Gusai Ryoshida brought for himself a commander's stool and sat on it in the middle of the beach to watch with his sole eye the operation of the unit specifically trained to use gunpowder weapons in a maritime theatre. He was very attentive of what was about to happen.

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This thread can be joined by observers of the event as well as those of its participants who have already completed their contribution.

Susumu walked on the sandy beaches as Lady Amaterasu rose in the east. He enjoyed the feeling of the still cold sand between his toes until he got in sight of the marine's testing ground. He would have been interested in participating if that would not have barred him from winning the captaincy of one of the bigger ships.

Moving forward, he noticed his clan champion observing the qualifications. He moved in to a respectable distance from such a mighty person and waited to be acknowledged.

The Scorpion was watching from a safe distance. His fan drawn over his lower face, mask affixed as usual. The miscoloured eyes watching closely. This would be a prime way to view what this gaijin pepper could do. He had contemplated seeing if his mettle could be tested in command of these weapons. But that was not his battlefield. Instead, he opted to view the display.

A short distance away, he could see who he assumed was the Mantis champion, as well as another individual. Based on the appearance, assumed Mantis as well. He moved with purpose to the two other observers. See what he could over hear and learn.

"Who are you." Ryoshida asked with a voice that belied his coarse face, clear, supremely commanding and regal, just like Jama's. Hantei blood was finding strange ways to manifest itself. He didn't otherwise flinch.

Susumu bowed low with and sought to give him the respect he deserved.

"I am Gusai Susumu, Captain of the Walrus and Imperial explorer, oh Gusai-ue"

He wondered if he remembered him from the Captain's mote

The Yogo had considered not even observing the trials of the Teppodoka. However, she had convinced herself that she should possess some familiarity with the units she was going to interact with in the coming days.

The first volley happened and she barely moved a muscle. It was, after all, her way to immolate herself.

She glanced over at her Shosuro ally and considered approaching him. However, it appeared that he had his own matters to attend to.

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D0 EM Fear 2 TN 15 Fluff Roll: 3d10o10k3+1 28

Ryoshida clicked his tongue without looking at Susumu.

"The pansy my mother liked for some reason, now the tail in Jama's naval posse. How are your profits."

''They are good and will soon be great, oh Gusai-ue. The explorer's expeditions will be great ways to seize new markets''

Keeping her distance along with the other spectators, Utsusemi watched the hopefuls as they tested themselves for the honor of becoming leaders of men. Of course, she had high hopes for some of the bushi, and she felt that it was right to observe the occasion as she figured Ryuden probably would have done the same.

It could be something to write about, perhaps.

Suihime had done her best, but sadly her best was not good enough. She moved to watch the others who competed with a polite smile though - she had shown her skills, even if she was not a leader of men in a military sense.

She noticed Susumu conversing with what looked to be his champion, so decided not to interrupt them. Even if she remained close by in case Susumu needed a friendly ear - the champion was not known to be a nice one after all.

"Expeditions led by whom. What markets. Seize how. What is soon. I don't deal with flamboyance, Susumu. It drains money, not earns them." Ryoshida remarked dryly.

He glanced on the side and noticed the interlocutors then gave a more straight answer to his Champion

''Likely six expeditions. At least one of them will be led by myself and one other by Captain Asahina Tori. Kitsu Keiji is viewed as a likely candidate for a position on the four new ships but the captaincy of each is still incertain.''

He took a quick breath

''Following the activities of the Tortoise and their foreign allies it is likely that the first Nation to be encountered will be Meranae itself and possibly Thrane as well. With their monopoly unchallenged until now, I wager it would be possible to undercut their prices while still making a profit and establish contact with rival mercantile factions. One other possible destination might be the Burning Sands as I think it possible to reach some sort of portuary city by sailing North. I have some evidence that a small degree of trade might have already been happening but I do not how the frequence nor the exact route, oh Gusai-ue.''

Anzai cursed inwardly, unable to understand what the other Mantis had said. Fan in place, he watched the peformance of those auditioning for a command position.

It seemed amongst the Explorer's, none could command the division. Perhaps the firepower was just too much, the command too different from current wars.

Could be something there to let out. While the Mantis were nominally inclined to ally with the Scorpion, it did make sense to knock them down a peg or two.

Lay seeds of doubt and worry about these miracle weapons.

"How does it match to the ideas of the Second Prince for the expedition." Ryoshida replied in a much better Ivindi than Susumu's, almost like a native. He then looked at the struggling participants. His gaze lingered on Suihime, faring similarly to men who had been trained to fight all their lives. "Those aspirants are pitiful. No understanding of the art of command, weak stomachs. If this is the best they can do, the gaijin will massacre the mishandled regiment when push comes to shove."

What language is that? It sounds almost like the snippets of...Ivindi? Surely not.

Suihine doesn't eaves drop, not normally, but hearing the clearly gaijin language had her veru curious as she moved closer to watch the remaining people attempting to earn the position

''Mercantile relations are a very good basis for political ones and cutting the Merenaese stranglehold on advanced technologies and armaments will help Imperial interests by not making them dependent on the whims of a single provider.''

He turned to the trials

''I believe that it is their mindset limiting them, oh Gusai-ue. I have observed Kitsu Keiji-san on a number of occasions and can testify that he is not a bad commander: I am sure he could have handled the marines better if he would have been more humble in approaching the new strategies''

"If you excuse failures easily you cannot be a good leader, Susumu. Failures and poor performance need to have consequences. Otherwise subordinates don't learn to improve." He rose. "I've seen enough. You'll tell where your assumptions about the Merenaese come from later, once you'll be more certain that you're not wasting my time. They sound like you personal musings for now, not grounded in facts. Have you even learned their language?"

''Yes, oh Gusai-ue...but I am not exposing my knowledge of it quite yet. It might be petty of me but as long as they don't know they might slip some useful information thinking it safe''

The Champion nodded.

"Use your best judgement. What I want is workable information and results. How you secure them is of lesser concern. Now go do something productive. Time is money."

With that, Ryoshida left.

/exit