Imperial Chronicles
The Emperor decided that since President Shady was going, he might as well go. A plane would be chartered to bring Decius back later.
"This is a glorious waste of time isn't it? Tian Xia provokes a dispute, and then insults the NFT? What preposterous act is this? And most of this was even before the NFT and Duchy of Baerne joined CATO and Miratia allied with us! It's almost as if they were fearful of three nations that were 1/4 the size of Tian Xia. What kind of idiocy is this?" Heraclius told Shady as they boarded the A380 command craft to head home.
SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
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Fingolfin_Noldor
- Emperor's Hand
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Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
Last edited by Fingolfin_Noldor on 2009-05-13 11:16am, edited 1 time in total.
Your spirit, diseased as it is, refuses to allow you to give up, no matter what threats you face... and whatever wreckage you leave behind you.
Kreia
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
Virtue of Courage, p.3
Commodore Kiran Tahilani watched the bow of his ancient warship split the white-capped waves and considered that this had been an altogether very pleasant cruise. The wind in his face, the pounding of the steam boilers and the salt on his breath told him it was good to finally be out at sea again.
Tahilani was one of only two men in all the North Frequesuan Navy to carry the title of ‘commodore’, the other being the commander of Varuna’s sister ship Vayu. The two old cruisers were the pride of the Tanstaafl Raj, old Cantrellbury class ships built in Shroomania in 1939 and bought by the Raj shortly after the end of WW2. Their retention in active service had been one of the non-negotiable terms under which the Raj had joined the NFN. They now served as training ships, their commanders given the honorary title of ‘commodore’ to reflect the unique status of these ships in the fleet.
The old commodore sighed and reflexively wiped a spatter of brine from his greying beard. On an intellectual level Tahilani realized that the age of the gun cruiser was long over, but it was still difficult to accept that his ship would never again serve in a position of prominence. As a midshipman he had bombarded the four shores of Frequesue in the name of the Maharaja. As a sub-lieutenant he had commanded the forward gun batteries when Varuna duelled the Coilerburger heavy cruiser Hochbaden during Iler’s War. But those days were gone, never to return. It was all missiles and torpedoes now.
Tahilani sighed and straightened his back, determined not to let his memories spoil the moment. He was out at sea again, and so was his ship. For now, that was enough. He was looking forward to meeting the PeZookians and their gorgeous sailing ship. Sails and wood weren’t really the commodore’s forte, but even an old iron-monger like he could appreciate the beauty of a tall ship. He wondered if the Virtue of Courage in any way resembled the ship Sir Siegfried Schrom had sailed into the Orizaco Bay and Tanstaafl. Probably not, after all-
“Commodore!” the voice of Mahendra Singh interrupted his stream of thought. The officer cadet appeared composed, but Tahilani could sense his excitement. “Message from the radio room sir. They say it’s urgent sir.”
The commodore nodded and took the piece of paper in Singh’s hand without speaking and read it. His heart skipped a beat. The Virtue of Courage had sent out a mayday.
“Mayday, mayday, mayday, all stations, all stations, all stations, ORP Virtue Of Courage taking heavy fire from several pirate speedboats, please assist, may....”
“How shall we respond sir?” Singh asked eagerly.
Tahilani straightened his white uniform and stroked his broad moustache. His eyes lit up as he read the message again. Shiva had given his ship a final chance to prove her mettle! He stepped inside the bridge and began firing off orders. “All ahead full! Maintain present course! And man all guns!”
“Sir! Should we respond to the mayday?”
Tahilani pondered that for a moment. “No. We don’t know who else might be listening. Let’s surprise these scumbag pirates.”
All things considered the attack was going well, or so thought pirate and self-proclaimed ‘Scourge of the North Coast’ Ibram Tew. He lifted the binoculars to his eyes and gazed from the deck of his mothership, actually a converted tramp freighter, over at the sailing ship.
By now his men were all over the large vessel like fleas over honey. Multiple speedboats surrounded the tall ship, and although he was getting some confused messages about small-arms fire coming from the deck he was confident his men could handle it. The ship had to be a luxury yacht of some sort, and any bodyguards aboard were bound to be no match for the seasoned pirates that were his crew.
Tew smiled. Whoever was aboard that ship was bound to be worth a tidy sum, especially if they could afford bodyguards.
As he looked on the men on the deck of the sailing ship used their water cannon again, blasting one of the speedboats and overturning it. The pirate captain grunted impatiently. “What is taking them so long…” he murmured. Then, louder: “This has gone on quite long enough. Mr. Gibbs! Have the deck gun deliver a warning shot over their bow.”
“Aye, aye!” his second in command gave a lazy salute.
“Careful though Gibbs”, warned Tew. “We want them to surrender, we don’t want to blow up that damned tinderbox.”
Gibbs grinned nastily. “Understood, cap’n.”
The deck gun of the ‘Royal Jones’, as the pirate mothership was called, was in fact a 105mm artillery piece on an improvised stabilized mount, but the crewmen had had ample opportunity to practice with it and managed to attain a surprising degree of accuracy. In seconds the deck crew had pivoted the gun on its mount and shoved a shell into the breach. With a dull ‘thump!’ the gun discharged, sending its projectile over the bow of the Virtue of Courage to detonate in the sea in a massive fountain of water.
Oddly enough that show of force seemed to only galvanize resistance on the tall ship however. Even though the speedboats were raking the railings of the vessel with machine gun fire the crew still resisted, shooting back with amazing lethality. As he watched, Tew saw another of his crew members topple back and out of the boat he was riding, the better part of the back of his skull removed by the same rifle round that had shattered his teeth.
By now sharks were circling the Virtue of Courage, attracted by the smell of blood and prey, and captain Tew was growing impatient. This was taking far longer than it should, in fact if it went on any longer there was a chance the coast guard might show up. He’d been raked by those flying boats once before, in fact there were fragments of metal embedded in his shoulder to prove it, and though his ship carried MANPADs he had no particular desire to repeat the experience of coming under heavy enemy fire.
Barely had his brain articulated that thought that a triple thunderclap echoed across the water, followed almost immediately by the eruption of three massive fountains off the port bow of the Royal Jones.
“What the-” murmured a puzzled Tew, but he was interrupted as Gibbs came running up to him.
“Cap’n! Unknown vessel, closing fast!”
Tew pivoted in the direction Gibbs was pointing and hefted his binoculars. A confused curse escaped over his lips. The pirate captain couldn’t believe what he was seeing. An ancient warship was steaming right at him, looking for all the world like something straight out of War of the Worlds-era black-and-white footage. Thick columns of black smoke belched from its two funnels. Its steel bow smashed through the waves. And finally on its deck six guns in two casemates swivelling in his direction. As he watched puffs of smoke erupted from the lower casemate, followed swiftly by the whistle of approaching shells and another triple fountain, erupting that much closer to the bow.
The pirate captain could do little but to stare, mouth open, at the approaching anachronism. “This can’t be happening…”
“Rung ho!” echoed the traditional battlecry of the Raj across the decks of the Varuna. The machineries of the venerable warship were being pushed to their limits: the boilers put out enough power to reach 33 knots, bow cutting through the water like a knife through butter, black smoke billowing out of the funnels.
Hundreds of cadets worked feverishly to keep the ship working: in the engine room crews monitored the machinery for signs of overstress, gunnery crews trained their fire directors at the mothership, and 6” shells were being transported from the belly of the ship up to the gun batteries. The old ship hadn’t seen such a buzz of frenetic activity since the end of Iler’s War decades ago.
On the bridge, commodore Tahilani gazed out onto the scene battle before him. The white hull of the Virtue of Courage was pitted and scarred by RPG and machine gun fire. Parts of it were smouldering, and erratic fire was erupting from its deck. Still it was clear that the PeZookians couldn’t hold out much longer. Then again, they did not have to.
“Commodore!” came the call from the gunnery director. “‘B’ battery is ready to fire!”
“Target the mothership again. All guns fire at will” Tahilani replied tersely.
Again the triple thundercrack as the second forward battery discharged. The smell of cordite wafted over the bridge as it mixed with the stiff salty breeze. This time the gunners had properly zeroed in on their mark as explosions rippled across the hull of the mothership, huge chunks of its superstructure disappearing in blooming explosions as the high-explosive shells found their mark. Fires almost instantly erupted from on the enemy vessel, which was shedding chunks of metal.
“‘A’ battery ready to fire!”
“Fire!”
Another volley raked the Royal Jones, tearing through the hull to explode in the innards of the ship. It was too much for the old freighter: the ship began making water as secondary explosions ripped through it. Crewmen were seen jumping from the deck as the ship began to sink, slowly at first but soon faster. In less than two minutes the entire mothership had disappeared below the waves.
Tahilani smiled. The speedboats that had been harrowing the Virtue of Courage had broken off in confusion, and were now milling about uncertainly, trying to pick up their scattered comrades from the water. “Mr. Singh” ordered the commodore. “Organize a marine detail and round up any surviving pirates. Miss Dravid, if you please flag the PeZookians and offer our assistance. And the good captain Dębkowski if he would like to join me for tea at his earliest convenience.” He looked approvingly round the bridge. “Ladies, gentlemen, excellent work. I believe the day is ours.”
Commodore Kiran Tahilani watched the bow of his ancient warship split the white-capped waves and considered that this had been an altogether very pleasant cruise. The wind in his face, the pounding of the steam boilers and the salt on his breath told him it was good to finally be out at sea again.
Tahilani was one of only two men in all the North Frequesuan Navy to carry the title of ‘commodore’, the other being the commander of Varuna’s sister ship Vayu. The two old cruisers were the pride of the Tanstaafl Raj, old Cantrellbury class ships built in Shroomania in 1939 and bought by the Raj shortly after the end of WW2. Their retention in active service had been one of the non-negotiable terms under which the Raj had joined the NFN. They now served as training ships, their commanders given the honorary title of ‘commodore’ to reflect the unique status of these ships in the fleet.
The old commodore sighed and reflexively wiped a spatter of brine from his greying beard. On an intellectual level Tahilani realized that the age of the gun cruiser was long over, but it was still difficult to accept that his ship would never again serve in a position of prominence. As a midshipman he had bombarded the four shores of Frequesue in the name of the Maharaja. As a sub-lieutenant he had commanded the forward gun batteries when Varuna duelled the Coilerburger heavy cruiser Hochbaden during Iler’s War. But those days were gone, never to return. It was all missiles and torpedoes now.
Tahilani sighed and straightened his back, determined not to let his memories spoil the moment. He was out at sea again, and so was his ship. For now, that was enough. He was looking forward to meeting the PeZookians and their gorgeous sailing ship. Sails and wood weren’t really the commodore’s forte, but even an old iron-monger like he could appreciate the beauty of a tall ship. He wondered if the Virtue of Courage in any way resembled the ship Sir Siegfried Schrom had sailed into the Orizaco Bay and Tanstaafl. Probably not, after all-
“Commodore!” the voice of Mahendra Singh interrupted his stream of thought. The officer cadet appeared composed, but Tahilani could sense his excitement. “Message from the radio room sir. They say it’s urgent sir.”
The commodore nodded and took the piece of paper in Singh’s hand without speaking and read it. His heart skipped a beat. The Virtue of Courage had sent out a mayday.
“Mayday, mayday, mayday, all stations, all stations, all stations, ORP Virtue Of Courage taking heavy fire from several pirate speedboats, please assist, may....”
“How shall we respond sir?” Singh asked eagerly.
Tahilani straightened his white uniform and stroked his broad moustache. His eyes lit up as he read the message again. Shiva had given his ship a final chance to prove her mettle! He stepped inside the bridge and began firing off orders. “All ahead full! Maintain present course! And man all guns!”
“Sir! Should we respond to the mayday?”
Tahilani pondered that for a moment. “No. We don’t know who else might be listening. Let’s surprise these scumbag pirates.”
All things considered the attack was going well, or so thought pirate and self-proclaimed ‘Scourge of the North Coast’ Ibram Tew. He lifted the binoculars to his eyes and gazed from the deck of his mothership, actually a converted tramp freighter, over at the sailing ship.
By now his men were all over the large vessel like fleas over honey. Multiple speedboats surrounded the tall ship, and although he was getting some confused messages about small-arms fire coming from the deck he was confident his men could handle it. The ship had to be a luxury yacht of some sort, and any bodyguards aboard were bound to be no match for the seasoned pirates that were his crew.
Tew smiled. Whoever was aboard that ship was bound to be worth a tidy sum, especially if they could afford bodyguards.
As he looked on the men on the deck of the sailing ship used their water cannon again, blasting one of the speedboats and overturning it. The pirate captain grunted impatiently. “What is taking them so long…” he murmured. Then, louder: “This has gone on quite long enough. Mr. Gibbs! Have the deck gun deliver a warning shot over their bow.”
“Aye, aye!” his second in command gave a lazy salute.
“Careful though Gibbs”, warned Tew. “We want them to surrender, we don’t want to blow up that damned tinderbox.”
Gibbs grinned nastily. “Understood, cap’n.”
The deck gun of the ‘Royal Jones’, as the pirate mothership was called, was in fact a 105mm artillery piece on an improvised stabilized mount, but the crewmen had had ample opportunity to practice with it and managed to attain a surprising degree of accuracy. In seconds the deck crew had pivoted the gun on its mount and shoved a shell into the breach. With a dull ‘thump!’ the gun discharged, sending its projectile over the bow of the Virtue of Courage to detonate in the sea in a massive fountain of water.
Oddly enough that show of force seemed to only galvanize resistance on the tall ship however. Even though the speedboats were raking the railings of the vessel with machine gun fire the crew still resisted, shooting back with amazing lethality. As he watched, Tew saw another of his crew members topple back and out of the boat he was riding, the better part of the back of his skull removed by the same rifle round that had shattered his teeth.
By now sharks were circling the Virtue of Courage, attracted by the smell of blood and prey, and captain Tew was growing impatient. This was taking far longer than it should, in fact if it went on any longer there was a chance the coast guard might show up. He’d been raked by those flying boats once before, in fact there were fragments of metal embedded in his shoulder to prove it, and though his ship carried MANPADs he had no particular desire to repeat the experience of coming under heavy enemy fire.
Barely had his brain articulated that thought that a triple thunderclap echoed across the water, followed almost immediately by the eruption of three massive fountains off the port bow of the Royal Jones.
“What the-” murmured a puzzled Tew, but he was interrupted as Gibbs came running up to him.
“Cap’n! Unknown vessel, closing fast!”
Tew pivoted in the direction Gibbs was pointing and hefted his binoculars. A confused curse escaped over his lips. The pirate captain couldn’t believe what he was seeing. An ancient warship was steaming right at him, looking for all the world like something straight out of War of the Worlds-era black-and-white footage. Thick columns of black smoke belched from its two funnels. Its steel bow smashed through the waves. And finally on its deck six guns in two casemates swivelling in his direction. As he watched puffs of smoke erupted from the lower casemate, followed swiftly by the whistle of approaching shells and another triple fountain, erupting that much closer to the bow.
The pirate captain could do little but to stare, mouth open, at the approaching anachronism. “This can’t be happening…”
“Rung ho!” echoed the traditional battlecry of the Raj across the decks of the Varuna. The machineries of the venerable warship were being pushed to their limits: the boilers put out enough power to reach 33 knots, bow cutting through the water like a knife through butter, black smoke billowing out of the funnels.
Hundreds of cadets worked feverishly to keep the ship working: in the engine room crews monitored the machinery for signs of overstress, gunnery crews trained their fire directors at the mothership, and 6” shells were being transported from the belly of the ship up to the gun batteries. The old ship hadn’t seen such a buzz of frenetic activity since the end of Iler’s War decades ago.
On the bridge, commodore Tahilani gazed out onto the scene battle before him. The white hull of the Virtue of Courage was pitted and scarred by RPG and machine gun fire. Parts of it were smouldering, and erratic fire was erupting from its deck. Still it was clear that the PeZookians couldn’t hold out much longer. Then again, they did not have to.
“Commodore!” came the call from the gunnery director. “‘B’ battery is ready to fire!”
“Target the mothership again. All guns fire at will” Tahilani replied tersely.
Again the triple thundercrack as the second forward battery discharged. The smell of cordite wafted over the bridge as it mixed with the stiff salty breeze. This time the gunners had properly zeroed in on their mark as explosions rippled across the hull of the mothership, huge chunks of its superstructure disappearing in blooming explosions as the high-explosive shells found their mark. Fires almost instantly erupted from on the enemy vessel, which was shedding chunks of metal.
“‘A’ battery ready to fire!”
“Fire!”
Another volley raked the Royal Jones, tearing through the hull to explode in the innards of the ship. It was too much for the old freighter: the ship began making water as secondary explosions ripped through it. Crewmen were seen jumping from the deck as the ship began to sink, slowly at first but soon faster. In less than two minutes the entire mothership had disappeared below the waves.
Tahilani smiled. The speedboats that had been harrowing the Virtue of Courage had broken off in confusion, and were now milling about uncertainly, trying to pick up their scattered comrades from the water. “Mr. Singh” ordered the commodore. “Organize a marine detail and round up any surviving pirates. Miss Dravid, if you please flag the PeZookians and offer our assistance. And the good captain Dębkowski if he would like to join me for tea at his earliest convenience.” He looked approvingly round the bridge. “Ladies, gentlemen, excellent work. I believe the day is ours.”
SDN World 3: The Sultanate of Egypt
SDN World 4: The United Solarian Sovereignty
SDN World 5: San Dorado
There'll be a bodycount, we're gonna watch it rise
The folks at CNN, they won't believe their eyes
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Ryan Thunder
- Village Idiot
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- Location: Canada
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
The Summit
In goddamn unreal time
Ryan had had it. Enough was enough. He returned to his original position near the entrance, "Well, ladies and gentlemen, seeing as this conference has devolved into an exercise in futility, I'm withdrawing. Good day to you all." And with that, he left.
The Echelon chassis had a great number of uses. Although it was ostensibly a bomber, it had been redesigned as an electronics warfare plane and a high-speed tanker. In this case, it was a transport for VIPs. The stealth coating had been dropped for a red and black paint scheme with a conspicuous Miratian flag painted across the wingspan of the plane. As he boarded the BT-0, he conversed with an aide. "This business of negotiating with Tian Xia is becoming tiresome. Make a note for me to look into getting a few ballistic missiles from the NFT." Perhaps we can use them to accelerate the Mourning Star program.
In goddamn unreal time
Ryan had had it. Enough was enough. He returned to his original position near the entrance, "Well, ladies and gentlemen, seeing as this conference has devolved into an exercise in futility, I'm withdrawing. Good day to you all." And with that, he left.
The Echelon chassis had a great number of uses. Although it was ostensibly a bomber, it had been redesigned as an electronics warfare plane and a high-speed tanker. In this case, it was a transport for VIPs. The stealth coating had been dropped for a red and black paint scheme with a conspicuous Miratian flag painted across the wingspan of the plane. As he boarded the BT-0, he conversed with an aide. "This business of negotiating with Tian Xia is becoming tiresome. Make a note for me to look into getting a few ballistic missiles from the NFT." Perhaps we can use them to accelerate the Mourning Star program.
SDN Worlds 5: Sanctum
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
Sir, it has always been my regret that the particle collider project was canceled. With your offer it would appear that the time is right to resurrect it. I believe work could restart very quickly; our physicists are rearing to go.Fingolfin_Noldor wrote:Diplomatic Communique to Foreign Ministry of Indhopal
Dear Sir,
Years ago, we cooperated on the Teravolt range ring particle collider. However, budget cuts and all put an indefinite hold on the project. We are interested in reviving the said project, and are certain we can also obtain funding from both within Byzantium and the UCSR. If you are still interested, we are prepared to fund the project and to commit the necessary intellectual resources required to make the project a success. You are most welcome to include your Frequesue neighbours in the project if you so wish.
I look forward to your favourable response.
Yours Sincerely,
Exarch Decius, Foreign Minister of the Byzantine Empire
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Fingolfin_Noldor
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 11834
- Joined: 2006-05-15 10:36am
- Location: At the Helm of the HAB Star Dreadnaught Star Fist
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
CATO Physics Today
Physicists devise new way to contain Tokomak plasma
UCSR and Byzantine Physicists working on the Tokomak reactor at Commune 1 devised a new way to stablize the plasma more efficiently. By applying VHF waves tuned to the gyration frequency of the helium-3 ions, they are able to increase the rotation by two fold. Shear within the plasma also helps to get rid of the eddies within the plasma itself.
Iron as catalyst for hydrogen cells?
An Iron-based catalyst has been strongly proposed as an alternative to platinium based hydrogen fuel cells. Several prototypes have been constructed and have proven promising. Researchers however point out that reductions to platinium content in hydrogen fuel cells continue, and iron based fuel cells have an uphill battle to gaining prominence....
Physicists devise new way to contain Tokomak plasma
UCSR and Byzantine Physicists working on the Tokomak reactor at Commune 1 devised a new way to stablize the plasma more efficiently. By applying VHF waves tuned to the gyration frequency of the helium-3 ions, they are able to increase the rotation by two fold. Shear within the plasma also helps to get rid of the eddies within the plasma itself.
Iron as catalyst for hydrogen cells?
An Iron-based catalyst has been strongly proposed as an alternative to platinium based hydrogen fuel cells. Several prototypes have been constructed and have proven promising. Researchers however point out that reductions to platinium content in hydrogen fuel cells continue, and iron based fuel cells have an uphill battle to gaining prominence....
Your spirit, diseased as it is, refuses to allow you to give up, no matter what threats you face... and whatever wreckage you leave behind you.
Kreia
-
Fingolfin_Noldor
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 11834
- Joined: 2006-05-15 10:36am
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Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
Dear Sir,Raj Ahten wrote:Sir, it has always been my regret that the particle collider project was canceled. With your offer it would appear that the time is right to resurrect it. I believe work could restart very quickly; our physicists are rearing to go.
Thank you Sir! We look forward to working with our counterparts. Representatives from the High Energy Institute and the Ministry of Science and Technology, and members from other CATO universities will journey to Indhopal to discuss how best to restart the project and inject funding. As much as 1 billion per year has been promised from interested parties within CATO and we are eager to get the red tape cut and the project moving once again.
Thank you!.
Yours sincerely,
Exarch Decius, Byzantine Empire.
(OOC: We can get the ground shaking again after a couple of game months of talking and planning)
Your spirit, diseased as it is, refuses to allow you to give up, no matter what threats you face... and whatever wreckage you leave behind you.
Kreia
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Coyote
- Rabid Monkey
- Posts: 12464
- Joined: 2002-08-23 01:20am
- Location: The glorious Sun-Barge! Isis, Isis, Ra,Ra,Ra!
- Contact:
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
HIGH SEAS OFF FREQUESQUE
"Get a load of that," Ace One said. "Like something out of Iler's war."
"It is from Iler's War," Ace Two said. The two F-18s banked over the scene. They'd shown up just as the old warship had loosed it's broadsides into the pirate swarm, providing them with a good show.
"I got some of that with the cameras," Ace One said.
"Sweet."
"Surface combatants Varuna and Virtue of Courage, this is Canissian Royal Navy recon flight from the carrier Pacifica. Are you in further need of assistance? We can have a Frigate with medical facilities on-station if needed, over..."
"Get a load of that," Ace One said. "Like something out of Iler's war."
"It is from Iler's War," Ace Two said. The two F-18s banked over the scene. They'd shown up just as the old warship had loosed it's broadsides into the pirate swarm, providing them with a good show.
"I got some of that with the cameras," Ace One said.
"Sweet."
"Surface combatants Varuna and Virtue of Courage, this is Canissian Royal Navy recon flight from the carrier Pacifica. Are you in further need of assistance? We can have a Frigate with medical facilities on-station if needed, over..."
Something about Libertarianism always bothered me. Then one day, I realized what it was:
Libertarian philosophy can be boiled down to the phrase, "Work Will Make You Free."
In Libertarianism, there is no Government, so the Bosses are free to exploit the Workers.
In Communism, there is no Government, so the Workers are free to exploit the Bosses.
So in Libertarianism, man exploits man, but in Communism, its the other way around!
If all you want to do is have some harmless, mindless fun, go H3RE INST3ADZ0RZ!!
Grrr! Fight my Brute, you pansy!
Libertarian philosophy can be boiled down to the phrase, "Work Will Make You Free."
In Libertarianism, there is no Government, so the Bosses are free to exploit the Workers.
In Communism, there is no Government, so the Workers are free to exploit the Bosses.
So in Libertarianism, man exploits man, but in Communism, its the other way around!
If all you want to do is have some harmless, mindless fun, go H3RE INST3ADZ0RZ!!
Grrr! Fight my Brute, you pansy!
-
Coyote
- Rabid Monkey
- Posts: 12464
- Joined: 2002-08-23 01:20am
- Location: The glorious Sun-Barge! Isis, Isis, Ra,Ra,Ra!
- Contact:
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
CASCADIAN CONFERENCE
King Arik watched as the Miritian President got up and stormed out in a huff. Arik had already decided he didn't like the fellow very much, but had to admit that he empathised with his feelings, if a bit overly-theatric.
"Look, it is quite obvious that most of the problems involving MESS and CATO in the Frequesnean continent revolve around Tian Xia-Frequesnean relations in particular. If that is indeed tha case, it may actually be best if all of us who are not directly involved stay out of it, since so far it seems that the only thing anyone has to offer from the sidelines is accusations and sarcasm-- none of which helps, and serves to make everyone defensive.
"As far as Costas goes, I think we have a consensus-- let them vote for self-determination. I'm fine with that. I'm also fine with regular meetings of diplomats between MESS and CATO for those of who are interested in actually resolving disputes.
"So I am willing to put my money where my mouth is and sponsor the creation of a United Nations in Canissia, if enough people are interested and willing to help out somewhat with construction. But for now, I fear that what good work we have actually accomplished here is overshadowed by certain intractable disagreements that cannot be solved in one sitting, and will only inflame opinions.
"So that end, I suggest we adjourn, and leave the Tian Xia-Frequesne issue until some time when progress can be made."
Results:
King Arik says to take the agreements we have and run;
Leave the Tian Xia-Frequesne issues for a later date.
King Arik watched as the Miritian President got up and stormed out in a huff. Arik had already decided he didn't like the fellow very much, but had to admit that he empathised with his feelings, if a bit overly-theatric.
"Look, it is quite obvious that most of the problems involving MESS and CATO in the Frequesnean continent revolve around Tian Xia-Frequesnean relations in particular. If that is indeed tha case, it may actually be best if all of us who are not directly involved stay out of it, since so far it seems that the only thing anyone has to offer from the sidelines is accusations and sarcasm-- none of which helps, and serves to make everyone defensive.
"As far as Costas goes, I think we have a consensus-- let them vote for self-determination. I'm fine with that. I'm also fine with regular meetings of diplomats between MESS and CATO for those of who are interested in actually resolving disputes.
"So I am willing to put my money where my mouth is and sponsor the creation of a United Nations in Canissia, if enough people are interested and willing to help out somewhat with construction. But for now, I fear that what good work we have actually accomplished here is overshadowed by certain intractable disagreements that cannot be solved in one sitting, and will only inflame opinions.
"So that end, I suggest we adjourn, and leave the Tian Xia-Frequesne issue until some time when progress can be made."
Results:
King Arik says to take the agreements we have and run;
Leave the Tian Xia-Frequesne issues for a later date.
Something about Libertarianism always bothered me. Then one day, I realized what it was:
Libertarian philosophy can be boiled down to the phrase, "Work Will Make You Free."
In Libertarianism, there is no Government, so the Bosses are free to exploit the Workers.
In Communism, there is no Government, so the Workers are free to exploit the Bosses.
So in Libertarianism, man exploits man, but in Communism, its the other way around!
If all you want to do is have some harmless, mindless fun, go H3RE INST3ADZ0RZ!!
Grrr! Fight my Brute, you pansy!
Libertarian philosophy can be boiled down to the phrase, "Work Will Make You Free."
In Libertarianism, there is no Government, so the Bosses are free to exploit the Workers.
In Communism, there is no Government, so the Workers are free to exploit the Bosses.
So in Libertarianism, man exploits man, but in Communism, its the other way around!
If all you want to do is have some harmless, mindless fun, go H3RE INST3ADZ0RZ!!
Grrr! Fight my Brute, you pansy!
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
"Does anyone second King Arik's call for adjournment of this meeting?" No matter the outcome of that question, Garrett quickly jotted down a note to hand to an aide, asking King Arik for a private meeting later to discuss the problems of the Summit and his "United Nations" proposal.
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
"I will second it," announced President Shinra.Steve wrote:"Does anyone second King Arik's call for adjournment of this meeting?" No matter the outcome of that question, Garrett quickly jotted down a note to hand to an aide, asking King Arik for a private meeting later to discuss the problems of the Summit and his "United Nations" proposal.
This is the price of war,
We rise with noble intentions,
And we risk all that is pure..." - Angela & Jeff van Dyck, Forever (Rome: Total War)
"On and on, through the years,
The war continues on..." - Angela & Jeff van Dyck, We Are All One (Medieval 2: Total War)
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear." - Ambrose Redmoon
"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." - Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
And anyone opposed?RogueIce wrote:"I will second it," announced President Shinra.Steve wrote:"Does anyone second King Arik's call for adjournment of this meeting?" No matter the outcome of that question, Garrett quickly jotted down a note to hand to an aide, asking King Arik for a private meeting later to discuss the problems of the Summit and his "United Nations" proposal.
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
Steve wrote:
And anyone opposed?
Berman looked at his watch and doodled on his notepad.
"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
"Ladies, gentlemen", responded Commissioner Duquesne curtly, "I am leaving. It is the opinion of the NFT that this meeting has achieved precisely nothing, that its primary goal -to improve MESS-CATO relations- has not been accomplished, and that the whole of this summit is best described as an utter farce. We will not sign anything, as we are convinced that anything produced by this meeting cannot possibly be worth the effort of ratification. We are very much disappointed by the attitude of those here assembled, sirs. We'll be sure to draw our conclusions from that. If there is anything you wish to talk about, I'm sure you know where to find us. I wish you all a good evening."
And with that, Charlie Duquesne and the rest of the NFT delegation stood up and left the hall, and the world summit altogether. They would not rejoin the delegations after adjournment.
And with that, Charlie Duquesne and the rest of the NFT delegation stood up and left the hall, and the world summit altogether. They would not rejoin the delegations after adjournment.
SDN World 3: The Sultanate of Egypt
SDN World 4: The United Solarian Sovereignty
SDN World 5: San Dorado
There'll be a bodycount, we're gonna watch it rise
The folks at CNN, they won't believe their eyes
-
Shinn Langley Soryu
- Jedi Council Member
- Posts: 1526
- Joined: 2006-08-18 11:27pm
- Location: COOBIE YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
Lelouch glanced at his own watch for a moment before finally uttering, "We've already done all we can today. Let's just cut our losses now and pick up where we left off later."Lonestar wrote:Berman looked at his watch and doodled on his notepad.Steve wrote:And anyone opposed?
As Lelouch said his piece, C.C. took out a piece of paper and made a quick doodle before handing it and another sheet of paper to an aide. "Please pass these along to Foreign Minister Berman," she ordered.
"Right away, ma'am," the aide replied, taking the two sheets and walking over to Vladimir's seat in the conference hall.
"What is it now?" Vladimir scowled as he noticed the presence of the aide.
"These are for you, Foreign Minister Berman," the aide said as he handed over the two sheets. Vladimir grumbled as he took them from the aide and dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "Let's see, what have we here..." he muttered as he looked at the papers.
Vladimir was initially a bit perplexed at the "messages" that had been sent to him. One was a very detailed drawing of a young woman against a decorative backdrop of ships and knives holding the shrunken and severed head of a man in her hand, with a Japanistani inscription in the corner that roughly translated to "Please take it easy." The other was a cartoon of a girl's disembodied head mounted on tank treads, with a similar Japanistani inscription (this time, just "Take it easy") on top. His look of confusion soon hardened into an angry grimace, however, when he noticed that the decapitated man's visage bore a vague resemblance to his own.
Last edited by Shinn Langley Soryu on 2009-05-14 12:18am, edited 1 time in total.
I ship Eino Ilmari Juutilainen x Lydia V. Litvyak.
Phantasee: Don't be a dick.
Stofsk: What are you, his mother?
The Yosemite Bear: Obviously, which means that he's grounded, and that she needs to go back to sucking Mr. Coffee's cock.
"d-did... did this thread just turn into Thanas/PeZook slash fiction?" - Ilya Muromets[/size]
Stofsk: What are you, his mother?
The Yosemite Bear: Obviously, which means that he's grounded, and that she needs to go back to sucking Mr. Coffee's cock.
"d-did... did this thread just turn into Thanas/PeZook slash fiction?" - Ilya Muromets[/size]
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
Semi-unreal time
The Forbidden City
Hong Kong
Tian Xia
Secretary Doyle walked into the conference room. "Well, we managed something, though San Doradan pig headedness came to the fore once again. Why did we try to court them as an ally?"
"Because they seemed reasonable at the time?"
"Should have known they'd be useless when they failed to stop the Crimsons from invading South Frequesque."
"Well, Eric, what do you suggest we do?"
"Since they're so paranoid about Port Nike, lets give them something to be paranoid about. We do need a maritime patrol presence. And some muscle to back it up."
"Sounds good. Jennifer, what can we do?"
"Dominion Hawks and PB-1F test squadron could deploy there. The boys at R&D have been itching to get some real world experience with the new Bone. Back it up with a squadron of reserve F-15Gs. We can rotate them every month to avoid deploying them for too long."
"Sounds good. How long until we can do that? Last I remember, Port Nike had a dirt field."
"We've actually paved the runway, so it's a matter of putting up the hangars necessary now. Might have to put in another runway. Take a couple months, probably."
"How's the air defense situation looking?"
"Beefy. The Doradans don't like it, so we expect they'll try really hard to take it out. We owe it to the troops to keep that from happening, if possible."
The Forbidden City
Hong Kong
Tian Xia
Secretary Doyle walked into the conference room. "Well, we managed something, though San Doradan pig headedness came to the fore once again. Why did we try to court them as an ally?"
"Because they seemed reasonable at the time?"
"Should have known they'd be useless when they failed to stop the Crimsons from invading South Frequesque."
"Well, Eric, what do you suggest we do?"
"Since they're so paranoid about Port Nike, lets give them something to be paranoid about. We do need a maritime patrol presence. And some muscle to back it up."
"Sounds good. Jennifer, what can we do?"
"Dominion Hawks and PB-1F test squadron could deploy there. The boys at R&D have been itching to get some real world experience with the new Bone. Back it up with a squadron of reserve F-15Gs. We can rotate them every month to avoid deploying them for too long."
"Sounds good. How long until we can do that? Last I remember, Port Nike had a dirt field."
"We've actually paved the runway, so it's a matter of putting up the hangars necessary now. Might have to put in another runway. Take a couple months, probably."
"How's the air defense situation looking?"
"Beefy. The Doradans don't like it, so we expect they'll try really hard to take it out. We owe it to the troops to keep that from happening, if possible."
"preemptive killing of cops might not be such a bad idea from a personal saftey[sic] standpoint..." --Keevan Colton
"There's a word for bias you can't see: Yours." -- William Saletan
"There's a word for bias you can't see: Yours." -- William Saletan
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
Dear sir,Fingolfin_Noldor wrote:Dear Sir,Raj Ahten wrote:Sir, it has always been my regret that the particle collider project was canceled. With your offer it would appear that the time is right to resurrect it. I believe work could restart very quickly; our physicists are rearing to go.
Thank you Sir! We look forward to working with our counterparts. Representatives from the High Energy Institute and the Ministry of Science and Technology, and members from other CATO universities will journey to Indhopal to discuss how best to restart the project and inject funding. As much as 1 billion per year has been promised from interested parties within CATO and we are eager to get the red tape cut and the project moving once again.
Thank you!.
Yours sincerely,
Exarch Decius, Byzantine Empire.
(OOC: We can get the ground shaking again after a couple of game months of talking and planning)
Such a level of funding is very generous! I'll leave this matter in the capable hands of my National Science Board. I believe I could contribute 100 million a year for the project on my end.
(OOC: Yeah, lets leave the gritty details in the hands of the scientists and bureaucrats! A couple of months should be fine to work out the finer points.)
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
The Monthly Visitor
San Doradon White male oppressors threaten nuclear war
THE MONTHLY VISITOR has learned that in the event of a conflict on the F-ing continent, the White Male Oligarchy of San Dorado plans on unleashing nuclear fire on the browner peoples of the world.
This is completely in line with the past record of the capitalist nation, which has beggared it's people while spending lavish amounts of money on phallic symbols and biological weapons….[More]
Dominion Defense
Follow on to the X-20 series in development?
Dominion Lockheed and Raytheon of Tian Xia have posted $300mil ROBs in "unspecified revenues" from the MSA for their Space Systems divisions. The contract cited is not listed in any official MSA budget, and the sole description of the contract in the quarterly reports that that it is working on the "BLACK COLT" project. Dominion Defense has confirmed that a KC-45 has been purchased for the program and is being modified at the enigmatic Argyle Army Air Force Base…[More]
San Doradon White male oppressors threaten nuclear war
THE MONTHLY VISITOR has learned that in the event of a conflict on the F-ing continent, the White Male Oligarchy of San Dorado plans on unleashing nuclear fire on the browner peoples of the world.
This is completely in line with the past record of the capitalist nation, which has beggared it's people while spending lavish amounts of money on phallic symbols and biological weapons….[More]
Dominion Defense
Follow on to the X-20 series in development?
Dominion Lockheed and Raytheon of Tian Xia have posted $300mil ROBs in "unspecified revenues" from the MSA for their Space Systems divisions. The contract cited is not listed in any official MSA budget, and the sole description of the contract in the quarterly reports that that it is working on the "BLACK COLT" project. Dominion Defense has confirmed that a KC-45 has been purchased for the program and is being modified at the enigmatic Argyle Army Air Force Base…[More]
"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
NFT Headquarters, downtown San Dorado
“That is an excellent question”, the President nodded and sipped his wine, a Chardonnay from Indhopal’s Salandar province. “I believe a good start would be to formulate a series of first principles that both of us can agree and adhere to. Matters such as continued and increased stability in the CFR, non-aggression, binational consultation on military and territorial matters, perhaps some low-key joint exercises or officer exchange programs- all this to get us used to one another and avoid future misunderstandings.”Raj Ahten wrote:Leaving aside what the public thinks of the matter I believe that it is imperative that the tensions are cooled and that direct engagement is the best way to bring this about. I'm sure you'll agree a major war between the MESS and CATO would be in no one's interests. Personally I believe that the CFR is the most likely flash point for further problems. I also don't see much coming from the Cascadian conference. At most I believe the Costas situation will be stabilized. So how do you think Indhopal and the NFT can work together to reduce tensions in Frequesue?"
Sidney frowned slightly. “I have to admit, the antipathy harboured by such an apparently large part of the Indhopali populace against the NFT simply for its membership in CATO is a source of concern for me. We’d like to rectify this issue, and the best way to do so is through continued cooperation- although maybe an advertising campaign or two might contribute as well.”
“But yes, luckily there is a lot to talk about, cooperation-wise.” Sidney smiled. “Jenny Ralson asked me to tell you she appreciates you not cancelling her contracts over the Occidental issue. I believe that the way we managed to settle that matter is proof that Indhopal and the NFT can build a mutually beneficial working relationship even without the FTO.”
“As far as MESS-CATO tensions are concerned… They are an unfortunate reality, though I don’t personally see them so much as tensions between the two alliances, rather than as between CATO and select members of the MESS.” Sidney looked the Indhopali President straight in the eye. “We both know who and what I’m talking of. Unfortunately the rest of the MESS appears content to sit back and let their allies ruin their image as a collective, thus making it their collective problem.” He shrugged. “Frankly there isn’t much I can do about that.”
SDN World 3: The Sultanate of Egypt
SDN World 4: The United Solarian Sovereignty
SDN World 5: San Dorado
There'll be a bodycount, we're gonna watch it rise
The folks at CNN, they won't believe their eyes
-
DarthShady
- Jedi Council Member
- Posts: 1872
- Joined: 2007-09-15 10:46am
- Location: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Contact:
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
Palace of the Soviets, Stasograd, UCSR
"An invitation from Lord Fairfax..."
"Yes Sir."
"Well then, a visit it is. Have my plane prepared for departure in the morning."
Result: President Shady to visit the Old Dominion.
"An invitation from Lord Fairfax..."
"Yes Sir."
"Well then, a visit it is. Have my plane prepared for departure in the morning."
Result: President Shady to visit the Old Dominion.
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
Langley Army Air Force Base
The UCSR Tupolev came to a halt on the taxiway, lining up with the red carpet almost perfectly. As the door opened and some of President Shady's security stepped out first and the Navy Band began to play the UCSR anthem.
Lonestar winced at the noise. The band was playing the unfamiliar tune as if they held a personal grudge against the composer. Fricking wonderful Lonestar thought, sweating in his hated dress military uniform. Once again Lady Sterling was standing next to him in something light and breezy, but then, she wasn't the Lord Protector of Shepland and the Impact Crater, Supreme Warlord of the Old Dominion. As informal as the visit was, some formalities had to be observed. And one of them was wearing this goddamn uniform in 105 degree weather with a heat index of 110.
President Shady walked towards Lonestar and intoned: "Do I have your permission to land?"
"You do! Welcome to Williamsburg. I apologize for the weather, it's always like this. Except when we get blizzards." Lonestar extended his hand.
Shady chuckled and shook it. "Yes, quite a bit warmer than Stasograd."
"President Shady, this is Lady Sterling."
"Ah, good afternoon Madam."
"Mr. President."
"Well President Shady," Lonestar said. "Let's wave for the cameras and get into some AC."
One Limo ride later, at the Royal Palace.
The two men sat in the game room with the dusty 19th Century Billiards table in the center.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice Mr. President."
"Not a problem, Lord Fairfax."
"Call me Matt when we aren't in front of cameras. Well, I'm sure you can guess why I invited you here. The summit was a disaster from the start, and I would like to see if we could try to get on the same page, or at least in the same book, before further tensions arise."
Shady raised an eyebrow. "Your man Vladimir Berman was pretty active in creating tension himself."
"He was under instruction to not take any gruff from anyone, least of all 'pissant nations'." Lonestar made little quotation marks with his fingers, "such as the NFT. I do note, however, that we agreed in principle with much of the proposals, such as an Interpol, agreements with regards to notification of each alliance, regular foreign minister meetings. We stayed aloof from the F-ing continent related stuff because it isn't very high on our list of concerns right now, and we're not going to publically go against one of our closest allies over it. Isn't happening."
Shady scratched his chin. "You said publically…"
The UCSR Tupolev came to a halt on the taxiway, lining up with the red carpet almost perfectly. As the door opened and some of President Shady's security stepped out first and the Navy Band began to play the UCSR anthem.
Lonestar winced at the noise. The band was playing the unfamiliar tune as if they held a personal grudge against the composer. Fricking wonderful Lonestar thought, sweating in his hated dress military uniform. Once again Lady Sterling was standing next to him in something light and breezy, but then, she wasn't the Lord Protector of Shepland and the Impact Crater, Supreme Warlord of the Old Dominion. As informal as the visit was, some formalities had to be observed. And one of them was wearing this goddamn uniform in 105 degree weather with a heat index of 110.
President Shady walked towards Lonestar and intoned: "Do I have your permission to land?"
"You do! Welcome to Williamsburg. I apologize for the weather, it's always like this. Except when we get blizzards." Lonestar extended his hand.
Shady chuckled and shook it. "Yes, quite a bit warmer than Stasograd."
"President Shady, this is Lady Sterling."
"Ah, good afternoon Madam."
"Mr. President."
"Well President Shady," Lonestar said. "Let's wave for the cameras and get into some AC."
One Limo ride later, at the Royal Palace.
The two men sat in the game room with the dusty 19th Century Billiards table in the center.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice Mr. President."
"Not a problem, Lord Fairfax."
"Call me Matt when we aren't in front of cameras. Well, I'm sure you can guess why I invited you here. The summit was a disaster from the start, and I would like to see if we could try to get on the same page, or at least in the same book, before further tensions arise."
Shady raised an eyebrow. "Your man Vladimir Berman was pretty active in creating tension himself."
"He was under instruction to not take any gruff from anyone, least of all 'pissant nations'." Lonestar made little quotation marks with his fingers, "such as the NFT. I do note, however, that we agreed in principle with much of the proposals, such as an Interpol, agreements with regards to notification of each alliance, regular foreign minister meetings. We stayed aloof from the F-ing continent related stuff because it isn't very high on our list of concerns right now, and we're not going to publically go against one of our closest allies over it. Isn't happening."
Shady scratched his chin. "You said publically…"
"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."
-
Fingolfin_Noldor
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 11834
- Joined: 2006-05-15 10:36am
- Location: At the Helm of the HAB Star Dreadnaught Star Fist
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
Imperial Chronicles
Decius sighed as he watched the entire conference collapse. The Emperor had been right that there was way too much tension, but he had given he some leeway on pursuing a possible deal that might salvage the conference. He turned to his aide, "Send a note to the Tian Xian delegation. I would like to have a word with them."
Decius sighed as he watched the entire conference collapse. The Emperor had been right that there was way too much tension, but he had given he some leeway on pursuing a possible deal that might salvage the conference. He turned to his aide, "Send a note to the Tian Xian delegation. I would like to have a word with them."
Your spirit, diseased as it is, refuses to allow you to give up, no matter what threats you face... and whatever wreckage you leave behind you.
Kreia
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
"Though, speaking of closest allies..." Beowulf walked in. "I'm not actually here, you know. It's supposed to be the SecTreas here for a ship launch tomorrow. New cutter for the Revenue Service. Protocol is going nuts over the sudden change. There's no cameras here, no press. So we can skip the acrimony and jabs that dominated the Summit. It's obvious that San Dorado is unhappy about Port Nike. It should be equally obvious that I'm unhappy about having a UCSR naval base next door."Lonestar wrote:One Limo ride later, at the Royal Palace.
The two men sat in the game room with the dusty 19th Century Billiards table in the center.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice Mr. President."
"Not a problem, Lord Fairfax."
"Call me Matt when we aren't in front of cameras. Well, I'm sure you can guess why I invited you here. The summit was a disaster from the start, and I would like to see if we could try to get on the same page, or at least in the same book, before further tensions arise."
Shady raised an eyebrow. "Your man Vladimir Berman was pretty active in creating tension himself."
"He was under instruction to not take any gruff from anyone, least of all 'pissant nations'." Lonestar made little quotation marks with his fingers, "such as the NFT. I do note, however, that we agreed in principle with much of the proposals, such as an Interpol, agreements with regards to notification of each alliance, regular foreign minister meetings. We stayed aloof from the F-ing continent related stuff because it isn't very high on our list of concerns right now, and we're not going to publically go against one of our closest allies over it. Isn't happening."
Shady scratched his chin. "You said publically…"
"preemptive killing of cops might not be such a bad idea from a personal saftey[sic] standpoint..." --Keevan Colton
"There's a word for bias you can't see: Yours." -- William Saletan
"There's a word for bias you can't see: Yours." -- William Saletan
-
DarthShady
- Jedi Council Member
- Posts: 1872
- Joined: 2007-09-15 10:46am
- Location: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Contact:
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
"Well...", President Shady began, "This is quite a surprise."Beowulf wrote:"Though, speaking of closest allies..." Beowulf walked in. "I'm not actually here, you know. It's supposed to be the SecTreas here for a ship launch tomorrow. New cutter for the Revenue Service. Protocol is going nuts over the sudden change. There's no cameras here, no press. So we can skip the acrimony and jabs that dominated the Summit. It's obvious that San Dorado is unhappy about Port Nike. It should be equally obvious that I'm unhappy about having a UCSR naval base next door."Lonestar wrote:One Limo ride later, at the Royal Palace.
The two men sat in the game room with the dusty 19th Century Billiards table in the center.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice Mr. President."
"Not a problem, Lord Fairfax."
"Call me Matt when we aren't in front of cameras. Well, I'm sure you can guess why I invited you here. The summit was a disaster from the start, and I would like to see if we could try to get on the same page, or at least in the same book, before further tensions arise."
Shady raised an eyebrow. "Your man Vladimir Berman was pretty active in creating tension himself."
"He was under instruction to not take any gruff from anyone, least of all 'pissant nations'." Lonestar made little quotation marks with his fingers, "such as the NFT. I do note, however, that we agreed in principle with much of the proposals, such as an Interpol, agreements with regards to notification of each alliance, regular foreign minister meetings. We stayed aloof from the F-ing continent related stuff because it isn't very high on our list of concerns right now, and we're not going to publically go against one of our closest allies over it. Isn't happening."
Shady scratched his chin. "You said publically…"
He leaned back in his chair, with a smile on his face.
"Let's get straight down to business.", Shady said, "Beowulf, you want the UCSR out of Livorno. Fine, that can happen, but in return we want your forces, all of them, out of Port Nike. We want you to close that base as a military installation, perhaps it can be converted to civilian use, we also want your assurances that you will not station forces there again. Also, we want Tian Xia to stop interfering in the Costa situation, that matter is best resolved by the peacekeeping forces currently present there. I believe this will be enough to calm the NFT and the rest of CATO's Freguese members, and our withdrawal from LIvorno will make you happy."
Shady paused for a moment before continuing.
"I will make one thing clear; the AFSR has been a longtime ally of the UCSR, as such we will not allow others to take advantage of our departure from it's lands. We will withdraw our forces, but we still remain friends to the people of the AFSR.", he said and smiled, "That, should sum things up quite nicely. Is this solution, satisfactory to you?"
-
Coyote
- Rabid Monkey
- Posts: 12464
- Joined: 2002-08-23 01:20am
- Location: The glorious Sun-Barge! Isis, Isis, Ra,Ra,Ra!
- Contact:
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
CASCADIAN MEETING HALL
King Arik looked around sadly. Many of the participants were leaving, obviously ruffled, or even downright seething. A few stayed on, going through paperwork or mini-meets with other leaders or members of their cabinets; in some cases the leaders had left but ministers or undesecretaries stayed behind to hammer out details.
Arik himself was in a sour mood. He'd wanted this conference and pushed for it; he'd been certain that a rational appeal to calmly discuss things would iron out the problems they'd been having with CATO. He was certain that the misunderstandings had been simply due to a lack of communication all around-- but no, it turned out that people seemed to want to square off and have confrontations. And in the absence of real conflicts, then some would be manufactured.
The way King Arik saw it, Tian Xia had not cared overmuch about Westchester/Tian Jiao. The small Frequesnean nation had done their revolution and delivered themselves into Beowulf's hands. Perhaps he should have refused them, but at the time it seemed like simply a pleasant surprise.
But others saw it as a 'Imperialist land grab' and feathers were ruffled. It began a game of one-upmanship on the continent that at one time no one had given a damn about. People banded together to join CATO, trashed their own neutrality treaty, then invaded Costas... meanwhile, in territory that had at one time been considered untamed & unclaimed, a small naval base was set up by Tian Xia with no word of protest until it became a convenient sticking point to gripe about more 'imperialism'... then, instead of talking, people jumped right to ultimatums...
"Decca for your thoughts, eh?" a voice said. Arik startled, and looked up. President Garrett was there, with a sad smile on his face.
"Hey," Arik said with a heavy sigh. He stood to shake the man's hand. "What's up?"
"You look like you could use a drink," Garrett said.
"Several," Arik said.
"Where's the kids?" Garrett asked.
"Their moms took 'em out to see the city for a bit," Arik said, "I needed a break. Look, I want to say I'm sorry. I wasted your time. I honestly thought this would bring results, but it seems like all everyone wanted to do was guttersnipe. Both sides. No one wanted to talk."
"Actually," Garrett said, "A lot did get done, I think, it was just paved under by all the bullshit," he said. "The Costas thing, for example. That was a hair-trigger with WMDs used on civilians. That got largely diffused."
"True enough." The government meeting hall was a large affair, with multiple smaller meeting rooms and even amptheaters for presentations, and interspersed between the various venues were smaller lounges and even places to eat. They went to a small lounge where the bar staff was quietly waiting for customers.
"Despite what progress was made," Arik said, "I still feel... well, disappointed. Let down. Hell... humiliated. I pushed for this goddamn meeting and brought my kids to see how this gets done. And my kids were about the only grown-ups in the whole room."
"Politics and sausage, dude," Garrett said quietly, knowing Arik would get the quote.
"Yeah," Arik said, slamming down a shot of whiskey. "One good thing about being King," he said, "I don;t do my own driving. Hit me again," he said, nudging the empty glass back to the bartender, and wondering what was on Garrett's mind...
King Arik looked around sadly. Many of the participants were leaving, obviously ruffled, or even downright seething. A few stayed on, going through paperwork or mini-meets with other leaders or members of their cabinets; in some cases the leaders had left but ministers or undesecretaries stayed behind to hammer out details.
Arik himself was in a sour mood. He'd wanted this conference and pushed for it; he'd been certain that a rational appeal to calmly discuss things would iron out the problems they'd been having with CATO. He was certain that the misunderstandings had been simply due to a lack of communication all around-- but no, it turned out that people seemed to want to square off and have confrontations. And in the absence of real conflicts, then some would be manufactured.
The way King Arik saw it, Tian Xia had not cared overmuch about Westchester/Tian Jiao. The small Frequesnean nation had done their revolution and delivered themselves into Beowulf's hands. Perhaps he should have refused them, but at the time it seemed like simply a pleasant surprise.
But others saw it as a 'Imperialist land grab' and feathers were ruffled. It began a game of one-upmanship on the continent that at one time no one had given a damn about. People banded together to join CATO, trashed their own neutrality treaty, then invaded Costas... meanwhile, in territory that had at one time been considered untamed & unclaimed, a small naval base was set up by Tian Xia with no word of protest until it became a convenient sticking point to gripe about more 'imperialism'... then, instead of talking, people jumped right to ultimatums...
"Decca for your thoughts, eh?" a voice said. Arik startled, and looked up. President Garrett was there, with a sad smile on his face.
"Hey," Arik said with a heavy sigh. He stood to shake the man's hand. "What's up?"
"You look like you could use a drink," Garrett said.
"Several," Arik said.
"Where's the kids?" Garrett asked.
"Their moms took 'em out to see the city for a bit," Arik said, "I needed a break. Look, I want to say I'm sorry. I wasted your time. I honestly thought this would bring results, but it seems like all everyone wanted to do was guttersnipe. Both sides. No one wanted to talk."
"Actually," Garrett said, "A lot did get done, I think, it was just paved under by all the bullshit," he said. "The Costas thing, for example. That was a hair-trigger with WMDs used on civilians. That got largely diffused."
"True enough." The government meeting hall was a large affair, with multiple smaller meeting rooms and even amptheaters for presentations, and interspersed between the various venues were smaller lounges and even places to eat. They went to a small lounge where the bar staff was quietly waiting for customers.
"Despite what progress was made," Arik said, "I still feel... well, disappointed. Let down. Hell... humiliated. I pushed for this goddamn meeting and brought my kids to see how this gets done. And my kids were about the only grown-ups in the whole room."
"Politics and sausage, dude," Garrett said quietly, knowing Arik would get the quote.
"Yeah," Arik said, slamming down a shot of whiskey. "One good thing about being King," he said, "I don;t do my own driving. Hit me again," he said, nudging the empty glass back to the bartender, and wondering what was on Garrett's mind...
Something about Libertarianism always bothered me. Then one day, I realized what it was:
Libertarian philosophy can be boiled down to the phrase, "Work Will Make You Free."
In Libertarianism, there is no Government, so the Bosses are free to exploit the Workers.
In Communism, there is no Government, so the Workers are free to exploit the Bosses.
So in Libertarianism, man exploits man, but in Communism, its the other way around!
If all you want to do is have some harmless, mindless fun, go H3RE INST3ADZ0RZ!!
Grrr! Fight my Brute, you pansy!
Libertarian philosophy can be boiled down to the phrase, "Work Will Make You Free."
In Libertarianism, there is no Government, so the Bosses are free to exploit the Workers.
In Communism, there is no Government, so the Workers are free to exploit the Bosses.
So in Libertarianism, man exploits man, but in Communism, its the other way around!
If all you want to do is have some harmless, mindless fun, go H3RE INST3ADZ0RZ!!
Grrr! Fight my Brute, you pansy!
Re: SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Fourth
"Your idea for a 'United Nations'..." Garrett had to smirk at that, remembering how such a thing worked back in his home world. "It's got potential. But it's always going to involve stuff like this. Trust does not come naturally in geopolitics, especially not when one country or another feels its security or its integrity has been placed under insult or threat."
The bartender came with Arik's drink before looking to the Cascadian President, who waved the man off with the single word of "Water", the kind of thing that fit the image of personal temperance he didn't just cultivate but genuinely lived by.
"An assembly of nations, a forum for countries to immediately air out their grievances. Also a place where bodies like BIOCOM or the World Health Organization Shroom and I proposed could work more closely with the international community." The bartender returned with the water and permitted him a drink. "Even if so many heads of state have run off, they still have delegates here. It's not too late to go somewhere with the proposal."
(OOC: When you give a response, Coyote, I'd like one more post afterward so please don't end it.)
The bartender came with Arik's drink before looking to the Cascadian President, who waved the man off with the single word of "Water", the kind of thing that fit the image of personal temperance he didn't just cultivate but genuinely lived by.
"An assembly of nations, a forum for countries to immediately air out their grievances. Also a place where bodies like BIOCOM or the World Health Organization Shroom and I proposed could work more closely with the international community." The bartender returned with the water and permitted him a drink. "Even if so many heads of state have run off, they still have delegates here. It's not too late to go somewhere with the proposal."
(OOC: When you give a response, Coyote, I'd like one more post afterward so please don't end it.)
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED