Spiders, Flies, and Possibly Spies

[DrMedic]

His Imperial Majesty, Imperator Laurence VI
Savior of Man, High Arbiter of Eleria

To His Highness, Lord Kaln Peikli-Greatfern, Mourner of the Glass Beaches

Your Highness,

I have spent much time pondering on your words within my court. Though I do not believe I am yet prepared to make a final judgement call regarding our willingness to render aid to you and your men in this period of great strife, I would like to speak to you once more, to see your people, that I may better understand your plight and that which you fight for. In addition, I would like to bring along my Chief of Staff of the Imperial Elerian Army, General Maggie Douglas, as she is my premier advisor in matters of the army, she will be able to help me reach a final conclusion. I do hope this is not too much a strain upon you and the resources at your disposal, but I'm certain you understand my hesitance in this matter. I will warn you, Eleria is not a nation that is eager to involve herself in conflicts outside her borders, but perhaps this may help sway us to your side. 

To make things easier for you, I am happy to arrange transport for myself and General Douglas, in an Elerian-marked aircraft. Hopefully that should keep put the flak of your enemies from blasting us out of the sky.

On wings of glory,
Imperator Laurence Albion VI, Savior of Man, High Arbiter of Eleria

[StaolDerg]

His Majesty's Office
Official Communique
1945

To The Most Noble Laurence VI, Savior Of Man, High Arbiter of Eleria 

---

Your Imperial Majesty, 

I would be honored to host you in Greatfern lands. The airfield at Balkara's Stand should suffice for your reception. I will make the appropriate arrangements at once. Any disruptions will be by far too distant to be of any interference due to the location's relative isolation on a island off the coast. A full contingent of my personal guard should well ensure our privacy.

I bid you the fairest of winds, Imperator.

With great sincerity,

Lord Kaln Peikli-Greatfern, Mourner of The Glass Beaches

[DrMedic]

The morning after receiving Lord Kaln's letter, Laurence woke up bright and early. He readied himself for the day, cleaning himself up to look his absolute best as he thought about exactly what he would say to the Greatfern. Something still didn't sit right with him, especially given what Empress Reito had mentioned about acts of terrorism supposedly being committed by Kaln's resistance. The implications of such a thing could be dire indeed, the Imperator knew he could not stand idly by and tolerate such a gross perversion of war's purpose, especially if it was true that he was openly harming civilians. Still, he had to figure out the truth, and whether or not people liked him for it, that's precisely what he was determined to do. With a sigh, he straightened the sword on his hip before giving his wife a kiss and quietly slipping out of the room. His next stop was the palace armory. Considering he wouldn't have a set of guards with him and he had a foreigner who's safety he needed to ensure, he figured it best to take matters into his own hands. He grabbed a pair of pistols and an extra holster before throwing two rifles, a shotgun, and an SMG over his shoulder and making way for the guest room where Miss Takanashi slept, giving the door a strong knock. 

"Count yourself lucky I'm not a bugler. We've got places to be ma'am, best make ready."

[Sophie]

Rikka was a mess, it was clear that she had been asleep until the knock at the door. It took her a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to realize it was the imperator. "Right. Give me a moment to get dressed." She closed the door on him and quickly sought out the uniform that had been delivered to her room the night prior. It was, significantly more complicated than the suit she wore to work every day back home. It took her quite a few moments to get herself put back together and open the door back up. "This uniform is a bit much, don't you think?"

[DrMedic]

"You think that's a bit much? Clearly you've never seen an Eonian general's uniform, they'd stick complicated designs anywhere they possibly could." He said with a smirk. "If you want to take a moment to clean yourself up, you know, have a shower and such, please, by all means. Gives me the chance to prepare a quick bite for breakfast. Before I go though, do you want a rifle, shotgun, or SMG to accompany your sidearm? We're not going in there without a bit of personal protection." He said as he held out the pistol and holster.

[Sophie]

Rikka laughed for a second. "I'm clean enough. I took a shower before I went to bed. I want to get this mission underway as soon as possible. I'll take the shotgun. It's what I was trained with back in the war." She grabbed the pistol and checked the magazine. Satisfied, she put the holster on and put the weapon in it. "I assume you have food that we can eat on the way? Or is all Elerian food 'sit down and eat' food?"

[DrMedic]

"Can't very well eat a meal I haven't prepared yet, can we? I was just going to fix us a couple of sandwiches and have us on our way, unless you'd prefer rations." He said, taking the shotgun off his back and handing it off to her.

[Sophie]

"Try and stick me with a ration and you'll meet the wrong end of my boomstick." She joked taking hold of the shotgun and slinging it onto her back. "I swore off that stuff as soon as the war ended." She walked out of the room closing the door behind her. "We can make time for the sandwiches."

[DrMedic]

"Thank the mother, I'm so glad you said that. Right, come along then." 

Laurence led the way to the kitchen, quickly preparing breakfast for himself and Rikka before they hopped in one of the cars and took off towards the airstrip, climbing into the cockpit and taking off as quick as possible. Their flight was short, though a little rough in the beginning due to Laurence's lack of experience in the pilot's seat of a transport plane, but he got the hang of it rather swiftly. After crossing the channel, the pair landed at the designated airstrip and hopped off the plane, eager to get things moving.

[StaolDerg]

They were awaited at the airfield by Lord Kaln himself, flanked by a couple guards dressed in their regular fatigues. To the sure surprise of the arrivers however, a few other well-dressed greatferns dressed in a wild variety of military regalia watched from behind the honor guard. Their elaborate and flamboyant design made it clear that they were of the warlords that made up the Greatfern leader's armed support base, having made the trip for their own purposes. Those who tried to get a closer view were instantly cut off by the soldiers, but their expressions showed their quiet interest, though any other motive visible by body language was burred by their distance to the plane kept by the soldiers. 

Kaln was calm to greet the two despite the unexpected spectators, offering a welcoming hand for the Imperator to shake. 

"Your Imperial Majesty! It is my personal honor to welcome you the Elenria- I trust your trip was without incident?"

[DrMedic]

The Imperator gave Lord Kaln a firm handshake and a nod, "Of course, and thank you for having us on such short notice, I'd imagine that given your current pressing situation it wasn't exactly easy getting this organized."

[StaolDerg]

The Greatfern dipped his head dismissively. "Think nothing of it. Whatever becomes of this meeting is vital to the future of my people in their entirety. This is no price near great to pay in comparison. In any case-" he motioned towards a sheltered bunker entrance near the airfield, not too far from where they were. "Please, let me bring you both to somewhere where we may discuss properly. If there are no immediate questions, that is. Otherwise- if you'd follow me?"

[DrMedic]

"Nothing from me that can't wait. General Douglas..?"

[Sophie]

"I've got nothing. Let's get started." Rikka spoke, hoping her accent training had gone well enough already.

[StaolDerg]

Kaln nodded, leading them into the bunker. The soldiers closed in around the entrance, still keeping the curious onlookers a healthy distance away as they too approached slightly closer to see the group disappear behind the armored door.

The bunker's insides was surprisingly well-lit, the floors tiled and carpeted than simple concrete. Any close analysis would show that the base itself might've been a residence of the Crown or Inselni at some point, formerly decorated marble columns holding up the ceiling sanded down and plastered with Greatfern propaganda.  Kaln led them through a brief maze of corridors to a conference room, where a pot of tea sat waiting before three chairs. The seats themselves looked carved out from the trunk of a monstrously large tree, chiseled to every last fine detail. 

The Greatfern noble motioned for them to sit, smiling. "Please, make yourselves comfortable before we begin."