Galactic Assembly - The Arcturan Incident - FT OPEN

[Auman]

Sheikh Navarrone, Overlord of Allied Forces, leader of Vascilia and its associated interests, sauntered into the crowded, newly built, Galactic Assembly headquarters. He chose to dress in his military dress uniform, forgoing his slightly more casual business attire for the occasion. The matte black of his impressively decorated uniform added an air of seriousness, which was almost immediately counter acted by the absurdity of his high collared cape, which made him look more like Count Dracula, than the decorated war veteran that he was. As he strode towards the podium, he eyed the seats that were reserved for members of the Imperial Republic of the North with disdain.

The conference hall was adorned with the various cultural niceties of the various nations that made up the membership. The tables were made of fine mahogany, cut from the jungles of Derscon. The blood red linens were from the great tapestries of New Haven. The fine marble floors had been mined from Auman's Balaklav mountain range... I'm sure there was other stuff in the conference hall that deserved attention as well, but Navarrone didn't care to notice them, he was a very busy man. As the Overlord reached the podium he laid out a dossier and started to organize himself before the others had arrived. He had elected to leave his revolver with the head of security, whose men permeated every part of the building and the streets around it.

OOC:

You can arrive at the meeting at any time. Let's just avoid the usual military warship arrives in orbit stuff. We can assume your people have already gone through customs and have been thoroughly disarmed... Unless you're a signatory of the Treaty of Brofistteim, you know who you are.

[Bryn Shander]

Gerard Kessler, the Jannarii minister of foreign affairs was already in the building when Sheikh arrived. Like the Aumanii overlord, he was anything but amused with the shenanigans of the Republicans, and again like the Aumanii overlord, was wearing his military dress uniform as well. Gerard Kessler was a retired Admiral in the Jannarii navy, and a veteran of all four Belkan Wars as well as the Halcyon-Haven war. His navy blue uniform had been hanging in a closet for years, but had been cleaned and pressed especially for this occasion. The silver buttons and cuff links gleamed in the subdued light of the assembly hall, as did the four silver stars that adorned his shoulder straps and created a sharp contrast with his gold epaulettes. Unlike Navarrone, however, Kessler had not elected to come unarmed. On his left hip was a silver hilted saber. On his right was his service revolver.

Even so, Gerard Kessler was hard at work. He was sitting at one of the desks with a number of folders and papers in a number of stacks spread about. There was an ash tray half full of butts next to a half empty glass that probably had whisky in it judging by the melting ice cubes and brown liquid inside. He took a long drag and placed his lit cigarette onto the rim of the ash tray as he flipped through the pages of one particularly long report. After apparently finding what he was looking for, he used a highlighter and a sticky note to mark the line and the page, then moved on to the next report. It seemed that he'd been working on the reports for quite a while given the large stack of papers with yellow notes sticking out every few pages. His time was running out, however, as more and more people were beginning to arrive. The conference would be starting soon.

[Hyperspatial Travel]

Quietly, Ordinator Galtos Halycon stalked into the building. He had come simply attired in a suit and tie, a silver watch hidden snugly under the suit's arms. He had of course come unarmed, barring the suit itself. It had been horrifically expensive - Cyprian make, and it could no doubt stop anything short of an artillery round.

He nodded cordially to the Janarii and the Aumanii as he passed them. They were on opposite sides of this issue of course, but that was no excuse for incivility.

Lengthening his stride, he quickly made his way to the section of the Galactic Assembly reserved for the representatives of IRON. He was the first to arrive. A pity. He sat down, and tapped a datapad, recalling all the data of the incident. An irritant, to be sure, but hardly indefensible. Thoughts raced through his head - he was the real only Technocratic proponent for IRON. The far larger majority of the Ordinators supported pulling out of the alliance and simply laying waste to any worlds that contained mages, continuing their path of conquest as they had always done.

He sighed. Short-sighted fools! If he tripped up now, it could very well have repercussions at home. Allying with what were most kindly called in the Union magelings, and at the worst abominations had not made him many friends. It had cost him enough influence merely to get things to this point - if it came to war, he would have trouble convincing the other Ordinators not to simply backstab their erstwhile allies in order to dispose of a few mages.

Of course, the Janarii and Aumanii had no idea how weak his bargaining position really was, at least from the Technocracy's position. He was going to have to bluff of course - the question was, how much?

[The Island States]

Imperial GA Delegate Sarah Newman entered the building sometime after Sheikh Navarrone, wearing the red robes adorned with the light ceremonial titanium plate armor of the Imperial Family. At the front desk, she handed over the polearm weapon she carried as part of her membership in the Imperial Diplomatic Corps. In the lobby, aides set up tables and put out copies of the Imperial Investigatory Commission's report that was published just days before in book form. Newman signalled for her aides to count up how many representative were present, and to give a book to each representative.

Newman entered the room, non-verbally acknowledged her counterparts, Navarrone and Kessler, before taking her seat and taking a drink of water from the glass in front of her. Just then, an aide passed out her copy of the book, and she began marking specific pages with post-it notes while lighting up an Imperial Finest-brand cigar while waiting for the meeting to start.

[Auman]

'Uh... Ms. Newman, just to warn you, that's not water.' Said Navarrone with a sheepish grin on his face. Seeing as alcoholism was a cherished cultural heritage, Navarrone forgot the customs and traditions of the more conservative Havenic people. Instead of water, Turcosian port was served, which was a clear, near odorless and highly alcoholic beverage. Sheikh took a sip from the rock glass he had left for him on the podium by his adjutant prior to the meeting. His face was pinched for a moment before turning deadly serious.

'Is this all there is going to be today, Mr.,' The Overlord looked over his notes. 'Mr. Halcyon?' Navarrone fixed a steely gaze upon the only IRON representative within gunshot... Uh, earshot.

[Capsule Corporation]

Cameron Keflek sat alone the corner, fiddling with a tablet computer and catching up on work while he waited for the assembly meeting to start. On his table lay an untouched glass of sipping whiskey, and a set of notecards with prepared responses.

Cameron's role was to represent the Keffleki Administration's decision to join IRON, and to do whatever was possible to prevent war. He wasn't the most important person in the cabinet, but he knew as well as anyone that if IRON went to war with Hermes, Keflek was the easiest and closest target.

He was going to remain as quiet and unnoticed as possible, but if he needed to be loud, he could be loud.

[Future-Rome]

Decimus Drusus, the Neo-Roman Consular Legate to IRON and the Republic's chief representative in cases of all things IRON-related, entered the room and took his place beside the representatives of his allied states. He was clad in a simple yet trim white toga with the purple stripe of magistracy, over a matte black skinsuit that covered him from the neck down. The Consuls had felt it imperative that he be present, as it had been an all-Neo-Roman task force that had attempted to enforce the tariff checkpoint.

Maintaining the nigh-unreadable expression that seemed to be a dominant trait of his people, he leaned back in his chair and waited for the meeting to be called to order.

[Feazanthia]

*TAG, post incoming*

[Derscon]

Since the reaffirmation of the Aumanii-Dersconi friendship, and the formation of the Galactic Assembly, Kandajr Kazankrov had held the dual position of Ambassador to the Aumanii as well as Permanent Ambassador to the GA. He was planning on wearing a suit, but after significant ball-busting by Navarrone pre-conference, he opted for his military uniform. The ambassador was a retired Master Sergeant in Military Intelligence, the All Seeing Eye embroidered into the black shoulder cape providing an eerie setting with the rest of the black and gold uniform. To his side, he wore the short sword of the Aumanii Shock Trooper, having "graduated" the training regiment many years ago. His chest wasn't as decked out with as many medals as the others, but his service in the military was actually rather short, having left after the massacres of Reichskamphen under Karaka Rackhamov to become a journalist for the Army, and then a freelance reporter outside of the military. When Alexei retook the throne, he was made a Chief Diplomat, then permanent ambassador to the Aumanii.

Thankfully this shit still fits. He wore the uniform with mild disdain, having since softened from his young and warlike days. But hell, it looked good, so not much to complain about.

Unlike the other delegates, he wasn't working on anything. Instead, he was eating a bowl of Count Chocula cereal to pass the time. But when Navarrone walked down the center isle to his podium, his spoon stopped halfway to his mouth. Blinking a few times, Kandajr's eyes darted back and forth between the cereal box beside him and the Overseer.

Derscon's position in the assembly was actually smack in the center of it all. While Derscon was a member of Hermes, Derscon was also an ESUS member, of which most of IRON's chief players also claimed membership. Needless to say, it was going to be a very awkward meeting.

[Auman]

'My grandpa used to tell me stories about what it was like in the old days. Auman was a different country when he was a boy. He lived in Vascilia City, back when it was a much larger town, before the war that is. We had a civilian government that had imposed a strict, Collectivist, system on all of us. When my grandpa started going to college he needed to pass through three seperate checkpoints. For each checkpoint there was the associated documentation that he needed to have to pass through. In his second cycle of university, where he was training to become a doctor, it just so happened to be a leap year. In the old days, the bad, old days, you needed to update your papers on a monthly basis. So, during the month of Kalabra, during Festivus, the thirty fifth day was slashed off the calendar. My grandfather didn't realize this and failed to receive his updated paperwork. My family was very poor back then and he couldn't afford to miss a day of school, so he decided to risk the checkpoints. It was a bad call on his part...'

The Overlord raised the glass to his lips and took a sip of the biting liquor.

'Two years of hard labor later, my grandpa left the high security penitentiary where-in he was put to task. My family had gone from working class to indentured servants as their debt to the state became so overwhelming that they were all forced into a social work camp. My great grandpa, great-great grandma, my great uncles and aunts, all of them. My father was born in this camp and if it weren't for the war, the Vascilian War of Global Domination, he would have lived and died there. My father impressed a local Army recruiter that often made his rounds through the camps to collect the bottom of the barrel, more meat to chuck into the grinder. Bad call on his part. Long story short, Auman and the Ambrosia system don't have a single Collectivist party in it. And I am now the Overlord of Allied Forces for the Vascilian Theater.' The Overlord felt he said too much already.

'Why is it, my northern friends, that you are here today?' He asked, flipping several pages forward through his dossier.

[Feazanthia]

Elohim Nabaal, one of the diplomats assigned to the Imperial Republic of the North by the Daiamid, casually entered the Galactic Assembly chamber. Clad in a dress uniform of Federation green, with epaulets adorned with the golden emblem of Kiith Nabaal, the man's staff made a steady thunk...thunk as he made his way to the IRON seating area. As he sat in the area, which seemed to be the focus of attention, he tapped the back of his neck in a form of nervous habit and accessed his neural lace. Instantly, his mind's eye was filled with a full report of the so-called Arcturan Incident. He had, of course, read the report numerous times before.

It seemed self-evident. A Hermes-aligned vessel had attempted to run the North-South border without paying the miniscule tariff demanded by IRON law, had gotten caught by a Roman patrol, and the resulting verbal altercation had nearly broken out into a shooting war. Elohim didn't particularly understand what the problem was, other than the fact that the Aumani had displayed a blatant disregard for interstellar law and had deployed warships to sovereign northern territory, but the Daiamid had decided to deploy a representative to this gathering regardless.

Ah well. At least it would be entertaining to see how the trumped-up Milky Way powers compared their reproductive organs.

[TRIAD Enterprises]

Due to the debacle the original Galactic Assembly meeting had been, the ambassadors originally assigned to serve TRIAD's interests in that body had been recalled, and the entire diplomatic staff of the TRIAD embassy within Aumanii territory was replaced. Currently serving as Public Relations Prime Delegate, the official title for the leading diplomat on-site, was a Marduk which had chosen the name Nova.
Right now Nova was using a standard diplomatic model frame. Humanoid in general shape, the machine was covered in polymer sheathing textured to mimic human appearance, save for the light blue color. Seated in one of the human-styled chairs provided by the host, the machine watched as the various arrivals began to size each other up. Cold, dark-blue eyes swept Navarrone as he moved into his familial tale.

Following the question posed by the Aumanii Overlord, Nova rose it's hand to be recognized and heard. #A point of order Overlord Navarrone. Was it not you yourself who said that all who came here to speak at the Galactic Assembly would be given the chance to be heard? Is that not the purpose this body was in fact created for?#

[Hyperspatial Travel]

Galtos looked over at the Aumanii overlord, and shook his head.

"Every member of IRON is entitled to send or not send a representative as it sees fit. Some have a rather long way to go, Overlord Navarrone."

He waited for other delegates to trickle in, and, as the Aumanii asked his second question he stood, prepared to answer - and was stopped by the voice of the TRIAD delegate. He shook his head ruefully and sat back down. He was in no hurry.

[Telros]

Another set of footfalls echoed throughout the hall and they would turn to see the figure of the Telrosian Ambassador to the Galactic Assembly. Having been to the first meeting of the Assembly, and participated in its formation, the Telrosian Dominion had finally selected a candidate to fill the roll as permanent member to represent them in that august body. That person was Amanda Shahin, once Head Ambassador to ESUS, now Grand Ambassador to the Assembly. Wearing her dark blue robe showing her attendance in the Dominion Diplomatic Core, she had a set of gold embroidery across it, in the insignia of the Core. Her position was unique, and while diplomats did not have astonishing outfits except for balls or dances, they decided to add a little something.

However, Amanda's mind was not focused on the new rank she had been given, however. She was going to be in a very tough spot at this meeting, but then, she had expected it. Being in multiple alliances tended to bite you in the ass when they came into conflict. The Dominion had been a long-time member of the ESUS, so they had ties to IRON and now Hermes, thanks to the admission of Derscon into their ranks. They were part of the GA, due to the first meeting, and most, if not all, would have heard of their pending application into the IRON Coalition. As such, she expected a lot of hostility and snide remarks thrown her way. However, she was here, officially, as not being part of IRON, but as a neutral member observing and commenting. And that had been sent to notify the Hermes leaders who supported this Assembly. Their representative was here as a Dominion and GA ambassador, not a IRON one, and anyone saying otherwise was of their own opinion, not fact until the application came through. Sitting down, she pulled out a manila folder and began to shift through her papers. She was sure she didn't have the information the others had. The confrontation she had been briefed about occurred between Havenic and Roman forces, and nearly came to a shoot out when a Roman fleet tried to stop a convoy from leaving without paying and Havenic forces had arrived on scene to force the issue. No battle had occurred, thankfully, but this put a strain on things. IRON was just starting to get up to full steam, and Hermes was well-established, powerful, and both sides had members with a complex web of alliances.

She could only hope the Assembly served what it was made for and deliver an agreement that would keep the peace.

[The Great Lord Tiger]

Angrily pacing through the hallways, James Yunos entered the room of the Assembly with a stormy expression. He glanced around, now able to recognize the placards (OOC: I'll assume this) identifying the IRON 'area'. Smoothing his own naval dress uniform, he turned instead to one of the many 'no-allegiance' spots and sat himself down, eying the rest of the chamber idly. He was soured further by the fact that seemingly everyone had their own formal uniforms, and turned forwards in his seat, poking at his datapad. He screamed at the 'organizers' in his mind, hoping it didn't become the massive cluster-f*** that was the IGSC 'meeting'.

[Arenumberg]

There were a number of reasons to attend this so called meeting of the "Galactic Assembly", whether through ties to ESUS, LAN, or indeed - the IRON Debacle. When all was said and done, the Union didn't really need a reason to come anyway, they would - as they had always done, pick and choose what was important and react accordingly.

It was thus that for the purposes of this meeting alone that Areia had dispatched the necessary Ambassadorial detachment, if it was to do so alone - it would represent its own interests and, as a side note of course, that of LAN. If others of the League chose to be present, the dialetic would change appropriately. For now, as far as one could see - it would be a time of Immeadiate Areian Interests.

Without much fanfare and with much calm dignity, the Areian Delegate - one Lariya Anthuíne, Dress Robes of State and all - entered, her elder mind outwardly deceived by the youthful immortality that was the curse, or gift of her race. Glancing around the room quickly with her crystalline blue eyes she made note of the current present delegates: Hermes and IRON accordingly, with a splash of ESUS colour amongst the IRON number dictating the order of the day.

She quickly made her way to an unoccupied area and took residence, calmly re-ordering her dark hair and perusing some documentation. She was of course, not late - nor was she early, for she had arrived precisely when she had meant to.

For now, She watched.

[Arizona Nova]

A human in plain, unremarkable civilian clothing claiming to be named John Stlanrev, a journalist for a minor Capsule Corporation news publication, quietly entered the room, following on the heels of far more richly dressed, flamboyant delegates. His benign manner and unremarkable face, and cleverly forged passport had all done their part to help him on his way. Walking behind and past the seated delegate of Arenumberg, he assumed a seat in a section reserved for journalists and media a ways to her left.

He had no weapon on him, no bomb was sewn into his DNA, he carried no deadly virus. He was here to gather information for a nation in absentia, a polity that was technically dead but whose collective will had been kept alive by the strenuous, tiresome, and completely silent efforts of his commanders. His name was really Hiram Koppel, and in reality he was an agent of the Ersatzregie, the shadow regime that had silently watched over the Arizona Novanian territories for the past six-hundred years, disappearing unfortunate scavengers and playing games with the barbarous insignificant successor states that had cropped up in Arizona Nova's wake.

Implanted in his brain was a set of microcomputers. They ostensibly and on demonstration enhanced his memory and recall, while also disrupting psionics within the organ, but it also harbored a digital sentience, named Shadrach, who along with Hiram observed the proceedings. Shadrach was also a safeguard; at the first sign of interrogation, he would kill Hiram, and try to make his escape via a subspace signal. Hiram knew this; he was ready to die for his country.

His commanders might have ignored this call to assembly, had it not been a time of flux. There had been a major breakthrough in terms of regaining the old homeworld; what, command would not specify, aside from that the timetable of their plan - to officially resurrect Arizona Nova, under their banner - had been greatly accelerated. As such it would be politik to get a lay of the land first, and this place was an ideal starting point.

. : ooc : . Yes, I reiterate - he is not a bomb, and his implant is not a weapon, though it possesses the means to kill him and him alone. Trying to remove it would do the same.

Arizona Nova is still, as of now, technically collapsed, save for the Ersatzregie, a shadow government which flooded into its wake. Hiram is a clandestine representative thereof. Feel free to question him, though I assert that immediately drawing a beeline to such an unremarkable, unimportant looking person, especially when he is consciously trying to lay low in this sort of assembly is, dangerously close to metagaming; make a compelling reason to do so. Trying to force information will just end in his termination.

OOC: Just a note. The GA is hosted by Auman, on the planet Vascilia. Vascilia is in the Ambrosia system, and the Ambrosia system has a natural phenomenon called the Veil of Tears that acts as a natural FTLi and has some pretty severe effects on the mental facilities of those traveling through it. I'm fairly sure that the subspace signal would not work within the Veil.

. : ooc : . Duly noted. Shadrach is not aware of this. If Hiram gets in trouble, then both he and Shadrach die, and the mission is wrote off as a technical failure. Long-term regional strategy will be adjusted accordingly.

[Bryn Shander]

OOC: Just a note. The GA is hosted by Auman, on the planet Vascilia. Vascilia is in the Ambrosia system, and the Ambrosia system has a natural phenomenon called the Veil of Tears that acts as a natural FTLi and has some pretty severe effects on the mental facilities of those traveling through it. I'm fairly sure that the subspace signal would not work within the Veil.

[The Mindset]

The man was a beast. Eight feet tall, a solid two hundred and fifty kilos: General Christer Ingolf was neither pleased nor a pleasing sight. Not used to the higher gravity of this world, his heavy frame slouched horribly and his joints cracked with every swift movement. The hallway seemed like a rock beneath him, like a ship at sea, and he was finding it difficult to adapt. Nonetheless he entered the assembly chamber, head held high, a distinct air of pompous arrogance and entitlement evident in his pained posture.

His internal HUD listed tid-bits of information regarding the rapidly evolving galactic political scene. He disregarded the blur of text as it moved far too quickly for him to keep up.

No dedicated section for ESUS delegates, eh? he thought to himself. Do they not realise our influence?

Brow furrowed, he swept his dark brown hair from his eyes, and absently adjusted his tie as he sat. The seat creaked ominously under his considerable mass. He rolled up a sleeve and carefully prodded the delicate tattoos etched inside his left wrist. They came to life, twisting and contorting into a complicated graphical display. As his wrist attempted to establish communication with his ship in orbit, in order to relay real time data to his superiors, he took a moment to level an even gaze across the assembly chamber. His cold black eyes scanned every detail and his brow grew even deeper.

This is a waste of my time. IRON is effectively an ESUS puppet, surely others must realise this? he thought.

He did not speak. He merely waited.

[Avenio]

Euthydemus sat in the otherwise vacant LAN delegation, absentmindedly staring off into the distance.
The Dominion had missed the first Galactic Assembly meeting, and were eager to send a delegate to represent the myriad species in Theline space, and Euthydemus had only been too happy to take up such an important post.

Upon arrival, however, it seemed like he was the only delegate from the League present, and until the proceedings came underway, all he could do was wait.

He reached forward to grab his cup of algal tea, careful not to spill it on his brand-new Buddhist-like diplomatic robe, and sipped at it, glancing around at the other delegations, taking in all of the different sights and sounds of the assembly hall.

[Outer Heaven MK II]

OOC: I'm tagging this for the moment, will have a post up soon. I'm guessing by this point you guys will have already discovered and recruited me?

[NERV arms conglomerate]

the emperor of NERV entered the building, he was dressed like many ceremonial robes, the dark red trench coat,extending down to his feet, he sat down in his seat and his assistant sitting next to him waring a dark red flack jacket instead of a trench coat
"give me the incident file"
the assistant pulled out a dark purple file written on it was the words "THE IRON AGREEMENT",,the file was bursting at the seems, due to the single incident with an iron ship and the full details of the IRON agreement
NERV had been involved with the GA since near the beginning, but they never take an active role, they still where a part all the same, the two just sat and watched the proceedings

[Auman]

Navarrone smiled a little bit, clearly pleased with the turn out. He wouldn't admit it, but he was getting a kick out of the various costumes and outfits that the foreigners had brought with them. He found it adorable. 'Actually, we're all here today because I believe the Imperial Republic of the North has a little bit of explaining to do. As some of us may, or may not, be aware, there has been a certain amount of... Unpleasantness within an area of space that is heavily patrolled by the Aumanii armed forces. I'll allow our honored guests to explain themselves first.' Navarrone spoke with no hint of poison as he gestured for Decimus Drusus to approach the podium.

'Let's keep the rhetoric to a minimum, shall we?' Asked Navarrone, surrendering the floor to his casually dressed colleague.

[NERV arms conglomerate]

the NERV delegate stood up
"from what we can tell IRON shows little hostility to nations of the south, even when a small ship is confronted by huge battle groups, as for people in the north who are non IRON they should keep themselves out of IRON, i do not believe that force is necessary against IRON, nor that it is a threat, the south has better technology and verity of technology to combat the massive numbers of IRON."

[Auman]

The apparently nameless NERV delegate spoke up and caught Navarrone's attention. The Overlord would make his point in a moment, but the fact that everyone here today was currently sitting in the Galactic North, they should understand why the Aumanii, as northerners, would be upset.