NationStates Jolt Archive

Iuthian Secrets: The System

Introduction:

Ever since the invention of the embassy, mankind has used their diplomatic links to keep a close eye on one another as well as to smooth things over with the nation they are stationed in. The embassy has been used for centuries as a method of keeping in touch with other nations as well as to gather information to report back to their peers in their home nation. Of course, publicly embassies exist as a means of improving relations and the such, but it has always been accepted that they are watching the nation they are stationed in, keeping their leaders well informed on incidents within the nation. Commonly this part of the embassies function is avoided in discussion but its well known by every nation in the world that they are, in a sense, spies.

This is why I feel that to add to the depth of my nation’s diplomatic role-play I will construct a report to be occasionally updated when I feel like it to allow you to role-play information gathered by your diplomatic staff within Iuthia. This report represent information that your spies have gathered about the domestic situations within Iuthia as well as their alert level the general feel of the nation on the whole. The first report will be available to anyone who has a embassy within Iuthia as defined by the following linked list:

The first report, or the General Report as I prefer to call it, is a basic run down of the big events in Iuthia on a local scale, things which the public are aware of and are being reported in the news. It also give you a feeling of the Iuthian publics reactions, though it may not be accurate as even the polls are not perfect, it also describes any special security measures being put in place because of terrorist fears or possible threats from outside. You will also be reported on the most public Iuthian diplomatic actions, like recent condemnations and involvements in wars. As I will describe later in more depth it represents your nation using basic techniques of spying, such as buying all the different newspapers and keeping an eye on recent affairs. It’s basic so anyone can do it.

The Individual Reports will require more feedback however, as they will represent your nation actively using diplomatic staff, or more, to find information out about Iuthia which is less public and more carefully hidden or simply not reported. The level of active spying your nation does will be dependant on your feedback, until I get a request from you personally (preferably through OOC Telegram though I’ll accept a post on this thread), you will only be permitted the basic report information… because I automatically assume your nation isn’t spying on me, I can’t make the choice only your nation can make. More details in the next section will follow, but basically this information could cover something as simple as my nations [i]real opinion of in incident (not just my spin) to detailed information about strategic defence capabilities and operations. It all depends on how much risk you want to take.

Whatever level of infiltration you want to try, I am going to try and cater for it. However, it needs to be said that I’m not entirely in the mood for any wars and terrorist RPs piss me off because only a few people can do them properly… most of the time they are “flawless” by the RPers design and I’m not in the mood for that.

So that’s the basics of this thread, read on if you are interested.


The system:

Many people may ask, “Why do you need a system for role-playing spying?” It’s a fair question because many people have done it with complicated systems before and generally just talk to one another about it before role-playing it. That method is tried and tested and proven to work… I won’t stop people from talking to me OOC about trying to spy on me, but I feel I should note that such threads often require much work in order succeed to the delight of both nations and they only account for one nation spying…

The idea here is that in this thread I am setting up a system so that many nations can gather information in one thread without having to engage in RP between each on of them… what’s more the thread will hold information which others can use in future spy RP’s allowing the process of a normal spy RP to go faster because the information is available from the start. I won’t stop the normal process, I just want to make interaction and the RP of embassies gathering information easier to spread information about my nation and to use it as a platform to RP with… the capture RPs required for a higher risk attempt offer a chance for a good James Bond like role-play.

So here is the information I will require from nations in order to work this behemoth of a thread:

Do you have an embassy?: This is simple really, in order for your spying to work in this thread, which only accounts for embassy based spying you need to have a embassy in the first place (duh), if you don’t have on you need to RP a request to my nation in the appropriate thread.

Level of Risk: Every nation in my embassy thread has access to the very basic information given in the General Report, it’s not dangerous and it represents a basic level of legitimately learning about events in Iuthia. To get more then this you will have to state at what level of spying you want to do out of Basic, Low Risk, Moderate Risk and High Risk… each allows for additional information with exception of “basic” which represents your nation only doing the basic gathering of information without breaking the law. These will be covered later.

Information Earned: Assuming you chose to take anything upwards from low risk spying you will have a chance to ask for information given to you in the next post which lists the projects you may go for at your level of risk… for now I will skip this because I need to write the information in the correct format.

Once all this information is given you will be considered to be gathering information at which ever lever you choose, the level may be changed at any time and I feel it should be noted that Moderate and High risk are levels you should only do for short periods of time due to their danger… the secret information, once collected by me for the thread, will be lists below with a basis description and I will TM you the full details if you choose it for your information gathered, allowing you to specifically find out what you can… some of them will have perquisites like finding information about something first in a lower level spy attempt so you can concentrate on finding it. I am working on this section now.

Please note that the general report will be posted in a post below this one and will always be updated in that post, I will notify you of updates when they happen. The list of additional information will be below that. So the first three posts are all mine for the use of formatting the thread.

You may RP your spying if you want, but I may take it as a OOC answer of the three questions above because I may not feel like RPing myself because of my large amount of on threads besides this one… if you ask OOC we can have a full RP and forget most of this thread do it normally… this thread is, like I said, for many nations to learn information at once. Please note; no puppet wanking for additional information… more on this as I work on it.


How you got the information:

So we’ve covered the system, now let’s cover how you can claim you got the information. You may feel that this is unimportant but it’s important to me to be able to tell you exactly what I’m going to accept in a spy RP and what I won’t. It’s assumed you don’t have to actually RP any of the spying itself unless you feel it is important to stop me from making assumptions, which is why I’m going to tell you what I’m assuming so you can make the choice of doing it yourself or accepting the system.

Here are the basics; your nation is assumed to only have an embassy within Iuthia as a method of gathering information, spy satellites can be assumed and are usually taken into account when I do something blatantly obvious like mobilising forces, for example, like in this thread: [link]. In most cases I will demand that your satellites be RPed as watching my nation specifically if they are actually looking for something beside military action and recon, usually before the event in question… however I can be lenient with his as it can be dependant on the situation, you are assumed to be watching everyone for anything noteworthy so to have additional benefits you need to actually put some level of role-play into it to OOC ask for answers…

Because your nation hasn’t previously role-played anything more then setting up an embassy in Iuthia it is assumed that you do not have any spies in Iuthia aside from those in your embassy, this is not to say you can’t RP them, but they have to be role-played getting into Iuthia as in some cases spies are basically the same as terrorists, it is an attack and as RP etiquette goes, I get to defend, even if it’s passive.

However, your embassies don’t need to RP getting their spies into Iuthia as the diplomatic staff from the embassy as they are the spies I’m referring to in this thread, because you have already RPed them they are in my nation, ambassadors have very basic methods of gathering information and if you want to be more active about it then the chance (risk) of incident goes up respectively.

So that’s my opinion and ruling on who is doing the spying… it is, unless you RP otherwise, the embassy which is acquiring information, but how? I have a simple level system in place because it would be too much to expect an RP for every nation in this way, so I’ve simplified the process. This is the basic description for each level of spying you may wish to do and the likely results and consequences. Until you say otherwise you are assumed to be on basic:


Basic: On a basic level you are assumed to be gathering information about our nation from buying newspapers, watching our television and asking officials very legitimate questions and comparing the answers with the public events in Iuthia and working out if we are lying and calling our bluff… this level of gathering information is pretty much harmless, I can’t stop it and it’s expected. Everyone is doing this and as such anyone with an embassy in Iuthia has gained information this way as my embassies are probably doing the same in your nations.

Game effect: This is where the General Report comes from. You are not committing any crimes in Iuthia and you are following instructions and generally acting like a model embassy… you will not acquire any secret information this way unless I give it to you personally, but there is no risk of being caught spying and aside from your nations actions on a international scale we have no reason to distrust you.


Low Risk: This represents a slightly more active but low risk method of learning information, it may include bribing lower level officials, snooping around a little where your not supposed to and generally taking small risks in return for some information you normally wouldn’t find out from the public view. Because the information you are seeking isn’t too secret and because the people you are corrupting aren’t too important it’s very likely that even if an informant squeals or someone refuses a bribe we will turn a blind eye or at the very most slap your wrist. The stakes aren’t high enough to warrant action and you can afford to be caught, it’s not really considered espionage and will result in harsh words and warnings. This method is the most commonly used, its low risk allows the embassy to keep its reputation and have a chance of gaining a little extra information.

Game Effect: Now that you are actually snooping around a little more and taking small chances in the hope of gathering secret information that even our own people may not know much about. You are committing small amounts of crime, anything from bribery to leaving the embassy district without an escort… whatever it is it’s not much, but it is enough to warrant concern if we find out about it. The only risk your people are in is losing face and trust… we generally just warn you the first time and action is unlikely as you haven’t done anything we don’t expect you to try and do, just don’t get caught to often. Thankfully you may now get access to some interesting information, maybe our real opinions on your nation or minor scandals we are trying to cover up and save face… you may find out about more interesting secrets but you won’t have the details. I will OOC warn you if I want to have a thread about your man being caught in the act… but the actual damage done to you will be little and you can turn it down if you aren’t in the mood, but you have to give up “low risk” if you don’t except the RP.


Moderate Risk: Unlike low risk or basic, you are now committing more serious offences which could, if caught, result in a diplomatic incidents and the serious loss of trust. This represents your nation actually bringing in more professional spies, or perhaps your ambassador has always been a bit of a James Bond but never took these risks before. You may now be bribing people who are more powerful, they may be likely to take the bribe because you’ve been around them a bit and know what they are like, but their position makes it dangerous for them to accept. Or maybe you are skipping your escorts, escaping the social event in hope of finding some important documents in an important official’s home. All these things represent a serious security threat to our nation and as such the stakes have shot up… you won’t get a slap on the wrist this time, you will cause a diplomatic incident if you are caught and depending on how badly you are caught you could just get away with the spy being sent back home in disgrace or, if they have no diplomatic immunity, put in a Iuthian prison. The information you may find this way is, however, a whole lot better. There is a chance of finding about secret projects or matters of defence for Iuthia… you won’t get blueprints for defence systems but you may learn some serious facts, scandals or other things which may weaken our position. The risk is higher, and so is the reward.

Game Effect: The overall affect of this form of spying is considerable different from that of the others. First it should be noted that this level could be considered “high risk” if it’s used for a long period of time… for the occasional little extra information it’s ideal and fits it’s description. In any case by using this method you are not only committing a crime, but you are considered to be a threat to national security because of the level of influence you are trying to put over important officials, or because of the extent you are willing to go to evade our security. Consequences are more dire and like described above we will either send your man home, or arrest him if he hasn’t got immunity. An “incident” may occur between the two nations but it would only be about losing face and trust… the embassy would remain though it may be watched more and additional measure put in place. However the information is vastly superior… you may have access to internal reports about Iuthia’s military capability for that period, you may learn of weakness and other pieces of information which can be used as well as horded. In this case I may decided to place an RP on you about your spies capture, but the information will be received and you will be warned before I RP it. We will work out the details OOC such as the effects and you may turn it down on OOC reasons such as no enough time to RP it… however if this is done then you automatically go back to “basic” for an period of my choice and you get away with it… but you don’t get to do it again if I feel you have abused it… the pull out is for convenience. Please note that in many cases I may not actually want to RP your people being captured, but I note it to represent a real risk level.


High or Very High Risk: Now we are into the real serious James Bond spy games, at this level you obviously care less about the risk and more about the information that you may gain. At high level you could be doing a moderate job for a long period of time or maybe you are pulling off a serious spy attempt against a secure area or blackmailing an important official… your actions are now very serious and very dangerous. You are trying to get information about things which are directly concerning national security, or things we really don’t want anyone to know about. You may be trying to steal entire technologies or designs… your methods are real James Bond stuff, breaking into secure areas, forging documents for high level clearance and generally doing things which could really land you in trouble if caught. At very high risk you are doing high risk actions for longer, or doing outrageously dangerous acts… the results speak for themselves however. You will learn things which tell you about out most important technologies… about our defence capability and some of the inherent weaknesses in our systems. Perhaps you may even steel information which will help your own development of new technologies… though it’s incredibly rare that you will get complete information so you will have to work stuff out yourself still, but it’s important information you wouldn’t normally have. Being caught is, however, a serious problem. You won’t just loose face, but maybe even your diplomatic presence in Iuthia altogether… your reputation will look bad and it’s guaranteed that you will face a full blown intentional incident that could damage your standing with other nations. The odds are so high that while the information is solid gold, the cost is poison to your reputation.

Game Effect: The effect of this ultimate level is varied depending on why the action is considered “high risk” it could be that you are looking into moderate risk information but you have been doing it or projects like it for some time. In which case information will not be complete if you are caught as you are halted… but it means you only have to face moderate consequences. However if it’s a quick high risk act you will get the full information either way and if you are caught you will take the full brunt of a high risk action. In either of the case I am fully within my right to ask you for a capture RP when I want… it should be excepted at this level that you are taking such heavy risks that the odds are against you, I won’t declare war because I’m not that sort of nation but I will probably have diplomatic actions such as the expulsion of your embassy from Iuthia… however, I may not RP it so it’s down to my mood if I try it or not… if you can’t RP because of OOC reasons then instead of being knocked by to basic, you will be knocked back and I’ll RP the incident anyways. This is high risk for a reason, use it with care, and maybe even ask me before hand about it if I’ll pull you for it or not to save problems. But I feel that the case has been clearly noted. The information and consequences are explained well enough in the above description.

General Report:

[Note that only those with embassies in Iuthia have access to this report]

Summary: As you may know, the nation of Iuthia has been a stable country for some time at least in the eye of the international community. Where other nations are threatening one another with their overly large military Iuthia seems to prefer to simply comment on the events in other nations and occasionally condemn those whom don’t share Iuthia’s ideals of civil freedoms and respect for national sovereignty… in any case Iuthia’s military record is that of a peaceful nation doing all it can to avoid conflict.

We may summarise this as perhaps act of prudence on their part, not willing to back their diplomacy with the threat so that they are perceived by the world in general as a stable nation. Having been here in Iuthia for several months now, I can confirm that it is indeed a stable nation at least politically and to a certain degree, economically. The people of Iuthia do not seem to care much about events in the outside world and are apathetic about such external politics, internal politics only interest them as far as their civil freedoms are concerned, which isn’t saying much because the government of Iuthia seems to give the people a lot of freedom. The people don’t seem too bothered that Iuthia is a dictatorship, possibly because they do not know any better and possibly because they have been a dictatorship for a long time and the current leader is the more stable one yet.

Lord General James deGritz himself seems to have a lot of the nations respect and we found it exceptionally hard to find anyone who feels he is damaging the nation, though the few people questioned seem to be complacent about Iuthia’s lack of firm diplomacy backed with “the strongest military in the world” though we assure you that such a strong belief in the militaries prowess is only that… while the Iuthian military is considerably large it mostly seems to cater for it’s compulsory military service, the actual strength of the Iuthian military is probably reliant on career soldiers, not the adolescents which are put through it to become adults.

The local news seems to be fixated on James deGritz’s relationship with an elven celebrity, Liessa Valleron whom he has become engaged to. From what we’ve read on this woman she is clearly not experienced in diplomatic affairs and doesn’t influence James deGritz in anyways, though there may be a chance of James becoming more “Pro-Elf” through this relationship, only time will tell.

The current mood of the nation is relatively normal, in that they are getting on with business, though with James deGritz’s wedding to be announced within a couple weeks there is a certain amount of excitement in the air from supporters of the Lord General who are pleased to see the 45 year old man settle down with a nice woman… very few people have spoken against this relationship, mostly just crack pot individuals who are not fond of elves, but the general mood is that Liessa is a all-Iuthian elf which makes her ok.

This brings me on to another aspect I’ve noticed about Iuthians, aside from their dull humour is their distrust for outsiders including tourists and diplomats such as myself… clearly a certain level of indoctrination occurs to the people of Iuthia during education and military service which helps them accept the society as well as makes them lack trust in people not brought up in the same manner.

I would like to add more, but Iuthia’s involvement with other nations is limited at this time so there isn’t much I can report about the mood of the Iuthian people regarding current events.

[reserved for more posts in the future]

General Description of Iuthia for the "Tourists":

[Feel free to interpret this how you like, obvicously I don't control what your people are up to but I feel that in order for you to RP getting information about Iuthia through covert methods I should cover some of the available data.]

Introduction: First thing tourists notice upon entering Iuthia is the rather extensive security measures taken in order to try and secure Iuthia's airports. Commercial aircraft flying into or over Iuthia must be among Iuthia's trusted nations list, as such getting into Iuthia isn't a direct affair, though it's doubted that any nation wishing to spy on Iuthia is actually going to fly direct from their nation in anycase.

Meanwhile on the planes going to Iuthia or stopping off in Iuthia are booklets informing tourists and visitors of the laws they are expected to follow, from reporting into a hotel directly after leaving the airport to the notifications that the privacy laws are much more lax when it comes to monitoring tourists.

The security in the airport both on a personal and a military level is verging on paranoid. From the air it is possible, if you have the background knowledge, to notice anti-air defence and possibly other over-protective measures. On ground level the security seems less hostile, but it remains excessive. Tourist's luggage is much more likely to be searched and it's not uncommon for complex items to be taken apart if they have reason to suspect something, with compensation offered for damaged goods.

After reporting into your hotel (which informs the authorities of your arrival automatically) you are given pretty much the same freedoms as the citizens of Iuthia... the only exception being that your privacy isn't assured, it's just given to you on trust.

Buildings and Environment: Iuthia's cities look dull, there is no question about that as the imagination and appreciation for art within Iuthia are somewhat limited. The majority of building are built with endurance and effeciency in mind, with their aesthetic values taking a backseat. Alot of the more secure buildings are also built to be very defendable.

Expansion hasn't been a problem for Iuthia on the whole as the amount of land Iuthia has is comparable to that of Russia; each time they need more homes they can afford to build out a little more. As such there are many cities and the large number of trees that Iuthia once had have been reduced at an alarming rate.

Otherwise its a warm nation with plains and rainforrests in the less populated areas in and around the nation. There are many beaches on the east coast of Iuthia as well as a large mass of water to the west, the beaches are often good tourist traps, but only a few of them are top quality due to pollution. However, seeing as beaches help with the tourist revenue Iuthia tries to keep them clean.

Narcotics\Guns\Prostitution Laws: Drugs are freely available in stores around the nation, though some of the harder recreational drugs can only be bought in a pharmacy/store where you are informed fully of the effect, but you not prohibited from buying it. Quality is assured from these stores as required by the government. Prices are reasonable and can undercut the indepentant salement and assure safety... as such "drug dealers" are not the same in Iuthia and the criminal element is removed.

Guns however, are not readily available from Iuthia and buying them within the nation itself is concidered very hard and risky. The official weapons allowed are those of the military, though it should be noted that the Iuthian Peacekeepers are military and yet act as the nations police service. Buying a gun illegally means having to find a corrupt sales man with contacts in the Iuthian military or weapon industry... both are run by the government and are carefully monitored. It's not impossible but given Iuthia's society and indoctrination of the people it's alot harder then it would be in many other nations.

Prostitution, like drugs, is completely legal and carely regulated to protect both perverts and prostitutes alike. Prostitution is not a industry with works on Iuthia's streets, but in Iuthia's many brothals.

General Civil Liberties: The Iuthian people seem, after some investigation, to have alot of freedom in the running of their personel lives. The government doesn't monitor them; CCTV is rare with except to very public places, secure locations and hotels. They are free to walk around naked in the streets and if the day is warm and the job isn't too dangerous then any tourist in Iuthia will be able to see a reasonable preportion of Iuthia's population excerising this freedom... when pressed on their feelings about it many Iuthian are not embarrassed by this, it's natural in Iuthia.

The main concern an outsider may have about Iuthia's freedom is their complusory military service. Iuthians have an option to wait anywhere between 16-21 to fulfil this service; until they do so they are concidered to be an adolescent by Iuthian law and have some of their freedoms limited and replaced with protection laws in order to keep them from being prayed upon.

Many Iuthians accept this and the military service, which can take anything from a year to two years, is concidered to be like an extra year in school. The society has got used to this over the time it was introduced over 100 years ago and is now part of the right of becoming an adult.

Political Freedoms and Politics: These don't really exist in Iuthia, the Iuthian government usually works on a basis of who gets employed by the person above them, eventually working its way up to the Lord General himself. It is carefully monitored but it's not uncommon that lower level officials are a little corrupt and may accept bribes if the danger isn't too high.

Otherwise it is a complete dictatorship... who is in charge is usually a matter of who can stay incharge once they have taken control, there are no special measures though Dictators once in place usually stick to having members of their family preceed them. Currently the Lord General deGritz is in power and he has probably one of the most stable governments in Iuthia's history.

Some politcal observers have noted that this is because James deGritz has positioned himself in such a way as to make his removal more costly to most factions and making the stability of his power essential to the major factions. His approval of treating his people with respect and giving them civil freedoms has improved his standing... but in truth the Iuthian people are largly apathetic as to who is incharge, so long as they are doing a good job.

Law Enforcement: Iuthia's law enforcement is generally handled by the Iuthian Armies own "Peacekeeper" forces, trained specifically for their role as policemen in Iuthia. Essentially they are policemen, but they come under Iuthia's military funding and as such they have a reasonable budget in order to keep the people.

Generally keeping the order in Iuthia isn't a problem, as the majority of the nation are law abiding citizens and many things within Iuthia have been legalised or are not even concidered a crime. The majority of crime in Iuthia are from crimes of passion, such as a husband finding his wife in bed with his best friend.

Meanwhile trials are quite efficient, with the judges having more power to prosecute and less power given to the accused. While some may question this, the Iuthian people seem to be indifferent about it possibly due to indoctrination via the military service and upbringing.

Societies Mindset and Current Mood: Iuthia's society has always found the disapline to be a valuable virtue as the heart of the militaries ethos has leaked down into the mindset of the people. Clearly the use of the complusory military service over many generations has effected Iuthia's people in such a way it's become part of upbringing as methods are copied in schools and even the homes of parents themselves.

Of course, outside of the military it's done with more love and care, however the basic principals are often there. As such many Iuthian have trouble with understand artwork and their imagination is tied down to more practical uses.

As for the mood of the people at the moment? The Iuthian people seem moderately content, with some of the population in a celebratory mood due to Iuthia's Lord General announcing his intention to marry Liessa Valleron, a well know Iuthian elven celebrity. It's hard to find people who obvicously dislike the way the Government is run, but these people are rare... the majority of the population couldn't care eitherway.

Iuthian Diplomacy: Certain events have been in the news regarding Iuthia's current diplomatic efforts around the world, some of which have had more interest then others. One of the more notable situations came down to Iuthia's trade being harmed by the actions of their ally in the UnAPS alliance; Scandavian States, who inadvertantly damaged trade through careless actions around the region of Klatch, scaring local mercentile ships from making their shipment as around 400 vessels amassed in the region without so much as a communication to the nations of the region.

Scandavian States lost alot of face in the eyes of both the Iuthian government and the people recently due to the complete lack of respect shown at the start of the affair and towards the end of the affair even when Iuthian officials advised them against their actions.

In other news Iuthian attempts to peacefully avert war in The Fedral Union have been halted due to serious security concerns as one of the representatives of Austar Union were found to be a terrorist. The Austar Union has been adviced to pull out it's diplomatic staff from Iuthia until their security has been vastly improved.


For additional informaton: This concludes a rather long winded review of the inside of my nation... I've not covered anything too specific to allow for adjustment and to allow people whom wish to spy on me the oportunity to ask specific questions... which can be answered here or via telegram.

OOC: Lovely, lovely thread, I wasn't expecting less from you

Nice, I can tell you put a lot of effort into this. Too bad I'd have little reason to spy on you...

I must agree, it is very good and well typed.

Thanks guys, though I'm really not sure what to make of this thread now I've started it... it's an idea which may be a little too amibitous, I also need to work on it so that others can use it.

Thanks for the complements though.

More of a description. Weyr doesn't think that Iuthia's a threat...Still, might as well make use of the opportunity to establish what Weyrean diplomatic staff is doing...

Four High Guard soldiers stood at the main Weyrean embassy gates, weapons ready, faces concealed behind polarized helms. On the other side of the fence were their Iuthian counterparts. Joseph Watts knew that nothing would happen here, but the image of increased security had to be maintained nonetheless. So, the ambassador Mardo Shun had ordered Captain Murdo-Grell to increase visible security. This meant doubled shifts for the twenty High Guard assigned to the Weyrean embassy in Iuthia.

Three days ago the militant sect of the god Krim released viral matter into the air over Southport, killing twenty million Weyrean citizens in half an hour, and starting an armed uprising that now tied up three hundred thousand High Guard soldiers. But that was halfway around the world. News was slow to reach the embassies, but three days was enough time for satellite FLASH messages to come in from Central Station in Wye City.

The Consul-General J. W. Gibbs wanted all station chiefs and ambassadors to find what they could, without compromising the status quo. In some embassies, that meant squeezing informants and stepping up bribes and shadow ops. Here in Iuthia, it meant that diplomatic attache Joseph Watts would lightly inquire if Iuthian officials knew anything about recent events in Weyr. Certainly, they were informed of the events, and had pulled their embassy out of Weyr, stating that they would monitor the situation

Watts checked his watch, downed the last of his morning coffe, and descended into the conference room at the center of the embassy building. They practiced the basic operational security procedures -- double-paned windows, overpressure ventilation with light noisemakers to fool listening devices, drawn blinds. Bugs were swept for regularly by the two alchemists assigned to the embassy. Observation of comings and goings was made difficult by the two alchemists, who had rearranged the interior designs of the embassy building upon arrival.

The conference room in question had no windows, and a radio was shooting out J-pop mosic.

Already around the conference table were the few men and women who acted as intelligence and diplomatic staff. Captain Rinese Murdo-Grell, in charge of security operations; Mellinda (Mel) Rice, chief of communications; Josiah (Jo) Smith, Commercial Attache and station chief; Marco Gras, secretary and black ops specialist, for whom this assignment was de facto retirement; Rin Bel Nu, a functionary who ran a minor spy ring that never poduced any real information. They had trickled in over the last hour, so as to not draw attention to their whereabouts.

The meeting passed quickly enough. Everything was quiet. The three Weyrean students working on a joint project to study Iuthian government were annoying, the locals were xenophobic, and the alchmists nearly set the embassy on fire when their distillery exploded. The ambassador was making his rounds about Iuthia Prima, tying up Iuthian security service with false dead drops and signals. It was more of a joke than anything else, since Weyrean diplomatic staff had nothing going on in the nation.

Hm. Most useful...

Maybe when I finish it perhaps... I think I've been a little abmitious... though I copied the tourist bit in from the NDA thread where I wrote it.