- Location
- Southern Virginia
Looking over the story and commentary thus far it's pretty clear direct action aimed at "saving the Empire" led by Yui is going to be indistinguishable from putting together a power base to mount a coup. There may be something to be said for that but I frankly doubt the voter base is interested in mounting a coup under basically any circumstances. Which means that Yui has to work through existing channels and infrastructure, trusting other people to carry out the work she can't directly take over. And there's a lot of it.
But it's really the Imperial Navy's job to keep the peace and the Imperial Guard's responsibility to serve as a last-ditch reserve against an attempt by one of the Great Houses (ie, Sumeragi) to take over the Empire. The biggest threat to the Empire right now is for secession movements and rebellions to score victories in the Rim that weaken the Imperial Navy. If the Imperial Navy looks weak and the Empire broadly suffers humiliation then stronger powers like the Houses are more likely to take bigger risks and move more overtly. Dealing with the Rim is the job of Yonatan Chew and his fleet commanders, and short of using Yui's position on the Regency Council to support the Navy's request for funds and material there isn't a whole lot of scope for her to intervene there. It's basically out of her hands.
The biggest threat to the Empire in the medium term then is if Ahri comes to power and is totally incompetent. That is something Yui can actively work on to improve. Another, less likely but real possible threat, is someone trying to assassinate Ahri. Since that would put Yui on the throne it would probably not be the work of a faction trying to weaken the Empire, so more likely that'd be a move by factions of the Imperial Guard. That's also something Yui can potentially help with, through her covert intelligence network and by engaging in court maneuvers to try to strengthen Ahri's personal position with the Guard and the members of the Regency Council. Fortunately once Ahri hits the age of 18 she'll have enough power and institutional legitimacy to appoint a Viceroy if she's still not confident in her ability to rule. Since Yui would be that Viceroy that would give her more freedom to take sweeping overt measures to address crises and try to dig in to the roots of various problems.
In any case there's a critical lesson in how Yui handles problems by finding capable subordinates and delegating. That can be extended to finding and motivating the right people to fix problems on their own. Now someone like Thoth could address the political game by literally flipping over the table and turning it into a game of Galactic Conquest instead, but Yui is restrained by the same system that gives her the power and authority she's accustomed to. So it's a matter of playing the long game, avoiding losing rather than seeking a decisive win, at least until Ahri is old and capable enough to take over - and if she's never capable enough then and only then it might mean sidelining her into some sort of seclusion-retirement and playing Shogun as Viceroy.
But it's really the Imperial Navy's job to keep the peace and the Imperial Guard's responsibility to serve as a last-ditch reserve against an attempt by one of the Great Houses (ie, Sumeragi) to take over the Empire. The biggest threat to the Empire right now is for secession movements and rebellions to score victories in the Rim that weaken the Imperial Navy. If the Imperial Navy looks weak and the Empire broadly suffers humiliation then stronger powers like the Houses are more likely to take bigger risks and move more overtly. Dealing with the Rim is the job of Yonatan Chew and his fleet commanders, and short of using Yui's position on the Regency Council to support the Navy's request for funds and material there isn't a whole lot of scope for her to intervene there. It's basically out of her hands.
The biggest threat to the Empire in the medium term then is if Ahri comes to power and is totally incompetent. That is something Yui can actively work on to improve. Another, less likely but real possible threat, is someone trying to assassinate Ahri. Since that would put Yui on the throne it would probably not be the work of a faction trying to weaken the Empire, so more likely that'd be a move by factions of the Imperial Guard. That's also something Yui can potentially help with, through her covert intelligence network and by engaging in court maneuvers to try to strengthen Ahri's personal position with the Guard and the members of the Regency Council. Fortunately once Ahri hits the age of 18 she'll have enough power and institutional legitimacy to appoint a Viceroy if she's still not confident in her ability to rule. Since Yui would be that Viceroy that would give her more freedom to take sweeping overt measures to address crises and try to dig in to the roots of various problems.
In any case there's a critical lesson in how Yui handles problems by finding capable subordinates and delegating. That can be extended to finding and motivating the right people to fix problems on their own. Now someone like Thoth could address the political game by literally flipping over the table and turning it into a game of Galactic Conquest instead, but Yui is restrained by the same system that gives her the power and authority she's accustomed to. So it's a matter of playing the long game, avoiding losing rather than seeking a decisive win, at least until Ahri is old and capable enough to take over - and if she's never capable enough then and only then it might mean sidelining her into some sort of seclusion-retirement and playing Shogun as Viceroy.
