The Machine [Open/Accepting]

[lil_lollypop1]

Jian entered the room and sat down. Now that he was cleaned up and shaved, it seemed as if he had grown younger over the months instead of older, though not by much. "Hello. I went through the pile of documents left on my desk throughout the months I was gone. I uh... don't really know how much value they have to you, but there they are." He said, placing them on his desk.  

[Eternal_PrinceOfFire]

Damien looked at the files. "Yeah, some of these are old news and are useless now" he said, then set the files aside. He laced his white gloved fingers together and looked at Jian. "I'm not sure if you've been informed, though you should have been, but there's been a video going around of what appears to be a foreign prince being tortured to death by Diethelmian soldiers. It's all faked, but people seem to believe it's real. The video is of course blocked in our great country, but it's going around foreign ones. I've sent out diplomatic missions, but I'm not sure how sucessful they've been. You should get the military on the ready, just in case anyone decides to attack" he said to the Chief General.  

[lil_lollypop1]

"I've heard rumors, but not much more then that. I will start reorganizing the military for war as you command, just in case. Still, war over one video? Seems a bit extreme. I wonder if there's something else involved that we don't know about." Jian replied.  

[Eternal_PrinceOfFire]

"I think these foreign leaders are afraid of our strength and order, as they should be. Most of the other politicians are bumbling idiots who couldn't order around a group of schoolchildren, let alone a whole empire. Still, it appears to be a young noble that was tortured to death and I'm getting reports that much of the population in these countries seem to be angry at us over it. Some are even calling on their governments to attack us" Damien explained.  

[lil_lollypop1]

"That doesn't bode well." He replied with a sigh. "Have we even recovered enough to begin a campaign on the other continent? It's not so much the manpower as it is the navy. We'll have to develop a strong navel force if we even want to start gaining ground. Say, do you think Vincent and Valkyrie know anything about water based machinery?"  

[Eternal_PrinceOfFire]

Damien stroked his chin in thought. "Maybe, though they're just recovering from the poison purging from their body. They spent the last while being very sick, so I want them to rest for a while. This is why I'm handling things diplomatically. We're still recovering from the battle with Helmshire. An overseas war could cripple us, and I think this is why this video is being circulated at this time. Whoever made it knows that we're ill prepared" he said.  

[lil_lollypop1]

"Yes. That's true. In that case, whoever is doing it is in Diethelm and knows where we stand militarily. But they also don't have a hold of our uniforms or know what our facilities look like. Meaning they must be getting information from a third party."

Shadow began to sober up, but she was still tired. Her face pressed hard against the cushion as she slept.  

[Eternal_PrinceOfFire]

"Hmm" Damien said, "well after Helmshire fell, we managed to weed out a lot of the rebels, but there are still some out there. They may still have an underground connection". Hmm, underground connection... he thought to himself.  

[lil_lollypop1]

"That is true. Have they been causing as much of a problem as they had in the past? I would think after we took over Helmshire that they would loose a good bit of their power, especially after their base got destroyed." Jian replied.  

[Eternal_PrinceOfFire]

"Yes, though I'm sure a few of them went into hiding, including my brother Dustin. Seems they must have found other ways to stay connected" he said.  

[lil_lollypop1]

Jian looked at his friend who appeared to be in thought and folded his hands. "You seem as if you're on to something." He said. "Care to share?" He asked.  

[Eternal_PrinceOfFire]

"I hate doing it, but I wonder if Shadow can find any information for me. This could be serious" he said to Jian.  

[lil_lollypop1]

Jian nodded. "Alright then." he replied. "Do you want me to go back to work while you call her?" He asked.  

[Eternal_PrinceOfFire]

Damien nodded. "Yes, go do that" he said. He then opened his desk drawer and pulled out the phone he calls Shadow with.  

[lil_lollypop1]

Jian nodded. "Talk to you later then." he said, and left the room to give Damien some privacy.