[Ministry of Defense] Marshalled and Admirable (Private Shorty!)

Alexis Sapientia · June 25, 2007, 05:28 AM

Timestamp: 10 Junctior, Autumn in the First Era of the Regency of Milo L'Evienne

Alexis took out the scroll from his leather folio, rereading it again, holding it in his ungloved hands.

Secrets :

Oh, he'd sent the requisite dispatch, and agreed heartily to the same. The primary matter was where they would meet. For convenience, it was simple: the Ministry of Defense. For neutrality...

...they decided to meet in the Minister's conference room, as far removed from the infighting as possible. Odd that it was in this same place that discord was once sown, but now that it was just the two of them, with one or two aides each, to take minutes and attend to the food or other matters, it would be quiet, frank...

...and personal.

Taking a peanut from the bowl, he chewed on it, having arrived first, what with him playing host. Next to him was a navy Ducor, playing the role of adjutant, and a marine cencoris as an orderly.

He poured himself some white wine, and calmed himself. There was much to discuss, but he knew, somehow, somewhere, they'd find a way to cooperate.

Shorty · July 9, 2007, 07:52 PM

Blackbjorn Baktar entered the room attended by a bookish looking Provost and a young Cencoris whom carried the numerous documents that the Imperial Marshall brought. Marshall Baktar was a tall man with broad shoulders and a full, beard of black laced with gray streaks. The three of them saluted smartly and sat down.

"Provost Andterius my chief of staff," Baktar introduced the party to "Cencoris Giancana my secretarial aide." Both human men greeted their opposites.

"And I," Baktar smiled, "have the honor of finally meeting you Admiral Sapientia. Your name holds weight amongst the ministry- even within the Legions. I greet you with pleasure and hope one day we may be friends.

"We are both protectors of the Empire, both with the Empire's best interests at heart. Which is why we are here..." Baktar nodded and Cencoris Giancana began to take notes.

"I wish the situation is better than it is. Truth be told our forces are in a bind- Paxia and the Sherian... The Minister of War taken ill...." Baktar sucked some air through his teeth. "Tell me, what is your take on the situation Admiral?"

Alexis Sapientia · July 10, 2007, 02:54 AM

Alexis got up from the table as soon as the fellow entered, offering an ungloved hand, as it were, and nodding politely to the two other mudea...err...legionaries who'd entered, formidable soldiers that they were. "Forgive our not saluting, as it is Navy custom not to salute while bareheaded and indoors, as is done on our ships." He flashed a smile, and his marine orderly went off to ensure the door was locked, and stand outside.

"Imperial Marshal Baktar, Provost, Cencoris...greetings."

He was about to interject, but the Imperial Marshal appeared to have the initiative, and press on decisively did the old wardog. Not that the youngish Admiral of ships and fleets felt offended, oh, goodness, no. Not at all. Quite a pleasure, in fact, to just listen and munch on peanuts, just like he was at a tavern...or aboard ship, in the officers' wardroom. A welcome change, truly.

"We could not have been hit at a worse time," concluded the Imperial Admiral with a sigh and a shake of the head, digesting another fistful of peanuts, and pausing as he did so, deciding not to take any more.

"Are you a student of history, my Lord Imperial Marshal? I was, once. When my wife was Thane of Port Alyxandrya and I had my lonely posting in the City of Queens, I used to spend darkenings just reading the classics, memoirs, really, of how things were in the Age of the Darkening." Alexis paused to sip from the white wine, partaking of a sandwich from a silver tray, and offering the Imperial Marshal some. "Please."

"One of the matters that draws my attention is what happened when the Last Empire fell. As you may recall, the Regent himself was indisposed, so much so that government fell to an Acting Regent, which is as ridiculous as it sounds..."

His voice trailed off as he swallowed a bite, and then continued, wiping his mouth with a linen napkin, itself, along with the silverware, taken from the Navy's own stores. "Don't quote me on this, but as I recall the story ended with the rest of the Empire's ersatz government gathered around some public plaza...right here in the Imperial Forum, as I recall...Zythinar was there...and the Chief Advisor as the remaining Imperial official took it upon himself to nominate some other flunky as Acting Regent...and then the Darkening came upon us, and well..."

Alexis shrugged, gesturing to the rest, and taking another bite.

"...Here we are." Mutiny and strife, he didn't say.

He paused again to take another sip of the white wine in the brilliant crystal, swallowing wonderfully as we did so.

"Admittedly our Commander-in-Chief, the Gods protect Him, the Imperial Regent has never donned a uniform," Alexis said with some reluctance, "...but His Imperial Highness...or Imperial Excellency, as he prefers it, has much more distinguishable qualities. He is a true man of the people, and I am convinced that he will keep the Empire's subjects' best interests at heart. He has a good head on his shoulders, will listen to reason, and most discernably, has had some experience dealing with those that will not."

The young man managed to smile, remembering those brightenings when he was but an advocate's clerk, lo those many eras ago. "He shrinks not from the judicious use of force, and will likewise have much to say to raise the morale of those he commands." Alexis nodded, well aware of it. "We have a good Regent, though admittedly, with the absence of a Minister of War, Imperial Defence Policy has been erratic. Paxia and Narim should not have caught us unawares. The Lord Gil'dae, admittedly, will be missed. That old boy could control gunpowder, treason, and plot, as easily as he could his spells."

Alexis pursed his lips as he continued. "Silrosian politics may have had something to do with it..."

His voice began to wander again, unwittingly giving the Imperial Marshal an opening.

Shorty · July 21, 2007, 10:01 PM

"Yes, the Minister of Defense." Baktar frowned. "I currently have my own resources looking into the mysterious sickness that has befallen the Minister. The Ministry of Justice has done little, and frankly I'm afraid about corruption within the Imperial Forum. Who can you trust? Who doesn't have a price on them? A rather strange thing about this incident.

"The Minister was bringing charges against two of my officers- Sheng Kaldres and Riconus Xind'ell- then Provost Imperatis' and now demoted. The witnesses disappeared, shipped out upon vessels that were never heard from again." The Marshall leaned forward.

"I heard that your Classis have also met aggressors upon the seaways. How did that go?"

The Imperial Marshall leaned back again and a relaxed smile came across his face.

"As for history, I am of course a student, though not likely a scholar like yourself. As a commander I have studied hard at the classics and politics I perceive to be an engine of perpetual cycles- peace, prosperity, war and death. They all come and go, and brought on by the same causes- hatred, greed, fear. Through it all the military forces of Alleria will stand by the Empire. I know the Legion does, but also the Classis does as well.

"Tell me, I hear your family has just arrived into the capital. How goes the move Lord Admiral?"