SCNS - The First Conference [GD/CLOSED]

[Haishan]

This thread will be short in nature. Nevertheless, I will provide some substances to talk about et al.

Bland and utilitarian; these two words perfectly describe Haize sense of architectural aesthetic as Haize culture on general do not emphasize on excess material wealth but efficiency of form. To that end, the building that is designated for the conference looked nothing more than literally a brick from afar as Haishan is not renowned for building decoration compared to architecturally diverse gothic frescos of Macabee or majestic columns of Mokan origin.

As progress is part of the game, Haize buildings have started to adapt to international customs where important buildings are purposely decorated in a specific way to set it apart from others; the said conference building is made with particular contrasting emphasis of dark-toned brutalism and light-toned angular blast-resistant structures to signify Haize simultaneous brute and finesse force approach to space. It also represent the crown jewel of Raelizh Launch Complex which the building is a part of; a four hundred kilometer long maglev system built directly inside the Kyvalkava Range which is designed to gently deliver payload straight to Low Earth Orbit.

Like any other Haize building however, the emphasis remained on not the exterior but the interior of the building; the conference building features sleek and glossy utilitarian interior with futurist elements such as line-embedded lights on the ceiling and occasionally the floor. There are also healthy use of ballistic glass which some of the glassy surfaces also form a part of the building's information terminal where curious visitors could interact with to find more relevant information by simply touching them.

The importance of the building is further highlighted by presence of plain-clothed Haize Military Police personnel and occasional round trips by Haize Aero Ballistic Forces garrison troops but majority of the building have been cleared out of authorized Haize tourists and academicians for important State guests will grace it today. The gravity of the situation is further reinforced by presence of top ranking Haize personnel from Advanced Space Development Directorate, select members of Central Military Commission and representatives from Haize Armed Forces.

The vicinity however do not fully reflect the contained seriousness but instead markedly less hectic than usual; the mighty magnetic launch system didn't fire at this day and there are lesser amount of Global Aerospace Transport Association-affiliated space aircrafts taxing in nearby facilities. It's all in the name of security as understood by Junta and where important activities is scaled down as form of respect to foreign dignitaries and to show that the Junta is willing to spend precious time for them.

Here and today would be the first conference for Scopious Communication and Navigation System or known as SCNS which was originally conceived as a replacement for Haize GPS by the Haishan Defense Ministry. Now the constellation is put for foreign partnership as the Junta was given firsthand experience on what foreign relations could do, especially regarding unexpected Golden Throne decision to back the Junta over the anti space attack prior.

However, not many could subscribe to the constellation as potential suitors are carefully screened by the Junta; States that do not belong in major power blocs or influence are preferred. But first and foremost, subscribers to Damocles constellation is rejected outright as SCNS is a form of opposition to the Lyran constellation, an alternative and the closest competitor albeit both have different roles in mind; Damocles is geared toward military coordination and intelligence while SCNS puts communications as its core reason.

Further differences exist where the Junta is willing to share the core technologies in SCNS and request expertise of would-be suitors for SCNS so in theory should Haishan fall, SCNS will continue to exist in contrast of singular control of Lyran Damocles. Robustness in diversity as the Junta calls it but it's also a double-edged sword and why only a few States will be given clearance to cooperate in the mega project. Therefore the conference is called for, to see the commitment of current SCNS investors and to vet would-be-suitors. After all, SCNS also contains sensitive Haize military technologies and it would be prudent to select who can access it.

For now, the Junta have acknowledged the attendance of Holy Empire of Stevid, the first proponent of SCNS and the largest contributor to the constellation. Haishan have also accepted request from the Golden Throne to honour the Empire's approval for Junta entry into Global Aerospace Trade Association and recent diplomatic rapport. Another approved entry is from National Socialist State of Castille de Italia which is part of Eastern Dienstadi Trade Organization (EDTO) which Haishan is also a part of.

The Junta knows Holy Empire and have mutual rapport with Golden Throne but for the third entry? Apart from the EDTO connection, there isn't any further relationship between Haishan and the other. Therefore their entry is approved on basis that they do not subscribe to Lyran Damocles and due to mutual trade link under EDTO cooperation. Hence the conference as per aforementioned reasons and to build up the future of the constellation.

Meeting the foreign dignitaries would be Chief Coordinator Kateo-Kayvil, the conductor and the primary person accountable to overseer and manage the SCNS program in conjunction of other Haize officials and services. He's flanked by other Haize officials whilst manipulating the built-in touchscreen on the meeting table, a few moments before the conference would begin.

Other officials aren't as calm as him, some are rather stiff and another are slowly sweating in their hands as they aren't familiar with foreigners and particularly due to the level of the discussion that would take place. The Chief obviously steeled himself as there will be full diplomatic cards at play here, as foreign dignitaries will seek better influence in the upcoming discussions.

[Stevid]

Prof. William Sharpe was one of the Empire’s leading scientists and government advisors from the Stevidian Space Administration (SSA). This man had been at the forefront of many of the country’s main scientific endeavours, such as the Moon and Europa landings, as well as having a large hand in the development of the satellite communications element of BATTLEnet, the Empire’s own bespoke battle management system for the Armed Forces. But the man was used to the ornate surroundings of Parliament’s Gothic architecture, together with the country’s famous churches, or many Victorian Era buildings that dotted his home, the capital city, as opposed to what stood before him now.

This grey slab of concrete could only be described as ghastly; a true eye sore that actually seemed to make Brutalist architecture somewhat ‘prettier’ than it was. Sharpe was no idiot; he understood why the buildings in Haishan were like this, a country that prided itself on its technical efficiency and ruthless pursuit of technological advancement. “Why waste time making a simple building ornate and beautiful when the decoration serves no purpose to the overriding purpose of the building’s construction in the first place?” Sharpe had asked himself inwardly as if placing himself in the shoes of a Haize architect. In truth there was a valid point in this and he himself had little interest in art beyond what he could usually appreciate as ‘looking pretty’. But an imposing building elaborately designed and decorated gave a country a certain uniqueness to its culture. The Golden Throne was so like this in that it lavishly decorated its buildings in the extreme. Stevid tended not to with many modern buildings taking a more futuristic monolithic look, though her Gothic churches and cathedrals were something to admire.

Sharpe was therefore unsurprised at the blandness of the interior as he entered the building with an entourage of government civil servants, scientists and a single Imperial Diplomat, Sir Michael Duce, due to meet Haishan dignitaries in regards to the development of much anticipated Scopious Communication and Navigation System (SCNS) constellation. For where the Haishan people seemly lack intricacies in their buildings’ outward appearance, they in fact input this affection in their technological development - for the SCNS is just that. Intricate. Never had a satellite system been envisaged to truly deliver to a nation incredible communication abilities. From as big as military and government wide audience right down to a single fire team on the ground. Whilst not a direct like-for-like alternative to the Lyran Damocles System, that could best be described as a huge multinational spy network, SCNS was far more capable at being the next generation in digital communication.

The Holy Empire was acutely aware of just how important information was in times of war and had extensively developed and tailored its forces to be able utilise the battle space, via BATTLEnet, to extreme effect. Information sharing, cataloguing and almost the complete elimination of redundant data was what made BATTLEnet so capable. Now it had been toe-to-toe with the Cromwell II system in Stevidian South Greal and had proved to be incredibly successful. Sharpe had been directly involved in its development, particularly around the use of Stevidian satellites to achieve the results posted by effective use of the battle space. But what with the current Kessler Syndrome high above the Earth, Stevid’s capabilities, as with all states in the region, had seriously diminished.

This meeting in Haishan was crucial to continued development of the system and the building on ‘healthy’ relations between the Technocracy and the Holy Empire. The SCNS was leaps and bounds ahead of any communication satellite the Empire’s military possessed and the ability of the satellite to crunch gigabytes of data into a single data stream was very much desirable.
Stevid was the biggest financial contributor to the project outside Haishan itself; it had also been gifted elements of the system to keep secure in case the Technocracy fell in times of war - particularly against the ever present Covenant member states that just so happened to be neighbours of the Technocracy. Stevidian economic might and its monumentally huge industrial capacity was also part of Empire’s contribution to project. But one of the key parts of the contribution to SCNS was the invaluable data it provided from the Damocles uplink facility in New Empire. The facility had since been destroyed by a Lyran raid not long after Stevidian forces left the area in the hands of a private military group. But Sharpe had personally visited the uplink facility on several occasions not long after the capture and then again shortly after the destruction to sift through whatever information was left.

Chief Coordinator Kateo-Kayvil was the Haize official Sharpe and his small retinue would be meeting. The chief diplomat, Sir Michael had his work cut out for him - he was well experienced in foreign talks and trade negotiations but the Hashians were a different kettle of fish. They were deeply suspicious of outsiders and rightly wary of how other nation-states reacted to their technological advancements. Though not a completely closed society, it had taken the Holy Empire months of patient rapport building to get the Haize Junta to even respect the Empire as not being an aggressive regional competitor - perhaps just a competitor or a state that they could one day work with. The work required to even get in on the SCNS project was nothing short of a miracle. Because of the Haize lack of trust for most of her regional neighbours, Sir Michael had to understand the fact the Kateo-Kayvil had to be respected. One wrong word at the wrong time could ruin years of patient diplomacy.

[The Macabees]

Krierlord Dedaelus Marco Serón was not the strongest amongst his peers, both physically and in terms of influence, but he was the best fitted for this particular event. He had not always been second-to-Fedor in terms of "rank," to the extent that there was rank within the Imperial Bureaucracy. Early in life he earned his doctorate in mechanical engineering, already holding masters in physics and aeronautical engineering. A brilliant mind, he went to work with the PROYEKT ESPAC, a secretive space program developed by what was then the Kingdom of Macabea. After the re-consolidation of the Second Empire of the Golden Throne, he was transferred to the new space agency, which remains unnamed to this day. Any international renown he may had earned for his successes, including overseeing the development of an extensive satellite network that ultimately suffered heavy damage during the War of Golden Succession, was sacrificed by the Imperial Government's vehement demand for secrecy with regards to its space program. Nevertheless, prior to his promotion to Fedor's own advisory, he had almost single-handedly led the reconstruction of the Golden Throne's space assets. It made much sense for him to be Fedor's head representative to the multinational SCNS committee.

Trailing behind him were Alfons Caragún, an old pure-bred Díenstadi, and Kara Nomasa, her skin the light brown of sunny Beda Fromm. The best way to describe Caragún is to call him a nerd. Thick glasses, horribly combed hair, and more awkward than a loud fart at a fancy dinner party, the only thing Caragún really did well was science. But, he was damn good at that. For much of the later years of Serón's hegemony of the Golden Throne's covert space program, Caragún served as the head of his engineering department. The title is actually misleading, because he was not a good manager, so someone else did that. But, he lead the department in terms of research, and most good ideas were his. On her end, Nomasa was young, had little experience, and some disputed what she did as being science.' Her talent was economics and — unknown to the rest of the world — she served as one of the leading managers assigned to a classified space program being developed in conjunction with Imbrinium. Why bring an economist to an astrophysics show? Because she was great for making things economically efficient, at least to the extent government could do such a thing. Both her and Caragún were crucial elements to Serón's entourage.

The krierlord spoke to Nomasa first. It was the first time he had said anything since they had gotten out of the vehicle that had brought them to the conference building. "Kara, there is no reason to be cheap today."

She blinked, evidently taken aback by the comment. "Sir? What do you mean?"

"You know how you are," chuckled Serón. "I didn't mean anything by it. It's what makes you such a valuable asset to the Imperial Government, Miss Nomasa. You get us the most bang for our buck. So, all I'm saying now is that, yes, let's minimize the waste, but always remember that we are operating on an essentially limitless budget — well, within reason...so I guess that means it wouldn't be limitiless, but WHATEVER you get the point."

"Yes, yes," Nomasa waved. "I get it."

Serón then turned his neck the other direction to get a look at Caragún. He was day dreaming again. "Daedalus!"

"Sir!"

"You just stand and look pretty." Caragún seemed confused and Serón thought about it, then corrected himself, "well...as pretty as a guy like you can be, I guess. Just try your hardest and try not to talk too much, unless we need you for the technical stuff, we wouldn't want you to kill the conversation with a misplaced reference to some esoteric piece of information that would bore drunk-off-his-ass Baccus himself."

When the three walked into the conference room they first saw Kateo-Kayvil and the other Haize officials. Haishan. Haishan is an oasis of individuality in the monolith that is Eastern Greater Díenstad. Surrounded by Covenant nations, Haishan turned out to be a natural diplomatic partner to the Golden Throne. It wasn't just the political situation that made it so. The Golden Throne had always valued relations of honesty and trust. Before Haishan, it had only one true ally: Hailandkill. The rest of them had collapsed into irrelevance. And although many rushed to make friends with Fedala at the start of its recent return to the world stage, what made Haishan such an attractive ally was that it was not interested in a quickly escalating, but eventually meaningless, diplomatic relationship. No, like the Golden Throne, Haishan wanted something solidified by a history of cooperation. It was with the hope of taking that process one step further that the krierlord and his team had come. Already co-members of GATA, and with a growing economic and financial (and technological) friendship, the SCNS project would reinforce this trend by committing both nations to each others' futures.

His gaze then swept to the Stevidian, Prof. William Sharpe. Their participation was seen with some apprehension, but if Haishan trusted them, so would the Golden Throne — by necessity. Stevidian–Macabee relations were as rocky as they had always been. Sure, things had cooled down since The War, but not by much. The landmark agreement to swap territories was a big step towards friendlier relations, but there were a lot of loose ends that still promoted rivalry between the two. After The War, and during the Golden Throne's dormant stages, there was a status quo to central Greater Díenstad that remained undisturbed. Fedala's re-emergence had threatenedd this stability, and Stevid has understandably reacted with some precaution. Furthermore, recent political developments — namely a flowering alliance with Imbrinium — was making a further cooldown between Fedala and Stevidia that much more difficult. Still, there was hope, and the SCNS would do its part in helping bring the two powers together. But, Serón could not help but ponder how stress between the two would affect their joint-efforts with Haishan. Peace was the only rational option, but humans are not always rational.

The Castillians were just arriving, as well, but with this country the Golden Throne had only limited interaction. The krierlord would have to take this opportunity to rekindle communication between the two countries, especially given Castille's recent overtures towards United World Order — a country that the Golden Throne too helped, but one it still kept a wary eye on. All in all, it was an interesting group of nations here; in a sense, an unlikely friendship. Still, one that held great promise for the future.

With that in mind, Sorén presented himself with a great smile on his face, "Greetings ladies and gentlemen!"

[Castille de Italia]

The Castillian delegation to the SCNS conference consisted of the highest academic minds of the State. Leading the group was the famous geneticist Doctor Peter Beyer, Director of Studies at the Torrington Nautica. He held the highest and most prestigious position in the State, overseeing all of the technological advances and studies for the Castillian war machine, the civilian sector, the Party's genetic engineering, and unknown but to a select few, the paranormal studies that take place in the monolithic complex right in the heart of Torrington. Beyer, originally from the German Empire, was known for his breakthrough research in genetics and human engineering. While he was the foremost academic authority in the State, he had little expertise in satellite communications and aerospace technology, so accompanying him was Doctor Joanna Hopgood, who held a doctorate in engineering from the National Institute of Science. Her intelligence was on par with her striking good looks, but flirtatious behavior wouldn't win over a contract with the Haize; they were a no-nonsense type of people, and their drive for technological progress reflected that. However, Doctor Hopgood's knowledge of satellite communication was so vast that it would be impressive to the Haize, after all, she had been the spearhead for linking a direct communications relay from the Castillian Lunar Base to the Nautica, which earned her the Eisenwald Laureate, awarded to anyone who goes above and beyond in the fields of academics in service of the State.

Also in the delegation was Herschel Kilmer, a well known oligarch and personal friend of the Chancellor. His playboy lifestyle was funded by his offshore investments and political connections, so his presence at the conference was solely because his potential investment in the SCNS network would benefit the State and his aeronautics firm, which was developing a top secret bomber for the Castillian Air Force, would be able to implement a potential SCNS uplink in the Sledgehammer Project, a nuclear-powered superheavy bomber to rival the Lyran Dragonhawk. The state-controlled media would be publishing the unveiling of it within the next few weeks, so Kilmer Aeronautics was given the green light to discuss the project with Haize officials, as the secret would be out within days anyways. Establishing the SCNS uplink in the Sledgehammer bomber, and possibly integrating SCNS with Castillian satellites, so that in the case certain lines are broken, there was direct communication between the Sledgehammer and the next command, such as the Lunar Base.

Lastly, in the delegation was Horatio González, a First-Grade Marshal from the Castillian Air Force. Being born of a Castillian father and Mokan mother, his dual nationality was sometimes shown as hypocritical, as the Dulles Race Laws forbids interracial relations, but his father and himself was pardoned by the Chancellor, and he was within a short time, promoted to First-Grade Marshal, the second-highest senior officer rank in the Air Force. His presence at the conference was similar to that of Mr. Kilmer's. The Sledgehammer Project was a huge priority for the Castillian government, and having the SCNS uplink in the plane would put the project leaps and strides ahead of the Dragonhawk, which had a similar feature to the Damocles system. Unlike most functions, the Marshal was not wearing a military uniform. Instead he wore a black suit with a bright red tie, the Golden Party badge neatly pinned to the lapel.

Surely enough the architecture was bland and unappealing, like the Haize lifestyle, but the efficiency of the building was something that needed to be mirrored in Castillian architecture, which was aesthetically pleasing but not necessarily energy or space efficient. While the delegation was among the first Castillians to travel to Haishan, the trip wasn't that exciting to the group. The landscape wasn't very appealing, the cities bland and utilitarian, and the perhaps non-existent nightlife nowhere to be found. The group hoped that negotiations would be short, an agreement reached, and a reasonable price paid for Castillian involvement in the project. Perhaps the investment into SCNS could pave the way for more collaboration between the Haize and Castillians, two highly advanced nations.

[Haishan]

The Chief Coordinator calmly analyzes the new entrees while giving slight glances to his right and left which consists of relevant personnel from Haize side. Seated on his left are Chief Defense Minister Ezyieal-Chie and HPVA's acting Director Dr.Aramzye-Hato. On his right are Provost Helzye-Roka from Central Military Commission and Director-General Bezeth-Uro of Advanced Space Development Directorate.

He simply nods to Krierlord Dedaelus Marco Serón as a reply to his greetings while watching the Castillian entourage being seated at the corner of his eyes. The Chief Defense Minister however frowned at Serón as in Haize culture, any words spoken before the requested party could officially attend or settle down before the said meeting is an insult to the meeting, present parties and the yet-to-arrive party. Chief Coordinator quickly assessed the situation with a single glance towards her, hinting to the Chief Defense Minister that it's unreasonable to expect foreign dignitaries to know the intricacies of Haize culture overnight.

He then nods to Haize assistants in proximity, signalling the conference will soon start. "Gentlemen and ladies, now that everyone is here and seated, the Junta thank you for attending our first conference today. Before we could begin our conference, let's have a brief introduction as a refresher. After the introductions are done, we will proceed to our agenda of the conference. Chief Defense Minister, if you may?"

"Oh! Well yes. Nihatzi everyone. I'm Chief Defense Minister Ezyieal-Chie, representing the Haize Defense Ministry which authorized SCNS constellation for your cooperation and formulate the necessary doctrinal framework for our portion of the constellation." The Chief Defense Minister is of course, startled to his sudden suggestion but she quickly recovered with tone of professionalism.

Next to the uniformed Minister is Dr.Aramzye-Hato, clad with white overcoat and simple glasses. "Nihatzi. Name is Aramzye-Hato and I'm the current director of HPVA which is responsible to accelerate experimental technologies into the structure of the constellation. In other words, we of HPVA shorten the time taken for new stuffs to be accepted by Haize Armed Forces."

"Nihatzi and good day everyone. As per a priori, I'm Provost Helzye-Roka from Central Military Commission which regulate matters concerning to executive actions regarding SCNS constellation and international relations aspects of the constellation with our State investors." The simple introduction from Dr.Aramzye-Hato is then contrasted with formal speech from the high ranking Haize Dasko member.

The introduction continues with a smile from a solidly-built man, coloured in jet black suit and silver tie. "Nihatzi. And I'm Director-General Bezeth-Uro, current head of Advanced Space Development Directorate, or ASDD in short. We deal with civilian aspect of the constellation and classification between military and civilian aspects of SCNS."

"Well, greetings again everyone. I'm Chief Coordinator Kateo-Kayvil, the main person of contact regarding general matters of SCNS constellation and your host for today's conference. I would like to remind our guests that this meeting is for your eyes only so anything that is disclosed in this room, should stay in the room." The round robin introduction from Haize side is then finished by the Chief Coordinator.

While it may seem unnecessary to hold an introduction session given all relevant data have been supplied to current attendees, the Chief Coordinator felt it's essential to do so for various reasons; to gauge the commitment of the Investor States by observing how their representatives would introduce themselves, ensuring previous matter involving Chief Defense Minister to be swept under the rug and for complying to formal meeting protocols set by the Junta.

After all for Haize, first impressions brought by appearance aren't everything but instead first speech is scrutinized as an indicator of sorts, to evaluate the other party on whether they are worthwhile to talk to. Haize culture emphasis on honesty thus values the weight behind words given words are seen by Haize as a window to one's personality and true self.

[The Macabees]

Dedaelus Serón smiled to himself when all the Haize Chief Coordinator did to respond to his greeting was nod. The Haize could sometimes be...as some might say...an "uptight" people. They had strict rules in their cultural etiquette. As a man exposed to many cultures, given his position in the Imperial Government, Serón was quite aware of Haishan's rules of formality. He, however, was a happy man who liked to express himself and be friendly, so the Haize would be sorely disappointed if they expected him to change his ways anytime soon. They'd soon come to appreciate him for his qualities, in any case, and Serón was sure that those would outweigh whatever demerits others saw in him. It wouldn't be the first time someone disagreed with his way of being, but that hadn't stopped him from rising to the top of the Golden Throne's space program. Being a joyous man, Serón's smile to himself soon turned into a smile for all those at the table, even for the Stevidian delegate who had probably enjoyed seeing the Haize's public display of disapproval, and he briefly took the floor after the Chief Coordinator had left it open.

He restrained himself at first. Already having received the Chief Coordinator's Nod of Disappointment™, he didn't want to make his first impression even worse by talking over someone else or being too aggressive at the table. So, he waited the proper amount of time before jumping in, and when he saw that everyone else was being just as careful as he, Serón decided to take on the task of continuing the round of introductions himself. "I must say that it is truly an honor for me to be sitting among you. As you all well know, our...err, the Golden Throne's," he corrected himself, and went on, "space program has been mostly hidden from our neighbors and otherwise political partners. I am sure your intelligence agencies can attest to that. So, I feel truly humbled to be here, because this represents an important step forward to making our space program more open and opaque."

"Who am I?" he continued. "I am Dedaelus Marco Serón, Krierlord to His Imperial Majesty Fedor I. Before I advised Fedor, I worked as the head of the Imperial Government's space presence. This includes, among many other things, overseeing the reconstruction of our military satellite network and the implementation of space-based assets of our anti-ballistic missile defense system. In that position, I was also able to work with dozens of private space agencies in the Golden Throne, and so I played a large role in fomenting what has truly become a privatized revolution of commercializing our atmosphere and what's beyond it. I know that our hosts are familiar with GATA. It is largely because of my work with the private sector that I was able to convince Fedor to greenlight the Golden Throne's political involvement with, and guarantee to, atmospheric trade. As an advisor, I speak directly to and for His Imperial Majesty, which means what I say today is as good as His own word. I really do look forward to this project and our cooperation! I cannot put into words how excited I am, and the Golden Throne is, to join in this partnership."

He looked at Nomasa, and she introduced herself next, "Hello, my name is Kara Nomasa and I am an economist who works with Mr. Serón." She looked at him, almost as if apologizing in advance for something. She gave the reason why out loud. "Yes, he really is this loud of a person all the time." She didn't wait to see if anyone laughed or chuckled — some crowds could be dry, especially if some of them were Haize —, so she pressed on, "I am not a scientist, but I am in expert in getting the most bang for the most buck, so to speak."

She looked at Serón for a second, half wincing to see if he was mad. But the Krierlord facetiously fumed at her and then winked. He was a good spirited man.

The overweight engineer, Caragún, went last, "My n-n-name is, Al-Al-Alfons Caragún." He didn't have a stutter, he was just nervous. "I am H-Head of the Engineering D-D-Department for the Golden Throne's national space agency." He nodded and waved awkwardly — a signal for someone else to bail him out.

"He is quite the talent," said Serón, quickly. There was not an ounce of sarcasm in that statement. Despite his social issues, Caragún was the first man Serón would call for any problem space-related and he publicly backed that trust in his abilities. But, he let that all go as someone else started to introduce their team and themselves.

[Stevid]

Sir Michael pursed his lips as subtly as he could to mask a grin crawling along his face as the Haishans in front of him were taken aback by the etiquette displayed by Golden Throne’s delegation. However even though it was on Haize soil and they were the hosts, a modicum patience was at least expected from their Haize hosts. Conducting talks with a variety of cultures meant being exposed to whatever standards and values that nation state had to offer. Sir Michael expected all national representatives present would not bow before the national conformities of the host nation quite so lightly. Respect for one another was a key attribute to have, but that did not mean the Stevidian delegation would find themselves assimilated by Haize civil courtesy.

That being said the Haize were (ironically) quite open about how closed they were, diplomatically speaking anyway. Sir Michael steadied himself knowing that even though their hosts had been patient and tolerant so far it would only take a few more transgressions before complaints would be raised.

“Right, a simple introduction from me then; I’m Sir Michael Duce, Imperial Diplomatic to His Majesty’s Kingdom of Stevid and Rubet and it’s Holy Empire. I’d first like to extend my government’s sincere thanks to our Haize hosts for holding this meeting to allow the national proponents of the SCNS to meet and discuss together. I won’t presume as to the full agenda of this meeting is, only that I’m deeply looking forward to discussing the finer points of the political and economic implications of this shared system.”

Sir Michael retired and nodded to Prof. Sharpe to introduce himself to the forum.

“Good day to you all. My name is Professor William Sharpe of the Stevidian Space Administration, or SSA. I am the government’s foremost and lending scientist in the field of satellite information technology and helped develop the Stevidian military satellite communication network/battlespace management system BATTLEnet. I must say that I am extremely excited about this endeavour that the government of Haishan has put forward. The SCNS is one of the most promising systems I’ve ever encountered and fulfils more in both a strategic and tactical sense than its ‘would be’ competitor, Damocles. I look forward to discussing the various topics on the system we are all brining to the table. Thank you.”

Sir Michael remained seated too as Sharpe sat down but chimed in quickly once he had finished.

“Others with us include civil servants from the Ministry of Defence, The Imperial Foreign Office and the Treasury. They will be relatively quiet through the discussions here but are integral to the Stevidian position within SCNS. They represent their affiliated government departments and will be noting what affects them in what way before advising me on how to proceed.”

[Castille de Italia]

After the Stevidian delegation had delivered their introduction to the conference room, the Haize Chief Coordinator looked to Dr. Beyer, signifying that it was their turn to formally introduce themselves. Beyer, a tall, middle-aged man with graying hair, stood up from his seat, the glimmer of his Party Badge pinned neatly to the lapel of his jacket reflecting from the natural lighting coming in through the window.

"I am Doctor Peter Beyer," he said with a slight German accent. The dialect had faded away mostly after years of living among the English-speaking Castillians. "I am the foremost academic authority in the Castillian National Socialist State, being the Director for Studies at the Torrington Nautica, which many of you may be familiar with, or may have even visited. I am here on behalf of the State to learn more about the SCNS project and to negotiate for Castillian investment into the project." He then turned to his right, where his three associates were seated.

"I am accompanied by the lovely Doctor Joanna Hopgood, an Eisenwald Laureate, known for her work on the Castillian Lunar Base," he said as she gave a wave to the room. "Mister Herschel Kilmer, who you may all recognize. Mister Kilmer is well-known for his aeronautics designs and manufacturing, as well as a major proponent of the SCNS project, which he would like to very much invest in privately," Beyer said with a chuckle as Kilmer gave a grin and a wave. "Finally with me is First-Grade Marshal Horatio González, of the Castillian Air Force. He is here to discuss the possibility to use SCNS in conjunction with a special aeronautics project we have been working on, which we have chosen to unveil later in this meeting."

"We are very pleased to be here and excited for the opportunities that SCNS has to offer. We have been directed by the Chancellor to secure any deal beneficial to both the State and Haishan, and I think it's safe to say that we are very optimistic about this conference," he said as he ended the introduction, and promptly took a seat and gave a warm smile to the Haize Chief Coordinator.