NationStates Jolt Archive


One Small Step? [Attn: Neptune]

Gehenna Tartarus
01-05-2006, 11:55
“…Today is the beginning of a new age for The Empire of Tartarus. For years, we have looked up towards the sky and gazed at the stars, now we shall walk among them…”

~ Part of the official announcement of the acquisition of land on Triton by Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Gehenna of Tartarus

* * * * *

The large mahogany table seemed to stretch out across the room, dominating the area. It seemed even bigger when only one of the twelve chairs was occupied. The lone occupant sat at the head of the desk; in front of him were a series of documents and dossiers, spread out across the shining surface. Just a little in front of him on the table was a console, its blinking light the only sign that it was working. At the far end of the table was a huge screen, momentarily displaying nothing more than the GT Technologies symbol.

Sebastian Croft was a busy man. He was the Head of Space Research and Technologies, one of the newest areas of the GT Technologies Corporation, which was a Government run facility, or more correctly it was under the direct control of the Imperial Rule of Tartarus. And his life had become frantic from the moment that the Empress Gehenna had requested and received land on one of Neptune’s moon.

Project Triton said everything in its name. There was no need for fancy acronyms and clever words, the whole deal was written simply in just those two words. Tartarus had only basic space technology. They had put up rockets and had satellites in orbit, but they had not moved towards interplanetary travel, and this was where Sebastian’s headache was. He and the rest of the team involve in procuring land on a distant moon, now had to work out a deal with whoever was willing to assist them, not only in getting to the land, but also making it habitable for a group of researchers and colonists to live there.

Sebastian looked down at the latest set of results he had received that morning. His department was already busy working out a space project with Austar Union, and now he had this new challenge facing him.

The console before him blinked rapidly. He looked up and reached over, pushing one of the prominent buttons, before entering in a code. The screen before him suddenly came to life. The image of GT Technologies fading, being replaced by the smiling face of a young woman, dressed in a suit, her blonde hair pulled out of her face.

“Good afternoon, Ambassador Finch.” Sebastian smiled, his eyes meeting the face of the Triton Ambassador. “I trust that your journey was trouble free.”

The blonde returned the smile. “Good afternoon, Sebastian. The flight was indeed most comfortable. We have much to thank Britmattia for.” She paused, letting her words sink in. “As you know, we would not have been able to make the meeting at all if it were not for them.”

“That is indeed true.” Sebastian nodded then looked at his watch, checking to make sure that everything was running to time.

Caitlin’s image watched the motions of the man, a frown playing over her brow. “I believe I am a few minutes early.” She said, trying to relieve the sudden look of nervousness that appeared on her companion’s face. “Is there a problem?”

Sebastian looked back up at the screen. “No, I just want to make sure that everything is…” He was cut off in the middle by a sudden bleep as the picture on the screen before him split in half, the Ambassador occupying the left side of the screen, while the right burst into the image of the Imperial Standard, and then seconds later, the image of the Empress herself.

“Good afternoon, Ambassador Finch.” Gehenna’s eyes seemed to shift slightly to the left, as in her own office she looked at the image of Caitlin on her own screen then her eyes appeared to move slightly to the right as she gazed at Sebastian. “Good afternoon, Mr Croft.”

Both the others in the conference meeting inclined their heads and greeting the Empress in the correct manner, addressing her as Her Imperial Majesty, before they fell silent, waiting for the young, dark haired woman to continue.

“It has been several weeks since the Der Angstians agreed to our request for a colony research base on Triton, now we need to ascertain where we are in the next stage of our preparations in achieving our goal and getting our people onto our land.” Gehenna paused for a moment. “The agreement we had with Austar Union seems to be on hold, which means that we need to look elsewhere for the means to gain access to our holdings. Ambassador Finch?”

As Gehenna paused, Caitlin smiled. “We are currently working on establishing contact with our soon to be neighbours in the Neptune area, and hope that we can purchase the necessary equipment. I am hoping to arrange meetings with the Der Angstians, who have already shown an interest in helping us in this endeavour.” She looked down at something out of view on the screen. “I am always in the process of putting out feelers to find the possible interest from others.”

The Empress nodded. “I want to be kept fully informed of where we are in every stage of this.” She received a brief nod from Caitlin, before the woman became once more focused on something before her on the table. “And how are our own preparations, Mr Croft?”

“Initial tests are good, and our research departments are already upping their output. Although we do not have the technology that some of our neighbours have, we are not entirely without our own technology.” Sebastian smiled a little. “We are also working on what we wish to gain from our presence on Triton. I will have a full report on your desk once the list is finalised.”

“Good.” Gehenna flicked her eyes between the two faces on the screens before her. “This is a momentous occasion for The Empire of Tartarus, the start of something new and exciting.”

* * * * *



To: [Insert relevant addressee here]
From: Caitlin Finch, Representative of The Empire of Tartarus Triton Holdings.


As previously mentioned at the original Neptune meeting, The Empire of Tartarus is looking to purchase or rent technology, in order for us to achieve our goal in establishing a research colony on Triton.

We are looking to meet with any nations that could offer services or equipment that could aid us in our endeavour.

Yours sincerely

Caitlin Finch
Der Angst
01-05-2006, 13:05
Commonly, any given high-level communications related to multinational relationships tended to be received by a given, very specific entity, who would then relay the message to its superiors, who would then make decisions, and who would eventually delegate the actual work away to actually qualified people (As opposed to politicians).

In DA, any given high-level communications related to multinational relationships ended up being received by several hundred different entites (That the incoming message may have been addressed to one, and only one of them is inconsequential), who in turn relayed them to several thousand actually qualified entities that could possibly be interested in whatever the content of the message in question was (And quite a few who couldn't, but what did that matter?), who would then start discussing the issue among themselves (With the occasional bit being leaked to the media), a discussion that would then take a turn for the worse, switching from 'Discussing' to 'Insulting' (With the leaks to the media increasing proportionally to the number of insults exchanged between the various entities), after which the issue would eventually be resolved, barely short of a civil war.

Needless to say, DA wasn't particularly well-known for its efficiency.

Still, eventually, most information got through, and eventually, most - well, many, anyway - issues were resolved. And this one was no different from the rest.

From: General Manufacturing Unit Wealth of Nations
To: Caitlin Finch, Representative of The Empire of Tartarus Triton Holdings
Subject: Triton; Equipment

Regarding your interest in acquiring the means necessary to reach Neptune (Without spending decades researching and building them on your own), I do think that I have the means to produce those - nothing fancy, but perfectly within the parameters I believe your nation would be capable of servicing on its own, and without spending two or three decades just learning the basics.

Not to mention, they'd be exceedingly cost-efficient (Read, cheap, in the most positive connotation of the term).

Should you be interested, I would provide the basic parameters within which those means for transportation and habitation would be constructed (I am, sadly, somewhat occupied right now, and have to run assorted simulations before being capable of actually providing any more details than the most basic ones), and could then soonishly start with the actual production.

Basically, I'm considering 10000- 100000 m^3 (And, for that matter, ton, as far as transit goes, anyway) constructions, for both, transit and settlement, with baseline-human bias in mind. The physics - not the engineering, but then, that's why I'd be constructing them - behind the constructions should be perfectly within the knowledge-base of Tartarn physicists and engineers, and should therefore require relatively little acclimatisation (The price to pay is living conditions, which wouldn't exactly resemble holiday resorts. But they should be reasonable), an acclimatisation I would, in any case, be perfectly capable of delivering, should the Empire be interested in basic 'Schooling' of its future human presences at Neptune with regards to operating the systems in question.

A problem would be DA/ Tartarus compatibility with regards to basic industrial norms, though, and to achive such, I believe that a bit of extra time would be required. I could do without, of course, but doing so would increase Tartan dependency on DA based maintenance, and I'm not so sure that you'd want that.

Regardless, if you're interested, I'm ready, so to speak.

Oh, and I'm supposed to relay greetings from Ms. Mikogami, who suggested that I send this letter in the first place. I believe she's offered you pretty much this kind of assistance, back during the initial transfer of territory. And seeing as I'm technically within her jurisdiction...

Sincerely,

~ GMU Wealth of Nations (Christian Paulsen)

And another offer.

Personnel Transport Unit Profitable View
To: Caitlin Finch, Representative of The Empire of Tartarus Triton Holdings
Subject: Triton; Renting, well... Me

Greetings,

Considering my present lack of occupation (Well, not quite. Lack of having anything to do within my occupation seems to fit better...), and considering your interest in, if I may be so blunt, 'Getting' to Neptune, I could offer you my services as what amounts to being a, well... Ferry. And cargo hauler, too, I suppose (In particular for the equipment you'll need in order to make it somewhat livable in that coldish desert).

In any case. I do of course realise that my offer isn't exactly the same as actually acquiring the means to do the trip - and construction, for which I believe I could be of - admittedly limited - help via remotes, too - but as a temporary - and, most importantly, quick - solution, I believe that my suggestion is worth some consideration.

Well, 'Believe'. Lets say, 'Hope'.

Sincerely,

~ PTU Profitable View (Renate Irwing)
The Caloris Basin
02-05-2006, 10:33
Unlike the libertine Angstians, the mechanoid mining the surface of Neptune was exceedingly efficient. The message was received by an OverSeer which analyzed the content as well as the sender, before assigning it a ranking based on its importance. Missives from tinpot dictators declairing war on "the world" were typically just erased, unless the offered the potential for a great deal of amusement. Requests for assistance from trusted allies, on the other hand, were treated with a great deal of importance. And while Esther hated having her work interrupted, the Empire had sufficient clout to warrent an immediate update.

For her part, Esther was actually on The Continental as she was in the back, working on her latest sculpture. It was almost complete and she was eliminating little bits to produce fine detail. She had just stepped back to appraise her most recent cuts when the OverSeer chimed her.

We have received a message from Tartarus, requesting help, assistance, and/or equipment.

The LiME rolled her eyes but read a copy of the message, conveniantly projected onto a nearby wall. After thinking for a moment, she sent a quick reply before returning to her art.

To: Caitlin Finch, Triton Holdings
From: Esther, Ether's Diamond Company

It's good to hear from tangental allies from time to time. It's been pretty quiet up here, and it's nice to see that there might actually be some life about. Or, will be at some point in the foreseeable future.

I'm not sure how much use I, or Caloris, can be when it comes to getting you here. We tend to build craft either as small drones, or as unique items for specific purposes. Mass producing cargo vessels isn't exactly something we can manage.

Once you get here, however, I think we can provide a great deal more assistance. Mass producing construction drones is painfully easy, and getting them to follow instructions is equally simple. Any construction that needs to be done can easily be managed by them. If you want, I can start their production immediately.

I'm also able to act as a technical advisor if needed. We prefer to adapt ourselves to our environment, but I can easily help you adapt your environment to you.

~Esther
Roania
02-05-2006, 13:59
Victor DeVries recieved the communication, noted it, and placed it in his box for future reference. People with more interest in Neptune-Sphere politics would deal with it, he was sure. He saw no reason to interfere, and he had no resources to help.

But he was able to provide a basket of fruit when they moved in.
Sentient Peoples
05-05-2006, 20:30
Bruce Reynold’s Personal Office, Office of the Second Ambassador, IRD Tower, Government Compound, Griffin, Commonwealth of Sentient Peoples, FSP

Bruce examined the brief diplomatic note that had arrived in his morning mail. Then he reread it. Well, nice she remembered me, but I’m not really the person this should go to.” He flicked his implant into FedNet, and subvocalized the commands he wanted, grateful that he was at such a high level in the government he was permitted to take this kind of action.

[i]Hello, Arthur.

Hi, Bruce, what’s up?

Got something for you.

Really?

Yeah, came into the IRD but it really relates to your specialty. I’m forwarding it now.

Thanks, I’ll take a look.

It turned, out of course, that the Transportation and Commerce Directorate was not able to adequately respond to the request either – the problem with a minimally regulated free market. For the Federation, in this case, responses would need to be coming from the companies themselves which could provide assistance.

<TO: AMBASSADOR Caitlin Finch, EoT>
<FROM: SCSR Adriana Ephese, Ricona Weapons Company, FSP>
<RE: NEPTUNE Situation>

Ambassador Finch:

I understand that you are seeking technologies to help you settle into your proposed colony on the Triton moon. Due to the recent unpleasantness in the Neptune Sub-system, I might want to recommend some form of defensive emplacements capable of dealing with the weaponry routinely employed in space borne combat. While I cannot imagine anyone other than pirates deliberately attacking a civilian installation, paranoia is a requirement in this day and age.

Ricona would be more than willing to assist with the design, construction, and installation of these defenses, if the Empire should desire it.

~Adriana Ephese, Senior Consumer Service Representative, Ricona Weapons Company

<TO: AMBASSADOR Caitlin Finch, EoT>
<FROM: FCA Frederick Parshall, Reflections Mining & Metalworks, FSP>
<RE: NEPTUNE Situation>

Ambassador –

In today’s world, there is but one thing that truly matters on a grand scale, and it is the efficiency of one’s economy. A colony on the Triton moon offers to your Empire a totally new experience, and a totally new set of challenges – something very rare and special indeed. As such, you should take full advantage of that opportunity, and exploit it to its fullest. Low gravity mining and metalworking applications are a wonder to behold the first time you see them, and Reflections has mastered that trade.

As such, we would like to offer our assistance to the Empire of Tartarus in developing its capabilities in this area, such that your Triton adventure may be more successful and help build a strong neighbor for the Federation in the Neptune Sphere.

~Foreign Customer Agent Frederick Parshall, Reflections Mining & Metalworks

<TO: AMBASSADOR Caitlin Finch, EoT>
<FROM: ASSISTANT DEAN Derek Tully, Foreign Undergraduate Admissions, Vanderbilt University, FSP>
<RE: NEPTUNE Situation>

Ambassador Finch –

Welcome to the wider solar system.

I know your note specifically requested aid with technological systems for sale or rent, but when I saw it on FedNet, I thought of perhaps another, slightly longer term solution. Vanderbilt University attempts to admit somewhere around ten percent of its incoming freshman class from overseas, to encourage diversity, and while we have never had an applicant from the Empire, perhaps now is the time.

As the Assistant Dean in charge of the Foreign Admissions Program, I can hold a number of slots in the incoming class open for consideration to Tartarian applicants, even though the deadline has already passed. I am including the admissions requirements for admission into the Sciences and Engineering programs at the University should this offer be considered.

~Derek Tully, Assistant Dean of Foreign Undergraduate Admissions, Vanderbilt University