NationStates Jolt Archive

In truth, Minister of Defense Alex Waters thought that the “groundbreaking” of Naval Base Rodon was rather anticlimactic. It’s just not all that exciting to see a pair of glorified barges pushed together he thought to himself. The fireworks being launched from other barges were much more impressive and he walked down the cruise liner, chartered by the government for the press and foreign dignitaries, to get a better view of the display.

Naval Base Rodon wasn’t entirely a military base, in fact, the designs for it had been purely civilian initially. Once the Navy had seen the plans, however, any thought of keeping them purely civilian was a lost cause. Four hundred miles east of Rosdivani territorial waters, it would serve as a useful advanced base. And of course, with its perceived economic value, it would need a large defense complement to defend it from an enemy attack.

The economic value of the base was huge of course. Thanks to the peculiarities of Rosdivan’s underwater geography, deep draft vessels were unable to come near the island chain. Since deep draft vessels made up a large portion of modern freighters and tankers, this represented a large loss in the number and capacity of vessels which could trade with the Commonwealth. Rodon’s location placed firmly in deep waters where such vessels could come. Though it would be expensive, berthing slips and even drydocks capable of carrying such large ships were being planned and built.

Off on the horizon, the faint outline of a mobile drydock could be seen. The Commonwealth Navy was contributing it to the base and this one would serve to hasten construction. Once it was installed and fully operational, a process that would take about a month, ships would be able to dock at the base and offload material. That material could then be used in construction of the base so that it didn’t need to be constructed entirely of floating platforms. One of the first items to be delivered would be the tethers and other rigging that would fix the platform to the seabed, some five thousand feet below the ocean waves.

Grimacing, he turned towards a group of foreign dignitaries and moved conveniently close to them, in case they had any questions. He still wasn’t nearly as comfortable with the public relations aspect of the job as his predecessor had been, but the only way to ease that discomfort was through practice, and so off he went.

[OOC: I assume we post like we're here.]

A tall built man of african descent, named Joshua Marcs watched with little enthusiasim as the two barges were pushed together. He did find the fireworks a nice touch, if not a bit over the top.

He looked over through his dark stylish shades at the Rosdivan MoD. Mr. Marcs decided to not ask any questions quiet yet. He would wait until another time.

Oh, if you were wondering Mr. Marcs was quite an interesting person, he worked not for one entity, but three. He was a economic anaylst for We Buy It Inc., a reporter for Silver Sky International News, and an ambassador to foreign nations. Needless to say, he was important.

Fathyer Sean Fitzgerald, the notorious progressive presbyter from Cherry Ridge stood, shaking his head as the barge was pushed together. The fireworks only agitated him, Celebrating warfare and violence. A shame. He was attending as part of the delegation from Cherry Ridge, along with the Ridgian ambassador to Rosdivan, and two other government officials. The Church has traditionally been aloud to send a representative to another Catholic nations events, and some even went to Protestant nation's events.
How Fitzgerald got picked to be that representative, only God knows. Perhaps it was like the judge who was worn down by the widow, and Cardinal Marco just gave in. Probably.

Aside from being assigned as the pastor of Saint Brenden's Catholic Church in Columbia, the center of immgirants and their children from the former United States, he was also the chaplain to the local Legion of Labor, and hosted his weekly sattelite radio show, The Father Fitzgerald Hour: Ravings of a Progressive Priest, and generally antagonized the mainstream Orthodox Catholics of Cherry Ridge.

When the Minister of Defence approached, he was the first to ask a question. "Your Honor," he began, "What need is there for yet another military project in Rosdivan? Is there not enough war, violence, and hatred on this earth? Did not Jesus that if one strikes your cheek, turn to him your other?"

Waters smirked as the priest came towards him and started on his speech disguised as a question. Security had warned him ahead of time that Father Fitzgerald was coming, so he'd had time to prepare himself for the, shall we say, abrasive thoughts of Father. Idly, he wondered if he could find a convenient excuse to have him arrested as a pirate, summary execution for such and walking the plank (mainly due to the irony) being legal in the Commonwealth.

"Reverend Father, we do not desire war. It is only because of warmongers such as the so-called Corporate Alliance that we are forced to this sad necessity of colocating a peaceful port with a naval base. But, did not Saint Paul preach that the Lord has appointed the government as His officers and given them the power of the sword? Is this not then doing the Lord's work?" he responded. Hopefully someone more intelligent will come rescue me from this fool.

The priest stepped forward, straightening his collar, and raising his hand up, as he said, with growing intensity, "Did not our Lord say that if we are struck on one cheek, we are to turn and give the enemy the other? How is this just?" He turned to the cameras around and roared, "This is yet another example of abusing Christianity, at the hands of yet another Prussian nation! How long must this go on?"

"Tell me Petty Officer, was it Lenin or Stalin who said 'The capitalists will sell you the rope to hang themselves with'?' Waters commented idly to Master at Arms First Class Jake Sohler as Father Fitzgerald went and started hogging the press light. On the one hand, he was glad they weren't focusing on him and that the priest wasn't bugging him at present. On the other hand, it was his job to be in the press accounts, not the priest.

"I believe it was Lenin sir," replied the sailor, an inkling forming in his mind of what the minister intended.

"Thank you. Now, is it just me, or do his remarks sound suspiciously like sedition? They do seem to encourage the overthrowal of Greater Prussian governments after all," continued on the minister in the same casual manner. "And what a shame that technical problems have made it impossible for live reports to be sent so far."

"Quite a shame sir. If you'll excuse me for just a moment," Jake said as he moved away, shrugging his SX23A1 caseless assault rifle into an easy moving position, and nodding at a fellow master at arms to come with him. The rifle was pointed down at the deck right now, but if need be it could quickly be brought up to firing position.

Reaching the priest, he laid a hand on his arm and spoke. "Excuse me sir, but I'll need you to come to the brig with me. You've overstayed your welcome aboard this ship."

The priest shrugged him off, and said, "You claim to be a Catholic nation. Are you a Catholic? Therefore, if you lay a hand on me, you are excommunicated for commiting a sacrilege." He continued, "Furthermore, I demand to know what crime I have commited."

He took two steps away, as the Ambassador and his two aides approached. The two aides stood next to the priest, and one asked him to please be quiet.

The ambassador, Her Honor Catalina Esperanza Flores, walked over to the guard and asked, "Is there a problem, sir?" Her dark brown eyes met his eyes, though she had a pleasant smile. "If there is, I believe I should have been informed."

Present at the moment was a small delegation of extremely high importance. Other than the four Praesillei Dei, four Soli Deo Gloria division Imperial Guardsmen, and a Royal Marine for gopher work, four high-ranking officers were there to oversee the ceremony.

The lowest ranked Officer present wasn't officially Dersconi. General Pierre Jean-Baptise La Salle, commander of the Soli Deo Gloria division of the Imperial Guard, was present with the Dersconi delegation due to his Dersconi nationality, and the fact the SDG division was based in Derscon. Marshal Darii Shchitkovetsovich Razladanov, Commander of the Second Imperial Army Corps stood off to the side of one of the cameras. The highest (pure) ranked commander present was Grand Imperial Admiral Marko Rekjyavich, the Commander in Chief of the entire Imperial Dersconi Navy. However, his rank was trumped by a mere general, as his authority overpowered any commander. Kynaz-Hetman Tarakh Alexeitovich Andropov, younger brother of Tsar Xavier II, led the delegation, and was closest to 'the action.'

Normally, such an important delegation would not attend, but Marko Rekjyavich and La Salle were in-country touring Greater Prussian military installations, the Marshal was with Tarakh at the time, and Tarakh was bored.

When Father Fitzgerald started making a commotion, General La Salle noticed the cameras cut from being live, and sighed. Thank God.

Kynaz Tarakh, after Fitzgerald snapped, began making his approach to the priest, but the guard got there first, so he backed off.

However, when the priest asked what crime he committed, Marshal Darii chimed in. "Well, Mr. Fitzgerald, your little rant on live television interrupted a government procedure, which is at least a misdemeanor, I would suppose. However, your speech sounded quite a lot like sedition, which is unacceptable behaviour at minimum and treason at worst. If you have problems with the system, ranting like a lunatic on live television isn't going to help anything."

Kynaz Tarakh, when the Ridgian ambassador approached the guard, came up behind the guard and put his hand on his shoulder, addressing the Ridgian ambassador.

"This guard here, Ms. Flores, was only doing his duty. The problem, however, lies in that priest's unacceptable behaviour at this sort of function, especially on live television. I noticed your aides managed to keep him in line eventually, and I thank you for that. I don't mean to be rude, your honour, but I think it is best that this situation is avoided in the future."

Meanawhile, General La Salle was in the back, watching over the Rosdivani technicians to make sure that the 'technical difficulties' were maintained.

It wasn't often that Dersconi or Prussian personnel would interject as they did in a situation like this, but when cameras are involved, the situation changes a little bit, and the brass get jumpy.


Marko Rekjyavich, however, was ignoring the entire situation and approached the Minister of Defence.

"Good afternoon, Minister Waters. I must say, this is a nice ship you have here. I have a question, though: How, exactly, is this base going to maintain its duality between civilian and military, while still maintain security?"

The ambassador turned to the Dersconi prince speaking to her, and replied, "Thank you for explaining the situation to me, Excellency, however, as you may understand, I am not exactly in the greatest position right now. It will not reflect well on me if a member of our delegation is arrested, even if I vehemently opposed bringing the Father along with us. A nice man, yes, and one I do admire, to an extent, however, not the greatest man for this sort of function." She sighed, but continued looking him in the eye, "Furthermore, I highly doubt that this guard took action on his own, and I need to address the person responsible for ordering his arrest." Her smile returned, and she thanked him again.

When Darii addressed Fitzgerald, he replied, angrily, "You imply that I am a traitor, yet who is the real traitor? Is not a member of your delegation of the same unit as that criminal Charles Orlean?"

Alex gave an internal sigh of relief when he saw Grand Admiral Rekjyavich start approaching him. Thank God for an excuse to get away from that idiot. It was, of course, only an internal sigh of relief, an external one would have been a serious social breach.

"Good afternoon, Minister Waters. I must say, this is a nice ship you have here. I have a question, though: How, exactly, is this base going to maintain its duality between civilian and military, while still maintain security?" asked the admiral.

"It's actually fairly simple Admiral," he started, smiling as he did so. "The Navy directs the port traffic and there are seperate lanes and berthing areas for the Navy and for commercial shipping. If anyone refuses commands, we either land some sailors aboard them, or, if the need is great enough, pop an anti-ship missile into them."

"What's the matter, sir? Can not defend your actions?" Fitzgerald called after the Rosdivani. The ambassador turned to him, "Father, please, no more." He nodded, "Your Honor," he smiled, not used to using her formal title, but the occasion called for it, "Someone has to speak up."

From the other part of the ship, Commodore William Summers walked from across the deck. He was dressed in his dress whites, and followed by seven other men- a commander, two lieutenants, an ensign, a warrant officer, and two petty officers. They were also dressed in formal wear.

Commodore was not a permanent rank, in this case, but a temporary one, referring to the normally Captain Summers recent position of commanding off of the coast of Strator.

Summers approached the guard, and asked, "Is there a problem here sir? The good Miss Flores seems anxious." After it was explained to him what was going on, he nodded, and said, "Father, I will arrange a flight back to Cherry Ridge for you."

"You do that, Commodore. However, that will not prevent me from going to the brig at the hands of these men."

"Speaking of which sir, I'd appreciate it if you could put your hands behind your back," said Petty Officer Jake Sohler, speaking up now that the Dersconi had said his piece. "It's simply for safety and security, we'll take the cuffs off as soon as we've got you in the brig."

While Jake's voice was calm and reassuring, his compatriot nonchalantly and unobtusively flicked the safety of his rifle off to semiautomatic fire. No sense in being unprepared after all if the priest tried anything stupid.

"I am not armed, nor do I pose a threat," The priest stated defiantly. He did, however, comply. He did notice, however, a cameraman from Cherry Ridge quielty slip a tape into his bag. The cameraman and the reporter joined thee interested group, and prepared to film the priest being taken away.