Eternity RPC Board
04-22-2019, 01:22 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-22-2019, 02:01 PM by Alvino Castillon.)
Date: 11 Dein, 1597
Time: 06:32 Local Time
Location: Situation Room, Imperial Palace
“Your cousin is the worst,” Hiraku Honda hisses softly as he walks side by side with his superior. Out of the corner of his eye, he can sense two cold glances settle upon him. Clearly her guards were not pleased with his informality; before either can say anything though, she waves them off with her hand.
“Not untrue,” Mirai Sekai replies simply. “But still inappropriate to say for a while longer.” He mumbles something under his breath, earning a glare from her and a scolding. “Just a reminder, Chairman. He is of Imperial blood. Still your tongue.” She mumbles something else as her eyes flicker away. Honda opens his mouth for a moment to ask what it was she says, but pauses and clams it shut just as quickly.
“Forgive my tongue, Your Imperial Grace.” His eyes drift upwards to meet hers. Sincerity and anger blend together, giving her a perfect window into his current mindset. Unsurprising, given the circumstances bearing down upon the region. “I’m simply a bit shaken by all of this. There’s no doubt how this ends. It’s as if he’s looking for a fight… does he really think he can win like this?” Before she can answer, they reach the end of the hallway. Two other guards greet them and salute. Bowing their heads, they await for her order to return to attention. With a dismissive wave of her hand, they stand upright and slide open the door for her.
“To be honest, I can’t say for certain Chairman. But I suppose that’s what the meeting is for, no?” Empress Sekai gives him a grim smile and steps into the room. At once, all of its occupants fall silent and stand at attention, bowing in her presence. She clears her throat and walks to her seat at the middle of the C-shaped table. She looks at the chair and smiles. Perfectly plain and just like the others, as requested. She sits down comfortably and waves her hand to the assorted generals, statesmen, and security advisors. As they sit, Honda joins her on her right while the new Prime Minister, Takashi Nobunaga, flanks her left.
“Do we need a recap of the situation, Your Imperial Grace?” One of the attendants ask. She gives them a nod, and the attendant begins to speak. “At approximately 05:15 local time, explosions could be heard along the demarcation line between the Sainamese Republic and the Imperial Edo State. While the Imperial Guard had supposedly been put on high alert, reports are trickling in that border towns on the Edo side of the line have lost communication with the central provincial government, likely being captured by Sainamese forces.” As the attendant speaks, another attendant hands her a folder. Opening the folder causes the first attendant to fall silent, allowing her a moment to skim its contents. After a minute however, she pauses and looks up with a look of confusion.
“Did I say stop?” Empress Sekai asks calmly. The attendant gulps and bows her head.
“Apologies, Your Imperial Grace. I wanted to give you a moment to read the contents before-“
“I’m capable of tuning into your summary of the situation and reading the dossier’s contents. Please continue.” She returns her attention to the dossier and continues to skim the folder’s contents. The attendant winces for a moment before recovering her composure.
“By your command. At this time, intelligence suggests that Sainamese forces are advancing upon the...” She trails off again and swallows hard. Empress Sekai slowly looks up and folds her arms.
“The Palace is going to be taken and then he’ll claim the Celestial Throne.” At once, audible gasps can be heard throughout the room. The Empress smacks her hand on the table to silence the room and rolls her eyes as obviously as she can. “Oh come on! We all know what he’s doing and this is obviously to shore up support for a failed domestic policy!” Prime Minister Nobunaga clears his throat and decides to add his voice to the conversation.
“We suspect that Sainam may also be seeking to do much more than that though.” The Prime Minister flips through his folder to a particular page in the report and points to a highlighted section to show the Empress. “This may be the stepping stones to begin the conquest of all of Heiwana. They believe that our neighbors due west will be the only one to come to the aid of Edo, as we currently handle the Drubangi Crisis.”
“He takes the throne, claims the mandate, and tries to rally support to conquer the archipelago…” Empress Sekai trails off and thinks for a moment. Then, she takes a deep breath and looks over at Chariman Honda for his thoughts. He seems to be staring at a particular page on his notepad. As Empress Sekai strains her eyes to see what’s on the notepad, he discretely tilts it to show her. An eyebrow shoots up, followed by a look of horror as she finally sees where his head is at.
“If I may be frank to everyone, and to Her Imperial Grace most of all, I believe it’s clear which of these problems is the larger of the two.” He closes the notepad and looks around the room calmly. Eventually, his eyes settle on the Defense Minister, Goro Kato. “Handling a two front war. With allies, is it possible?” All eyes turn towards Minister Kato, who seems to be attempting to look anywhere else. After a moment, his eyes dart to meet Chairman Honda’s
“With all due respect Chairman Honda, you’re asking me to run a scenario which has quite a few variables in play.” Empress Sekai’s eyebrow raises at the rather dodgy answer. She leans forward ever so slightly, as if ready to pounce upon her newfound prey. The Defense Minister seems to notice this and softly clears his throat to indicate that there was more to say. “That being said, initial estimates suggest it isn’t completely impossible to take on both Drubang and Sainam at once. Presuming that they would be willing to work with us on Sainam… we could potentially fight Drubang to a standstill and take down Sainam in the meantime.”
“This is presuming that they’d want to invade Sainam though,” Prime Minister Nobunaga adds. “Liberating Edo may be as far as they’re willing to go for this, which means…” He trails off and lets the room fall silent again. Empress Sekai and Chairman Honda look at each other, reading each other’s facial expressions for a moment. Eventually, they both look at the Foreign Minister, Kotone Akiyama.
“Foreign Minister Akiyama, please reach out to your counterpart in Chikasu immediately. Defense Minister Kato, prepare our standing fleets for further orders. Continue with the planned operations for the Drubangi Crisis, but prepare any other standing forces for the possibility of hostilities with Sainam. Prime Minister Nobunaga and Chairman Honda, let’s prepare an emergency session as quickly as possible. Are there any questions?” The other occupants in the room remain silent. With a simple nod, the Empress rises and says, “Then let’s not wait any longer. It’s time to get to work.”
Time: 06:32 Local Time
Location: Situation Room, Imperial Palace
“Your cousin is the worst,” Hiraku Honda hisses softly as he walks side by side with his superior. Out of the corner of his eye, he can sense two cold glances settle upon him. Clearly her guards were not pleased with his informality; before either can say anything though, she waves them off with her hand.
“Not untrue,” Mirai Sekai replies simply. “But still inappropriate to say for a while longer.” He mumbles something under his breath, earning a glare from her and a scolding. “Just a reminder, Chairman. He is of Imperial blood. Still your tongue.” She mumbles something else as her eyes flicker away. Honda opens his mouth for a moment to ask what it was she says, but pauses and clams it shut just as quickly.
“Forgive my tongue, Your Imperial Grace.” His eyes drift upwards to meet hers. Sincerity and anger blend together, giving her a perfect window into his current mindset. Unsurprising, given the circumstances bearing down upon the region. “I’m simply a bit shaken by all of this. There’s no doubt how this ends. It’s as if he’s looking for a fight… does he really think he can win like this?” Before she can answer, they reach the end of the hallway. Two other guards greet them and salute. Bowing their heads, they await for her order to return to attention. With a dismissive wave of her hand, they stand upright and slide open the door for her.
“To be honest, I can’t say for certain Chairman. But I suppose that’s what the meeting is for, no?” Empress Sekai gives him a grim smile and steps into the room. At once, all of its occupants fall silent and stand at attention, bowing in her presence. She clears her throat and walks to her seat at the middle of the C-shaped table. She looks at the chair and smiles. Perfectly plain and just like the others, as requested. She sits down comfortably and waves her hand to the assorted generals, statesmen, and security advisors. As they sit, Honda joins her on her right while the new Prime Minister, Takashi Nobunaga, flanks her left.
“Do we need a recap of the situation, Your Imperial Grace?” One of the attendants ask. She gives them a nod, and the attendant begins to speak. “At approximately 05:15 local time, explosions could be heard along the demarcation line between the Sainamese Republic and the Imperial Edo State. While the Imperial Guard had supposedly been put on high alert, reports are trickling in that border towns on the Edo side of the line have lost communication with the central provincial government, likely being captured by Sainamese forces.” As the attendant speaks, another attendant hands her a folder. Opening the folder causes the first attendant to fall silent, allowing her a moment to skim its contents. After a minute however, she pauses and looks up with a look of confusion.
“Did I say stop?” Empress Sekai asks calmly. The attendant gulps and bows her head.
“Apologies, Your Imperial Grace. I wanted to give you a moment to read the contents before-“
“I’m capable of tuning into your summary of the situation and reading the dossier’s contents. Please continue.” She returns her attention to the dossier and continues to skim the folder’s contents. The attendant winces for a moment before recovering her composure.
“By your command. At this time, intelligence suggests that Sainamese forces are advancing upon the...” She trails off again and swallows hard. Empress Sekai slowly looks up and folds her arms.
“The Palace is going to be taken and then he’ll claim the Celestial Throne.” At once, audible gasps can be heard throughout the room. The Empress smacks her hand on the table to silence the room and rolls her eyes as obviously as she can. “Oh come on! We all know what he’s doing and this is obviously to shore up support for a failed domestic policy!” Prime Minister Nobunaga clears his throat and decides to add his voice to the conversation.
“We suspect that Sainam may also be seeking to do much more than that though.” The Prime Minister flips through his folder to a particular page in the report and points to a highlighted section to show the Empress. “This may be the stepping stones to begin the conquest of all of Heiwana. They believe that our neighbors due west will be the only one to come to the aid of Edo, as we currently handle the Drubangi Crisis.”
“He takes the throne, claims the mandate, and tries to rally support to conquer the archipelago…” Empress Sekai trails off and thinks for a moment. Then, she takes a deep breath and looks over at Chariman Honda for his thoughts. He seems to be staring at a particular page on his notepad. As Empress Sekai strains her eyes to see what’s on the notepad, he discretely tilts it to show her. An eyebrow shoots up, followed by a look of horror as she finally sees where his head is at.
“If I may be frank to everyone, and to Her Imperial Grace most of all, I believe it’s clear which of these problems is the larger of the two.” He closes the notepad and looks around the room calmly. Eventually, his eyes settle on the Defense Minister, Goro Kato. “Handling a two front war. With allies, is it possible?” All eyes turn towards Minister Kato, who seems to be attempting to look anywhere else. After a moment, his eyes dart to meet Chairman Honda’s
“With all due respect Chairman Honda, you’re asking me to run a scenario which has quite a few variables in play.” Empress Sekai’s eyebrow raises at the rather dodgy answer. She leans forward ever so slightly, as if ready to pounce upon her newfound prey. The Defense Minister seems to notice this and softly clears his throat to indicate that there was more to say. “That being said, initial estimates suggest it isn’t completely impossible to take on both Drubang and Sainam at once. Presuming that they would be willing to work with us on Sainam… we could potentially fight Drubang to a standstill and take down Sainam in the meantime.”
“This is presuming that they’d want to invade Sainam though,” Prime Minister Nobunaga adds. “Liberating Edo may be as far as they’re willing to go for this, which means…” He trails off and lets the room fall silent again. Empress Sekai and Chairman Honda look at each other, reading each other’s facial expressions for a moment. Eventually, they both look at the Foreign Minister, Kotone Akiyama.
“Foreign Minister Akiyama, please reach out to your counterpart in Chikasu immediately. Defense Minister Kato, prepare our standing fleets for further orders. Continue with the planned operations for the Drubangi Crisis, but prepare any other standing forces for the possibility of hostilities with Sainam. Prime Minister Nobunaga and Chairman Honda, let’s prepare an emergency session as quickly as possible. Are there any questions?” The other occupants in the room remain silent. With a simple nod, the Empress rises and says, “Then let’s not wait any longer. It’s time to get to work.”