No, they're going to slit your throats, and you won't hear a damn thing with all your snoring!" They hollered, grabbing and shaking the bedframes to force the boots to roll off. "I'm not having you sleep through a night raid, so get used to it! Up, in your gear, now! Go assemble and get ready in five minutes! And so help me, if any of you are missing equipment when I check, that's a smoking for all of you. So get moving and cover each other!"

Five minutes later, the red-eyed recruits were assembled. Ten minutes later, they nearly collapsed when their punishment push-ups were finally over. Fifteen minutes later, they were already back in their bunks, some of them weeping and others wondering if they would last another week like this.

Thirty minutes later, the lights came on again and the screams resumed. Sleep didn't come easy that night for the future soldiers of House Iris.


(Send Spies (House Iris Separatists): 4 +14 (Dorothea) +1 (Wealth) = 19)

Progress: 1/1. Completed!

Results: 89 -10 (Easy Operation) +20 (Spider's Web) = 99. Silenced Success.

The buggy was left behind and the operative carefully climbed up the small hill of black stones, taking care to not kick any rocks loose. Having the sound of a bouncing pebble draw attention to them now and ruin the operation now would be a disaster, especially after all the effort put into uncovering the Solar Princess' itinerary. Even then, it was a hassle to covertly 'borrow' an off-road vehicle to follow the small transport craft out beyond the city.

But it was all worth it now, as the spy inched forward on their belly and drew out a small electric scanner, one with a handy zoom function. It also happened to have a record and broadcast trigger, though they didn't know about it, especially as it was an aftermarket modification by their own boss. It meant that when the device was activated and the lens focused on what was being seen in the distance, the information was already being broadcast all the way to Andernia IV.

So that was how two daughters of the Late Solar King were looking at the grounded ruins of a colony ship with matching contemplative expressions.

- I'll still roll to see if the Hellkitty will catch up, but Witchfire smacked it out of the park for research and development. If it wins, it wins.
- You discovered your sister's plans early, so you have a slight wiggle room. Though not by much.

Kat studied the provided picture intensely despite her shaking nervous hands, her talent shining through the nerves for a moment. "That...is definitely not going to...going to lift off soon," The Hyacinth declared with a quivering note to her voice. "The h-hull is in so many broken pieces, though the skeleton is...mostly intact."

"I see. Thank you for the insight," Dorothea praised and then turned to you with thin lips. "But my lady, I must inform you that there has been stirrings from what little industry your sister has at her disposal. I'm not quite yet firm on all the details so I don't want to alarm you unnecessarily, just please keep it in mind for now."

You carefully put on an expression that was worrisome relief, making sure to stress your supposed ignorance of the topic. "I understand, and I thank you for keeping an eye on it. I however must insist that I be kept read into the developing situation our spies report back." You laced your fingers together and looked between the two retainers of House Iris. "Is there anything else? If not, both of you are free to excuse yourselves."

Once they had given the appropriate gestures of respect and the office door sealed closed behind them, you let out a groan and slumped in your chair. "My sister is absolutely going to try and get colony ships patched up and working to begin expanding outwards," You declared as a matter of fact and your best friend let out a matching quiet exhale.

"It would line up with the activity you've been observing for a while," Radana agreed and began to meander over to the kitchenette unit. "I think we need a cup of flame blossom with that news."

"It's not so really as much news as it is just showing that soon, we can't pretend that she's contained any longer," You firmly concluded and pulled up a map of the system, along with a fleet description. "We might have two ships of our own, but she's looking to match us in those numbers and the sizes are roughly equal too. The main thing we'll have then is that our ships are actually in one piece and not stitched together to the point where a single lovetap would cause a hull breach."

"Yet they still are ships, and your sister does also happen to have an air force," Your friend reminded and you cursed when your desk interface helpfully added matching angry red planes to the force composition. "It would make even attempting to move into the orbit of Andernia III exceedingly difficult at our current stage."

"I know, I know, especially when we're really starting to feel how cramped we are by our current limits. I still find it slightly baffling that my great-however-many-grandparents were willingly to live like this." You grimaced at the concept, definitely finding it less than desired. "Still no progress on the mystery of the FTL beacon, by the way. Kat's even had a good look herself, and she can't figure out the issue. It seems to be working, but we're just not being allowed to transmit or receive data."

There was some silent contemplation that followed, one that was soon broken by a kettle whistling when the water reached boiling. Swiftly, Radana took if off the heat and began to pour it into a teapot, speaking brokenly while doing so. "Violet...I know that I'm not exactly the most technically minded individual, but please, hear me out. Could your sister be restricting our access there somehow?"

"Impossible," You instantly shot down with a firm shake of the head. "FTL beacons are meant to be open and free-flowing sources of information across civilized space. That's why they have ridiculous levels of self-encryption and firewalls, to the point of easily defeating any attempted hacking or manipulation. They have to be kept neutral and independent of political entities, including the Houses."

"Except one."

That quiet reminder nearly had you falling out of your chair when the pieces began to come together in your head. "Except...House Sol. The ones whose people and past birthed the technology in the first place. The one who logically could have the access keys to bypass the data protections." You fell silent, eyes wide and mind churning to link it together. "The one who His Late Majesty was very close too." Then all of the sudden, just as Radana approached your desk with the tea set, you leapt out of your chair and bounded over to a hidden part of your office. It was where you kept things hidden from reporting visitors to your abode.

You now dragged out your tack board of conspiracy and went through it quickly, looking for a certain picture. After a moment, you found it and violently swore, still not quite believing it. A quick rip, then a storm over back to your desk to slam the damn picture on and show your best friend. "I don't believe it. The one time I actually manage to succeed and not get dragged into a public family gathering, and it's the one that I really should've been!"

While you ranted and raved, Radana quietly picked up and studied the familiar photo. It was a rather monumental one that featured almost all of House Iris making a public appearance for a ceremony, namely the one where the governor of Andernia was to be declared. Quickly, her eyes trailed along until settling on a certain figure being bestowed a necklace by the Solar King, a pseudo-crown of sorts to represent His favor.

From that necklace dangled a gleaming data crystal, not unlike ones that would have been used for security programs favored by House Sol.

"I see," Your aide flatly concluded the moment you were done cursing out your luck. "So reason has it that your sister does actually have access to the FTL beacon, but she is the only one thanks to her appointment. Which means right now, she's the sole person who can reach out and talk to the rest of House Iris."

"Which means she can paint whatever damn narrative she wants...without me being there to control it!" You snarled, not enjoying the feeling of control being ripped out from your fingertips. "At the rate she's going as well, she's actually going to ruin this entire setup of mine!"

"That'd be quite unfortunate." Radana hummed while pouring out some tea. "Even though you do have the Solarrium Codex, it would be your word against her and with the unfortunate passing of His Late Majesty, it could get...complicated about the succession of House Iris."

"I know," You finally crashed into your chair and grabbed a cup of tea, feeling drained at the possible hard choice you may have to make. "Which is why I might need to really consider reaching out to her soon. Before she decides to test us so with her completed forces to be the dominant one making demands. I won't stand for that."

"Neither will your followers," She gently encouraged while taking a sip. "So do what you have to.'

Resource Stockpile: 30/30

Create a plan that you and your aides will execute over the duration of the cycle. Each person will have a general order that they will attempt to carry out at your command. Orders can be repeatedly taken by multiple characters for greater progression, but characters will be locked in the order until it is finished. Many actions will require a target.









- The official reveal! You want to see, meet, and talk with the rest of the galaxy? Your sister is the one in the way now.
- I've also gone and updated the maps for Andernia's planets. Hopefully they look much better now, even if I downsized the resolution a fair bit.

The Sol System is the birthplace of humanity, specifically the third planet that orbits the sun. But one could easily be mistaken for not thinking it so, for the planet is a far cry from its original form. Where there were once continents and oceans, there is nothing but an endless plain of green in a barely-functional atmosphere, meaning that one can only spend a brief moment of time before risking overexposure to solar radiation.

This is the result of years of industrialization, exploitation, and pollution that had gone on for nearly too long. By the time the first colony ships were lifting off, the rot was already too deeply embedded in the cradle of humanity to totally reverse even with advanced cleanup technology. The most that they could do was halt the descent, leaving the cradle of humanity in its current permanent state of between life and death.

That was a long time ago and while technology has eventually advanced to consider the possibility of totally reversing all the damage, there is an unspoken agreement to finally leave their mother planet to rest in its quiet retirement. It had brought them this far to wish them all farewell when humanity finally left their nest, and it was only right that it now watch from the side how humanity truly adapted to living so far from their origins. House Sol has since declared the planet a sacred gathering spot for humanity, for only the most world-shaking of encounters and meetings to be set down below. Time will tell if it will be the birthplace of more greatness, or the tomb for more disaster.