To Prevent A War

[Emperor Tekagi]

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Office of the Imperial Prime Minister, Kōkyo, Imperial District, New Tokyo. - 27th of July, 835

Whichever past crises found their way into this room, most were just a fading memory, a drop of water into a river compared to what became the topic of this faithful day. The turmoil within the Defense Ministry and the sudden appearance of the Shogun with new instructions did not remain unheard of among those frequenting the Imperial District. Especially not for the Imperial Prime Minister, who in recent years did not shy away from establishing her own information network within the structures of the Empire. Details reached her hand which raised all alarms. Secretive war plans, drafted to be used at times when the Empire faces existential threats, were being initiated. The complex interrelation of the Shogun, the Defense Ministry and specific personnel within the Kusari Uchugun set in motion a clear roadmap leading to the very same event Sanae had sworn herself to prevent: Direct, large-scale military confrontation.

Pondering about her next steps, she called in everyone she deemed relevant to tackling this crisis. Within the coming hours, quite a considerable list of people was to gather in the spacious office: Foreign Minister, Toshinori Kojirou, Economy and Finance Minister, Ryuu Majima, the mastermind behind the Kusari reunification, Noboru Higuchi, Itō Shunsuke, Genrō of his Imperial Majesty and Sanae's partner in life, Irelei. - However, there was one absence notice she received: Head of Operations for the ominous Tokkeitai, "Goryō", who cites inability to leave the area as high ranking officer directly involved in past skirmishes and the upcoming war plan agenda.

In some fashion at least, someone and something had to be done to limit the scope of it all, to prevent either house from lashing out, to prevent the chaos it would all cause. Time was running out, the first war plan could not be stopped anymore. And whilst they were going to meet, everything might change already in the hours to come.