[b]-=Roxburgh House, Naval Command, Avalon, Atlantica[/b]

Roxburgh House was an interesting affair, as were many of the government buildings that had sprung up in the new age of prosperity that gently rested over the Kingdom. Roxburgh House itself was a 7 sided building, outwardly modern and by no means small, towering over the surrounding buildings but carefully constructed to not obstruct the general skyline of Avalon, nor overshadow the Palace by the Bay where Parliament sat, either. Its interior had been built to emulate the aged practicality come luxurious decadence that would of felt appropriate in the likes of Old London, or Paris, but most of it was simply an approximation.

It served as the grounded centre of command for the Eridani Royal Interstellar Navy, a modest but effective force, and as such was always relatively busy, with at least one of the Admiralty Board present at all times - mirrored in space by its orbital equivalent in [i]Espirit[/i] Station.

1st Space Lord, Admiral and Earl of Newpool, Theodore Daven, let the history of the place and the facts of what was slowly filter through the back of his mind - his thoughts always wandered when he thought about just who had managed to convince the architect to make allowances for fireplaces, of all things, in a multi-story modern construction, but he was expecting company, and it paid to keep the mind on the present for such things. He let his green eyes fall back to the synopsis for the upcoming short, but important, meeting, idly running a hand through his dark and quickly graying hair. His appointment, one Amelia Schmidt, was a true-born Eridani, and a descendant of a freeholder family at that - she had been eligible for 2nd generation life extending treatment too, and while he didn't begrudge her the benefits, he knew that by the time she reached his age, she probably wouldn't of even developed a single gray hair. Granted, he wasn't young by traditional terms at 51, but the grays had begun to creep in with something of a vengeance, and 1st Generation treatments only went so far.

By all accounts, she'd worked hard and been rewarded for it without the patronage of any of the upper classes, and there was always something to respect about that. She wasn't the best the Naval Academy had ever turned out in terms of discipline or tactics, but her mind had proven more than astute for intelligence purposes, and so they'd put her forward for a position equating to Vice Admiral only a few months prior - and his predecessor, now rotated out to operational command, had not seen the need to deny. The recent changing of the guard in the Ministries and the resultant politics had resulted in a new need for an operational intelligence head, which Admiral Schmidt had become, and so he intended to see her put it to effective use.

He heard a light rap on the emulated oak of his offices door, and nodded an assent the buildings administrative AI took as affirmation, allowing the door to open. He rose, as a form of respect, as Vice Admiral Amelia Schmidt entered, offering a crisp salute, which he returned in kind. She was a fair-haired woman, plain, but not unattractive, though he was sure his wife didn't need to hear him say that, with a well kept uniform and appearance that at least made a good first impression. He let a friendly, warm, smile break the ice. They weren't yet friends, but they wore the same uniform, and that meant something.

"Vice Admiral Schmidt, please, take a seat" He said, motioning and returning to his seat as he did so, watching her move quickly and with purpose to do exactly that.

"Earl Newpool, a pleasure." She said, pleasantly but not with too much artificial familiarity, as she sat, nodding once more. It was common, at least out of formal military proceedings or actions, to use the official title of an individual before military or civil ranks or titles, if not both, though Theodore didn't particularly mind either way, it was how things were done, and he noted that small insight away in the back of his mind.

"Likewise, but please, we're behind closed doors, call me Theodore, or Admiral if you must" He responded, letting a small chuckle escape, offering the branch, as it were.

"Well then, it would do for us both to be on a first name basis, no? I'm sure we've both done a thorough enough background reading to make us closer than many who call themselves colleagues, if not friends." She responded, it was delivered cooly and seriously, but with just enough of a tinge of warmth to be accepted for more than that.

"Too true, Amelia, too true. We're both well appraised of the piracy situation and that's generally dwindling as the new patrols eliminate their places to regroup, so I'll leave that to Admiral Reinhardt with support form your own intelligence to deal with. The Parliament is pushing for greater protection of the outer colonial routes but I'll have to put you in contact with Commodore Lane and his task group for that - they could probably use a Raven, and I'm sure you're game for that." Theodore said, swiping away the most recent reports and making it clear that, while friendly in tone, the last had been less of a recommendation or an assumption than simply what was to be. The new Raven's were effectively light cruisers as far as armament went, but their main role was reconnaissance and more importantly - stealth - and they had earned the name "Eyes". As stealth vessels, great amounts of capital, government and private, had gone into making sure they stayed that way.

"More than workable, those particular trouble spots have proven more.. elusive to trace, Lane's task group with some help from the Eyes should help narrow down the field, but I assume there's more to our finally meeting than this matter?" She asked, flatly, but not impolitely.

Theodore nodded, taking a quick glance at his screen before returning his gaze to the head of naval intelligence.

"Yes, you have 5 operational Ravens, as I understand it. Three are currently under Condition Black on Intelligence missions, and I've asked you to deploy one of your remaining birds, and I'm afraid I'm going to be potentially asking for the services of your final one, your opinion on mission parameters depending." Theodore made brief eye contact, before pushing forward a tablet computer for his compatriot to peruse.

She let her gaze fall down to it, making a few minor alterations on the fly and nodding a few times as she read the words and let them sink in, before returning her gaze to Theodore and returning the tablet.

"I have been expecting this, Admiral, particularly with the effectiveness of the Eyes confirmed in the last official war games season, it is a .. calculated risk, but with my minor alterations it is one I am willing to devote the resources to.. without protest." She said, carefully measuring her words as they were spoken.

Theodore took a moment to peruse her changes, most of them were minor and were things he should of caught himself, but such was life.

"Yes, I believe your last report mentioning something about "spewing radio emissions and other energy signatures that have only grown over the past century" had something to do with it, and while in not so many words as your full intelligence dossier required I am inclined to agree. It is only a matter of time before someone in Sol notices us - just as we've noticed them, and from what you yourself described its not likely to be the most friendly of reunions." Theodore mused, idly rubbing his chin and feeling the bristles of hair that were once more returning.

"The mission is, nonetheless a risk, we have no knowledge of complete solar military strength, the expanse of their sensor network or really anything that would assist much in fine tuning planning, but we do know that the Raven is small, a fine stealth ship, and space is big. It'll take a few days for her to hop over in operational mode, and a couple of weeks at worst to coast in on low power - but she could get right in and sneak back out with a detailed scan of the entire system and enough data traffic of a high enough quality to keep my department busy for weeks, with the understanding that nothing went awry, of course." Amelia responded, delicately pointing out the risk but clearly revelling in the potential rewards.

"I'll leave the details of briefing and final mission parameters to you, but the King and Prime Minister are both fully aware of the matter and want pieces in motion within 3 Standard days - I assured them that you'd be more than able to do so." Theodore said, re-assuming a more formal bearing.

Noting the sea change, Amelia nodded, and rose in unison with her opposite. "You have my word as an officer of the Crown, Admiral. I will keep you in the loop." She said, saluting.

"Very well, Vice Admiral, you are dismissed." Theodore saluted, watching the younger officer move with energy from the baroque office.

Pieces in motion.