Oz and Spleen

Yet again, [center][h3][b][u]The Imperial Palace, Bushu, Musashi System, The Musashi Empire[/u][/b][/h3][/center]

Henry Kessel was nervous. Years in the diplomatic corp had not fully prepared him for the complexities of Musashi culture. He traced a finger across the specially prepared mask concealing his face; bright red, with the lion's head emblazoned in gold across the brow. He'd been briefed -- extensively -- on what the Commonwealth knew of the Musashi Empire. Admittedly, it wasn't as much as Kessel could have hoped. He knew the general rules about when to wear the mask and when to take it off, if he could just figure out the apparent rank of whoever he was speaking to at any given moment. He'd also practiced the tricky pronunciation of the various Musashi honorifics, and was fairly confident he could use them correctly.

Kessel was still somewhat bewildered that he, a human --albeit a rather senior diplomat-- had been granted Confidence of the Crown to conduct negotiations with the Musashi, especially after the Dubrovnik Strike. He reasoned that it was partially to present a good face to the Musashi, and partially an attempt by the Government to pre-empt any anti-human violence in the wake of Dubrovnik. Kessel glanced to his left at the lone Su'urtugal that was serving as his attendant and guardian. He didn't care how well the Yanissans drilled loyalty into those brains, there was still something about the blank stare and quiet lethality of Su'urtugal that deeply disturbed Kessel.

A door opened across the room, drawing Kessel's attention. Two women, dressed in extravagant sets of hanfu, stepped into the room. Two Imperial guards could be seen taking up a position on either side of the door out in the hall before one of the women closed the door. She then removed her mask before saying "I present to you Yamamoto Yuki-hime."

"Thank you Rong-chan" The other woman said as she looked at Henry. She ultimately decided to keep her mask on as she stepped further into the room. "May I ask who it is that I have the pleasure of speaking to?"

Kessel rose and bowed deeply. "I am Sir Henry Kessel, of the Imperial Diplomatic Corps. I am here on behalf of her Imperial Majesty and her Government, of the Systems Commonwealth, on a diplomatic mission to the Musashi Empire. It is a profound honour to meet you, Yuki-hime" Kessel managed to stop himself from saying Denka at the last moment, taking his cue from the woman who had introduced the Princess.

Yuki returned the bow before gesturing towards his seat "Please sit Kessel-dono." Settling into a chair herself she somewhat hesitantly commented "I'm not entirely sure where the Commonwealth is located, but I believe it is quite a distance from Musashi. What business do you have here?"

"It is quite some distance from here Princess, on the fringe of old Imperium space, near where the Dominion rises. What we know of the Musashi comes from a very few merchants who have done business in your space. We heard of your war with the Confederation and the subsequent...warming...of Musashi relations, and hastened to present ourselves formally."
Kessel paused for a moment.
"Specifically, I have been given three objectives for my mission here; establish an embassy in the Empire, reduce trade restrictions between our nations, and if possible, negotiate a non-agression treaty between the Musashi Empire and the Imperial Systems Commonwealth."

"The establishment of an embassy can be easily arranged" Yuki said after a moment's pause. "The Emperor has given me the authority necessary to grant land and rights for such. As for the other two... What sort of reduction in trade restrictions are you talking about?"

"Well, Princess, the Commonwealth is flourishing with indepedant traders these days, and products from your nation are becoming more and more in demand. We hope that you might permit more traders to enter your space and purchase your wares. In return, Musashi traders in the Commonwealth would find themselves dealing with...favorable tax rates."

"In principle I have no issue with that" Yuki said. "However my government will have to draft a list of what imports will be allowed. Certainly no forms of media such as books, movie, or music, will be allowed to be imported. I will also have to run this by the Emperor. It... might take some time to be approved. That said I believe that we will be able to come to an agreement soon. As a... gesture of goodwill I can and will decrease our tarrifs with the Commonwealth by... five percent. I will also see about temporarily raising the number of Commonwealth merchants permited access to Musashi until we can work out an official treaty."

"As for a non-aggression pact," Suddenly Yuki sounded very tired. "Once again in principle I have no issue with signing one, but unfortunately I do not speak for the entirety of the Imperial government."

And that was the real problem. As Kessel understood from his briefing, Yuki Yamamoto was the heir apparent and thus most influential voice to the Emperor himself. However, he'd heard rumours that her position had been diminished since the war with the Confederation, and thus, she really did not speak for the entirety of the Imperial government. Hopefully he'd have a chance to speak to the other potential heirs.
"I thank you for your generosity, Yuki-hime. All I ask is that you consider my words. If nothing else, establishing an embassy will help foster a better relationship between our nations."

"Hopefully our two great nations will be able to prosper together" Yuki said. "I shall ensure that the Emperor hears of your proposals. We shall try to give you an answer in a reasonable amount of time. Until then, please feel free to enjoy your stay here in Musashi. In the days to come I will not be available, but I will make sure that a trusted subordinate of mine will keep in touch with you. Is there anything else you would like to discuss today?"

Kessel was quiet for a scarcely perceptible second as he fingered the data disk in his pocket. No, that was not for today. He smiled instead. "Thank you princess, that is all I wished to discuss. I will be certain to learn as much about your vaunted empire as possible in the days to come."