2014 STGOD OOC Commentary Thread 1

[Siege]

I'm willing to consider less drastic options.

It's your nation, your characters and your choice. Do what you think is best, I'm only filling in the San Doradan perspective.

And who will be sending representatives again?

The four major San Doradan mercenary companies will send representatives, but they treat it as a prime networking opportunity more than anything else.

[madd0ct0r]

Champa will. We have an innovative defense product to show off to potential allies.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Awesome. Oh, yes, Siege, is there anything to post regarding that harbour plan, or the Helix weapons contracts? Would be nice to have more "something good is happenning" posts after all that terrorism and drug-war crap.

[Siege]

madd0ct0r: I recall your security guys wanted to hire mercenaries to start an electronic warfare and data handling branch? Perhaps the conference would be a good moment to approach OGRE Solutions?

Eternal_Freedom:
- Regarding the harbor: We can festively break ground and start construction. It would take years before the harbor actually opens, of course.

- Regarding the weapons: The feasibility study for electronics integration would realistically take months. Helix can deliver the first VTOLs though (the bigger planes would probably take longer to deliver).

[Eternal_Freedom]

Ok, did you want to write something up for the harbour then?

[Simon_Jester]

Also, It's about time we moved forward with that anti-terrorism conference. RAther than back-dating it we can say it was delayed a month or so. Would May 14th be a good in-game date? And who will be sending representatives again?

Sure. The Umerians will be sending their foreign minister, Dr. Illustrious Mahogany, with plenipotentiary authority and truly astounding levels of oldness.

His basic agenda, however, is to assure the other participants of Umeria's opposition to chaos and criminality... while sticking up for 'the rights of little nations' in this proposed global war on 'terror.'

Under the hood the Umerians are doing this mainly because of the same stuff I was talking about last post. The Umerians' historical memory of being reduced to a playground for other nations' ambitions is strong. And they're worried about how easy it would be to muscle in on the nations surrounding them (i.e. Eulica) in pursuit of 'terrorism.'

The image of, say, Orion or Shinra drone aircraft flying freely over a nation like Hakistan and launching airstrikes at will would... bother Umeria.

Champa will. We have an innovative defense product to show off to potential allies.

Have you figured out how to weaponize mud?

[Seriously, Umerian defense planners have nightmares about this when they eat bad fish sauce]

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Well, about the coup thing, I did say it was just an idea. I'm willing to consider less drastic options.

How on earth did you go from a Fascist state to one that was willing to send your student abroad within ... a month?

[Simon_Jester]

He's modeling on late-period Francoist Spain; I suspect that in Spain of that time there was nothing in the rules stopping Spaniards from studying abroad?

Perhaps I am wrong.

[Force Lord]

Well, about the coup thing, I did say it was just an idea. I'm willing to consider less drastic options.

How on earth did you go from a Fascist state to one that was willing to send your student abroad within ... a month?

The economic crisis is really that bad. Besides, the Granadian government will "encourage" any potential troublemakers to leave.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

The economic crisis is really that bad. Besides, the Granadian government will "encourage" any potential troublemakers to leave.

Just how totalitarian are you anyway? I mean, you had a closed economy. No one knew what was going on until the crisis erupted. Then... you suddenly became a little open ?

[Simon_Jester]

Perhaps the analogy is to the breakup of the Soviet Union? The Soviet government was secretly insolvent and had reached a point of desperately needing a foreign bailout, while still retaining a security service... albeit one that started to become less than fully effective.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Perhaps the analogy is to the breakup of the Soviet Union? The Soviet government was secretly insolvent and had reached a point of desperately needing a foreign bailout, while still retaining a security service... albeit one that started to become less than fully effective.

Yeah but the crisis did break out and the upheaval was enormous but none of that has been reflected at all with the Granadian crisis. If there's upheaval, it must have been a minor quake in comparison.

[Simon_Jester]

I think that's partly attributable to Force Lord's being busy, but it's a legitimate concern- we know very little about Grenadia except that it is bankrupt and a dictatorship.

[RogueIce]

Therefore we prefer altering the deal

And Granadia should pray San Dorado does not alter it further.

(Sorry couldn't resist)

Also, It's about time we moved forward with that anti-terrorism conference. RAther than back-dating it we can say it was delayed a month or so. Would May 14th be a good in-game date? And who will be sending representatives again?

You'll get some law enforcement, intelligence and military representatives. Nobody on the Cabinet level, because your live execution made us wary. But at least a few generals and their police/intelligence agency counterparts (with underlings, of course) thanks to the AVALANCHE connection.

Probably led by a three- or four-star General, or maybe an Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Whatever. Somebody with enough pull to at least be meaningful but not bindingly so, if you get my drift.

[Simon_Jester]

Well, Umeria's sending a cabinet-level official, arguably the most senior figure short of the head of state, both because they have a very strong position to stake out, and... well.

Put this way, Illustrious Mahogany is one of the last veterans of the Umerian Civil War- something like sixty-five years ago. An artilleryman, and thus a direct participant in the process by which the Technocrats' army ended the war by reducing the city in which the last alliance of northern warlords had holed up with their garrison, in hopes of holding out until the countryside could be roused against the Technocrats.

In the process they blasted the city to rubble with four inch shellfire and poisoned it to death with phosgene and mustard gas, then sent in the troops two weeks and a rainstorm later to shoot the surviving enemy troops.

And, again, Dr. Mahogany was a foot soldier in this process. And on a long lifetime's due consideration, doesn't regret it.

The Umerians still maintain chemical weapons stockpiles, and probably get chewed on now and then by the international community for it.

The technocrats of today are fairly short on actual scruples. They don't commit atrocities very often, but that is because they are seen as undesirable, not unthinkable: it's a considered decision on their part.

[Eternal_Freedom]

New post up. Nothing major, just a little fluff piece about the comissioning of a new destroyer. I'll have more time to work up the anti-terrorism stuff Friday night and the weekend.

I'll post a news article tomorrow about Orion preparing to host the conference.

[TimothyC]

The Hawai'ians will have sent Deputy Director Michael Casper of the Royal Investigative Service.

[Skywalker_T-65]

Most likely Princess Irene on our end. Need to develop things on that end...time constraints are a pain.

[Simon_Jester]

...Now there are TWO of the Son of Coul! O_o

[RogueIce]

Actually he's from The West Wing and thus a totally different person.

Obviously clones, though.

[Simon_Jester]

Well, I have clones, so I can't complain if anyone else does.

[madd0ct0r]

Hmm. this piracy problem is getting irritating, especially with sales calls from some steroid chewing thrill seeker.

I want to get Umeria and Rheinland to agree to a naval base in Rheinland's protectorate, or failing that putting Champan expertise to use in deflooding the city and getting the country back on it's feet. We can't afford to set that up though.

Shinra and Orion being big naval guys in the area are probably interested too. If only we could get them round the table in a neutralish country...

[Siege]

Needless to say San Dorado is opposed to anything that permanently bases big naval guys on our continent. Besides, we're probably the cheaper option. 'Cause we'll leave once the problem is solved. Do you really wanna hand some admiral from Orion the keys to the flipping continent?

I also wouldn't call the representative of the second largest mercenary corporation in San Dorado a "steroid chewing thrill seeker". I especially wouldn't use that term anywhere Major Teague can hear it. I hear he's brought down governments for less.

Also, did you want those electronic warfare mercs or not?

[Eternal_Freedom]

Hey now, I never want to take San orado's continent. South America is enough...for now

[Simon_Jester]

Umeria is already on San Dorado's continent, unless you have a very large trench-digger handy. Indeed, the Umerians would argue the opposite; San Dorado is encroaching on their continent.

Silliness aside, I'm starting to think through what the Umerian intervention would look like (they're not moving especially fast in-game, so I think I'm justified in saying nothing overt's happened prior to May). They're going to be cooperative enough with anyone who decides to act... precipitately, as long as it doesn't look like they're there to stay. Cynically, this is because Umeria would prefer not to have a to-stay rival in the region.