[h2][center]IAS Kaiyō Maru, New World[/center][/h2]

The great vessel's propeller blades cut through the air, moving the behemoth of an airship forward through the alien skies of the New World. It had been almost a week since the expedition had left, with the Imperial Princess in tow. The Emperor had been persuaded to stay behind to govern the country by a member of the House of Representatives. Nobody knew just what a commoner had said to convince the Emperor to stay, but there were rumors that it had to do with the House of Peers and their scheming. Such rumors were silenced quickly, of course. The Emperor couldn't appear weak.

In the fleet's journey from the Akitsukuni homeland, it had encountered countless wonders and surprises. All of which were recorded by the cartographers it had taken with it. A small island kingdom was discovered in the middle of the ocean. They were primitive, carrying spears and wearing loincloths, and without any knowledge of even the sail. Still, the airships had moored off the coast to trade for whatever goods the locals carried. They had left stocked with fresh food and knowledge of the New World. Apparently, the northern continent was a desert wasteland covered in mountains, while the southern continent had coastal mountains that concealed a lush forest. At least, that was what it had looked like on the map. As such, they lifted off and set a course for the south.

Luckily, they had been correct in their assumption that green meant plants and upward-pointing arrowheads meant mountains. The fleet passed over an incredible expanse of forest soon afterwards, at which they once again moored (this time onto a tree instead of with an anchor) and investigated the locale. There weren't any natives, at least, none that showed themselves. Some sort of large, black creature resembling a dragon was found with a spear stuck into its amazingly well-armored hide, having been left behind by a hunter. The fleet left in a hurry after one crewman reported seeing "An animal the size and shape of a horse that strayed into the river consumed in minutes by a swarm of fish that left nothing but the bare bones behind."

Now, the fleet had been traversing a vast grassland and more traditionally forested areas (as in, ones free from tiny, demonic fish) for many hours. Things were starting to look more hopeful. Tracks from what had to have been vehicles could be seen in the ground below, almost certainly from Edoniran vehicles. Though the expedition was officially nothing more than an excursion to study the biology and topography of the New World, it was an open secret that the whole point of it was to set up more official relations with Edoniran nations. Though much of the earlier Imperial fleet had been bought from such countries, there had never been any official alliance set up with any of them. To make matters worse, the country they had bought most of their ships from had been conquered shortly afterwards. As such, they were left with no diplomatic foothold in Edoniras. They would have sent an airship over land, but they weren't exactly on the best of terms with most of the countries on the way. A naval expedition would have taken too long, so instead they had chosen to send an expedition blindly out to the New World as if they had never even contacted the outside world.

At some point in their flight, a scout from the carrier sent a report of a settlement a ways to the southeast, causing a second course change for the fleet. The air wing of the carrier was launched in its entirety, all of them sent to search for the settlement and report back. After a few more minutes of travel, the fleet once again moored. The carrier landed (it's flat bottom allowed for such things) and a small team disembarked. Nothing significant, simply a few halftrack transports and a single mech. More than enough to defend them from any native attack, but certainly not enough to fight another industrialized army.

Shortly after they left, they came across a grave that was most likely left during the early days of a colony. As it turned out, the grave was extremely helpful with diplomacy. It was clearly a Chriostaiocht symbol, meaning that the colonists almost certainly spoke Galian, a language from an island nation to the north of the western coastline. It had retained its ancient tribal society, yet had still managed to industrialize. It was that, in fact, that drove much of the resistance to the Kichirou Restoration. After all, if they had managed to do it while keeping their society mostly intact, why couldn't Akitsukuni? Unfortunately for that resistance, however, rifles spoke much louder than words.

Obviously, the recon team had brought translators with them, including one that knew Galian. Unfortunately, the language hadn't been a popular one to study thanks to the nation doing significantly more business with the more heavily industrialized Heland. Of course, studies of their language quickly became irrelevant when it was stomped under the boot of an emperor named Napoleon. By that time they had learned how to build their own modern warships, and as a result, they never opened up relations with the similarly-skilled Galian people. Now, of course, friendly nations within Edoniras were extremely important to secure the power of the girl that would soon become Empress.

Now knowing whom they were dealing with, the translator that happened to know Galian drafted a simple letter for one of the halftrack teams to deliver to the colony ahead.

[hider=To the Republic of Cruhanvor]
[@Nerevarine]
To the wise man whom happens to govern this province,

This one writes on behalf of Her Imperial Highness, Princess Hanako of the Greater Akitsukuni Empire and Admiral Enomoto Takeaki of the 1st Aerial Fleet. We have come here on an expedition to search for potential colonial targets, and have had the luck to come across your colony on this continent. It is our hope that we may establish amiable relations with your nation, the Republic of Cruhanvor. As such, we humbly request that you grant Her Imperial Highness a personal audience with yourself.

With the utmost respect,
Mr. Daichi Watanabe,
with the authority of Her Imperial Highness.[/hider]

[h2][center]Fort Shandong, Yantai City[/center][/h2]

"It is not our way to just let terrorists go." Said the interrogator, looking down at the pitiful man. "The Emperor would never permit such a thing."

He paused for a moment to pull out a small notepad and pen, and set it down on the table. Leaning over, he began to write a few short sentences on it. He didn't seem to care that there was a man sitting before him, and didn't even bother to cover up the writing that he could easily read if he happened to be literate (He probably wasn't, in any case. The Empire didn't teach such things, and the backwards nation they had taken the land from was too primitive for common literacy). So complete was his ignorance, in fact, that it seemed as though there wasn't a person there.

Of course, there wasn't one to him. Only a rat beneath his boot.

"But I am more merciful than the Emperor." He said, sliding the notepad into his pocket and flashing a soft smile. A [i]genuine[/i] soft smile. "I will let you go, you have served the Empire well today. I will see to it that we never bother you again."

He walked over to the door, and moved his hand to open it for the man. Just before his fingers reached the handle, he pulled them back and snapped them instead. The soldiers in the room pulled their triggers, and a volley of bullets hit the man. Blood spattered upon the floor as he fell off of the chair, landing on the cold floor. In the last few moments of his life, his eyes were pointed in just the right direction to see the smile of the man that had ordered his death. It wasn't the smile of a psychopath, it was a normal smile. Like he'd just heard that his child had been born safely.

Somehow, that was worse.

"Perhaps you shall be born Akitsukuni in a later life."