Sichii took in the shine of the morning sunrise as it bounced off of the tall, glass windows of the high-rise red brick building across the street, even though separated by a distance of two hundred meters he guessed, it still reflected it's light onto the massive garden that was the mansion's front lawn, and otherwise lit up the black asphalt of the road that ran between the lawn and the high-rise's side of the street. His eyes ran across his field of vision, skipping from the small crowds of employees walking through the front lawn as they headed towards the building he know stood in to begin the new day's work, or to the lessening number of cars on the roads that ran around the building, as more and more parked and their drivers entered their workplace, leaving streets to the odd pedestrian who was allowed to go about his day with no further obligation.

He heard the the slight rap on the front of the door that led into his office, and he only turned on his heels before his young assistant, Ohin, strode into the room carrying a large silver platter that his small arms could barely hold, the platter holding a eloquently painted clay plate that contained three kimpi eggs, fried to browned perfection, as well as three sausages and what Sichii knew was a cut of beef with some onion on it. Ohin wordlessly set the platter down on a side table against the wall opposite of Sichii before he then stepped back out of the room and re-entered with a smaller tray that held four cups and a small kettle, setting it down next to the food platter he had brought in. Sichii took the cues and took a seat at a corner table in the southwestern corner, pulling a linen cloth off of the table and setting it cover the top of his tanned pants, greeting his aide as he brought the plate of food over "Membu rã Ohin"

Ohin placed the food in front of Sichii before taking two steps back and bowing slightly, enough that his loosely gathered ponytail of his black hair slid over his left shoulder and covering the yellow sash that ran across it as well "Membu ṣob"

Sichii nodded and began cutting up his food "What kind of tea did Daka in the kitchens procure for today?"

Ohin brought over one of the small clay colored cups and set it front of Sichii, pouring a vaguely green liquid out of the kettle and into the cup "What he assures me is the finest Rothin tea that can be found in the district ṣob, distilled with 45 grain leaves, with a additive of Penji fruit, I tried a cup before I brought it up and I would describe it as potent, and yet not overpowering."

Ohin left the tea on the table with Sichii and then left the room to retrieve more items, allowing Sichii a chance to try the tea, finding it exactly as Ohin had described and than began devouring the breakfast brought for him, his stomach finally quelled in it's hour long search of sustenance. It would take him only a few minutes to cut through the eggs and meat, and had just finished the last of the slightly spicy sausage links, standing up to retrieve his tea and head for the large, carved wooden desk that sat near the western wall when Ohin returned, this time carrying a number of files which he began placing in a particular assortment on the large surface of Sichii's desk. Sichii himself took a seat in the reddish leather chair and took another sip of his tea before he set it down, picking up the closest of the manila folders that Ohin had placed down and opened the front flap, revealing a small collection of papers held together by a brass clip at the top, his eyes scanning the words on the document while he waited for the explanation he knew was coming, Ohin now taking a seat opposite of him in one of the three chairs "As you may remember kãyè, today will be the most hurried day of our week. At 10:30, Minister Washto will arrive with his Commissioner for Electricity, they will be joined by Treasury official Makki to discuss the Home Affairs proposal for the new power plant that their famed engineer has designed that will be supposedly much more powerful than our current designs. "

Sichii briefly interrupted "What does Treasury Minister Apich believe about this project?"

Ohin tilted his head slightly "My communications with him have revealed he's generally in favor of the project, the proposed boilers will use 15% rialite in exchange for 30% greater return of electrical output, and if the one built here proves as successful as theorized, we may be able to win over the Council and allow the construction of one in Niamran lands, as you remember Home reports have them listed as having the most communities still lacking in consistent power needs and infrastructure. However, he does have a concern over the cost of the project, he believes the Home estimate of 100 million ricri's is extremely...undersized, particularly when it comes to the obtainment of the purer rialite that their proposal mentions. Right now, the only known mine that extracts it is the Rancki mine, which is a town of 5,000 within Teldrinar lands. You and I both know how obstructive they have been to serving our needs, let alone the needs of the western tribes."

Sichii nodded "Indeed, I think I spent the entirety of the last Council meeting last month trying to contain the fighting between Chieftain Teldrinar and the Ekug representative. So I assume the official is to try and ground the Home Ministry's proposal in realism?"

Ohin nodded "Precisely, after all, the budget is our primary concern after the tenacious wrangling it took last year in the Assembly, we must remain conservative and steep project overruns would be in deep contrast to this."

A nod from Sichii was a well known sign to Ohin to continue with his briefing, and he forged on "Hopefully, this proposal meeting will not take long, but I've allotted two hours for it just in case it gets..contentious. Afterwards, at noon you have lunch here in the Dining Hall with Kookau Sagau, Mister Daka has assured me that the finest Rothin tea will be served, as well as the Caelestian wine that I procured last month."

"Remind me, why is this lunch important?"

"Chief Sagau is of the Hawsau tribe, which is one of the burgeoning ones inside Zadait. While Zadait's chieftain is bellicose to us, we have been successful in negotiating with many of their client tribes, and Hawsau has been consolidating over the last three harvests; they now control three of the five largest settlements within Zadait territory, including the mechanical parts manufacturer at Kehe which has been key in supplying many of the new automobile companies that have obtained permits from us within the last few years. Hawsau's support would prove invaluable at the next Council session in convincing Zadait to sell the net surplus of their mines to us, and would help further bolster the Armed Services supply network with the Commission's expansion recommendations that we have been following. Gunpowder, bullets, and titanium are all very much supplies that the services are gorging themselves on, and will be for the foreseeable future."

Sichii nodded "Would go along way if we could get further supplies to maybe decrease the timetable, the sooner we can finish the expansions and bring funding back in line, the sooner we can focus on expanding the infrastructure in the less developed communities."

Before Ohin could continue, one of the couriers that the government used arrived at the open door, knocking twice on the frame and bowing when a surprised Sichii and Ohin turned to look at him. He walked into the room and spoke with Ohin in hushed tones before leaving the room, leaving a concerned look on Ohin's face and causing Sichii to raise his brow in anticipation for what came next "Well?"

"It would seem we have a development down in the front lobby that I must go attend to, forgive me kãyè I will be back in just a moment."

Without further explanation, the short man got up from his chair and walked quickly out of the door and into the long hallway that would carry him to one of the elevators that would then take him to the ground floor lobby, some three levels below the Presidential office. He took up his cup of tea and finished the rest of it, taking some of the idle time to sift through some of the documents that Ohin had laid out, most of them internal reports from the five ministries and their various agencies, reporting on various matters that would require critical decisions from him at some point; further planning and permit permission from the Qulrym to finish construction of the hydro-electric dam along the Nanki River, the first of what would undoubtedly be many arbitration meetings with the Rorvin and Pelrinth great tribes over whom got to control the valuable Siisscha plains, not to mention the dozen or so issues presenting the Armed Services; his mind had begun to run wild like a mustang on an open plain which he heard heavy footsteps from up the hall and turned his attention to a grim looking Ohin who appeared at the door frame. He looked up from his reports "Well, what was the so urgent situation?"

"Well, ṣob, it appears that the Alisonian Plenipotentiary Ambassador Francesco Ricci has arrived in our lobby requesting an immediate, private audience with yourself right away."

Sichii frowned "Alisonia? The democratic republic currently attacking the Estainian Empire?"

Ohin nodded "Yes sir, they invaded the Empire in the middle of this summer in a complete surprise to the Imperials; their offensive has been met with opposition but they have largely succeeded, though how much longer that lasts while the innumerable Imperial forces slowly come to bear remains to be seen."

Sichii shrugged "Why the sudden, secret appearance?"

Ohin shook his head "I tried to ascertain that kãyè but he refused to state any other than what I've already explained to you. I currently have him waiting with security in their office on the second floor."

Sichii stood up from his desk, moving to the side table along the other wall and picked up the kettle, bringing it back to his desk to refill his cup "Well, let's see what he has to say that's so urgent. Have security bring him up, we'll keep to his wishes and have this be a meeting between just he and myself. Ohin, call the Home and Treasury representatives, let's push our meeting for this evening and I'll keep the lunch date, it's more of a priority right now and this shouldn't conflict with it."

Ohin nodded and left the room while Sichii walked over to the bay window on the northern wall, once more enjoying the beautiful, clear morning while he waited for the Alisonian ambassador. It would take much shorter then he had anticipated, only barely being able to enjoy his second cup of tea before he heard a number of people coming, their muffled footsteps on the woven rug in the hall still audible through the open door. Two members of security, dressed in their blue tribal dress that denoted them as members of Sichii's own tribe, walked behind a man not too much shorter than Ohin, a skin fairer than Sochii's own dark as the earth color, but with curly brown hair and a most serious composure. Sichii waited for Ohin to return, who wasn't much further behind and spoke to Ohin, who would then translate it into Alisonian to the ambassador. The delay in conversation gave time for Sichii to observe, and the introductions were quickly done and then Sichii invited the man to sit at his desk, the two quickly taking their chairs. Ohin would go first, relaying a long passage from Francesco "He apologies for the unannounced visit sir, but he says his government wishes to keep this as quiet as possible due to their war effort and potential treachery from their enemies. He says that they have a proposition for us to consider, and most serious one."

Sichii smiled plainly "Treachery would not be uncommon for Imperium nations now would it? But regardless, let's hear of this proposal."

Over the next ten minutes, Sichii would carefully sip on his tea, careful to temper his enjoyment of the fine beverage with a fine apprehensive concentration on the rapid speaking of Francesco and then the momentary pause before Ohin relayed it back to him in their native Odah. At the end of the proposal, Sichii sat in silence for quite a few moments, carefully pondering to himself; Francesco had laid out quite a situation. Evidently, the Alisonians anticipated their successful offensive to soon become entrenched and stopped by the sheer numbers the Imperials could bring to bear, at which point they would inevitably overrun. Exactly when, they had a number of timetables for, but sheer numbers would at some point overcome them, no matter their resolve. It was a matter that didn't sound too far removed from his grandfather Makki's stories about the Age of Blood, when the tribes were accosted at every side by an uncountable tide of would be conquerors; out of the chaos of that age, the Reckoning occurred and the Confederacy was born. Now, Francesco offered a chance at vengeance for the tribes, their long dreamed comeuppance over the empires of the west could potentially be realized by an intervention in the war on the People's Republic side. The effort would be massive, undoubtedly the largest thing to ever be attempted in their short history, and yet, it may very well be possible. All though the implementations of the various reforms the Commission recommended more then two decades ago was still underway, the foundation of them had been set and the Armed Services were the pride of the Confederacy, large enough to rival any potential enemy that the tribes may face; and yet, would his people accept the not so tangible rewards of success in this endeavor?

Sichii realized that the Alisonian was not accustomed to the social ways of the tribes, and the long pause had brought him discomfort so Sichii smiled and relayed a quick message through Ohin, that he would seriously consider the proposal but must consult the his senior advisers before giving him an answer. Francesco relayed an understanding message, and communicated that he would anticipate an answer no later than next Phoinikaios. The two men relayed their farewells through Ohin, who would show the man to the security detachment still awaiting outside, before closing the door to the return to a review conversation with Sichii, who immediately propositioned his aide; although not formally a senior adviser, he was perhaps the most common person that worked with Sichii at a daily basis and thus had an unusually strong position when it came to consulting the President "Well, it seems advantageous for certain kãyè. This would sail well with all the tèke lin among the grand tribes, and the Assembly would have no choice but to bend to our and the Council's will. Teldrinar's support will be enough to guarantee the full Council on a matter like this, I can't anticipate too much resistance. I think we would be more then ready."

Sichii chuckled "Still, Qabris teaches us to weigh all before choosing a path, and the light of ease does not guarantee his or the Other's favor. Would it really be so wise as to drag our nascent nation into such a war? Despite the much mentioned fury of the tèke lin, would they truly be so furious in the light of a war that lasted years, perhaps even a decade? Would they be so eager to paint their faces with the blood of their foes when so many of their brothers have fallen on foreign shores?"

Ohin shrugged "Tenake will see us to victory, he has always guided our warriors. They could not match us before the Conclave, and now a united Confederacy will see them undone. Besides, the reward of further enabling Alisonia to stand against the autocratic hegemonies in the West is reward enough I feel."

Sichii frowned "Very well, summon War Minister Keegsquos, have him bring Major General Arak from WESTCOMM, we will need to be fully sure we are prepared as we can be before we answer the Alisonians."

As his aide left to begin making the phone calls necessary to summon the requested individuals, Sichii swore he could hear distant drums; of what kind, he could not tell, but that omen may provoke itself again in the near future.