Captain Jan von Hoygens - Captain of the Utrecht fleet. Jan is a man in his mid-to-late 40's with bright red hair and blue eyes. He is fit, trim, with a beard trimmed in the style of his homeland - slim on the sides, full in front. He is the offspring of a naval family and has a family at home - a wife and a young son, named Susana and Robert.
Captain Hoygens was recommended by the Crown for the captaincy due to his experience in the recent naval actions by his country and also due to his lineage. One of his ancestors was in Rokugan previously, during the first Gaijin expedition. His notes on customs, culture, language and military tradtions provided invaluable information to the Crown and was used to determine how this voyage should proceed.
Jan is the military officer of rank, captain and commander of everyone aboard the fleet. He is responsible for the dispensation and conduct of the crew and, should the need arise, any military action the fleet would choose to take. Jan views his position as separate from Father Adolphus' position as cultural liaison and because of this chooses to retain his own form of dress and behavior. He remains quiet during most conversation, choosing to speak in as few words as possible, giving him a curt, abrupt air.
Jan views the purpose of the voyage in a military and mercantile light. He believes the best outcome would be to arrange for well-negotiated trade agreements and treaties of non-aggression at this stage, so that more time can be spent determining if Rokugan should simply be conquered and made a vassal state or if some other, more equivalent, end result be desired. Though he is a believer in the Faith, he is not a fanatic, nor does he care for the spreading of the Faith in Rokugan and he will negotiate quite easily on this point.
Captain Hoygens has cautious respect for the Rokugani. They seem to be an honest, hardworking people who live simple lives which they seem to find great joy in. While the cultural customs become truly bizarre as one moves higher in rank in the society, he is pleased by the unfailing level of civility on display. He is also moved by their sense of discipline and dignity. Jan is greatly impressed by the level of martial skill possessed by the samurai caste - if such a system truly is united under the Emperor and could be brought to bear as a single force against a threat, invasion should be considered impossible.
Jan is a military man, with several years of service under his belt. He is skilled in Utrecht-style of fencing and is also a renowned marksman and hunter.
Father Adolphus von Richtenhopfer - Father Adolphus is an abbot of the Faith and also a Baron in Utrecht who gave up his temporal position in order to be ordained as a priest. This was not an ethical calculation - the Faith currently holds great political power in Utrecht and a high-ranking man of the cloth can often command greater influence than a nobleman.
Then Richtenhopfer estate is one of the major financial backers of the this fleet and all future fleets. As such, the estate is in a position to be among the first to reap the benefits of any trade or concessions that can be wrung from Rokugan. While Father Adolphus cannot directly address monetary issues since he is a clergyman, his family carefully listens to and carries out his wishes on his behalf.
Between the two Utretch leaders, Father Adolphus wields greater political and fiscal power. While he is forced into a subservient position to the younger Captain during the voyage, he also can pressure von Hoygens with consequences once the journey is done, if he needs leverage to force a potential issue.
Adolphus sees the purpose of the voyage as two-fold. In order for any future ventures to be attempted, there must be profit to be had. There must be future ventures to bring the appropriate missionaries and priests to the island to allow the Faith to spread. The Faith must spread in order to give Utrecht a handle with which to move and control the Emerald Empire.
Profit will be made through trade or war. The ports of the Empire must be opened to allow the flow of merchandise in peace or weapons at time of war. During the opening stages of negotiation, compromises and promises must be made in order to open those ports. Once trade has begun, those can be altered or changed. Active trade is very hard to stop once it has momentum on its side.
The Faith must spread to provide a means of commonality and control. Once trade has begun, missionaries can be brought in on trade ships.
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