Rombarda's Throne

[VoxApocrypha]

 The Office of the Emperor of Rombarda.
Or rather, his throne room, in more informal circles that was usually what it was referred to. 

To the Emperor it was more a space to put on a show. Anything important was planned and thought over in his actual office, located deep within the Palace itself. Fortified below ground and partially into the mountain, he spent his time within the confines of the palace usually under its foundations in the fortified wings of which government functioned from. Safe as he was above ground he felt safer in the confines of the fortress to which he had spent most of his adult life. He hadn't ever felt quite as at home anywhere else aside from his mother's home in the country side of Auran, and then here - little else felt as familiar. But he left it often to see the people he had made himself lord of, charged with their safety and prosperity, the protection of their rights and as well, their ancestral homelands. 

 Aurelius, Festria by blood but more human by appearance, had tan skin and crimson red hair, body mired by scars and lacerations attained in service to his nation in wars past. Six years ago, he fought in Koi itself, or Koius, as it was called by his people in the language of old of which he increasingly had to protect with legislation. Rombarda, culturally, was rich and enriched by its history and the languages of others and cultures it had not destroyed but rather integrated and absorbed. It was a skill unique to Rombarda, the slow fusing of foreign ideas with their own to create a new way forward. 

 As he sat in his office, chin on his hands with the lights dimmed, he thought on this and what he found himself forced to contend with.
Rombarda had allies, but Rombarda had enemies, two potential existential threats to its existence. If Ashigawa had not been their ally of first convenience and then of necessity, Ashigawa would be that potential third - though one that was easy to overcome through sheer firepower and strength. No, he found that the existential threats to his civilization's existence as a free one, were the United Revolutionary Republican Velts to the North of his country, and then the Empire of Kumosenkan to the far south. 

 The URRV shared a direct land border with almost all COG states, and the Auran Fjords were close to that land border. Despite having the advantage of unfavorable terrain, and a military of appropriate size to hold it, he knew that the odds of that being indefinite were not optimal. Or that those odds were in his favor. He knew he could in the end, win that war. He had contingencies for it in mind, as did his generals. But for that moment he thought it best to not think too hard on it. They had not made hostile actions, but they knew that the tension was real and the tension was serious enough to warrant concern. 

 Kumosenkan, was a different story. 
Kumosenkan would be unable to win any land war against Rombarda in a long-term sense simply because Rombarda had the advantage of being on the defense. In a naval war however, the odds were against them. Rombarda had one of the largest navies on the planet, in fact likely the second most powerful after Kumosenkan, with Galra seeming a close third. A naval war was likely, unless fought close to Rombardan Shores, unwinnable. If they could bleed off enough strength from Kumosenkan, then they'd be able to reduce their navy by, optimally, only about 600 to 700 warships if that. 

 But compared to the strength lost it'd still be a death blow to the Rombardan navy of which at most wouldn't be able to replace that industrial output within 50 years. 

 Their one advantage over either side was air power. 
As well, he did have motorization he could work with. His generals were telling him to mechanize. He had seen the potential but the thought didn't carry much weight to him when he thought on the cost, the time. He as well knew that his terrain did not support motorization defense quite as well. Though, if he ever needed to go on the offensive, it'd help to be able to go as fast as Motorized forces could. Even so it would provide a change to the power balance in terms of effectiveness. He already had to expand his armed forces anyway..

 He'd sign off on that idea, pulling the folder out and then stamping on the white square on the corner with a 'approved' before setting it down to examine the contents of another. He had many more to sift through, mundane and not. 

[VoxApocrypha]

Aurelius stood in his office, looking at the table back behind his desk to which he and another sat. Aurelius wore a black suit, with a purple cape-sleeve over his right side, and his braided cords and medals of honor and distinction over his left side, placed over where his hearts were. His weird biology was a result of a unique and rare medical condition, affecting any race but still almost never seen in the general population, or indeed known of among many of it. Situs Inversus.

His hearts were positioned in a mirror image of the norm for most - and so while at first, he had worn a normal suit, he had a new one made for this.. and his ascension to Emperor, after exiling the last to his Auran home under guard. He stared at a series of documents and papers laid out in front of him of which detailed the diplomatic status of Rombarda, the national military's status, the power of its navy and army, equipment, economic information, various many things important to the day to day safety, operation and general survival of their nation and cultural identity. The topic of his discussion with his Right Hand, General Cassius, a former council member whom had fought alongside him in years past, had at first been discussing the Mass motorization of their military.

Then, it had shifted.. to diplomacy. Not far from the palace, in the city's Acropolis, a meeting was being held by representatives of the COG. While it was at first about Franerre, it had changed to the COG. To having formed it.. and now they had gone on to talk about the Commonwealth of Granuras in general, and the thoughts and position of the Emperor and his right hand. In the two they could confide, aware that neither had ill will nor would they seek to bring it to bear in a political arena.

"No, you're right, I don't trust them." Aurelius would say as he set his hands at his side. "I do not have faith in either."

"And I think, personally dear friend, that you should have more faith in our allies, that they'll come to our aid in our hour of need." Cassius would reply, leaning forwards a bit with a gentle smile on his muzzle. Cassius was a Festria-Kithium hybrid, a male of short size with catlike features, but red and white hair and black fur. He was deceptively cute, though that cuteness hid unseen brutality that had been harnessed in the fire of war in the way he commanded his men and fought with them on the battlefront against Galra.

"They're our allies, and they fought alongside us as you and I fought alongside each other in the last Great War, and without them, we would never have been able to reach Koi, nonetheless been able to help secure it from our shared foe. They were instrumental."

Aurelius waved a hand. "Ashigawa was not instrumental in defending or helping us Liberate Koi. Nevarra, was. Hell, even we were not instrumental in that - we joined forces because we knew that together it was generally easier to reach and secure ground there following Nevarra through that path. We only frankly needed Maiz, Fecrein, and Nevarra."

"..Yes, this is.. correct, I think, mostly anyway. Not fully. But I'm not sure how to put my disagreement with some of that into words at the moment." Cassius would say, as he scratched his chin. "Still, Ashigawa as an ally is a boon, not an overall net negative, surely you see that?"

The emperor would sit down in his chair and turn to the table, scooting closer. "Sit, grab some drinks from the fridge." He'd say idly. Cassius turned and did as he was asked, setting two bottles of sparkling water with violet-heart essence added, the purple fizzing drinks bubbling as they opened the tops of the caps. After taking a sip, Aurelius spoke again.

"Ashigawa, is not a net positive either." He'd tell them. "Ashigawa is an Imperialistic state with ambitions beyond the scope that we can plan for and be safe with accounting. They want territory, they want ground on bloody fucking Touli, that shithole.." He'd shake his head. "They cause one international incident they could get us ALL blamed for their royal fuck up." He'd say, speaking with a bit less care for the contents of the words now as he did. He wanted the point to get across and as he was alone with his friend, he wanted it out there to be said lest he keep it on his chest. If he could not vent to Cassius then he was well and truly alone, and near the other way around with them.

Cassius himself took a long chug from the bottle, halfway down with it in no time at all. He would cover his mouth to pass the gas that bubbled up, then sigh softly. "..You're right, but I think maybe a bit too harsh and heavy handed in the assessment." He'd say. "Ashigawa could be a valuable ally. They are, one. They provide a potential extra boost of naval fighting power that evens the score a bit against Kumosenkan."

"So? We have fucking Amali to deal with just below them. Amali is a serious potential threat. They have a massive economy, a major military to the south of Ashigawa that could join Kumosenkan."

"We don't know for sure if they're an enemy, Aurelius, same with the UK, they're discussing trade with us." The cat replied.

"The UKUG is barely even a minor empire. It has influence, colonial influence, and wealth. That's it, without Kumosenkan, we could out and out win any war with just them. Hell, against Kumosenkan alone? We could have at least taken them down decades of industrial output. Half those ships have to be pre-dreadnoughts, there's no way they built that many after. But with Amali and the UK at their side to march in lockstep with them, they already dominate the seas and the damn Creepy-Crawly fucks are able to win a naval war without lossing as much as they'll make the others lose when they through Amali and the UK ahead of them to absorb some of our ammo and ships. Our only hope then is winning a long term land war against them, which is only barely possible if we can fortify all that ground even more than it is now and somehow recruit the numbers we need to man those positions and vehicles! We-"

Cassius had sat, and listened to his life long friend as he ranted, watching the man slowly deflate as the stress of worrying of one potential global war drained away into a cauldron, while the stress of another smaller but for Rombarda equally disastrous if not more war continued to bubble up. After a moment, Aurelius would sigh and put his elbows on the table, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"..Sorry." He'd say. "It's.. been a long month." The man let out a breath, instantly composed again. One strength, he could put on a poker face damn quick.

Cassius would nod. "Don't worry. I know." He'd say. "..We are faced on all sides by problems of far-reaching scope that put Rombarda at odds with neighbors and a major contender on the ocean. But we have time, advantages.. now, lets get you off of talking about our diplomatic relations for a bit. Back to the military matter, we're here to discuss."

The man nodded and would look at the papers. "..I forgot where we left off."

"Motorization."

"..Yeah, motorization. Thanks." He'd say. "..I want to mass motorize. I want to do it in full. Then I want to go further.. I want a full-scale military build up Cassius, we need one. We need to build up the defenses on the mainland and in the colonies." He'd say.

"Motorization.." Cassius looked at the map of Rombarda on the wall. "..In a land war against the URRV, that'd be an enormous help. I think in the colonies it might not matter as much, any attack is going to be coming in from the air or being landed on our beaches. The colonies might need fortification more than the homeland, yes?" He'd say, not really asking it, just acknowledging a truth both of them could observe. "The Auran Fjords and the mountains, are both very defensible. Any navy would have a difficul time securing those islands, destroying the potential hundreds of ancient coastal fortresses in that region before our artillery reaped a heavy toll on them, and its where most of the homelands major northern cities are." He'd say. "The mountains give us an edge from a northern push. Tanks can't maneuver well there. Works both ways though. If we fortify the area, which is doable but difficult, it'd be a hell of a line to hold."

Aurelius would be staring at the same map, sighing. "..Yes, you're right. As always."

"I am the general. You were a captain, I went to North Point." Cassius would say.

"Yes, lucky." He'd say.

A chuckle left the cat, as he would drink some of the purple liquid. After another brief exhalation, he would lift up the folder from yesterday.
"What you want, is doable. Not to what you want in this mess, though." He'd set it down. "Write me something new up, but i'll begin preparations as soon as I can. I will as well be having the Corps of Military Production begin work on producing equipment. As well we'll open the gate for a recruitment drive. I'm not sure we'll get a lot of people to be frank though, sir. A lot of young mothers and fathers lost their children. I don't think they'll want to let their kids seek glory only to come home in a body bag."

"They'll be coming home in a body bag anyway if we have to draft them later. If they sign up willingly that is their decision. Better they sign the papers than get a card." He'd say. "..We should as well work towards making a Militia. Reservists will work for training them up, the militia itself would be something easy to justify, especially north. They all have their own guns anyway thanks to the animals and constant immigration issues." He'd tell them. "Make use of that. Empire wide."

Cassius would nod his head. "Just stamp the folder. I'll handle the fine details. The grand plan here though, its yours." He'd say. He'd stand up and lift his drink, downing the rest and putting it into the bin gently, as to not just drop the glass bottle right in. He hated that noise, loud and even the slim risk of it shattering had always made him gentle with glass objects.. save a vase he used on a guys head once. Aurelius would nod, the two of them smiling to each other warmly again, before they headed out.

Cassius sighed and stretched, making his way to his office to start drafting orders. Aurelius, was soon feverishly writing up a new set of proposals, his impulses checked by his friend and now by him as he was more conscious of them. The two had each others backs, though really, Cassius more had his than the other way around. Cassius, knew this. But abuse it he did not - his honor, that of his friend, that of the Emperor, was important and their friendship more so. In that they were as well both unified in their purpose - safeguarding the survival of their nation and the way of life of their people.

[VoxApocrypha]

Cassius was not new to the job.
His time at North Point had given him skills military and civilian alike.
His emperor, bless his soul, was not ready for the responsibility on his shoulders.. stress was one word, but the inexperience was clearly taking a toll. He had less know-how than the prior, corrupt as they were. For Cassius, acting as a check and balance to Aurelius was second nature. He had been doing it since childhood, and it had continued into their adulthood. Cassius had more experience in training, but neither of them were practically skilled on a governmental level. They were both attempting to move past the mindsets of running the show as if they were soldiers. Only one of the two was military, but both had responsibilities that were difficult to cope with, and he reached above his station to help the man above in his.

Cassius had done so for others. He could stomach stress better than Aurelius.
He had many similar thoughts and himself he proposed many ideas to the man in charge, and he took more time to think it out.
He thought it all out as he walked to his office and took a seat behind his own desk, the room more extravagant than that of any other. He looked the look and feel of opulence, though it was a fake-out. The banners, the carpets, the tables and chairs, the lights, they were real but the money he had used for it was mostly that given to him as Patronage from people of whom had been exiled at one point or another in the past year. He had seen to that.. self-interest motivated him as much as duty.

He had learned, over years of painful trial and error, that the corruption was beneficial if you navigated the bureaucrat hell well enough.. but he knew too that it was what would be the doom of his homeland and all within it. They had made the decision to depose the corrupt bureaucrats with force in the night, and most were exiled - but some had to be.. put down. Cassius had seen to it personally. Watched each man be shot by firing squad of soldiers from the Developments Group, the research and special works division of the Navy.

He thought back to that moment as he thought on the things to come.
He had a well of wealth to his name he could use if need be. Hell, maybe he would. As he thought on that however the part of him that hadn't succumbed to the urge to take from those.. men, he had to call them, lest he say something worse and curse names laid to rest and cleansed, and he put his mind to his task. As he looked at his desk, he drew a pen and would begin to think, before he began to use his intercomm to call in aids. More and more files stacked up on his desk, and as he filtered through, he soon had a cohesive plan of action in mind and order of build up. When he was done with that, he prepared to make the official start of a major military build up, public.

He as well, would draft up a document after, of which he'd present as an idea to his friend, the Emperor, in the hopes of him taking it up. Just for the 'potential'.

[VoxApocrypha]

"Continuity of Government.." Aurelius would read aloud as he reread the title of the paper, worlds written in bold print and highlighted.

"Yes that is the name of the plan." Cassius would say as he relaxed into his seat, sighing softly. "Repeating it does not tell me how you feel about the merits."

"..It's a good idea. It's more suited to wartime operations, but it would be of value in the Colonies. Maybe if we absolutely need it, it would be useful here, but it'd be far more limited." He'd tell them. "Our Homeland is different to that of the colonies which would be likely to be cut off from us in a conflict."

Cassius nods. "And that's why, I say we focus on the colonies with it, rather than the home front. Of course a couple here would be a good idea too, if only to protect you and other high ranking military and government personnel. The colonies though, it'd help them more."

"..Yes. You have my approval." He'd say. "Whenever you want to implement this, start."

Cassius nods. "I will do so immediately, my Emperor." He'd stand up, pulling his copy of the documents off of the desk and heading out, having silently nabbed a bottle of Sparkling Violet-hearts out of the Emperor's fridge.

[VoxApocrypha]

 The room had been bugged.
Not his room, rather the COG chamber in the Auran Acropolis. 
It had been bugged to keep copies of all audio out of that room, and it was bugged from as many angles and places as they could hope to stick one and have it be utterly unnoticed. 
They had done this for several reasons, paranoia was just one of them, but it was as well because the highest echelons of the Emperor's personal cadre, including Cassius and his Foreign Advisor, Domestic Advisor and Head of the Council, would often dissect it and bring things of interest to him. This time it was not any of them who came to him with this information, but instead the head of the Rombardan State Security Bureau, Adder Tovul. Or Just, Tovul.

 Tovul was not a big man for his species, in fact even if he still towered over humans, he was small for a Festria. He was however, not of feminine build. He was formerly apart of the Praetorian Guard and before that had been a lower ranking agent in the RSSB, as well as Infantry and then later Special Forces in a war long past. He had seen many things, fought for his country, and he still did in the halls of a secretive and highly aggressive intelligence service, one of the better funded in the world and better trained. 

 His eyes were a piercing yellow, and were not of a typical human-ish look but were narrow-pupiled, slit like much as if he were a Kithium, though he knew of no Kiith blood. His fur was black and grey, the red having long faded to a genetic defect, and his face and body were mired in scars hidden barely by his thick coat of fur and as well, his short but curly hair. He wore a black and red uniform with one cord, and a single badge over his hearts. He had a tattoo, in crimson red over the left side of his head, a axe head of which had been stained into the very base of his fur and the skin. He was a member of a unique clan lineage within the Festria known at one time or another for a brand of ancient barbarism that had made that mark infamous, and among historically savvy circles, it remained that way. 

 He stood stock still, eyes forward under the light of the hanging fixture above his head of which shined down onto him and the Emperor's desk, as he flipped through the Manila folder containing the transcription of the audio. It was just one of several reports to which he had brought before him, all in that folder, with a long winded statement at the end of it that went on about the situation and so on. It was not a standard briefing, but the man had felt it necessary to bring it to his attention sooner rather than later, and so he had leveraged his power to go right to the Emperor regardless formalities, because he was the leader of the RSSB and no piss-baby in a royal uniform was going to stop him from doing his job.

 Aurelius would close the folder after finally getting to the end, and slide it away a bit, his eyes bloodshot and his mug of Java left cold and half-full. 

"..The more I read your reports on Ashigawa, the more I feel like we've chosen bad allies." The Emperor said quietly as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose. 

Tovul would shrug slightly. "If I had good news to deliver I'd have filtered it to your briefing." He'd say. "And doubly so if I thought different of our 'Erstwhile Ally'. It's not as if you don't share some of my thoughts."

"Is our shared thought-" Aurelius would be cut off, Tovul speaking over him. "Yes, Emperor. Digest what I said in that briefing." He'd say, pointing to the folder with one of his hands as the other would grab the coffee mug and put it off to the side by the counter that a coffee maker rested on. "It's a lot to assume. It's also not that far fetched."

"..What you said is that Ashigawa is more of a liability than they are really an ally." He'd say as he looked up at Tovul. "And that Ashigawa's ambitions could potentially force Rombarda into a war it doesn't want to fight and cannot possibly win without totally surrendering, or cause Rombarda to have to radically shift its force dispositions and such.. and other things you said." They'd say. 

"All of that is true, Aurelius." Tovul replied. "And it goes further, the recent Chamber meeting and acceptance of Franerre into the Commonwealth of Granuras is a example of Ashigawan ambitions overshadowing their sensibilities." 
Tovul pressed on, grabbing a chair and sitting down as he leaned forwards. 
"Ashigawa for now only wants to use Franerre as a means if securing a foothold of some sort on the continent. But what happens when they feel their ambitions reach further, if they do? They already want to colonize other areas under foreign influence, this is known even if they don't outright go and say it. They want to go further to the East in their main holdings, and the territory they stole from Premna, all of that already pits them against Amali. Amali protects those areas for some off the wall reason relating to a cultural heritage or so, but add in that Amali is apart of the Aegis Pact. Imagine the fallout from Ashigawa going to war with the Aegis Pact and us having to bail their ass out when their ambitions run head-long into reality and Kumosenki sailors send half their navy to the bottom of the ocean in a week." 

Tovul leaned back a bit. "Ashigawa may be important and our ally diplomatically, militarily even, but that alliance was born out of a need and economic fragility caused by Galra's attack on Koi and as well the present threat of a Imperialistic Communist State on our northern border."

Aurelius crossed his arms and sighed, leaning back in his seat, it creaking softly. 
"What do you want me to do about this? I get what you're saying. But I don't have a plan myself to rectify it." 

Tovul would lean forwards then some, setting his hands on the desk.
"We could take several approaches. I detailed a few but the ones I think are the most viable are thus far-" He raised a hand and held up a finger, for 'one'. 

"One. We diplomatically pressure them to cease expansionist activities and cease inflaming tensions in the areas around them and where they seek to extend their influence. We can go soft about it, or hard. Hard to the point we can even leave the alliance and potentially pull Fecrein or Maiz with us if we pull the right strings. Rombarda can be strong alone. Or we can push them out of the COG, impose restrictions.." He'd shrug his shoulders. 

"..Two, is a regime change. I messy, bloody affair."

"Three, break their colonies with insurgencies."

The emperor stared at the director of the RSSB. The human thought to himself that if this were someone else he might have been laughing, or said things ruder than he might have ever thought around this man. But he had knowledge enough to know that at least at a base level what he said was true, even if some of it might be spun or played up, a what-if with some basis in the category of 'possible things'. The gears were turning now, had been for a bit while he listened to the man in charge of the RSSB. Brash, interruptive, but he made a point. Maybe not the best intelligence analyst but he was only managing them, he wasn't the one gathering the intel. He hummed as he rubbed his neck slightly, and then turned to look at the folder. 

 "We could as well, if we want to go a more wide reaching approach, quietly or not, out and out work to ensure that we are in a position to be able to protect ourselves and as well, to ditch them if they potentially bring the world down on our heads. We should not build many if really any military bases there, should not base ships out of Ashigawa at the least, and if we have to it should be only as a emergency measure. Unless we are preparing for a joint training or Gods forbid an offensive, we keep our units close to our land and territory. In fact, while we're at it, we need to shore up our own defenses and infrastructure, sir."

"...That is the first time you have called me Sir that I can recall." Aurelius says quietly. 

Tovul would blink. 
After a moment, he stands up and pushes the chair back, leaving Aurelius puzzled. The expression quickly fades as he looks at the folder again. 
"..You're right, Tovul. Your concerns are understandable, if far reaching. I know you want what is best for our Empire. I will take your reports under advisement officially but I will be putting them in my to-do list. It does somewhat run alongside other concerns I have and I figure it may as well need to be factored into what other plans we have running for our other issues." He'd tell them. "You are however, dismissed. I will be bringing your concerns to Cassius and the others." 

 Tovul nodded, and Aurelius watched him do an about face, and march out of the room. 
Aurelius sighed, mulling over his next course of action. 

 Maybe a more subtle approach was what was needed. Something silent, securing alliances for Rombarda, opening dialogue with others. 
Maybe words could be used to make a dent. Albeit, for the first on his forming list, he did not want to be too brazen nor public with what he was considering. He began to write it down in the pages of his planner.

[VoxApocrypha]

Later that day, here he was with Cassius again.
Aurelius sat in his seat, listening to Cassius as he gave his opinion.

"..What about Nevarra? He seems to be more lax on them, they may not be reliable either."

"Nevarra is an issue of its own. Different in nature to that of Ashigawa. Nevarra has interest in its former sphere of influence, not in imperialistic conquest of weaker nations. At least, from what we know. They may not be particularly close by as an ally in a physical sense but I think we can lean on them for assistance to a degree, but we should not count on it. They may not jump in unless it's a total war."

"That's fair.. what of Maiz?" Cassius asked.

"Economically invested in trading with Kumosenkan. If we potentially get them under a fold of ours and if we pull out of COG, we could let them keep trading with Kumosenkan and as well defend their sovereignty with our own military. This would hinge though on having Fecrein with us. Maiz can sell to Nevarra and Ashigawa and others independently." Aurelius replied.

"..What are we intending again with this?" Cassius asked as he sipped down his Violetheart.

"We are making a contingency. A 'If' plan and putting it into motion, to protect our interests and that of our immediate neighbors of whom we want to maintain stable relations with. This is not a plan to out and out betray Ashigawa, or dump the COG, at least not in the short term. It's for if we risk being forced to fight a war sparked by our allies.. at least, that's it for now. I admit the 'Rombarda is Strong Alone' policy sounds nice to me."

Cassius nodded.
"I see.." He'd mutter. "..And we're moving forward with these preparations amidst as well a threat to our north?" He'd ask them.

"Yes." Aurelius answered.

"We may be spreading ourselves a bit thin, aye?" Cassius asked them, though it was more rhetorical.

"Maybe, Cassius. But it might be wise to include this from now on in our planning and adjust the current plan, even accelerate it. I'm going to be putting together plans as well to bring Maiz and Fecrein privately or semi-openly closer to us. Secure a couple of allies close by."

Cassius nodded, and would continue to sip from his drink.
"..Now can we talk about something else?"

[VoxApocrypha]

Cassius stood at the railing of a balcony on a hotel, recently refurbished and modernized, in the Acropolis of Adapos City.
He had always marveled at the concept of the Acropolis. It seemed outdated, but in a defensive war, it served well enough. That had to him been reason enough given that Rombarda was not a offensively focused power on land by and large. With the heart of their nation being mountainous terrain and difficult to navigate a Acropolis was a rather effective means of keeping enemies at bay and defending cities. It as well served as a large enough military base at least to fit their needs in terms of defense, though they didn't usually have runways.

A benefit to using stone for a lot of construction is stone is simple, and in a mountain its in abundance. Which makes it easy to fortify things with it, given Stone is a ready to use resource and as well, it serves such a critical role in Rombardan architecture. With Concrete and steel beams being what they were of course, and the changes in architecture that has brought, fortifications were typically stronger, smaller and in some cases quicker to build. He had been supervising the construction of a network of bunker complexes and firebases across the mountains, as well as planning the demolition of areas should the worst come to pass.

He had been waiting for one of his generals to meet him all day, and as that had fallen through due to a delay, he was going to wait until tonight. For the most part now, he was relaxing. In his odd way he relaxed by generally placing himself inside of major installations and perusing, which usually generated a fuck ton of discomfort. But of course he didn't care that much. Right now he was for the most part just enjoying himself in the room set aside for him in the civilian quarter of the Acropolis. Or he was up until he could hear his door open.

He turned, looking back into the room as someone stepped through, wearing a black uniform with red frills and braids, and a red cape over the left side.
They weren't human, nor Kithium.. they were Festria. And it was also a she. They'd make their way through the room, holding a basket in one hand as they walked towards the Balcony, Cassius watching them quietly as they stepped out with him and would take in the view themselves. Her eyes were a soft pink in tone. She turned her head to take him in, and smiled softly, Cassius' fur standing on end some as she did.

"..The sun is soon to go down. Don't you fear what lurks in the dark, Cassius?" She'd ask as she looked him over. She was a good foot and a half taller than him, and her uniform fit rather tight to a curvy but athletic form, something rather normal for a Festria in truth given how they were built.

"A-As much as any other person, but you don't lurk in the dark, you lurk under my fucking bed." He'd say.

"Well, more like in your sheets." She'd chuckle, before she took her cape off with a strong pull, and threw it into the room through the open glass door. "..Still scared of little ol' me, Kitty kat?"

"Scared is accurate, even for how much I like you, you're literally a tank and you work for RSSB." He'd say as she crossed his arms, but locked eyes with her now that the cape was gone. She'd chuckle and undo the top buttons, shrugging her uniform off to be left in just a t-shirt beneath.

"..I know, deary. But I'm going to be transferred soon, so you can uncross those strong arms and give me a hug for once, you dork." She'd say as she grabbed him. Cassius let out a unmanly squeak as he would be pulled into the titan's arms and wrapped up in her hold, large bushy tail enveloping him. She squeezed gently around him and would then begin to pepper the poor man with soft kisses, the cat's protests soon fading as he sighed and would hug her back.

Even if he had resisted, the purr that rose up from his throat did little to hide that he enjoyed it, despite his subdued fear.
"M-Monica, you're feeling a bit touchy huh." He'd say. "Not that I mind."

"What, am I not allowed to give my friend a hug?" She asks him as she lets go, and steps back a bit. 

"No, not at all, but you're.. huge and I'm like a toothpick to you." 

"Only in build, I'd never hurt you." She would then ruffle his well kept hair, making him hiss quietly. 

"My Hair!" 

The Festria starts to giggle as she watches him try to fix it, then give up with a sigh and move it so its out of his way. The curly locks settle, and she would tilt her head.

"..I like that. Looks casual. Nice and approachable." She'd say. "Should wear your hair like that more often."

"I-I'll take that under advisement. Why are you here?" He'd ask them. 

 She would shrug. "You were in town, I was.. figured I'd bring you something to drink, eat something with you, and then we can catch up. On something other than our careers for once." She'd say. 

"..Guess that sounds better than what I figured at first." he'd say. "..Well.. what first then..?"

"We watch the sun set. Then I give you some Sparkling Redberry." She'd tell him as she pulled the basket over. "And we have a nice, long little chat." She would look back towards the mountains, watching the sun descend behind them and the layers of clouds. 

[VoxApocrypha]

The Emperor would look at the intelligence report laid out. The RSSB's head had laid it out before him and he and Cassius had gone over it together, and while he had had a sneaking suspicion, he hadn't been sure of exactly what was going on that might seem to be distantly problematic. In the back of his mind he wondered if there was some way he could have figured this out sooner. At the same time however, this information wasn't giving him quite as clear a picture as he would have liked.

The situation in the strait near Franerre had highlighted exactly why he had opted to sign the pact with Kumosenkan.
This had as well shown to him that he could not expect much from two of the COG nations, atop of already having suspicions of the feasibility of a lasting alliance with the Fecrein and having a potentially hostile communist state on the northern border of Rombarda. He was alone, Cassius had gone home with his new girlfriend while he had himself stayed to relax in his seat and ponder the problems of the time. He hadn't been very happy to hear of the nature of the relationship but himself had not made that known.

He had put two and two together and made a connection, though RSSB had made it before him anyway.
Ashigawa was using Franerre for something. It made sense. It was probably one of the most obvious reasons why the Ashigawans had wanted them to join.
Exactly what was a mystery however. He did have the suspicion however, given the nature of Ashigawa's ambitions, that it had something to do with the Elenrians. This was just suspicion, however, and he was not going to assume that was the situation *at the moment.*

He had given the directive for them to pursue this and figure out everything they could possibly learn without causing trouble.

This was however one issue that would have to wait by nature. He could diplomatically inquire with a special Inquisition, but for now that issue had to sit.

The URRV, was more pressing. The immediate concern of the future.
No naval war with Kumosenkan was likely, Lusatia was politically unstable and about to lose Nowa Lusatia from what he had been told and heard. He had made peace with the Aegis Pact by and large and was soon to reach out to Amali to solidify that peaceful status. He even figured that Lusatia was unlikely to be a threat.

But the Union of Revolutionary Republican Veltists was a serious, potential and likely inevitable threat to the long-term survival of the people of Rombarda.
While a strong nation and having been capable of resisting the predations of the Eonians and Fecreinians in the past, the reality was turning against Rombarda, and it was the fault of his predecessor. He hadn't acted. Had not directly dealt with the Communist uprising because of the policy of relative isolationism that hadn't held long when he had left power. But Aurelius was not going to let it metastasize. If he did, Rombarda would be an academic subject and little else, as it'd become a Communist state or apart of the greater URRV - which neither would be allowed under his watch, or that of any Rombardan Emperor.

He had to yet again however, have a late night discussion.
And interrupt someone's date.

Oen phone call later..

...


Cassius barely even made it through the door, before Aurelius was talking.
"I want you to go to your office and grab everything relevant that I have not seen yet, including anything regarding the status of force disposition, border force strength, and anything else even remotely important to the state of our armed forces and their ability to wage a offensive war." He'd say. "And grab that book you lent me, that.. Conceptualization of Future Wars, that was it, yeah?"

Cassius would open his mouth before he'd catch a pencil to the forehead, and then turn. "I'm going, I'm going, Via!" He'd say, making his way out into the hall again, speed walking. About two minutes later he came back with a basket full of papers and reports, and a bag of transcripts, with the book in the bag atop of all the transcripts and receipts. Setting them down onto the Emperor's desk, Cassius would find himself looking at the Emperor's bare chest as he tossed his shirt off to the side, putting on a long-sleeved comfort shirt as he would.

The cat blinked a bit, but ignored it, back to the desk.
"Why did you call me here on date night? I'm catching hell in the morning you know."

"The URRV, Cassius." He'd say, his expression being more dire than usual for a man not known for smiling much. Cassius would nod his head and then after a moment, shed his top as well, leaving him in just the comfort shirt he wore beneath it. "What do you want me to tell you first."

"Status of the defenses first."

Cassius would dig through the mountain, then collect his bounty of papers. Then he would start to read.

"The defenses along the border are being built in our line configuration. The explosives are in place in most of the areas closer to the front, but as we work out way back, we are starting to slow somewhat since we are also still busy building those back-line defensive positions and forts." They would tell them. "The explosives are strategically placed to collapse onto roads, and we have plans to potentially poison water wells and as well burn farmland, destroy vilalges, so on - as per our 'Denial of habitation' goal should we be on the defensive." They would tell them.

"We have defensive positions set up along every major road, including everything from temporary trenchworks to full scale armored bunker complexes in the mountains overlooking the major highways, and as well det-charges in place to blow those roads remotely from said bunkers and allow us to shell them from a distance and from relative safety. Bases have been fortified, and we have plans in place to evacuate any townships, cities, and villages in the event hostilities break out."

"We have as well," he would produce a map, then another and another, and set them down, "mapped out and pre-planned artillery strike zones. We have at present, about a million soldiers set up on the border, and the rest are deployed in continental Rombarda enforcing the lockdowns or assisting in the cities."

"..Via, and we have most of our military active or standby right now." Aurelius would say, whistling.

"It is a slight strain on our logistics train but it is coping and adapting as planned and needed, remarkably fast and well."

Aurelius nods. "Lessons learned from the Staol Wars." He'd say. "Supplies have to be moved."

Cassius nodded and went on.
"The Air Force has moved most of its assets back to Rombarda, and left only really what amounts to a token presence in Arema, though the Navy has a sizable local garrison and the present strength of the forces in that area should be enough to protect from any boldness from Lusatia. Our navy has moved most of its current fleet back to Mainland Rombarda as well, about 680 warships, including most of the capital ship fleet and a fair portion of the cruiser fleet, though most of our cruiser fleet remains in Arema."

"Transports?" He'd ask Cassius, which makes him pause. He'd flip through the papers, then lift a sheet a bit. "..40 of our 50." He'd say. "Our deepwater armada is mostly here now, even if however a massive portion of it remains in Arema. Arema should be well protected. We have three hundred thousand troops still in Arema to protect it from foreign aggression."

Aurelius would ponder that for a time, while he then looked at the desk. "What did our most recent intel report say about the strength of the URRV's armed forces?"

Cassius would sigh and then put hsi stack down again, grabbing hold of the papers and digging. For a minute a string of curses would quietly rise from the Kithium before he produces the papers and flipped through.
"..That number, per last report.." he would look at it and visibly seem to cringe. "..Two point five million soldiers, about five hundred aircraft, and then basically no navy.. but a lot of artillery." They would say. "This seems like a lot, but it's compounded by them having to defend so much land that their defense forces are effectively rather widespread in reality. The million they have on our border is still however a considerable number however and we'd be hard pressed to stop that easy." They would say.

"..Cassius, I'm going to broach something to you." Aurelius stood up, and grabbed the book. He pulled it over to him, and then opened up to the table of contents. It was a recent book, new and published by a now retired general who had served in the fifth Staol War.

"In this book, the writer, talks about the concept of mobile warfare." He would say. "particularly, he discusses a concept, that we've talked on before - called the Lighting Attack. The idea of this, is that the attacker spearheads an attack with overwhelming force, relying on speed particularly. The goal of that is often like Shocktrooper tactics, to punch holes in lines and dislocate the defenders, then to have more units pour through the gap to encircle the enemy and destroy them or force a surrender. This relies on the application of Combined Arms warfare however, and mobility. We do that, and then we keep moving to make it so that there is a constantly changing frontline that they have to respond to with out-dated information."

Cassius tilts his head, as Aurelius points to a paragraph at the bottom of one of the pages.
"We do this to throw them off of their balance, and then hamper their ability to engage in decision making by doing it. We keep them off balance, and then we destroy them by draining their supplies, obliterating their infrastructure, crippling their war making potential and capabilities.."

Cassius would hum quietly.
"..This man, did he work his troops like that?" He'd ask them. Aurelius shook his head. "No. This is conceptualization. He only put it into practice once and it didn't work.."

"Why?"

"..He says in the book, that it didn't work because he lacked the means to move enough troops at a fast enough pace to ensure a victory before the enemy could close the gaps in their lines. He lost a lot of troops attempting it and was almost striped of command."

"I feel that's reason enough to leave it to the book, not bring it back.." The Kithium tilts his head. "Why do you bring this up? What is this about, Aurelius?"

"Cassius. We are going to attack the URRV while they are still weak. If we allow them to organize fully, to develop more, we will never be able to win without having to leap and bound ahead in technology to stay ahead of them, and we can't do that right now, we may never be able to. We have to take advantage of the state of their new nation and crush them before they can crush us. The Cerberus Must Awaken, and bite the head off of this devil before it can escape the gates of Hades."

Cassius looked to him, then back at the table.
He had considered the issue himself, and reached the same conclusions before.
He knew what was at stake, but he had figured they could hold the URRV back, they could watch them throw themselves at defenses they would never be able to break without losing ten men for every one Rombardan lost in the defense of the homeland. He had personally beared witness to the atrocious tactical planning of one of the 'famed' generals of the Revolutionaries. Maybe as well, they would be terrible reactionaries to an invasion as well.

"..Even if we try this we may not be able to do it alone, Aurelius. Rombarda is not big enough to beat the URRV on its own." The Kithium would say.

"That's why we will have to bring in help." He would say. "..Nevarra, could be convinced. Maiz too maybe even. I don't know about Fecrein, but I doubt it." They would say. ".. Perhaps we could even get the help of nations in the Aegis Pact." Aurelis said, as Cassius almost seemed to choke on his water, needing several moments of quiet coughing to finally manage to catch his lung full of air and get a moment to think. "..T-The Aegis Pact?" He'd ask them. "We were almsot adversaries with them, why would they help?"

"Kumosenkan hates communists, Ashigawa hates communists, the UKUG has no love of the URRV and Amali very well may not want a strong communist state to their north." They would say. "The URRV could easily, if it overwhelmed Reombarda, attack Maiz, Fecrein, and any other nation south of them if it were to keep expanding the 'Revolution.'" He would say, finger quoting the word at the end. "We are not enemies of anyone but Galra. Even Galra hates the URRV." He'd say.

"We have a chance at getting assistance, even just material assistance from Amali and Kumosenkan would be beyond valuable. We could use that to easily replace lost equipment and as well, if we can get their direct aid, it adds to the manpower on our side of the fight. Even just Nevarra might be enough to tip the scales in our favor."

Cassius would sigh quietly.
"..Sir, my Emperor.. even if this can be done, if it can be worked.. we don't have much time to implement such a huge change to doctrine, nonetheless, this would be a long-term endeavor. We can't just kick the door in and the whole house comes down - we would be fighting a brutal ground war for potentially years, and it would be massively costly for us."

"The cost of what we lost will be nothing compared to what we will preserve, and what we could gain if we win." Aurelius tells them, his eyes shining briefly under the light before his hair blocked it. "If we do nothing, then our children will have to live with the looming threat of Communist invasion. If we do something now, we guarantee them a future of freedom, and maybe as well the people of Eonia too can share in that brighter world to come."

Then Aurelius turned again to the wall clock. 
"Morning hits, you send a message to the RSSB's head and tell him to begin to intensify operations in the URRV and in Transkolyma. We may even want to try and aid them in a potential invasion of the URRV from that island." He would say. "It would at least add yet another front for the URRV to fight on, and we would be better suited dealing with the Government in Exile having a slice of their nation back rather than having to then deal with them after as another island to conquer."

Cassius nods, then looks at the desk again, lost in thought for a time. Silence falls, and the only thing heard is the air vents as they circulate the air they breathed in the complex. Aurelius had taken a seat again, and was reading more papers when he heard the Kithium speak, his attention returning to them.

"..I need to find this man." He'd hear Cassius say, as he watched the Kiith pull the book closer, dog-earing the page and then looking at the name of the author on the front of the hard-wood cover.

"..Adrian Potrinko. Where would that old general be.."

...

[VoxApocrypha]

2 Days Later.

...

Comfort was a rarity in his life.
Adrian was not used to such a pleasant, quiet life after years of what had been constant noise, uncomfortable situations bordering on mind-breaking, and broken sleep.
One of those things persisted, and his bloodshot eyes gave a good clue as to which, as he settled his head onto his table while his wife would work quietly away at the kitchen counter. Adrian had spent the early morning hours, rather than asleep, exercising and performing some tasks of the day, primarily moving the disassembled pieces of his deceased brother's tractor from the yard to the barn.

He, family, and some others shared a barn, built by the people around the barn itself - of which his family had helped.
The Republics controlled the overarching territories, but the Communes were different by nature. Small communities were best left to govern themselves aside from instances were the State had to exert its authority, or so the philosophy postulated. He didn't know if it was true, not that it mattered. But he had first hand seen the benefits of the concept of a 'Commune', and its small size was ultimately what allowed for it to exist. If it were bigger, it wouldn't be functional for long.

He had come home to find most of his old friends from his childhood had either died in the war, or were still serving in the military, while a fair portion of his children were as well serving - or had passed themselves. A couple had taken jobs within the city of Cavantha, one of the smaller cities near the Auran Metro area, sharing a lot of suburbs and a highway, and they visited every so often. But two of his five hadn't come home. It was just one of those things that kept him up at night, but he had told them he was beyond proud of them and he loved them at least one last time at the burials.

His military career was itself a point of pain and disgust for the man. He had failed, he thought anyway, as a one-star general. He was bold, he was brash, and he was stupid.
What he tried had cost lives, and that itself ate away at him every day and night, almost as much as his lost blood had. He had almost lost his command, but had been allowed to fight to the conclusion of the war, though his reputation had been irreparably hurt by it. Still, he had published a book that sold decently well off of his experiences, and another that did less well but was picked up by many of his former colleagues. While he had caught flak, he didn't in the end care that much.

Their opinions carried little weight by this point, and worse things than flak had shredded apart his soul shortly before that anyway.
He had let his head rest on the table for what felt like an eternity, but what he realized - as he jolted upright - was that he had passed out. His eyes would blink a few times, before he would then see his wife, a shorter than average Festria woman, holding a letter for him, concern written on her face. He looked at it..

He could see the heads, the three heads of the Imperial Military's Symbol.
The Imperial Cerberus.

A Government Letter..

"What..?" He'd grab it gently, and look it over. "When did this get here?"

"A few moments ago, a man in a government uniform left it in the mailbox and drove off." She'd say.

He looked at it, and then checked the signature, his eyes widening.
"..Well, shit.." He'd say quietly. After a moment, the aged Festria would use a claw to tear the paper slowly, and then extract the letter within, another official government seal and that of the armed forces next to it emblazoned on the back of the paper. The signature of General Cassius, would show its importance.
He read the letter, then set it down, his eyes set dead ahead.

"..Well?" His wife asks, leaning forwards a bit.

"They want me to go into the city and meet with Cassius.. to discuss something that I laid out in the other book." He would tell them. "I don't know why. I have an odd feeling Amelia." He'd say quietly.

Amelia nodded her head and then gently set a hand on his shoulder. "Don't stress too much about it dear, I'm sure he might just have interest in it for an academic paper, maybe he wants to explore ideas for war games.." She'd say.

"I hope so." Adrian replied quietly. "..Thanks." He'd gently squeeze her hand and then pull her in, hugging her with one arm before he then would the letter, and put it back in the envelope for the moment. He'd stand up as she would go back to the kitchen, and he would sigh, bending a bit and popping his back. He turned, and then went back outside, starting again with the rest of his chores.

[VoxApocrypha]

The Emperor's agents had poured over papers, made gains enough to piece something together.
They had been, by emperor's decree, pursuing information picked up mostly by accident regarding the activities of a COG member state to events in Touli.
This had been pursued to the point that they had by now, figured enough out to piece together one basic truth.

Ashigawa, with Franerre or using Franerre, was actively engaged in something* on Touli, that was directed in some manner, at Kumosenkan.
The extent to which that went they were not entirely sure, but they had both logical deduction and as well, they had history and decent understand of the motives of Ashigawa.
It was of course too early to call it solid but whatever they were doing was clearly not to the benefit of Kumosenkan, and because of Franerre's connection to the border with Elenria, they had come to a conclusion that whatever they were doing. They'd have to more harder to find out exactly what they had been dealing with, as well they might look into the colonial instability.
But for now, this was enough that if they wanted to use it as leverage, they could potentially use it to gain favorable deals in the future.. and as well, if the emperor wanted, to put an end to one threat to their security potentially for good.

The Agents kept pouring over intel.
The RSSB emblems on their shoulders dimly shown under focused lighting that was directed to their desks, not to themselves.

[VoxApocrypha]

"Optimally we will be able to outgun them, and our airpower should be enough to keep them held back, as well as terrain features. By the point that we start this conflict we'll still however be dramatically under-armed compared to the amount of artillery they can field proportional to what we have. However with the size of the field being what it is, so long as Fecrein is not made into another front, we won't have to worry about anything other than the current land border we share with them."

"What of the River?"

"The river is a focal point of our defense and we're putting a lot into ensuring it remains secure. If we can hold the river and the territory in Monos behind it, we should be able to funnel troops and material easily back and forth between North and South Rombarda." Cassius would reply.


Vex hums quietly to himself and lays back in his chair, hands drumming on his thigh.
"If the Naval raids fail we will at the least have both the advantage of superior air power and the ability to shell their coastal cities. Easy way to directly target their infrastructure nearer to the coast." He'd say quietly. "It won't spare lives though."

Cassius nods.
"He's right, it will result in a lot of unintended damage but we were never likely to avoid that with the kind of war we want to wage to begin with." They would say. "As it stands however if we can force them to constant have to protect cities from naval infiltration it does dramatically reduce the amount of force they can project against us without having to leave more and more areas unprotected against the naval infantry. Our paratroopers are likely as well to aid the NI whenever they launch an attack. Though we should first be concerned with attaining air supremacy."

"I have confidence in our pilots that they can." Vex would say. "..Can we attain any more material aid? Maybe manpower?" He'd ask them.

"I have people determining the answer to that, we're thinking maybe we can attain material aid from Nevarra and the UKUG, Amali is still an unknown." He would say. "..At this point we may as well just join the AP if we're going to associate so heavily with them."

"Thinking about it." Vex said quietly. Cassius would blink, then chuckle. "..Really now..?"

"COG isn't going to survive." He said quietly. "AP while newer is more our speed."

"..Guess that's fair, Vex."

[VoxApocrypha]

Another strategy meeting had concluded behind closed doors again, and the participants were heading home.
Cassius had headed it, and the Emperor had observed, but what had been said was essentially a repeat of what they had all been going over before.
The Imperium was putting itself on a war footing, but it needed now to actually mobilize. That had been the only thing that was "new" on that list. But as well the Emperor had in private request Cassius presence again, forcing him to once more attend another meeting behind closed doors in the Imperial Palace, where he'd spend a fair bit of his time discussing something he could have probably went over at another point. However as well, he wasn't just going to be alone with Vex.

The Head of the RSSB and the Diplomatic Office Advisor were going to be present too. Such gave him a bit to think about, questions abounding across the breadth of his mind.
When he did arrive, he'd find that the group had been quietly chatting before he arrived, stopping when he did. The Kithium sighed.

"Alright, out with it, I'm tired and hungry and you're all keeping me from getting home to my fiance."

Vex chuckled.
"Alright. To start the obvious we're preparing for war with the URRV. What I was told by the RSSB guy here," He'd point to the Festria who lay against the wall across two chairs, "that it might be possible for us to secure more material aid and potentially military assistance."

"..How?" Cassius asks, putting his hands on his hips.

"Emperor Vex has been bouncing things off of me.. and him." The Head of the Diplomatic Office would say, the female Kithium sighing. "..Like Joining the Aegis Pact."

"..I'm sorry?"

"I didn't stutter retard." She'd say.

"..I.. Joining the Aegis Pact. That's not one I was expecting." He would say as he rubbed his head. "..Why?"

"Material aid, access to the largest trade network on the planet and integrating our own with theirs by proxy, material and military assistance if we get attacked first, and we could bring their aid against the URRV."

Cassius raised an eyebrow.
"Catch?"

"..We may as well have to do some.. things." She says. "..Give up intel, how we got what we did on Ashigawa, so on."

Cassius tilted his head. "That'd be letting out a bit of sensitive info, aye?"

"Yes but.. well.' They shrug. "We get along better with AP members than we do a fair portion of our COG allies. Fecrein isn't exactly what the RSSB considers 'trustworthy' if only because history gives them motivation to attack us, unlikely as it is. Nevarra is an ally but they're too far away to aid us in any real measure. Ashigawa isn't going to have a very high opinion of us very soon i feel, and I hadn't even heard the name Franerre until they applied to join the COG."

Cassius tilted his head, and looked at Vex.
"It does directly benefit us to do so. It's just.. going to be a very hard sell." He'd say. "We are gonna have some drama with our reputation in all likelihood, given we did just throw Ashigawa under the bus."

"For a good cause." The RSSB head says, taking another drag on his cigarette.

"Good cause or not other people don't tend to view it the same way that we do when it comes time for them to look us over." Cassius replies. "Is that all?"

Vex nods.
"..We had wanted something of a more long-winded talk but yeah.. we're as well postponing the start of hostilities indefinitely. We will be instead focusing on fortifying the border to the greatest extent possible, everywhere possible. As well we have matters in Arema we should consider attending to when you are back after the weekend."

The Kithium nods, and turns to leave, the group beginning to converse quietly again.

[VoxApocrypha]

The chambers were empty of chatter, relatively quiet and calm despite their usual bustle during the day.
They had been quiet for a fair bit really, the disease had made it difficult to keep a lot of people in the building and instead to ensure proper sanitation and safety, a lot of the work was being done from home with the aid of the postal service to enable it. Naturally, this was just as dangerous if not more, and precautions often meant that it took a great deal of effort and work to ensure that the papers themselves were safe to handle and so on.

The RDO worked like this for about a week and a half now. IT was still a difficult transition and hopefully on the shorter side of 'temporary'. It was hampering their working order and as well, a fair bit of their staff were themselves sick. Naturally however some of them were adjusting better to this than the rest of the staff. Only some critical personnel were kept in the building itself, and their administrative duties were largely relegated to handling transmissions and organizing important missions and things of that nature.

One such man would be reading a wired communique from the Emperor's Palace, and before long he would be transcribing it down onto a fresh piece of paper. Soon he would seal it in a letter and then carry it out of his office to deliver it by hand to the other wing of the building.

From there it'd be handed off and a mission would be organized.
The subject of the letter, a diplomatic mission to the URRV.

[VoxApocrypha]

The general shift of Rombardan government focuses had been quiet but noticeable to the observant, especially those on the receiving end of them.
The general silence of the Emperor of Rombarda - still alive as he made a few appearances - had led to speculation of internal issues having their attention and as well producing some sort of fear. The reality would be made clear at the end of the month of Bellien, when it would come out that the Emperor of Rombarda, Aurelius Vex, had abdicated his throne and given it instead in a private ceremony to the new Emperor of Rombarda, Cassius. The former General head of the Armed Forces was now supreme commander of the nation, as Aurelius himself had made clear in his address.

With that, Aurelius had disappeared back into the countryside. The reason being known to him and a few others - the Man's mother in her old age had finally reached a point were one of the two greatest banes of the long-lived Festria would show itself: Cancer. He had chosen instead that he would be there for her, with what backing of the state he had behind him to assist, but as well other reasons left out of the public light, and known well to Cassius. While serving officially in an advisory role, Aurelius had in effect surrendered and really just dumped his responsibilities upon Cassius, of whom had been somewhat ill-informed of the situation until fairly recently.

However he was a adaptable man like the military he commanded before and nation he ruled now, so he had risen to the challenge.
This naturally however had put him in a position where he now had the resources to engage in something that he had been privately advocating for in the past - a purge of the Aristocracy.
Something to which he had as well been quietly working towards for several years at this point, the nation's aristocracy was rife with corrupt officials that, while kept out of power by prior Rombardan emperors and as well by Vex in the past, would need now to be dealt with as they tried to take advantage of the situation. Some, could be outright threatened with abject ruination.

Others would have to bite a bullet.
Cassius already had plans to deal with that.
And it would be all he could think about as he would give his address over television to the citizens of the Imperium, and go through the official Coronation.