Touch O' Saltwater [MT, open]

[Iythagoras]

To All Nations of the World,

We have recently been able to acquire a large oil field within our vicinity, allowing us the capability to move from a primarily agricultural industry to a more heavy-labour based industry. I believe this will benefit both Iythagoras and overseas nations, as now we will be looking into the purchase of overseas nations' supplies and equipment of any used oil extraction devices. Nations that are willing to sell us their used oil equipment, please let me know.

Jordan Fennerman, Prime Minister

Professor Wendison spoke with a horrible lisp, compounded with a horribly strong foreign accent. Nobody knew where he was from, but he certainly was a fan of anecdotes, and when he anecdoted anything with stories of his home-town, nobody could really deduce what or where he was talking about. As such, he became infamously known as Professor Textbook, as the Textbook within his geoenvironmental classes taught more than the man himself. Mind, that was two weeks ago. In a span of two weeks - 14 days, he went from cryptic and hard-to-understand Geostudies Professor to a national hero. And all it required for him to do was to find one of the largest batches of oil Iythagoras had ever seen.

A slow, meandering economy, Iythagoras was a nation that had survived a great independence from a greater Imperial Power, the idea of war still fresh on their minds. It had not even been time yet for the next generation to wash away the worries of the old - no, it was still there, the ever looming threat, but now, with things seeming to look up and ready, it was quickly becoming an highly industrialised sector. Deals were signed with corporations from afar, great purchases for large mining and drilling operations were beginning to be considered, and entire homes were moved around or towards the site for job opportunities. Districts were being planned, and people who had once been meagre farmers were now planning on making enough money to go back to university.

To buy more than one car. To feed their extended families.

All these dreams were made possible with Wendison's discover of Oil in his demonstrations of Seismic detections to his students, and Jordan Fennerman, an advocate to the whole discovery and use of oil for the sake strengthening the economy, had placed boisterous and joyous news for all within the world to see. It was time for a celebration. It was time for deals and projects. It was time to be a country.

[Clamparapa]

OOC: Now I'm on my phone using hotel wifi but great post my friend. I hope BC takes it easy on you. I don't want your nation going up in smoke. Have fun here!

[Lizardiar]

ooc: 3...

[Belkaland]

OOC: 2...

[Avenio]

The Most Serene Republic of Avenio

Official Telegram - Published by the Cultural Ministry Subcommittee on Official Publications

To: The Most Serene Republic of Iythagoras

The Most Serene Republic would like to congratulate the similarly named Most Serene Republic on entering the world's stage in such a positive light.

However, as an environmentally progressive nation, we deplore Iythagoras' use of crude polluting fossil fuels to run industries, and would instead like to offer a better way. We will donate the infrastructure, technology and experience needed to build a network of either geothermal, wind or solar generators across The Most Serene Republic, depending on which would be most efficient, and will gladly donate plans and technology for hydrogen fuel cell powered motor vehicles to be built in factories.

Please consider our offer, before the addiction to oil and the evils it brings take hold.

Signed,

Prime Minister
Sophie D'Invierre

International Affairs Minister
Urbain D'Iberville

[Allemande]

OOC: Out of curiosity, where is Iythagoras located on the world map?

[Santheres]

OOC: Out of curiosity, where is Iythagoras located on the world map?

OOC: Nova. Rather large region and such; southern hemisphere, south of GD, I believe. I hear they protect their own when necessary.

[Allemande]

OOC: South of GD?

[Iythagoras]

OOC: Whats with the counting?

To The Most Serene Republic of Avenio,

I am very grateful that you are concerned and happy about the well-being and welfare of my people and our nation that is humble Iythagoras. Although I am extremely happy that you are willing to help us, my discussion with my Minister of Finance and Minister of Economic Management has told me that accepting the help of others as donation will not help in providing more jobs for my people. We wish to use the oil, not as a primary means of acquiring power, but as a way to open up exports so we may reach a sufficient trade surplus. If I accept the assistance of others, it will only provide jobs for another nation's workers, and it will harm our own job shortages here. I understand your well-meaning actions, but I have no other option but to begin development our natural resources so that we can form a strong enough industrial base.

I hope you understand.

Jordan Fennerman, Prime Minister

[Allemande]

OOC: Countdown until you are invaded by the Blackhelm Confederacy and your nation is handed over to Griffincrest Oil for economic rape. They'll offer you a pittance as a "finder's fee", since all the oil in the world is "rightfully" theirs.

Rule #1 of International Incidents: Never say, "Hey, I just found oil!"

[Belkaland]

OOC: Whats with the counting?

OOC: Everyone seems to ask that, it's a countdown to an invasion by Griffoncrest to take your oil.

damn, beaten to the punch...

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

To: Jordan Fennerman
CC: Prfoessor Wendison
From: CGriffincrest@Griffincrest.net
Sub: Oil Discovery

Greetings friends! We would like to thank you for finding our long lost oil in your narion. We have been searching for this for some time. We have prepared six million dollars for you as a reward for your efforts in locating our roperty, and have deployed the eigth and ninth fleets to take it off of your hands for you. They will begin drilling operations immediately.

Thank you,

Claudius Griffincrest

[Tybra]

OOC the sleeping griffin awakes...

IC:

"A new oil source has been found, near Iythagoras, apparently it appears to be quite large. Estimated figures regarding economy increase show considerable, trade relations will be profitable." A man said showing several charts and geographical maps on a large screen embedded in a wall. On the white wall surrounding the large screen, light danced coming from the opposite wall, where high stained-glass blue and white coloured windows stood.

"There is however a slight problem, the oil industry is a hard business and a bird lies constantly await to scavenge upon the weak, it's life force is oil." A man said, stepping out of the dark corner of the large hall. His name was Koroth, one of the leaders of the Imperial Guard, always sitting in the shadows, behind the curtains.

"Griffencrest Corporation?"

"Indeed they have responded not so long ago, threatening to take that oil"

"My knights, I have heard you, now it's time to plot a course of action, send in my clerk."

---

Imperial Letter of Economical Affairs

To:Jordan Fennerman, Prime Minister of Iythagoras

We have seen and heard your request, and we are more then willing to aide you.

After a recent modernization of our off-shore oil extraction platforms to improve efficiency we have 3 20-year old models, still in excellent shape, though the last 2 years out-of service have been slightly lacking of maintenance they are still capable of extracting large amounts of crude oil and are easy to be transported to other locations.

Considering your transformation from agriculture to industrial society, we do not wish to burden your economy by asking a large amount of any kind of currency, but we prefer an exchange, these oil extraction platforms for a long-term trade agreement mutually beneficial for us both.

We believe this exchange will be for the benefit of both our nations.

Signed,

Lord C, Imperator of the Holy Empire of Tybra

[Damirez]

Corporate headquarters.
Libra Consortium.

"So? What do you make of it?" the question was asked by a young, attractive woman.

"Certainly interesting," one of the men at the table replied. By the way the others looked at the screen behind the woman and the shared look between them, it was clear that they too found the proposal of certain interest. "We'll take one more look on the data and come to a conclusion soon, now if you please..."

The invitation was not lost to her and she was quick to remove herself from the meeting and run into her own support staff outside.

"So? What did they say? Are they interested?" the torrents of questions couldn't be stopped once they spotted her, understandable really when their future in the company hanged upon the acceptance of their proposal by the Executives.

"Well, too early to say really, but I think they're into it."

The whole circus started just a few weeks before, when a small Novan nation, Iythagoras, announced a new wealth, a vast oil field just within their area of economic interest. Whilst normally such news held little interests and presented only minor economic potential for a major corporation given the usual policies of nations regarding strategic resources, this one was different.

Iythagoras was a nation with a rather turbulent past, their economy far from able to handle the rigorousness of competition on the world market with their products and all in all a rather nonexistent industry. It was this that created an unexpected opportunity for the Consortium.

A rather new addition to the Corporate scene in the area, Libra had a lot to prove and even more to catch up to its major rivals and a developing nation such as Iythagoras provided just the opportunity for that. If done right, then the Consortium could stand to gain immensely and establish itself firmly as more than just another company with heavy names behind it. If not, a lot of the support from its main investors was going to go out the window. In other words a gamble.

The same conclusion was reached by the team that proposed investing in Iythagoras. They even went as far as suggesting to jump start an entire industry in the nation, creating a bastion for the Consortium and establishing its image as a friendly investor to satisfy the public eye and various governments. On the other hand, cheaper workforce, easy access to the oil reserves of the country and a whole new market to set aside as its own were to keep the money coming and the investors happy.

There was only a small issue with that as Iythagoras has its own hot spots needing attention, but in the end, as the team predicted, the numbers involved were just too attractive to pass.

Finance & Money

Today's stock market session was a crazy one, many offers being made for shares of the Libra Consortium as the rumors about ongoing negotiations with the Iythagoran government have been leaked to the market by unknown sources. It is expected that tomorrow's session is going to see the price of these shares rise to new height as a Libra Executive was heard and registered to have said,

"We're going to have billions invested in there, millions of workplaces... hey, take that..."

Outside Iythagoran waters, the Damiran submarines continued their surveillance operations. their captains held no interest in whether an investor hit the jack pot or not at the stock market, for them and the Damiran military the interest laid in something else entirely.

[Iythagoras]

To Claudius Griffencrest,

Although I am happy that you are happy with the discovery of such a field, the rights to the oil belongs to Wendison, and I must legally redirect such a thing to him. As it stands, we cannot give up the rights to the oil field at this stage, and will ask that perhaps discussions should be held first. Also, there is no need to mobilise any sort of fleet for such a meeting, is there? Will you be willing to consider employment of native Iythagoreans for the drilling operation, however, in addition to paid training?

Jordan Fennerman, Prime Minister

To Lord C, Imperator of the Holy Empire of Tybra,

I am very grateful for your offer. Are there still any sort of trainers, supervisors or workers that are willing to assist my fellow countrymen in the use of these machines? We have a weak labour pool, although willing, but otherwise untrained. Will you help me in such a predicament? As for exchange, we will be more than willing to smooth out exchange details.

Prime Minister, Jordan Fennerman.

[Tybra]

To Lord C, Imperator of the Holy Empire of Tybra,

I am very grateful for your offer. Are there still any sort of trainers, supervisors or workers that are willing to assist my fellow countrymen in the use of these machines? We have a weak labour pool, although willing, but otherwise untrained. Will you help me in such a predicament? As for exchange, we will be more than willing to smooth out exchange details.

Prime Minister, Jordan Fennerman.]

Imperial Letter of Economical Affairs

To: Jordan Fennerman, Prime Minister of Iythagoras

Our supervisors whom maintain the platforms, are capable and willing to assist your nation, they know the machines best and are trained to have certain teaching abilities. We shall also send some technical teachers familiar with the technology on these platforms. They are also quite skilled in teaching in both Tybran as English.

Signed,

Lord C, Imperator of the Holy Empire of Tybra.

[Iythagoras]

To Lord C, Imperator of the Holy Empire of Tybra,

That is a good suggestion.

Prime Minister, Jordan Fennerman.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

To: Prime Minister Jordan Fennerman
From: CGriffincrest@Griffincrest.net
Sub: Oil Deals

The fleet is merely carrying with it research teams, surveyors, and men of that like, pay them no heed. Of course we would use native workers and train them at our expense. We would like to start negotiations for the oil if this is possible.

=========================================================================

SIC

Of course, the fleet was not carrying only surveyors and such. Rather, it was laden with two hundred thousand mercenaries and their weapons of war. The higher ups were trying to buy as much time as possible for the fleet before they launched their operations. Just how long this was going to be was a different story, but any time spent getting closer to the nation was less time having to worry about being attacked. As it was, the fleet was only a few days sailing away.

[Iythagoras]

Jordan Fennerman may have been a naive and idealistic figurehead with more charisma that he can fit into a tank, but Melissa Jennings had no faith in the international relations game. She didn't believe any of the notes from any of the international responses, and quickly searches for both Griffencrest Corporation and Tybra showed less an wonderful results. While Tybra, from what she gathered from news records and general international calls, was a well-meaning and progressive nation, Melissa had found large gaps in Griffencrest's management records, the refusal to open subjects on such gaps and large numbers of generally unresponsive relations offices. She had found huge jumps in production after so-called 'surveying' fleets had gone to particular nations, all of them having been harmed by some conflict or one-another.

And it was all after they had opened their markets for oil.

She didn't believe that Claudius Griffencrest, when he made the announcement to help Jordan Fennerman for one bit. She didn't believe him at all. She didn't trust him, and shortly after, she had made appeals to the Congress for the possible mobilisation of the Iythagorean military in the case of an enemy takeover, or at the very least, the possibility of a mobilisation for the sake of intimidation or readiness. Preposterous. Impossible. Unheard Of.

Those were the words that she was given at the legislation, as they had soon determined that it was likely mere coincidence, and strong relations with an otherwise seemingly benign power such as Griffencrest Corporation would help in economic growth in Iythagoras. Besides, even if they did plan on wrestling out the control of the Oil Fields from Professor Wendison, would it not be more likely that they were going to try and induct legal matters into the issue? Who on earth would go to war? And for oil? For Oil?! How ridiculous.

But, Melissa didn't really think that they would care about her opinion, and she concluded that had they did, little of a military could be mobilised anyhow. The majority of Iythagorean forces had left Iythagoras due to the falling out with Fennerman, leading to the Marshall Conflict, as Elliot Marshall had abandoned ship after the whole concept of a new, free nation. It didn't sit well with him and his men, and they drifted off into international scenes, doing god-knows-what. And here, while she could not convince Congress to mobilise, she could at least convince Fennerman to ask, for the sake of courtesy.

Or ask him to mobilise it personally, but the illegal nature of such a thing could lead him to being run out of office.

To Claudius Griffencrest,

We are thankful for your consideration, and we hope to establish strong relations with Griffencrest Corporation in regards to the training and job openings for the Oil Fields. On another note, a certain thing has come to my attention in regards with my Minister of Interior, as she states that there are inconsistencies with previous clients and supplier nations, in particular a strong parallel nature with turmoil and conflicts and their opening market of oil. While I am not suspecting you, for the sake of easing the minds of my Minister and our other politicians, may I get the Finance Readings from your Senior Management within the past few years?

Jordan Fennerman, Prime Minister

[The Fanboyists]

A small Fanboyist naval patrol had been in the area, monitoring things for the last few weeks, since the oil strike; where there was oil, Griffencrest was sure to follow.

So, of course, Captain Kyle Olson was quite pleased when they intercepted the lightly encrypted messages they were waiting for.

Olson's grey naval fatigues almost blended with the neutral tones that covered the cruiser INS Francisca, one of the several Battleaxe-class cruisers maintained by the Federal Imperial Navy. Closeby in an observation capacity were the destroyer Aetius and the minesweeper Copper.

He leaned over the shoulder of the junior communication's officer, looking down at the screen in front of him while the grey-blue sea rolled by outside, pitching the ship noticably.

"What's it say, Conners?" Olson asked the officer impatiently, hopping on his tip-toes. He had been waiting for something like this for years. He might finally get a chance to lead in a proper naval mission if things went well. Or, more accurately, not well. A Griffencrest invasion was, technically exactly what the nation wasn't hoping for.

But Olson knew better. Since the cataclysm that had left the old Fanboyist homeland scoured and uninhabitable, the Fanboyist people had had an itch to prove that they were not to be messed with, a true world power. To exercise some power, imperialism, really.

Not that that should be misread; the intent wasn't to look for an excuse to invade Iythagoras-- quite the opposite, really. No, a new vision of a Fanboyist empire, hegemony or commonwealth, really, was beginning to shape up; a Fanboyist army would show the flag in Iythagoras, defend the nation from Griffencrest's oil-hungry fleets, and then present an offer to the people of the nation:

We protect you, and will help bring investment and such to your nation, but you will need to provide us auxilary units and allow us to establish a base or two in your nation. Auxiliaries? Not more than 30 or 40 thousand, normally. In times of war only, really.

And it wasn't out of the question, either; normally, the distance would be so far as to make an intervention here a laughable prospect.

But the Federal Imperial High Command had thought of that.

So, on a recently secured base on a nearby, unoccupied island, there was with a footprint a mile-wide and noticable to anyone paying attention, was over a million men, comprising the 2nd Army, under the reinstated Field Marshal Regulus Devall. And he was eager to help lead the Federal Imperium in its latest slice of power projection.

So, as the news got in, Captain Olson ordered it relayed to the 2nd Army. Arrival time would be in about a week. It was closer than the Fanboyist nation, after all. But not that close.

Another message was dispatched to the Iythagoran government.

Official Communique of the Imperial Federation of Fanboyist States

To Whom it May Concern

We have noticed that you are in a plight that has been seen many times over in this dangerous world.

You have struck oil. Now, Claudius Griffencrest and his oil pirates are now coming to sieze it, in the event that you didn't already know.

We have almost a million men standing by, about a week away, who are willing to defend your nation against Griffencrest. We will have a formal offer to you soon enough, but we would like to offer the help now.

You have our word that as soon as Griffencrests' forces are repelled, we will leave your nation, pending any further agreements.

Sincerely,
Field Marshal Regulus Devall
Commander, 2nd Army
Fanboyist Federal Imperial Armed Forces

[Damirez]

At first, the Libra executives were baffled at the lack of success in contacting Professor Wendison. The call connected, a polite hello was offered and then all those who had the unfortunate duty claimed they couldn't make heads or tails of what was said at the other end. So they persevered, even top executives were recruited for the task, but after a rather exquisite dinner at what Iythagoras had best to offer, the executives had this to say.

"It's like I'm in class and I have no idea about the subject."

In other words it was as if an invisible barrier existed between the Professor and all others when it came to communication. But with mountains of cash on the line, executives weren't going to let themselves impressed so easily. There was some effort involved, but after talking to dozens of Professor Wendison's students some semblance of a solution was found, 'If you can't beat them, join them,' and that they did. On the first available flight, a host of Geostudies Professors were ushered in Iytharagos. Some had been convinced by grants, others by the opportunity to study the local characteristics, but it was hopped that one of them would find common ground with Professor Textbook. After all, at least half a dozen of them elicited the same response from their students.

In the meantime other avenues were searched. The timid negotiations that caused a limited media frenzy in regards to the Libra Consortium were replaced by a full fledged effort in securing the contract for the Consortium. Various avenues were explored and a feasibility plan was brought into the attention of the board. The main hope was that the prospect of new jobs and the industrialization of the nation was to pave the way for Libra getting the deal and securing the profits.

There were other interests at play, especially as rumors had it that others were interested in the Iythagoran oil and some of them not exactly on the Christmas list of Libra's main backers. What a debut would it be to snag the contract from under their noses and affirm the Consortium on the international oil market.

One of the main 'attack' angles was that of finding supporters amongst the Iythagoran officials, by offering a view on what Libra was offering to do for Iythagoras.

To Prime Minister Jordan Fennerman

Following the announcement of your nation regarding the new oil reserves to be exploited, the Libra Consortium would like to announce its intention to invest in Iythagoras. We believe in the existence of a mutual opportunity for both our company and for the Iythagoran nation as our investment would bring new workplaces and prosperity for your nation and an opportunity for expansion for the Consortium.

In accordance to the will of your people and government, we are more than willing to hire mostly Iythagoran personnel for our operations following training from experienced personnel.

Gaius Antere - Libra Consortium Development Director

To Melissa Jennings

In light of our interest for Iythagoran oil fields we would like to acquire several permits for prospection work in order to asses the reserves available and obtain all the proper authorizations needed in order for the company to function on the Iythagoran market.

We would also like to inquire about available data regarding the Iythagoran demographic situation and about possible locations for foreign investments.

Gaius Antere - Libra Consortium Development Director

Needless to say, a meeting face to face was preferable, but unique situation required unique handling and before Gaius reached Iythagoras, he first had to taste the general mood of its authorities. he wanted to do business, but it all depended on them first.

---

Far away from Iythagoras, Admiral Yves read a concerning report, oil, loose lips and a not so pleasant conclusion. "This has to be a joke, he wouldn't dare..." but even with those words, surveillance operations around Iythagoras were stepped up and gears started moving. If the reports were to be trusted, then there was soon to be action on the waves.

[Czardas]

Yafor 2 AFB

The one-hundred-and-seventy-six-acre enclave of Czardaian land in the middle of Nova was just one of dozens or hundreds of bases and radar stations making up a vast, loose network known on paper as the Czardas Defense, International Security, and Power Projection Network but called more frequently, if just as generically, Overwatch. Ordinarily, it didn't do much. Sometimes the distinctive shape of a Forrester airship was visible running one of its infrequent CAPs or training missions over Novan seas; but most of the time it was hard to tell the aircraft running CAP apart from any of those belonging to numerous other nations in the region, and on the rare occasions when a Czardaian fighter entered another nation's airspace by accident it complied with all orders and returned to the base without incident, and the government offices in question received a fruit basket as compensation for their time.

When activity at the base spiked, however, people would notice. (Ordinarily they wouldn't, actually, since it was common practice for satellites passing over Czardaian bases to be barraged with false results and blank images to conceal the bases from prying eyes, but the base's commander -- Major Vasileus Silvanov -- had sent out memos to several nearby government offices warning them that the military presence at Yafor 2 AFB was going to be conducting intensive military exercises in international airspace and apologizing for any disruption of commercial or other air traffic these exercises caused.) And, of course, when that activity led to much wider-ranging CAPs -- regular patrols brushing the edge of Iythagoran airspace -- it sent a clear signal, even if no such signal was intended.

Overwatch was paying close attention to what was happening here. And those military exercises might just be routine training missions, or they might be a way for the TDASF to show off what it could do with just a couple of squadrons of Czardaian fighters.

Meanwhile, in the port cities of Dzanjir -- three thousand miles away -- the rapid response airforce assigned to the general region including the Greater Dienstad-Nova corridor was moving pilots and sailors towards readiness. This was done with a lack of subtlety that should indicate to any aggressive powers the nature of the Czardaian beast, if it hadn't been spelled out clearly enough in the TDASF's motto:

We are the fists of God; where we strike, there is justice.

OOC: Glorified tag.

[Iythagoras]

To Field Marshal Regulus Devall
Commander, 2nd Army
Fanboyist Federal Imperial Armed Forces,

While the news from my Minister of Interior has certainly caused some sort of worry, I must withhold any answer of assistance until we can do a proper background check on your nation and your forces, as now with policy to prevent any sort of thing happening like it has with Griffencrest. I duly hope you understand, and I will get a reply back to you as soon as possible.



Jordan Fennerman, Prime Minister

Gaius Antere - Libra Consortium Development Director,

That is a most gracious thing, especially from our point of view, and we would like to bring this idea onboard. Is it alright if they are checked, however, due to the recent incidents with the high levels of uncertainty we have obtained from Griffencrest?

Jordan Fennerman, Prime Minister



To Gaius Antere - Libra Consortium Development Director,

Once the proper channels are allowed, I will send them to you as you wish. Currently I must get permission from President Fennerman, as he is currently away on inspection in northern Iythagoras.

Melissa Jennings, Minister of Interior

[The Fanboyists]

Another quick message was dispatched.


Very well, but we do not like the idea, overmuch, of waiting long to establish a position. If you were to allow us to establish a small beachhead to work from, for now, we would much appreciate it. If this turns out to be a false alarm, we will withdraw, of course. And, of course, our dispatch of diplomatic personnel still stands, to meet with you. We will be sending the Colonel and his small attache and staff (no more than three or four officers) in a small plane dispatched from one of our carriers in the area. They will, with the exception of two guards, be unarmed as a sign of good faith.

Signed,
Regulus Devall, Field Marshal
Commanding Officer, 2nd Army, Fanboyist Federal Imperial Armed Forces
Imperial Federation of Fanboyist States (IFFS)

[Yafor 2]

OOC: Out of curiosity, where is Iythagoras located on the world map?

OOC: Nova. Rather large region and such; southern hemisphere, south of GD, I believe. I hear they protect their own when necessary.

[OOC: Correct.

Nova is currently guarded by the "Protocol on Territorial Sovereignty and Independent Self Governance", more commonly known as the "Dagora Doctrine" (the link is to the old regional fora. I don't think it'll be visible to non-members). It's not been ratified by all the states in Nova, but for those who have ratified it, it's entirely binding and entirely necessary. If you didn't catch it, the Doctrine is my little baby (especially considering that Ajer was the driving force behind it and it's actually named after Yaforite leader Eliana Dagora), so I'm the keeper, caretaker, and the person who normally gives the smack-down regarding a violation and therefore a military response. Just to further explain, I'll quote some relevant passages:

(a) All foreign military forces large enough to pose a threat towards any nation state, city, protectorate or dependency within Nova, are hereby banned from entering or being based in the region.
(B) Under circumstances where foreign forces may seek to enter or become based on territory within Nova, permission must be sought from one or more Member State of the region. Moreover, any Member State has the right to challenge said entrance on behalf of their own national security.
[c] Foreign military invasions are no longer accepted. Any foreign military forces who come upon land and claim, conquer, annex, or settle it in the name of any foreign sovereign, parliament, or national executive body will be met by appropriate force from joint Novan forces.

(a) In the event that a foreign power uses military force against a Member
State, that Novan nation has the right to use every possible method at its disposal in response to this threat.
(B) In the event that a foreign power uses military force against a Member State, that Novan nation has the right to not only ask fellow Member States for aid, but also for other Novan nations to rightfully respond.
[c] In the event that a foreign power launches an invasion of Nova as a whole, enters Novan territorial waters uninvited, or poses a threat to one or more Member States, they will be met by appropriate force merited by their actions by one or more Member States per any pre-agreed mutual defence agreements.

(d) Training exercises or wargames containing one or more foreign powers and one or more Member States are permitted, but in the event that one or more Member States finds said training exercises or wargames a threat to their national security or regional stability, then these training exercises or wargames must either end or be relocated outside of Nova.
(e) Foreign powers may not hold training exercises or wargames within Nova without special permission of Member States to hold such exercise in or close to their territory.

There's a lot more in terms of actual specifics (although much of the Doctrine is open to interpretation - purposely, since the Yaforites wanted the Doctrine to reflect their intentions at the time, not their intentions when it was signed. Moreover, it has been ratified by half the nations in Nova (I'm not entirely sure - both the number of nations in Nova and the number of signatories is kind of fluid and I'm both on vacation and generally out of the loop, so I haven't been keeping track - someone like Damirez would be the better person to ask regarding that), so the actual force in response would certainly involve multiple massive nations (at the very least, Wagdog, Etoile Arcture, Damirez, myself, and others). I am not aware if Iythagoras is a signatory or not.

For the purposes of the Doctrine, it doesn't necessarily matter - all it takes is a challenge from one Member State of the Doctrine regarding the plausibility of a threat and the Doctrine will come into action. Given that it has a system of in-built checks and the fact that the keeper of the seals of the Doctrine is one of the most pacifistic nations in the NS World (that's me), worrying about frivolous challenges shouldn't necessarily be your first concern. Just as importantly, gaining the trust of one nation is generally weighed higher than a challenge and a nation who continually challenges loses respect/power (and Novan internal politics are based around the former). I'm preempting possible responses - I just don't want a very nice thread to devolve into the plausibility of a doctrine like the Dagora Doctrine. Suffice to say that it works and is realistic.

Nonetheless, its implications in terms of the thread as a whole are not entirely clear to me. Blackhelm's military-not-military force would technically be a civilian force and therefore not subject to the Doctrine, but given both the implications of finding oil and a Blackhelmian fleet nearby and the often clearly-imperialistic notions of the Corporation-government-whatever, there *could* be reasonable ground for a challenge (one that might be given credence by various authorities from Weccanfeld to Yafor 2). Similarly, a nation could request some kind of search-of-ships (presuming you're coming from the East of Nova, you'll presumably pass through Yaforite territory and given both the nation of origin and the circumstances, such a maneuver would not be unexpected. I'm not sure about the other directions, but I would not be surprised were it the same for other nations in Nova.

Beyond that, I'm relatively sure that there could be a challenge made on the Fanboyist forces (given that they do seem to be relatively out of place). I'm not sure about the realism of the "million men within three weeks" thing, but I'm going to pretend that it's realistic, because I don't claim to know the geography around Nova very well, nor how fast Fanboyist ships move (after thinking a bit, it seems pretty realistic). However, bringing in a million soldiers into Nova proper would almost certainly constitute a violation of the Dagora Doctrine and almost certainly multiple nations would signal the warning bells. That wouldn't be good, either for regional tranquility or for the Fanboyist forces. I'm not sure if any nation has made a challenge on the current Fanboyist forces in Nova. A lot of other factors go into that that I don't know.

As a side-note: Czardaian forces have the green-light, given that Czar explicitly has my permission for military bases in my area (which, incidentally, is another topic the Doctrine covers. He's fine under it).

At another level, I'm not entirely sure where in Nova Iythagoras is - so the actual surrounding nations, sphere of influence, who's turf you're intruding on, etc. isn't to my knowledge. That also would impact this a lot, given that Nova is very literally an RP-based region, with the most complex regional politics of any NS region (and I say this very literally. We work hard on it), so interfering in Novan politics could cause a) a backlash, b) a quagmire, and c) a headache of massive proportions for the invading nation. It would be wise to treat a little less hamhandedly, at least when dealing with nations as complex as Damirez, Wagdog, and whoever.

As a few thoughts in summary - I'm very careful not to tread lines and whatnot. This post has been entirely Out Of Character and believe me, I know what that entails. I'm not ICly involved as of now - I'm simply attempting to tell all involved nations a little more of the behind-the-scenes action so that their command will be acting based on the information that they would presumably know (unless, of course, they don't research where they invade. Given the indiscriminate invasion that take place left-and-right on II, that might actually be the case). All this information would be freely available to your respective administrations and thus, it's my duty to tell the player so they act in the most realistic manner possible.

One more note - this is an IC thread. That ridiculous counting and nonsensical posting by people who aren't involved is counterproductive and unnecessary. Had this been my thread, I would have asked you to stop. Even though it isn't, side-comments probably should not occur anyway (especially spammy ones like that). So, please attempt to restrain the nonsense in the future. Thanks.

I will most likely add an IC post to this tonight, but I can't guarantee it. Until then, nice talking to y'all.

~Yaf']