NationStates Jolt Archive

The Minister of Foreign Affairs waited at the airport patiently, the usual bustle of activity in Golddale International passing him by. Glancing at his watch, he noted that the plane was three minutes behind schedule. Still, he shouldn't complain, he thought, brushing off dust from his pinstripe suit. If he could manage to heal relations with British Londinium he would be the most popular Minister of Foreign Affairs ever.

He then noticed the British Londinian plane come into place. Nervous, he adjusted his suit one last time before stepping up to meet the deputy consul as he walked in.

The plane was a large, sleek Concorde, plated in chrome, marked only with the words "République Souverain de Populus ab Londinium Britannii" proudly emblazoned at the side. Iunctus Wellington, the PSR's deputy consul, watched with mild disinterest as the plane landed on the tarmac and pulled into the hangar. After all, what could this sleepy, small nation do to benefit British Londinium? Then again, though, Wellington remembered a proverb his late mother would constantly recite to him: "Take the opportunity to pilfer a goat", or, in other words, take advantage of every single advantage given to you. Consul Davidson had charged Iunctus with insuring the restoration of standardized relations with New Vantania - it would be one less enemy when the hammer slammed into the Sovereign League.

A set of aluminium stairs unfolded from the door, and Wellington, in the traditional dark purple suit to represent parliamentary membership, emerged.

"I presume you're my contact," Iunctus said to the nervous man who had stood as he exited the aircraft. "Deputy Consul Iunctus Wellington, at your service."

Nodding slightly, he responded, "Yes, I am the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mackenzie Schaff, at your service. Now, your probably hungry, would you like dinner or would you prefer to retire early? We can start the tour early, if you so desire."

Mackenzie guided the deputy consul down the airport and into a black luxury car, waiting for his response with a well faked smile on his face.

"I'm not terribly hungry, and I've always preferred dining alone," was Wellington's brusque reply. "I would sincerely appreciate it if the tour would start early."

The two of them stepped into the car, and the Minister nodded, before responding, "Yes, fair enough. The first stop will be the halls of Congress. Now, while we're going, let's talk business. The League of Business has enquired about the possibility of trade between our two nations. We are aware that you don't want our goods due to our being a Sovereign League nation, but we could still buy your goods, eh? Of course, this would require allowing New Vantanians into your country, if only for shipping puposes."

"Unfortunately, no, not as such," Wellington replied. "However, the government is willing to revise their immigration protocols regarding your nation. You see, Vantanian nationals aren't so much our concern as is Prætonians and their like. If New Vantania were to sign a mutual nonaggression pact, lasting, say, fifty years, the People's Sovereign Republic would be willing to loosen restrictions upon Vantanian nationals and resume normalized trade."

The car passed the Halls of Congress, pausing briefly. The two buildings were quite grand, made out of a black material that shone unnaturally bright for the time of night. The construction of the buildings was odd, seemingly half carved and half melted into their current shape, which was not dissimiliar to the Parthenon, though more fluid.

"These are the Halls of Congress. The building on the left is the House of Representatives, which are nominated by the governor and voted in by the people. The building on the right is the Senate, which are elected directly by the people. They were built with an aftificial stone with secret New Vantanian construction methods. Next stop is the Emerald Palace." the Minister said, before continuing on topic.

"Now, as for your proposal, we would be more then willing to do so. Now, onto the next issue... the Gholgoth/NATO versus the Questarian Commonwealth. We understand that you don't plan on participating in the conflict, but I suggest you prepare to defend yourselves. I wouldn't put it past other Questarian supporters to attack you to cut oil supplies to NATO and Gholgoth nations. So, be cautious."

"I appreciate your concern," Iunctus replied. "Let me assure you that every possible measure has been taken. Now, back to issues of trade. You understand that we are hesitant to provide oil supplies to a Sovereign League nation, but what we can provide you with is electronics, civilian aircraft, precision machinery, and telecommunications infrastructure technology. But what can New Vantania give us?"

Mackenzie nodded, contemplating it for a few moments. Then, slowly, he began to reply, "Well... New Vantania can give you many things... Mostly industrial goods... As for specifics... Well it might help if you could tell me a few things that you would like. We manufacture most of our goods, and unless it's a different model, it probably wouldn't be worth it. However other things, like timber, foodstuffs, or other goods would result in more profit."

"When it comes to high technology and industry, the People's Sovereign Republic is perfectly secure," Wellington said. "But, despite that, we still import around fifty percent of our food. If New Vantania were to increase food exports to British Londinium, we could make it worth your while."

The car passed by the Emerald Palace, stopping briefly again, before heading towards the hotel arranged for the Londinian. The Palace was built with the same style of construction, half carved half molded. It was made out of what looked like emerald, so thick you couldn't see into the interior. It towered high, with a solid base. There was fifty feet of garden area surrounding it, followed by a deep cliff ten feet wide and fifty feet deep, with a single bridge.

While admiring the Palace, Sharff responded, "The food supplies in New Vantania come from the less settled east archipelago and the colonies. The east is the more rural, but that's likely going to end soon as the colonies finish construction. This is being healed by underground farms with adapted technology like glowing roof moss to grow mushrooms, most of which feed giant lizards for their meat. All this aside, we also import food, not as much, but we do import. So, while we can sell you the food, we're going to need an example of this 'high technology'."

"An example? The first that comes to mind is our latest aircraft technology - morphing aircraft wings. They can change shape like the wings of a bird - and to accomplish this, they're built out of a series of scales. You see, airplanes today are a design compromise. They have a fixed-wing structure that is not ideal for every part of a typical flight. Being able to change the shape of the wings to reduce drag and power, which vary with flight speed, could optimize fuel consumption so that commercial planes could fly more efficiently. Flying efficiently at high speed requires small, perhaps, swept wings. Flying at slow speed for long periods requires long narrow wings. The morphing wings designed in British Londinium can change both wing area and cross section shape to accommodate both slow and fast flight requirements," Wellington replied, with a hint of pride in his voice. "Is that a good enough example?"

The Minister's eyes raised, and he replied with a sense of awe in his voice, "Yes, definitly. I'll draw up the pacts and have them to you by tommorow. After the signing you can either continue your tour of the country or return home." The car arrived at the luxorious hotel, the doors opening and the Deputy Consul being escorted to the imperial suite.

Meanwhile, Mackenzie worked into the night formalising the agreement the two of them had made in the car.