Navy Information
After almost two centuries of constant warfare with the 13 major naval powers of the West and the 6 major naval powers of the South, House Peleps finally has the navy exactly where it wants it- the navy is a stable, exceedingly profitable enterprise conducting relatively secure raids on relatively weak powers in the South and West, needing to spend those profits only on patrolling the waters for pirates and maintaining vigilance against the unlikely prospect of action by Lookshy. Further, House Peleps has the Lord High Admiral in the top spot, supported by 3 of the 5 Elemental Admirals and 12 of the 17 other admirals (not counting the 4 that have spouses in House Peleps). So House Peleps controls the Navy, and the Navy is making money without losses. What could be better?
Well, according to most of the captains, a bloody war! Raiding may be where the money is, but only for the guys at the top, not the officers who seek the slaughter or capture bonus, and there is certainly no glory in fighting savages in tricked-out kayaks. The feelings of the common men and the officers match up, and the Deliberative- speaking here for the naval officers for every house but Peleps agree.
It has become something of a game. The senators from House V'Neef and House Sesus- Sesus Alon Milander, Sesus Alon Vespar, Mnemon Fujanti, V'Neef Somat, and their allies- vote to advise the Empress in favor of a major naval action in the North-West, and Peleps Illibe, supported by Peleps Najalin and her cronies, filibuster the motion until the water Fleet has been assigned to an engagement of House Pelep's choosing, rendering the matter moot. This practice is very expensive and time-consuming for the senators in question, and is said to have seriously hurt Peleps Illibe's personal coffers.
Lord High Admiral Peleps Sorugan is planning to stay this legally dubious course unless he is directly ordered to do otherwise by the Empress, or at least until House V'Neef is put in its place.
Captain Leedal Kraoutin of the Shogunate-technology ship, The Scarlet Vision, has already defected from the Air Fleet and become a privateer (rumored to have an unannounced imperial letter of marquee). He has been attacking the black tomb-ships of the Skullstone Archipelago, causing the mysterious Silver Prince to complain to the Deliberative (who of course deny all knowledge of his actions). Captain Kraoutin has returned last month with a vast amount of soulsteel, sold on to the Heptagram, and making himself and his crew a vast profit. How the navy will react to this breach of military discipline (possibly endorsed by the Empress) is yet to be seen, but the precedent is dangerous.
As such, the only fleet seeing any action at all is the Water Fleet, which has recently had a very significant victory against the Trappulga Archipelago and is gearing up to crush the growing Lintha power-base within the next decade.
Recently, there have been complaints from three separate Southern satrapies, plus a complaint from the Wood-Aspected Prefect of the Pangu Prefecture that the Fire Fleet has started using a very suspect form of press-ganging, in which a Dynast attends a Immaculate Temple and demands devout young men and women take the Empress' script or be damned to a lesser reincarnation for denying their rightful lord asking properly and before the Dragons for service to the Realm. This practice will soon have given the Fire Fleet more marines and sailors than any other fleet, but whether it will become acceptable practice is the question of the day.
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