Abwehran Commander
Inactive Member
AF 260, First Quarter, Fifth Month, Sixteenth Day
Meeting Room, Family Quarter, Imperial Palace, Großartige Festung, Abwehr, Jaspis System
The Family Quarter of the Imperial Palace was the Imperial Family's island amidst a sea of chaos. Being a high profile family, every member of the Rosenthals was subjected to public scrutiny on an every day basis. But the Family Quarter of the Imperial Palace was a no-man's land to the press. It was their retreat from the press and the politics, where they could "let their hair down". But that didn't mean they were hermits. Even in their own private sanctuary, they still entertained guests. Sometimes there was actually business at these visits while most of the time there wasn't anything remotely dealing with politics.
This time, the Empress and her husband were entertaining the Baron of Alphenrose, the Empress' younger brother, Anton Rosenthal. While this could be considered a family affair, this was also a private business meeting due to his position in the upper house. After a nice, informal dinner, the trio had retired to a meeting room, which looked more like a family room than meeting room, to discuss the issues.
"Dinner, as always, was excellent Berti," Anton spoke after he had taken a sip of his wine. The Empress' little brother wore his light-brown hair short-cropped and framing his face, where his pale-blue eyes seemed to twinkle a bit. "You will have to give my compliments to the chef," he went on as he raised his glass to the Imperial Family.
"I'm sure Ms. Nachtmann will appreciate them," the Empress of the Abwehran Star Empire commented as she leaned back on the plush sofa across from her brother's recliner. The Monarch paused as her husband moved from a nearby liquor cabinet with his Bier. "But now that pleasantries are out of the way..."
"We must now begin the reports," Anton finished for his sibling with a sigh. "Right," he began as he set his wine glass down upon a nearby end table. "Well, I guess we should start with the diplomatic situation," he mumbled as he reached down into his briefcase to pull out a number of folders. Handing out a few to both Eckert and Bertina, he cleared his throat.
"Might as well start with the Yamataians...our contact with them has been easy, when we have something to talk about," he stated as he opened up the folder he hand in his hands. "The Nachrichtendient has been unable to penetrate their security measures...and they're a bit hesitant to do so after what happened to the Anarchists in the North. We still know very little about them other than they live in lower gravity, one of the strongest nations in known space, and are very militaristic. Their new Empress is young, but she seemingly wants to change the public view of her nation."
"Not too surprising after assaulting a handful of worlds...their propaganda gives them a firm reason, but that's if you believe everything you are told," the Emperor muttered as he flipped through a few pages.
"Quite Your Majesty, but we have had some successful contact with them. Most of it was just signing a few documents, which you have reviewed before."
"One of them, the Rights of Early Contact, was just common sense and a waste of time," Bertina replied with a wave of her hand. "The Intergalactic Armistice Agreement of their YE 30 was a more proper agreement. We were able to get a fair deal from signing it. Plus they were agreeable when it came to the Khorovaroloran Incident," she went on.
"Yes, they were...but we have also placed our Empire's Capital in a dangerous position," Eckert commented in annoyance. "We may have to ponder moving the Capital later," he muttered, only to get a glare from both his wife and brother-in-law. "It will have to happen eventually," he grunted but decided not to go any further.
"Speaking of the Khorovarolorans, we managed to slow the rate of contamination while Yamatai and Kaiserlich F&E work on a vaccine, but the death toll is still enormous." he replied with a frown. "A Provisional Council has been set up by the Khorovarolorans so that they can govern themselves to an extent, but it doesn't look stable. Public opinon on the world is split into three factions; some are willing to forgive, others are burning effigies of Abwehrans, while most of them are just happy to be alive," Anton explained before sighing. "From what I've heard, it is still up in the air whether or not we can rebuild their government. Also, I still doubt they would accept rule from us...we'll just have to wait and see," he paused for a sip of wine to get the bad taste from his mouth.
"What about the Democratic Imperium of Nepleslia and the United Outer Colonies?" Bertina asked her brother curiously.
"The Nepleslians fear us...with great reason too considering what happened the last time the word 'plague' was mentioned," he muttered with a a grunt. "But we still have had no contact with them at all. The United Outer Colonies were a joy to speak to from what I've heard, but negotiations are still underway."
"Hmmm...so Yamatai was the first to speak to us...for all it's worth, they are at least efficient." Eckert chuckled.
"But efficiency at the cost of what?" Anton replied with a question.
"All we can do is hope the delegation in the UOC continues to do well. I'll ponder contacting the Nepleslians again, but there isn't a need for it yet." the Empress waved her hand to dismiss the issue. "What's the news from Neue Jaspis?"
"Oberleutnant Lowenherzt reported a Synthetic Intelligence known as 'Invalid' in charge of one of the Gas Giant's moons. It was apparently a creation of an anarchist commune known as the Free State." Anto replied with a sigh. "Negotiations are slow and the system full of rogue drones that fly around like wild animals, which have caused us to delay colonization there until both are dealt with."
"Isn't the Free State the same people whom were nearly wiped out by the Yamataians?" Eckert asked his brother-in-law with a frown.
"Practically, but many of their nomad fleets seemed to escape into Nepleslian Territory and to the unexplored North Regions. Meaning Invalid is our only contact from them...if he even is a part of their commune." Anton explained with a snort in displeasure. "Anarchist! Who would have thought it?"
"Well, if they can make it work for them..." the Emperor faded off a bit with a shrug.
"We will consider Neue Jaspis to be jointly held for now," Bertina replied before looking to her husband. "Think we could free a squadron of Destroyers to clean the system of the drones?"
"You might want to hold off on any military decisions until we're finished Berti," Anton replied as he held up his hand.
"Especially since we have a few things to discuss, right?" Eckert stated as his brother-in-law nodded. "Such as build up of the Ersteflotte into a sizable defensive force."
"Speaking of that, I understand the Weltraumflotte will be commissioning additional Destroyer Squadrons. Has anyone heard of designs for Cruisers and other warship designs from Kaiserlich F&E?" Bertina asked the two men curiously.
"Currently, they are developing a smaller Military Outpost that we can build faster and for less resources," Anton replied with a chuckle. "They're also developing an unmanned, combat drone as a temporary measure until new aerospace fighters can be developed. Though I do appreciate the good work they did on updating the Fusion Engines...they apparently have increased the acceleration exponentially compared to what they were, but it will take a while to upgrade all of our existing Destroyers to the new engine. It shouldn't take more than the rest of the Quarter."
"I'm a bit disappointed in how slow they are going," the Empress muttered as her husband chuckled.
"Now now, they are scientists and engineers. They want to research and study everything to make sure it's capable of doing what they want it to do. But I have to admit, this does hinder progress." the Emperor replied with a sigh.
"And to make matters worse, we've been getting some reports of increased pirate activity along the Two-Jaspis Spaceway. Many of the civilian trade corporations have been hounding us for security measures that we can't do without decreasing defenses elsewhere." the Baron explained as the trio fell silent for a moment.
"Why not commission designs from a foreign corporation?" Bertina suddenly asked, causing the two men to gape at her, one in a distressed manner and the other in surprise.
"That's not a bad idea," her husband replied as Anton seemed to become even more distressed.
"You're talking about asking a company from outside our territory to develop our warships!? Why...that's outrageous!! Abwehran Imperial Yards wouldn't stand for it!"
"But it would also force them to get off their collective butts and work harder." Bertina pointed out with amusement as she watched her younger brother seemingly foam at the mouth. "Besides, it's good to have fresh ideas to jostle progress forward."
"I guess," Anton muttered in annoyance. "But we should allow our native corporations in on this as well. We could have a bidding to see who will gain contracts for certain designs." he suggested calmly.
"Agree," Bertina replied before chuckling. "Is that all Anton? I believe we've had enough talk of business for tonight," she said with a smile.
"Too true," Eckert grumbled with a yawn. "It's nearly 4000 hours and I've been up since 0700." he said as he stood up and stretched. "Plus I have my husbandly duties," he said as he picked up his Empress and began to carry her off, leaving his brother-in-law to sigh in annoyance once more.
Meeting Room, Family Quarter, Imperial Palace, Großartige Festung, Abwehr, Jaspis System
The Family Quarter of the Imperial Palace was the Imperial Family's island amidst a sea of chaos. Being a high profile family, every member of the Rosenthals was subjected to public scrutiny on an every day basis. But the Family Quarter of the Imperial Palace was a no-man's land to the press. It was their retreat from the press and the politics, where they could "let their hair down". But that didn't mean they were hermits. Even in their own private sanctuary, they still entertained guests. Sometimes there was actually business at these visits while most of the time there wasn't anything remotely dealing with politics.
This time, the Empress and her husband were entertaining the Baron of Alphenrose, the Empress' younger brother, Anton Rosenthal. While this could be considered a family affair, this was also a private business meeting due to his position in the upper house. After a nice, informal dinner, the trio had retired to a meeting room, which looked more like a family room than meeting room, to discuss the issues.
"Dinner, as always, was excellent Berti," Anton spoke after he had taken a sip of his wine. The Empress' little brother wore his light-brown hair short-cropped and framing his face, where his pale-blue eyes seemed to twinkle a bit. "You will have to give my compliments to the chef," he went on as he raised his glass to the Imperial Family.
"I'm sure Ms. Nachtmann will appreciate them," the Empress of the Abwehran Star Empire commented as she leaned back on the plush sofa across from her brother's recliner. The Monarch paused as her husband moved from a nearby liquor cabinet with his Bier. "But now that pleasantries are out of the way..."
"We must now begin the reports," Anton finished for his sibling with a sigh. "Right," he began as he set his wine glass down upon a nearby end table. "Well, I guess we should start with the diplomatic situation," he mumbled as he reached down into his briefcase to pull out a number of folders. Handing out a few to both Eckert and Bertina, he cleared his throat.
"Might as well start with the Yamataians...our contact with them has been easy, when we have something to talk about," he stated as he opened up the folder he hand in his hands. "The Nachrichtendient has been unable to penetrate their security measures...and they're a bit hesitant to do so after what happened to the Anarchists in the North. We still know very little about them other than they live in lower gravity, one of the strongest nations in known space, and are very militaristic. Their new Empress is young, but she seemingly wants to change the public view of her nation."
"Not too surprising after assaulting a handful of worlds...their propaganda gives them a firm reason, but that's if you believe everything you are told," the Emperor muttered as he flipped through a few pages.
"Quite Your Majesty, but we have had some successful contact with them. Most of it was just signing a few documents, which you have reviewed before."
"One of them, the Rights of Early Contact, was just common sense and a waste of time," Bertina replied with a wave of her hand. "The Intergalactic Armistice Agreement of their YE 30 was a more proper agreement. We were able to get a fair deal from signing it. Plus they were agreeable when it came to the Khorovaroloran Incident," she went on.
"Yes, they were...but we have also placed our Empire's Capital in a dangerous position," Eckert commented in annoyance. "We may have to ponder moving the Capital later," he muttered, only to get a glare from both his wife and brother-in-law. "It will have to happen eventually," he grunted but decided not to go any further.
"Speaking of the Khorovarolorans, we managed to slow the rate of contamination while Yamatai and Kaiserlich F&E work on a vaccine, but the death toll is still enormous." he replied with a frown. "A Provisional Council has been set up by the Khorovarolorans so that they can govern themselves to an extent, but it doesn't look stable. Public opinon on the world is split into three factions; some are willing to forgive, others are burning effigies of Abwehrans, while most of them are just happy to be alive," Anton explained before sighing. "From what I've heard, it is still up in the air whether or not we can rebuild their government. Also, I still doubt they would accept rule from us...we'll just have to wait and see," he paused for a sip of wine to get the bad taste from his mouth.
"What about the Democratic Imperium of Nepleslia and the United Outer Colonies?" Bertina asked her brother curiously.
"The Nepleslians fear us...with great reason too considering what happened the last time the word 'plague' was mentioned," he muttered with a a grunt. "But we still have had no contact with them at all. The United Outer Colonies were a joy to speak to from what I've heard, but negotiations are still underway."
"Hmmm...so Yamatai was the first to speak to us...for all it's worth, they are at least efficient." Eckert chuckled.
"But efficiency at the cost of what?" Anton replied with a question.
"All we can do is hope the delegation in the UOC continues to do well. I'll ponder contacting the Nepleslians again, but there isn't a need for it yet." the Empress waved her hand to dismiss the issue. "What's the news from Neue Jaspis?"
"Oberleutnant Lowenherzt reported a Synthetic Intelligence known as 'Invalid' in charge of one of the Gas Giant's moons. It was apparently a creation of an anarchist commune known as the Free State." Anto replied with a sigh. "Negotiations are slow and the system full of rogue drones that fly around like wild animals, which have caused us to delay colonization there until both are dealt with."
"Isn't the Free State the same people whom were nearly wiped out by the Yamataians?" Eckert asked his brother-in-law with a frown.
"Practically, but many of their nomad fleets seemed to escape into Nepleslian Territory and to the unexplored North Regions. Meaning Invalid is our only contact from them...if he even is a part of their commune." Anton explained with a snort in displeasure. "Anarchist! Who would have thought it?"
"Well, if they can make it work for them..." the Emperor faded off a bit with a shrug.
"We will consider Neue Jaspis to be jointly held for now," Bertina replied before looking to her husband. "Think we could free a squadron of Destroyers to clean the system of the drones?"
"You might want to hold off on any military decisions until we're finished Berti," Anton replied as he held up his hand.
"Especially since we have a few things to discuss, right?" Eckert stated as his brother-in-law nodded. "Such as build up of the Ersteflotte into a sizable defensive force."
"Speaking of that, I understand the Weltraumflotte will be commissioning additional Destroyer Squadrons. Has anyone heard of designs for Cruisers and other warship designs from Kaiserlich F&E?" Bertina asked the two men curiously.
"Currently, they are developing a smaller Military Outpost that we can build faster and for less resources," Anton replied with a chuckle. "They're also developing an unmanned, combat drone as a temporary measure until new aerospace fighters can be developed. Though I do appreciate the good work they did on updating the Fusion Engines...they apparently have increased the acceleration exponentially compared to what they were, but it will take a while to upgrade all of our existing Destroyers to the new engine. It shouldn't take more than the rest of the Quarter."
"I'm a bit disappointed in how slow they are going," the Empress muttered as her husband chuckled.
"Now now, they are scientists and engineers. They want to research and study everything to make sure it's capable of doing what they want it to do. But I have to admit, this does hinder progress." the Emperor replied with a sigh.
"And to make matters worse, we've been getting some reports of increased pirate activity along the Two-Jaspis Spaceway. Many of the civilian trade corporations have been hounding us for security measures that we can't do without decreasing defenses elsewhere." the Baron explained as the trio fell silent for a moment.
"Why not commission designs from a foreign corporation?" Bertina suddenly asked, causing the two men to gape at her, one in a distressed manner and the other in surprise.
"That's not a bad idea," her husband replied as Anton seemed to become even more distressed.
"You're talking about asking a company from outside our territory to develop our warships!? Why...that's outrageous!! Abwehran Imperial Yards wouldn't stand for it!"
"But it would also force them to get off their collective butts and work harder." Bertina pointed out with amusement as she watched her younger brother seemingly foam at the mouth. "Besides, it's good to have fresh ideas to jostle progress forward."
"I guess," Anton muttered in annoyance. "But we should allow our native corporations in on this as well. We could have a bidding to see who will gain contracts for certain designs." he suggested calmly.
"Agree," Bertina replied before chuckling. "Is that all Anton? I believe we've had enough talk of business for tonight," she said with a smile.
"Too true," Eckert grumbled with a yawn. "It's nearly 4000 hours and I've been up since 0700." he said as he stood up and stretched. "Plus I have my husbandly duties," he said as he picked up his Empress and began to carry her off, leaving his brother-in-law to sigh in annoyance once more.
