By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent

Empress Serenity has arrived in Seaforth for talks with the Seaforthian government on the matter of Troyes, the visit comes following the apparent seizure of the city by the Real Marseilles group who have proclaimed a 'Republic of Troyes', a move that has not gone down well with either the Empress or the government in Valtheim. Speaking following her arrival in Seaforth the Empress said "The Achkaerinese position on Troyes has been very clear from the start, the only authority who can grant sovereignty over land is the legitimate government that owns that land, that didn't happen a few years ago and it didn't happen a few hours ago, but we are now in a far more potentially dangerous place than we were a day ago on this issue. While the frustration of the citizens of Troyes is understandable, the current situation has the potential to put several nations all of whom support the position that Troyes is the sovereign territory of Marseilles on opposite sides of matters because of existing international relations. The hope now is that diplomacy can resolve this issue before anyone is put in the position of having to make hard choices. Achkaerin and Seaforth share a significant history of cooperation dating back to our days in the CIS and beyond, so hopefully that puts us in a place where a path forward can be developed. While I'm here my cousin Sakura is in Marseilles meeting with President Sauzee and Prime Minister Deschamps, the aim is the same to develop a path that resolves the Troyes issue in a peaceful manner. But this is contingent on the situation not escalating any further, there's a substantial difference between what we might describe as a creative protest and where this might go, it's the responsibility of all those who want to see this resolved to exercise restraint at the moment."

To: Asuna Anselmo, Empress of Rokkenjima
Sadazane Konishi, Prime Minister of Fusan

At this point in time there is no hard evidence of this being anything other than what it appears to be, the people of Troyes having become fed up at the continuation of the Seaforthian occupation of their city, it isn't helpful in the grand scheme of things because it only takes one escalation, one attack against the Seaforthian base or the personnel stationed in the city and we're at the threshold where King Andrew could legitimately claim that an armed attack has occurred, which of course triggers the mutual defence agreements that Seaforth has with nations across Mundus. That is an escalation of this situation no one wants to see.

The Seaforthian justification for Troyes as a protectorate no longer stands, and I'm not convinced it ever did, it was founded out of supposed fears concerning the former Grand Duchess of Marseilles Alys Arsenault and came about following the appearance of Ms Arsenault in Troyes several years ago. However as Ms Arsenault was at the time wanted for crimes under the Uppsalla Convention (and could now also be charged with other crimes under the Historical Crimes Treaty) I question whether that fear ever really held water because surely she could and should have been arrested at that point and then we'd arguable be where we are now. The Achkaerinese position remains that Troyes is sovereign Marseilles territory and that the Seaforthian presence amounts to nothing more than an illegal occupation of that land, the Seaforthian protectorate has no legal standing because the Marseilles Government never ceded sovereignty to Seaforth, therefore by the same token the Republic of Troyes has no legal standing. If we start entertaining this idea then what stops a group of students in Rokkenjima from declaring 'the Free City of Phuckbridge'? The principle of sovereignty must be protected.

At this time the Achkaerinese military is being put on a heightened state of readiness just in case this does escalate and Seaforth does make the determination that would trigger treaty obligations, in that event I'd rather have the ability to act quickly than be slower than the Seaforthians. My cousin Sakura is enroute to Marseilles to talk with their Government, I am flying to Seaforth to talk with King Andrew and attempt to give diplomacy the chance to win out.

Signed



Empress of Achkaerin

The Achkaerinese concern in regards to this latest Gungnir incident was two fold, firstly there was a desire for continued stability in Nya Aland granted that wasn't helped by there still being no resolution to the power vacuum created in the aftermath of the elections, in this regard the mood in Valtheim was one of trusting the Alanders to be capable of handling their own political affairs and the Achkaerinese leadership certainly wasn't about to do something that suggested that this was anything other than what it currently was. The other thing that the Achkaerinese were concerned about with this was the potential for complications in terms of Operation Good Samaritan - this being the humanitarian operation Achkaerin had been undertaking in the Alucard since the Lodjan crisis, it had started as a Kaiju virus vaccination program for the water nomads and it had grown into other things such as midwifery, doctors appointments, medical emergencies, clothing, food, water and even the odd education program. Commanding the operation was Mark Sullivan aboard the INS Firebreather, he was in the middle of his daily meeting with the CO's of the other eight vessels involved in the operation which was held by means of videoconferencing.

"Command is advising vigiliance as we operate in the Alucard Island chain." Mark was saying "The Gungnir haven't been heard from in a while so we don't know what capabilities they may have. The guesstimate is that this 'off shore processing centre' is likely in the chain somewhere. While it is a case of a needle in a haystack and the odds of us coming across it relatively slim we just need to be cautious about it. Any water nomad ships and communities are to be advised to keep a wide berth if they spot such an installation and to let us know so we can relay the information around. All operations in line with standard operating procedure. So what's on the agenda today?"
"Mostly the usual." Adam Foyle said, he commanded the hospital ship that was at the heart of the operation the INS Nebula "We've got a vaccination clinic at I-174 and another two at I-277 and I-91. We're doing a supply run to a couple of communities and there's a complicated near term pregnancy over at I-429. The Phoenix is doing the ambulance run there."
"Fiona?" Mark asked
"I'll push out the drone perimeter make sure there's no surprises close by." Fiona Baines said, she commanded the drone carrier INS Rhyth Icerider "I've got four dragonbreaths aboard so we can put up a some recon flights, at least that'll let us try and spot things like an 'offshore processing centre'. Which again is needle in haystack given how many islands there are in the chain but it's at least something."
"Very well." Mark said "Let's get about it and hope this doesn't get any worse than it already is."

The Achkaerinese government reaffirms its staunch opposition to terrorism in all its guises. The current situation in Nya Aland is one that we have every confidence in the ability of the Alander Government to resolve, we will not be closing the Achkaerinese embassy at this time though there shall be an increased security presence. If the Government of Nya Aland finds itself in need of assistance during this time then we're more than prepared to provide such assistance. We also make clear that we will not allow current happenings to disrupt Operation Good Samartian and will coordinate with others in the region as needed.

By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent

The Marble Palace has released pictures of a specially commissioned portrait of Empress Serenity to mark her first year on the throne. The portrait painted by Seònaid Hastings was commissioned earlier in the year, however recent circumstances around the Empress and her partner recovering from surgery delayed certain aspects of its production, the Empress commented on the painting expressing her happiness at the result saying "It's a little weird to see that sort of portrait about you for the first time, the gallery wing at the Palace has all the pictures of all the Emperors before me and of course the only other Empress before me and you have the reproductions of all the swords of mark as well. I look back at the coronation and I can't remember half the day because there's a lot of stress involved and you're thought process is on so many other things than enjoying the day, even though I tried to. Seeing this portrait which is beautifully crafted and Ms Hastings is a fine artist it's a reminder and helps me remember a little bit more about it. But it also marks a year since the coronation, the settling in period is over, my feet are under the table now so it's time to get down to work."

As for the artist Ms Hastings commented saying "To be asked to do this painting was a great honour, I thought I was being scammed when I got called and told 'we'd like you to take a Royal Commission' they're the words you dream of hearing but you never expect it and then yeah you find yourself taking pictures of the Empress and then going and painting the portrait. It's been challenging and I've redone sections more than once because I wanted to do it justice but I'm happy with how it's come out."




By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent

The Jolt Pod has been one of the most talked about projects for the last few years that it at times has appeared to take on some sort of mythical status. The project was first theorised in 2016 however wasn't actively pursued until late 2019, theories to do with this have presumed that the development of the Rokkenjiman Akuma sparked the surge in development. The Jolt Pod is a counter drone device working on the same principle as the Chidori missile already fielded by the Achkaerinese military. The Jolt Pod was given a test run during the latest series of LTTE's (Lateral Tactical Training Exercises) Deputy Sky Marshall Raymond Holman spoke about the project and the exercises in general saying "These are the exercises that the military does regularly to be as ready as we can be when a curveball gets thrown at us, it's exercises like this that put us on a solid footing in the Lodjan crisis, both early on and when our military and the Aostan military found themselves combatting the Morelander. The Jolt Pod is a niche bit of kit and has scored at 65% by no means is that ideal, but it's where we expected the pod to be on the first run considering what this actually is. We've got another test for it in a few weeks if it comes up to scratch the Air Force is likely to add this pod to its toolbox."

"I prefer the kick to the groin area." Rion said "Works wonders." looking down at the man disguised the inner workings of her mind, they had Seagull, Groves was contained and Stanley was under arrest. That just left Rowe, in one respect it was a good thing they'd managed to isolate him but as far as the bigger picture went an isolated Rowe remained just as dangerous and just as capable of fulfilling his part in this conspiracy. Time was something they were now running out of, whatever move that was intended to bring Mieko Anselmo back to Rokkenjima had to be made soon and Rion knew that not only did she know that but so did Alex Rowe, this was still a fair way from being over.

---

"If I may." Liosa said "Rowe isn't the immediate concern, there are very qualified people dealing with that and they're more than capable of handling it. Your focus needs to be on what's coming up. Your aunt Kyoko has taken action on the legitimacy of the Addendum to the Sakura Umeko Accord, I've not had the chance to take a detailed look at it because I haven't found an office yet but from what the lawyers are telling me, I think it has a reasonable chance of being successful. If that happens then there are good and bad consequences." she took a breath "There's a legal reckoning coming for the likes of Alex Rowe, that will need to be navigated, that's what I'm here for, the diplomatic fallout from this... that's your ballgame."

---

Peter's next stop was Pyrena, likely people would view this as him visiting Beatrice as her biological father but he wasn't here for her well not directly. No he was here for something else, walking the castle's halls he chuckled when he spied Beatrice and Lucinda sat there, when Beatrice looked up in his direction he waved "May I borrow her for a moment?" he asked indicating Lucinda.

While others may have been a little disappointed the two Achkaerinese girls were quite elated with their results, after all the task hadn't really been completely in either of their wheelhouses so they'd been forced to adapt to the circumstances and it appeared they'd both come out of it fairly well, Catrin may not have ranked close to the other favourites but at least she was still there, Poppy meanwhile had reread the ranking list about fifty times just to make sure she wasn't seeing things, placing twenty second was a pretty big deal and was a meteoric rise from where she'd been previously. The pair had celebrated their success by spending some time in Poppy's room, reading through the social media reactions to the rankings and replying, making sure to thank everyone for their support. Poppy's music box watch seemed to have generated a fair amount of interest to the point where she started seeing comments saying 'oh I'd love one of those playing...' or 'I'd like one that looked like...' having seen them, Poppy was soon taking orders via social media initially and then a website that Catrin helped her set up, and Poppy wasn't going to charge a single coin. At the end of the day this was a popularity contest and Poppy knew she had to try and capitalise on her surprise success. She knew she could make them between challenges and get them shipped which hopefully would help her further down the road.

But still that was one challenge safely negotiated by the pair of them, now they just had to wait and see what the next one brought to them.

SCION Communique
Authorization VC881-AS2
Admiralty Square, Admiral Abigail Martin
March 13th, 2024/20:30 VMT
TO:

On behalf of the Achkaerinese Crown and Government I've been instructed to advise you of how disappointed we are in the actions of the IRN and personnel thereof. Firstly Rokkenjima is obliged by treaty principle to inform the Achkaerinese government of any planned military movements or operations in the Great Northern Ocean, the time for that to happen was before Rokkenjiman vessels crossed into the ocean not days after they did. At a time when security concerns are of the utmost importance to place such things in jeopardy is counter intuitive not to mention akin to petulant teenage behaviour considering the reckless nature of it. We expect the Excalibur Strike Group to be issued orders to withdraw from the Great Northern Ocean within 24 hours and that the same orders be issued to Hunting Girl. Rokkenjima is not a northern nation it is not at war with a nation in this region and the presence of a carrier strike group and submarine for the purposes of carrying out covert operations over something as trivial as a tribunal decision is wholly unjustified.

We will further inform you that upon departure from Setri both the Edward Truden and the Hinagiku will be expected to comply with a stop and search measure carried out by the Achkaerinese Navy, this pertains to investigations concerning matters of which you are aware. Do not mess around in our back yard again without prior notification and justifiable cause.

Should the 24 hours pass without action being taken then we reserve the right to take further action.

By: Niamh Roberts Royal News Correspondent

Princess Euphemia of Rokkenjima is to receive a new liver within the next twenty four hours, the Princess who is presently in the Royal Valtheim Hospital with a parasitic infection of the liver is in need of a transplant. According to Royal Physician Doctor Maddy Dale the operation will be "a live liver transplant, this is a routine operation in which Princess Euphemia's liver will be replaced with a portion of a donor's in this case Empress Serenity's. I know someone's going to raise an eyebrow at that but that is the situation, the Empress is the donor. We believe the operation will be successful, once again it's a routine operation. Following the operation both the Princess and the Empress will need a few days to recover."

A statement from the Marble Palace confirmed the details announced by Doctor Dale in a press conference Royal Press Secretary Hannah Cartwright provided further information in respect of decision making authority saying "The Empress has signed a letter addressed to the Noble Moot and the Speaker of the Senate, this letter delegates the Empress's authority, normally this delegation would be to the next in line to the Achkaerinese throne however both Princess Astrid and Princess Lisa are underage and Prince Simon is presently serving overseas so in this instance the delegation will transfer the authority to the Emperor Emeritus Peter Azurewind. It will be in effect from the moment that the Empress is taken to be anaesthetised and will last until she comes round following the surgery. Upon which point a second letter will be sent and she will resume her duties with the authority returning to her."

Rion looked at Kado "We're not going to need twelve guns trust me on that." she said "At least not all inside the van at any rate." she took a breath before smiling "Let's go pluck ourselves a Seagull."

---

SHIELD Law's main office was located in Valtheim, it was part of the so called 'Justice District' which was to say the area of Valtheim where the Supreme Court, Uppsalla Court Building, JAG Headquarters, Ministry of Justice and various law firms were all located. SHIELD Law itself was born out of an international law department from a now defunct firm, it had grown since then but it did retain it's specialism in the international field. The man behind it all was David Wheeler, he stood in his very professional suit in his very modern and very professional looking office and he wasn't alone Gary Newton and Nell Foster both in their navy uniforms stood to one side while David's friend and colleague Elecktra Hope was perched on the edge of David's desk, it amounted to quite a lot of legal brainpower and experience being in the room and that was just what the circumstances demanded. The quartet waited until a secretary came and escorted the person they were waiting for - Princess Kyoko into the room.
"Your Highness thank you for taking the time to make the trip, please have a seat." David said greeting her "I'm David Wheeler I'm the managing partner here at SHIELD Law, this is my colleague Elecktra Hope and I believe you know the two Lieutenants." he waited as Elecktra shook Kyoko's hand "This is a bit of an unusual meeting but I'll let Elecktra explain."

"Normally in our line of work we don't go proposing lawsuits, that belongs firmly in the realm of ambulance chasers not us, but thanks to the Lieutenants we've been made aware of something that we would like you to instruct us to pursue." Elecktra said "In simple terms we have reason to believe that the addendum to the Sakura-Umeko Accord which is to say the Mentorship of Toshikawa was never legally valid and we want to test that before the SCJ."
"However we need a client which is where we're hoping you come in." David said "We can't act on this without a client and from what we're told about present circumstances you are just about the only person who fits the bill." he put a standard letter of engagement in front of Kyoko on the desk.
"What they mean is this if the Addendum is invalid then the Mentorship is invalid." Gary said
"Do understand this may sound too good to be true but it isn't." Nell said "Legally speaking this will set off a chain reaction if it's successful. It also carries a huge political and diplomatic consequence for your niece to deal with. This can right a wrong done to your family but in turn your niece will be left to right a wrong that was therefore done to another party."
"We're advising you to instruct us to do this and slay this vampire already." David said "But it's ultimately up to you."

	David Wheeler
Titles
Education	First Class Honours Degree in Law & International Law from Valkyria University High School Qualifications from Valor High School
Positions Held	Senior/Managing Partner SHIELD Law LLP
Family	Wife - Iris Wheeler Son - Oliver Wheeler Son - Christ Wheeler Daughter - Helen Wheeler
Links to Important events?
Biography	Experienced lawyer. He has worked mainly on the corporate side of the equation in civil law. In 2000 he made partner at the firm he was at - Hall and Hall. In 2014, while David was head of the international law department, the firm downsized axing his department in the process. David took the staff and founded SHIELD Law.

The corridors of Coral Rift prison were nothing new to Gary Newton though this was perhaps the most unusual visit he'd ever made to the facility, making his way to the visiting room she sat down and waited a few moments before a guard opened the door and brought in Sumire Abruscato, Rokkenjiman nobility, former Imperial Councillor, former Mentor of Toshikawa and now if the theories were right just another sacrificed piece in whatever game was being played. "Ms Abruscato." Gary said slowly "Have a seat."
"Lieutenant" Sumire said "Why does my counsel want to see me?"
"I'm authorized to offer you a deal." Gary said, it had been a hell of a conversation to have with Lt Foster but the situation being what it was she had agreed to it, "We need information about something we believe you know about."
"And in exchange?" Sumire asked
"You get moved to a lower risk prison, somewhere with more privileges." Gary said "And that's just for starters." he put a piece of paper in front of Sumire "All spelled out for you."
"What do you want to know?" Sumire asked

"On the 20th of January 2007, Beatrice Anselmo underwent a medical procedure at Pyrena to repair an internal bleed in her uterus resulting from a recent miscarriage." Gary said "Footage of that surgery shows that the doctors involved not only repaired the bleed but without good reason harvested Beatrice's eggs. The implication of that is the same as was the case fifteen years earlier, to create a 'break glass in case of emergency' heir. But while in the case of Kyoko it was done with noble intentions, not so in this instance this time it was with malicious intent. I think this is another thing chalked up to the group of conspirators you're part of." he took a moment to look straight at her "Are you the birth mother to this other Anselmo? Yes or no."
"Yes." Sumire said after a moment
"Give me a name." Gary said
"Kikyo Hase, she was born on the Abruscato estate, I was 'ill' for a few months of 2007, two Anausa agents that Charles had in his pocket took her and moved to Jenka -Jenkinson." Sumire said "The agents pose as her parents and I assume have done their job of grooming her for the throne."
"Why?" Gary asked
"To correct a near sixty year old wrong." Sumire said "At least that's what Charles told me."
"What wrong?" Gary asked
"I never heard the full story." Sumire said "Look I'm not a vindictive person, and despite what people may think I never acted with ill intent as an Imperial Councillor or as Beatrice's friend, that was all genuine not duplicitous, my job was done the moment the birth happened. You can't offer me absolution I know that but I'll point you to what you don't know." she took a breath "The child of Tairo."
"Thank you." Gary said "I want all that in a statement."

---

The study at the Marble Palace was a little fuller than usual as the latest meeting on this took place Serenity was present, with every intention of running back to the hospital once it was over, around the room the various advisors and officers sat and stood and then Gary walked in.
"Please tell me you've got a name Lieutenant." Serenity said
"I have Kikyo Hase." Gary said "Had a quick bit of research done she attends Vicheshire School in Jenka-Jenkinson, sixteen years old."
"She's also the girl who just got invited along with her class to the Youth Diet in Rokkenjima." Nettie said
"Rowe's moving his pieces." Serenity said
"There was something else." Gary said "Sumire says this is about a sixty year old wrong and pointed us at the child of Tairo whatever that means."
"It's not a what it's a who." Peter said
"You know what it means?" Nettie asked

"Yes." Peter said going over to a whiteboard that sat in the room and drawing up the Anselmo family tree "This is what we usually think of, work it backwards you have Asuna, Lucius and Kikyo going up to Beatrice married to Alex and Kyoko as a sibling and then up again to Cecelia and Kichiro and of course biologically myself. That's the main branch, then if we do Euphy's branch you have her and you go up to her parents Usagi and Aaron, then on Evanthe's side you have Evanthe and you go up to her parents Mieko and Madara."
"Do we know where Sophia fits in to this yet?" Serenity asked
"Yes we do." Maddy said "Based on DNA comparison and further testing we believe Sophia is Evanthe's daughter."
"Wow." Serenity said "She was born in late 2001... the picture."
"Yep." Peter said putting Sophia's name on the tree "And we know that Emerson's the father because there's no way in heck you forget a younger Emerson Ravenswood spending the night of the Constellation Ball in Wyvern Castle and then sharing looks with Evanthe over breakfast."
"No one tells them yet." Nettie said
"Exactly now that's what we normally think about when we go at the Anselmo family tree." Peter said "But Cecelia, Usagi and Mieko are sisters if you go back a further generation you get the then exiled Empress Kikyou." he took a breath as he drew the line and put that name up. "Now watch what happens when I put the birth years up for those three sisters." he put 1970 next to Usagi, 1966 next to Cecelia and 1964 next to Mieko.

"Hang on a minute that would mean..." Nettie said
"That by convention Mieko not Cecelia should have taken the crown?" Peter asked "Yes."
"Why didn't she?" Nettie said
"Because it was decided otherwise, but that's only half the story." Peter said "Anyone want to ask the other obvious question?"
"Madara." Sakura said "Is a Rokkenjiman name."
"Yes, but Evanthe isn't entirely of Rokkenjiman heritage." Peter said
"I get the implication but what's that got to do with the child of Tairo?" Serenity asked
"I assume Alex has had time to look that up by now." Peter said looking at where Alexandria Savage otherwise known as Alex was sitting looking at her tablet.

"Mieko Anselmo is the child of Tairo" Alex said "Damn this is ancient, in 1964 Kikyou Anselmo visited what was then called Daito, on the return trip her yacht was boarded by what were at the time believed to be pirates but were later discovered to be Toshikawan militia I'll give you one guess which clan."
"Nekhaga." Serenity said
"Bingo." Alex said "Anyway the Toshikawan's subdued the crew and took the yacht and Kikyou to the nearest Rokkenjiman military port which at the time was Tairo. What the Toshikawan's didn't know was that Naoko Ryoma the companion soul to Kikyou got off a distress call to Autumn Wood Fort in Gowu, the ship was tracked to Tairo and a Justicar team sent in with Achkaerin Special Forces in support... The Justicars bribed the port commander to release Kikyou but this was four days later and in that time..."
"Kikyou had given birth to Mieko." Peter said "Officially Kikyou gave birth on the return trip, the Federal Republic were knee deep in Kusan at the time they weren't going to risk a war with us."
"Why did the Toshikawan's even do that?" Sakura asked
"We didn't know that for another thirty years." Esme said "The 1960's were the very beginning of what would eventually become the Bute movement, they were hoping that delivering Kikyou to the Federal Republic would get the Republic's support in terms of Gowu, the Bute element viewing that as Toshikawan soil which of course it isn't. That all came out at the Cherry-Lotus negotiations."

"I get it." Serenity said "Mieko is born on Rokkenjiman soil, she's pure blood, she's the blessed of Islnya according to the standard Yuna would set. By all accounts she should have been next on the throne so what happened?"
"The implication around Evanthe happened." Peter said "And it couldn't have happened at a worse time."
"Around the time that Mieko became pregnant in 1984 Kikyou fell quite seriously ill, Mieko was still traumatised from her ordeal so Cecelia was making the decisions, just after Evanthe was born Kikyou died but Mieko was still traumatised it wasn't clear if she'd ever recover so the Grand Maester made a decision and Cecelia was proclaimed as the monarch."
"And over time all that trauma, all that hatred turned to resentment." Nettie said "But she died in 2004."
"And we thought Cecelia died in 1997." Serenity said
"The question is where's she been?" Peter said
"That doesn't matter." Serenity said "But we can probably guess where she'll turn up."
"Kusan." Alex said "Rowe's angling for a fight, he's pushing hard for it and that's the trap. Kusan's innocent and when that gets discovered Asuna's either going to break if she hasn't already or she'll be forced out."
"Exactly." Serenity said "Push the button repeatedly, push it hard enough and it doesn't matter that the international community is saying 'no proof of complicity' because payback is expected and Rokkenjima will eventually demand it."
"And the Diet can vote for it." Nettie said "It would basically be a motion calling for action but Asuna can't ignore it she'd be hugely unpopular if she did. It only needs a fabricated smoking gun."

"I just had a rather disturbing thought." Peter said looking out of the study window "What if the reason Rowe knows Kusan is innocent is because he is guilty?"
"As in he orchestrated the Pyrettania..." Esme said "If that's true..."
"How?" Sakura asked
"There's one other plant." Serenity said "Nemphis."
"But opportunity?" Mark Sharpe the national security advisor said
"There is one." Peter said "Sobernakht's little uprising, Achkaerinese forces fought a running battle in and around the Nemphis compound, they could have stolen it then and delivered it. That could have been the whole point of the exercise."
"But when would they have made contact to set that up?" Nettie asked "We'd have known we were in country."
"In the middle of the Clysperi civil war Rokkenjima offered aid." Mark said "Which we declined because the situation was in hand but it's not beyond the realms they put people in anyway."
"Rowe's not the type to leave things to chance." Nettie said

"No he's not." Serenity said with a hint of anger in her voice before walking over to the whiteboard "Me and Euphy recently started reading the Harry Potter books to the girls in the Chamber of Secrets just before Harry fights the Basilisk there's a moment where the form of Riddle uses a wand and writes his name." she wrote TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE on the whiteboard "Which is an anagram of..." she wrote I AM LORD VOLDERMORT underneath the name
"So?" Sakura asked
"So what happens to this?" Serenity asked she wrote RAMOSE on the whiteboard "If you flip the M and do the same thing you get..." she wrote A S ROWE underneath Ramose "A.S Rowe, Alex Sebastian Rowe."
"Vanity." Nettie said "Could it be that simple?"
"It makes sense Ramose hasn't been heard from in a long time, no one's ever seen him, no one's ever met him, the guy may not look like Rowe but one rogue Anausa for appearance purposes and Rowe as the voice?" Mark asked
"Who does this guy think he is Palpatine?" Kumiko asked
"Apparently." Serenity said "But if that is true then you all know what it means he is responsible for, and if it is true then we will have him for it."

"So how do we stop him?" Alex asked "Because he's making his move."
"We've got just a few days." Serenity said "Alex you bring Rion up to speed, Kikyo is her ball neither Rowe nor any of his people get to her first, that plane does not fly direct to Pyrettania."
"Understood." Alex said
"Sakura you're going to Clysperis." Serenity said "We'll get some soldiers to provide an escort, go and see Sobernakht, cut him a deal and see what he gives you."
"Ok." Sakura said
"I'll go and see Emerson and Evanthe." Peter said "It should be me who tells them, Mieko was distant and cold when Evanthe was growing up and I'm the closest thing she's got to a father."
"Agreed." Serenity said "Kumiko you get onto the admiralty I've got a special job for them."
"I'll get them on the line." Kumiko said
"We take away Rowe's leverage, we neutralise the threat, let's get it done." Serenity said

As the room cleared it left only Serenity with Gary and Nell Foster, after having a drink of water Serenity looked at them "Ok." she said "Let's talk about what Kado found."
"It doesn't change anything." Nell said "All those records were sought in discovery and handed over in 2017 in the run up to trial, it's highly convenient for something new to turn up even more so because it says what it says. And even if the court let it in the date on the order is March 25th 2016, so Beatrice is still liable for the atrocities committed between February 14th and March 25th and she's already got the lightest possible sentence and then some."
"And if we're honest that order isn't the most interesting bit of what Kado found." Gary said "It's all the nonsense orders. Why have Beatrice sign them?"
"Go on." Serenity said
"We think and it's a leap." Nell said "That it's about source material specifically Beatrice's signature. She needs to sign things because she's Empress and the functioning of Government in Rokkenjima required it... but if she's got the awareness to recognise the events around her and react by for example giving that countermand order would you as Charles or Lucius Stanley put that which is critical in front of her?"

Serenity smiled when she saw what Nell was getting at "This can't come from our end and it can't involve your department." Serenity said
"It won't." Gary said "We've set a meeting for Elecktra Hope."
"SHIELD Law?" Serenity asked "I'll get Kyoko there. Let's get Lucius Stanley spinning."

---

At the Imperial Palace in Rokkenjima Kayleigh walked into Henry Cole's office "Don't ask me why just trust me." she said putting a piece of paper on the table "That needs to be the flight crew for the Imperial Ryusei going to pick up those kids from Jenka-Jenkinson in a few days." the two names were Achkaerinese military. Rowe was making his move so Kayleigh knew that there was no way that Rion was prepared to allow that plane outside of their control.

---

In Jenka-Jenkinson Maki Hamer, picked up her phone "Yes Rion?" she asked
"Correct me if I'm wrong but you're half siblings go to Vicheshire School?" Rion asked
"Yes, Sora's in her final year there and Colton's a couple back." Maki said "Why?"
"Kikyo Hase." Rion said "Know anything about her?"
"She just took over as Student Council President, succeeding Sora actually I think Colton's in her form." Maki said
"She just managed to get her social studies people a flight on the Rokkenjiman Imperial Ryusei to attend the Youth Diet in a few days time." Rion said "But here's the complication she's the lost Anselmo, she's Rowe's endgame."
"What do you want me to do?" Maki asked
"Get yourself on that plane." Rion said
"I'm listed as a chaperone with the school so that's not a problem." Maki said
"I'm getting Miku down there as well." Rion said "Kayleigh's liaising with Cole, we're getting control of the plane and going to beat Rowe to the punch. Only risk factor is Kikyo's parents, they're likely rogue Anausa so if they're on the plane watch yourself."
"Understood." Maki said

---

With the phone calls to Kayleigh and Maki done that only left one problem for Rion to deal with and it was something Kado could do. She wasn't doorstepping his office, no she was doorstepping his apartment. "We need to talk." she said quietly when he opened the door and let her in, once they were in the main room she looked at him "In a few days there's an Imperial Ryusei bringing a group of children over from Jenka-Jenkinson for the Youth Diet. On the day of that flight I need you to find a way or reason to shut down Arovia Air Traffic Control, don't ask me for details just know this is the future of Rokkenjima right here right now. You cannot risk using the INIS, because we cannot flag this, but if you can do that then it will mean that Brianna Azurewind ATC in Gowu takes over Arovia's remit during the outage and that is what we need to happen. Are you up for it?"

22nd February 2024

Hospitals weren't Serenity's favourite place, she'd had a couple of operations, had a few visits with the girls and of course now Euphy was on a hospital bed waiting for treatment for a parasitic liver infection, the treatment in question would be a live liver transplant, which was why members of the Anselmo family had been contacted and DNA tests were being done. It was one of the weirder family settings - Astrid and Lisa were sat doing their homework on the bed using the trolley table as a surface while Serenity sat in a chair talking with Euphy. Then Joe Naylor, one of the Royal Medical Team, put his head around the door "Your Majesty can we have a word?" he asked
"Sure." Serenity said, she got up and walked out of the room and found that Joe had been joined by Maddy Dale who was the Royal Physician "What's going on?"
"As you know we have security clearance so we get to see certain things, we get to be aware of certain things." Maddy said
"Yes." Serenity said
"Were it not for that we wouldn't raise this with you but we've got the DNA results back for Euphemia's potential donors" Joe said "Any of them would be a suitable and we'd recommend Sophia just based on age and health."
"So what's the issue?" Serenity asked
"I don't think that Sophia and Euphemia are sisters." Joe said "The DNA markers aren't there, there's enough to say they're related but they're not siblings. I ran them past Maddy and she agrees."
"So Sophia is an Anselmo but isn't Euphy's sister?" Serenity said "How hard to find out just who she is?"
"We've got all the DNA samples so we'd have to run a few comparisons." Joe said "Might take a couple of days."
"Do it in house and let's not advertise it." Serenity said

---

At the Marble Palace the latest meeting on the issue was going on "It just doesn't make sense." Rion said from where she stood looking out of the study window at the gardens.
"What doesn't?" Peter asked
"Any of it." Rion said "Last time around with Charles I'd have bought a power play all day long. But with what we know now? It doesn't add up."
"Reason?" Peter asked
"Lack of motive." Rion said "If we're going to say that Charles Ofdensen, Alex Rowe, Groves, Lucius Stanley, Sumire Abruscato, Lancaster etc were all party to the same conspiracy then where's the motive? Power? They already had it - Charles was Lord High Steward, Rowe was a prominent and highly respected military officer and is now the Grand Marshall he's the most senior rank in the Rokkenjiman military, Lucius Stanley is the Empress's lawyer. They're in positions of power or would be, consider what happens if the Andean Genocide doesn't happen - Henry Cole is still going to retire at some point so Rowe still gets to be Grand Marshall, Lucius Stanley retains position, Ofdensen is probably still Lord High Steward, Evanthe's viceregent, Asuna's Crown Princess, Beatrice is Empress and most critically she's still likely doped up to the eyeballs the perfect puppet, that's the position you want if you're these conspirators so why throw it away?"

"You mean why sign the Mentorship?" Peter asked
"Yeah." Rion said "Too much of a risk, why expose yourselves like that? Because you're either going down or you're putting Beatrice down either way you're losing the position of power."
"Have you got an answer?" Peter asked
"The only answer that makes sense is that all of them are expendable pieces in someone elses game." Rion said "Kado and I had this figured at four individuals I think there's a fifth, I think there's someone pulling all the strings and we don't know who that is, but we do have a good bet on the endgame - put this blank canvas, this sibling, on the Rokkenjiman throne and presumably influence them."
"Where are we on finding them?" Nettie asked
"We haven't pulled anything off of the hard drive about it but we may not need to." Rion said "If we've only been looking at pieces then each piece has a purpose..."
"Sumire Abruscato." Sakura said "Surrogacy?"
"You don't exactly let this Anselmo's existence be known outside a tight circle." Rion said
"And it's going to be military doctors loyal to Rowe or it's going to be Anausa loyal to Charles." Peter said "There's not going to be a record of Sumire giving birth anywhere."
"No there isn't." Rion said "But there will be a birth certificate for whoever that child is."
"Ok I'll have a word with the relevant authorities and see what we get from Sumire if anything." Peter said "Rion you stay the hell on preparing for the next step here because if there's an Anselmo sibling out there who's a piece in this puzzle then you know that means probably former Anausa in play."
"I know." Rion said

"Ok now tell me about this legal stuff." Peter said
"If Lucius Stanley wasn't already involved in this I'd be questioning whether he ever went to law school." Kumiko Arkwright, the Chief of Staff, said "It's pressure application."
"Yes it is." Adam Sheppard said "Alex Rowe is a soldier, he knows how to recognise stress and he knows how ill prepared Asuna was for the throne, so he piles on the pressure because he knows that if he can make her snap then he invalidates her, he discredits her and she's no longer Empress and that opens the path to the mystery sibling."
"It's more than that, if the perjury thing ever got to appeal the first question Beatrice gets asked is did she have a phone conversation with Barren?" Nettie said "She answers yes then it's not perjury but then you have the Morelanders likely wanting a word or two about it they might even take a shot at extradition. And that's before we question the perceived influence Barren could have over Asuna, it's non existent in reality but there's enough to start the rumours."

"And the thing with Kado?" Peter asked
"Asuna's ill advised press release didn't name names but put people on notice so a reaction had to happen that's why the INIS arrested people. There was always going to be blowback which is the SIS arresting twelve INIS agents, now I'm hoping that Kado actually showed the SCJ evidence of the twelve agents whereabouts that proves they were nowhere near the scene of the crime on the night in question because otherwise it looks a whole lot more shady." Rion said "It allows Rowe to play the victim and he's playing a blinder."
"So what's his next move?" Peter asked
"He needs to pick a fight and I think he's already picked it." Rion said
"Kusan right?" Adam said, Rion nodded
"Complicity where it's not proven." Nettie said "Would have been enough ten years ago."
"That may be true but I don't think Kusan is party to this." Rion said "It doesn't add, they're the fall guy and I think Rowe and these other conspirators need to cover something up."
"You know what I'm going to say." Peter said
"I'm on the next flight down there." Rion said
"What's his next move now the evidence has failed to convince?" Peter asked
"If it's a fight with Kusan he wants he'll find a way to force one or at least try to force one." Rion said "I've got an idea of what I think the play is and I'll liaise with the MDI to counter it."
"Ok you work on stopping their end run, take their legs out if needed." Peter said

It was harder to tell who was more surprised to see the near mass arrival at Pyrena, Beatrice or Lucinda, about ten minutes and one raid on the drinks cellar later they were sat around in one of the larger reception rooms. "This isn't an update on the whole matter so to speak." Rion said from where she sat next to Kado "Because we're still just scratching beneath the surface in that respect, we do think we know what the endgame of these conspirators is. And before you ask what it is, we're going to tell you because of what it concerns but let me clear we're telling you because it concerns you, we're not going to tell you specifics of what action we're going to take in response." she looked at Serenity and nodded

"One part of this investigation turned up a cache of various documents, photographs and so on. We're still ploughing through them but one of them was this." Serenity said putting the medical consent form on a table in front of Beatrice "That dates from the 20th of January 2007, it concerns the complication you had after your miscarriage, we presume the emergency nature of the surgery is why Alex signed the form. Nothing unusual in that respect, the oddity is that it was in this document cache so it was investigated further and in the security archives for Pyrena we found the footage of the operation." Serenity paused to allow Rion time to put an electronic tablet in front of Beatrice so she could watch the relevant part of it. "Everything prior to this part was exactly what would be expected of an internal bleed repair, however and there's no easy way of saying this that's not all they did, after they repaired the bleed the medical team harvested some of your eggs."

"It gets worse I'm afraid" Rion said "Everyone involved in carrying out that surgery is now dead, I call that a little suspicious. As for why this was done, well this is their endgame." she took a breath "Just over a year ago we were all operating on the assumption that what we called the Ofdensen plot worked on the premise of discredit and invalidate each Anselmo to roll back the clock twenty years to a Rokkenjiman Republic, however with what we now know I think different. If you're going to play puppeteer in Rokkenjima then the easiest way is to have an Empress who is easily influenced and not sure what they're doing, now despite what I would call several high profile howlers from the various Rokkenjiman Empresses in the room none of you were or are easily led, you know your own minds. That harvesting of your eggs carries an implication, it means there's the possibility of another Anselmo out there, a sibling for Asuna but more significantly someone who would be next in line to the throne who would also be a blank page."

"It takes a little to sink in." Serenity said "But it makes sense, if you want to run an Empire from behind the scenes you need someone easily controlled on the throne, among other things but that's the main one."
"I won't ask the question that I would like to, because it's immaterial and that's something for behind closed doors." Rion said "As for what we do next, if there is another Anselmo out there my people will find them meanwhile Kado and his people are, mainly because of one ill advised press release, going to end up in a game of tit for tat that's going to look like it belongs on the school playground. These are the things we need to do, just because we think we know where they want to go doesn't mean we know how they plan to get there and the longer Kado can keep them in knots the more time I have to dig and then when we have what we need we trap them."

With that Rion stood up and left the room with Kado not far behind once they were out into the gardens she let out a huge sigh of relief and ran her hands through her hair, now for what she'd thought of that she couldn't say in front of Asuna "Kyoko's existence." she said looking at Kado "It was a secret with a very small circle, I know who all the involved Rokkenjimans were and I know none of them now work for the INIS. They had to put Kyoko on the board so we couldn't." she smiled a little "Find the INIS agent who discovered that Lucretia Marino is Kyoko Anselmo and you'll find Seagull." she sighed again "And you still owe me dinner."

Serenity sighed "It's practically eight years on and Achkaerin still has a naval operation in Nueva Ardia working to catalogue and identify every dead body from the genocide, estimates say thirty three million people died, it happened not just on your watch but Evanthe's as well she was CTO secretary general at the time. But despite all of the recriminations we'll never know how many died before the mentorship and how many died during it. What I do know is that in 2017 you, Lt Foster, Commander Conway and myself sat in a room together and you changed your witness statement and that the prosecution then used that statement to expose the extent of Charles's involvement and due to that Charles, Sumire and Lancaster got life sentences.

I'm not your lawyer but I can predict the first question you get asked if the Court agrees to hear the appeal and it's 'did you have a phone conversation with Kyle Barren yes or no?' If you're not able under oath to truthfully answer 'yes' to that then you need to tell that attorney that Lucius found for you to stop right now and if you're telling me you can't remember then this has to stop now otherwise you are lying to a court and you're risking punitive measures against you for wasting a courts time, Asuna got told this when we negotiated your house arrest conditions we're gearing up to prosecute war crimes related to the Kalasin affair time is at a premium and the last thing we need is it getting bogged down in hearings that won't go anywhere. And if you can answer 'yes' truthfully then you need to be able to explain and substantiate why the Imperial Decree differs from your 2017 statement."

Serenity took a moment before stretching in her chair "I can't be seen to help you because I am likely to get called as a witness in the event of a hearing, so I can't advise you to get Lucinda or Hazel to make an appointment for Melissa Bird to go down to Pyrena. I can of course as your sister recommend you see your daughters therapist."