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SiegeTank wrote:Indhopal and San Dorado: At the Conference

Raj Ahten wrote: Christophe began,
"It's good to see you again Commissioner Duquesne. Reminds me of the old days in the FTO. However with the FTO now a corpse, Indhopal is, as you know, reviewing our national security priorities. Border security is now considered to be of utmost importance. The Eastern Occidental may be queit now, but we are both aware of its troubled past and the possibility of future problems. In order to safeguard its borders Indhopal would like to take control of security arrangements in the Southeast portion of the zone, in the area roughly corresponding to the holdings of the O'Connor clan. We are willing to shoulder all the costs associated with the transition."

Duquesne sighed softly. The secretary's words didn't come as a surprise, after the recent ruckus in Klavostan it was patently obvious that Indhopal was trying to expand its sphere of influence - or 'secure its borders', but whichever way you wanted to put it the result was the same. Still, at least Christophe's opening move had been somewhat considerate. Charlie Duquesne, who'd spent years as San Dorado's first-ever ambassador to the CSR, knew all too well that meant there was room for negotiations. Valery Zorin would have been far more blunt she thought and suppressed a smile. Despite herself she kind of missed the sly old wolf, deliberately infuriating as though he could be.

“First of all Mr. Christophe let me begin by saying that I have no definite authority over Eastern Occidental. The ultimate say about matters involving that area lies squarely with the local government in Kirkcaldy. And although I admit we may have some influence there I find it highly doubtful that they would just hand you control over their land. They have bled for that ground, Mr. Secretary, far more than any of our nations can claim to have done, so I have a feeling they will be most reluctant to relinquish control.

Secondly, as you well know the NFT is gradually reducing its military presence now that local forces are capable of handling most matters themselves. We have scaled back our troop levels from a full mechanized brigade to a mere five hundred or so liaisons and advisors, with plans to half that presence again by the middle of 2018. So I have to wonder about the timing of your inquiry.”

She paused briefly to nip of her wine, an excellent Don Gregorio rosé from the south of Cascadia, then looked Christophe squarely in the eye. “Mr. Secretary, I believe our nations go back far enough that we owe it to ourselves not to speak falsely to one another. We have made a move that went against your interests, and as a result your nation feels it cannot fully trust the NFT any longer. This is unfortunate but understandable, but I think we both know that diplomacy does not have to be a zero-sum game.

Eastern Occidental is currently a part of our ‘sphere of influence’ as I think you can put it. And we are not going to give it up- I won’t bore you with platitudes about ‘owing it to the people’; there are valuable resources there that are worth a great deal of money. Platinum, diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, you name it. Extraction of these resources will be a highly profitable venture and a boon to the reconstruction of Coilerburg. You know this, I know this, the Kirkcaldy government knows this.

However, none of this means it cannot also be in your sphere of influence. I think after Klavostan’s recent... deal with the IRT I think you Indhopalis know there is more types of influence than the military kind, yes?”

Duquesne leaned back, considered the situation briefly, and steepled her fingers. “I’ll let you in on a secret, Mr. Christophe. My people have for some time now been negotiating an agreement with the Eastern Occidental government, to associate the region as an overseas department. What that means is that the locals maintain most of their autonomy while the NFT would protect the region in terms of international and intercorporate relations, international trade and such.

Now I could see how that would unsettle Indhopal. And let’s face it- the region will need Indhopal’s goodwill if it wants to truly prosper. So… Let’s see. In exchange for Indhopal not making a fuss, we could agree to take you into the loop vis-à-vis military matters in the region. We’ll increase the tempo of our withdrawal, and you could take over some of the liaison positions that’ll be left vacant. Indhopal is better suited for it anyway. Soon enough we won’t have any troops left there, which’ll save us money and you’ll be able to rest knowing the NFT won’t be launching an invasion of the Western Frontier”, she smiled fleetingly, taking the sting out of the remark.

“And as a final component of the deal… We’re currently building a railroad linking western Coilerburg to Sabika. If we can get Sabika and Omago aboard we can link Coilerburg, Eastern Occidental, Indhopal and possibly Minoy to those two nations. A Trans-Frequesuan Railroad if you like”, she said, referring to the massive Trans-Siberian Express that linked remote areas of the UCSR outback. “A rail link like that would greatly ease the movement of goods, and would thus be good for business. And it would be a profitable venture in its own right, as well as an opportunity for companies from all nations involved to work together. Now wouldn’t that be a nice show of Frequesuan solidarity?”

RogueIce wrote:Day One - CATO-MESS Summit, Republic of Cascadia

Rufus Shinra had had a speech prepared, before the conference began. However, after the acrimony over the Byzantine affair, he had scrapped that. And so he listened to the opening remarks, and waited. When the delegates started to head their seperate ways, he sought out King Paul.

"Excuse me Your Majesty," he began, formal around his old friend. "I wondered if we might have a word?" He glanced around around the still crowded hallway. "Some place a bit more quiet?"