Rising Sun above the Land of Pearls (Ashigawa-Franerre)

[callmedelta]

Ewan gave the door two quick raps, a muffled "Come in," responding from the other side. Ewan opened the door, entering. The room was surprisingly clear for the job Director Poirot did, a small filing cabinet tucked away in the back corner seemingly the only work related item in the room, next to it a window overlooking the Pareau skyline. A large bookshelf took up the other corner behind Jacques, a few trinkets atop it. To fill the walls, several pictures were hung, mostly of what appeared to be Jacques and his family when they were younger. The man himself cut an imposing figure behind the desk despite his modest stature, his snow-white hair and mustache signifying the man's age. "Junior Ambassador Ewan," Jacques said in heavily-accented commons, not standing from his desk, "What is it that requires such urgency that you go directly to me?"

"Well, I thought it best for you to hear it from the Ashigawans themselves, Director," Ewan said.

[aimway921]

"Yakazawa-san no fairuwo kudasai," Nakimiro told Sinaru, who opened his briefcase and handed her a file, which she would then place on the desk in front of Jaques.

"In an effort to avoid escalation of international tensions, we wish to recall our secret service intelligence agent in Elenria. Due to the border lockdown imposed by Kumosenkan, however, we require your assistance." She would step back, and Sinaru would step forward in her place.
"Please forgive Lieutenant Nakimoro for her bluntness. The agent in question also happens to be the Lieutenant's personal friend, it is natural she lets her emotions slip a bit." As he was saying that, he threw a quick gaze of disapproval in her direction.
"My name is Sinaru Tori. I've been assigned as ambassador to your nation, and have full authority to negotiate any compensation you might require for our request, should you approve.

[callmedelta]

The Director frowned, taking the file and giving it a quick glance. 'Dante won't be pleased about this,' he thought, 'The poor man's got enough on his plate. He needs to hear about this, but maybe it can wait a bit. Still, I need to contact Volke.' The Director reached for a telephone on his desk, a black one, as opposed to the red one right next to it. Jacques picked up the receiver, waiting a bit for a response on the other end of the line, saying, "Obtenez-moi le Directeur Volke, c'est urgent," before hanging up. Then, he turned to the trio. "You must understand what position you put me in, Ambassador Sinaru," Jacques said, "We either throw an ally to the spiders, or risk starting a world war, neither of which are exactly favorable outcomes. If we are do help you in this operation, we need something in exchange. General Zelgius has wanted to modernize the Franch military for years now, so as payment, I suggest this: the licenses and machinery needed to produce Ashigawan equipment, for free, Ashigawan advisors for the Franch Army, Navy, and Air Force, and access to any new milltary technologies that come out of Ashigawan labs. Finally, any actions that Ashigawa takes on Touli that could threaten the stability of Franerre must go through a Franch representative before being cleared." The Director leaned back in his chair, satisfied with the first shot of terms. They were a big ask, sure, but considering the circumstances, they might take them. 

[aimway921]

"We believe that should she be left to her fate, and is apprehended by the spiders, escalation would be inevitable. Retrieving her would lower that from inevitable to likely, and only in case we are caught."

"I can accommodate most of these demands - but not all of it. Licenses and productive power can be transferred at a significant reduction of price - but not entirely for free. That would cause an uproar among Ashigawan nobility, especially the Trade Minister. He would likely have my head if I agree to hand over the licenses for free - literally.

I would've been concerned that such generosity would draw international attention, but it goes in line with our recent calls for standardization of weaponry among the nations of the Commonwealth.

We can arrange for advisors and attaches, both from us to you and vice versa. I can also attempt to persuade Kyoto to open up the Imperial Officer Academy to Franch attendance.

Finally, I feel that request would be only fair. Unlike all other Partial Signatories of the Commonwealth, you are on a different continent, which limits our ability to spring to your aid should you need it."

"Poirot-Sama," Nakimoro stepped forward, and probably noticable by Ewan - using the highest honorific in Ashigawan language - "As much as I understand your position, it would be best if as little people know about this as possible. The less could accidentally start a rumor the better. In our own government an extremely limited amount of individuals knows that this agent even exists, let alone sent to Elenria."

[callmedelta]

“These terms are acceptable, Ambassador,” the Director said, “I will have a secretary begin to write up a treaty in writing after this meeting is done. Lieutenant,” Jacques turned to the woman, “Director Volke is the head of the Franch Royal Gendarmerie. This operation won’t go through without his word. He should be arriving shortly. In the meantime, I want to make one point absolutely clear. If war is declared because of this Ashigawan agent, we expect Ashigawan help.”

[aimway921]

"We shall not abandon our new ally," Nakimoro said, with stoicness noticable in her voice, as she put her first on her chest. "I swear it on my honor."



Once the meeting was done and they were waiting for the next one, Simaru pulled Nakimoro aside.
"Are you out of her mind?" he asked her quietly, in Ashigawan. "Swearing such a thing, on your honor of all things? What if the Tennō disagrees? They'll have you commit seppuku! And probably me too for not stopping you!"
"What else did you want me to do?" she answered, also in Ashigawan. "Say no? That we would leave them to their fates should OUR failure bring war to THEIR doorstep? Tennō would understand. After all - if we were to got that road, we would look untrustworthy to other nations. Both the Empire itself and the Commonwealth as a whole!"
"I hope for both our sakes that the Tennō will be as rational as you are being right now. But I hope even more that the operation will go smoothly and war is avoided all together."

[callmedelta]

As the pair of Ashigawans left the room, Jacques held his hand up, signaling Ewan to stay behind. "Yes, Director?" Ewan asked.

"Isn't there something you are forgetting?"

"Oh!" Ewan exclaimed, opening his briefcase and placing the report from Seth on Jacques' desk, "My mistake." The Director took the report, setting it off to the side.

"This was your first assignment, correct?" Jacques asked.

"Yes, sir," Ewan said.

"Tell me, what do you make of this whole situation?" Jacques rubbed a hand on his clean-shaven chin, staring at Ewan, "Consider it a test."

Ewan closed his eyes and frowned, deep in thought. After a few moments, he answered, "I would say that with the information available to me, Franerre is in a good situation to assist with the operation. The treaty given to us would be a great boon should be be able to extract their agent, and I consider the risk of helping to be overblown. By everything I've seen, Kumosenkan has their hands full with Elenria, so an invasion of Franerre seems unlikely, though there is still plenty of risk involved in the operation."

Jacques frowned, his curious stare turning into a displeasing glare. Ewan cringed. "I agree with your assessment that we should assist Ashigawa, but I find your lack of worry about Kumosenkan...disturbing. Why are you so caviler about the greatest threat to our nation? Don't lie to me, either, or take it back. You are wrong, but I want to know why you think you are right."

"Well...," Ewan said, "Kumosenkan is doing terrible things in Elenria, but they seem to be too occupied with the rebel groups there and their own domestic issues to be concerned about expanding into Franerre. Even if the Elenrian groups were dealt with, our position in the Commonwealth means any actions by Kumosenkan would almost certainly start war with the Commonwealth, which could have disastrous effects for Kumosenkan, considering that the Aegis Pact is only a defensive alliance, not an offensive one, so help from Ulster-Gaelia and Amali aren't guaranteed."

Jacques raised his brows. "I will admit, you but more thought behind your assessment that I had originally thought. Regardless, I still believe you to be wrong. Part of the reason the Elenrian rebels have been so effective is because of Franch support, though it has since stopped. If those rebels hadn't been effective for so long, Kumosenkan may have had the time to raise concern about Franerre. Kumosenkan's domestic issues is another point I feel you are lacking. The most glaring issue plaguing Kumosenkan is food instability, and while it is currently managed, if that situation were to change, Franerre would be the first place Kumosenkan would look to expanding if she desired more farmland."

"I...I understand, sir," Ewan admitted.

"Good," Jacques said, opening the report, "You are free to go."

---

Around five minutes later, a tall, brown haired man came up the elevator, surprised to see two Ashigawans outside Jacques' office. "So this must be what's so urgent," Director Volke said. Upon seeing the Director, Ewan opened up the door to Jacques office, letting the group file in.

[aimway921]

The Ashigawans bowed to greet Volke. Once they were back inside the office, All four would explain the situation to him, what the Empire is requesting and what it is willing to provide as payment.

[callmedelta]

"Well, you have certainly gotten yourself into a sticky situation," Volke said after the Ashigawans finished, "I trust the Director to decide whether your payment is adequate or not. We have operatives in Elenria who might be able to pull off a rescue, but they are mostly in the east, around the border. If your agent is in the West, then I don't know how much I will be able to do to help."

[aimway921]

"She is most likely confined to the Norht-East," Nakimoro began explaining. To maintain the secrecy of the operation, we have not had any contact with her since her deployment. We know that she's operating with the Royalists. But knowing her, she definitely doesn't sit in one place and moves around."

[callmedelta]

Volke frowned. "That is going to make this operation that much more complicated. Tell me you at least have some way of contacting her if need be? We can contact our agents in Elenria by tomorrow morning at the earliest, but I can't send them on a wild goose chase."

[aimway921]

"You would need to find a certain Hikva Aporiat. He's a relatively prominent Royalist Inselni, so should be easy to find as soon as you contact the Royalists. Furthermore, we can inject a coded message into a public broadcast. It could be a Franch one, doesn't matter, as long as it's one of the main ones - she listens to all the big stations on Touli in case we do need to send her a message."

[callmedelta]

“Piece of cake,” Volke said, “We haven’t had contact with Hikva himself, but we know several individuals who can lead him to us. In addition, coded broadcasts are the method we already use to contact our agents in Elenria. We send out messages twice a day on the Alcasse Broadcasting Corporation’s airwaves, so it shouldn’t be too hard to introduce your message.”

[aimway921]

"That is..." Nakimoro began, her eyes lighting up. "That is excellent." She killed any sign of letting her emotions get better of her before finishing the sentence, regaining her professional composure. "Shall we begin immediately?"

[callmedelta]

“Let’s,” Volke said, “Time is of the essence. I have a direct line to the ABC’s headquarters back at my offices, though we will need to think of a coded message to broadcast. Lieutenant, I’d like you to join me at the Gendarmerie Headquarters.”