Southern Republican Army Prefect's Council
The supreme decision-making body of the Southern Republican Army, the 55 member Prefect's Council is among the most glory-laden of Republican organizations. Beyond its strategic role, the council allows the Prefects who lead the SRA to interact with the Estates General that controls them and the Ministry that funds them, through Minister of Defense Guillène Marois and Deputy Minister of Defense Claude Fauret. Often, this interaction is laden with animosity, because both sides feel they must constantly make concessions to the bull-headedness of the other.
Charged with finding ways of improving performance, boosting moral and training the army, the Prefect's Council is occupied around the clock. Constant meetings and strategy sessions have begun to take their toll on the aggressive prefects, and Consul Victor deBourgogne, commander-in-chief of the army, has his hands full attempting to quell the gathering fires of resentment. Perhaps of greatest concern has been the behavior of Narimasa Asano, Prefect of the 8th Gear Legion and a decorated war hero. Since his arrival in the council, Asano has focused a great deal of venom on Annastazia Orsat, Prefect of the Legion Noire. Thanks to information provided by Nicosa Renault,Asano is convinced that Orsat manipulated her way into her post and is determined to unseat her. Saddled with internal dissent, the council must also be on guard for outside influences applying pressure to its workings. The most blatant of these is the influence that the Prime Minister exercises over the group.
The Prime Minister's solid links with the military, established thanks to his defense of Kenichi Tanaka (and the debt of honor the military feels because of it) and his inclusion of many prefects in his circle of friends, have made him a virtually untouchable public figure. Many who work on the council see deRouen as infallible and actively campaign for him during elections. Annastazia Orsat has not fallen for deRouen's charm, however.
Structure
The Prefect's Council seats 55 members, including Consul deBourgogne, the army's 51 prefects (36 legion commanders, 15 branch commanders), Minister of Defense Guillène Marois , Deputy Minister of Defense Claude Fauret, and Port Oasis Lord Chancellor Sabine Cassier. Below this body is the support council, comprised of the numerous sous-prefects who meet to discuss strategy and participate in computerized war games that gauge the efficiency of the military in battle. They present their findings in seasonal reports to the Prefect's Council. The reports are used to set new guidelines and to fix any problems that arise. The structure is kept simple so that the council may function with a minimum of fuss. The current head of the council, Consul Victor deBourgogne, is a patently no-nonsense soldier. He maintains an iron grip over his council, and is presently in the process of snubbing out any and all dissent to his rule. The Consul maintains an effective veto over the decisions of the council, but rarely exercises it due to the disharmony it causes. The council serves as the effective center of power in the Ministry of Defense, with deBourgogne serving as head administrator.
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