Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Third
Posted: 2009-02-18 01:16pm
Hokkaido Prefecture
City of Heijo-kyo
Imperial Royal Palace District
Admiral Hiro Fuchida was allowed to approach His Divine Majesty, but had to remain outside the personal exclusion zone demanded by his guards. The tenno, or "heavenly sovereign" was a youngish man for Emperor, being 45 years of age and, despite the attention of the finest groomers of the realm he was quite thoroughly prematurely grey. Instead of debasing himself to the use of dyes, however, he had embraced the grey as a sign of wisdom. It was particularly odd, the grey perched so stately above his face, which had retained its comparatively youthful appearance, with few wrinkles.
"Admiral Fuchida," the Emperor said plainly, his voice rich, friendly, and amazingly informal. "By all means, rise." The Admiral stood tall and straight before his Emperor. The tenno had acknowledged his prescence, but not yet bid him to speak. He very delicately put the last brush strokes of a haiku on rice paper, on an easel before him, then turned to face the Admiral.
"Please, Admiral," he said, disturbingly informal. "Have a seat. I desire to hear of our situation at the border."
"Yes, Majesty," the Admiral said, and went to sit. A servant appeared with a chair in perfect timing, as Fuchida knew would happen. He'd visited the Emperor once before, with a group of newly-promoted Admirals at a brief tea ceremony to celebrate their ascencion to the highest rank of the Imperial Japanistani Navy's premier defense arm.
"You shaved your mustache," the Emperor said. Fuchida kept his startlement well-disguised. That had been eight years ago, and he had not even looked directly at me, he thought.
"Yes, Majesty," he said, for he could not think of what else to say. The Emperor looked at him critically for a moment, comparing mental pictures.
"Too bad," he said, "I thought it made you look dignified. To be honest, it may be jealousy on my part. When my facial hair comes in, it is patchy and most undignified." Fuchida could not help but fidget at this extrememly personal turn of conversation. He also did not know if he was supposed to regrow the mustache to please the Emperor, or if doing so would remind the tenno of his own inability to grow attractive facial hair..? "Anyhow, please," he said, "What of the foreign devils?"
"Our Navy has scored a minor victory over the devils just a week ago," Fuchida was pleased to announce, "Boarders said that these crews acquitted themselves well, fighting to the end even as their ship was boarded by our commandos. One of our commandos made the ultimate sacrifice to close the victory in our favor." The Emperor drank in the words as he drank in his tea.
"Excellent," he said, "See to it his family receives my personal thanks," he said, and no sooner were the words out of his mouth when one of the many silent servants nearby ran to the Palace to secure a parchment and begin writing the standard Imperial letter of congratulations, which His Majesty would sign.
"So," the Emperor said, "They acquitted themselves well in their ships, but not once they were prisoners, I take it?"
"No, they did not," Fuchida admitted, "I fear I over-estimated their stature as warriors," he admitted, his head bowed. The Emperor was silent for another moment.
"Yes, I read the report," the Emperor said, "Many barbarians among the crew, I take it?"
"Some, Majesty." The Emperor sighed, and tch'd.
"For a house to be strong, the bricks must be uniform," he said, "Our old adversaies weaken themselves; diluting their singular strength to increase their manpower pool with others of questionable talents and motivations." Fuchida said nothing; he personally agreed with the assessment. "Have the devils crossed the threshhold since?"
"No, Majesty," Fuchida replied, "The sanctity of the Eternal Penninsula and Archipelago remains intact since they left our borders," he said. The Emporer smiled his satisfaction.
"Then you have performed your job most honorably," the Emperor said, "Do not feel as though you failed by giving these devils the chance to prove themselves to you personally," he said, "As a warrior, you need to know the measure of the men you face. You offered them an honor, and it was they, not you, who flinched." The tension in Fuchida's stomach eased considerably.
"Thank you, Majesty," he said.
"Thank you, my good Admiral," the Emperor said with a smile, "You have maintained the dignity of my realm, and for that, I am grateful. I will arrange for immediate reinforcements to be sent," he said. The next servant in line tensed to run. "The Fifth Tsushima Guardian Unit shall be at your disposal should the devils attempt another reconnaissance at Kitakyushu. And, of course, the Hiryu battle group will be at your disposal as an immediate reserve. After the formation of the CATO alliance, and the unpredictable nature of the FTO submarines incursions, I want to see to it that no devils infiltrate our territory."
"Thank you, Majesty," Fuchida responded. He had been prepared to accept rebuke, and he was walking out with praise... and reinforcements. It was a good day. They were finishing their tea, and an agent of the Imperial Family Agency approached, waiting outside the exclusion zone, and bowed. The Emperor bid her approach, and she spoke low in his ear, and remained bowed until he dismissed her.
"Admiral Fuchida, it is serendipitous that you are here. The Tokeitai has requested permission to conduct reconnaissance in devil skies. I will attach a group of them to you, so that they may report their finding directly to your headquarters."
"Thank you, Majesty," Fuchida said again. The Emperor returned his bow, and another agent of the Family came forward to escort the Admiral away. The Emperor was done with him now; and Fuchida had to show results from the unexpected boons he had been given.
Results:
Admiral Fuchida to maintain his defense of the Eternal Pennisula and Archipelago.
Reinforcements given: 1 carrier battle group; 1 elite Army division, 1 Naval Special Recon team.
Admiral Fuchida has the blessings of the Chrysanthemum Throne.
Imperial Tokeitai (Naval Intelligence)
Reconnaissance Force: Ryukyu-17
The Japanistani Tokeitai, or Naval Special Intelligence force, was a catch-all unit that conducted "ideologically sensitive" operations of importance to the Japanistani Navy. Everything from ordinary military police work up to and including border security, running work camps, and espionage and counter-intelligence roles were assigned to its many branches. Today, however, it was the activity of Special Recon Group Ryukyu-17 that was at the fore of activity.
The Ryukyu R-99 and R-99/A airborne surveillance aircraft specialized in both air search and sea hunting missions, particularly in the hunt for any potential submarines that might try to "accidentally" blunder into the waters that belonged to the Chrysanthemum Throne. The Tokeitai was certain that Shroomania's decision to fold itself into the ethno-militarist union of Slavic barbarians so soon after the Warden Incident was no coincidence. Admiral Fuchida was taking no chances that the FTO wouldn't attempt a similar incursion into the Home Waters as well.
But the display of resolve was not limited to mere overflights. Shima-class Frigates also plied the waters inside the IJN's traditional sea borders, aggressively patrolling for increased submarine activity.
The Imperial Japanistani Navy would exert all efforts to seek out any foreign devil sub that wandered into their waters-- and destroy it.
There were those that felt that last week's incursion of a civilian tramp freighter was, in fact, an accident of the ill-trained crew, using old and mistreated equipment... but the Tokeitai had decided to take no chances. The tramp steamer and it's crew of 20 had been classified as "foreign intelligence agents" and executed, and now the Admiralty was intent on rooting out any more infiltrators that might be out there...
Results:
The Warden incident makes Japanistan paranoid of foreign spies & subs.
The decision of Shroomania to join CATO confirms fears of a new, more militant foreign policy by "foreign devils".
Imperial Japanistani Navy goes into high gear, again aggressively patrolling home waters.
City of Heijo-kyo
Imperial Royal Palace District
Admiral Hiro Fuchida was allowed to approach His Divine Majesty, but had to remain outside the personal exclusion zone demanded by his guards. The tenno, or "heavenly sovereign" was a youngish man for Emperor, being 45 years of age and, despite the attention of the finest groomers of the realm he was quite thoroughly prematurely grey. Instead of debasing himself to the use of dyes, however, he had embraced the grey as a sign of wisdom. It was particularly odd, the grey perched so stately above his face, which had retained its comparatively youthful appearance, with few wrinkles.
"Admiral Fuchida," the Emperor said plainly, his voice rich, friendly, and amazingly informal. "By all means, rise." The Admiral stood tall and straight before his Emperor. The tenno had acknowledged his prescence, but not yet bid him to speak. He very delicately put the last brush strokes of a haiku on rice paper, on an easel before him, then turned to face the Admiral.
"Please, Admiral," he said, disturbingly informal. "Have a seat. I desire to hear of our situation at the border."
"Yes, Majesty," the Admiral said, and went to sit. A servant appeared with a chair in perfect timing, as Fuchida knew would happen. He'd visited the Emperor once before, with a group of newly-promoted Admirals at a brief tea ceremony to celebrate their ascencion to the highest rank of the Imperial Japanistani Navy's premier defense arm.
"You shaved your mustache," the Emperor said. Fuchida kept his startlement well-disguised. That had been eight years ago, and he had not even looked directly at me, he thought.
"Yes, Majesty," he said, for he could not think of what else to say. The Emperor looked at him critically for a moment, comparing mental pictures.
"Too bad," he said, "I thought it made you look dignified. To be honest, it may be jealousy on my part. When my facial hair comes in, it is patchy and most undignified." Fuchida could not help but fidget at this extrememly personal turn of conversation. He also did not know if he was supposed to regrow the mustache to please the Emperor, or if doing so would remind the tenno of his own inability to grow attractive facial hair..? "Anyhow, please," he said, "What of the foreign devils?"
"Our Navy has scored a minor victory over the devils just a week ago," Fuchida was pleased to announce, "Boarders said that these crews acquitted themselves well, fighting to the end even as their ship was boarded by our commandos. One of our commandos made the ultimate sacrifice to close the victory in our favor." The Emperor drank in the words as he drank in his tea.
"Excellent," he said, "See to it his family receives my personal thanks," he said, and no sooner were the words out of his mouth when one of the many silent servants nearby ran to the Palace to secure a parchment and begin writing the standard Imperial letter of congratulations, which His Majesty would sign.
"So," the Emperor said, "They acquitted themselves well in their ships, but not once they were prisoners, I take it?"
"No, they did not," Fuchida admitted, "I fear I over-estimated their stature as warriors," he admitted, his head bowed. The Emperor was silent for another moment.
"Yes, I read the report," the Emperor said, "Many barbarians among the crew, I take it?"
"Some, Majesty." The Emperor sighed, and tch'd.
"For a house to be strong, the bricks must be uniform," he said, "Our old adversaies weaken themselves; diluting their singular strength to increase their manpower pool with others of questionable talents and motivations." Fuchida said nothing; he personally agreed with the assessment. "Have the devils crossed the threshhold since?"
"No, Majesty," Fuchida replied, "The sanctity of the Eternal Penninsula and Archipelago remains intact since they left our borders," he said. The Emporer smiled his satisfaction.
"Then you have performed your job most honorably," the Emperor said, "Do not feel as though you failed by giving these devils the chance to prove themselves to you personally," he said, "As a warrior, you need to know the measure of the men you face. You offered them an honor, and it was they, not you, who flinched." The tension in Fuchida's stomach eased considerably.
"Thank you, Majesty," he said.
"Thank you, my good Admiral," the Emperor said with a smile, "You have maintained the dignity of my realm, and for that, I am grateful. I will arrange for immediate reinforcements to be sent," he said. The next servant in line tensed to run. "The Fifth Tsushima Guardian Unit shall be at your disposal should the devils attempt another reconnaissance at Kitakyushu. And, of course, the Hiryu battle group will be at your disposal as an immediate reserve. After the formation of the CATO alliance, and the unpredictable nature of the FTO submarines incursions, I want to see to it that no devils infiltrate our territory."
"Thank you, Majesty," Fuchida responded. He had been prepared to accept rebuke, and he was walking out with praise... and reinforcements. It was a good day. They were finishing their tea, and an agent of the Imperial Family Agency approached, waiting outside the exclusion zone, and bowed. The Emperor bid her approach, and she spoke low in his ear, and remained bowed until he dismissed her.
"Admiral Fuchida, it is serendipitous that you are here. The Tokeitai has requested permission to conduct reconnaissance in devil skies. I will attach a group of them to you, so that they may report their finding directly to your headquarters."
"Thank you, Majesty," Fuchida said again. The Emperor returned his bow, and another agent of the Family came forward to escort the Admiral away. The Emperor was done with him now; and Fuchida had to show results from the unexpected boons he had been given.
Results:
Admiral Fuchida to maintain his defense of the Eternal Pennisula and Archipelago.
Reinforcements given: 1 carrier battle group; 1 elite Army division, 1 Naval Special Recon team.
Admiral Fuchida has the blessings of the Chrysanthemum Throne.
Imperial Tokeitai (Naval Intelligence)
Reconnaissance Force: Ryukyu-17
The Japanistani Tokeitai, or Naval Special Intelligence force, was a catch-all unit that conducted "ideologically sensitive" operations of importance to the Japanistani Navy. Everything from ordinary military police work up to and including border security, running work camps, and espionage and counter-intelligence roles were assigned to its many branches. Today, however, it was the activity of Special Recon Group Ryukyu-17 that was at the fore of activity.
The Ryukyu R-99 and R-99/A airborne surveillance aircraft specialized in both air search and sea hunting missions, particularly in the hunt for any potential submarines that might try to "accidentally" blunder into the waters that belonged to the Chrysanthemum Throne. The Tokeitai was certain that Shroomania's decision to fold itself into the ethno-militarist union of Slavic barbarians so soon after the Warden Incident was no coincidence. Admiral Fuchida was taking no chances that the FTO wouldn't attempt a similar incursion into the Home Waters as well.
But the display of resolve was not limited to mere overflights. Shima-class Frigates also plied the waters inside the IJN's traditional sea borders, aggressively patrolling for increased submarine activity.
The Imperial Japanistani Navy would exert all efforts to seek out any foreign devil sub that wandered into their waters-- and destroy it.
There were those that felt that last week's incursion of a civilian tramp freighter was, in fact, an accident of the ill-trained crew, using old and mistreated equipment... but the Tokeitai had decided to take no chances. The tramp steamer and it's crew of 20 had been classified as "foreign intelligence agents" and executed, and now the Admiralty was intent on rooting out any more infiltrators that might be out there...
Results:
The Warden incident makes Japanistan paranoid of foreign spies & subs.
The decision of Shroomania to join CATO confirms fears of a new, more militant foreign policy by "foreign devils".
Imperial Japanistani Navy goes into high gear, again aggressively patrolling home waters.