"You left a Roju, and you shall return as one. The Blood Dragons need charismatic and honorable leaders, and you Cheng-san, have never before failed at that task." - Miyamoto stopped in his tracks, turned to Cheng with a worrying expression on his face, "We are facing troubling times my friend. The Remnants of Tekagi once again knocking on our doorstep, tricking us, playing us for fools. But we know more than they think. The Order, one of the few things I hate the most in this world, are now our allies and we are expected to swallow our pride and forget the past. I have tried, but betrayal runs deep. Times will change brother, and you come on the eve of change. A red sun will rise soon, and every enemy of the Blood Dragons will have chills up their spine, for the Sons of Kusari shall not hide." - Speaking from his heart, and with true passion, worthy of a Rising Son, Miyamoto was obviously tormented by his actions with the Order and much more. He could not help but think he has betrayed both himself and his brothers, "No more Cheng-san, no more. I would rather die an honorable man than betray all that which I hold sacred to ease our life. Hai, what I have done is all in the interests of the Blood Dragons, but we will endure, we always have; we shall endure and rise higher than ever before..." - Suddenly Miyamoto realized that Cheng was paying great attention to his words, but was still unsure as to where they are coming from, "Forgive me brother, I got carried away and you have just came back. Go now, walk through the halls of Kyoto once more, let your brothers see that you are back. I must return to the Imperial Chamber, to give credit to those who are worthy. We shall meet again soon Cheng-san. Stay safe and live every minute of your life with honor." - With those words Miyamoto took a few steps back, bowed slightly and quickly paced back to the Throne Room.
Miyamoto prepared for this moment, so he had his personal Guard to send word for a few certain Samurai to await his arrival in the Throne Room. Some more eager than others, some more patient than most. Miyamoto paced pass them and stood at the bottom of the Throne. His True Imperial Majesty was not present, as he was enjoying some peace and quiet time in his personal chambers. He took a deep breath and turned towards the Dragons in the Room. Raising his hands, gesturing them to settle down for he has some important news.
"Brothers, I have summoned you here for you have all done the Rising Sons proud, and the Shogunate believes that you, above all, deserve to reap the seeds of your honest, hard and honorable work. Not many live to see this day, and some that do not live much past it. But this is the life of a Blood Dragon, a path covered in thorns. Rose pedals await at the end of the path, and we shall spill some blood to reach it, but once we do it will be more fulfilling than anything else in this world. I shall not keep you, for both you and I have important tasks to attend to."
"Heiji Kurosawa, please stand up." - Miyamoto then walked towards him and bowed slightly, and putting his hand on Heiji's shoulder afterwards, "The word honor is not foreign to you. You, brother, are one of the few that put it above all else. You have shown us that you are ready for this, and most importantly want this; your skills in combat are also impressive, and that cannot pass unseen. For that, Heiji-san, of the Kurosawa Dynasty, you shall be known as a Roju, a Grand Master at war from now on. You may take a seat now." - Both bowed to each other, "I also expect a sword duel soon." - Miyamoto spoke with a smile and turned to the second Rising Son present
"Shinji Takahashi, you are both wise and powerful, and those two qualities are cherished amongst us Blood Dragons. Your spirit is true, your heart unspoiled. You fight for what you believe, and allow nothing to stand in your path. Much like Heiji-san, you do the Rising Sons proud. Rise now Shinji Takahashi. You have risen as a Hatamoto, and shall take a seat as a Grand Master of war, Roju. The Takahashi Dynasty will run strong with you. Keep your bloodline true Shinji-san."
"Takeru Maeda, your diplomatic and talkative skills are remarkable. Those, accompanied with a fighting style such as yours make you a valuable Samurai, and an even more feared opponent. And the Shogunate does not let such things skip our eyes. You have done us proud, and will continue to do so in the future. Takeru-san, hence forth you shall be known as a Master Warrior, a Hatamoto. Wear this title proud, brother."
"Marzoruki Kimozashi, you are a mystery to many eyes throughout Kusari, but your actions on the battlefield speak for themselves. Your self control, your calm mind and hand freeze the very blood in your opponent's veins. To simply watch you fight for something you treasure, brings warmth to my heart. You move like a Samurai, and most importantly, you act like one." - Miyamoto then leaned towards him and whispered, "I may have a special task for you in the near future. Come seek me in my chambers." - He leaned back and continue with his monologue, "Marzoruki Kimozashi, from now on your brothers will address you as a Master Warrior, a Hatamoto of the Rising Sons. Wear it proudly, and keep it true."
Miyamoto looked at each and every Dragon there, and couldn't help but to feel pride, and honor. An aura of both was circling the Imperial Court, and it could be felt in the ground, smelled in the air. But he couldn't afford to linger much longer, "Forgive me brothers, for now I have some other task to attend to. I am sure you are familiar with Yamakazi-san's departure from Kusari, and him joining our ranks. He has become aware that in order to restore Kusari to what it once was, change must come. And that change is us, the Blood Dragons. We have urgent things to discuss, the two of us."
A well built man in the black and gold dress uniform of an Order captain strode into the court, several medals displayed proudly on his chest. His face was worn and aged and freshly scarring shrapnel wounds covered the left side of his head. On his hip was a curved wakasashi sword bearing the seal of the Taishogun on its laquered scabbard, a gift from the man's last visit to the asteroid city of Kyoto.
He walked purposely towards the centre of the room and bowed repectfully. Although it was clear he was trying to conceal it, there was a hint of a limp in his left leg.
"I am Captain Leigh of the Order," he said with a clear voice, "here to negotiate with the Shogunate over the renewal of relations with the Order."
He straightened himself and waited paitiently for the reply...
Quote:Dublin Miner: I am Gallic admiral earning money in Bretonia.
It took a few minutes for Dato to notice that his fellow Shogun Ryuu Noboru would prefer letting him to greet the newcomer with the well-known 'wardance'. Awakened from his slumber after the Order emissary stepped into the Court, Shogun Dato greeted with his usual gallant tone of voice from his seat. "Konbanwa, Captain. It's good to see that you arrive at Kyoto without any Kempeitai agent following you." He grinned slightly after this last sentence. "As you may have noticed, there's not been any relevant change around here... Aside from the fact that the Shogunate gained -and lost- members. Let me introduce myself as Itagaki Dato, member of the Rising Sons Shogunate."
"A pleasure to meet you Itagaki Dato," said the captain, bowing his head respectfully.
Taking out a sheet of paper neatly folded into his breast pocket, he handed it to one of the guards to pass to the Shogunate.
"I have been instructed by my superiors to outline what the Order is willing and able to do to foster this alliance," he went on, "it is all outlined on that document but I will speak it for the court to hear."
He cleared his throat before beginning.
"The Order will render assistance against the forces of the Aoi Iseijin in Tohoku and throughout Kusari, as well as interdicting Samura artifact shipments," he said, "in time, there is also a possibility of the Order giving the Shogunate access to the H16 "Reaper" Mk V Neutron Cannon and the G19 "Death's Hand" Mk V Laser Cannon to augment the firepower of the Shogunate's fighter craft."
He paused to let the proposal be heard.
"To facilitate this, we are requesting that a limited number of Order craft be allowed to operate out of Kyoto base, while recieving limited docking rights on other Blood Dragon stations."
He paused again.
"I trust this is to the satisfaction of the Shogunate?"
Quote:Dublin Miner: I am Gallic admiral earning money in Bretonia.
He frowned as Leigh pronounced his name. "It would be Shogun for you, Captain."
It didn't take long until the shogun left his seat and began walking around the center of the room, where the Order captain was standing still. "I think you are forgetting the basis of our alliance back in the Nomad War. To put it simple, you wanted the so called Proteus Tome, which happened to be in hands of one of the most powerful men of Kusari back then. Right after the assault where many of our warriors perished -and shall be remembered until the end of the times-, it was discovered that Tekagi was under the influence of the beings known as Slomon K'Hara, and now apparently the remains of this battle didn't vanish at all.
Dato stood up in front of the captain, casting some sort of disapproval look. "Our point is... You are not the ones you have to assist in this conflict. -You- are the ones who have to fight this battle of yours. Your forces will have docking rights on Ryuku base and our research station in Okinawa, that is all the assistance you would need from us. Remember, nothing have changed for us: Our actions are solely focused on restoring the True Throne, therefore we trust you to deal with the threat in Tohoku on your own."
He shrugged before heading back to his seat. "About your weaponry, we are glad to hear about your interest on sharing your technology but over the years, we have managed to polish our own Daito laser cannons and improve the efficiency of the Vb-18 Neutron blasters. Our firepower is more than augmented at the moment."
Shogun Ryuu Noboru sat on his stool and quietly observed the captain, screening him from head to toe. A slight smile shaped on his face upon the mention of "augmenting the firepower of Shogunate's fighter craft".
When he made sure Shogun Dato finished with his speech, he slowly stood up and adressed the Captain directly.
"Konnichiwa, captain Leigh. I'll say my piece as well. Indeed the Shogunate is well aware of the threat these decendants of Tekagi's present. They seem to be very determined in their pursuits - whatever it is they're pursuing - a feat we would be ill advised to ignore."
"Some of our Warriors are convinced they're out to avenge Tekagi's death. Yet the words they're... Relaying to their potential victims seem to have no correlation with... Well, not something we'd know much about. In fact, no-one seems to know how exactly to interpret their words. And I must confess, I do feel slightly uneasy fighting an enemy I know so little about, an enemy I don't even know the goal of."
"So, if you could help me with that, Captain, You'd be of some help already. Another thing I'd like to know of you is, how do you intend on dealing with these... Things? Surely reconnaissance would be the first thing on your mind? Talk us through that a bit, please, just to let us know of the full extent of the operations You have in plan. The Iseijn sightings deeper in Kusari are very rare at this point as well, so I'm not exactly in favour of Order operations further than Tohoku at this point."
"A word of caution though, Captain. Some of our warriors are not the forgiving kind. Neither do they have short memories of some of your less fortunate diplomatic dealings of past."
"About the weapons... Who would I be to refuse a gift?"
After the last sentence, he glanced towards Shogun Dato and smiled slightly.
"In fact, I do remember the basis of that alliance, but it is not that alliance that I am here to renew," he began, "there was a time not so long ago that the Order and the Shogunate negotiated a new treaty and it is that treaty that I have been sent to restore."
"As for whether the Arch is solely the problem of the Order," he went on, "while it is true that we concern ourselves above all with the elimination of the Nomad threat, it is arguable that the Aoi Iseijin are more the problem of the Blood Dragons than the Order."
There was a murmor around the court as his words sank in.
"They are likely present in this very court as we speak," he added gravely, "until they reveal themselves or undergo thourough medical screening, they appear to be human in every way and we know for certain that they count Blood Dragons among their number."
Another more widespread murmor went around the room.
"I'm sure I don't need to point out what a threat this poses to the security of Blood Dragon operations," he said, "while their immediate goals may not conflict with your aim to unseat the current Emporer, their goal is largely to spread dissent and chaos in preparation for a Nomad invasion as with the Das Wilde in Rheinland."
He cleared his throat.
"For this reason," he said, turning to Shogun Noboro, "I am not at liberty to reveal any details of the Order's plans concerning the Aoi Iseijin except to the shogunate personally."
He took a datapad from a pouch on his belt and handed it to Shogun Noboro personally, not allowing the guards to relay it. He then returned to his position to allow the shoguns to read the pad...
Quote:Dublin Miner: I am Gallic admiral earning money in Bretonia.
Daimyo Takeru Maeda finished whispering to his shoguns. He stood up, looking a the Order Captain in the eyes, and started talking with a clear voice :[color=#FF6666] [color=#FF0000]
- Captain Leigh, while it is true that the Aoi Iseijin are deceptive, treacherous and unpredictable, you seem to underestimate our own vigilance. This very base is equipped with scanners able to detect any infected being. It would be hard to believe that one of them managed to successfully infiltrate the Blood Dragons.
[color=#FF6666]Takeru continued his speech, tapping on his Katana handle while he was expressing his doubts.
[color=#FF0000]
- Our main concerns in Kusari are the usurper emperor and his followers. The Slomon K'Hara and their infected minions are indeed a threat, but only a secondary one. Why would we concentrate our efforts on hunting them when we could kill two snakes with one stone by overthrowing the current empire, thus getting rid of Jien Kogen and the infected agents at the same time ? [color=#FF6666] [color=#FF6666]The Daimyo sat down slowly.
[color=#FF0000]
- As for your proposition about weapons... While they are extremely effective, we spend a lot of resources on producing our Daitos as well as refitting Naval Forces weaponry. Acquiring a different weapon technology without the need to develop it ourselves would allow us to use these resources elsewhere... That is an interesting proposition, indeed.
[color=#000000] [color=#FF6666] Takeru crossed his arms, waiting for the Captain to answer.[color=#FF0000]
The captain turned to the Daimyo and bowed his head respectfully in recognition.
"While I don't doubt the vigilance of the Blood Dragons, I perhaps think that you have underestimated the Aoi Iseijin," he said, "not only are they decptive in the extreme in their infected form, but they also make use of non-infected agents who are simply under their sway. Such agents could only be detected by extensive psychological examination, and even then, no prognosis would be certain."
He cleared his throat.
"If they are not in the court, they will find out what was said here through word of mouth regardless," Captain Leigh went on, "and that alone makes them dangerous in the extreme, and worthy of at least some attention."
"Certainly, the Order is not asking the Blood Dragons to drop it's struggle to topple the Samura puppets on the Kusari throne, but as has already been mentioned," he said, speaking as much to the court as to Daimyo Maeda, "there are those among the Blood Dragons who already have greivance with the Aoi Iseijin. Surely a small number of pilots is a reasonable commitment for a 'secondary threat'?"
Quote:Dublin Miner: I am Gallic admiral earning money in Bretonia.
"I find your fear of infected agents in the Court rather insulting." Dato interrupted."Just because we let visitors in here doesn't mean we didn't pick one by one those Blood Dragons allowed to have a permanent seat in this chamber." He added while looking at Shogun Noboru, the Daimyos and the guards. "After all, these past years of cooperation in Sendai had to be worthwhile."
![[Image: Blood_Dragons4.png]](http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab220/ApoLLo-cRo/Sig/Blood_Dragons4.png)
![[Image: 9rXD1gi.png]](https://i.imgur.com/9rXD1gi.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/9rXD1gi.png)
