Eh, filing-wise they might have had some problems sure, but I'm not sure how you'd class VSS as being wanting given that they fucked up that pirate heavy cruiser, and were aggressively patrolling to deter further attack, and had tracked the pirates back to their base, gotten recon data, and had in fact drawn up an op plan on how to take down the base...
"Jane. Grab the CIC team and run through all the intel and that model of that pirate base we found. Recall the Baronche, Carrion Feeder, Deathstrike and the Lacerator. Get them rearmed as soon as possible and have them briefed on that operation we planned."
"You mean the one I said was suicide because they had cruiser grade guns guarding the place?"
Lee looks at you, then looks at the Guardswoman. You shrug your shoulders, while the Guardswoman just blinks. You can swear that was a pattern to how she blinked. Lee just sighs and replies, "Well, unless you want to accuse me of forging sensor data next. The last year's worth of readouts show that we have been dealing with at least four destroyer sized vessels. At the very least, they have military grade radars and countermeasures, not to mention that the drive outputs are putting out vastly more energy than anything we can see from crash converted civilian freighters."
He pulls out a specific file. "This is after they tried to orbitally bombard Egon with a heavy cruiser. Which we drove off using civilian grade weaponry."
Are you sure you haven't gotten your factions and intentions mixed up again? Not that I'm being mean or bulli, but there was the time you thought 4th Fleet was aligned with one of the Great Houses, instead what it actually was, a numbered fleet of the Imperial Navy.
Like, if you reread the Ayako sides, Lee talks about how he's in hiding because he fragged his superior and then assassinated a bunch of IRG senior officers (even operating Verbal Orders of the Empress that's not something you can just simply do, which is why Her Late Majesty arranged a new life for him) and he went merc because he and his wife blew their money on the stock market (a very Hong Kong Chinese thing to do ), that's not exactly a good setup for couping, y'know.
The IRG's a Praetorian Guard. If you're worried about the IRG couping, you shouldn't be looking at a system 4 days' travel from the capital, you should be looking at the capital itself: the most obvious options for IRG coup are:
- IRG coups Ahri on behalf of Yui ("Your Highness, all that has been done is for your sake")
- IRG coups Ahri and invites Yui to take the throne as a more suitable ruler ("Your Highness, please take your throne, you have shown a clear mandate that the Former Empress Meigyoku lacked")
- IRG coups and installs Commanding General on the throne ("ur pp smol, my CG pp big")
Still, it's plainly clear that the real reason this happened is - if you're generous - that one of the higher brass wanted to descend upon someone in spectacular fashion. If you're a paranoid git you might instead surmise that Yui is checking to see how well her private fleet can conquer and area.
This would have all gone a lot smoother if Lee's hires could actually keep track of which safe has their hard copies. So hard to find good help these days. At least they were nuts enough to cripple that pirate Cruiser before our ships got there.
06 June
Imperial Navy 4th Fleet HQ
Fleet Activities Comberth Harbor
"This makes no sense." Kanda sips his tea as he thumbs through Himeno's report. "They brought a battlefleet to audit our local security PMC, then jam them on arrival. It's like they were trying to provoke an incident."
"Then it is most fortunate that your hired killers didn't shoot at them, then." Hildegarde leans back into her chair, scrolling through her copy with her index finger. "They complied with Muryoutou's demands. I'm willing to bet that Princess Akasha has gone temporarily insane and this entire incident is indicative of absolutely nothing."
"A training cruise into a pirate cleanup, with enough ships to break a garrison port. No matter how you look at it, something's up." Kanda glares at his datapad as he slides his left index finger across the screen. "Here. 'Fleet commander evasive.' Factoring in that Vice Admiral Akasha isn't with the fleet… sounds like she's doing something. But we don't know what it is, exactly."
Hildegarde's finger stops moving. "Your point?"
"I'm going to have to go to Jinko-sei to get this cleared up. Prepare a recon destroyer." Kanda sets the pad down and leans forward into his desk, facing Hildegarde's chair.
Hildegarde spins her chair around to face Kanda, her expression stony. "Men who get away with taking too many risks start to believe they're invincible. I'll bet you do too. If she is planning something, you might meet an unfortunate accident en route."
"Then I expect you and Vice Admiral Anderson to enact the appropriate response to that contingency. I'll check in regularly. You'll know if anything happens to me. I'll brief him later." Kanda begins pouring himself more tea from the pot on his table. "I'll take a few people with me as insurance and keep a low profile."
"I see. Stardock reports the Beowulf as having completed her refit and test trials. I'll have her made ready." Hildegarde spins her chair away slightly as she speaks. "I still object to this reckless course of action, however."
"So, are we going to discuss the pirates?" Mulia interjects, preempting Kanda's response. "The 13th Fleet did most of the heavy lifting for us, but we still need to root out any holdouts that might remain. Not to mention find out how they got that cruiser."
"Firstly, objection noted. Secondly, I'll leave the pirates to you. I need to arrange the journey to Jinko-sei." Kanda finally leans back and begins sipping his tea again. "My recommendation is to dispatch a light cruiser group with auxiliaries to investigate and then proceed from there. Try to capture some and squeeze intel out of them if possible, and contact the 13th Fleet to see if we can get them to transfer their prisoners to us for interrogation. Is that all? If so, the two of you can return to your duties."
Hildegarde stands up, pushing her chair back slightly as she does so. Her long hair sways as she turns to face Kanda again. "One last thing before you go to Jinko-sei. AVALANCHE EXIT. We cannot delay this question any longer."
Kanda sighs, placing his teacup back on his desk. "The most probable scenario, then. If his cause is just and the rot has truly set in..." Kanda's right foot begins tapping the floor unconsciously as he exhales. "Then we will stand with him. Arkbird. Process context and update preliminary predictive model. Is this enough for you, Hildegarde? We'll update the planner models when I return."
"Yes sir." The VI chimes in, its holographic avatar appearing in a gentle shower of light.
"Enough for any contingencies." Hildegarde adjusts her uniform as she presses her thumb against the door scanner. "But if your stunt goes badly, know that the call will devolve to Anderson."
With that last parting shot, she is gone, leaving Kanda and Mulia poring over their datapads in the room's cold silence.
But memes aside, the last few bits of sidestory do actually serve a point to flesh out the universe a little more, and set the stage for the next update. This way, I won't have to write a 20k word update covering all this things in the main update (which is progressing quite well).
"This makes no sense." Kanda sips his tea as he thumbs through Himeno's report. "They brought a battlefleet to audit our local security PMC, then jam them on arrival. It's like they were trying to provoke an incident."
"Then it is most fortunate that your hired killers didn't shoot at them, then." Hildegarde leans back into her chair, scrolling through her copy with her index finger. "They complied with Muryoutou's demands. I'm willing to bet that Princess Akasha has gone temporarily insane and this entire incident is indicative of absolutely nothing."
"A training cruise into a pirate cleanup, with enough ships to break a garrison port. No matter how you look at it, something's up." Kanda glares at his datapad as he slides his left index finger across the screen. "Here. 'Fleet commander evasive.' Factoring in that Vice Admiral Akasha isn't with the fleet… sounds like she's doing something. But we don't know what it is, exactly."
"I'm going to have to go to Jinko-sei to get this cleared up. Prepare a recon destroyer." Kanda sets the pad down and leans forward into his desk, facing Hildegarde's chair.
Hildegarde spins her chair around to face Kanda, her expression stony. "Men who get away with taking too many risks start to believe they're invincible. I'll bet you do too. If she is planning something, you might meet an unfortunate accident en route."
"Then I expect you and Vice Admiral Anderson to enact the appropriate response to that contingency. I'll check in regularly. You'll know if anything happens to me. I'll brief him later." Kanda begins pouring himself more tea from the pot on his table. "I'll take a few people with me as insurance and keep a low profile."
"I see. Stardock reports the Beowulf as having completed her refit and test trials. I'll have her made ready." Hildegarde spins her chair away slightly as she speaks. "I still object to this reckless course of action, however."
"So, are we going to discuss the pirates?" Mulia interjects, preempting Kanda's response. "The 13th Fleet did most of the heavy lifting for us, but we still need to root out any holdouts that might remain. Not to mention find out how they got that cruiser."
"Firstly, objection noted. Secondly, I'll leave the pirates to you. I need to arrange the journey to Jinko-sei." Kanda finally leans back and begins sipping his tea again. "My recommendation is to dispatch a light cruiser group with auxiliaries to investigate and then proceed from there. Try to capture some and squeeze intel out of them if possible, and contact the 13th Fleet to see if we can get them to transfer their prisoners to us for interrogation. Is that all? If so, the two of you can return to your duties."
Hildegarde stands up, pushing her chair back slightly as she does so. Her long hair sways as she turns to face Kanda again. "One last thing before you go to Jinko-sei. AVALANCHE EXIT. We cannot delay this question any longer."
Kanda sighs, placing his teacup back on his desk. "The most probable scenario, then. If his cause is just and the rot has truly set in..." Kanda's right foot begins tapping the floor unconsciously as he exhales. "Then we will stand with him. Arkbird. Process context and update preliminary predictive model. Is this enough for you, Hildegarde? We'll update the planner models when I return."
A number of Kanda's potential op plans were namedropped in the first Kanda side: because not everyone has my cheat sheet, y'all get some freebies as I sum up the mentioned plans:
TOTAL ECLIPSE
SHATTERED SKIES
JUDGEMENT BY DAWN
FLORID SAKURA
GUARDED OASIS
LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER
AVALANCHE EXIT
(Ace Combat refs, ho. Can you hear me, foxthot with the Three Strikes?)
Feel free to reread and speculate and infer which codename refers to which contingency while i just xanatos pose in the background
That said, with regard to AVALANCHE EXIT, consider the following excerpts:
"By your will." Zeppelin straightens her back, adjusting her greatcoat as she does so. "Before I depart, I will ask you again, sir. How will you respond to AVALANCE EXIT?"
Hildegarde stands up, pushing her chair back slightly as she does so. Her long hair sways as she turns to face Kanda again. "One last thing before you go to Jinko-sei. AVALANCHE EXIT. We cannot delay this question any longer."
My intent as an author was to try and portray Kanda's feelings to AVALANCHE EXIT as a scenario which he was reluctant to decide upon, which he had kept putting off deciding on , again and again and again and again, because he was conflicted about it. He finally made a decision now because he's put on the spot and the buck stops with him. Or at least that was the intent, but I don't think I've sucessfully executed because I didn't manage to get that across.
Oh well, live and learn. Improve as an author with every word I write, that sorta thing.
A number of Kanda's potential op plans were namedropped in the first Kanda side: because not everyone has my cheat sheet, y'all get some freebies as I sum up the mentioned plans:
TOTAL ECLIPSE
SHATTERED SKIES
JUDGEMENT BY DAWN
FLORID SAKURA
GUARDED OASIS
LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER
AVALANCHE EXIT
(Ace Combat refs, ho. Can you hear me, foxthot with the Three Strikes?)
Feel free to reread and speculate and infer which codename refers to which contingency while i just xanatos pose in the background
Yeah, those were each referring to different political blocks, ranging from noble houses to the Guard to other Navy Fleets, making their own moves for political supremacy and knocking someone else out. As for who each one refers to... maybe this weekend. Not when I leave for work in an hour.
My intent as an author was to try and portray Kanda's feelings to AVALANCHE EXIT as a scenario which he was reluctant to decide upon, which he had kept putting off deciding on , again and again and again and again, because he was conflicted about it. He finally made a decision now because he's put on the spot and the buck stops with him. Or at least that was the intent, but I don't think I've sucessfully executed because I didn't manage to get that across.
I think I pretty well got the feeling he's not happy about any of these going off, because it means the Empire is now in civil war. He has always couched his terms in the reactionary language, if that makes sense. Kanda finally coming out and saying he will pull the trigger I think delivers that in part. The only thing I can think of in terms of 'didn't get it across' is the intentional wait-and-see kicking of the ball down the road hasn't been made super-explicit and very blunt. Like, him actually saying "I am not going to make a decision now because I don't want to be the man who plunged the Empire into civil war".
Hildegarde stands up, pushing her chair back slightly as she does so. Her long hair sways as she turns to face Kanda again. "One last thing before you go to Jinko-sei. AVALANCHE EXIT. We cannot delay this question any longer."
Kanda sighs, placing his teacup back on his desk. "The most probable scenario, then. If his cause is just and the rot has truly set in..." Kanda's right foot begins tapping the floor unconsciously as he exhales. "Then we will stand with him. Arkbird. Process context and update preliminary predictive model. Is this enough for you, Hildegarde? We'll update the planner models when I return."
Just judging on the name of the operation (not using random codenames is bad operational practice for a reason) and the reluctance to consider it, but the idea that it is a necessary response if the "rot" in the Empire has gone too far and my suspicion that the "he" is Count von Toth, I think it's probably a contingency for the Empire falling apart into civil war and fragmenting. Maybe also a plan for von Toth to put it back together as a new Empire, though he might be playing that close to the chest.
Just judging on the name of the operation (not using random codenames is bad operational practice for a reason) and the reluctance to consider it, but the idea that it is a necessary response if the "rot" in the Empire has gone too far and my suspicion that the "he" is Count von Toth, I think it's probably a contingency for the Empire falling apart into civil war and fragmenting. Maybe also a plan for von Toth to put it back together as a new Empire, though he might be playing that close to the chest.
I actually did draw up a table for random codename generation, but eh, it's one of those times where realism ran into artistic lisence and aesthetic sense Kinda did a Tolkein and chose words where the aesthetics of the sound was orioritised over the meaning a little. A couple of other unrevealed codenames are TWO PAIR and STRAIGHT FLUSH, btw.
Given that Kanda's default posture towards the other plans, including TOTAL ECLIPSE, was "oppose", but he's now come around to supporting AVALANCHE EXIT...
You are Captain Sir Yonatan Chew, and you are adjutant to Rear Admiral Lady Amagi Ri-Sumeragi, newly appointed Imperial Vicereine to Her Majesty Empress Meigyoku. As an adjutant to a flag officer your responsibilities are many, your worries legion, and your job boils down to "doing things for the Admiral".
Making her breakfast in bed is not one of your official obligations, but truth be told, it's one of your preferred services.
"Good morning, Maggie," you greet her cheerily. This indecorous behaviour would be scandalous in public: not only does she outrank you as a naval officer, but the fox in your bed is a noblewoman, a member of a cadet line of Great House Sumeragi: socially she—some three dozen steps removed from being Grand Duchess Sumeragi—outranks you, a mere knighted commoner, so much it's not even funny.
But right now you're in private, in the main bedroom of your shared house, and you've known her for over a decade now. Your relationship has gone through many stages, beyond mere superior and subordinate: mentor, senior, peers, friends, lovers. Now, you're about to embark on the final phase of your relationship.
"Good morning Johnny," yawns Maggie sleepily, covering her mouth with a dainty hand, light glinting off her engagement ring, a matching pair with the one you wear on your finger.
You realise you're smiling like an idiot, but you've long since stopped caring.
"Breakfast for my lady is served," you declare, settling the breakfast tray before her. She smiles and pats your place beside her; you acquiesce, getting back under the covers and sitting up so she can snuggle against you. Ostensibly this breakfast was just for her, but you end up feeding each other, and if you ran out of napkins and had to lick her fingers clean, well, that's just part of life, isn't it? Happy wife, happy life.
"You spoil me," Maggie says fondly. "Isn't this ass-kissing to your superior a little overdoing it?"
"I believe I'm not behaving any differently than any other person in my position."
"Perhaps you should make that ass-kissing literal. I know you, you degenerate old man: you just want to kiss my ass while burying your face in my tails."
"Not true," you retort calmly. "Let's be accurate: I want to worship the most beautiful derriere in the world while burying my face into the magnificence of my lady's glorious tails, before whom even Hagoromo-no-kaneo-no-mikoto's tails are but a pale imitation of."
"Johnny, that's sacrilegious and lese majesty," laughs Maggie. "Hello police, I want to report a cri-"
You seize the moment to interrupt her with a kiss. It lasts for a painfully brief moment, and more laughter escapes Maggie's lips.
Good, you think. You want her to laugh, to be happy.
"Now you're adding sexual assault to the charges."
"Being charged is a small price to pay to demonstrate my devotion to my wife."
Maggie snorts and punches you in the left arm. You grin and bear it; it's a small price to pay, and truth be told, you did deserve such a response. You'd punch you in the arm, you can hardly fault your fiance for acting as you would.
My fiance. Two small words, but oh, how meaningful they are to you.
You wrap your arms around her and for a moment, you can forget about all your worries. In this moment, you're just Maggie and Johnny, just two people who love each other.
Alas, the moment doesn't last. Maggie sighs regretfully, and twists around to look at you. "We need to talk about our future," she says, and it's a testament to how well you know her and how unguarded she is with you, that you can see the emotions flashing across her face: fear, concern, worry, hesitation. "I met with Her Majesty, and she's given me my first assignment. I thought this was just going to be just a lark, that she'd rescind her appointment of a Vicereine, that your niece would talk some sense into her." She shakes her head. "She's dead serious about a Vicereine, she's convinced that there's rot that needs to be cleaned out, and she wants me for the job. She won't take no for an answer. There are going to be a lot of eyes on me, and there's a lot of work to do."
"It would seem that it's a bigger mess than you expected," you say. "Something that would require a year or two of your time."
"It would," Maggie agrees. "I think I'm going to have to be spending more time away from the capital, running around putting out fires."
"Sounds to me like you might be too busy saving the Empire to plan a wedding," you remark. "To busy to get married, perhaps."
Maggie's expression turns to dismay as you reach down and slide your ring off your finger-
-=-
You are Amagi Ri-Sumeragi, and your husband is divorcing you before you've even gotten married.
You love Johnny dearly, scars and all, but let's be honest, his scars have been a real challenge in your relationship. His admiration of you has always been tinged by jealousy, by resentment at how his background disadvantages him, on how you had an easier, faster way up the ladder than he did, despite his skill and accomplishments. He's never let any of that bleed into your relationship before, but every man has his limit and it looks like Johnny has reached his.
You're hurt, you really are. Maybe it was unfair of you but you had thought that your love could overcome his baggage, that he would be okay with being the husband of an admiral. You feel tears threaten to spring to your eyes - you angrily blink them away, even as you can hear your mother lecturing you on composure, how a Sumeragi must never show weakness-
He places a gentle finger to your lips, and threads his ring through his dogtags, before fastening them around his neck again. He sighs deeply, tiredly, and gives you a sad, watery, determined smile.
"I think you need an adjutant you can trust implicitly more than you need a dependent husband," he says, and a choked sound that's half-laugh, half-sob escapes your throat. "I'd be lying if I said I'm not disappointed, but I get it. And I want to help you, and I can do that better as your adjutant. Sure, I want to stop sneaking around as much as you, but, well. Duty calls us both."
I love this man so much, you think, as you take his hands and kiss him. "I'll make it up to you," you promise. "I'm going to get you the stars you deserve."
"You don't need to get me anything, I never figured I'd make it past Captain-"
"I'm going to have all your babies, a whole squad's worth."
"Weren't you going to do that already, I know pregnant foxthots are one of your kinks-"
You sock him in the arm again, just as he rightfully deserves, and add, "When we get married, I'm taking your name."
Johnny has no snappy comebacks, just a look of shocked surprise. You treasure that expression: the only time he's looked as shocked was when you first quite clearly and directly intimated your interest towards him. You laugh happily. After all this time, you can still surprise him. Good.
Johnny sits there, blinking, holding your hands. Tears run down his face, and he shakes his head. "You don't need to do anything for me. I don't need stars, kids, I don't need you to take my name. All I need is you. That's all that matters to me."
"Oh, Johnny," you say. Your hands cup his face, fingers brushing away his tears, and you kiss him. "I don't need to do anything for you. I want to do these things for you, because I love you so much, you're the most wonderful man I know, and you deserve every good thing I can give you."
"That's my line," he says, even as his thumb comes up to gently brush away a tear leaking from your eye. "I love you so much too. You deserve everything I can ever give you."
"Stop stealing my lines," you mock complain, but your heart isn't in it. You pull him down to the bed with you, your lips find his, and you cling to each other like drowning sailors with a life preserver.
No more words are necessary.
"Look on the bright side, we can continue to have the thrill of sneaking around in this forbidden relationship, knowing that every time we're together we're committing a violation. If the JAG counts every time we've had sex as one count, that's at least two, three thousand charges, easy. Imagine how long it'll take for them to read out the charge sheet."
Goddamnit Johnny.
Calmly, with serenity in your heart, you serenely take a pillow and begin to serenely beat your husband to serene near-death.
Hi all, have a little something I meant to post for Halloween. (And then I derped and thought Halloween was next week, not like, this Friday. Damnit Whiskey.)
A glimpse of a road not taken, in an AU where Whiskey decided to add Amagi as an MC option...
...that said, Amagi in this AU is not the same as Amagi in Yuiroute. Everyone's a little different in each little universe (with the biggest change being Johnny is just a mere Captain, instead of being 3IC of the Navy).
Except for Johnny's shitposting. No matter what universe he's in, you can't stop Johnny's shitposting.
[X] Restraint. The Regency Council will limit its exercise of the Empress' powers to maintain the status quo.
You're more than a little tempted to just abstain from the vote. It would send a message of impartiality, a statement that you still consider yourself to be a military officer, first and foremost, and that you don't want to involve yourself in civilian politics. Perhaps people might interpret that as you forming a block with the Lord Protector and the Commanding General. Still, there are worse people to be associated with.
But those six little words keep ringing in your mind: For the good of the Empire. That's not served by you taking the easy way out and abdicating your responsibilities as a member of the Regency Council. That's not how Daddy raised you, that's not how Uncle Johnny trained you. Despite your knee-jerk reaction to Sumeragi supporting the Restraint option, it was the Lord Chancellor who proposed the motion. You know damn well that von Stauffenberg's priority is to keep the Empire intact and avoid drama. Even if you don't like Lady Akagi Sumeragi, her points are valid and legitimate, and you would have no problem with her argument if anyone else had made it. So, you sit straight, and say, simply, "Yea."
"The motion is carried," announces the Lord Chancellor. Irritation flashes across the Speaker's face for a moment, until she carefully schools her expression. Everyone is wearing their poker faces, but you sense a certain feeling of disappointment from Lady Taihou. Lord Klaus Markus and Lady Jeanne-Marie Claire seem unbothered. Lady Kaga seems satisfied, Lady Akagi… you observe her tails. For some reason, you don't get a feeling of triumph from her. She seems… relieved, somehow. Strange.
The Lord Protector is inscrutable. The Commanding General meets your eyes, and then gives you the tiniest of nods. You wonder if that means she approves.
The motion is carried, business for the day is concluded, and the next meeting of the Council is scheduled for three weeks from now, recognising that all the members of the council have their own responsibilities to attend to. You breathe an internal sigh of relief at that; you'll have a bit more uninterrupted time to take care of your business.
- 女王之天命 -
The next day, a pair of encrypted emails from Konnie and Daniel find their way to your inbox. From their preliminary reports, you build a picture of what happened in Egon after you left:
VSS's administrator, Ayako Tomioka, was stonewalling Daniel's audit, but after the VSS commander (one Lee Bashkan) turned up, she became a lot more cooperative. VSS was able to finally produce their hardcopy permits from 4th Fleet, and turned over their mission logs for Daniel's perusal: it turns out that Egon was truly facing a problem with pirates. Konnie split her task group, leaving behind a mixed cruiser squadron to keep an eye on the Egon system, and executed a joint piracy suppression op with VSS. The naval engagement was decisive: the pirate fleet was neutralised, and Marines were landed on the pirate base after its defenses were suppressed. Hostages were rescued, equipment was seized, and Daniel and the IRG intel team gathered a veritable treasure trove of intelligence from the pirate base. The Marines were even able to capture a docked pirate destroyer, overrunning the defenders before the crew could emergency cast off - to say nothing of the laid up crippled heavy cruiser that had been the pirate flagship. The Earl of Egon's government and VSS were very pleased to have those ships as salvage.
It's not all good news though. Konnie reports of an altercation between the guard force she'd left behind and a recce squadron sent by 4th Fleet to investigate, apparently having learned of you taking a heavy task force into Egon. You wince when you read that - your choice of a heavy task force has backfired in that regard. You remember something the Skipper told you: The most dangerous words in any language are "It seemed like a good idea at the time." On the other hand, having so many ships gave Konnie the numbers to pin the pirates and prevent their escape. So, on the balance, it wasn't entirely bad, you think. You've made your bed, so you'll lie in it.
Then you read the rest of her email and wince again.
4th Fleet's recce squadron was commanded by Commodore Himeno Muryoutou: you know of her, she's considered a clever and capable officer, a member of Shiki's core leadership group. The fact that she's there, along with battlecruiser Hyperion, is obviously a sign of how concerned Shiki was. A battlecruiser, two cruisers, and two destroyers: five ships, just about the right size for a recce mission that's expecting contact with overwhelming enemy force, the slimmest balance between being small enough to be expendable and being large enough to avoid instant destruction, able to survive long enough to escape and sound the alarm.
You regret causing your old friend so much concern, you'll really need to make it up to him.
Konnie's email doesn't go into much detail about her confrontation with Muryoutou. She merely reported that words were exchanged, that 4th Fleet was not happy about 13th Fleet sending Task Force Soyeon into their compound, that they considered Task Force Soyeon's actions as hostile and violations, and that Muryoutou threatened to report this incident to HighCom. Reading between the lines, you get the impression that Konnie threw herself on her sword to keep your name out of everything, taking responsibility for your decisions. You wince guiltily at how Konnie surely lost face for your sake. You need to ensure this incident doesn't negatively affect her career, and mentally write off your house's liquor cellar; you owe Konnie that much, at the very least.
Overall, you think you've gotten a good picture of the going-ons in the Egon system, from the military angle, at any rate. Neither email makes any mention of the political landscape in Egon, or of Rafidah Aziz-Sumeragi's machinations, but you expect that Daniel will brief you in full when he returns: some things are too sensitive to be transmitted via superluminal comms.
You check your calendar and do a mental count. Daniel and Konnie will arrive on Saturday, 9th June. Hopefully, they'll arrive during the day, because you'll be taking Ahri to Nenek's house that night for a small, intimate cocktail party. If they come at night, you'll just debrief on Sunday, and start preparing to get ahead of the shitstorm that's inevitably brewing. You know Shiki, he's a proud man, a paranoid man, a man who doesn't take kindly to disrespect, but he's also a good friend, and you can surely use that to get him to listen to you.
- 女王之天命 -
The rest of the week passes by busily. You have all your meals together with Ahri, eating together in the kitchen, instead of the dining room. It's a little beneath her station, but she doesn't mind, and it's a deliberate choice on your part: she needs intimacy and closeness in her private life, not reserved, distant formality. You take baby steps in teaching her how to cook; she knows how to work the oven toaster, so you start out with making toasted sandwiches and recreating Uncle Johnny's peanut butter honey toast. You prod her into making her bed instead of leaving it to the servants to clean. You go over her tutoring with her, quizzing her on the homework her tutors have given her, discussing politics and her studying. She's not stupid, you realise. She's naive and ignorant, but she does have a mind, and you work on encouraging her to expand her mental horizons. Every other day, you slowly work on her fitness, exercising with her, doing the 5BX, spending an hour in the pool, even getting her to start with slow jogging. You mix things up a little, alternating between your usual Navy PT clothes and the designer workout clothes Mummy made you take. Ahri finds your workout clothing very interesting; they're a little loose on her, but she's happy to be lightly exercising in the morning with you. You promise her you'll go shopping to get workout clothes that properly fit her, and her smile lights up the morning.
You call your grandmother midweek, to advise her of a change of plans: in hindsight, it would be better for the Empress to invite members of her close family to the palace for an intimate gathering. Your grandmother agrees, but makes you promise to come visit her in two weeks time instead, with or without Ahri; she wants to spend quality time with her granddaughter (and, yet again, try to sell you on trading your bridge for her boardroom).
Ahri is both nervous and excited at the prospect of hosting an intimate gathering, and tells you as much. You do your best to reassure her, promising that you're going to be by her side, that the only people present are family, and that the point of the engagement is much the same as her homework before you left for your fact-finding mission: it's to establish where her baseline is, so that you know what you need to work on. Nobody, you assure her, is going to blab about anything that happens, they're all here to help her, and you'll be right beside her if she stumbles. You spend your evenings going over etiquette and protocol, helping her prepare. Friday night, Ahri is unusually quiet, her previous excitement having subsided. She looks nervous as she sits on her bed while you brush her tails.
"What's wrong?" you ask. "You've been subdued this last day."
"I'm scared. I'm not ready. I don't want to disappoint you," says Ahri softly. "I've never done anything like this before. I don't want to embarrass you."
"Oh Ahri," you say, and you pull her into your lap and wrap your arms around her. You lean back and let both of you fall to the bed. Ahri twists around in your arms, she buries her face in your bust, and you nuzzle her ears. "I will always love you. That's not going to change. I'm not like our Royal Grandmother. I will always love you for who you are, not because you're not an embarrassment, not because you're useful to me. I love you because you're my little sister."
Ahri doesn't say anything, she just takes a deep, shuddering breath, and sniffles. You stroke her back and her tails and make comforting noises. "I was nervous the first time I hosted a party," you tell her gently. "But my mother was there beside me to help me out, and I'll be beside you to help you out. Uncle Johnny nearly quit OCS during etiquette and decorum training, but he managed to get through. Just think of it as a class, as a coaching session. Sure, you may make mistakes, but that's why we have training, so that we get our mistakes out of the way before we do it for real, okay?"
"Okay."
"Self-reflection is important, but don't overdo it," you tell her. "Yes, you're not ready to rule right now. I wasn't ready for command when I was commissioned. But I became ready, and you can become ready too."
"Thank you, onee-sama," sniffles Ahri, and she kisses you. You stroke her ears and hug her even harder.
- 女王之天命 -
You're ready in time, but it was a close thing; you and Ahri spent the afternoon raiding Auntie's closets for cocktail dresses; Ahri eventually settled on a black off-shoulder dress, while you chose a deep purple halter neck dress, accessorising with various pieces of jewelry from Auntie's collection. Both dresses are backless, which is the norm for Huxian fashions, albeit the back on your dress plunges far lower than Ahri's. You feel a little surreal, wearing a dead woman's clothes and jewelry: you would have preferred to wear your own things, but Ahri asked and you couldn't really say no to her.
Your guests arrive and you guide Ahri through the protocols and courtesies involved. Your guest list is small: your grandparents, Duchess Tengku Fauziah Kyoko Perak-Kobuin and Duke Michael Perak-Kobuin; your mother, Princess Natasha of Akasha; and your godfather-uncle-mentor, Fleet Admiral Sir Yonatan Chew.
And one unexpected guest.
Uncle Johnny makes his entrance, wearing a royal blue suit with a black shirt, waistcoat and tie; it's an excellent look on him, and he looks dapper as fuck, to borrow Konnie's phrasing. What gives you and Ahri pause is the woman on his arm. Her appearance is striking, with long dark hair, royal blue eyes, and an undeniably beautiful face, but that's not why you focus on her, it's because she isn't on the guest list. You give Uncle Johnny a look intended to convey a message of Interrogative, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over. He gives you a half shrug, and looks at her; she turns and looks up at him. An unspoken message passes between them. Uncle Johnny looks at you and gives you another apologetic half-shrug, and bows to you and Ahri, his companion following suit.
"Good evening, Your Majesty, Your Highness."
"Good evening, Sir Yonatan," replies Ahri. "Welcome. I do not believe I am acquainted with your companion?"
"Your Majesty, Your Highness. May I introduce to you my adjutant, Captain Lady Amagi Ri-Sumeragi."
Ah. That explains things. It's one of the Navy's unwritten cultural rules that the adjutant is expected to serve as their CO's companion to formal events, should their CO not have a partner. You've played armcandy for Uncle Johnny more than once before. Still, a Sumeragi, even one from a cadet line? You feel your eyebrows rise a few millimeters; Ahri, meanwhile, is staring slack-jawed at your uncle's adjutant. Work in progress, you remind yourself. Work in progress.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness," Ri-Sumeragi greets you both, bowing. Her dress is understatedly elegant, and not as daring as you would have expected of someone with her surname. For all that her name implies, she carries herself not like a spoiled noblewoman of a vengeful Great House, but as a naval officer on duty, with an air of sophistication and elegance.
"Lady Amagi," you reply. You're quite sure you've never met her before, but you feel a sense of deja vu, looking at her. It's strange, there's something familiar about her, but you can't fathom what it is.
As a steward leads Ahri and Ri-Sumeragi to the small ballroom that will serve as the venue for the night's festivities, you smile sweetly at your uncle and say, "I beg your Majesty's pardon, but I require a private word with Sir Yonatan."
"Of course, Your Highness," replies Ahri. You sigh internally. Uncle Johnny gestures for Ri-Sumeragi to precede him, and you discretely draw Ahri to the side. "Did I do something wrong?" she asks worriedly.
"You addressed me as Your Highness."
"Yes, you're a princess, isn't that the right way, onee-sama?"
"No, because you're the Empress, Your Majesty. Your Grace, Your Highness, Your Majesty - these are used to address someone of a higher station than the speaker. You're the Empress, you have the highest station in the entire Empire. You don't need to address anybody as Your Anything, just address them by title and rank. Use "Princess Yui" instead of "Your Highness," okay?"
"Got it, onee - I mean, Princess Yui," she says, nodding, and you suppress another sigh, give her a reassuring smile and quickly squeeze her hand. Ri-Sumeragi offers to escort the Empress inside, and you keep your pleasant facade up until Ahri and Ri-Sumeragi depart, and then turn on your uncle. "Explain this."
"I thought it was that kind of social event. My mistake," he says calmly.
"Did you have to bring a Sumeragi here?"
"Ri-Sumeragi is cadet branch, not the main house, and she's a key member of my staff," he corrects you. "Let's be real, we've all been adjutants, we've all had to play CO's armcandy. You know how it is, I don't see why you're getting so worked up about this."
You do, you think sourly. Being Uncle Johnny's armcandy wasn't as unpleasant as it could have been, but you still didn't care for it. You're not going to let him off so easy though.
"This was supposed to be a coaching session for Ahri."
"Yes, I realise that now. It did seem a little too quiet for a normal cocktail party at this level." He gives you a chiding look in reply to your raised eyebrow. "I have attended cocktail parties at the palace before, y'know. Look, it'll be fine. Ri-Sumeragi won't cause you any problems tonight. Just keep an open mind and let things play out. Remember when you first joined my staff?"
You remember. It was hard work and a tremendous culture shock and you cried yourself to sleep every night and wondered why you chose this life, but you also remember the CO going out of his way to make sure that the rest of his staff treated you fairly, and didn't write you off as a dilettante debutante slumming it in the Navy for a season. That willingness and determination to take people as they are and give them the chance to prove themselves without prejudice, that's one of the reasons Fleet Admiral Chew instills such loyalty in his people.
And, well. If he didn't trust her on some level, if he didn't think she could be discreet, he wouldn't have brought Ri-Sumeragi along, he could have flown solo tonight. You'll give her the benefit of the doubt. For the Skipper's sake.
- 女王之天命 -
The party is, thank the Divine Founder, not a trainwreck. The cocktails are splendid, the hors d'oeuvres are a smorgasbord of cultures and tastes, from canapes to spring rolls to crispy rendang. Lady Amagi turns out to be the biggest surprise of the evening: she's a charming, polite conversationalist, with a wickedly sharp sense of humour. She carries herself with an air of sophistication and elegance, without seeing the need to assert herself into every conversation. Nor does she loudly proclaim the superiority of her House, or make any passive-aggressive jabs against the Imperial Family. If anything, she behaves like the very picture of a modern naval officer: well-read, clever, proper, polite, politically inscrutable, no tail spreading displays. In short, nothing like Lady Akagi, something which weirds you and Ahri out; she can't stop looking at her.
Proper, you decide. If you had to describe her in one word, it would be proper. You can see why the CO likes her.
Watching her and Uncle Johnny, it's clear that they have professional ease in each other's company: they both work well together, the way a flag officer and adjutant should. Lady Amagi comports herself as if they were attending a Navy function, where his military rank trumps her social standing. She defers to Uncle Johnny's lead, even though in this civilian setting, her social standing as a noblewoman cadet member of House Sumeragi trumps Uncle Johnny's status as a knighted commoner. That's not something you'd ever have thought you'd see from someone bearing the name Sumeragi.
She's also a surprisingly good sport, and willingly lets herself be used alongside Uncle Johnny and Mummy a few times as an example of wrong etiquette for Ahri to spot and recognise. The coaching session carries on through the night, your guests taking turns to demonstrate correct and incorrect manners, until the end of the evening, when Ahri declares that she is relaxing the requirements of decorum, and sits informally with your family, chitchatting about everything under the sun. She reacquaints herself with your grandparents, and is enthralled by the holodrama-esque story of how they first met and their life as a young married couple of working professionals. Uncle Johnny's anecdotes of his early life with Daddy don't get as much traction with the civilians, even if you find then hilarious. Ri-Sumeragi's sly and subtle wit about the adjutant life is just as entertaining. You'd love to just sit in a corner and trade space stories, some other time, and isn't that the biggest surprise of the night?
All in all, you think, the evening was a success. Ahri learned things, engaged in social interaction, spent time with your family, and you found, potentially, the first Sumeragi you might actually be able to get along with.
As she departs, your grandmother pulls you aside for a private word. "I must commend you, Your Highness. It was an excellent party, full of teaching moments."
"You are too kind, Duchess."
"I'm not kind enough," she says, and wraps her arms around you and pulls you down for a hug; you bend down to accommodate your grandmother. "Well done, Sayang! Such a good girl you were, you were wonderful!" she says, stroking your back, avoiding your artfully styled hair, and she pinches your cheeks.
"Nenek, I'm almost thirty," you protest feebly.
"I don't care," declares your grandmother, kissing your cheeks and cuddling you some more. "I'm so proud of you, you're such a good girl, being a good example to Her Majesty. Anything you need, you call Nenek, ok?"
"Yes Nenek," you reply obediently, enduring more cooing from your grandmother.
"Also when are you going to find a nice boy and get married, you're older than your mummy when she had you."
"Maybe later Nenek, not now."
"Don't wait too long, Sayang. I want to see my great grandchildren some day, alright?"
"Yes, Nenek."
"Such a good girl you are. Sayang, remember, when you marry you need to make sure your husband understands his place, okay? That's how Atuk and I stay married so long, because he knows his place and accepts it. Make sure your husband understands his place okay?"
"Yes Nenek," you sigh.
"Remember Sayang, you're a descendant of a royal bloodline that was ancient before this Empire was a thought in Hagoromo's mind, you need to remember that. You are a princess, and your husband must understand that no matter his family or achievements he is nothing compared to you."
"... yes, Nenek."
"Actually, never mind, someone like Johnny also can, I've always liked that young man, I wish your mummy would have married him and gotten me more grandchildren, not like your father, doesn't know where his place is, runs off to the frontier leaving you and your mummy all alone, not like your Atuk, staying beside me where his place is."
"Yes, Nenek," you sigh again, and endure her some more. You love her, you really do, but she can get a little tiring sometimes, and she always brings up her pet soapboxes when she sees you.
Many hugs, kisses and stroked tails later, your grandmother finally releases you and takes her leave. You think that she might have even crossed a line into lese majesty in the last five minutes, but grandmothers will be grandmothers.
You watch as Nenek leaves with Atuk, and smile. For all her rhetoric about finding a man who knows his place beneath her, about how you have to make sure the man knows his place is to serve you, it's obvious to you that your grandparents are mutually besotted with each other, with the way they hold hands and smile like newlyweds. You'd like that for yourself, someday.
But not today. Today, tomorrow, and tomorrow after that, you have no room for romance in your life. Not anymore. You have an Empress to raise and mentor. So many people have raised and mentored you: it's your turn to pay it forward for Ahri, and one day, it'll be her turn to do for her children what you're doing for her.
- 女王之天命 -
You let Ahri sleep in that Sunday morning, not just because of her late night and as a reward for passing her coaching session, but also for your own sake: you were woken by her nightmares again. You're not happy about that, not one bit: you'd thought, you'd hoped, that things were getting better. All you could do was kiss her tears away and hold her until her nightmares subsided.
After brunch, you beg your leave of Ahri, giving her the excuse that you need to check up on a few things, and call Konnie and Daniel, and ask to meet at your house. To your utter lack of surprise, Konnie is already there —you figure she must have slept over in the guest room that's semi-permanently designated as her room. Daniel arrives shortly after you do, and you get down to a full debriefing in your office.
"I can't believe that VSS misfiled their paperwork so badly," you say, incredulously. "I thought their administrator was running a tight ship?"
"Some things fell through the cracks, ma'am," replies Daniel. "I didn't believe it myself, but, well." He plays back an ECHO log recording, and you listen in aghast at how slapdash VSS's office employees are.
"They were being idiots, not sneaky, " shrugs Konnie. "I don't see why you two are acting so surprised at filing mishaps, there was that audit a few months back that found a couple hundred million crowns worth of Navy spares in a forgotten warehouse. The Navy doesn't have a monopoly on bureaucratic incompetence. I'm more concerned about the pirates. They were well-equipped and well trained. Not your average mooks."
You listen with growing concern as your staff brief you on the full scale of the piracy suppression op, and on the altercation between your forces and 4th Fleet. Daniel and Konnie are of different minds as to 4th Fleet's posture.
"Something is not right with 4th Fleet, ma'am," notes Daniel. "Their posture was quite aggressive, with a level of hostility that frankly was unwarranted. Commodore Muryutou was not treating Task Force Soyeon like a friendly formation."
Konnie shrugs. "From their perspective, we took an invasion fleet into their AO, jammed an authorised PMC, and heavy-handedly went about doing an audit in their house. I'd be annoyed too."
"Annoyed enough to speak so demandingly to a superior officer, ma'am? Commodore Muryutou was acting like you were the junior officer, not her."
"She's Admiral Kanda's right hand. In 4th Fleet's AO, that counts for more than my stars," shrugs Konnie again. She turns to you. "As a whole, ma'am, while the outcome of that confrontation wasn't ideal, I think we can live with it. Her report to Comberth Harbor should portray this as a case of a flag officer who got a little too carried away by her stars and made a series of questionable judgement calls. Embarrassing for the flag officer in question, no doubt, but you and Her Majesty are insulated from the blowback."
"I was hoping to avoid any blowback," you muse. Daniel and Konnie share a look, and then Konnie pointedly looks at you, eyebrow raised. You spread your hands. "I chose to bring the heavy task force, I chose to accept the greater risk of discovery. I made a judgement call that our deception measures ought to mitigate that risk. That's on me."
"What I find curious, ma'am, is how 4th Fleet knew we were in-system," muses Daniel. "We used a dispersed departure from the capital, jammed the VSS depot on the way in, and had control of their comms while we were investigating. And yet, based on Captain Chintaum's report, battlecruiser Hyperion's recce squadron jumped in 1st June, ten days after we arrived in-system."
You frown. "Comberth's a ten-day journey from Egon, isn't it?"
"Yes, ma'am, but assuming one day for any transmission to arrive at Comberth, one day to ready ships for sail, and a ten-day transit, they should have arrived two days later, on 3rd June. That's much too fast."
"It's theoretically doable if you redline your drives and push hard," opines Konnie. "We could do it, but we've had a fresh refit. It's not something you want to do with ships that aren't in pristine condition. Captain, what's the material condition of 4th Fleet?"
"My starting assumption is that their ships are in worse material condition than 13th Fleet, Admiral: they don't have the same level of support that 13th Fleet has - had, I mean," he amends, and you're reminded of the painful fact that at the month's end, 13th Fleet will be officially disbanded and split up. "I'd need to investigate further to get solid data."
You ponder the matter. "So the questions are how did 4th Fleet learn we were in-system, and how were they able to respond so quickly to us?"
"Yes, ma'am. It's particularly concerning given the sophisticated EW measures the pirates employed, namely the EW cruiser and the EW buoy."
"Wait, what?"
Daniel helpfully flips to the appropriate page of his full report, and you can feel a headache growing. "They had an electronic warfare light cruiser supporting their raids, and emplaced an electronic warfare buoy to suborn the system's long-range comms buoy?"
"That's correct, ma'am," reports Daniel. "The pirates named this ship Shaddup Nao, but investigation revealed it was originally the light cruiser Khazanah, of the Malusial System Defense Force - a ship which was officially sold for scrap two years ago by 1MDB, the Malusial system's sovereign wealth fund. The EW fitout on that ship matches milspec systems packages offered by SA-Caledfwlch."
"What," you say flatly. "A Siam-Astra subsidiary, involved with pirates? Even if the pirates were mercenaries gone rotten or hired guns, this sounds more sophisticated than usual."
"The pirates weren't keen on talking and we were running up against the clock, so HUMINT collection was limited," says Daniel apologetically. "We remanded them into VSS custody; my opposite numbers in VSS and the Egon SDF promised to share with me whatever intel they develop. The EW bouy was a surprise we weren't expecting: it was surprisingly subtle. It intercepted outgoing transmissions to 4th Fleet and tricked the comms buoy into thinking that the messages were sent, when in reality they didn't make it through."
"So Egon was calling for help and nobody knew," you muse. "Is that why Rafidah Aziz-Sumeragi was in Egon? The Earl of Egon thinks he's receiving a deaf ear, so he turns to Sumeragi and tries to bring his system under their aegis, hoping that as their vassal they'll have an obligation to protect him?"
"Not exactly, ma'am," says Daniel, a little awkwardly. He directs you to another section of the folder. "My summary is here, and the full details are inside, but the short of it is that Baroness Rafidah Aziz-Sumeragi was present as a senior executive of Siam-Astra Frontier Heavy Industries, which the Earl of Egon was courting as an investment partner."
"So, not a Sumeragi landgrab?"
"Not a Sumeragi landgrab, ma'am. The Earl apparently intends to remain politically independent, while expanding Egon's infrastructure, industry, and ducal forces." Daniel's expression is carefully neutral. Konnie gives you an "I-told-you-so" look. You sigh, and rub your temples. Fucking 9chan conspiracy theories.
"Alright," you say, marshaling your thoughts. "Mistakes were made, hypotheses were disproven, 4th Fleet's choler is up, but it wasn't a complete disaster, and any day where we can bring pirates to justice is a good day. Rear Admiral Vickers, thank you for your assistance and your discretion in this matter. Please stay afterwards, I'd like to have a private word with you once I conclude with Captain O'Farrell."
"Of course, Vice Admiral."
Konnie leaves (no doubt to enjoy the contents of your liquor cabinet), and closes the door behind her. Daniel relaxes slightly, and you exhale tiredly.
"Well. Mistakes were made. That could have gone better. But it could have gone much worse."
Daniel shrugs noncommittally. "We did discover legitimate avenues for further investigation, if Her Majesty will continue to extend Her mandate to us. I'll summarize; the full details are in the file.
"Firstly, ma'am, there's the matter of where the pirates got their ships from. There was the EW cruiser Khazanah, the heavy cruiser was formerly ex-Panglima of the Malusial ducal forces, two of the other destroyers were also from Malusial. Multiple ships from the same ducal force, all supposedly sold for scrap, all in pirate hands, is more than a coincidence. I believe that investigating the Malusial system, as the source of these ships, is of merit.
"Second, the matter of the refit. These ships were professionally refurbished in an actual shipyard by skilled workers, not a jury-rigged slapdash job like what we'd expect from regular pirates. The EW fitout, the installed milspec systems, these match up to upgrade packages offered by SA-Caledfwlch. That implies several things, none of them good, and we don't know whether the rot is limited to SA-Caledfwlch, or has spread further into its parent company of Siam-Astra Fenghuang."
Daniel pauses, hesitation obvious, and hands you the third sheet.
"Finally, ma'am, we could investigate the 4th Fleet."
"Excuse me?" you ask, eyebrows raised meaningfully. Daniel sets his shoulders and carries on.
"Ma'am, 4th Fleet's posture was unusually aggressive and hostile, their ships are in better material condition than reported, and even though we took a war fleet into Egon, they had no way at all of knowing that - and yet they show up faster than expected, two days faster. Something suspicious is going on in Comberth."
You ponder the options. "Daniel, what are the risks involved with following up these leads?"
"I believe all these leads are time-sensitive, ma'am. Choosing to pursue one lead risks the trail going cold on the others, especially if we want to be discreet and thorough. I've given thought to expanding the investigation team, I have a number of candidates to vet, but if I take the time to do my due diligence on them, I believe it's likely that all investigation trails will go cold."
"What about a compromise?" you suggest. "A shorter vetting period would allow you to expand the team and be able to pursue multiple leads, would it not?"
"That's a possibility, ma'am, but I'm concerned that the disadvantages outweigh the benefits. There would still be the risk of all the trails going cold - admittedly, not as high as with the full vetting period - and I'm worried that I might not find any red flags a longer vetting period would discover. Ultimately, the decision of whether those risks are acceptable is your decision, ma'am."
You purse your lips and think. There's also the political angle to consider.
Investigating 1MDB and Malusial has the least political risk: Iskandar bin Zekhar-Curchille may be the Duke of Malusial, but there are Dukes and then there are Dukes; House Zekhar-Curchille is a minor noble house on its lonesome, unaligned with any of the Five Great Houses.
Investigating SA-Caledfwlch is, you judge, moderately risky. Not only is its parent company, Siam-Astra Intergalactic Holdings Limited, one of the largest megacorporations in the Empire, but you'd be sending your agents to poke their noses in Fenghuang territory. If your moves are discovered, the pushback will be loud and immediate.
4th Fleet presents the greatest political risk: you're quite sure that following this lead will burn your bridges with Shiki, and quite possibly the Navy as a whole, and might even blowback onto Uncle Johnny and Daddy.
You have choices to make, Princess. What are you going to do?
[ ] Investigate ONE lead now. High risk other leads may go cold.
-[ ] Investigate the Malusial system (pirate warship source)
-[ ] Investigate SA-Caledfwlch (pirate refit supplier)
-[ ] Investigate 4th Fleet (suspicious posture)
[ ] Expand investigation team, thorough vetting. High risk all leads may go cold.
[ ] Investigate ONE lead & Expand investigation team, moderate vetting. Moderate risk all leads may go cold, risk of undetected red flags in candidates.
-[ ] Investigate the Malusial system (pirate warship source)
-[ ] Investigate SA-Caledfwlch (pirate refit supplier)
-[ ] Investigate 4th Fleet (suspicious posture)
Voting moratarium for 60 Hours, we open back on wednesday 6am malaysia time. Still, I'm glad it finally got out, even through all the IRL cucking I got this last month.
[ ] Investigate ONE lead now. High risk other leads may go cold.
-[ ] Investigate the Malusial system (pirate warship source)
-[ ] Investigate SA-Caledfwlch (pirate refit supplier)
I am thinking one of these would be best. I would rather do one investigation and do it well than to risk failing all of them.
[ ] Investigate ONE lead now. High risk other leads may go cold.
-[ ] Investigate the Malusial system (pirate warship source)
-[ ] Investigate SA-Caledfwlch (pirate refit supplier)
I am thinking one of these would be best. I would rather do one investigation and do it well than to risk failing all of them.
Translations! Nice! Though I would like to know how you made the smaller text appear above the normal one.
basically the bbcode is [ ruby = "translation" ] word [/ ruby] (as alwas, remove spaces).
I'd suggest it might be helpful to lok at some of the previous sides - SA-Caledfwlch was first mentioned in the Newsfeed sidestory. Chekhov's gun, ho!
Pirates getting professional-grade gear now ay? Happy fun.
To be honest I'm tempted to investigate SA-Caledfwlch (why does that sound Welsh, Whiskey?) - risk aside, getting the middleman in the supply-refit-pirate chain might help us find both the source and destination of the hulls in question. Also, maybe send a politely-worded "WTF" email to Kanda about both the posture and blazing-fast reaction times of his gank squad.
Pirates getting professional-grade gear now ay? Happy fun.
To be honest I'm tempted to investigate SA-Caledfwlch (why does that sound Welsh, Whiskey?) - risk aside, getting the middleman in the supply-refit-pirate chain might help us find both the source and destination of the hulls in question. Also, maybe send a politely-worded "WTF" email to Kanda about both the posture and blazing-fast reaction times of his gank squad.
), that's not exactly a good setup for couping, y'know. 
