Snippet #2764681

Shimizu kept his gaze affixed to the Grand Admiral, even as he moved from his seat, his movements about the room, his survey of the cityscape before them, none of these details were missed by the young Emperor, his keen eyes trained to follow even the most subtle of twitches.

"Even as weak as he was... my father would have struck this man down on his insolence alone..." Shimizu quietly mused to himself.

"Your defense force is useless to me." Shimizu retorted. "They would protect nothing more than Terra's own interests." The Emperor added, slowly rising to his feet, his hands moving to smooth down the wrinkles of his suit, which was accented by a bold, bright red tie.

All Aschen eyes were on the Confessor, on Thrawn.

"Analysis... your psychological tactics have begun to unnerve the Grand Admiral, by moving from his seat, he has demonstrated marked uncomfortableness... I will continue monitoring... and adjusting fidelity for physiological readings..." EVE Chirped in Ayla's ear.

"Recommendation; Maintain your presence. Even though the Taiyou Emperor seeks to head these negotiations; you are a Confessor, the right hand of our Emperor, Shimizu Takayama has no authority here. You must exercise caution with this judgement..."

"Update: I have detected coded bitstream signals originating from this location... destination... the ITN Soja." EVE Added.

"Analyzing.... Code deciphered... Orders have been disseminated to the crew of the Soja to retrieve Emperor Shimizu, and then proceed to Terra... Deciphering encrypted Taiyou Cybercomms... The 1st Imperial Armada under Admiral Hideauzu has been dispatched from Niihama... and will arrive in Sol in three weeks." EVE Continued, revealing the machinations of the Taiyou to Ayla.

"To insinuate that we would not allow you, or your colleagues to leave unhindered is an insult, Grand Admiral." Chairman Inviere spoke up. "If trust runs that thin... perhaps it is not in the best interests to the Aschen Empire to allow this army of yours to come to fruition... it would neither be tactically sound, or strategically advantageous..." The Aschen woman replied, tapping her pen on the paper. She was firm in her resolve, but Shimizu, and the presence of the Confessor unnerved her.

"To that end, Terra is a sovereign nation, recognized to that extent... and your government will do what it wills; but understand there will be consequences."

"Your proposal still needs to be ratified by our governments..." Zarek spoke up, reaching his hand out to take a glass of ambrosia, pouring himself some of the bittersweet liquid. "And yours... I'll need to transmit them to the TNG Delegation, and our Quorum to be ratified during the TNG State visit..." The Sire added.

Shimizu slowly made his way over towards Thrawn, clasping his own hands behind his back, matching the Grand Admiral's pose.

"We have territories on Terra..." Shimizu said softly. "Takara Sato is a fiercely loyal Shogun, and personal friend. Her father is a hero to the Taiyou; but her people in the Shintenchi Shogunate are starving, she detests the Terran National Government, and the discontent of her people threaten to boil over." The young Emperor explained, keeping his inflection monotone, devoid of any emotion. "If your insolence continues to try my patience... Grand Admiral... I will inevitably find myself unable to assuage their discontent." The young Emperor said softly, inclining his head. "You understand." He added, venom seeping from his words in a thinly veiled threat. The Shoguns were absolutely loyal to the Emperor, a fact Shimizu knew.