Quoted By:
Your yard had to temporarily stop taking orders as your workforce was re-tasked to setting up the new strike craft factory. But now JH Independent Shipworks was back baby!
Your R&D team had been busy using the down time to add more ship designs to your catalogue. One you were most excited about was the new carrack class carrier. Persica from R&D had cautioned that it really needed more <span class="mu-s">advanced electronics</span> to efficiently manage its entire strike craft compliment. Tim had been disappointed when you chose to expand internal security over building a lab, but the bullshit over Project Sov-sorry the <span class="mu-i">Ryu Class</span> had made you paranoid. You had a feeling that not only would you need better armed security personnel in the future but you would also need-for lack of a better term-an intelligence agency.
You recall the conversation you had with Decker, your newly hired head of Counter-Espionage…
----------
“Times of war are upon us.”
He said this with the certainty of a man who had seen it all before.
“Not the most astute observation. That thing between the Solar Union and the Saurians; everyone could see it coming.”
“Not just talking about that. The Raihan Empire might find itself embroiled in a war soon.”
“Empress Asaga seems to be doing her best to avoid that.”
“We don’t know that for sure, besides, it’s Lord Commander Garan I’m worried about. I’ve seen his type before; loyal to the Empire, not the Empress.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Garan wants to rebuild the Empire as it was, and he wants it to flourish under the enlightened rule of a <span class="mu-i">worthy</span> monarch. If he had his way he would have launched an invasion of the former colony worlds already.”
“Then why is he supporting the current Empress?”
“Hard to say without learning more about the situation. The most obvious answer is that the Empress is still seen as the legitimate ruler by many Raihans both on the throne-world and within the former colonies. If Garan simply staged a coup he would just be viewed as an opportunistic warlord and his dynasty wouldn’t last a generation.”
“I see so… should we sell to the Raihans or not?”
>cont
