Vivian was sleeping following the All-Taverns tournament the previous day when there was a sharp pounding on her front door. She groaned and tried to ignore it and go back to sleep, but it kept persisting despite her best efforts to will whoever was trying to wake her up a swift and sudden need to be literally anywhere else in the city. After enough persistance, she growled and stood up, drawing her sword in case this turned out to be someone supremely stupid who thought they could successfully try and assassinate by waking her up right after a tournament. When she jerked open her door, though, all she found was a very nervous looking Corporal who didn't look particularly happy about having to wake her up.
"Sorry for waking you, Inspector Shiryu, but an air patrol spotted several flying ships on their way to Rharne. The senior commanders are all to report to the Keep. Commander Urien is in discussions with the Council." he said, saluting her. Vivian returned the salute, admittedly more sloppily than was usual for her. "Flying ships? Was this confirmed
before the patrol in question found their way to a tavern?" she asked, her voice tired. The Corporal nodded and Vivian sighed. "All right, I'll be at the keep shortly. Carry on with your other duties, Corporal. Dismissed." she said, her voice firming up as the need to attend to her duty starting to wake her. The Corporal nodded and left and Vivian went back into her house to get her uniform on before she headed to the Keep. Flying ship were a new thing, and potentially a threat, though just as likely not with what little information they had. The fact that the patrol had returned was a good sign, but she'd know more when she read the report.
When she got to the keep, she was directed to the room where the rest of the senior command was meeting. Vivian was, she was pretty sure, the youngest person in the room, but no one there so much as blinked at her presence. In fact, they seemed to welcome her, though whether that was due to her proven abilities as a commander, her status as a Champion of Ilaren, her experience as a veteran, or because of the rumors of her potentially being promoted to the head of the knights as a whole was something she was less sure of. "Apologies for the delay. I was tired after the All-Taverns and had a hard time waking up." she said, getting a series of amused nods from the other commanders. "What's the full situation?" she asked as she poured a cup of coffee.
It was a Justiciar Sentinel that responded. "An air patrol spotted a trio of flying vessels making their way, we believe, towards Rharne. They made it back safely to give their report, though the report itself has leaked to the citizenry, probably thanks to several knights being pretty deep in their cups by now." he said, his tone showing exasperation at the leak. "As for the vessels, they aren't any known make or flying any known flags. That said, they don't appear to be making any aggressive moves either. They don't even seem to have tried to intercept the patrol. They're just flying along, no more than three days from the city." he said, his tone calm. Vivian nodded at the report. "How are things in the city?" she asked.
It was a Guardian Commander that answered her that time. "Too soon to be determined, but since we've sent messengers to alert other outposts and such, we can assume the news will spread to towns, farms, and settlements outside the city itself." he said, his tone calm. Vivian nodded again. "What are our actions so far?" Vivian asked, looking over a map of Rharne and it's surroundings. "Aside from waking all the senior commanders to bring them up to date and sending messengers to alert our outposts, we've sent out more patrols, with orders to try and keep these ships out of the Mire where the jacadons are nesting, an emergency inspection of the cities defenses have been ordered, both mundane and anti-siege, we're working on coordinating with the Priests and the Adunih, we've fully mobilized the current shift of knights, and we're drafting an official statement, to be issued as soon as it's cleared by Commander Urien." the same Guardian Commander said.
Vivian nodded and looked up at the ceiling for a moment as she thought it all over, then addressed the group. "Excellent. Especially only mobilizing the current shift of knights." she said, nodding. The Sentinel raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You have something to add though, don't you, Shiryu?" he said, his amusement clear. "Small things, but yes. We should also coordinate with Isonomia, they resources that might be useful as well. We'll also want a linguist on hand in case they do try to communicate and the Priests haven't thought of it. We can't guarantee they speak common. Also, in case this is a hostile operation, check our stores of food and such, to make sure they haven't been sabotaged." she said, getting an eyebrow raise from the Commander.
"Besieging a city by air? With three ships? No offense, Shiryu, but that's impossible." he said, his tone questioning, but not hostile. Vivian nodded at the point. "So far as I know, it is. But once, I would have said the same about talking frogs, or Nickels busting up through the ground beneath Storm's Edge, or Dragons being real, or plants mind controlling large sea creatures, or The Eternal Empire making diplomatic overtures. Something being impossible doesn't mean it can't happen anymore." she said, her tone serious. The rest of the room mulled that over for a minute, then there was a collective sound of people agreeing with the point, since all those things should have been impossible, and yet they had all happened.
"As for the public statement, we should stress that they have made no hostile actions at this time. While our job is to defend Rharne and its people, and we are prepared to carry out our duties, there is currently nothing to indicate any aggression from these strangers. If necessary, remind people that this could well be a trade mission, as Rharne is a trade city." she said, her tone thoughtful. Another series of agreements, though in this case Vivian guessed that such a thing had been discussed and she had more given it a final push as opposed to saying something they hadn't considered. "Lastly, circling back to only mobilizing the current shift of knights, that's good. We'll need our knights to be rested in case this does turn hostile, but the same applies to us as well. We won't do anyone any good if we all wear ourselves out right at the start. Who's on duty here in the Keep? " she asked. A senior knight from each division raised a hand and Vivian nodded. "When we're done here, and we should keep this short, the rest of us should return to our beds and try to get some sleep. Everyone in this room knows how to lead our knights, and we need to be at our best. That said, I do advise that even those of us with houses in the city sleep here in the keep." she said, getting another series of agreements from the room, this time in deference to her record as a leader during unusual times.
The meeting wrapped shorty after that, and the senior knights that were on duty at the Keep returned to their duties while the rest, Vivian included, went to the rooms assigned to them at the Keep and returned to their sleep, though it had been decided that if the situation changed drastically, they would all be woken again.
Off Topic
Current Six Hours
The Knights set up communication with the Priests, the Adunih, and Isonomia.
The current shift of Knights is mobilized and additional patrols are sent out.
City defenses and supplies are checked, just in case.
A public statement that will hopefully calm any early unease is drafted, to be issued as soon as approved.
A linguist is kept on hand in case the Priests don't think of it.
Any senior commanders not on duty at the moment return to bed until their shift, Vivian included.
