3125

Month of the Hare

A Lion reconnaissance squadron manages to track down the light carrier Kinbachi and her escorts, Akodo Fumie commanding her carrier-borne squadrons to attack. Vicious combat ensues, which sees the Lion bombers cripple both the Kinbachi and two of the Ono-class vessels escorting her, suffering heavy casualties in process. With the Mantis having lost one of their carriers, their ability to conduct fleet operations in Crossroads suffers a severe blow. Meanwhile, the Lion face a similar problem, now lacking the attack craft to fully utilize their advantage. To make matters worse, Mantis raiders manage to waylay and destroy the hospital ship Kogumo, making it even harder for Akodo and Matsu to replenish their losses.

The Crab clan cruiser Iron Claw patrolling in Phoenix space detects an unknown vessel that refuses to answer communication attempts, causing the frustrated Crab crew to engage the ostensibly hostile ship with all guns blazing. Caught off guard, the smaller vessel returns fire and a fierce firefight ensues, the badly battered Iron Claw turning out victorious. The boarding party sent to investigate the hull of the presumed raider discovers several uniforms and banners belonging to the Soshuro. The Crab send a formal apology to the Soshuro daimyo, who brushes off the matter by insisting that the Scorpion do not operate in Phoenix space and thus the Crab could not have destroyed a Scorpion vessel. Frustrated, the Kaiu diplomats that carried the message empty several bottles of sake to drown their anger.

A shrine dedicated to Uzuki, the Dark Fortune of Perfection, is consecrated on Soradake, the construction funded by a wealthy Asako widower originally hailing from the Daigotsu family. The monks of the so called Temple of Tranquil Verse are granted vast donations in return for their continuous prayers for the soul of the Asako's wife. Some of the more conservative Isawa consider the existence of the shrine a personal affront, the bell tower of the shrine somehow exploding violently twice during the four weeks following its consecration. Incensed by brewing hostilities, the governor-priest of the province travels to the location, setting protective wards around the shrine along with his advisors. This decision sits poorly with the Isawa lords responsible for the sabotage, unrest brewing behind the scenes as tensions rise.

A nun belonging to the Order of the Spider enters a religious trance at the Temple of Daigotsu on Hive, proclaiming the arrival of the Shining One, her eyes gleaming with inner fire as she keeps repeating seemingly nonsensical words, often twitching as if in agony. Many following Daigotsu Wakana take this as sign of her divine nature, Wakana herself refuting any and all such claims as nonsensical. This does not prevent the more dedicated heimin from erecting small shrines to the Shining One in their hovels, representing the divine figure with meticulously polished lanterns and holo-picts of Wakana herself. While the Spider leadership is less than happy about the new informal 'sect', there is little they can do, Wakana, now expecting her first child, far too popular to be removed from publicity. To ensure the safety of the prophet and to make sure that she can do no more harm, the Order of the Spider take her to a remote monastery in the Shadowed Pit deep within the hollow crust of Hive, initiates sitting outside her cell, recording every word uttered.


Month of the Dragon

Yoritomo spies among the Imperial Explorers accidentally come upon a classified files regarding the world HNE-688 and the events that lead to the Otomo enforcing a no-fly zone around the desolate planet. Alarmed by the findings that suggest an existence of a previously unknown divine entity, the Mantis spies convey the information to Yoritomo Akifumi, who tasks Moshi Chizuru to investigate the matter. Far too occupied with her relatively simple life as a privateer, Chizuru duly passes the task to her hatamoto, who begin a a series of experiments leading to a contact with the divine entity known as Kagutsuchi. Unbeknownst to Chizuru, two of the ostensibly loyal Moshi bannermen involved in the research keep some of the findings to themselves, establishing a secret shrine near the south pole on Dawn where a small group of select priests chant prayers to Kagutsuchi, the One that Shines with Power, in hopes of earning his favor.

Seppun Kataginu, a trusted advisor of Seppun Akagi, is found dead in his chambers. With Akagi being known for her dislike of Kagami,the assassination of such a prominent figure is widely seen as a sign of infighting between the two factions present in the Imperial families. To preserve the face of the Imperial Houses, the Seppun make no such claims in public, instead insisting that Kataginu's murder was merely due to 'unfortunate and unforeseeable consequences' and how they would 'mourn his passing'. Yet someone leaks the magisterial autopsy that found no fewer than six different toxins in Kataginu's body, many of which can be traced to Scorpion manufactured compounds. The part of the report that notes how such substances can be purchased legally from pharmacies across the Empire is conveniently left out, leading to further confusion as the Scorpion are generally known to support Kagami and those loyal to her.

Firefly excavation crews working near the Eastern Nebula stumble on ruins of an ancient alien outpost. While the discovery is initially kept secret, the Imperial merchant patrons that serve as liaisons between Firefly and Otomo ensure that the news reaches the ears of the Emperor. Many of the artifacts unearthed from the dig-site are composed of unknown metal and ceramic alloys, some esoteric substances defying the Rokugani understanding of matter. Understanding the potential of the find, Hotaru Hikari gathers a large group of scientists, tasking them to research and reverse engineer the alien artifacts.

Yoritomo and Ide manage to close negotiations regarding a non-aggression pact that sees several prominent Ide engineers marry into Yoritomo, bringing some of the technology developed for Ide II with them. Ever practical, Mantis assigns these engineers to the fabled Watanabe docks where they begin to work on improving the time-tested and rugged probability-engines of the Mantis warships. In return, various Yoritomo daimyo call back privateers operating in Unicorn space, allowing Shinjo and Moto vessels to focus their attention on the Spider raiders. Despite the pleas of the Ide, Yoritomo makes no promises to help the Unicorn retrieve the Ide II from the Dragon, insisting that their ongoing conflict with the Lion means that they cannot deploy their forces against another clan.

Crane journalists stumble upon Doji Masatsugu enjoying a vacation at exclusive prestigious hot spring resort on Miyabi alongside a young woman soon identified as Kakita Eriko, the woman known to have served as Masatsugu's sister's yojimbo. With Masatsugu harboring a reputation of being the most coveted bachelor on the Empire, the news of his dalliance is leaked by a Kakita faction unhappy with stance on trade politics. The Crane news agents send exceedingly polite requests to the daimyo's offices, requesting Masatsugu's people to comment on the rumors that he might be courting a ji-samurai. After few days of awkward silence and much rumormongering, Masatsugu hold's a brief press conference where he announces his marriage with Kakita Eriko, much to dismay of his hatamoto and many of his supporters. For those questioning his choice, Masatsugu has but a curt response, 'Benten Wills It'. The phrase gains a life of its own, both Kakita News Network and less well known Doji Entertainment announcing a movie with the eponymous title, both portraying a fictional story that heavily reflect on themes of forbidden love and burdens of duty.

Month of the Serpent

Using technologies reverse engineered from Ide II, the Dragon began a construction of three vast battle cruisers meant to bring combat to Karushan space, employing the data collected by the Imperial explorers to fit their ship with all the equipment, esoteric and otherwise, deemed necessary on such a long journey. Struck with auspicious names, the Lotus Flower, the Plum Blossom and the Pomegranate are built in relative secrecy in Kasei docks with thousands of engineers and tens of thousands of heimin working around clock to bring the Dragon daimyo's vision into reality. Scorpion spies manage to infiltrate the docks, but due to Scorpion infighting, the espionage efforts are poorly coordinated. Thus, while the Scorpion manage to obtain some confidential data, many of the spies find themselves compromised, and have to flee Dragon space.

After weeks of negotiations, Unicorn and Firefly draft a trade agreement that sees Unicorn obtain advanced mining and zero-R equipment in exchange for modern and self-sustaining hydroponic facilities. Following traditions, the arrangement is cemented by no fewer than dozen marriages that sees new fewer than three Iuchi shugenja marry into the Firefly even has a dozen or so Hotaru engineers join the Ide. Kitsuki courtiers protest the agreement at the Imperial Court, claiming that it endangers the Firefly neutrality. Otomo dignitaries comb through the agreement, finding no evidence to support the Dragon claim, though many agree that the ruling depends heavily on interpretation of certain classic verbs used in the charter detailing the responsibilities of the Firefly.

Bayushi Hazuki is found dead in her bed, her sudden demise causing an immediate and bloody war of succession that is fought behind the scenes, most foreign diplomats unaware of exactly what happened. The Scorpion acti as if nothing is amiss even as several hatamoto known to be loyal to Hazuki are murdered in cold blood. This wave of assassinations sees several provincial governors dead or forced into retirement on World of Dreams, the ever fragile Scorpion social weave fraying apart at the edges. With the Bayushi nobles fighting for power, the Scorpion throne sees no fewer than seven claimants, making a brutal civil war seem likely. The Shosuro and Yogo daimyo deem the situation unsustainable, and offer the seat to Bayushi Mineichi, a rather low ranking noble known for his impeccable service, ensuring that the former head of security knows that he is merely a puppet, his decisions not truly his own. While many a Bayushi noble is disgruntled with this arrangement, most consider the risk of civil war far too great and instead began to seek ways to ensure that the new Bayushi daimyo will marry someone loyal to their cause.

Scrying orbs installed on the orbit of Miyabi detect three vast, hitherto unknown vessels drifting into the system. Curiously enough, when hailed, the ships respond with dated, but valid, public Rokugani code. However, further inquiries remain unanswered, the communication channels dead quiet. The military Miya sends a small frigate to make contact with the seemingly friendly vessels to determine whether they need help and to figure out why the ships simply did not travel Path Not Taken to reach the far orbit as customary. However, the Miya vessel is destroyed by concentrated volleys of fire as soon as it can establish visual contact, the brave captain conveying a few seconds of erratic holo-data before her vessel is torn asunder. Much to the shock of both the Imperial admirals and the Mirumoto serving in the Imperial Legions, the holofeed shows the three 'unknown' vessels bearing Dragon emblems, though their hulls do not match anything the Dragon operate or have ever operated. With confrontation seeming evident, the Imperial Legion closest to Miyabi is called to arms, the Otomo and Seppun preparing for an engagement they could not have predicted. Seppun Prognosticators consult the omens regarding the events; each such attempt to divine the future yielding glimpses of impeding doom and bloodshed. Due to the warnings of the Seppun, the Otomo mobilize the 4th Imperial Legion, calling upon their allies to fill the ranks of the new, makeshift force.