Nascivya: Tact and Diplomacy [Private]

[Monfrox]

Nascivya Atoll, International Waters
Regional Embassy

The region was new, but the players at the tables were mostly the same. Much had gone into the formation of new borders and relations, as well as the construction of a new regional embassy for international meetings. It had been rather quick and also rather arduous at the same time. Much was still left to discuss. All the pleasantries and ceremonies were over and done with and now it was time, once again, for business. The formation of the Joint Reclamation Task Force, and other smaller things that needed to be worked out between other nations amongst themselves. There would be old faces and new faces. For that reason, she kept her guard close as she rode on towards the embassy from the Froxian sector of the atoll.

It was a beautiful island, really. Nothing like her troops were used to back home. It was a real change of pace. Many of them were still on edge about everything aside from having to apply sunscreen. They knew they'd be getting more tanned, though. The local contingent had to secure the whole sector, and they made use of the vampire and dhampirs to take over the graveyard shifts and discourage the curious. The center of the atoll had been built up to house the embassy grounds, allowing bridges to run direct to it from each nation's sector. It was a rather interesting feat of architecture, honestly. The Froxians were not at home on the surface, but there was little that could be done about that for now.

Lidev's armored convoy pulled up to the front of the embassy, a sleek sedan led by an armed Humvee and backed by a BOV M11. Her troops found a place to park their vehicles in the motor pool after she stepped from the car and into the embassy. There were executive entrances for those like her that were less intrusive than the normal entrances. The halls were very quiet, with only the sounds of her boots echoing softly around the walls. The place was scrubbed twice over, and would be scrubbed again for all manner of bugs and devices. There was even a whole electronic suite operating to handle "classification of audio" along with making the walls of the conferences rooms lined with lead and metals to make a Faraday cage as best as possible to dissuade eavesdroppers. The idea was that everything that went on between the leaders of the nations was private, being relayed by word of mouth to those they wished after all was said and done. No expense was spared in securing the information vacuum. Last thing Lidev wanted was a recording of her talking being taken out of context and used for nefarious purposes. Not that she didn't trust the other nations, but...well no, that was entirely it.

Lidev von Sturmgiest, Grand General of Monfrox, leader of the Stratocracy. There were many people at home in the Outer Territories gunning for her with a price on her head, and many things in the Zones trying to tear her country apart and bring about an age of beasts. She sighed as Krista and Klara took their positions on the flanks of her empty chair at the round table while she looked out the window, with a cigar in one hand and her ticking pocket watch in the other. The other four shock troops of hers had melded into the shadows of the room, lying in wait in case anyone had any bright ideas about enacting a regime change policy for Monfrox. Lidev sighed, lamenting the fleeting silence as she knew that, in a few moments, the room would be filled with diplomats and representatives of the other nations. And from there, the circus would commence. It was definitely going to be a long flight home.

[West Pacific Treaty Organization]

Nascivya Atoll, International Waters
Earlier in the week, a large H-4 flying boat had docked at the Atoll and had deposited the beginnings of a consulate for the West Pacific Union. The consulate, if one could even call it that, was a humble 'structure' of sandbag walls, concrete barriers, and razor wire enclosing a few tents, but it was a consulate all the same, with a fully-accredited ambassador, diplomatic staff, and security unit.

As the ceremonial business wound down, a pair of Jeeps sped towards the embassy. The first carried a fireteam of Marines, who seemed to stare at everything they saw as they were bounced around. The second carried the two delegates of the Western Pacific Union's Task Force Utrecht, Subaltern Oliva Macduff and Slavaya Platonova.

The two young diplomats seemed to be almost twins. Both were blondes, green-eyed, roughly the same height. Both seemed tense and silent.

But while Olivia wore a pure-white ceremonial uniform, Slavya wore a button-down shirt and skirt, marking her as, at least in the Union's eyes, a senior diplomat.

The senior diplomat, really. The overall commander of TF Utrecht, Forrest Burke, would not be present. However, a small detachment, consisting of a seaplane tender, a Topeka-class light cruiser, and a pair of destroyers, were on standby immediately offshore, in case something went wrong.

Slavaya hoped they did not have to be used. The deal with Nyanue was already difficult enough - any mistake here could cost time, money, and worst of all lives.

As the Jeeps slowed and then stopped, they dismounted quickly and joined the rest soon after. The four Marines followed them as well, and took up station behind them.

---

As Slavaya and Olivia entered the room, one of the Marines following them gave Slavaya a nervous glance and tilted her head slightly.

Slavaya gave her a quick nod and smile in response, before taking her seat and facing the other delegations.

"Good day." she said.

[Veshay]

The start of a new era dawned upon Veshay’s history. The Matriarch had once again committed a miracle, dictated by the fate-tellers of Veshay, both Old and New. Another moment has passed as she walks towards her fate; the hardest part was over. Her Phalanx Knights all surrounded her, marching like obedient metallic figures to the beat of her heart, taking each their assigned place in the dark hallway of the Veshayian sector. This sector is marked by airlocks that separate it from other sectors, since Veshay’s air is more pure than her neighbors, painted in dark blue and green hues with only floor lighting to comfort those who those either incredibly nervous, or those who walk in less light.

Familiar faces and total opposites Hoel and Tor stick to Her Lustrious’s side while Galahad walks behind her; Tor scanning the floor for any dents, weaknesses, or faults in the wall, Hoel checking all the wiring, and Galahad wondering how the die will be cast with seven other nations to impress.

“How will she hold up, I wonder?”

The Matriarch had been to hundreds of thousands of mind-numbing diplomatic meetings, and was genuinely comfortable with the pompous formalities driving by other nations on her homeworld. But this time, she could afford no luxuries or slip ups. This was a new beginning.

No matter her emotions on the matter.

Wearing a modest bright-white dress with blue Veshayian flora sitting on her shoulders, topped with an equally bright smile, she found her way to the room, her three Knights in tow. Her and Her Knights bowed her head slightly before The Matriarch herself sat down, but she made no attempt at empty conversation or small talk.

She once was a soldier, too, and they knew what must be done.

[Polaris Central]

In contrast to all the other nations, Polaris's delegation distinctly buzzed with a different energy altogether. Sterile, impassive, professional. Chief Executive Maddox IV herself looked exactly like a model CEO, complete with a tightly-considered, futuristic appearance; streamlined designer clothes and sleek, minimalistic augmentations in a chic platinum. The thin, spartan cybernetics brushed at the edges of her face, with a shimmering, transparent holographic info-display projected just in front of her eye. Her expression never wavered from a tight-lipped, neutral stare - not quite a smile, nor a frown. In this particular instance, her expression mirrored her inner thought process as she considered what exactly Polaris would be willing to bring to the table internationally. The woman wasn't particularly fond of drawn-out, agonizing bureaucracy or diplomacy, and was really hoping to get it over with as soon as possible. It was preferable to endure a few weeks of meaningless prattle, than to alienate the nation from the rest of the international community. Primarily, she wanted to discuss trade agreements and secure guarantees of non-aggression. Past those items, Maddox would simply observe the other delegates - a wise business always got to know the competition, after all.

The drive from the Polarian section of the inlet was more than peaceful, with a beautiful view of the island's shorelines and overall landscape from the armored personnel carrier's CrystalDome system (with no exterior windows, a network of high-definition cameras projected a view of the outside to interlinked screens within the vehicle, creating the illusion of a full view of the outside - as if there were nothing at all). Beforehand, Maddox had enjoyed a five-star breakfast, prepared by the finest culinary experts, before taking a short walk on the beautiful, pale-white beach located just below the villa. Now, flanked by two guards wearing ornately-painted powered armor, she stepped from the APC's side-hatch and strode into the conference building. Pausing just before she entered, she checked the progress of her stocks and securities on her eye-projected hologram, making a mental note to have her personal broker invest more into CRSV Corp. - it had risen by 38.4 percent in just the morning alone. With her business attended to, she pushed through the doors and entered the hall, taking a seat at the table and preparing a few documents from an agenda she carried. Behind her, the two power-armored guards took up positions directly behind her seat, ready to shield the Chief Executive from gunfire. Although they had been dressed in a pale, sterile white paint-job, their singular crimson-red eyes seemed to gently glimmer in the shadows.

[Hurtful Thoughts]

Unlike the other delegations, the Hurties were informal -and with one exception- looked tired. Mostly the notion of being dragged through the Froxian attempts at diplomacy yet again, knowing full-well the possibility it'll eventually devolve into a screeching-match like all the other cataloged instances of trying to work anything mutually beneficial out between them. For the past couple of decades the official stance had been begrudging indifference up until events as-of late resulting in the release of a large chunk of surplus Hurti warships and military hardware as a gesture of goodwill. That gesture had not gone unnoticed, by either side. Garda had happily pointed out that the older "Terror Class Heavy Monitors", which were essentially old Pennsylvania class battleships with a lack of freeboard, a fair amount of unmodified Katana class frigates, plus improvements to bring the Froxian fleet from 1950s tech into at least the late 1970s in terms of combat-capability.

It was a massive and expensive undertaking, but Garda had insisted she'd gone through the numbers and that having the Froxians patroling the waterways with older boats the Hurti navy hardly had any use for anymore was better than mothballing them and using-up valuable Hurti naval assets... and FAR less counter-productive as selling them off to the local privateers, only to see them engage in commerce-raiding within a month.

Mendez had gotten out of his armored limo with a bit of a limp, his prosthetic legs being a bane upon his existence. Still, he refused aid from his aide; Steve Barnes may have meant well, but the lad was over-protective of the former special-operative.

The old man gave a cough, mumbling something about at least being driven directly to the correct building rather than being driven in circles and literally through several ambushes laid by 3rd-party mercenaries back on their fateful trip to Foxlandish... Which turned out to be quite the mess... He never really cared for bubbly vapid red-heads being just given the authority to rule by birthright. What little he'd read on Lidev's dossier, she was groomed by the previous leader to lead... However he died while she was still young, so how much she knew about leading a country was questionable, judging by the current secrecy around simply meeting her.

Either her servants were trying to hide ineptitude, or she was paranoid... hopefully she wasn't both.

Garda elbowed him, smiling broadly. "Hey, at least this managed to open discussions with their new leader. I heard she's nicer than her predecessor."

"We'll see about that."

[Nyanue]

“That’s it” said Dubié closing his tablet, “all the preparation are complete, and nothing is behind schedule, the participants are coming in one by one”. He was one of the officers of the multinational maintenance crew tasked to take care of the island, he was Nyanuian. The Atoll was selected in the new region, it was an international suggestion given by Monfrox to build an international hub for diplomatic causes, and Nyanue’s option was approved, and she was entrusted to build the entire infrastructure in the island, Nyanuian xenophilic personality & construction marvels created such an effective, fair, and tidy public system, the workers employed here are multinational and supported the cause of communism ideals in Nyanue, and they were as diligent as they were expected.
The sector constructions finished weeks ago, however up to this day, Dubié never stopped admiring how Nyanuian engineers & city planning gets this effective yet again.
Of course, each national sector, expanding thousands of cubic meters are built by respective nation, but all the four lanes highway to support large vehicles during construction, the high-speed metro from sector to sector to the center of the atoll, the accessible public services reaching to every corner of the island was built and planned by Nyanuian engineers and they performed according to Nyanuian modern standard.
It was a new life for everyone, never before did they see such a beautiful island, except for Nyanue of course, they’ve been living in prosperity in the last few decades.

“Should be any minute now..” as he waits for the liaison to arrive, it was Nyanue’s representative, Mrs. Mao Nyadong Ngunyan, current president of Nyanue, she was voted just a few years ago, replacing her husband, which was considered a war hero back in the day, also the one who led the Nascivya island-building project.
He finally see the black car in the distance alongside a few other boxy cars next to it, it was the Liaison car carrying Mrs. President, he then walked downstairs alongside his crew to greet her.
He walked outside the entrance exactly when the sleek black car stops.
“Enchanté Mademeowselle Mao, It was an honor to see you arrive, welcome to Nascivya Atoll International Center, Dubié at your service, the rest of the international representatives are waiting for you” he bowed down, as Mao’s bodyguards open the door for her.
“Tout le plaisir était pour moi Dubié, you’ve done a great service for our cause, lead me inside.”
“Absolument, par ici”, and Mao walks inside to meet the other international representative.
Just like the old days, it wasn’t really much of a deal, but it’s still pretty awkward when eyes in the hallways are directed to a short woman in traditional dress walking pass them.
The obvious monfrox-origin guards in front of the door opens the conference hall entrance for her & Dubié, he then showed her where her seat is located. She then take a seat and crossed her legs waiting for the others, as Dubié returned and continue his duty for the day.

[Lauzanne]

The Lauzannean delegation had arrived a little later than the others, the lot that walked in appeared to be fairly normal. President Jack Waffenschmidt was in first, eyes scanning the room at the other delegations that had already sat down. Following him was the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Nikon Albesci, his receding hairline and graying hair contrasting the age difference between the two. There was lastly a female secretary that followed the two, who was going to be taking notes for the given meeting.

The whole thing had been a long time coming, but perhaps it was for the better. Nascivya was a tense region lately, and it was better to create this island than duke it out. The three sat down at their designated seats, the secretary drawing out her book to write down notes on the meeting.

And now, they waited.

[Monfrox]

Lidev had taken her seat as the other delegates filed in. Her pocket watch ticked away the seconds as she noted the representatives from the region join the table. Delegations from the countries of Nyanue, Lauzanne, Polaris, and...wait a minute. Lidev's eye focused on the entrance of two blonde women who took seats at the table. They were not the Xing or Hurti delegates. Their bodyguards had entirely different uniforms than anything she'd noted from intelligence reports. Interesting. Lidev thought to herself. She noted the Hurti delegation was still not present and she had not heard anything from the Kingdom of Xing on their attendance so she assumed they would not show up. She clicked the pocket watch closed and returned it to her coat pocket.

"I'm sure the last delegation will join us soon. But I'm not waiting. We have much to discuss, evidently some of us more than others." Lidev paused to eye the two blondes, putting the proverbial squeeze on them to see how they responded to pressure. "There is a few things I'd like to discuss on the agenda before I open up the floor for further items. For those of you who don't know, I'm Grand General von Sturmgeist, leader of the Stratocracy of Monfrox. Lately, we've encountered a few isolated incidents within our borders that have been handled by interior organizations. However, one such issue has proven to be more of a challenge than others. This is it, plain and simple: Monfrox has been asked to liberate land for reclamation by its former governing body. This has proven to be a tall order, even for me. Monfrox has seen fit to open up to a new initiative to go forward with an International Joint Task Force committed to seeing this through. This is the biggest fish to fry today, so I'll hear what thoughts you all have on the matter."

Lidev held her cigar off to the side. Krista took one sharp step forward and snapped her fingers. A blue flame emanated from the tip of her thumb that smelled of sulfur, which she used to light the cigar. Lidev puffed on it a few times and then settled back into her chair, leaving Krista to take her step back and douse the flame by smothering it in her palm.

"For those of you with questions for concerns regarding the exact nature of the campaign we intend to embark on, we are going to a nation called "Veshay"." Lidev motioned to the Matriarch. "Their representative has joined us."

[Veshay]

Her nerves shook her for a moment.

Interesting.

“Good morning, everyone.” The Matriarch, her voice with a twist of an Irish accent in the air. “I am The Matriarch, leader and Goddess of Veshay, both New and Old. Although my people and I are from an alternate world as we stand here before you today, the importance and frustration surrounding these diplomatic debates, discussions, and politics are far from being lost upon me. I also understand the weight of these decisions and the thousands of innocent lives they affect. The thousands of not-so-innocent lives they affect. As such, you will have my full cooperation surrounding what we are allotted to do on your soil and any and all information in regards to not only my nation, but to myself as well.

“To keep our past brief as to why we needed to gain access to an alternate dimension, I was born in the middle of a racial and religious war. In our home dimension, the nation o Old Veshay had no gods of war or vengeance before me, thus I willed into being andn tasked to bring war against our enemies. It was clear after eleven thousand years of deaths, including my own, we needed to make a tactical retreat off-world. A lot of my people came with me, but a lot of them stayed behind for our return. I decided that once we had the technology to move across dimensions rather than relying on my magic alone, we would be ready for war against our enemies once again. A month ago, we learned, although we don’t know how exactly, we know that we are finally ready.” The Matriarch looked at the Grand General and bowed her head slightly, showing her quiet thanks.

“There are two main problems with the temporary home we have. I have been informed by our team leads behind the project that dimensions are like threads on a tapestry. Currently, New Veshay exists in the space between each of these threads, and that it is isolated and limited in space. The heavenly bodies, the atmosphere, and weather, are all currently simulated by myself in order to simulate normal living conditions. The only thing naturally forming in New Veshay is the land and the oceans surrounding it, as well as the people living there prior to our arrival. Going far enough in any direction yields the oddity of an invisible wall. Unfortunately, tampering with it in it anyway also damages the border, which brings us to our second problem.

“Magic Destabilization. Veshayians are all gifted in magic in some way, shape, or form, though a large portion are mostly elemental. If not controlled from an early age, it will consume the user in question and cause whatever magic they possess to burst forth from their bodies in a pseudo elemental bomb, if you will. This yields catastrophic results, and through the regulations placed on Veshay, it has become a decently rare occurrence. However, this also causes tears in the dimension. Due to the unfortunate oversights of trans-dimensional crossing, an orphan who had been buried alive in the Plainlands underwent this process, and it caused a sizable hole in the bottom of the world. When we looked inside during the aftermath, we saw what the tests only hinted at. Nothing. There is nothing beyond our universe. Any further tampering will only cause it to collapse further.

“Now. Our nation has known peace for too many generations to assume any of my people bar my Knights remember the motions of war, thus we need training. We could not do that without a permanent stabilized establishment to stay. Thus the Veshayian nation proposes an international military exchange in both an advisory and education role as well as the establishment of a university hospital to facilitate the free exchange of medical, scientific, and military advancements. This facility requires expandable terrain surrounding it for future projects, including the hopes of a specific research facility for the portal to Old Veshay to be established, but we can adapt to multiple types of terrain and ecosystems. Veshay also is prepared to do any terraforming, if it is deemed necessary.”

“Thoughts?” she said, her smile gently staying on her face.

[Hurtful Thoughts]

Mendez had been held-up reviewing the recent events of the Western Pacific Consulate being erected adjoining the Hurti consulate's seaport... apparently as a matter of convenience to offload their H-4 until they could build their own. Still, this put their security-detail in the best possible position to observe and get to know their new highly militant neighbors.

“--oughts?” she said, her smile gently staying on her face.

Ah good, they were still taking role-call. Mendez thought as he forced his wheelchair into the chambers.

"Present... and I can see the Froxian genetics program is still exceeding expectations from our reports." He then wheeled to face the person who called this meeting, "Lidev, if you want our unlimited aid you already know our terms; we can't be seen running a charity-case, after-all. And we won't hold a disproportionate amount of our mercenaries on-standby hoping you'll change your mind."

A younger bespectacled aide tugged at his sleeve, gently reminding him of the recent aid package already delivered.

"Current aid packages notwithstanding. As it was brought to my attention that... releasing several of our older ships and various upgrades to free-up enough manpower to man them and your existing fleet... would be cheaper in the long-run and (sigh) 'go a lot further to instill a sense of goodwill and well-being among the distrustfully xenophobic Froxian menace', as our lead minister of propaganda liked to put it. Garda here went to great lengths making sure the transaction would happen, putting her entire career on the line for it, in fact."

In the background, Barnes waved at Mr Albesci, indicating that they would discuss matters of military procurement soon enough... depending on whether or not the Lauzannian knew fluent tactical hand-signals mixed with semaphore-code.

[Polaris Central]

Monfrox, the nation of soldiers - and thus, constant war. Hurti, their ever-present rival on the international market. Lauzanne, two steps into the future and one step back. And, of course, the nations she had not investigated - the WPU and the Nyanuians. There was little chance for anything past a frigid relationship with the strange, cat-like people - word on the block painted them as hardline communists. As for the Western Pacific Union, Maddox regarded them as a wildcard and not much past that.

The Matriarch's description of magic had piqued the interest of the executive, although the rest of their words hadn't really drawn her attention. A religious war, dimensional holes, and - of course - charity. Keeping her face strictly neutral, Maddox would straighten out the provided agenda and documents set in front of her.

"Just a thought, I suppose. This seems like an incredibly expensive endeavor, as noble as it may be. Polaris is prepared to offer as much aid is required to facilitate this reclamation, but what exactly will we be trading for? Furthermore-" The CEO would pause, her gaze sweeping around the room. Her tone was kept unwaveringly professional, as sharp and sterile as a scalpel made of ice. "- what, or who, will we be fighting?"

[Lauzanne]

Waffenschmidt had heard the speech from The Matriarch, considering each line and implication. He was hardly a scientist, but he could grasp the rough concepts present. Intervene in a war against an enemy with a massive technological superiority. Recipe for success. Possibilities turned over in his mind, but in a sense, he already knew the answer.

"If what you're saying is true, you're asking us to go to war against an unknown opponent with unknown capabilities, but has superior technology to us. I'm not necessarily against the idea of helping a prospective nation but if I told my Marshal this he would tell me I'm insane. I cannot promise many of our men and women in the way of forces, but at the very minimum you can expect special forces and training staff to assist this... Coalition you seek to build, seeing as your prospective soldiers require such training. As for more... I cannot say."

[Monfrox]

Disc 1, Track 01 - "Quid Pro Quo"
Lidev knew it would be a hard sell, but she still had a few tricks up her sleeve. Sometimes, you had to give a little to get a little. She played her cards close to her chest, but playing them meant she still had to put them on the table for all to see. So she played a card rather astutely.

"It has become clear to me that this is not the first time we've had encounters like this on our own soil. Even now, the MND has several locations under lockdown as well as efforts being made towards "inter-dimensional diplomacy". After all, there's no telling if these enemies that have pushed the Veshayians out of their homeland are willing and content to stay there. And so I fear that we may be next in their sights in time, which leads to our current meeting."

The door calmly opened to a blonde girl with her hair tied up and a pair of sharp, electric blue eyes. She wore a standard suit with an overcoat and had a stack of papers in her arms.

"Ah, perfect timing." Lidev said, motioning for the girl to pass them out. She continued as the girl made her rounds to the other diplomats at the table and then took a spot behind Lidev and her guards. "These packets include lists of regulations and mission statements for the upcoming campaign. As I can already see, Monfrox will be taking the brunt of the heavy lifting for the war as usual. In that event, let it be known that we may have to call upon the other nations to fill in the gaps with joint operations bases around the Outer Territories. You may support the effort on the homefront, or alongside the Coalition. On the back pages are places for representatives to sign in agreement."

Lidev took a drag on her cigar and then put it aside, leaning forward in her chair and folding her hands on the table.

"Monfrox will not sit idly by while an inter-dimensional threat prepares to invade our world. We have the means, the methods, and the manpower to mount a preemptive strike. I have already made my decision and Monfrox's Expeditionary Force will be launching a reclamation campaign to eliminate the enemies and allow the Veshayians to go back to their happy lives without the fear of living in a finite universe."

It was a bit strong, but she played on a lot. Already, she was hinting that she knew more than she let on about everything and with such a certain determination for this cause, she wondered if the other nations would follow her example. At the very least, she'd rope them into plugging the holes left in the defenses after moving divisions into the Coalition Task Force. Just because there was work to be done elsewhere, did not mean things would be done and over with here. Speaking of...

"And as far as the Hurti delegation's concerned, let me put your ambitions to rest. There will be no established Hurti bases on Froxian soil. Not now. Not ever. I would like the representatives to mull this over quickly as we have other things to discuss too, such as trade agreements for future endeavors, isn't that right?"

She didn't have to mention names. Ever since participation in Task Force Atlas had garnered them some international spotlight, other nations of Nascivya seemed eager to get their own breed of new soldiers. While technically still protected as classified military initiatives, Lidev could bend the rules to let them get what they wanted without fear they'd be superseded in the genetic arms race, but everything had a price.

[Hurtful Thoughts]

Barnes took note that the Veshayans were NOT part on the Froxian genetics program while the wheels spun in Mendez's thoughts so hard you could swear mud was coming out his ears as Garda took the notes and calmly yet rapidly mulled through them at a rate that would make even Blackbird jealous.

Mendez spoke first, "As you know, we're more than willing to engage in a joint offensive to... if I understand correctly, prevent the universe from collapsing in on itself? And if your forces are going to be doing the heavy-lifting, then perhaps we can provide supplies. I don't believe this... portal to another pocket-universe is going to be particularly large, and your Leopard 2s are... not exactly compact enough for overseas deployments, let alone something that sound essentially like an airborne railhead. A point of logistics y'all seem to have neglected over the past few years." Mendez's drawl and mannerisms were more befitting his time more as an artisinal confidence-man under state employ than as a formal delegate to a high-powered meeting; still, he piled-on the extra charm of being a 'simple man with simple requests' rather than show any signs of shrewd opportunism.

Garda then piped-up, "It says here that their current portal terminates inside a building. Either we could attempt to carefully demolish the building to permit a railway to pass through it, or we'll need to build another one.... And if we'll be training these Veshayans on our own soil with the more potent weaponry, it would make sense to establish a second portal to Old Veshay there instead of in Monfrox, thus preventing Monfrox --and by extension, the rest of Nascivya-- from exposure to a counterattack. Worst case, we can safely nuke the portal from orbit to seal it off... Besides, it makes more sense than shipping things into New Veshay only to then ship it to Old Veshay from there if we could instead just make a direct-insertion to Old Veshay from our existing military depots."

Barnes, the ever-prepared boy-scout, then handed Lidev a manila envelope containing information regarding the genome-sequence of some of the local fauna of New Roanoke Island that may prove useful to the Froxian geneticists. "We'll of course want a copy of your results for independent testing."