Kanji Akasaki hadn't been this far north in many years. Not since 2003, by his reckoning, actually. Regardless, he found himself quite bored, as he often did, by the long time spent in transit. After all, once you had flown around the planet almost three thousand times, any travel seemed ever-so-much slower. But he couldn't complain, after all, he was blessed by the opportunity, all those years ago, to become Daitō's first spacefarer. But that was almost fifty years ago now. If it weren't for him being personally requested to attend by his nation's delegation, he probably would've stayed home. He was accompanied by his son, Kagemori, who had followed in his footsteps and flown on the Ryū YK-24 back in 2008 as part of Expedition 14 and 15.
Before they entered the palace, they were met by
Princess Satomi, who had been sent on the behalf of the Emperor. They needed to project strength after a year of turmoil, and by sending a member of the Imperial Family, it was figured that the situation might be perceived as having normalized to a degree. Owing to her position, Kanji felt obligated to greet her, at the very least, although it was clear that she was waiting for them anyways.
"
Denka."[1] Kanji said in their native Onishi with a bow. "I am not worthy of your presence." He spoke, unwilling to look her in the eyes unless spoken to.
"Nonsense, Akasaki-hakase. After all, you honour me by your presence." The Princess said with a smile; whether she was saying that to be nice or out of genuine respect, it wasn't clear, but the feeling was all the same. "Have you had the chance to view the presentations, by any chance?" She said as the trio, accompanied by the Princess's bodyguards, continued their approach to the palace.
"Yes,
Denka. They were very..."
"Striking?" Princess said, cutting him off. "I thought so too."
"No,
Denka. They were more... Impressive, actually." Kanji admitted.
"Even the
Korunajin?[2]"
"Yes, even them." Kanji responded in a calm, respectful manner. "I'm sure you'd understand how... Dolk..." He hesitated; the name left much to the imagination, if he were to openly admit it. That and he was attempting to avoid a possible insult. "...could revolutionize travel. Allow for supersonic travel to
really take off, as it were."
"You were going to say something else, Akasaki-hakase?" The Princess asked as they reached the top of the stairs.
"Uhh... Yes,
Denka." The elder of the two spoke. "Simply that, with the position that the Honorable Gate
[3] finds itself in, being able to reach any of its allies in but a few hours would be... advantageous." He said, giving a nod to Serena as they entered.
"Ah. Thank you for your openness, Akasaki-hakase." The Princess responded with a smile. "We must continue this conversation soon." She concluded as they went their separate ways.
Inside the Palace,
Jiro Asagiri found himself at the bar, listening into the various goings-on of the other guests. Something about the Atlas launch that occurred during the presentation, he thought? Admittedly, he wasn't too surprised it had failed. These things happened, better that it was uncrewed he figured.
"Birth of the future." He said, quoting Ronald Hughes's presentation, as he looked down at his glass. "Heh... Maybe." He said with a chuckle, thinking about the explosion as he took a sip. Truth be told, he had his concerns about private spaceflight, but if it meant more nations were getting access to space, then he could put his mistrust aside for the sake of humanity... So long as it didn't become a purely for-profit venture. After a moment, however, he would get up and walk over to the table Ronald and Lance found themselves at. He had been invited to meet the CEO of Nebulus, after all.
After a few seconds, he would reach the table, waiting a moment for the Morelanders to finish speaking before he would properly introduce himself. Once they were finished, he would speak up.
"Ah, you must Ronald Hughes, yes?" Jiro said with a slight bow. "Jiro Asagiri. Nice to meet you." He continued, introducing himself before saying "Tough luck on the launch. If it's any consolation, I figure it's better it happened now rather than when it was carrying crew. Still, happens to the best of us."