Western Expedition

The Western Expedition (1730 AN–1731 AN) was an an initiative of the Commission for Foreign Affairs of the Benacian Union, the Maritime Forces of the Benacian Union, and the Central and Western Banner Groups of Benacia Command, to restore the influence of the Benacian Union in the Great Western Sea following years of relative neglect.

Background

The expedition began as part of an ambitious plan by Ayesha al-Osman for the Benacian Union to supplant Calbion as the maritime hegemon in those waters following the sudden demise of the old regime there in 1730 AN. To attain the support of the Maritime Forces was to be essential for the realisation of her project. Unfortunately for her, the Ransenari grand admiral of the fleet, Harry Rex, was more concerned about the situation in the Shire Sea, the challenges of the Shiro-Benacian naval arms race, and the difficulties that would be occasioned by the need eventually to keep the shipping lanes between Chryse and Neridia open whilst interdicting the sailings of convoys between the ports of Greater Kildare and Musica. As such, his attention was firmly focused upon the Sathrati Emergency rather than on adventures in the far west.

To win the grand admiral to her cause, Ayesha dangled before the aging and rotund man the lure of Shahrnāz al-Osman, the eighteen year old daughter of the late Jamshid-e Osman and a concubine, who had recently been placed into her household on the island of Botha by the N&H Future Leadership Programme. Immediately smitten, and flattered by the unexpected attention, a wedding was hastily arranged in Chryse during the fifteenth month of 1730 AN, with the honeymoon period to subsequently be spent at a villa generously loaned by the Commission for Foreign Affairs on the island of Florencia. It was only on the flight to the west that Harry discovered that he had volunteered for a working holiday.

If a naval contingent was thereby arranged, it would next be necessary for the assembly of the forces to be conveyed thence to Ayesha's intended destinations. Fortunately, there would be no shortage of potential partners out west. The commandant of the Central Banner Group of Benacia Command, was a long known quantity, and an established presence in the region since the Peace of Lapano. His price was simple – he would require the support of Chryse when the time came to replace the ailing Szodan of Benacia, Daniyal ibn Daniyal, and as High Commissioner for the city, this was a promise that Ayesha could readily make, irrespective of whether she had any intention of honouring the bargain thus struck.