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

(Construct Chain (Fleet Port- Prydwen Serol): 37 +17 (Kat) +7 (Wealth) = 61)

Progress: 2/6. In Progress.

Kat winced at the bawdy laughter and shyly scooted away from the source. The assorted engineers and architects didn't noticed and just chased down more drinks offered by the locals, freely enjoying the more relaxed and casual tropical setting. Perhaps it was a bit premature to already be partying so freely when only the foundations of the future facility had just been laid down, but it appeared that for the residents of this city, any good work was worth splurging on.

Even if it wasn't completed yet.

The Hyacinth Prism looked over them all, a mix of emotions swirling within. The more dominant of them now was resignation, the realization that nobody could work forever without a little rest and recovery. Given the non-stop projects she had been putting her teams through, including other Prisms, perhaps it was time for a more sedate pace for a bit.

Still, she felt the undercurrent of anger simmering beneath and sighed. Kat knew that the moment she stepped back into a workshop with the others to continue, she probably was going to drive them to redouble their efforts, to 'work as hard as they played.' A reasonable bargain, she supposed, only justified further by the fact that House Iris badly needed these facilities soon with the upcoming conflict. All their sweat here would contribute to a safer atmosphere in which they could party freely without worry one day, if everybody did their part.

There was a flicker of color on the cheap bar television and Kat's eyes flicked up to watch. She blinked in recognition of a familiar figure standing on a podium, delivering a speech before a crowd. However, it wasn't the one she was expecting- was the Solar Queen preoccupied with something? It wasn't unlike her to turn an opportunity to speak to her people, surely.

Or maybe Dorothea was just a warm-up act. Yes, that surely had to be it.


(Commission Ship (Corona-class): 27 +14 (Dorothea) +7 (Wealth) = 48)

Progress: 2/6. In Progress.

(Commission Ship (Corona-class): 52 +14 (Violet) +7 (Wealth) = 73)

Progress: 4/6. In Progress.

You listened to Dorothea's speech with one ear, mentally groaning at every implied mention that you would be coming out soon to speak too. If you had it your way, you would like nothing more than to slum around in a cheap beach bar somewhere in Kingsdream, a casual poor tourist for all concerned instead of the people's monarch. Hm, actually, that sounded a bit too suspicious- the average visitor to the system capital wanted nothing more than to hit the beaches. Ack, but the sun on your skin-!

You furiously shook your head to rid yourself of such thoughts and instead focused on what had led to you subtly requesting Dorothea to have a chat with the media first. There was some vain hope that they'd be sated by whatever platitudes and scraps the Lycoris Knight tossed out to them about Coral Queen, the first cruiser of your people in this universe, but it seemed like she had completely misunderstood the task. Now she was giddily digging a hole for you to figure out how to avoid falling into, every single word and declaration from the devout retainer heralding the glory of your coming.

Ugh, that was a headache for later. The more important headache now were these data packages you had finally received and decoded to inform you of a great many interesting acts. To be specific, it was that which wandering Brilliance Knights had undertaken across the territories of House Orochi and their vassals. As predicted and weaved, there was much discontent and chaos following the Great House's withdrawal from supporting House Kelon, leading to a crisis of faith and trust that led to more than a few more incidents that very well could have gotten worst had wandering Brilliance Knights not been there to step in.

Through the disorder and trial, they were now forged and tested in ways beyond what their training could ever provide. Some had even risen up and above, making names for themselves that drew the eyes of interested parties. Perhaps companies would offer them lofty positions in private organizations, or maybe they'd continue wandering the galaxy in search of more wrongs to right. But each and every one of these heroes would never dare deny the call of their home should you ask and tempt them with the offer of direct service to House Iris.

You unfortunately couldn't make offers to all of them though, only one for the moment to maintain a cover of unknowing. If they got together, perhaps they'd realize it was a bit too coincidental that all of them had been nearby on suggestion of mysterious messages. Or maybe they'd all become a bit too much like a certain Lycoris Knights currently hyping up your arrival. While blind zealots were a helpful tool for a webmaster like you, there was a time and place for pawns who didn't let devotion blind their talent.

A brief summary on these candidates helped give you an idea of their personalities, and you read through them closely to determine who could have the honor of becoming your retainer.

[ ] [Candidate] Hifumi, Holly Knight


[ ] [Candidate] Agrippina, Lycoris Knight


[ ] [Candidate] Kalina, Dandelion Knight



- I figured that it'd be a big bummer if you got to doing up your battlegroup, only for a better character pick to come passing by a turn right after. So have the chance to pick your new retainer from when you sacrificed the opportunity to take advantage of Orochi's chaos.
- The options were randomly rolled and wow, looks like Violet's obsession with the shadows is perhaps influencing the individuals she's drawn to recruiting.

Honestly, despite it being your greatest strength or perhaps because of it, you didn't need anymore spymasters. Nor did you need anymore masters of war, the situation not yet so dire to require multiple commanders. Right now, what you needed was somebody who could not just talk their way into a library, but also stay engaged within there with a direct passion for learning. A role that only one of the possible candidates was suited for.

You quickly tapped out a digital message out to Hifumi to request their presence home and sent it via the official accounts of House Iris. They should receive it shortly, assuming that they were near a FTL beacon for the transmission. Hopefully they would be interested in hearing out your offer. Maybe you could casually ask Dorothea to review hiring packages and benefits.

Said woman was now finishing up her talk-up to the audience, leading you to groan and sigh. But you lightly slapped your cheeks, getting ready to go out there. Just a quick speech, making sure to hit all the prompted points from your subordinate, and that should be it. Nothing too grand, how hard could it be?


(Battlegroup Management: 13 +8 (Radana) +13 (Wealth) = 34)

Progress: 2/2. Completed!

Battlegroup Rampart-One (B-R1) is (almost) ready!

"...and there we have any outstanding speech from Her Majesty! One that, according to many polls, is already soothing over any issues people might have with sending our forces to war!" The news anchor on the channel declared, a clear patriotic tone to their voice. "Ah, actually makes me regret that I didn't volunteer for a few years of service."

"It's not too late though to join your local milita roll for planetary defense training!" Their partner encouraged with a similarly proud note to them. "Anything that would help the Solar Queen achieve her grand vision for us is surely welcomed. Little wonder why so many eyes are glued to her every action, literal history in the making."

"Oh, she'll definitely enjoy that," Radana drawled before letting out a giggle. She turned down the volume a moment later to swivel about in her chair, eyeing the stacks of paperwork on her desk. It was all mostly personnel listings, covering everything from the soldiers of 1st Andernian Guard to those who served onboard HMS Wisteria. It wasn't much honestly, at least in comparison to many other Houses, but they were definitely those who had cut their teeth in the civil war.

Now it was time to get them formally organized and set under one leader who would manage them in their downtime. Such a close working relationship would enable almost immediate mustering when the call to arms sounded, allowing for forces to rally swiftly to deployment. Without it, mustering up forces would take more time for proper integration before the start of a campaign.

In short, the planning done now would save lives later.

Little wonder this was being done now with the heightened state of the conflict against the Free States to consider. Even if this newly titled 'Battlegroup Rampart-One' wasn't picked to join the campaign for the Kelon Homeworlds, it still was a useful structure for immediate defense should there be any sort of retaliation. Now all Radana had to do was see to the background logistics to make sure her nation knew exactly what it was sending off to war.

She shuffled some papers around and arched her eyebrow. "That far in advance? Oh, you're cheeky," she mumbled with a quiet smile. "But I suppose that being able to already assign a cruiser is a good thing."

Battlegroup Rampart-One (B-R1) Composition





Choose if you wish to make edits!




- Before war comes managing logistics. It ain't glamorous, but well, it's necessary. It also should hopefully give you an idea of the average size of your battlegroups in relation to you for regular Houses/States. In comparison, the Great Houses/Council States are calculated differently, so don't worry about it.
- As mentioned, Violet has already arranged for HMS Coral Queen to already be eligible for battlegroup management even if she isn't completed. Have that on me.
- The costs are still something I'm playing about with. We'll see how it goes.