My turn one goal is essentially a prospecting blitzkrieg to see if anything major can be found. Of course, I might be entirely off the mark on how plausible/smart that is.
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Enterprise Name: Roughnecks
Leader Name: Ulysses Roosevelt
Enterprise Bio: The Roughnecks are formed entirely of an old group of infantryman who were in the same squad together during the recent military coup. Soon after the coup, they were discharged and found themselves adrift in civilian life. But under the leadership of Ulysses, they decided to pool their funds and purchase tickets and equipment to travel to Ember, seeking adventure, glory, and adrenaline the likes of which Earth and Mars could not provide.
Starting Crew: 5 Men
Start-up Capital: 3,000 Credits
Starting Location:
West of the Meridian, southern hemisphere, close to the equator for less intensive take-off and landing (despite how little that probably matters in the age of interstellar transport), on the northern side of the "Great Lakes" system, as Ulysses personally refers to that set of bodies of water. The "Great Lakes" are probably far, far larger than the ones of Earth, of course.
If the catalog is unchanged and foodstuffs/medicine do not need to be accounted for, the following will be the Roughneck's gear and purchases:
5x Magnetic Sensor - Handheld: 500
2x Inflatable Structure: 200
1x Solar Recharge Station: 250
5x Pneumatic Jackhammer: 250
5x ATV: 200
1x UTV: 100
4x Semi-automatic Rifle: 120
1x Assault Rifle: 120
1x Acre of Razorwire Spool: 30
5x Tickets: 1250
Total: 2990
Remaining: 10
Leader Name: Ulysses Roosevelt
Enterprise Bio: The Roughnecks are formed entirely of an old group of infantryman who were in the same squad together during the recent military coup. Soon after the coup, they were discharged and found themselves adrift in civilian life. But under the leadership of Ulysses, they decided to pool their funds and purchase tickets and equipment to travel to Ember, seeking adventure, glory, and adrenaline the likes of which Earth and Mars could not provide.
Starting Crew: 5 Men
Start-up Capital: 3,000 Credits
Starting Location:
West of the Meridian, southern hemisphere, close to the equator for less intensive take-off and landing (despite how little that probably matters in the age of interstellar transport), on the northern side of the "Great Lakes" system, as Ulysses personally refers to that set of bodies of water. The "Great Lakes" are probably far, far larger than the ones of Earth, of course.
If the catalog is unchanged and foodstuffs/medicine do not need to be accounted for, the following will be the Roughneck's gear and purchases:
5x Magnetic Sensor - Handheld: 500
2x Inflatable Structure: 200
1x Solar Recharge Station: 250
5x Pneumatic Jackhammer: 250
5x ATV: 200
1x UTV: 100
4x Semi-automatic Rifle: 120
1x Assault Rifle: 120
1x Acre of Razorwire Spool: 30
5x Tickets: 1250
Total: 2990
Remaining: 10
This is getting increasingly interesting.
The Imperium of Hiron
A Grave Offense
Emperor Ryugo Shuu violently threw the sheet of paper informing him of the deaths of the Hironese diplomats onto the table in front of him. Fumes could practically be seen coming from his mouth, the Imperial Ministers audibly gulping. Rarely was the Emperor ever truly angered beyond theatrics meant to sway public opinion, but this time was different as the man growled, "Those goddamned savage pieces of shit. They killed some of our best men. Those men served the Imperium for years, and now they're dead because I sent them there. I should've known better than to think the Xiang could understand anything other than force. If force is what they want, force is what they will get. Scribe, I have some orders for the Hidden Arm." Ryugo glared at the scribe, whom furiously began to write down every word the Emperor spoke.
A day later, after the Arm had begun to move into action, the Emperor came before the people to give an announcement to those assembled in front of the Palace, "Yesterday, my people, we received word that the primitive and savage Xiang, particularly the warlord of Du Nam, executed a series of Imperial diplomats and their escorts. I'm sure the news has already reached you by now of this incredibly grave offense. This grave offense, however, will be remembered in the future as the beginning of the end of Du Nam in particular. This grave offense is in actuality, a grave mistake!
"The Imperium will not sit lightly while the treacherous Du Nam sit upon their throne of corpses, adding the bodies of our own people to them. They may be across the sea, but the Imperium makes no mistake in asserting that we will sail across the sea and bring them to heel soon enough. The warlords shall be captured, tortured, drug through the streets behind Imperial horses, subject to beatings by anyone interested in doing so, and then summarily fed, alive, to ravenous hounds.
"Why will the Imperium do this, you may ask? It is because the warlords understand nothing but force and killing. If they wish to kill our diplomats, the Imperium shall inflict upon them pain far greater than anything the Du Namese can begin to do to the Imperium. They shall be made to pay dearly for their grave mistake. The Imperium will, in the coming months, exact an amount of unrelenting force upon these beastmen the likes of which the world has never seen before. Thank you. And may our lost brothers be swiftly resurrected back into the Imperium to rejoin us. For the Imperium!"
Clandestine Agitation
It was an oft-overlooked fact that the press of the Imperium was controlled almost entirely by the government, either directly or indirectly, as it was in most other nations of the world. It was this very press that had placed a speaker in the town of Furuu, one who held up the newest publication relating the deaths of the Imperial diplomats in Du Nam and the Emperor's rousing speech. That speaker yelled to the assembled group of mostly poor civilians, "The Xiang have killed our peaceful diplomats that sought only to help them against the Meung Menace, the Imperium learned on January 21st. They were solemnly beheaded as they knelt in a field, giving their lives for the Imperium despite having never expected to shed blood."
The speaker then recited the words of the Emperor's speech, yet when he finished, the crowd was mostly unaffected despite the sense of tension in the air. It was clear that war was approaching, a war in response to the offenses of Du Nam and likely the rest of the Warlords as well. But no one seemed to want to take that first step into accepting it.
Until a man thrust his closed fist into the air, shouting something. He repeated the motion two more times, but soon, five men had joined him. Then twenty. Fifty. A hundred. Women and children along with the men were now shouting it, "Blood for Blood." No one noticed the man who started the chant was just passing through town.
A Quiet Night at Sea
A rickety old wooden fishing boat rolled to and fro on the gentle waves of the night, approaching the city of Mui Ne. While the warlords were vicious, they were far from observant and lacked the incredible depth of skill that the Hidden Arm had, a fact that would be their undoing as an operative clothed in fisherman's garb chewed some herbal leaves. Joining him on the ship were a series of Xiang fishermen, the people oppressed by the warlords being no friend to those in power.
The boat had made the fairly short journey offshore to the infiltration site, plucking the operative off the top of a surfaced submarine that quietly descended once more and headed back towards the Imperial Islands. The fishermen took care not to look the operative directly in the eye, nor to comment on the healed bullet wound in his leg, a wound they had no idea was sustained in Veletian Settumu.
Hours later, the boat docked a few miles south of Mui Ne, the operative stepping off, cracking his neck, and disappearing into the night before muttering to himself, "Let's not fuck this one up. More careful this time..."
Preparations for War
Matsuo Shirobi assembled with the his group of trainee Marines around their drill instructor, the future Marines sitting on the grass while the instructor spoke to them, "Men, your training finishes next month. I am incredibly proud of how far all of you have come, and how far you will go as Marines. As the first batch of Marines to finish training, I have some very important news to tell you.
"You will also, almost certainly, be the first Marines to hit the beaches of a foreign enemy as well." At this sentence, there was great series of laughter and cheers, the soon-to-be Marines aching to get out and tear apart the enemy. The instructor ignored this, "Perhaps you've already heard whispers of growing discontent within the Imperium and particularly from the Emperor about the heinous murders of our diplomats. Well, the Imperium will not stand by and let this offense pass. The military will shortly be used to bring vengeance to those savage pieces of shit. The Marines, the Army, and the Navy shall strike our enemies like lightning bolts. They shall know retribution unlike any other they've faced before, and the Warlords will learn to fear the Imperium as they should.
"I expect all of you to train twice as hard in this coming month! We're going to be having a special emphasis on fighting in the Xiang terrains as well, as well as amphibious landings and further marksmanship practice! Now get off your lazy asses and get back in formation!" When the instructor finished shouting, the men burst to their feet and lined up in their elements, listening carefully to the marching orders belted out by their leader.
Matsuo Shirobi's face showed no emotion whatsoever on it as he marched, but deep down inside, he was smiling like a mad lion ready to pounce.
Factory Matters
Ishikari #1 received orders from the Imperium to alter production from Field Guns to Rifle Ammunition, yet another sign that the Imperium was gearing up to enter war.
The Imperium of Hiron
An Imperium and a Republic
The Hironese Ambassador in Kalpia, Takami Ryutsuo, laughed cordially at a joke given by some rich Kalpian plutocrat as the man sipped Veletian wine and pulled his trophy wife against his body. It was one of many parties in Kalpia organized by the Imperium in the past month, in an attempt to shore up relations between the two nations. Primarily, it was just how the corrupt got together and made their deals, and it was how the Imperium and Kalpia decided to become closer friends.
Halfway in a drunken stupor the next day, yet still managing to keep his composure, Takami announced to a small group of reporters, "Today marks the beginning of a much deeper relationship between the Republic of Kalpia and the Imperium of Hiron. Even in the face of such economic adversity as is present here in Kalpia, we can look forward to the future with hope that the Imperium and the Republic shall work much more closely than before, to the benefit of both nations and its peoples!"
One of the reporters decided to pipe up with a question, "Mr. Ambassador, can you elucidate on that statement? How exactly are the Imperium and Kalpia now closer?"
Considering the reporter's words for a moment, the Ambassador replied, "The Imperium and the Republic now recognize each other as mutually beneficial friends. Our interests are aligned in many regards. I am not at liberty to tell you what those interests are, but I invite you to ponder and look at a map. That is all, thank you!" The ambassador returned to his office, satisfied that his job was done.
The Imperium of Hiron
To Rival Majestic
With the news of Zellonia's new designs for the Majestic class of pre-dreadnought having reached the Imperium not long ago, the Emperor found himself annoyed that a second-rate Continental nation was working on battleships that overshadowed the Imperium's own Taizen class. Because of this, it was decided to commission a design competition among the various naval companies of the Imperium to design a new pre-dreadnought that essentially equaled if not slightly surpassed Majestic. It was the Emperor's personal hope that the companies would rise to the challenge and then some, potentially leaving Majestic well behind, but the Imperium did not expect some massive leap forward in battleship technology. Surpassing Zellonia in all regards navally was a point of national pride.
The 1901 Budget
With the coming of the new year meant a new budget for the Imperium. It was decided that the tax rate would be as follows:
- Poor: 3.0%
- Middle: 7.0%
- Rich: 9.0%
In short, the poor would be taxed 2% less, the middle class would receive a greater tax burden of 2% more, and the rich would receive 4% more taxes in 1901 than 1900. The Emperor was careful to make a series of statements and speeches that the greater tax burden on those more well-off was necessary for the future of the Imperium, and that no more taxes would be added for at least ten more years. It was an accepted fact however that people would not be happy about the increased taxes, but hopefully the poor would appreciate the tax relief.
Changes to the expenses of the budget would be as follows:
- Infrastructure: $20,000,000 (of the amount not spent on maintenance, 20% is to develop roads, 80% for rail development)
- Naval Research: $30,000,000
- Army Research: $30,000,000
- Dockyards: $9,500,000 (to upgrade size to 10,000 tons)
Education, administration, bureaucracy, and all other expenses would be untouched except to maintain parity with population or military growth.
The Imperium of Hiron
License to Kill
Ambassador Renshou Iyogo sat sipping a cup of hot tea in the Hironese Embassy within Aetoria, reading one of the daily Tyrian newspapers. Most of it was filled with news about the progress of the war, particularly the bloody fighting on the Itheraen front. Outside a foggy closed window, people milled about in the snowy streets of Aetoria, trying to get on with their lives in the face of possible invasion by the Veletians in particular. Iyogo drew his suit more tightly against his body, trying to keep warm whilst wishing the Embassy had a series of fireplaces. In truth, it was a rather small office nestled away within the Tyrian capitol, not deemed to be of particular importance to the Imperium. The Imperium viewed the quality of most of its Embassies as non-vital, considering none of them handled sensitive matters that weren't public knowledge. The Hidden Arm was tasked with more clandestine issues, and its operating centers were absolutely secret.
Iyogo looked up lightly when a knock on his door drew his attention, followed by the voice of a young woman calling out, "Ambassador, we've received a communication from the Ministry."
Waving his hand to enter despite not being seen, Iyogo also grumbled a, "Bring it in."
The secretary entered, bowed, and then slid the communication to the Ambassador across his desk before awaiting further orders. Iyogo picked it up and took his time in reading the paper before deciding to tell the secretary, "Schedule an appointment with the Tyrians. I need to discuss the procurement of a license to produce Pragers with them." The woman bowed and quickly exited, moving to alert the Tyrians.
To detail it more closely, the Imperium was seeking to procure a license to produce Pragers for a period of ten years, ideally with the license costing around 5-10 million dollars. There was a very specific stipulation that the Ministry had ordered though: that the Ambassador word the eventual agreement such that the Imperium could hold the license but be allowed to negotiate with owners of foreign factories to produce Pragers purely for the Imperium's military. The specifics would, of course, be negotiated between the Imperium and the Tyrians shortly.
An Imperial Machine Gun
Across the world, another secretary strolled towards the CEO's office of Imperial Arms with an Imperial Decree in hand, written and signed by the Dragon Emperor himself. Imperial Arms was the foremost small arms company in the Imperium, and with the Model 1 undergoing final touches, would essentially be crowning itself as the foremost rifle company in the world. This capability was recognized by the Emperor, and it was a capability that he wished to have expanded to another category of weapon.
The woman knocked quietly on the office door, waiting a few minutes before the CEO, Tagano Abe, gave her permission to enter. Quickly bowing before entering the man's space, the secretary announced, "Sir, I have an Imperial Decree for you."
Abe's eyebrows raised for a moment as he rubbed his chin, "A Decree for me specifically? What does the Emperor want, I wonder. Let me have a look at it." Receiving the Decree, Abe opened it carefully, making sure not to tear the paper, "So the Emperor is ordering us to establish a division dedicated to researching and creating machine guns. We are being provided with ten Pragers to take a look at and carefully reverse engineer to create an understanding how these weapons work. He'll subsidize the division once the new budget is made... Very interesting."
Looking towards the woman, Abe asked simply, "Are the Pragers here?" She nodded and motioned towards the lower levels of the building, "Arrived with the courier, sir." Leaning back in his seat, the CEO waved her off after instructing the woman, "Write a letter thanking the Emperor for his order. Imperial Arms will get right on creating the division as soon as possible. I'll have our human resources conduct a search for the most qualified engineers and gunsmiths we can find to add to our ranks, and once the Model 1 is done, I'm sure Mazuki will find it a thrill to look at a Prager."
The Imperium of Hiron
The Emperor's Hidden Arm: Ever Vigilant
Something that Continentals knew little of the Imperium of Hiron, save for the Violette which had been primarily exposed to a single blunder by the Hidden Arm, was that the Hironese were well accustomed to espionage and working in the shadows. From the mythical days of the "ninja," all the way back to almost prehistory, to the very end of the Sengoku Era, the Hironese had fought one other both in the light of day as well as the silence of night. Subterfuge and trickery was a finely honed craft, one that the Imperium had been making use of since its inception.
The tool of this subterfuge?
The Emperor's Hidden Arm.
Officially, the organization was primarily concerned with the internal security of the Imperium, identifying dissidents, traitors, and threats. It did have the secondary job of external surveillance, but the very depths to which it would go were almost evil. Of course, all of this is vehemently denied by the Imperium. Torture, assassination, sabotage, all of these things were clearly not condoned by the Imperium. The Emperor would never order such a thing, which is why the Director of the Hidden Arm, Hashi Takami, barely raised his eyebrows when he went over the most recent order from the Emperor. It was an order to enact Operation Dying Light (translated from Hironese).
Hashi took a long look at the document before deciding how to delegate this to his underlings. It would take quite a bit of manpower and work, but the Hidden Arm would certainly get it done in due time. Overall though, the operation was a surprising change in targets considering their prior work against Violette. Apparently the Emperor was more interested in targets such as Meung these days. Hashi shrugged, and got to work on the operation.
The agents that would be used would have graduated from the Hidden Arm Espionage Academy, a clandestine building situated in Senryu, disguised as a tea shop in the front, while primarily constructed underground. Its agents were almost unparalleled in the entire world, having been taught everything the Hironese knew about espionage including multiple languages, and they were chosen from the cream of the crop of Hironese people. Physical training, mental fortitude, scholarly capability. It was all important, especially considering they often operated in very small groups or even alone, knowing only exactly what was needed to accomplish the mission.
Compartmentalization was absolutely key to information security in the event one of the agents was compromised. Each agent was also incredibly loyal to the cause, almost always willing to commit suicide rather than be captured and interrogated unless they reasonably believed escape was plausible. The Hidden Arm was rather unprecedented amongst Hironese society in that it fully accepted and made use of women for its purposes, even instructing them as full agents. The organization also had a habit of using intermediaries who were entirely not Hironese in the process of executing operations overseas, knowing money could win out over any other motive and that other countries might attempt to look for specifically Hironese people to persecute as spies if worse came to worse as it did with the Veletians.
A Field Gun for an Imperium
While Imperial Arms was quite possibly one of the top arms companies in the world, well, probably the best in Settumu anyway, the same could not be said for the Imperium's field gun companies. Whilst the Imperium made use of a decade old field gun design, the Continentals pushed onwards as ever. In order to rectify this problem, or attempt rectification, the Emperor decided to announce a design competition between the three field gun companies within the Imperium; Eastern Inventions, Ironsides and Cannons, and Leonardo's Sons. Each was approximately the same level of crap, but when representatives of the three gathered, they were optimistic about the design specifications ordered by the Emperor himself. If one of the companies could successfully design such a field gun, it might be capable of surpassing the Continentals in much the same way that the Model 1 had surpassed them...
The Imperium of Hiron
The Enemy of My Enemy
While before the Imperium had maintained almost no communication with the warlords of Xiang, due mostly to the constantly shifting loyalties and strengths of the various warlords and lack of centralized command, the rather pragmatic Imperium and its Emperor began to take a closer look as the Meung started their 'expedition' into the Xiang lands. Reporters and scouts from the area seemed to lend some insight into Meung military tactics and successes as well as failures, with the Imperial high command thoroughly scrutinizing the mass assembly of irregulars. But that was less important than another precept: The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
As much as the Imperium had a significant distaste for the warlords of Xiang and held a quiet desire to conquer the savages and bring civilization and prosperity to her people, such a conquest would be years, if not decades away. In the immediate term, the Xiang Warlords stood against the Grand Kingdom of Meung, and that made them useful, if only temporary. And things that were useful, Dragon Emperor Ryugo Shuu valued.
Seeking to undermine the Meung position on the mainland, the Imperium thus sent out the diplomats Suno Iziro, the chief negotiator who had previously been sent to Meung and recently returned from there, Takana Takano, and Aizo Tsutto, and two translators capable of speaking the Xiang language(s) with an armed guard of eight Imperial soldiers as well as Colonels Tetsu and Eigoi, using the TES Sakunosho once more, to a port in Du Nam. Colonels Tetsu were well versed in Kalpian methods of warfare as well some experimental Imperial doctrines.
Once in Du Nam, the diplomat, colonels, and guard would proceed to the warlords fighting the Meung to make an offer of the Imperium providing advisors to instruct their armies in the fight against Meung in exchange for some small monetary payments of a few million dollars. If accepted, the colonels would stay behind as an advance guard of advisors, in lieu of the provision of more. In reality, the Imperium was prepared to send the advisors for free, but would of course like to extract as much wealth as possible at the same time.
If the warlords accepted the advisors, Aizo Tsutto would return to the TES Sakunosho with four guards to let the Imperium know of the acceptance, leaving Suno Iziro and Takana Takano with the translators, remaining guards, and colonels. The colonels would begin instructing the warlord armies and turning them from a ramshackle shitshow into something resembling a modern fighting force and possibly directly commanding their forces in battle should the warlords allow it. Suno Iziro and Takana Takano would proceed onwards with the remaining guard, seeking to negotiate between the warlords and unite them against their common enemy of the Meung.
If the warlords rejected the advisors, the colonels would return with Aizo to alert the Imperium, but Suno Izirio and Takana Takano would continue with their mission of attempting to unite the warlords against the Meung.
The Imperium of Hiron
The Industrial Might of an Imperium, or Lack Thereof
Looking upon the skirmishes on the Continent while also speaking with his advisors, it quickly became clear to the Dragon Emperor that in order to begin to approach that steps that the Continentals tread upon, it was necessary to rapidly expand the industrial base of the Imperium. The Imperium, it seemed, was still primarily an agrarian, fishing economy besides some minor locations of industry, a fact that needed to change soon if it was to be able to stand on the same level as the industrialized Great Powers.
It also became evident in the Emperor's eyes in speaking to the Minister of Finance that the concept of pouring money into the economy, even money the government did not currently have, had the potential to result in kick starting the economy. The government was always a particularly strong actor in the economy, one that could direct it in such a way that the common individual could not. Because of this, the Dragon Emperor wrote the following legislation while taking the opinions of both the Emperor's Faction and Nationalists into account in order to further the economic prosperity of both the Hironese People and the Imperium itself as a result. Whilst much of the Imperium's earlier actions had benefited primarily those interested in education and wealth, this one would be fine-tuned to provide jobs to the poor and middle class in addition to those jobs that would be provided by the expansion of the military.
The Dragon Emperor came before the people on the day the 1900 Industry of the Imperium Act was signed to give the following speech, "The Continental Powers have for far too long looked down upon Settumu as a land of 'savages,' lacking practically any modern industrial capacity. The Imperium's prior efforts to innovate and bring the Industrial Revolution to its shore have simply not been enough to put it on solid footing equal with the Continentals.
"Whilst the Imperium mines plenty of resources to power an industrial economy, they are simply not used. Whilst the Imperium's people mill about, making do with lackluster incomes, the Continentals lavish themselves with grapes and wine. It is the Industrial Might of the Continentals that gives them such success. And it is this Industrial Might that will turn the Imperium into a Great Power to be envied, starting with the passage of the Industry of the Imperium Act.
"Starting today, the Industrial Revolution within the Imperium truly begins. The poor shall find significantly more well-paying jobs within the factories, the middle class shall have more wares to trade and make use of, and those already lucky enough to be considered wealthy by Imperium shall find themselves prospering alongside the rest of us! For the Imperium!"
The text of the Act follows;
1900 Industry of the Imperium Act
In recognition of the Continental strength that grows primarily out of their industry, the Emperor hereby orders that the construction of a total of four new arms factories within the Imperium begin with all due haste, according to the following paragraphs. The new construction will effectively triple the industrial capacity of the Imperium, putting it on par if not in excess of that of the Continentals, while providing well-paying jobs to the poor and middle class and greatly increasing the economic strength of the Imperium as well as its GDP.
Before construction of the four new factories is to begin, a survey is to be commissioned and conducted expediently but thoroughly to determine the best locations to build the factories. The locations must have access to dockyards capable of handling the shipping of the products rolling out of the factories, while also being located primarily in impoverished areas of the nation that are in need of better employment to provide the poor with more economic opportunity and mobility. The locations must of course also be on ground capable of supporting factories safely, and the closer to sources of iron or coal, the better. However, dock access and impoverished location is paramount.
The Imperium itself shall supply the necessary funds to construct the factories, and the resources for their construction shall be sourced from within the Imperium. Bids shall be taken from various construction companies, and those who offer the lowest amount while ensuring construction shall proceed with few to no delays shall be chosen. Once completed, the factories shall remain under the control of the Imperium, as the other two in the Imperium are. Managers will be up to Imperial choice, subject to performance evaluations, and workers will be primarily sourced and trained locally.
End Act
It would be perhaps one of the most expensive acts in Imperial history, easily putting it into debt, but one that was desperately needed if the Imperium was to truly hope to reach the heights of greatness that it clutched for. In order to pay for the expansion, the Imperium would undoubtedly end up borrowing the lowest interest rate currency it could find, possibly from Imperial banks.
Colonial Feelers
With the claiming of the Kyio, Mado, Calipher, and Setu Islands as Imperial soil, the Imperium stood poised to grow into a colonial power. Although that colonialism did not currently rival either Tara or Violette, all empires had to start somewhere. First, however, the Emperor was most concerned about the exact expense of colonizing the islands and the worth of doing so since it seemed the people themselves would not do it without monetary motivation.
Because of this, a series of Hironese explorers, cartographers, and experts skilled in recognizing resources as well as experts knowledgeable about building colonies received Imperial letters asking them to assemble in Senryu. Once assembled, they would be divided into four groups, given ships to sail to the each of their assigned islands, weapons to defend themselves, all supplies necessary to survive for months, and a naval escort of a destroyer each in order to assure their safe passage. Their missions were simple: scout and map the islands, determine the resources and peoples present, and determine the cost of officially colonizing each one, while ideally not dying in the process. Upon their return, those that survive and succeed would be well compensated for their efforts. Those that perish would have their families or heirs compensated for the loss.
The Marines; For Corps and Country
The establishment of the first autonomous Marine branch of any military in the world is something the Hironese would come to take pride in, with Marines themselves taking even greater pride. The initial ceremony of the inception of the Imperial Marine Corps on November 19th, 1900 was a somber one, a ceremony that had little clue as to the future valor that the Marines would accrue. There, the first Commandant of the Marine Corps, Takada Setotsu, was commissioned, giving the following speech in front of the first 15,000 men selected to begin Marine Basic Training as well as onlookers,
"My brothers and sisters of the Imperium, I am incredibly gracious to be selected as the first Commandant of the Marine Corps. Under my leadership as well as that of my inferiors, we are going to institute the creation of a Corps unlike any other witnessed in the world. It shall be capable of storming any beach on the planet, scaling any cliff, incinerating any enemy that dares to threaten the Imperium and its People. It shall be composed purely of the best, the fastest, the strongest, and even the brightest. It shall be as a family of brothers, men fighting shoulder to shoulder, safe in the knowledge that they shall either prevail or die until those that follow prevail in the end. From this moment on, every man that joins the Corps is absolutely my brother, and in my brothers I have the utmost of confidence. May the Marine Corps forever protect our shores and tear asunder those that threaten them. For Corps and Country!"
Among the crowd was a young man who would later go on to become one of those preeminent Marines, Matsuo Shirobi. During the middle of basic training, the following letter would later be sent to his family and eventually preserved by them,
"I have not known a more grueling time in all of my life. Even the Army Basic Training and two years that I've already served for them does not begin to compare. Every day, we exercise, we train, we eat together using one another for back support. We do pushups with our legs on our brothers' shoulders, forming a kind of human tree with dozens of hands on the ground and only one set of feet. There is marksmanship practice, swimming, learning to dive, float. Knife and bayonet combat. Martial arts. Maintaining information security. Days ago we climbed the side of a damn mountain with not but a rope, hammers, camalots, and the strength of our brothers. My body was already a well-honed piece of machinery before, but now, it is become as unlike I have ever seen it. The same goes for my brothers. Some of them were not the most muscular of men, but now, I swear we could all wrestle a bull to the ground.
"I miss all of you greatly, I do, but there is uncanny sense of thrill in this training. Being challenged and pushed and succeeding is an incredible feeling, and the amount of solace I take in my brothers after a hard day makes things so much easier. Even my blood relative brothers are further from me than them, and that is surprising. All the same, I look forward to the day I can hold all of you in my arms and you can look at me with light in your eyes, thinking to yourself how I've changed and how, 'He's a Marine'"
The Corps and Commandant Takada would later go on to recognize Satsuke Nato as the official Honorary First Commandant of the Marine Corps, presenting the honor to his crying family, proud to have him posthumously recognized for finally achieving his dream.
Ryugo Shuu, The Youngest Dragon Emperor
The Imperial Family had sadly been almost entirely relegated to one man, Ryugo Shuu. Having had no brothers due to bad luck and lack of interest in sex by his mother, the rather early demise of his father, Ryugo Hitoro, at the age of 47 resulted in the thrusting of Shuu onto the throne at the age of 15, just barely considered old enough to rule without temporarily transferring power to a councilor. His two sisters, Ryugo Mari and Ryugo Seshou, were simply too young to be present on the world stage at 13 and 14.
Ryugo Shuu in his early twenties, wearing the characteristically militaristic royal regalia of the Imperium.
Ryugo Shuu was a surprisingly forward-thinking young man and Dragon Emperor who always sought above all to advance the aims of the Imperium and its People, even at the cost of foreign powers. It was his opinion that the Imperium needed to be recognized by the world as a leading military and economic power, and he would do almost anything to ensure that happened.
Taught at an early age all of the sciences, as well as exposed to politics, Ryugo Shuu was also somewhat of a controversial man. Behind closed doors, he was known to be highly aggressive towards the enemies of the Imperium since they couldn't hear, prone to 'vulgar' language. In his mind, however, they were all sheep that needed to be either herded or slaughtered by the wolves that were the Imperium. Anyone who wasn't useful was to be discarded.
This personality was evident even in his youth, when he displayed conniving tendencies when playing with other children, tricking them out of candy and treats or rallying them to fake causes. His father encouraged this behavior but was also quick to temper it, reminding him to remember that the other children were also Hironese and therefore deserving of respect. The Continentals, however, would receive no such respect except that earned by demonstration of power.
Respect was also garnered in Shuu's mind by the demonstration of knowledge such as that by scholars, revealing why he had opened the borders for perhaps the first time in centuries, purely to outside scholars and skilled workers. Technology was the path forward for the Imperium, and he who fought hardest, longest, and with the best weapons and training would come out on top.
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