NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: This is a storyline RP. Most of it is set, and there will probably be little possibility for interaction with chars from other nations. If you want, feel free to join in. If your nation has -any- sort of intelligence bureau, it should know that Weyr is building something. The extent of the project will probably not be known, however.

Some IC information on Weyr can be found ||HERE|| (http://s2.invisionfree.com/The_North_Pacific/index.php?showtopic=1863)
----------------------------------
IC:
<Shadowside Sector, Wye>

Alicia sat in one of the many dingy pubs that fronted Marksan Lane, nursing a flagon of cider. Motor lorries and horsed-drawn carriages clattered outside, mixing with the sea of humanity that filled the Shadowside sector of Wye every evening.

The day shift at the manufactories and offices was over. In Wye, in the Shadowside, people rarely went straight home. There was always time for a drink, tome for a chat.

Alicia's current pub was the Floating Gasbag, and it was crowded, as it always was in the evening. To Alicia's left sat a giant of a man, to her left a portly woman who looked like a computer programmer.

The Floating gasbag was not a good place for the High king, perhaps. Alicia was Weyr's High King. Then again, Weyr's High Kings rarely wielded much power, and so she was not particularly known. To the patrons of this pub, she was just another pretty face.

"Fancy seeing you here," a voice said, while a hand gently tapped Alicia on the shoulder.

"Dammit Ash," Alicia growled, extracting herself from the human sandwitch that was the counter front before the pub's unwashed glass front. Seconds later her spot was already filled.

"We need to talk," Ash said simply.

"I know," Alicia sighed, following him to the door.

**************
<High Guard Court, aka Central Branch>

"General," the aide saluted, "the acquisition reports."

"Well," General Elton Gran, supreme commander of Weyr's High Guard, regarded the subordinate. "bring them here."

"Ah, yes, ser," the aide trembled. Elton Gran was possibly the most respected officer within the Guard. He was also the most feared. The aide deposited the folder, then drew back.

"Stay," Gran commanded opening the folder. He quickly scanned the report summary. After a tense fifteen minutes, he wrote something on a memo card. "Take this to Colonel Ericku," he commanded.

"Yes, General," the aide saluted, then backed out of the office.

"Idiots," Elton Gran grumbled, turning to look out of his office window at the Tower of Kings.

Ten years, that's all he needed. A decade and the High Guard would once again be as strong as the fighting force that reunited Weyr under one ruler nearly forty years ago.

Thirty years of no new acquisitions and careful investment of surplus funds had left the High Guard with more money than anyone knew what to do with. The High Guard owned 32% of Integrated Auto, 41% of General Aviation, 10% of Highlander-Leigh, and 28% of Emulated Magicka, and had similar shares in less powerful companies..

**************
<Southport, Southern District Headquarters>

"Colonel," Lieutenant Schezca saluted, stepping up to Colonel Ericku. The old building that housed the High Guard was impossibly hot, despite the recently installed air conditioning. .

"What?" Colonel Ericku asked. He somehow managed to remain unaffected by the summer heat.

"Message from central," the Lieutenant responded, handing Ericku the folded sheet of paper.

It was hard not to like the Colonel. The youngest to hold such a position, impossibly smart, as well as rather handsome, colonel Ericku led a charmed life. Then again, he was also in charge of Southport, a hotbed of rebellion and violence. To remain alive in such a place required one to have an incredible amount of luck.

"Well," Ericku grinned. "We'll be getting reinforcements in about a week. Lieutenant Schezca, if you could make the necessary arrangements?"

"Yes, ser," Schezca nodded.

"Right then."

<Shadowside Sector, Wye>

"Alicia, you -know- it's not safe for you to be here," Ash said. They walked through a narrow way hidden in perpetual shadow. Clotheslines hung above, dripping water from sixty stories up.

"What do you expect me to do?" Alicia asked, matching the tall man stride for stride. "I can't just stay in my office all day."

"And I'm not sayng you should," Ash responded. If something happened to the High King, now that Alicia was the last known descendant of the line, then Weyr would never be whole. "But at least take an escort with you."

"Don't worry, it's not like I can't handle myself."

Yet as Alicia put her hands into the pockets of her trench coat, Ash thought he noticed a frown on her face. Poeple said that the Lords of the Voids could read minds. Ash knew this to be far from the truth. Even three thousand years were not enough to learn everything there was to learn about human emotions. That was how long Ash had been the Lord of the Emerald Void.

"So have you met with Neverille?" Alicia asked suddenly as they turned into a busy street.

Wye's streets were dwarfed by the tall skyscrapers that rose above them. They would have been in permanent shadow if not for the bright sunlamps that adjusted their brightness in response to the time. Even more streets and routes were carved into the rock of Mt. Weyr, upon which Wye was built. Wye, capital city of the Kingdom of Weyr, went at least a hundred stories into the earth.

"The Grand Alchemist? sure. He said the idea is sound." Ash responded, raising his voice in order to be heard in the crowded street.

"But?" Alicia asked.

"I disapprove," Ash finished.

"Why?" Alicia asked; sidestepping past a throng of tourists who were slowly getting pick pocketed by Rach’el clansmen. The li’Illorin clan was generally at war with the Rach’el, and Alicia learned to pick them off by sight as a result of years of heading the li’Illorin enclave here in Wye.

“Weyr has always remained in isolation, even after the Gramal issue. This . . . project . . . will put us back onto the world stage. I do not believe that it will bring any positive results.”

“We don’t have much choice,” Alicia responded after a moment. They were once again going through an empty alleyway. “I don’t think we can remain neutral for much longer.”

“Neither do I, just try to go through all the possibilities before you decide on a course of action.”

**************
[[OOC: WN3 = Weyr Net News Network, a widely-read publication that is prolific trough the 'net, Weyr's omnipresent, free, broadband wireless service and power supply]]

WN3
High Guard Court, Wye

General Elton Gran has announced that the High Guard will indeed enact a massive spending program. At the same time, however, he has stated that there will be no significant increases in military funding for the forseeable future.

The High Guard, which has not acquired new equipment in nealrly forty years, is currently in a generally weakened state. The commonly accepted projections indicate that it will no longer be capable of maintaining weyr's defenses within the enxt decade.

The current Mark I MBT, while still considered adequate for current duties, will be replaced by the Mark III. The Katya anti-air system will be replaced by the Katrina weapons platform. A total of thirty Sundancer batteries will provide defense against ballistic missile threats. Additionally, a total of five Sakura-class skyships will be constructed over a period of twenty years, thus bringing the total Skyfleet up to ten skyships.

Funding is to be provided through the sale of old equipment, and by cashing in the massive stock holdings that the High Guard has acquired over the years.

It is expected that the new systems will become fully operational within the decade.

Total purchases will include 36,000[$7.2mil] Mark III MBTs; 12,000[$5.2mil] Katrina platforms, 12,000[$5.4mil] Thunderfist artillery pieces, and 30[$100mil] Sundancer interceptor arrays, amongst others. the total price tag thus far stands in excess of $410,200,000,000.

"Where are we going?' Ahs asked after a while.

"I am going to a meeting," Alicia replied tersely. She wasn't aout to tell Ash everything that went on in her life. She may not have been a very good High King, but she sure as hell wasn't going to hide inside her office for the rest of her life.

"Oh?" Ash aked, intrigued.

"You'll see," Alicia grinned.

*****************

The headquarters of the Chierny clan was in the basement of an old apartment complex, next to a dingy Chinese Food place with a yellow awning, and across from an old laundry that had none.

"So, the kid actually decided to show up . . ." the man watching the door commented, looking at the 24-year-old king speculatively.

"Just open it," Alicia responded.

"What kept you?" she was asked, after being led throughs everal rooms that appeared to be equite empty.

"Just . . . shut up," Alicia responded. Ash followed with itnerest, ignored for now by both parties. He could sense the hidden doors in the rooms they passed, but chose not to say anything.

***********

Tehy were in a darkened room, lit by bare lamps that hung from the low cieling.

"Have you brought the money?" the tall man in a dark suit asked. The boss Alicia thought.

"No," Alicia replied, looking straight at him.

"No?" this time with an air of amusement.

"No. I know you're a decent man, but you just don't learn. You'll do it again, and again, and again. COnsider this to be a warning," Alicia said simply.

#tagged.