>>24628888
We shall stay at the Embassy.
We shall wear the frilly dress.
And we shall contact Mother.

>>24628984
We most certainly shan't do that, my goodness.
>>24628888
We'll stay at the Embassy, of course.
We shall wear a Trendy dress, befitting the modern and knowledge-seeking image of the Academy.
We shall meet with the local alchemists to discuss science.

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>>24628888

We should call Mother and let her know we're well as soon as we're near a phone. That's just good practice when traveling.

We're expected to look our best while here, so we shall come up with something up to date. However, staying at the embassy is appropriate since we're here in an official capacity.

We should let it be known that we're in town and see who's most anxious to talk to us! Going shopping is a good way to do that, and gets two things done. After that we can count on the grapevine to line up anyone interested in space ventures to want to talk to us...

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>>24628984
You and your Entourage disembark from the Maiale Volante and make your way to the Embasy, while still trying to decide what to do first, and weather you ought to get a new dress to keep up with how the fashions have changed while you were in the Eastern isles.

As you head up the hill to the Embasy, you notice some newspapers. "SEPARATISTS ARRESTED IN SPARTANIA,"

>>24629136
That's a point of RnD we won't get back and it'll only be good for two turns.
You're obviously not serious about the space program.

>>24629244
>Seperatists
>alien infiltrators
The Foe Stars have stepped up their activities.
We shall ask for a report from Mother when we call her.

>>24629293
One knows that dressing for the occasion must some times come at a regrettable yet necessary cost.

>>24629293

We have standards to maintain. The alchemists and astrologers would gush over us if we showed up in overalls, but the merchant princes should be blandished in ways they understand.

Fortunately, we can stay at the Embassy by virtue of being here in a semi-official capacity. That hotel bill will do a lot more good in Minerva's hands.


(I can't believe I just wrote this)

On that note, how are the three Void Knights enjoying celebrity status? Particularly Lady Cobham.

>>24629369
Harker was always famous, and Cobham has also gained a good deal of fame, but neither have had much time in the spotlight because of the RRCs relative isolation. You haven't had any parades or anything.

>>24629444

We shan't make the mistake of dropping a PR coup next time we do something cool, even if it cost us.

On the way yp the the Embassy you stop to go shopping.
What will you buy?

>Trendy Dress (The latest fashions, you're sure to turn heads, but it won't be as fancy two turns from now)
>Business Dress ( All the professionalism of the officer dress, but without the militarism, might be considered overly bourgeois however)

>>24629658
Business suit.

>>24630250

I'd have to go with something trendy. We've been away from a big city for a while!

>>24630464
We are going to regret this when our projects fall behind.
Not to mention how it will look in the papers; "Princess uses Rocketry Corps funds on fashion spending spree!", "Royals pamper themselves as economy slumps".

>>24630591

I guess something businesslike is more appropriate, yeah.

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>>24630250
You commission a business dress, similar to your officer dress, but less intimidating. No medals, epaulets, or cords, and most importantly no pistol and saber. That's what Sir Perro is for anyways.

As you are leaving the shop, you hear a man in the square shouting to a crowd in Romantic. Fortunately you speak this language.

"<PEOPLE OF WESTRIN! Do no abandon your brothers in Spartinia! They were arrested for daring to suggest the western isles should decide for themselves who should better rule over them. We have our own culture and language, yet we are subservient to a foreign king, and pay taxes for there wars! Why must we, the people of the western islands, bow down to the Monarch of Midland?"

Sir Perro advises you not stick around. Nobody recognizes you yet, but it's not worth the trouble.

>>24630806

Were we aware of the issue beforehand, even in a bowdlerized way?

>>24631182
You remember hearing something about how some of the westerners don't like having to suffer the tax burden from the great war. Unlike Midland and Suthland, the western islands were relatively untouched.

You were told it would blow over eventually.

>>24631233

Is the man receiving attention from the crowd?

We should avoid giving visibility to what seems to be a small incident, for now, but will make a point to look into it further. Atleast, we should see if anyone from there is qualified to be a Void Knight to be inducted in the next echelon; it might have diplomatic value.

>>24631233
We must leave without being recognized. It would be a terrible blow to the royal image if we were to be seen spending RRC funds on personal items like this.

>>24631403
The people's reactions seem to be mixed, but he is definitely getting attention. This does not seem to be blowing over like you were told it would.

Where shall you go now?
>Head to the Embasy quickly to unpack and Call mom
>Send your luggage ahead to the Embassy while you meet with the Merchant princes
>Send your luggage ahead to the Embassy while you meet with the alchemists
>Head to the Embassy and start building a radio reactive pile in the basement.
>Head to the Embassy and start building an automatic computer in the basement.


>>24631452
Technically 2 points out of your budget are your own royal allowance, so it's really the other way around.

>>24631557
>Head to the Embasy quickly to unpack and Call mom
We must get her to contact the Cabal and begin mustering more support for the Program.
Also, that this separatist movement is a concern.

>>24631620

Calling home is polite anyway.

Building a radio-reactive ANYTHING in the basement of an embassy sounds like a bad idea, come to think of it...

>>24631625
>>24631620
The apartments in the Embasy are much smaller than Tannhäuser manor, you aren't sure where everyone will sleep.

You shut yourself into the phone room and call home. "Yes Lydia?" Your mothers voice can be heard after a short while.

>>24632051

We say that we've arrived safely, things are going well, Prince Orion is kinda cute and has been a perfect gentleman whatever his upbringing, and we saw one of those things while on the island, and are trying to figure out if they're coming over to say hello or not. We keep it ambiguous so that we might be talking about island wildlife.

>>24632051
We first make sure that the phone line is secure.
We shall inform her that we have arrived at the Westrin Academy.
We shall also inform her that a Foe Star was sighted, and that a transmission from it was recorded. The Eastern Island tribes have known of them for years, and believe them to be friendly.
We have our doubts.
The Cabal must be questioned, if they knew about the radio transmissions, and if they can decipher them. We need an increased budget, and can they assist?

>>24632216
The line is completely secure. "The Foe stars are transmitting radio waves? Curious, we were not aware the Foe stars exhibited that property. All we know is that they appear somewhere around seven hundred million kilometers above the ecliptic, directly above the sun. The astrologers haven't been able to determine exactly how far away they are because they don't last long enough to do a proper paralax measurement. We never though to point radar antennas at them. Perhaps this is a sign you are meant to discover the truth."

>>24632489

Going there is going to be really, really hard!

We should keep on keeping on! Let's see if the academics or merchant princes in this town want to meet us.

>>24632489
"Discovering the truth will be neither easy, nor quick. And are we prepared for the answers that my work will uncover?
"Please have the Astrologers continue recording the messages from the Foe Stars. With enough messages collected, we can perhaps decipher them.
"However, these separatists worry me. What is Father and the Prime Minister going to do about them?"

>>24632489

Second >>24632539

>>24632539
"The separatists have been a pain since the end of the war. They like to pretend that the Huns were not a thread to them as well, and that there economic prosperity does not depend on there position within the empire. Make no mistake however, they represent a vocal minority, and the Merchant princes are still loyal to us.
As for the messages. I think if anybody should be recording them, it ought to be you. The Royal Astrology society has no reason to be building elaborate radio equipment, But the Rocket corps does. How else shall you track your satellites. I imagine communicating with a probe on the Moon would require a dish even larger than any we now have on earth?"

>>24632967

That's a fair point. We wonder if properly cut and pasted, the signal might make a good song?

A bit too early to give it to Mr Radio though...

>>24632967
"Then will you speak with the Society, Mother, for assistance in increasing our funding?"

>>24632967

Given the ephemeral nature of the Foe Stars, we shall make it a priority to aim the dish at them, even during a mission, if there's no emergency. Getting a radio relay in equatorial orbit has become just that bit more important! We'll have to launch a few, and fake a payload failure for the one that listens in on those.

>>24633122
"We shall see about it, but as you can tell, taxation is not very popular among the Bourgeois right now. They will hardly agree to more taxes for secret projects. You should consider finding more covert ways to acomplish your goals... By the way Lydia, when are you planning on marrying that eastern boy?" Mother quickly changes the subject with a slight giggle.

What shall you do now?
>Meet with Merchant Princes
>Meet with Alchemists
>Build something in the basement.

>>24633136
Seconding this notion.
In the meantime: Budget.
Can't do much constructing with the whole typhoon business, so I say we go on a research binge.

>>24633504
23 points of resarch have already been allocated, the remaining 14 are for incidental expenses.

>>24633485
Meet with alchemests (research) then merchants (funding). Building stuff in the basement still sounds like a bad idea.

>>24633529
Incidental expenses? What, like repairing typhoon damage?

>>24633551
Repairing typhoon damage and traveling expenses.

>>24633531

Building the automatic computer is feasible, but radio-reactive work should be done in properly shielded fcilities, and definitely not on embassy premises! Surely Prof. Minerva would agree?

>>24633485

We blush deeply at that! "Mother, it's... He's just very nice and not at all barbarous is all!"

>>24633485
"Mother! How scandalous!"

>build computer in the basement
Would we need to expend RP for this, or is this considered part of the invention phase?

>>24633697
You would need to expend RnD points in either case, although it might be better to get better facilities.

>>24633945
Can we ask the Academy for lab and workshop space?

>>24633997

This. We shall ask for as much when they feel like talking to us -- surely they'd want to!

>>24633997
If you meet with them. If you meet with the Merchant Princes you can ask for more funding instead.

Who shall you go to first.

>>24634068

Likely, the academicians would seek us. We should go see the merchant princes first!

>>24634068
What will we entice the Merchant Princes with?
What applications of our space program can we give them? They are merchants; we need tangible goods to convince them to invest in us.

>>24634213

Unlimited radio range using active repeaters, for one. Handy if you have a ship in the high seas and want to be able to keep an eye on her.

There are several major land owners in Westrin.

>Ferrarin Piccolo, Aerospace titan, owns the company that built the Maiale Volante.

>Silvano Bruscoloni, Media mogul, Mr Radio's biggest rival.

>Galimberto Nestle, Food magnate.

>Luca Borri-Ghilott, Construction boss and patriarch of Westrin.

>Giovani Amedeo, Composer and philanthropist, he wrote a symphony about the planets, and went to your i'll fated party.

Whom shall you contact?

>>24635399
>Giovani Amedeo
First. Easiest, as we can offer images from space as inspiration for his music.

Ferrarin Piccolo, second, as providing orbital radio waypoints and repeaters, as well as access to our research on extreme high speeds and temperatures.

Galimberto Nestle, we can offer the food we develop as a marketing venture. Especially the Tang.

>>24635576

Wonder if it's worth it to start a radio bidding war... Nah.

Alright, it's getting late, I'll continue next Tuesday as usual. See you then.

>>24636090

thank you!