Tyran Regional Application Thread

[Mubata]

Biggest NOPE ever!

What makes you say no? We can always dicuss it here or on IRC and make changes if necessary. As I said, I'm happy to work with what precedents have been set in the region.

My objection has nothing to do with your IC canon, although your stated willingness to be flexible with others towards creating and mixing canon is a bit shocking to me from all that I know. It's your OOC actions and relations with past regions that is concerning. We've chatted on IRC before, I don't care to do so again.

[Deusaeuri]

What makes you say no? We can always dicuss it here or on IRC and make changes if necessary. As I said, I'm happy to work with what precedents have been set in the region.

My objection has nothing to do with your IC canon, although your stated willingness to be flexible with others towards creating and mixing canon is a bit shocking to me from all that I know. It's your OOC actions and relations with past regions that is concerning. We've chatted on IRC before, I don't care to do so again.

I don't believe we've ever been in a roleplay or had IC histories in the same region before, so I don't know how you anticipate that to be a problem. I lowered my population from 172 to 140 and later 120 after chats on the IRC. If you have other recommendations and don't want to talk on IRC (which is totally fine, you can associate with who you wish), even though I do recall you asking me how my most recent project was going, you can always say them here or another means of communication.

[Nalaya]

As region founder, due to OOC concerns raised by several members, I am going to have to decline Deusaeuri's application at this time. If anyone has objections or questions, I will certainly address them, but this is my final decision. I can be reached by TG.

[Quen Minh]

I concur with your decision, Nalaya, not to say that I hate Deus.

[De La Plata]

Application
Official Name of Nation: República de La Plata.
Type of Government: Federal.
Head of Government: Marta Cavenaghi (President)
Head of State: Marta Cavenaghi (President)
National Population (cannot be larger than 300 million): 50,158,596
Type of Economy: Mixed Economy (Nordic based economy)
Brief Description of Nation (culture, society, politics, ect.): The República de La Plata is a fairly big nation comprised by 23 Provinces and 50,158,596 inhabitants, the capital, Buenos Aires, is located on the eastern part of the nation, La Plata is characterised or having a big percentage of the population having roots from other countries and a minimal percentage of native inhabitants. The Republic has diferent kinds of geography across the nation, starting with a big mountain range crossing the entire western side of the republic, steppes in central La Plata and the fertile valleys in the eastern side, including some fjords across almost 90% of the eastern coast.

The Republic is an interesting place in terms of culture, since it's visible the daily interaction f Hispanic culture along with another Eropean cultures such as Italian, German, Russian and Welsh cultures, based on inmigration policies stablished in 1848 in order to attract people to populate the uninhabitated parts of the nation, namely the south and the centre of the nation. Regarding weather, La Plata has the complete four climate seasons, having winter from July to October, Spring from November to January, Summer from February to April, Autumn from May to the beginning of July. La Plata ranges from cold semi arid weather to Mediterranean and Tundra Climate.
Preferred Climate: Rangiing from cold semi arid weather to Mediterranean and Tundra Climate (Basically, what Argentina has).
Roleplaying Example or Links (Please provide at least three individual posts or at least three paragraphs): viewtopic.php?f=7&t=390348&p=30385049#p30385049
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=390348&p=30359876#p30359876
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=390348&p=30334715#p30334715

[Mubata]

As region founder, due to OOC concerns raised by several members, I am going to have to decline Deusaeuri's application at this time. If anyone has objections or questions, I will certainly address them, but this is my final decision. I can be reached by TG.

I am over joyous and relieved with the decision. No objections here. Thank you.

[Mubata]

Application
Official Name of Nation: República de La Plata.
Type of Government: Federal.
Head of Government: Marta Cavenaghi (President)
Head of State: Marta Cavenaghi (President)
National Population (cannot be larger than 300 million): 50,158,596
Type of Economy: Mixed Economy (Nordic based economy)
Brief Description of Nation (culture, society, politics, ect.): The República de La Plata is a fairly big nation comprised by 23 Provinces and 50,158,596 inhabitants, the capital, Buenos Aires, is located on the eastern part of the nation, La Plata is characterised or having a big percentage of the population having roots from other countries and a minimal percentage of native inhabitants. The Republic has diferent kinds of geography across the nation, starting with a big mountain range crossing the entire western side of the republic, steppes in central La Plata and the fertile valleys in the eastern side, including some fjords across almost 90% of the eastern coast.

The Republic is an interesting place in terms of culture, since it's visible the daily interaction f Hispanic culture along with another Eropean cultures such as Italian, German, Russian and Welsh cultures, based on inmigration policies stablished in 1848 in order to attract people to populate the uninhabitated parts of the nation, namely the south and the centre of the nation. Regarding weather, La Plata has the complete four climate seasons, having winter from July to October, Spring from November to January, Summer from February to April, Autumn from May to the beginning of July. La Plata ranges from cold semi arid weather to Mediterranean and Tundra Climate.
Preferred Climate: Rangiing from cold semi arid weather to Mediterranean and Tundra Climate (Basically, what Argentina has).
Roleplaying Example or Links (Please provide at least three individual posts or at least three paragraphs): viewtopic.php?f=7&t=390348&p=30385049#p30385049
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=390348&p=30359876#p30359876
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=390348&p=30334715#p30334715

Seems legit. Also, SJG is cool by me.

[Mubata]

Application
Official Name of Nation: Hegemony of Silua
Type of Government: Federal Hegemony
Head of Government: Aima III
Head of State: Aima III
National Population (cannot be larger than 300 million): ~78-80 million
Type of Economy: Mixed Market. ( Market economy with strong regulatory oversight and governmental provision of public goods. A number of state-run enterprises are also present.
Brief Description of Nation (culture, society, politics, ect.):

The government Silua is a hegemony that consists of of two major component subdivisions. The hegemon nation of Silua which acts as the central authority and the thirty-nine autonomous states and polities which fall under its purview.

Each state and polity is guaranteed its own constitution and ruling assembly by which it may govern its geographic area. So long as each state and polity within the hegemony does noy act to harm or disrupt another state or polity and so long as its legislation and statutes do not contradict the hegemon's laws and statutes they may govern their territory as they see fit. Each constituent state and polity is required to provide the hegemon with troops, taxes, and other services depending upon the size and economy of their territory.

As the hegemon, Silua acts as the central authority in issues that affects the hegemony as a whole. The hegemon's leader, the Pukias Sualkarane, acts as the head of state, head of government, commander and chief, and the final authority in all matters regarding the hegemony.

Due to frequent attempts to invade the territories of Silua, it has been forced to maintain a strong defense force which in turn has reduced the funding made available to social welfare programs that are found in other modern developed nations with mixed economies.

Siluan culture and religion is base upon dualities. Male and female. Night and Day. Sun and Moon etc.. Women and men have very distinct and strictly enforced roles in Siluan society and culture. Women are meant to lead and men are meant to support. This might seem a somewhat draconian system to modern liberal nations and societies, but it is viewed as the norm in Silua. At the same time though, there are some who are drawn to the less rigidly constructed social and cultural rules found abroad.

There are about half a dozen related ethno-linguistic groups residing in Silua with smaller numbers of non-native ethnicities residing in the border regions. Minority populations in Silua are generally treated as majority ethnicities as they are viewed as citizens of the Hegemony like any other. On the other hand, people of hailing from ethnicities and nations associated with past hostilities can be treated very poorly in some instances.

Silua religious life is dominated by the Kuvo faith (96%) which a Dualistic one with worship focused on a pair of goddesses representing the Sun and the Moon. The sun goddess is considered the mother of women and the goddess of the moon is considered the mother of men. There is little room for moral ambiguity in Kuvo as there is good and evil and naught between.
Christianity is the only other faith with any significant number of followers (6%) and its adherents live on the fringes of Siluan territory. While generally accepted as citizens of the Hegemony in good standing, many Siluans remember the many crusades launched against them in the past by Christian nations.


The wild lands of Silua are important to Siluan cultural and spiritual beliefs. With this in mind, the Siluan leadership of the past and present have worked diligently to preserve the wilderness of Silua and protect the quality of the local envronment. This has not always been the most successful of endeavors, but overall Silua does manage to do a more than reasonable job of providing a clean environment and healthy ecology. Siluan forestry regulations, for example, are very strict and are set up to provide maximum yield of over maximum profit with a longer rotation period in the producing forests.


Preferred Climate: Northern climate. Preference is between Shalum and Alemarr.
Roleplaying Example or Links (Please provide at least three individual posts or at least three paragraphs): Will Discuss with region.

What's the story here? Did we vote on this yet? Also, is Silua a puppet of an RPer vet?

[Acrea]

-snip-

What's the story here? Did we vote on this yet? Also, is Silua a puppet of an RPer vet?

Silua is Tennai's puppet.

[Quen Minh]

Application
Official Name of Nation: República de La Plata.
Type of Government: Federal.
Head of Government: Marta Cavenaghi (President)
Head of State: Marta Cavenaghi (President)
National Population (cannot be larger than 300 million): 50,158,596
Type of Economy: Mixed Economy (Nordic based economy)
Brief Description of Nation (culture, society, politics, ect.): The República de La Plata is a fairly big nation comprised by 23 Provinces and 50,158,596 inhabitants, the capital, Buenos Aires, is located on the eastern part of the nation, La Plata is characterised or having a big percentage of the population having roots from other countries and a minimal percentage of native inhabitants. The Republic has diferent kinds of geography across the nation, starting with a big mountain range crossing the entire western side of the republic, steppes in central La Plata and the fertile valleys in the eastern side, including some fjords across almost 90% of the eastern coast.

The Republic is an interesting place in terms of culture, since it's visible the daily interaction f Hispanic culture along with another Eropean cultures such as Italian, German, Russian and Welsh cultures, based on inmigration policies stablished in 1848 in order to attract people to populate the uninhabitated parts of the nation, namely the south and the centre of the nation. Regarding weather, La Plata has the complete four climate seasons, having winter from July to October, Spring from November to January, Summer from February to April, Autumn from May to the beginning of July. La Plata ranges from cold semi arid weather to Mediterranean and Tundra Climate.
Preferred Climate: Rangiing from cold semi arid weather to Mediterranean and Tundra Climate (Basically, what Argentina has).
Roleplaying Example or Links (Please provide at least three individual posts or at least three paragraphs): viewtopic.php?f=7&t=390348&p=30385049#p30385049
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=390348&p=30359876#p30359876
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=390348&p=30334715#p30334715

Looks good to me, although you'll have to talk on the chat about where to place your country.

Also, elaborate more on your economic policy; I find it intriguing.

[Syara]

I have no issues with De La Plata.

[Allamunnic States]

I'm good with De La Plata, although I would note that I'm pretty sure the entirety of Tyran is, at present, in the Northern Hemisphere, so either SJG's nation would be our first SH nation, or the seasons in the application would need to be flipped. Otherwise, I like it.

EDIT: This is Arkoenn, for those who did not already know.

[De La Plata]

Well, there's not a lot of issues regarding the location of map, I'm flexible to change it if needed.

[Ossoria]

La Plata has been accepted.

Applications are still open for consideration.

[Ozya]

-

[Quen Minh]

Looks good to me.

[Gylias]

Very impressive application, Ozya. I like the amount of knowledge of RL Korea that went into creating it.

Since you're using Cyrillic to write Korean, if you're accepted, you might consider being somewhere in the vicinity of Acrea - they're our Russian nation.

[Azura and Montemayor]

A very nice application. I have no problems with any of it at this time.

[Arkoenn]

Looks good to me. I have no objections to raise.

[Tennai]

I like it and I think everything looks to be in order.

[Nalaya]

So, there's probably a bit of housekeeping to do in getting Ozya situated, but their application has been approved.

[Amrak]

I don't really have a set concept for what direction to take Amrak in, so I hope you don't mind if I provide an outline of what ideas I do have, and if it's good enough I'll be happy to work out which one to implement specifically in further detail. Personally, I'm rather partial to Concept B at the moment, so feel free to consider that the main body of the app.

Application
Official Name of Nation: The Republic of Amrak
Type of Government: Multi-Party Democracy.
Head of Government: Francois Paul-Ferrois (President)
Head of State: Francois Paul-Ferrois (President)
National Population: Pending placement. I'd like to aim for something somewhere around the ~80-150 million mark, but that's subject to discussion.
Type of Economy: Mixed market, in all cases, ranging from less to more government control.

In this concept, the Republic of Amrak's economy is largely dependent on its tertiary sector- that is to say, services and final products. While some heavy industry remains- mostly in the sectors of rail transport, nuclear power, and weapons manufacturing (both larger platforms and small arms) the primary sectors of agriculture and horticulture have only managed to vaguely remain competitive through extensive subsidy and trade barriers, both of which have been severely cut after changing political circumstances and a brief recession in the late 90s/early 2000s contracted the government's discretional budget severely.

Power in the state is primarily produced by nuclear energy, hydroelectricity and imported gas, but 'green' elements such as solar, wind, and tidal power are increasingly playing a large role, both in terms of power production and economically; with a developed tertiary sector and a specialised secondary sector, Amrak can expect to play a large role in the emerging field.

As a result, mining, farming, and heavy industry have largely been left to more competitive, populous, poorer nation-states, raising regular unemployment slightly above average for a regular Western European economy (cyclical unemployment, thanks to comparatively liberal employment laws, is lower, but not sufficiently so to compensate.) The state operates an extensive welfare system including state-mandated health insurance (as in the Netherlands) which both provides the population with a good safety net and reduces general unrest; in terms of education and public health it is a world leader.

Controversial state economic policies include an extensive civilian power nuclear program, and the encouragement of arms sales to politically less-than-ideal governments of faraway LEDCs; recent relaxations of trade barriers are also deeply unpopular in rural areas, but are also commonly regarded as necessary after initial scepticism.

In this concept the Republic of Amrak's economy is largely dependent on continued trade with like-minded ideological ex-partners and otherwise; its largest industries, left over from Soviet-style industrialisation maintained by a non-democratic government that was only relatively recently replaced, are now rather uncompetitive (although not wholly so) and the state is dependent on a mix of an emerging, but weak tertiary sector (primarily in IT and social media) and a large primary sector (primarily oil and rare earth metals.) The domestic automobile industry has entirely collapsed outside of the military sphere; along with many other finished products, foreign imports are the norm for those who can afford them.

Energy production is still largely reliant on :Soviet:-era developments, including nuclear power plants, large hydroelectric dams, and huge coal burners. The latter are being slowly and excruciatingly replaced, as capital allows- with nuclear and oil-powered energy facilities. Environmental cleanliness is not a particularly high priority, although the state pays lip service to it.

Unwilling to wholly embrace free trade due to a number of factors, primarily political (lack of domestic support, frighteningly powerful neighbours, legitimate concerns over becoming a purely extractive state) the government continues to maintain its heavy trade barriers including subsidies on exports and aggressively trying to cut unfair deals with sympathisers and former ideological allies abroad. Corruption, always difficult to stamp out, and ideological habits formed under pre-democratic rule have given the state an unfortunate habit of prioritising guns over butter.

Amrak was formerly a far-flung colony or possession of some other state; producing sugar cane and tobacco, most likely. Possibly rubber. Like Surinam, it was comparatively unproductive, and perhaps like Guayana, the former colonisers made some token effort to build up facilities, like schools and railroads, in an attempt to mollify their own guilt over the use of slavery or some other economically driven misfortune driven upon the country. This did not help matters much.

Historically and at present, Amrak is an extractive state; the vast majority of the state's income comes from primary industries. Natural rubber is (still?) grown in plantations; uniquely suitable for use in tyres and certain other precision equipment over its synthetic counterpart, although it requires a relatively high labour pool, government efforts to provide smallholders and laborers with information with illustrated pamphlets and by distributing seeds seem to have paid off, and along with other key extractive industries (mining and a fairly small oil sector) they produce the backbone for the country's prosperity.

Thanks to the impetus granted by democratic pressure, the government is not happy to sit on its laurels; investment into infrastructure and education ongoing since the 1980s have started to pay off in the last ten to fifteen years, and the country enjoys an explosion of a secondary and tertiary sector competitive with the rest of the world despite fairly low trade barriers. Unfortunately, they remain thanks to their recent emergence rather small; the country must still rely on imports for most goods and almost all finished products. Dutch disease seriously threatens to destroy the country's emerging prosperity, and can only be combated by a degree of vigilance on the government's part that they can't be expected to maintain permanently.

Brief Description of Nation:

Concept A is as the economics blurb may suggest largely a direct imitation of most developed Western countries; although as with all countries it faces its unique problems, it has been a democracy for as long as living memory (barring any brief interruptions by foreign powers or domestic coups which, for the sake of concept A to exist, would have had to have been relatively brief) and as a result the institutions of state are very firmly entrenched. The state is governed by the careful balancing of focus groups; minorities are protected, human rights generally respected. In terms of foreign policy, concept A will seek compromise and coalition at almost all times, unwilling to operate independently (and incapable of affording as much in terms of cost or domestic political support.) The military is professional, well-trained, and well-equipped, with a small nuclear arsenal constantly harangued by protestors (largely because it's the cheapest heavy ordnance by kiloton.)

Concept A is not subject to coups or internal repression; Concept A, although perhaps occasionally the target of terrorism, which may indeed face a disproportionate domestic response, suffers no real major violence within its borders. Culturally, Concept A is a synthesis of the Low Countries and northern France, with a major cultural divide between two ethnic groups for the sake of it. Simply to emphasise the fact that it's a developed state, these groups don't come to blows, instead representing themselves in national institutions through a broad swathe of mirroring ethnic parties that tend to form large coalitions, in a mirror of the state's foreign policy.

Religiously, the country is pluralistic. The state is secular, possibly with vaguely Christian leanings, and the irreligious comprise the second largest religious group after a clutter of related (primarily Protestant) Christian denominations. Judaism and Islam comprise small, but concentrated and therefore politically potent groups generally known across the country.

Currently, the government is controlled by a centrist coalition, which excludes the Communists, :Flemish: nationalists, and a few other lickspittles, but notably includes the Greens and a Labor-style social democratic party. The President, elected separately from the National Assembly that holds both executive and legislative powers, is very limited in power and moreover expected to be politically neutral; he serves mostly as ambassador- and commander-in-chief with a few other ceremonial and constitutional duties aimed at limiting the powers of the Assembly, including the right to appoint the Supreme Court, which operates separately from the other branches of government otherwise.

Concept B is a post-dictatorial, semi-developed state. Recently turned democracy after a largely peaceful national uprising in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it did not have the same threats and opportunities as real-world Eastern Europe; the democracy, although fragile, managed to guide itself through its first few decades without being pulled into the orbit of any other blocs. It would be a mistake to say that it is now firmly entrenched, but in many ways the last few decades have left Amrak a truly independent country; the first generation to only have known democracy has now grown up in it, and expect it to last through their lifetimes.

As with many young democracies, the system is corrupt and turbulent when compared to the systems of careful negotiation and compromise established in the wider West; a handful of parties control the vast majority of political power in a constant tussle about which direction to take the country in. Fortunately, most of these parties agree that Amrak needs to modernise, remain competitive, and protect itself against undue foreign influence, but the ways and means that they intend to go about this wildly differ; two broad coalitions, one for retaining the country's independence, the other for throwing in with a major bloc, have formed. The former retains a fairly comfortable lead in national politics, including the former opposition party from the dictatorial era, but is not so entrenched that they can relax into corruption and incompetence.

Amrak also retains many bad habits from its dictatorial days. Having regained some of the lost economic ground after the collapse of the Socialist system, much has been invested into its ailing armed forces, rather than in more infrastructure and education; a deeply paranoid country by the nature of its remaining pre-democratic institutions, namely the military and intelligence services, it is somewhat hostile to its neighbours in its diplomatic discourse (although on account of it desperately needing trade and being unwilling to test its military might- at least, up until now- it has not engaged in any deliberate provocation or aggressive military action.) The military is largely conscripted, with a professional NCO and officer corps, and equipped pound for pound in the cheapest equipment that could be called modern, in some cases if you squint hard enough; its pride is a moderate nuclear arsenal, kept lying around as a highly cost-effective multi-megaton deterrent.

A history of state-enforced education and state atheism has left most of the populace irreligious. The end of the Socialist system has seen the strong resurgence of the Protestant church- minority religions, such as Judaism, Orthodoxy, and others are viewed with mild disdain, both officially and generally, as people harken back to traditions that were once forbidden, but a slim majority of the population remains faithless. Culturally, the state is also almost wholly united; everyone in Amrak speaks Amrakais, like it or not, a matter of necessity as the state broadcasts remains almost exclusively in that language, and local languages were almost entirely wiped out during the Socialist's multi-decade tenure in power.

But the end of the oligarchy gives many people reason to hope; conditions in the country itself are (slowly) improving. Assuming no major setbacks, international incidents, or coups d'état interfere with Amrak, the country can expect to be considered a truly developed country within a few decades, perhaps. Joining the international order may come sooner- for better or worse, if the current Opposition has its way.

Concept C is an extractive, developing state. As with most extractive, colonial states, it would likely have to be located somewhere in the world-system's periphery- an equivalent to South East Asia or South America economically and geographically, in short. Concept C is unstable - it may even be facing an active insurgency. It is nonetheless a (flawed) democracy that is facing an economic growth spurt and seems set to be doing well in future.

Culturally, it is disunited; the colonists enforced a language (now adapted locally into Amrakais) and a religion (which remains the majority faith to the day of today) but otherwise felt free to haphazardly assemble a number of tribes into a single state. This is not necessarily a recipe for disaster, but it can cause some trouble and indeed has, in the past- ethnic violence is not unheard of in the country, although the authorities generally tend to be opposing rather than imposing it.

Other major issues facing the country are corruption and public health. The latter is being fought with some success by clever local solutions and the help of NGOs; the former seems endemic, and may only end with the arrival of more economic prosperity. Unlike concept B, concept C wasn't chained by the yoke of socialism, so both religion and a corresponding culture of co-operation remain prevalent. The armed forces are a glorified peacekeeping force, aimed at battling insurgencies with Kalashnikovs and slightly more robust trucks than the enemy; any foreign relations will have to be conducted by diplomacy and trade, and defence against foreign invaders, unless their situation is as ailing as concept C's own military, will largely have to be done by relying on foreigners for aid. Thoughts of a nuclear arsenal are considered a joke and given small chuckles accordingly.

Fortunately, it's easier to extract wealth from the country by investing in rather than invading it; Concept C, after all, is open for business.

Preferred Climate: Concept A and B both work with a temperate climate; B can also be adapted to a typical subtropical climate, and C can be adapted for a subtropical climate, but is uniquely suited to a tropical one.

Roleplaying Example:

Prime Minister Ducroix rubbed his eyes and let out a great, despairing groan, pinching the bridge of his nose as he reclined in his rotating leather desk-chair. "Mon Dieu," he muttered, squeezing his eyes shut for one, two, three seconds before opening them with pursed, chapped lips. "This is going to look terrible."

Ahead of him, on the partner desk, his laptop lay open on the website of La Trompete, the nation's most popular news outlet, which today was gleefully outing the fact that a number of Amraki aid workers- supposedly under the protection of the International Assisting Forces- had been kidnapped. Stolen out from under the noses of rifle-wielding grunts. Ducroix had to admit, he wasn't entirely surprised, but that didn't make the news any more pleasant.

Quickly, Ducroix picked up his phone, tapping through his contacts until he arrived at the number of Josephine Maldit, the foreign affairs secretary. Another tap, and her own phone started buzzing on her nightstand. The forty-year-old woman groaned amid silken sheets, scrabbling to grab it and raise it to her own head.

"Godverdomme- 't is drie uur s'ochtends, wie is dit?"

"Quoi?" The Prime Minister replied, eloquently.

Madame Maldit sat up in her bed, blinking. "Monsieur Ducroix - how can I help you?" she managed, in sleep-addled Amrakais.

"Have you seen the headline? La Trompete. International news."

Maldit flung herself out of her bed; her husband stirred, protesting vaguely, but she was out of the room shortly enough. Setting the call to speaker, she stared at her screen from the light of her apartment's living room, the warm yellow glow of the lights overhead, as the page loaded. "No," the secretary began. "What could possibly-"

A beat. Then she groaned.

"You said they'd be safe, Maldit," the Prime Minister snapped. There was no venom in it, really, just stress. "Now I've got this cock-up and I just know that bastard Heldenier is going to beat me over the head with it at PMQs in the morning. How can we fix it?"

"Right," Maldit muttered, scrolling, blankly, through the story. The journalists didn't have all the facts, yet, it seemed; the report came from IAF itself. Something caught her eye. "We can put a call in to the controlling authority and the local government. Offer them some help- send a team in, if we have to."

"And expand our overseas commitment? At this stage?" Ducroix's voice rang in her ear.

"It wouldn't be expansion," Maldit replied. "Just- a rescue operation. Frame it like that. Photo op at the end of it."

"And if it goes wrong?" the Prime Minister returned.

"Then we did all we could. No reason to suppose rescue is guaranteed; something like this was bound to happen. If we play our cards right, we might just get a mandate for further intervention."

There was a moment of silence; behind his screen, the Prime Minister was considering the angles. Behind hers, Ducroix was doing the same. Eventually, he spoke first.

"Alright. Get it done."

Lieutenant Remy didn't understand many things. He didn't understand Russian. He didn't understand quantum physics. He didn't understand why he was besides an APC, halfway around the world, boiling under his helmet with the tropical sun beating down on him even through the weak canopy of the jungle, such as it was, staring through a pair of binoculars at a village slightly more than a click away that seemed to be full of nothing besides dead goats and ants.

"Compère-Lieutenant," a voice piped up from his left. "Company for you, sir."

Remy grunted, turning to face the interruption and letting the binoculars hang from his neck. He accepted the horn from the radio operator, offering the burdened young conscript a nod as he put it up to his ear. The young man squirmed, nervously; his helmet looked too big for him. It wasn't at all the kind of man Remy would have wanted to take to a warzone.

"Remy speaking."

"Remy? This is Crécerelle. For God's sake, man, use your designation." Captain Survalle's voice boomed through the radio, in the grumbling tones of an older Party official. He wasn't old enough to actually be one, of course, but the average soldier seemed convinced enough that the angry man roaring at them over the airwaves was incepted at the same time as the Revolution itself.

"Roger, Crécerelle," Remy replied, eyes glancing towards the distant, slumbering settlement. It was harder to make out the damage from the fire at this distance, just as it was harder to make out the bodies in the streets, without the help of a part of binoculars. "Qu'est-ce que c'est?"

"You're being reassigned, Tigre. This is coming from IAF - top priority, apparently. Move to eighty-two by forty-three; reports suggest the insurgents are building up something fierce, there. You are to engage and drive them out. Is that clear?"

Remy pressed the horn between his cheek and his shoulder, producing a faded, folded map from a case his side. He unfurled it partly, into a square displaying the surrounding area, then took a moment to trail his thumb along the lines of it until it landed on the intended target. Another small town, some fifteen kilometres from here, barely more than a few dots on the map. He frowned, unsure if he was glad or resentful of the interruption; he'd been preparing to take his green unit into the town and see whatever horrors happened, but now they were being thrown into combat, instead.

He nodded, habitually, and spoke. "Understood, Crécerelle. We'll get moving right away." With a open-handed gesture, the Lieutenant motioned for the rest of the men to return to the APC.

The interior of the tracked metal box on the move was utterly sweltering. Remy stood near the front of the vehicle, on the right side, surrounded by an array of viewports to look forward, right, and behind. He didn't envy the eight men behind him; packed close together into the vehicle's rear hatch, the tropical heat could only be worse for them. As the platoon rumbled on, a loose convoy of three vehicles rolling along jungle tracks, the canopy overhead continued to thin out further and further. Eventually, they found themselves on open plains, the whole convoy rumbling to a slower pace and fanning out to either side of the dirt road.

Up ahead, the small village they'd been led to was burning. Remy squinted through the viewport; a few thin streaks of grey smoke were rising skyward from amid the fire-blackened huts, dark figures dashing in between them. The hum of the engines was occasionally joined by a brief rattle of rifle fire from the village

"Dismount," Remy called, turning his head to briefly observe the hatches at the vehicle shunt open; the eight men behind him followed their orders, crawling hurriedly into the sunny plain, tall grass partly flattened by the passing of their tracks. The RATELO stayed with him, offering up the black plastic horn patched into the platoon network, which Remy took quickly. "Tigre One, you are to provide suppressive fire. Tigre Two and Three, proceed to the West side of the village- dismount at Tigre Two-One's discretion. Flush them out."

"Understood, mon Lieutenant."

Remy grimaced, poking his head up into the turret to observe through the various view-ports. Another title that he would have to get used to- even if the regime had fallen some time ago, the military was an eminently conservative institution, and even the simplest of changes had been avoided for the longest time. He consoled himself with the thought that it was shorter.

A few shots rang out, but only after a number of sharp thuds clashed with the vehicle's armor. Remy flinched reflexively, his RATELO doing the same- "Get us out of here!" the Lieutenant snapped. The driver didn't need to be told twice, the tracks lurching into full motion once again with a thundering roar from the engine as the firefight intensified.

Remy and the RATELO both clung desperately to their hand-holds; with surprising grace, the assistant driver clambered into the turret from the front. Remy watched, doing all he could to keep his nausea from overtaking him as the constant bark of an autocannon pounded at his eardrums. He couldn't summon the strength to look through the view-ports, either, as the vehicle lurched about- the electronic whirr of the turret turning didn't help matters much.

But it was all over almost as soon at it began. The cannon ceased firing, and the vehicle dropped into a more natural, less lurching pace. Cautiously, Remy put his eyes to the nearest visor, catching a glimpse of yet more smoke and fire. He reached for the RATELO's horn, and found it pressed into his hand shortly.

"Tigre Two-One- report."

Sergeant Boyer's voice crackled over the radio. "We're all fine, Lieutenant. - They started to run off just as soon as we showed up. I think they were after something."

Remy allowed himself a little sigh of relief, nodding imperceptibly. "What makes you say that, Sergeant?"

"They were searching through the houses, sir- interrogating a few locals, too. All dead, now."

Remy paused, frowning. They would have had to see as much at some point, but he would've preferred that it had been under more composed circumstances. "We'll call it in," he declared, handing the horn back, and turning his head to shoot the driver an unseen, withering glare.

"We're going to have to work on that combat drill," Remy declared. "Take us into the village."

[Gylias]

It's an interesting application, to be sure. Personally I prefer concept A. I think Tyran could use a France-equivalent nation, and I just can't see B or C working too well for that.

[Amrak]

It's an interesting application, to be sure. Personally I prefer concept A. I think Tyran could use a France-equivalent nation, and I just can't see B or C working too well for that.

I'm used to regions having an excess of developed countries, but I'd broadly be just as happy to run with concept A as with B. I've also taken the liberty of working out a few potential locations.

[Mubata]

I have a strong feeling that Amrak has or had another NS account and I'd like to know what it was and maybe see some RP links.