Only One Step (IC, MT/FanT, Attn Isentran)

[Rupudska]

Oɴʟʏ Oɴᴇ Sᴛᴇᴘ
a Late Modern Tech/Fantasy Tech war roleplay


"From fanaticism to barbarism is only one step."
- Denis Diderot

SMS Iapetos
Off the coast of Puerto Rico
December 1, 2027

It was a ballsy plan, that was for sure. Simple, but ballsy.

As conditions for those not under the category of 'white Anglo-Saxon Christian' deteriorated in the Dominion, Karlsland found itself more and more willing to improve those conditions in the Dominion. Violently if necessary, and as time wore on it seemed all the more likely that it would be. The generals and admirals of the Holy Romagnan Empire were confident that they would have the public's moral support, as well as that of the larger international community - and if they found even a trace of slavery existing within the Dominion, the Amistadists.

There was just one small problem, and that was Imperial law technically did not allow the Empire to go to war with a nation simply because it had concentration camps. It could denounce it yes, which it had, it could place embargoes, yes, but it could not go to war. They could not even send covert operations unless diplomatic ties were cut off, something the KGRP regularly whined about in the Reichstag but so far had not gotten their way as so far no opponent proved enough of a threat to warrant it since Soviet Orussia's collapse into a federation.

And that was what the Iapetos, a roll-on-roll-off cargo ship was here for.

Officially it was here to provide further relief effort for a hurricane that had struck the regions of Texas and Puerto Rico some months earlier, which Karlsland had said they would do "regardless of the Empire's opinion of the Dominion." And indeed it did have quite a lot of relief supplies, ranging from toiletries to construction equipment, food, and medicine. It also had a handful of engineering vehicles and construction vehicles to aid efforts. But if that was all it was here for, Karlsland would have sent a regular cargo ship - engineering vehicles weren't sissy or heavy enough that they couldn't handle being moved via crane, and the doctors riding along could handle a gangway easily enough. The reason they were sending a military cargo ship was because they were also sending a handful of Marines from the 1st Marine Infantry Regiment, officially to protect Karlsland's supplies from looters and people willing to cause trouble.

It was a ploy of course - the Marines were there to cause the trouble and hopefully enough to sever ties (or better yet start a war), and while it wasn't the most secret fact it was far from the least, and so far no evidence had revealed itself that the Dominion was even aware this was what they were there for.

For now. Hopefully it would stay that way until the appropriate time.

<<San Juan port authority, this is the SMS Iapetos, requesting docking clearance.>>

[Viraliz]

Imperial Palace in Sacron
1 of December, 2027

Emperor Jaren looked at the reports he had been given by his advisors, page after page of damage reports on the hurricane that had hit Texas recently, however the most important report that existed was not on the damage or request for help or anything like that. Rather it was the fact that reports indicated that the Dominion had not been able to successfully help their own population. The people of Texas was still suffering and yet the Dominion either didn’t care or couldn’t help. Either way this was the perfect time for the Empire of Secae to earn some goodwill on the political arena and to show how weak and ineffective the Dominion was.

“Summon Prince Faeran, Lord Ceras of House Harkonnen and Lady Saris of House Peryn. Tell them that I wish to discuss a relief mission to the Dominion.” The emperor told one of his court scribes.

It didn’t take them to long to arrive in the emperor's office. “You summoned us, father.” Said the prince in a rather regal fashion. The emperor looked at his son. Prince Faeran was the third in line with an older sister and the heir his brother before him. He was an impulsive and brash man, but ultimately a good man. To the emperor he was almost a favorite as he reminded him of himself when he was younger.

Behind the prince were Lord Ceras and Lady Saris, two of the more prominent nobles in the capital. Lord Ceras was one of the commanders of the army and Lady Saris was one of the richest traders.

“My son, Lord and Lady. I want our empire to send aid to the Dominion. To help relieve the people of Texas that are suffering. I appoint you,my son as my voice and will and expect you to manage the relief effort accordingly. As security for this I will transfer 50 knights from my Royal Guard to guard you. Lord Ceras, I want you to provide transports for the supplies and organize security for the relief mission. Lastly Lady Saris, I wish for you to organize the supplies, logistics and manpower. My son will provide you with a budget later today after I am done with the calculations. You are all dismissed for now until further notice. Except for you my son.” The emperor said and nodded his head in a dismissive manner.

The two nobles left leaving Emperor Jaren and the prince alone. “Was there something else you needed, father?” Asked the prince. The emperor looked back at him and shook his head. “Not really my son. I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you. You are a good man and I know you will make a fine councilor to your brother in the future. However I just want to remind you that we don’t want war with the Dominion despite our cold relations. The costs are not worth it and it will be hard for us to win. We just want to earn goodwill for now and pray that the rest of the world will start to recognize our worth.”

“Thank you for the kind words. I will do as you command.” Faeran said and left without being dismissed. The emperor ignored this gesture, he knew his son was disappointed in that he wasn’t the heir, but the laws were clear and there was nothing they could do about it. Still he knew his son was loyal and would start the relief mission as soon as possible.