Post by Sophie on Jan 20, 2023 14:22:40 GMT -5
As Shiraori Tetsu Kumo pinned the last flower into her daughter's hair, she smiled softly. "All set." Her voice cooed. "Are you ready for our meeting?"
"Yes!" Reito cheered with excitement.
"Then I suppose we've kept her waiting long enough." The Empress's voice was still soft as she brushed a few fingers through the Princess's hair. "Come on, dearest. Follow me." She waved an arm and led her daughter into one of the palace's many conference rooms. Inside a Rose Hair Tarantula Kumo in full dress whites stood at attention. Her face fully tensed as she watched the mother-daughter duo enter the room. At very stiff attention, the Rear Admiral saluted. Shiraori looked at her daughter, prompting her to respond.
With a nod, Reito saluted. "At ease, Admiral." The fifteen-year-old's voice cracked as she dropped her arm.
The Admiral followed suit and spoke. The nerves in her voice made her mood apparent. She bowed as far as her body would allow before coming back up. "G- good afternoon, and th- thank you for meeting with me. I am Rear Admiral Yukiko Hayakawa, the Admiral in charge of Hunter Killer Command."
"Yes," Shiraori mused as she sat at the table, inviting her daughter and the Admiral to do the same. "I remember you. You performed admirably during the war games last year. Congratulations on the assignment. Kure-kas made a wise choice in selecting you."
"A- actually, Minister Kure didn't choose me. I was recommended to the position by Vice Admiral Kaneko during her retirement." The Admiral clarified.
"I see." Shiraori took a solemn moment in thought before continuing. "Regardless, congratulations are in order."
"Thank you very much. Your Highness." Again the Admiral bowed an awkward action to take at a table. "I would not be here without your recognition."
"Shall we get started then?" Shiraori asked. "It's very unusual for an Admiral to call for a meeting with me. I assume it's important."
"I apologize, but this meeting is likely not of high importance. I would have taken it to Minister Kure, but I have been unable to secure a meeting with her. I requested this meeting with her nearly two months ago, but I haven't heard a word back."
You haven't seen Minister Kure in months?" Reito interrupted. "She's supposed to meet with every command Admiral once a month, barring exten..." Reito paused, trying to remember the exact word. "extenuating circumstances."
"Yes, I know that." Admiral Hayakawa confirmed. "Despite that, I have met with her only twice since my promotion last year."
"Thank you for bringing this complaint to my attention." The Empress's eyes were piercing as she took on this new information. "I assure you it will be dealt with."
"No!" Hayakawa shouted instinctually and then flinched away from the Empress. "I... I mean. I'm not here to lodge a complaint against Kure-kama. I- I just need to request approval for a- an operation."
With a squinted, suspicious eye, Shiraori sized up the Admiral before her. After the war game, she had personally promoted her to Captain, and after a year of meritorious service, she was promoted to Rear Admiral and recommended for her current position. Now she began to wonder if promoting her and acknowledging her had been an error. "You don't wish to report Minister Kure for apparently flagrant rule violations? Why?"
Hayakawa felt a mouse in her throat as she tried again to speak. She recalled the warning Vice Admiral Kaneko had given her. Her eyes searched the table without her instruction. "I... I don't believe it would be conducive to my well-being t- to report the Minister."
Shiraori's expression changed to one of half understanding and the other half ire. "Reito, give us the room."
"What?" Reito questioned in surprise and almost anger. "You promised I could attend this with you."
"I'm not asking." It stung Shiraori's heart to act so firmly with Reito, but she couldn't allow herself to show any weakness now. "I'll call you back when you can return."
Rear Admiral Hayakawa watched the exchange in a panic. She did what she did to the Vice Admiral while Reito was present; what will she do that requires Reito to be gone? As soon as the door closed, Hayakawa prepared herself for the worst. “Explain yourself. Now.” The Empress’s voice was sharp and stung. “In detail, why reporting Minister Kure would be bad for you.”
With nothing but fear, Hayakawa met the Empress’s gaze. “W- what do you mean?”
“Do not fuck with me, Admiral.” Shiraori slammed a fist on the table. “Answer me. That is an order, not a request.”
Confused and afraid, she responded. “D- do you not know?”
“Know what?” The Empress began to lean forward, her eyes piercing straight into all eight of Hayakawa’s
“Anyone who goes against Kure-kama loses their job.” She answered, trying to match Shiraori’s gaze.
Shiraori’s eyes searched Hayakawa’s. Twitching from one to another, covering all eight several times. This could be damning. “Are you telling me that anytime someone criticizes Kure-kas, she fires them?”
Hayakawa shook her head quickly. “No, no!” She almost gasped for air. “Of course not. I don’t believe the minister would ever do anything like that.”
“Then explain what you meant by they lose their jobs.” Her voice was steady and venomous. “Right now, Admiral.”
“M- minister Kure is a hero amongst the Admiralty, Your Highness. She was personally responsible for several incredible victories in Hawaii. Almost every Admiral I know reveres her as near god-like. When some- someone goes up against her, they’re shunned by the Admiralty. It becomes impossible to do their jobs, so they’re forced to resign.”
Shiraori sat back. Her eyes darted around the room, but they weren’t looking for something. Her mind was racing with thoughts. Almost a full minute of silence passed as Shiraori connected dots in her head until Hayakawa again spoke up. “E- Empress?”
With a quick snap, Shiraori came back down to Ouhiri. “Y- yes Admiral. Thank you for telling me this. I will look into this matter. Your help will not be forgotten.”
A knot twisted in Hayakawa’s stomach. “If you must, then may I plea you for a favor?”
“You may.” The Empress nodded.
“Leave my name out of it. I love my job. I don’t want to lose it.” She literally pleaded with her hands pressed together above her bowed head.
“I understand, Admiral. I will do everything in my power to keep you in your position.” Shiraori assured, but this again caused her head to race. Even the words of the Empress wouldn’t save this woman if she went against Kure. I must be more cautious. “This meeting has gotten off track. What operation do you need approval for?”
Before the Admiral could again begin, Shiraori held up a hand. “One moment.” She quickly left the room and returned with a clearly still disgruntled princess. “Now, please continue.”
Hayakawa took a moment to collect her thoughts and reorient herself for the change in topic. With notecards in hand, she began her pitch. “A- as you know, like food, weapons have a ‘best if used by’ date. This applies to everything from the smallest caliber of bullets to eighteen-inch battleship shells. Most relevant to this meeting includes the Type Ten Naval Mine. The Type Ten Naval Mine had an estimated practical shelf life of two decades. However, a new research study approved by my department showed an estimated drop off in efficacy of over eighty percent after only ten years of deployment. Equipped with this knowledge, my department authorized the development of the Type Thirty-Two Naval Mine. This new mine uses a magnetic pistol repurposed from torpedo designs, removing the flawed contact trigger. As the contact trigger is what decayed in the Type Ten, the estimated effective life of the new Thirty-Two mine is twenty-five years with a ninety percent efficacy. With your approval, I would like to authorize a massive demining operation of all Type-Ten minefields and a massive re-mining operation with the newly developed Type Thirty-Two.”
“Impressive.” Shiraori nodded. “Very well, you have my approval. Have the paperwork submitted to my office by the end of the day, and I’ll have it set in motion. Make sure you submit all mine maps to the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for publication.”
“Mine maps?” Reito questioned. “Isn’t the point of mines to ambush the enemy? Why would we publish where our mines are placed?”
“For two reasons,” Shiraori answered. “One, we don’t want our allies or neutral countries to stumble into one of our minefields and cause an international incident. Number two, it wards any enemies into easily defensible chokepoints, or they must brave the minefield and risk losing vessels without any engagement.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Reito mused. “If they can expire, why not put something like a timed fuse that detonates them at the end of their lifetime? Then we wouldn’t have to demine them at the end of their life.”
Shiraori looked stunned at her daughter for a moment before turning to the Admiral. “Is something like that possible?”
“Uh,” the Admiral, too, was stunned that a fifteen-year-old had come up with an idea her entire R&D department hadn’t. “Y- yeah, I don’t see why not. I’ll ask my team about it. As well I’d like to request a poster be made. To increase the average sailor’s awareness of mines.”
“Very well,” Shiraori confirmed. “If there is nothing else, I believe we can call this meeting adjourned.”
Once the Admiral had left, Reito stared at her mother. “Mom, what the hell?!” She shouted. “You said I could attend this meeting with you, and then you kicked me out for most of it! You keep leaving me out of everything! You promised I’d be with you in every important meeting two years ago, and now this is the most important meeting I’ve attended in the past two months!”
Shiraori looked at her daughter’s face while her own twitched involuntarily. The slightest of frowns crossed her lips as her eyelids squirmed. The dam broke. Tears began to flood from the Empress’s eyes, and the full-grown woman began to bawl. “I am so, so sorry, Reito.” She bowed her head to her daughter and even began to beg. “Please, please forgive me for being such a horrible mother.”
Reito was stunned. Her mother crying was not a sight that she was used to seeing. It was a sight almost no other living being had ever seen. The young princess stumbled for the words as her lips trembled. “Y- you’re not a terrible mom… I- I just don’t understand why you’re keeping me out of things now.”
“Oh, Reito.” Shiraori brought up her head and looked her daughter in the eye. “I… I promise what I’m doing is to keep you safe and that someday soon, I will tell you everything that’s going on. Can you please trust in me?”
Staring at her mother’s tear-stricken face begging for forgiveness. It would be impossible to say no. “I trust you, Mom. I… I just miss you.”
“Tomorrow.” Shiraori wiped away her tears. “How about tomorrow? I’m all yours. We can do whatever you like.”
(Kumosenkan Mine Propaganda Poster)
"Yes!" Reito cheered with excitement.
"Then I suppose we've kept her waiting long enough." The Empress's voice was still soft as she brushed a few fingers through the Princess's hair. "Come on, dearest. Follow me." She waved an arm and led her daughter into one of the palace's many conference rooms. Inside a Rose Hair Tarantula Kumo in full dress whites stood at attention. Her face fully tensed as she watched the mother-daughter duo enter the room. At very stiff attention, the Rear Admiral saluted. Shiraori looked at her daughter, prompting her to respond.
With a nod, Reito saluted. "At ease, Admiral." The fifteen-year-old's voice cracked as she dropped her arm.
The Admiral followed suit and spoke. The nerves in her voice made her mood apparent. She bowed as far as her body would allow before coming back up. "G- good afternoon, and th- thank you for meeting with me. I am Rear Admiral Yukiko Hayakawa, the Admiral in charge of Hunter Killer Command."
"Yes," Shiraori mused as she sat at the table, inviting her daughter and the Admiral to do the same. "I remember you. You performed admirably during the war games last year. Congratulations on the assignment. Kure-kas made a wise choice in selecting you."
"A- actually, Minister Kure didn't choose me. I was recommended to the position by Vice Admiral Kaneko during her retirement." The Admiral clarified.
"I see." Shiraori took a solemn moment in thought before continuing. "Regardless, congratulations are in order."
"Thank you very much. Your Highness." Again the Admiral bowed an awkward action to take at a table. "I would not be here without your recognition."
"Shall we get started then?" Shiraori asked. "It's very unusual for an Admiral to call for a meeting with me. I assume it's important."
"I apologize, but this meeting is likely not of high importance. I would have taken it to Minister Kure, but I have been unable to secure a meeting with her. I requested this meeting with her nearly two months ago, but I haven't heard a word back."
You haven't seen Minister Kure in months?" Reito interrupted. "She's supposed to meet with every command Admiral once a month, barring exten..." Reito paused, trying to remember the exact word. "extenuating circumstances."
"Yes, I know that." Admiral Hayakawa confirmed. "Despite that, I have met with her only twice since my promotion last year."
"Thank you for bringing this complaint to my attention." The Empress's eyes were piercing as she took on this new information. "I assure you it will be dealt with."
"No!" Hayakawa shouted instinctually and then flinched away from the Empress. "I... I mean. I'm not here to lodge a complaint against Kure-kama. I- I just need to request approval for a- an operation."
With a squinted, suspicious eye, Shiraori sized up the Admiral before her. After the war game, she had personally promoted her to Captain, and after a year of meritorious service, she was promoted to Rear Admiral and recommended for her current position. Now she began to wonder if promoting her and acknowledging her had been an error. "You don't wish to report Minister Kure for apparently flagrant rule violations? Why?"
Hayakawa felt a mouse in her throat as she tried again to speak. She recalled the warning Vice Admiral Kaneko had given her. Her eyes searched the table without her instruction. "I... I don't believe it would be conducive to my well-being t- to report the Minister."
Shiraori's expression changed to one of half understanding and the other half ire. "Reito, give us the room."
"What?" Reito questioned in surprise and almost anger. "You promised I could attend this with you."
"I'm not asking." It stung Shiraori's heart to act so firmly with Reito, but she couldn't allow herself to show any weakness now. "I'll call you back when you can return."
Rear Admiral Hayakawa watched the exchange in a panic. She did what she did to the Vice Admiral while Reito was present; what will she do that requires Reito to be gone? As soon as the door closed, Hayakawa prepared herself for the worst. “Explain yourself. Now.” The Empress’s voice was sharp and stung. “In detail, why reporting Minister Kure would be bad for you.”
With nothing but fear, Hayakawa met the Empress’s gaze. “W- what do you mean?”
“Do not fuck with me, Admiral.” Shiraori slammed a fist on the table. “Answer me. That is an order, not a request.”
Confused and afraid, she responded. “D- do you not know?”
“Know what?” The Empress began to lean forward, her eyes piercing straight into all eight of Hayakawa’s
“Anyone who goes against Kure-kama loses their job.” She answered, trying to match Shiraori’s gaze.
Shiraori’s eyes searched Hayakawa’s. Twitching from one to another, covering all eight several times. This could be damning. “Are you telling me that anytime someone criticizes Kure-kas, she fires them?”
Hayakawa shook her head quickly. “No, no!” She almost gasped for air. “Of course not. I don’t believe the minister would ever do anything like that.”
“Then explain what you meant by they lose their jobs.” Her voice was steady and venomous. “Right now, Admiral.”
“M- minister Kure is a hero amongst the Admiralty, Your Highness. She was personally responsible for several incredible victories in Hawaii. Almost every Admiral I know reveres her as near god-like. When some- someone goes up against her, they’re shunned by the Admiralty. It becomes impossible to do their jobs, so they’re forced to resign.”
Shiraori sat back. Her eyes darted around the room, but they weren’t looking for something. Her mind was racing with thoughts. Almost a full minute of silence passed as Shiraori connected dots in her head until Hayakawa again spoke up. “E- Empress?”
With a quick snap, Shiraori came back down to Ouhiri. “Y- yes Admiral. Thank you for telling me this. I will look into this matter. Your help will not be forgotten.”
A knot twisted in Hayakawa’s stomach. “If you must, then may I plea you for a favor?”
“You may.” The Empress nodded.
“Leave my name out of it. I love my job. I don’t want to lose it.” She literally pleaded with her hands pressed together above her bowed head.
“I understand, Admiral. I will do everything in my power to keep you in your position.” Shiraori assured, but this again caused her head to race. Even the words of the Empress wouldn’t save this woman if she went against Kure. I must be more cautious. “This meeting has gotten off track. What operation do you need approval for?”
Before the Admiral could again begin, Shiraori held up a hand. “One moment.” She quickly left the room and returned with a clearly still disgruntled princess. “Now, please continue.”
Hayakawa took a moment to collect her thoughts and reorient herself for the change in topic. With notecards in hand, she began her pitch. “A- as you know, like food, weapons have a ‘best if used by’ date. This applies to everything from the smallest caliber of bullets to eighteen-inch battleship shells. Most relevant to this meeting includes the Type Ten Naval Mine. The Type Ten Naval Mine had an estimated practical shelf life of two decades. However, a new research study approved by my department showed an estimated drop off in efficacy of over eighty percent after only ten years of deployment. Equipped with this knowledge, my department authorized the development of the Type Thirty-Two Naval Mine. This new mine uses a magnetic pistol repurposed from torpedo designs, removing the flawed contact trigger. As the contact trigger is what decayed in the Type Ten, the estimated effective life of the new Thirty-Two mine is twenty-five years with a ninety percent efficacy. With your approval, I would like to authorize a massive demining operation of all Type-Ten minefields and a massive re-mining operation with the newly developed Type Thirty-Two.”
“Impressive.” Shiraori nodded. “Very well, you have my approval. Have the paperwork submitted to my office by the end of the day, and I’ll have it set in motion. Make sure you submit all mine maps to the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for publication.”
“Mine maps?” Reito questioned. “Isn’t the point of mines to ambush the enemy? Why would we publish where our mines are placed?”
“For two reasons,” Shiraori answered. “One, we don’t want our allies or neutral countries to stumble into one of our minefields and cause an international incident. Number two, it wards any enemies into easily defensible chokepoints, or they must brave the minefield and risk losing vessels without any engagement.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Reito mused. “If they can expire, why not put something like a timed fuse that detonates them at the end of their lifetime? Then we wouldn’t have to demine them at the end of their life.”
Shiraori looked stunned at her daughter for a moment before turning to the Admiral. “Is something like that possible?”
“Uh,” the Admiral, too, was stunned that a fifteen-year-old had come up with an idea her entire R&D department hadn’t. “Y- yeah, I don’t see why not. I’ll ask my team about it. As well I’d like to request a poster be made. To increase the average sailor’s awareness of mines.”
“Very well,” Shiraori confirmed. “If there is nothing else, I believe we can call this meeting adjourned.”
Once the Admiral had left, Reito stared at her mother. “Mom, what the hell?!” She shouted. “You said I could attend this meeting with you, and then you kicked me out for most of it! You keep leaving me out of everything! You promised I’d be with you in every important meeting two years ago, and now this is the most important meeting I’ve attended in the past two months!”
Shiraori looked at her daughter’s face while her own twitched involuntarily. The slightest of frowns crossed her lips as her eyelids squirmed. The dam broke. Tears began to flood from the Empress’s eyes, and the full-grown woman began to bawl. “I am so, so sorry, Reito.” She bowed her head to her daughter and even began to beg. “Please, please forgive me for being such a horrible mother.”
Reito was stunned. Her mother crying was not a sight that she was used to seeing. It was a sight almost no other living being had ever seen. The young princess stumbled for the words as her lips trembled. “Y- you’re not a terrible mom… I- I just don’t understand why you’re keeping me out of things now.”
“Oh, Reito.” Shiraori brought up her head and looked her daughter in the eye. “I… I promise what I’m doing is to keep you safe and that someday soon, I will tell you everything that’s going on. Can you please trust in me?”
Staring at her mother’s tear-stricken face begging for forgiveness. It would be impossible to say no. “I trust you, Mom. I… I just miss you.”
“Tomorrow.” Shiraori wiped away her tears. “How about tomorrow? I’m all yours. We can do whatever you like.”
(Kumosenkan Mine Propaganda Poster)