Only a few of them all could smell the purity of her soul.
The young woman's beautiful tune became more powerful than the crops of Malta for a few moments. The music had reached long-buried feelings of two or three, and then it finally stopped.
"I apologize...", she said, looking at about 25 Chrysanthemums. "That melody is from my childhood. I learned to play before I could read, but it was not I who composed this."
Three other women left the room, but Misoraki knew it was the right time to speak. She raised her voice and continued.
"It is the song of Yuyu Matsuda. It is how my heart sings of her will. Her will, the fire that she put into beautiful words and gave to Kusari... it is what makes our spirits reflect the power of the sun. My name is Aosoraki. I am a pilot in the Kiretsu Sentai Dageki - our fire is also eternal. We are the embodiment of Yuyu's dream. I speak to you in this day, because that will is being drowned in lies and deceit. The old ones now take the lives of our precious, and lay them to the mercy of the desolating desire for wealth. It is what dries this beautiful garden and blocks our sunlight. We have taken the orange waters, and forgotten to preserve the treasure of our soul. It is time to restore the purity of the Chrysanthemums that Lady Matsuda lived for. The Kiretsu Squadron calls to you. The sacred flames will make us beautiful and strong like our mother. Please decide quickly, my sisters."
She stood there, her eyes shined with soft tears.
(//Edit: This is a thread open to any characters in the BD, GMG, GC, or who have the ability, in-RP, to dock on Ainu Depot, Matsuda, or are otherwise involved in the conflict. You may post your character in whatever location makes sense, this thread is not restricted in-roleplay, to any specific place. -Dab)
"It is a cold universe until you know God as your Father, and then it becomes a home. Even the next life simply becomes the Father's house, home."
—David Pawson
"Sister, I am Kia Ikeda, Daughter of the Five Moons, and I pledge myself to the truth and the light, and to the hope that comes with the dawn."
She smiled a little softly, "The old ones tread a path of dust, dereliction, and decay. For us to bloom, the old must be made to make way for the new shoots. It is the way of things. It is our way."
Another woman stood up from the crowd and moved towards Misoraki, or better known by her callsign, Aosoraki. Zetsumai Keisotsu, founder of the current Kiretsu Sentai Dageki, stood beside the young woman she had taken in, taught, and groomed to be her second. It was exceptionally rare for Zetsumai herself to be present on Ainu Depot. Rarely entering any Chrysanthemum-held base aside from the Battleship Matsuda, where she had positioned herself as the lead commander of the battleship and its fighter squadrons.
"Some of you may know me, some may not. For those of you who do, you probably also know that I've vowed to reestablish the old teachings and return us to the true goals of Yuyu Matsuda. We fight for the women of our nation, and for our nation. We will eradicate the corruption gripping Kusari and purify it, gaining our equality and the respect we deserve."
"But we cannot save Kusari until we tear out our own twistedness and become pure ourselves. Kusari was decimated by Rheinland eighteen years ago. Then it invaded Bretonia fifteen years later. Now it has cut off its own trade to Liberty. Lastly, it has entered a conflict with the Gas Miners Guild, an organization that has sought to support our friends the Blood Dragons, as well as those of us that reside on the Matsuda. They, like us, see the value in equality and freedom, independence."
"Why then, has Kusari managed to survive unhindered for so long despite the vulnerable and weakened state it is in? It is because greed and ambition lead our cause. Why do your Elders send you after military ships? To weaken it? No. They can replace their lost people and equipment far easier than we can. Everyday we lose more and more of our sisters to foolish and selfish decisions made by those who are arrogant enough to call themselves Elders. Why? Because it serves them as a way to dispose of unwanted and troublesome sisters. Those smart enough, capable enough to see their manipulation and be revolted by it. I myself have been a victim of this. I survived, and decided to never again allow them to control my life, or my death."
"These attacks make the Elders look nice to the Bretonians, and it appeals to the Blood Dragon's sense of fighting honor. While both are positive events, they are not worth our lives. We need to focus on our true target, our true enemies."
"We in the Kiretsu have strengthened our ties with the Gas Miners Guild. A far-away and battered nation such as Bretonia cannot aid us, they only become a liability to our cause. They haven't the resources, the personnel, or the experience in Kusari's nebulous territory to be a real asset. As I'm sure all of you are aware, the Gas Miners Guild and Kusari have reached hostile relations. The GMG are trying to rid the Sigmas of Samura's plague, and the Samura-controlled government is of course trying to stop them."
"We in Kiretsu have already helped them on several occasions. However, the Elders have not made a single genuine effort to aid them. Why? Why have they forsaken the only legal organization aside from Interspace to support us? Because they get nothing out of it. They see no personal benefit, nothing to increase their comfort sitting safe on Chanai."
"Chanai.. A station many Chrysanthemums call home. A sorrowful fact, considering its entire existence is centered on a betrayal of our biggest allies; the Outcasts. They gladly supply us with Cardamine, as well as include us in their trade network for it, which allows us to raise funds for our cause from the Junkers and Lane Hackers in Liberty, as well as prevent any infiltration by Kusari's security agences. They supply us with ships, equipment, supplies, combat support. How did the Elders repay this kindness? They attempted to cut the Outcasts out of the picture completely in some foolish attempt to make a synthetic version of Cardamine. A Project that has cost us money, supplies, and some of our best scientists. Assets that could've been used productively in our struggle, rather than in vain attempts to increase the Elder's own power and prestige."
"The betrayal of our closest allies, the sacrificial and selfish use of our own sisters for their personal benefit, the abandonment of loyal friends to our cause, the sale of Chrysanthemum fighting ships. Ships that took years and vast sums of money to design and produce. Sold to mercenaries, people who murder for money, sold to Liberty Rogues, pirates who attack civilian convoys for no other reason than to plunder and enrich themselves at the expense of others."
"Are these really the kind of people you want leading our cause? Holding the future of your life in their hands? Those of your who truly wish to see an end to this corrupt and oppressive regime in Kusari, join us in Okinawa. Kusari's liberation is our only aspiration and goal. Greed and ambition is what has destroyed our home, don't let it also destroy the only chance we have to save it."
Zetsumai smiled as she watched the latest Cartel transport unload its supplies onto Matsuda's hanger deck.
The Elder's forces and her own had not yet had a single clash of combat, but already she was gaining the upper hand. She had already ensured the neutrality of the Bretonian Privateers, not that they were exactly a threat to her cause, as well as gaining the support from the Gas Miners Guild, in the form of supply shipments. While the Guild was never heavily involved with the Chrysanthemums, their interference could've been requested by the Blood Dragons, and having to fight Okinawa's biggest force would've crippled the Kiretsu, not to mention drained them off supplies.
Thank god for Samura she thought. Not a thought that was very familiar to her. She'd be more than happy to see Samura crumble into dust, but their act of getting the Naval Forces to move against the Guild had given her an opening to guarantee they didn't interfere with her campaign against the Elders. If they had wanted to, they wouldn't have been able to due to the threat of the Naval Forces. At the same time, sending fighters to assist the Guild against their new enemies had also indebted them to her. Not only did they ensure they wouldn't side with the Elders, but they were even giving her more supplies. And even better, tools she could use to get the Outcasts back on her side of the fence.
The Cartel's transport sitting on the hanger floor was enough to show that she was still remembered by some of their organizations. Now she had only to make sure they saw her as the stronger of the Chrysanthemum's two factions.
Zetsumai was always perplexed by the Elder's diplomatic choices. It was as if they wanted to piss everyone off. They were trying to be friends with the Blood Dragons, ignore the Gas Miner's Guild, get in bed with the Bretonians, get their own Cardamine supply and split from the Outcasts, and pretty much try to please any dick that walked through the door.
The good news was that it gave her more ammunition than she needed. Their relationship with the Bretonian Privateers had angered the Blood Dragons, which, if the rumors she was hearing were true, were starting to think that supporting the Kiretsu was a better idea than the Elders, although on a more private level instead of publicly. The Elder's complete inaction in regards to the conflict between the Guild and Kusari had further inflamed the Dragons, as well as the Guild's leadership, while her pilot's aid had made them value Kiretsu's presence.
Now she only had to convince the Outcasts to cut off their support to the Elders, and then get the Chrysanthemums themselves to lose their faith in their leaders. A feat that wasn't quite as difficult as it seems. War is won and lost. The winners are celebrated and honored, and the losers are punished and demoralized. Angry and depressed people make for an excellent platform to launch a revolution, history had shown this often. Zetsumai would use the negative effects of war and blockade to turn the Chrysanthemums against their Elders, and then she would use the opportunity to take over.
The seeds to bring about that revolution had just been planted. And from an unlikely place. She had approached.. Well, cornered a Farmer's Alliance ship found entering Honshu from the Sigmas. Filled to the brim with enough Artifacts to give the Gas Miners Guild a hernia. Taking advantage of the pilot's desire to stay alive - with his cargo intact - she tendered a proposition for him to take to the other pilots of the Farmer's Alliance.
If the Farmer's Alliance were to attack the Chrysanthemums under the Elder's command, and if lucky, attack the Elders themselves, they'd damage the Elder's control, and their military power. That alone would make her campaign easier, and reduce the chances that she'd lose one of her pilots. However, if they are losing pilots to the Chrysanthemums, lose their support from the Blood Dragons, as well as the Outcasts, things will look, and likely be, quite dim. This will shake the pilot's loyalty, and she will do everything she can to drive a wedge into that fracture. In return, for every pilot of the Chrysanthemums they kill or injure, she'd allow one of their artifact transports through unmolested by her pilots.
It was a gamble, but if it paid off, it'd speed up the exile of the Elders and her ascension to the cause's leadership. If the Alliance agreed to do it...
She stepped back from the second level walkway as the Cartel's transport, the Shadow Express, lifted from the floor and smoothly glided out of the hanger. It was time to fit the last pieces into the puzzle. She began to prepare for her trips to Yanagi and Malta.
Ozei sat in the cockpit of his Orchid hovering about the Hokkaidan clouds. He was contemplating numerous things, though mainly of the rumors he had heard fluttering about Ainu.
"A civil war, eh..?" Ozei commented to himself. Not exactly something I was expecting, he mused. I do not really know what to think about this straight off.
As he played around with the console's controls; everything seeming green and fully functioning, Ozei noted a flight of Chrysanthemum Falcons led by a Blossom buzz by. Funny... They could very well end up shooting one another at some point. Watching the ships fade from view into the rest of the cloud, Ozei kicked the ship into overdrive towards Ainu.
I really hope this does not interfere with my work, Ozei puzzled as the engines roared to life. Last thing I need right now is to involve myself in a power struggle. I end up representing the losing side and I might just have my head speared.
Continuing his contemplation, Ozei pulled into the hangar bay of Ainu Depot. He noted a few engineers working on a rather beat up looking Blossom. One thing is for sure: I certainly have the firepower to defend myself. Ozei eyed the thing - it was being fixed up just for him.About bloody time I got something to go toe to toe with those Naval Forces. This thing may be quick, but it is still a bomber, Ozei thought, thumping the dashboard of his Orchid.
Still though, Ozei continued.I doubt the Bretonians would like me shooting either side of this conflict with their weapons. Ozei was currently working a deal with one of the Privateers in order to secure him some Splitter-type Tachyon Beams. Those'll really give me a powerful punch against all those Chimaeras and Black Dragons. Ozei smirked to himself, setting the Orchid down.
Well, may as well give 'em a hand. Ozei kicked the canopy to his Orchid open, hopping down and heading over to his "new" Blossom. It would be a few days before it was fully operational, as he would need to make a few modifications to the cockpit area in order to fit inside. He may have been skinny, but Ozei still looked at the Blossom's cockpit to be a bit cramped.
Wonder what Sei's up to...? Hope she does not get involved in all this civil war junk...