"My apologies if it seems insulting, but I am simply taking appropriate precautions to ensure that Order Operations are not compromised," replied Captain Leigh, "like I said, I do not doubt the vigilance of the Shogunate, I simply feel from my experience in dealing with them that the Aoi Iseijin are more than devious and resourceful enough to get an informant into the court."
"It may be that you are right Shogun Dato, and the Iseijin have no informant in the room and I am being unessessarily secretive," he went on, "but once you have seen what the Order has planned, you will no doubt understand my caution. If there is even the slightest chance that my words might compromise the security of an Order operation, then I shall remain tight lipped."
Quote:Dublin Miner: I am Gallic admiral earning money in Bretonia.
Shogun Noboru inspected the pad with some unease, weighing it from one hand to the other.
When the other men finished speaking, he stood up, handing the pad back to the Captain.
"It's not very revealing though, is it?"
He cleared his throat.
"Now listen to me, and listen to me well. Tohoku is not Omicron Minor. It is a very dangerous system, and I do not care what kind of a mythical creature you have guarding planet Toledo, but the fight in Tohoku, should it come to it, will have to be carried out in open space. Our base in Tohoku is not to be compromised at any costs."
"Our warriors are wary of the threat and will come to your aid in most cases, however. Should you find yourself in need of a retreat, do not let the thought of doing so in the direction of Ryuku base even enter the back of your head."
"Ryuku base has some other limitations as well. It cannot host capital ships. It's simply not big enough and a capital ship moored to it would make it much easier to detect as well."
"These are my terms, Captain. I do hope you can keep your men in check, as our future dealings with your organisation depend on it."
"As you can see from that document Shogun Noboru, captial ships will not be basing off of Ryuku base and our pilots are under strict instructions not to lead even civilian vessels to the base, let alone a persuing force of Aoi Iseijin," the captain replied, "the security of the Blood Dragons facilities is assured on our end. Any Order personel breaking that agreement are accountable to both the Order and the Blood Dragons."
Quote:Dublin Miner: I am Gallic admiral earning money in Bretonia.
"I don't think we would want capital ships using Chugoku as a passage, even." He added."Not even our jamming systems can't prevent hostiles forces from following such gargantuan vessels into our system once they established visual contact either in Hokkaido, Sigma 13, Honshu or Tohoku." Dato grinned at Noboru before ending his speech. "Snubcrafts and recon assets could always remain stealth when passing through Chugoku, don't you think so?"
"We are agreed on that Shogun Dato," said the captain, "our vessels are under strict instructions to make sure they aren't followed into or through Blood Dragons space and our capital vessels will not enter Chugoku unless express permission is given by the Blood Dragons."
"Now, unless there is anything else the shogunate wishes to ask of me, I must be taking my leave to oversee the preparations in Tohoku."
The captain stood and waited to be dismissed.
Quote:Dublin Miner: I am Gallic admiral earning money in Bretonia.
The Gas Miners Guild transport, or as her owner had called her "the battle ship" Ohotsuku-Kai had just been cleared for docking with Kyoto base, with the passengers scanned and decontaminated. The vessel was more of a warship than a transport, thanks to the impressive armaments mounted on her, but more so because of the high-class armour-plating that had been upgraded for her. "The best you can buy with credits" the owner had been told during the retrofitting. And it had been proven to be true no sooner than on her maiden voyage. Unbreakable, the Ohotsuku-Kai made any pirate rethink their position after having seen their comrades' ships turning to wrecks, while only being able to scratch the paint-coating of the "battle ship" with everything but their most powerful torpedoes, even those left much to be desired. Guild Master Taro Katsuo had been more than pleased with his new vessel.
"Bring her down on any landing pad that's large enough, Meishu-san." Taro ordered Jomyo Meishu, one of his Seibyou, his elite aces. Jomyo only nodded, and started their descent down unto one of the largest landing pads available. He'd been surprised that their vessel had even been able to dock with Kyoto proper, as the docking ports to the asteroid base were no wider than their vessels was long, leaving little space for errors. Taro had brought Jomyo Meishu and Hiromichi Shinohara with him to Kyoto, both of them Seibyou, to act as his retainers. Neither of them were too happy with the de-lousing during docking, but they knew better than to complain. "Sensei, the grav-lifts are engaged. We've landed." Jomyo notified Taro "We're ready to disembark." A flip of a switch powered down the engines. "Arigato, Meishu-san. Shino-san -" Taro called for Hiromichi "bring the chest, and be gentle with it." With a few limping steps, Hiromichi had left the ship's bridge and now walked in the narrow hallway through the living quarters. An old battle-wound had injured his legs so Hiromichi had to learn living with the constant pain, and it hurt more so whenever he walked. Not that he'd ever reveal his weakness willingly, but the limp did so anyway. The first door on his right was Taro's cabin, so he pressed a wall panel and the door slid open with a swoosh. Inside, Hiromichi saw the wooden chest placed plainly on a desk. Hic. The chest had elaborate and beautiful carvings marked into it, and the wood had a shade of chestnut brown. No more than a meter long from one end to the other, it stood no taller than eight inches from the desk's surface, and almost as wide. Hic. Gently, Hiromichi brought it with him carrying it with both hands, all while cursing that his hiccup had returned again. "Excellent." Taro said upon Hiromichi's return to the bridge, and beckoned Hiromichi closer to relieve him of the chest. "You may leave your side-arms and any weapons here on the ship. We won't be needing them here during our stay." Jomyo and Hiromichi glanced at each other, but did as they were asked, loosening their blaster-holsters and putting them aside, the same with any other hidden weapons they were carrying. Meantime, Taro had unlocked the the chest and opened it just slightly to peek inside. "Perfect. It's perfect indeed." he said, and carefully closed the chest shut again. "Let's not keep our hosts waiting. They've waited long enough already." With that said, he gave the chest back to Hiromichi and they left the bridge, heading towards the crew exit. Taro assumed someone would greet them at the landing pad, to escort them to the Imperial Court, and their waiting hosts.
Shinji Fuyutsuki, the doctor that was in charge of Lena Emmagen on Sendai Research Station, landed on Kyoto with his Drone freighter. It's been years since he has been able to come back on Kyoto, and yet he wished he could have came back for better news than transmitting the last wishes of his patient. As he slowly walked in the corridors, he looked at the faces of those he crossed. It was relieving to see new faces for once, new recruits eager to defend freedom to fight to manipulated Kusarian government, and of course, more women, especially not scientists. He looked at the small sealed box he was carrying in his hands again, and wondered what his reaction would be. How close was he with Lena ? He had no idea as he promised to never read the content of the datapad inside.
He arrived in a corridor close to the entry of the Imperial Court, and asked a Blood Dragon Guard if he knew where could Teraku Oshiro be and it was pretty important.
Daimyo Takahashi was already waiting outside with two of his Obans, whose task it is to guard the Daimyo and the visitors from the Gas Miners Guild.
He greeted the Guildmaster with a bow once he left his ship.
"Konnichiwa, Katsuo-san.
Let me welcome you to our home and let me tell you, we are honored with your presence. Shogun Dato and Noboru are waiting for you, let me show you the way to the Court."
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