NationStates Jolt Archive

It was snowing when the Allanean plane landed at Bryn Shander Interplanetary Airport. Though the runway had been kept free of ice and snow via clever use of evocation spells, it was still very cold and windy this far from the city that was the source of the nation's name. Had it not been for the falling snow and morning fog, the Allaneans would have been able to see the city from their seats. Unfortunately, they couldn't even see the terminal today.

When the plane was off the runway and began to taxi to the huge terminal building, the fasten seatbelt light went off and the passengers were once again free to move about. A few hundred feet to the port side of the plane, the passengers could see an old frigate parked at the military terminal. There was some minor damage to the hull, mostly scorched paint, indicating a recent encounter while on patrol. The Allaneans simply assumed pirates or some other dealer of misdeeds was responsible. To starboard, a pair of white F2M Talons were making their way to the runway, each just barely visible due to the snow blending in with their paint.

When they finished watching the jets, the Allaneans noticed that the plane was now docked with the passenger terminal and that they could now exit the aircraft. When they gathered their carry on items and left the plane, they were greeted with a terminal that was just about the same as any other airport terminal. They were in a large round room that was connected to the rest of the terminal via a long hallway. Above the opening to the hallway was a sign indicating the directions of other gate hubs like the one they were currently standing in. Also indicated was the direction of baggage claim.

Following the sign, the Allaneans rode on a passenger conveyer belt that sped them through the hallway towards their destination. Every hundred feet or so, there was a break in the conveyer so that people could exit, but the process was fairly streamlined. After a bit of navigating and a stop at one of the gift shops along the hallway, they found their destination: Baggage Claim. Their flight's baggage had just begun sliding on to the carousel. After several minutes, they had collected all of their bags. That was when they were met a man in an official looking suit.

"Mister Ray? Miss McDaniel?" asked the man.

"That would be us."

"I'm here to show you to the castle where you can meet with the Princess. Would you like some help with your bags?"

"Well, I be darned." – said Mr. Joshua Ray. – 'Em Shanderians ain't giving us the bad eye after all. Ma'am, please show us the way."

The man lead the Allaneans down several escalators and down a number of passages before the three arrived at their short term destination. It was a train station several floors under the terminal. Several trains came and went at other platforms before the one that they were to take arrived. The trains looked clean and comfortable, and were eerily quiet. If the Allaneans had looked, they'd have noticed that there were no visible wheels on the trains. Or tracks, for that matter.

The train accelerated slowly, but it was easy to tell that they were going very fast by the speed at which the lights in the tunnel flew by. Several minutes later, the train began to go up an incline. A short time later, the tunnel was behind them and the snowy landscape was visible out the windows. By now, the Allaneans could see that they were traveling at several hundred kilometers per hour and that the train was on a raised platform well above the ground. In the distance, they could see another train on an identical platform. To the front of the train, the faint outline of the city's skyline began to show through the weather and slight fog. The city was perhaps only ten, fifteen miles away, but the Allaneans immediately noticed something completely foreign to them. There was no urban sprawl. No highways or roads anywhere to be seen. The only signs of civilization were the trains and their raised tracks.

A few minutes later, the train passed over the city's high walls. Below was a bustling city. Near the walls, the buildings were shorter than the walls, perhaps only four or five stories high, but the buildings gradually began to get taller the further from the walls they got. When they passed through downtown, the skyscrapers towered high against the white blanket of clouds, several of them losing their tops in the stratus. Before long, the downtown area of the city was left behind the train as it made its way in a long spiral through the city on its way to the center, making several stops along the way. A bit later, the train was in a much less dense area of the walled city. The buildings for a few miles around were less than six stories high, with a large park dominatng the area. At the center of the park was a huge castle.

The train stopped once more, and this time the Bryn Shanderan guide lead the Allaneans off. It was snowing inside the city too, and a healthy layer of snow covered all of the many trees that lined the sidewalks, as well as the grass in the park. Oddly though, not a flake graced the street or any of the walkways. Stranger still, people walked around in fairly light clothing for a city so deep into the arctic circle. Yet as they pondered the Bryn Shanderan fashion, the Allaneans noticed that they weren't even the slightest bit cold. They could feel the cold air, but it didn't seem to bother them at all.

While the Allaneans were trying to figure out the clash between their common sense and other senses, they were lead through the large park. Deer grazed on a patch of exposed grass, while a pack of squirrels harassed an old man sitting on a bench. All around was more or less undisturbed nature, an odd sight for the center of a massive city. It would be a bit of walking still before they would arrive at the castle that marked the center of the park and the city...




Meanwhile, a Bryn Shanderan diplomat and his staff were on a flight to Allanea.

"Very well" – smiled one of the Allanean ambassadors - "Where do we go from here?"

* * *

Liberty-City is in some ways similar to the capital of Bryn Shander. Those are of course, very few things.

Yes, there's lots of green - but for the exactly opposing reasons. Where the Shanderian city was walled, built by people concerned about reducing environmental impacts – Liberty-City was green because it was spread out over a territory the size of France.

Visualize seeing thousands of suburban homes, surrounded by greenery – gardens or random overgrowth, depending.

Visualize corporate office centers spreading horizontally rather then stretching out for the sky.

Imagine people walking the streets armed – not just with pistols, but rifles and submachineguns – and dressed in the most outrageous costumes.

Speaking of which – imagine a civilization without clothing codes. Naked? Full-body fursuit? Powered armor? Nun's robes with strategically-placed holes? All of the above at once? Suit yourself.

And of course, visualize strip malls bigger then some villages and superhighways you can drive a Bolo on.

Got it?

That's Liberty-City.

OOC: Letter hand-delivered by my ambassadors

IC:

From: The United States Department of State
To: His Majesty, King Damien Nightbane

Your noble Royal Majesty!

As we are on the path of improving the relationship between Allanea and Bryn Shander, I would like to suggest to you the following treaty text:

1. Bryn Shander will transfer to the United States of Allanea 10 trillion dollars per annum as military support funds, of which 8 trillion can only be spent on products manufactured in Bryn Shander itself.
2. Bryn Shander and the United States of Allanea will hereby commit to a non-aggression pact and embassy exchange.
3. Bryn Shander and the United States of Allanea will hereby commit to a free trade treaty.

Sincerely yours,
Allison Cameron, United States Secretary of State.

After another mile or two, the Allaneans and their guide were at the castle gate. They crossed over the massive iron gate that had been lowered to form a bridge over the moat, which was surprisingly not frozen over. The multiple portcullises that hung from the roof of the gatehouse arch were in the raised position, but a small detatchment of guards stood to either side of the gate. Each was wearing a polished steel breastplate over a mithril chain hauberk, with a steel corinthian helm protecting their heads. They also wore dark blue tabards with the castle's coat of arms displayed on the chest, and were armed with broadswords on their belt, a large spear, and a large round steel shield that also sported the castle's coat of arms.

"Stop! shouted one guard as the Allaneans and their guide approached.

"Hammertime!" responded a sarcastic guard from inside the gate house.

"Good afternoon, Wade." greeted the guide in response. "These are the Allanean diplomats we've been expecting."

"I understand. Proceed." replied the guard. "And tell Mike that I'm going to kill him in his sleep next time he does that when I'm stopping someone."

"Will do, Wade. You have a nice day."

The guide continued on, leading the Allaneans through the courtyard and into the keep. They made their way through several long passages filled with ancient sets of armor, weapons, and works of art. It appeared to be, and was, one of the greatest collections of authentic classical worksmanship that existed. At the end of the passage ways were two huge wooden doors, each ornately carved with image of a battle from long ago and detailed with gold. Another group of guards stood watch over this door too, but didn't bother to stop the Allaneans and their guide.

"Princess Mitsune is expecting you. You may enter."

On the other side of the doors was the throne room, done entirely in marble. Banners hung from the wall, alternating with the Bryn Shanderan flag and the castle's coat of arms. At the end of the room on a raised platform was the throne of the Principality. On it sat the princess. She wore a simple white dress with patterns woven in with gold thread and a small gold tiara sat on her head, propped up by her snow white hair and furry white fox ears.

The guide lead the Allaneans forward and introduced them to the princess, who then introduced herself. When they handed her the letter, she read it over a few times.

"Er, I'm afraid that I cannot accept this proposal. While there would be no problem with a non aggression pact and embassy exchange, I question the wisdom of providing Allanea with such a large sum at this time, especially considering what happened last time we tried this. I also cannot in good faith agree to a free trade agreement at this time. Any trade agreements will have to be discussed with our allies first."

"Well," - said the Allanean - "what about some smaller sum of FMS, which will be spent on thousands and thousands of your excellent combat aircraft?"