NationStates Jolt Archive

National Statehouse
Anatoba City, the Absolutist State of Austar Union

"... which is why I believe, Saturn to be a key location in the future of this nation," finished Juno, having made his case.

Indigo nodded and evidently pondered greatly on the subject. On one hand, he could more than easily just ignore the possible developments of this nation. And on the other; he could greaten its heights of capability into such areas which may be quite valuable to the future of the Austar Union. The case presented was... amazing at best. Juno certainly was a man for the words--granted, he had once endeavoured to be a lawyer. Such a fitting proposition. In the meantime, Indigo could no longer ignore the need for the extension of kind; to research the system, for the purposes of a military base; to establish a legal and respective presense within the Saturn sub-system. Of course, it was only time that they began to reach the Austarian hand out to a greater furtherment of abilities. Others were doing so continiously, and if Indigo were to grow resistant to such change; the nation would eventually fall into obselete. Scary.

Indigo nodded to himself, as if it made any kind of proper confirmation; "Your case is overwhelming Mr. Sanchez. I will make it your own project to send a craft to Saturn, where it will undertake such research exersizes. It has been too long since we have ever expanded our sphere of capabilities. We have reached Mercury, but what good is that if we wanted to reach such distant realms as Saturn, or Neptune even?"

"My thoughts exactly," Juno replied, bowing his head solemnly. "With an attitude of apathy, what can be done?"

"Good. You will ready a craft by the end of a week. On board will be each of every nessasary specialist -- diplomatic officers, weapons experts... you know the drill," ordered Indigo, relaxing back into his leader-like positioning.

He smiled, "For too long we have been complacent. The holiday was good Juno, but that holiday is finished. Its time to do what we do best."

"At once," saluted Juno, grinning from ear to ear.

<R&SCr300.8> Attention; Entering the Saturn sub-system.

Adam opened his eyes. He had been asleep for much of the journey here, and was already prepared for this moment. Rumoured to be amazing, Saturn was not the place to ignore or take for granted. And whilst he was here on a mission specificially dedicated to Science and Research; it hardly meant that such a time couldnt actually be enjoyed. Certainly, he and his crew had planned to visit Machiavelli; their timetable was relatively open to their own demise. And given such freedom to incorporate these little side-enjoyments, it made the job fun.

"Follow course as pre-plotted," ordered Adam, pausing to think afterward.

He smiled, and spoke after several moments, "Computer, what is the visual status of Saturn Prime?"

<R&SCr300.8> Status is visual. Saturn, distant, yet visible.

Adam pursed his lips as the others sat around, doing their thing; "Open Ports Seven A, to Seven C."

<R&SCr300.8> Open Ports...

To the right of him, a mechanical click followed by the shutters beginning to rise began to occur. And slowly but surely, the view to space became apparent. In the distance, he might have been able to see the sun itself--although fortunately it was but a distant glitter. In the meantime, Saturn itself was much more closer, and much more apparent than that of anything else. Around it, it's moons and sattelites orbited as they should. Furthermore, he could make out would be sometimes famed as "The Ring of Powerfulness". An amazing, and incredible creation on its own. The abilities of man, was simply astonishing.

On board this craft, the crew had been silenced by the view which had befallen them. Strangely, it wasnt as if they hadnt seen Saturn; whether it be via the pictures, via Motion Picture, et cetera. Yet there was an un-ignoreable difference between having seen what it looks like, and having seen it for real. The difference was incredible. But for a System's Computer such as <R&SCr300.8>, or Research & Science Craft; Model 300.8, for more formal reference... its observation skills would have been in the slightest. It had no ability to comprehend beauty, and it had no ability to comprehend something "new". It followed the instructions given, as they were to be given. If there was a problem, it could calculate safe changes -- but ultimately, it was the slave being of man. Fortunately, it retained no conciousness, and no understanding of "self".

Having advised local authorities of a general flight-plan, and a general description of the mission purpose -- Adam and his crew were hardly expecting any problems with those in control of the system. For the general part, the entire flight was to make a distant pass of each of the Moons which orbited, and then finally of a general scan of Saturn itself. With the knowledge that it was just a gas giant, they also would be watching the naturally-formed rings of Saturn for life, or the possibilities of life-establishment. Then once they would be completed, they would head back to Machiavelli Station; permitting the time and effective admission. In the meantime, any military danger had been rated as minimal. The Triumvirate of Yut posed no threat, and Adam was confident than none of the other inhabitants would simply attack for the sake of attacking anyway. This was but a scientific craft, afterall.

Anyhow, whether standard protocols had been followed completely or not, the authorities at home hardly knew of an actual Saturn government of kind. There were only those who existed here, and those who did not. The Triumvirate had been known to exist on Titan (and the Ring of Powerfulness), but elsewhere... was but a mystery for the Austarians; hence the mission. "To log and record those within the Saturn sub-system", was the actual goal of the mission. "To scan Saturn's Rings for Life and Structure Sustaining Capabilities", was the second. In the meantime, since they had entered the sub-system, Adam had commanded the computer to broadcast a signature, with their intentions encoded within.

As follows, is but an extract from the decoded message; found in a looping broadcast of the Austarian ship's signatures.

"This is a research craft from the Absolutist State of Austar Union. We are here to log and record several properties of the sub-system of Saturn; those including current inhabitants (and their political claims), and the abilities for a nation such as ourselves to establish a minor presense within the system, perhaps even on the Rings -- if possible..."

Sometime Later
Deeper Within the Saturn Subsystem

<R&SCr300.8> Attention; Craft is Approaching Vector Three and "Point of Discovery". Permission to Begin Scanning Procedure.

Adam looked up from his hand of cards, "Permission granted. Begin scanning operations immediatly."

<R&SCr300.8> Acknowledged and Confirmed. Beginning Scanning Operations.

"A full house?" chuckled one of the other gentlemen. "Impressive."

Adam grinned in satisfaction, "Rule Number One; Never underestimate your opponent."

John--another of the men cackled, "I thought Rule Number One was; Dont speed in government-assigned lanes," he teased, biting into his apple. "Isnt that why your bank account is so low, Adam?"

"Shuddup," replied Adam, teasing in return. "I told you to forget that..."

"He who claims to be better than the computer, ought not to prove himself wrong," snickered John.

Adam punched him in the arm, and then paused, "Computer, estimate time for complete System Scan?"

<R&SCr300.8> System Scan Estimate: One Hour, Seven Minutes, and Twenty Eight Seconds.

"... Twenty Eight Seconds; Estimate my ass!" scoffed the first gentlemen. Adam eyed him for several moments before breaking the ice of silence.

"Another round?" he offered, neatening and shuffling all the cards already.

John grinned and shrugged, "Yeah what the hell..."

Fortunately for them, the incoming craft isn't one of the 'mothballed' guided munitions that make up the Very Dangerous Array, for reasons which should be generally obvious from the title of Saturn's chosen local defensive grid. Rather than rely on Yari orbital-kill stations that anyone can predict and therefore intercept from range (although those are around too, here and there), the preferred option is to take phased out missiles of all kinds, hook them up to a gestalt tacnet, and scatter them in empty orbits at chaotic inclinations. If something comes up, they can be used to track and potentially eliminate aggressors; otherwise, they can be used as a peaceful yet still quite dangerous telescope array, an idea gleaned from reading too many comics on the YutLink. When the missiles inevitably run out of stationkeeping fuel, they are designated for target practice by the TYCS and are vaporized in very pretty ways.

Sometimes someone not paying as much attention as they should has what traffic controllers for centuries before The Break up to now call an 'incursion,' where one unauthorized thing tries to go into the path of an authorized thing. 'Incursions' often end quite badly and those who survive either thanks to life pods or to quick thinking learn that there is a specific reason why the TYCS publicly advertises in every spaceport in the Saturnian gravitational sphere of influence "restricted unsafe zones." Those zones are not enforced for the simple reason that the VDA--like tornadoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and mass-produced boy bands--is quite good at enforcing itself against the unwary.

No, what is approaching (sort of) is an outbound merchantman, minding its own business. With a flight plan registered with the 'local authorities'--that being the Combined Services and the not exactly accurately named Titan Defense Force--no one really bothers with trying to intercept or hail or do any such thing, at least not quite yet.

Eventually, a conscientious Junior Civil Servant in the Segments' DiploCorps assembles a little packet and transmits it to the research ship. Just a primer on how things are around the sixth planet from the Sun, with how pretty much all natural bodies are claimed and exploited as far as they can be by the Triumvirate of Yut, how the proper iceball rings of Saturn are considered a protected environment and are not to be settled, and finally that because the Ring of Powerfulness is so fracking huge--being four million miles in radius and going around the entire natural satellite system--sectors on it are available for lease to people what need it if they're in good standing with the Triumvirate. What is implicit on that last is that unauthorized trespassers (normally a redundant adjective-noun combination but with governments one can never be too sure) will be treated poorly.

<R&SCr300.8> Attention; Transmission and Data Recieved -- Source: Triumvirate of Yut Diplomatic Unit.

Cards had finished a little while ago. Quite interesting, actually--given that a seven-man crew had been assigned to a mission ran primarily by onboard systems and computers. Adam snickered; that said, the Blue administration had gained a reputation for wanting to be 'over-prepared', rather than under. Made sense really and besides, given the more... outdated information they held on the Saturn sub-system, one must be prepared for (almost) any scenario.

"Computer," he barked. "Display recieved Transmission and Data Attached."

Within an instant, a blueish holographic image popped up and began to float, as if by magic. Of course, it was hardly a hand of magic, but rather a hand of technology. In the meantime, the image displayed was quite indescribable. On one hand, it was like a giant document in the form of essays, reports, news sources, et cetera. Yet on the other, it had been presented in a sort of spherical diagram; each part of the essays linking to another and providing an unfathomable wealth of information. Certainly, it was the handiwork of intellectuals; those who presided here--certain portions of the mix and match gave him quite good indication that this came from a Scolopendran-Trium perspective. That said, it was only natural; an entire third of the Combined Services had been made of the 'Pendran contribution--their entire military, it seemed.

Nevertheless, it had all been well documentated, and was worth the same truth as that presented by another. Certain events had been recorded, logged, written into the chapters of yesterday's defined history. And portions of it had been obviously included for researcher's sake. To say the least, they hadnt wanted the Austarians to starve of the information they were seeking. Open folk, it seemed. Finally, his eyes rested upon a general conclusion and smiled to himself, as he found a message to the politicians of the Austar Union (and perhaps even the crew of this craft). It was a warning to "keep out" of certain restricted zones, et cetera--the standard bullshit one could expect when entering an area quite obviously (at least now) completely under the jurisdiction of one. The Ring of Powerfulness, certain zones around Titan, yadayada... but for all else it seemed that regular traffic were welcome, so long as they complied with Triumvirate Patrol Services and the associated. All in all, it summed up but one conclusion of the sub-system; that it was under the complete control of those bastard Yutties, which so many men either envied or wished to destroy. Some grovelled in their wake for wish of political favor, some quite visibly and openly opposed even their constitutional existance--both probably as bad as one another. And then there were the select few who actually recognized Yut as but a powerful combination, yet an equal existance all the same; such were the attitudes of Lord Indigo Blue. (Although some men had begged to differ).

"Computer, Transmit Data to Homebase," ordered Adam, having skimmed over but a few of the thousands upon thousands of pages.

<R&SCr300.8> Transmitting Data... Now.

In the meantime, Adam could only realise that much of this was beyond him. He was but one man of billions upon billions; over Four existed in the Union, over Eighty, perhaps Ninety Billion existed within this organisation named the Triumvirate of Yut. Sure, he could make some difference in this world of his--but now that he could contemplate the mysteries of the universe, he decided to leave each component to those with special abilities, talents, et cetera. At home, there would be thousands of men pouring over the information presented for days, weeks, months... all recording it into their own journals of data and information. Theories would be borne and murdered just as brutal as that at the hands of a killer. But regardless of the fact, regardless of his true self insignifigance, he could only do what he did best. And now that the mission was complete...

Adam smiled, making his one last order, "Computer, adjust travel path, and advise relevant authorities. I'm buying these gentlemen a drink, on Machiavelli. To the success of this mission."

Quite. Indigo actually had decided to enter the data into several of his respective computer systems. It beat manual labour by far, and the computer was so advanced it could formulate an opinion of "interesting data", and then file such seperately--a copy, obviously. Furthermore, when certain individuals would log into their respective portables the next day, they would find the information tabled and logged into a document; similar to that of one written and filed by the team at Human Resources. More effective... my ass. This was unspeakable. In the meantime, as soon it had been "filtered" and delivered to some degree, the Intelligence Directorate would then manually filter the data furthermore, and file their own reports to Indigo direct. From there, it was a matter of civil discussion between important gentlemen.

"I'm pleased actually," noted Mr. Blue over coffee.

He broadened his arms and hands, "If Saturn is controlled (for the most part), by the Triumvirate Alliance, I'm quite confident that it will mean less work for said individuals at the A.D.U."

Mike grinned from the corner of his mouth, "Of course, whether or not they are open or not..."

Juno smiled, "They already control Saturn." Pursing his lips, he gave a sarcastic sort of laugh. Something half-between a snort and a laugh actually, mixed with a half-shake of the head. "Tell me this; if you had total control of a system so large, why would you allow foriegners to 'set-up'? Logic tell me I wouldnt, they wouldnt."

Indigo raised his eyebrows and shrugged, "We could only try..."

"Might I ask, why exactly is Saturn so... important? Why not Jupiter; I hear to view's just a nice," Mike enquired genuinely.

Juno lowered his head just slightly, more toward Mike; "Two birds with one stone ultimately. We further our own capibilities to outer Sol, have something parked "nearby" to Titan--which I remind you is the seat of Yut."

Another shrug, " 'Tis only useful, really."

"Which is why we want this base in the first place," interjected Indigo. "We might not be a member of the Trium, yet. But it could be helpful in future."

He sipped his coffee, "The Triumvirate isnt my main reason however. As you know, our friends have established ties and secured land-deals outta... that way." He pointed. "Neptune. Your own department has advised me well that many of the Planet Mars have headed out there, and then even some from Mercury; particularly The Caloris Basin."

Mike cocked his head to the right. Juno on the other hand, had heard this before.

"From my experience, Mars isnt the most stable location; wars, virus', whatever, plague them like paper on sticky fingers. And if our friends have established themselves out there, I'd like to look after them, should anything 'go down'." He smiled, and handed Mike a flyer. "You know how it is, and you know I like to commit myself to those around me."

"But not the wrong ones... I hope," commented Mike, picking the Flyer up.

Indigo smirked, and crossed his legs; the right over the other; "You do your job Director, and I do mine."

Mike nodded, understanding. He looked up from the brochure that Mr. Blue had handed him. "Whats this?"

"Machiavelli Blue," interjected Juno, who had been listening for all this time. "I trust you are aware..."

Mike nodded, not quite getting it; "So... why is this relevant?"

"It is," Juno interrupted. He patted Mike on the back, more intimidating than friendly-like, "I 'suggest' you take a trip there. Maybe you'll understand a little more than you do today."

Looking at both of them, Mike let a soft sigh from his lips, "I understand well enough."

Indigo nodded and smiled, "Im glad you see from our point of view."

{Open Transmission}
{TRANSMISSION ENCRYPTION: Diplomatic, Secure}
{FROM: Mr. Juno Sanchez, the Absolutist State of Austar Union}
{TO: Diplomatic Units, the Triumvirate of Yut}
{SUBJECT: Our Interest in Saturn}

To Whom It May Concern,

Greetings, Sir(s) or Madam(s). I am writing to enquire about the possibilities of establishing a minor "presence" within the Saturn Subsystem; a base of operations, to be more precise. Whilst we would normally enquire about leasing space on the Ring of Powerfulness, there are some limitations which hardly suit what we would like to use it for exactly. If it is possible, might we be able to organise some form of meeting between our respective diplomats--possibly on Machiavelli Station, where a small team of Austarian Scientists and Diplomats are in fact staying?

Thankyou, and Mr. Blue looks forward to your response.

With Respect,

Juno Sanchez
On Behalf of Lord Indigo Blue
The Absolutist State of Austar Union
{Close Transmission}

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

{Open Transmission}
{TRANSMISSION ENCRYPTION: Internal Networking, Secure}
{FROM: Gov. Offices, the Absolutist State of Austar Union}
{TO: Science and Research Crew, Machiavelli Station, Saturn}
{SUBJECT: Be Advised}

Please be advised that you may be selected to be on Official Representation regarding our establishment within the Saturn Subsystem. Halt and Delay all plans to leave Machiavelli Station until further notice; you have accommodation arranged within Machiavelli Blue until then.

Thankyou,

Gov. Offices; Command
The Absolutist State of Austar Union
{Close Transmission}

--<Transmission Type: Standard Diplomatic Communique>--
-<Sender: Nadjiba Abd-Al-Haqq, FSS>-
-<Destination: Juno Sanchez, ASAU>-
--<Subject: "Presence">--

How good it is to speak to representatives of your nation again; it has certainly been too long. After looking over your missive, we would certainly look forward to speaking with you on the matter of your intended "presence" within the Saturnian system. Still, to save us some points of agenda before everyone goes to the effort of making a minor pilgrimage to Machiavelli, what do you plan to use it for exactly? We are a little mystified on why Ringspace would not do for an economic presence given the amount of infrastructure there for trade, and a diplomatic presence can be assured through the usual chain of embassies and consulates, but I am sure it can all be cleared up once we all get down to saying specifically what we would like in a future relationship.

Always a pleasure,

http://www.weirdozone.0catch.com/projects/nationstates/scolopendra/nadjiba_abd-al-haqq.gifAdvisor Nadjiba Abd-al-Haqq
International Relations Section
Federated Segments of Scolopendra

--<End Transmission>--

{Open Transmission}
{TRANSMISSION ENCRYPTION: Diplomatic, Secure}
{FROM: Mr. Juno Sanchez, the Absolutist State of Austar Union}
{TO: Nadjiba Abd-Al-Haqq, FSS}
{SUBJECT: Re:}

Ah, Ms Abd-Al-Haqq! It is too, glad from my own perspective to hear from you in return. In the meantime, I will certainly reveal at least a general outline of what our intentions actually are. And they are indeed rather simple.

Intelligence has reported more recently that several of other nations, considered quite friendly to the Union have expanded into the more outter reaches of Sol; particularly on the Planet Neptune. Our primary concern is ultimately, that certain other nations have also joined them, which we would rather them not have. Nevertheless, since such things are beyond our jurisdiction, and since we would rather look after our friends well; a major/minor presence had been decided upon, within the vicinity of that planet for greater deployment capabilities. On the other hand, Saturn (instead of Neptune itself) had been chosen so that we could "kill two birds with one stone", so to speak. Given our interest in Yut, assessments have proven that said locations will indeed be valuable to future interests within that region, and beyond. Of course, since a Military presence will be likely, the Ring of Powerfulness and its associated offices wouldnt be too... fitting for the uses we would like it for.

I hope this short message has been enough, to help you understand more. If you need more, I can arrange some documentation to be forwarded to you direct. Although, nothing could prevent us presenting anything you require in person.

With Respect,

Juno Sanchez
On Behalf of Lord Indigo Blue
The Absolutist State of Austar Union
{Close Transmission}

--<Transmission Type: Standard Diplomatic Communique>--
-<Sender: Nadjiba Abd-Al-Haqq, FSS>-
-<Destination: Juno Sanchez, ASAU>-
--<Subject: "Presence">--

Your short message has been most useful for achieving mutual understanding. Thank you for your consideration.

It is with regret that I must remind you that ever since the Sketch Incident the political situation of Saturnspace has not allowed for a foreign unallied military presence within the gravitational sphere of influence of Saturn. After foreign abuses of Triumvirate friendship treaties, especially by Sketch and Dragonisia, it is the firm opinion of the nations and peoples living in the Saturnian system that their trust when armed forces are involved requires a relationship both closer and proven by more than diplomatic words.

Additionally, Advisor Hertzfeldt of the Science Section wishes to remind you that orbital mechanics generally places Saturn on the other side of the solar system from Neptune and if you have the delta-vee capability to make Saturn from any mission point (i.e. your capable-mission synodic period is zero) then you can probably reach Neptune with very little extra effort. The stepping stone and island-hopping theories of planetary system astropolitics have always failed the reality test because these islands are in constant motion. He recommends instead that you establish your military presence within the Neptunian gravitational sphere of influence, even if only on the very edge--at that point, return velocities to Earth are minimized and it does put you within support distance of your allies, if you are so inclined. He offers the help of the Science Section in coordinating with your authorities, studying a better option for deployment given that they have unfortunately overlooked the fact that staging points in constant-motion gravitational systems are best kept arbitrary rather than stuck to particular gravity wells (unless the staging point is intended to support a particular location, at which point it should be within the gravity well of that location to conserve on stationkeeping requirements).

We are still quite interested in you establishing a diplomatic presence, if such a thing still suits you. My staff remains ready to assist in determining the most efficient and useful locations for any embassies and consulates you would like to place.

http://www.weirdozone.0catch.com/projects/nationstates/scolopendra/nadjiba_abd-al-haqq.gifAdvisor Nadjiba Abd-al-Haqq
International Relations Section
Federated Segments of Scolopendra

--<End Transmission>--

After some discussion in the National Statehouse... -- Between Mr. Blue & Mr. Sanchez.

{Open Transmission}
{TRANSMISSION ENCRYPTION: Diplomatic, Secure}
{FROM: Mr. Juno Sanchez, the Absolutist State of Austar Union}
{TO: Nadjiba Abd-Al-Haqq, FSS
{SUBJECT: Re:}

Hm. Quite the mis-calculation it seems. Upon running this extra data through our models, they have shown the same result you predicted in your last transmission. What occured is beyond us; perhaps human error I would assume. Anyhow, we will be looking deep into the situation; since another occurance of "human error" might prove to be more than expensive.

In the meantime, your offer to establish an embassy or consulate is quite tempting. I have presented the offer to Mr. Blue, and both he and I agree that such would be suitable. Wherever it is that you wish us to establish would be perfectly fine; although either Titan itself or the Ring of Powerfulness would be prefered, if possible. We would also like to extend our own invitation for the Executive Branches of the Triumvirate (and/or the Federated Segments) to establish an embassy within Anatoba City; our Capital. Given that (recently) we have been establishing a more common occurance of contact, I believe it to be only appropriate.

Thankyou for your time and efforts,

With Respect,

Mr. Juno Sanchez
On Behalf of Lord Indigo Blue
The Absolutist State of Austar Union
{Close Transmission}

--<Transmission Type: Standard Diplomatic Communique>--
-<Sender: Nadjiba Abd-Al-Haqq, FSS>-
-<Destination: Juno Sanchez, ASAU>-
--<Subject: Re: Embassies>--

We would gladly host you in Stonozka, with consulates to be planned later as your interests expand from the Scolopendran capital, and we will accept your offer with equal gladness. For a Triumvirate-wide representation, space can be set aside for you at Port Aurora, the Triumvirate's capital. Both locations are on Titan, so hopefully they will meet your needs. Our respective staffs can coordinate on the petty details.

Until your next reply,

http://www.weirdozone.0catch.com/projects/nationstates/scolopendra/nadjiba_abd-al-haqq.gifAdvisor Nadjiba Abd-al-Haqq
International Relations Section
Federated Segments of Scolopendra

--<End Transmission>--

{Open Transmission}
{TRANSMISSION ENCRYPTION: Diplomatic, Secure}
{FROM: Mr. Juno Sanchez, the Absolutist State of Austar Union}
{TO: Nadjiba Abd-Al-Haqq, FSS
{SUBJECT: Re:}

Aye, your help has been much appreciated. I will send a team of surveyors to Titan, if you dont mind to look over the sites that you have set aside. Hopefully, if it is possible we might just contract with the Scolopendran Construction Industries to assist in the building and developing of such facilities. When they are completed, I will be sure to send an Ambassador to represent; Mr. Raven Bourne springs to mind. In the meantime, please find attatched several images of a site we have considered within Anatoba City itself.

I would have offered your teams further space on D'na Apollo itself, Mercury; but we figured that such presence through the Caloris Basin would be standard enough.

With Respect,

-Lord Juno Sanchez
On Behalf of Lord Indigo Blue
The Absolutist State of Austar Union
{Close Transmission}