NationStates Jolt Archive

When the Perez Doctrine was signed in 2207, it gave territories in the Western Hemisphere a chance to align themselves with The Gulf States to form The Triangles Compact. In essentially, it becomes a single state of territory in the Americas, semi-autonomous states united under one flag.

Nations like Brazil, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Guyana, Suriname, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic all signed up as original members of the Triangles Compact. The territory of French Guiana also joined, with it's neighbors forming "Guiana-Suriname". Panama joined as well, but now is under joint custody of The Gulf States and California.

When the Canadian dominion split up in 2209, the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario along with the Northwest and Nunavut territories joined as well. Quebec and the Maritime provinces became a part of the nation of Ziotah, but they collapsed and soon became part of the Triangles Compact and part of The Gulf States. The only parts of Canada still not in The Gulf States are Yukon and British Columbia, parts of our ally California.

And now, our attention turns towards the Megalopolis of the world. The nation of New York and New Jersey, a territory extending from Maine to Ohio, has collapsed. Their federal government has ceased to exist, and their states have become vulnerable to invasion and attack by unfriendly neighbors such as Menelmacar/United States and California. However, we have approached the peoples of the former New York and New Jersey. Where they have overthrown and dismantled the regime of President Rodriguez ... we in Lexington, on the mainland of The Gulf States, have invited these NY&J states to join us in the Triangles Compact.

The states affected: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, ... plus the territory of Puerto Rico.

TGS troops from all over the territories had assembled along the Canadian-NY&J border, then advanced southward, to keep peace and stability in the region previously rattled with political unrest, to restore law and order and confidence in government in an otherwise shaky environment. To bring one of the most influential and prestigious regions of the Earth I into the Triangles Compact. To those living in the NY&J states, The Gulf States is freedom to their former repression, a moderate democracy and freedom to rule themselves instead of a military dictatorship ruled with an iron fist from The Bronx.

----------------------------

October 12, 2277:

Portland, Maine: Dustin Jerzinski stands outside of the Third Ladder Company station on Cumberland Street. A reporter from WPME-TV Channel 10 approaches him...

Reporter: Sir, how do you feel about this upcoming national vote?

Jerzinski: Well, we already have the peacekeeping armies here. The flags have been changed, from the old colors to the blue triangles. Peace and stability have retaken the streets. You can feel the change around us. I'm looking forward to this new process. Look at places like Canada, Brazil, the Dominican ... they have become world powers. Powerful nations like California and Menelmacarian United States are held at bay. I'd rather not return to another military dictatorship, so The Gulf States works out great for Maine and the country.


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New maps!

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z67/bmoney447/northamerica.gif

14 Quellë 31873 (equivalent to October 12)

Let it be known that this will not stand.

The Eternal Noldorin Empire of Menelmacar and the United States of America will not tolerate the predations of opportunistic vultures upon the bones of allies undergoing a temporary state of internal unrest. Menelmacari and American fleets will guarantee the continued sovereignty of New York and New Jersey on an ongoing basis, as efforts continue to restore stability to the country. All TGS units will immediately withdraw, and any still in NYNJ territory forty-eight hours from now will be considered to be committing an act of war, and will be accordingly destroyed with extreme prejudice.

~A joint statement issued by American President Jennifer Aracelis and Menelmacari Prefect of State Túrelio nos Fingolfin

OOC: Stealth-posting hoping I wouldn't see this is bad form, TGS, and I'm not letting you get away with it. I would withdraw, and quickly, unless you want a lot of casualties.

Lexington, The Mainland -

[Here we find Alexis Rios and Javier Lopez, two high ranking generals for The Gulf States, sitting in an otherwise empty board room.]

Lopez: So, what do you want to do?

Rios: We're totally fucked. They got warships we can't even imagine up, and more soldiers in active duty than the entire population of several of our provinces put together.

Lopez: But you see... damn it, is this camera on?

[Then suddenly, President Don Rodriguez walks in through the door.]

Rodriguez: Hey guys, what's up?

Lopez: Camera is on.

Rodriguez: Yeah, I know.

Lopez: So, what's going on?

Rodriguez: Was gonna hold a recording to hand out to the press, and to important leaders of our master overlords to our southwest, with a statement.

Lopez: Well, our master overlords to our southwest told us to back the fuck off New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and Ohio. Quite frankly, I don't even see what the problem is.

Rodriguez: You do know it's not the Californians this time, right?

Lopez: Oh jeez. You mean...

Rodriguez: Yeah.

Lopez: We're really really fucked.

Rodriguez: I don't see what the problem is guys. Yeah, we got this nation of like what, 10 billion, that could turn every last population center of ours into glass. And probably would if they could.

Lopez: Yeah, but we're not going to do that. We should retreat now, before we get glassed. And Toronto. And Montreal. And Sao Paulo. And all the others.

Rodriguez: You see, we are peace keeping troops. We are not fighting anybody. We are not occupying. We are simply holding down the vacuum in the territory. The government we know, the state we know as NYNJ, it doesn't exist any more.

Lopez: Yeah. That means the Menels wants it for themselves.

Rodriguez: Right. But you see, they don't realize NYNJ doesn't exist anymore. It's collapsed, gone. The interim government down there is barely there, to hold power. We didn't even put that in place. It's a collective of powers from the states which made it up. They were the ones who put together the referendum which is letting the people decide what they want to do.

Lopez: OK.

Rodriguez: You don't have a clue what is going on, do you?

Lopez: Somewhat. Everything just kinda happened so fast, ya know?

Rodriguez: Maine voted about two weeks ago to join The Gulf States, overwhelmingly. New Hampshire and Vermont will be very soon, the rest of them soon to follow. In Maine, they had the options to... become independent or join us. Cause we border them with Quebec and New Brunswick and already are their main trading partner. We also gave them a second question, saying if NYNJ was to reform, would they wish their state to rejoin the territory.

Lopez: I don't think the Menelmacari nation gives a shit about puny little Maine and their referendum. Quite frankly, they'll take over the place and make it some military dictatorship.

Rodriguez: At least the people in Maine have CHOSEN to be with us, if NYNJ does not reform. And it is expected the rest of the states will soon follow. Which in a nutshell means, NYNJ could become an autonomous region of our country anyway. And it wouldn't make sense why Menel would get pissed off about that, cause they do the same exact shit in what they call the United States of America. Hell, Pennsylvania and Ohio are kinda borderline, they could go any different ways. In Ohio and most Pennsylvania counties, joining the Menelmacari American territories is actually an option. If these states choose to be with us, then we are not the bad guys. We are not the invaders, then again... we never were. We was just helping out our neighboring states get themselves settled after the federal collapse. We will respect the decisions of the states, whatever they choose to vote for. If Menelmacar doesn't like it, tough shit. They may attack us, but we'll just retreat back to Canada. If Menelmacar push into our Canadian soil, then they are the evil invading country. Then what in North America is safe?

Rios: So, it's basically all down to the elections...

Rodriguez: Yeah.

Lopez: How does it all look?

[Rios picks up a copy of the Lexington Times]

Rios: New Hampshire 86 percent for us, 14 percent independence. Vermont 85 for us, 15 independent. The rest of New England is 77 us 23 independent. New York is 72 us 28 independent, New Jersey 70 us 30 independent. Ohio is too close to call. Pennsylvania could split into two... eastern half wants to be with us overwhelmingly, better than New York's numbers. Western half is kinda split like Ohio.

Rodriguez: Should be interesting to see how this plays out then...

15 Quellë 31873

In fiction, situations like these tended to involve imagery of running soldiers, beehives of activity, klaxons going off, every manner of equipment boarding transports. There would probably also spy - and possibly weapons - satellites shifting position.

For the most part, in Menelmacar, this generally didn't happen.

There was enough fleets in the MIDF that some were rotated home, some were rotated into the field, some were rotated to patrol, and units active at any given time were enough to handle most situations. It was simply a matter of taking active fleets at point A, and moving them to point B. At any given time there was plans in place about which resources to move to hotspots at which location. These plans changed and shifted as fleets moved about, and even the execution of such a plan would shift further contingencies. But the Noldor had had a very long time to get these things down, and it went off like clockwork.

As for satellites, the Menelmacari Elenpalantír network was already everywhere. At most, some orbits might shift laterally to give a region of interest particularly intense scrutiny, but the eyes in the sky already enveloped the entire planet in a carefully-arranged mesh that meant it didn't matter who or where you were - someone under Taniquetil in Vinyatírion was technically quite capable, if they wished, of reading your newspaper over your shoulder and writing a report about the contents of your lunch as you sat on a park bench, and the intelligence services could decide how, or whether, to act on it before you got up to go back to work.

In this case, the Fifth and Thirty-Sixth Menelmacari Imperial Gravitic Battle Fleets set a return course to Earth from their extrasolar patrols, and the Thirteenth Fleet was dispatched from the Home Defense Fleet. This meant the Forty-Second Fleet was moved to an accelerated return to active duty, the Seventh Fleet's refit program was pushed back a couple weeks, and six other fleets exchanged ships and patrol routes in such a way as to keep the Empire's strength outsystem roughly what it had been the day before. The new ad-hoc force was labeled the New York Stabilization Task Force, in total numbered between a hundred and fifty and two hundred gravitic warships (depending largely on one's definition of warship), and came together under the command of Warlady Naurelin nos Fithurin of the Fifth Fleet, and the dreadnought MIS Olórin became the flagship.

All of it had been done by the time the joint statement had gone out. The ships would arrive in a gravitic stationary orbit over the Northeastern Seaboard twenty-four hours before the deadline. The Elenpalantír system had already identified targets of interest inside NYNJ, and strategic support targets in TGS, and this information had been forwarded to the fleet. All of it, clockwork, and all of it, planned meticulously in advance, just in case. The MIDF's war planners had a lot of time on their hands.

As terrifying as this casual ease of response may seem, foreign onlookers could consider this: when it finally did get to the point of klaxons going off, and soldiers running to transports... well, then the shit would have really hit the fan.

---

OOC: Some corrections that I think need to be made:

- My post came, ICly, almost immediately after you moved. OOC time != IC time, otherwise we'd see armies at war sitting about doing nothing for days or weeks at a time.
- I've RPed with NYNJ quite a bit, and his people are pretty fiercely nationalist, and would likely rather be independent and pick up the pieces themselves than join a third party.
- NYNJ and Menelmacar were very closely allied for many years - pretty much since NS started.
- Menelmacar voluntarily and of its own volition decolonized the eastern US six months ago or so, real time. They're basically in a sort of commonwealth with Menelmacar now, sort of like Canada and Britain IRL, only the US doesn't have Siri as head of state. Menelmacar's intentions here are exactly what they state they are.

Ignoring the general bad form of RPing other peoples' nations as being vastly in favor of joining yours, your referendums did seem to have a 'if NYNJ does not reform' caveat anyway, and that's precisely what Menelmacar wants to see happen - so we'd still be respecting their wishes.

Pursuant to Vinyatírion Treaty Allied States Fractal Time Out and Domestic Instability/Incommunicado Protocol, the area occupied by the Federal Republic of New York and Jersey, a member of the military alliance, is subject to VERITAS military response. As such, we fully support the Menelmacari response, and vow unconditional military support for such an endeavour to whatever extent is necessary to enforce the territorial supremacy and military safety of the NYNJ area, and to deter future aggression.

~ Aiyana Tirecean, C’tani representative to VERITAS, Member of the Senatorial Permanent Committee for Legislation and Management

[Here we now find President Don Rodriguez, once again standing in the board room with Generals Lopez and Rios. This is a few hours later from when we last saw the group.]

Rodriguez: To all interested nations in the North American region, and you pretty much know who you are, we need to talk over the status of the New York and New Jersey territories. Our nation does not wish to be reduced to glass when we are just trying to assist our friends and neighbors in NYNJ. Hopefully we can find some sort of peaceful means to settle the situation and make all parties involved as close to happy as possible?

Rios: Cause well, The Gulf States is and has been for many years... a peaceful nation. We did not wish to upset our neighbors and friends in the world. The several nations which threatened us with mass casualties and quick strike warfare on our cities and strategic targets... we're surprised.

Lopez: I mean, look at us. We are the protector nation of Canada. A bunch of our nation is Canadian. You really think the Canadians have been the type of people to piss people off and go to war over the years? Never have, bad time to start now.

Rodriguez: So with that said, to all our friends and neighbors in the international community, let us be able to talk this one out peacefully for the benefit of all nations and especially NYNJ.

[End scene]

15 Quellë 31873
Low Earth Orbit, over New York City

MIS Olórin was not a small ship. Over a mile long, the dreadnought had impressive volume belied by her graceful, sinuous form and black, red, and gold coloring. One thing not at all belied was her equally impressive small-craft complement, and as Olórin's bays yawned wide they disgorged flights of Thoron gravitic aerospace fighters. From scores of other ships in the fleet the scene repeated itself, formation after formation of the deadly little craft - maneuverable enough that some considered them free-range turrets more than fighters - arced gracefully down into the atmosphere, the air and light around them as they descended rippling like heat-waves under the influence of high-distort gravitic drives.

Before a half-hour had passed Warlady Naurelin's New York Stabilization Task Force had laid down an impressive network of combat air patrols over Menelmacar's unstable ally, ensuring complete aerospace superiority over the country. No shots were fired - not yet.

---

Press Hall
MIS Olórin

The Warlady strode up to the podium, resplendent in her fleet uniform and command cloak, scanning the room with amethyst eyes that missed not a single detail. The various reporters, mostly from Menelmacari media outlets but some from allied nations, filled the relatively small room, and the air above the seating was thick with little hovering holocams recording the Warlady's statement.

"Half an hour ago," she began, "the New York Stabilization Task Force of the Menelmacari Imperial Defense Force completed its positioning over the Federal Republic of New York and New Jersey. Combat air patrols are in place throughout NYNJ air- and orbital space. We have ascertained the locations of Gulf States military assets throughout the Federal Republic as well as strategic assets crucial to supporting those forces. Should it be required, we are fully capable to neutralize every target on that list in under an hour."

On the screens behind the Warlady flicker aerial and satellite images of TGS forward bases, armored patrols, airbases, railheads, naval vessels, and other assets.

"Menelmacar stands ready, without hesitation, to fulfil the obligations of the VERITAS military pact, as well as our centuries-long friendship and alliance with the Federal Republic.

"However well-intentioned the actions of The Gulf States may have been, they remain an act of war, and in context of greater world events all over North and South America, to us they seem a thinly-veiled attempt at annexation. In our very long memory, in three hundreds of centuries, very few nations have kept the oft-repeated promise of autonomy as a protectorate, and fewer still have returned full sovereignty to those protectorates. Menelmacar itself tops that very short list. And Menelmacar is here now, and will defend and guarantee the freedom and full sovereignty of the Federal Republic.

"To that end, in conversation with the Elentári herself less than an hour ago I have been fully briefed on Menelmacari policy regarding the current matter of the Gulf States occupation of the Federal Republic, and fully empowered to enact that policy. I welcome President Rodriguez' willingness - and indeed, eagerness - to move this matter to a more diplomatic arena. However, we will not be stalled. I am happy to talk, and will do so in any neutral venue. One thing I cannot budge on, however, is the deadline, and so the deadline stands. As of now, there are twenty-three hours and twenty-two minutes remaining until The Gulf States is required to withdraw from Federal Republic territory."

"I will now take questions..."

[Television report, Gulf States Network Nightly News w. John Peralta]

Peralta: We bring you live to exclusive coverage of the situation in the Northeast... today we got some breaking developments, and now we head over to GSN news correspondent Miguel Olivo for more, live in Woodstock, New Brunswick...

[scene changes to NB]

Olivo: Yes, we are here in New Brunswick, as several hundred Triangle peacekeeping troops have pushed back into Canadian territories. Under threat of devastating war, The Gulf States has decided to retreat all millitary forces from the New York and New Jersey territories. What started out as a simple way to help stabilize and help reunify the NYNJ territories, ended up being seen in the international community as an advance of war and annexation.

We got shots here today of the first of the retreat. In Augusta, Maine, which voters in that state had decided overwhelmingly to join The Gulf States if NYNJ was not to reunify, the Triangles flag was lowered and removed. All ground forces in Augusta then were loaded at the nearby airport and flown to an airfield in Nova Scotia. Across Maine, which had already seen a cut in troops from previous weeks, nearly all are gone now. At least the citizens of Maine have taken the advice of the state government and The Gulf States to behave themselves and re-establish a sense of normal, which is good.

And here we got more pictures in the border town of Houlton, not far from where we are, with vehicles and personnel crossing the border, and townspeople holding NYNJ flags shaking hands with troops as they crossed back into Canada. Just a remarkable scene here.

Peralta: What about the rest of the country?

Olivo: The most of TGS' presence was in the northern regions, especially in Maine. And of the original forces which came in to settle the region after the collapse of the NYNJ nation, many were sent back slowly, but not with any attention. Not in a situation like this. Essentially, once news of the elections had broken out, and with Maine voting to join The Gulf States, other countries got worried about potential Gulf States expansion in the region and further intentions whatever they could have been.

Most of the ground troops still remaining were in the major cities: New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Hartford, assisting local police departments with law and order duties. The rest were just stationed around the north along the Canadian border, and in Maine, to keep an eye on anything which might have happened in the southern parts of the collapsed nation. The law enforcement troops in the southern cities have been pulled and are slowly making their way back to Canada, the rest are working their way back from Maine and upstate New York... which is what we're seeing here.

Peralta: What a crazy day to say the least.

Olivo: Oh, very.

[fin]

19 Quellë 31873
Austin J. Tobin Plaza
Rebuilt World Trade Center, Manhattan, New York

It was a cool autumn afternoon in New York, and Warlady Naurelin nos Fithurin looked up around her; it had been very long ago indeed now when religious madmen flying hijacked aircraft had destroyed the initial incarnations of the shimmering silver pillars that loomed above her now. The Federal Republic had rebuilt them as they were before, yet grander and taller, and with a new companion - a third tower taller still - the Freedom Tower, which rose to an angled, spired height 1,776 feet above the river.

She smiled, brushing windblown auburn hair from sapphire eyes; this was indeed a fine ending to what could have been very ugly. She had, honestly, expected by now to be deep in the process of killing people and breaking things for queen and country. It happened surprisingly rarely that prospective opponents were possessed of sufficient intelligence and foresight not to push the Noldor to violence.

Instead of killing, she had spent the last few days setting things back in order here. Things had moved quickly since the TGS withdrawal. The Menelmacari had moved quickly to restore order - the old order, at that, or at least, as close to it as could be managed. In keeping with the fiercely nationalistic character of the Federal Republic's citizenry, the Menelmacari stayed behind the scenes as much as possible instead of doing the work with their own troops. They were, even now, in the process of bringing back as many of the existing civil service - ranging from police to paramedics to county clerks - as possible, as quickly as possible, and ensuring that everyone's pay was up to date.

The people of the Federal Republic would be saluting the same flag, spending the same money, seeing the same faces at government offices, and living by the same laws as they had a month previous. Just as it should be.

The blue and white flag of NYNJ again snapped smartly in the autumn winds from every flag pole, and the New York dollar had recovered from its recent slump since being backed by the Menelmacari credit; Wall Street had followed suit. There were still Menelmacari troops on the streets, whether in Manhattan itself or in most distant Ohio or Maine, though not many; the restoration of the Federal Republic's government infrastructure after the brief occupation was not something that could be done overnight, and these would be replaced by locals as soon as was possible. Olórin herself hung, apparently motionless, in the grey sky over the harbor. Several of the other warships could be seen further out.

But most of the Menelmacari were doing what Naurelin herself was, now, enjoying shore leave and the fruits of a job well done. Naurelin exchanged greetings and handshakes with yet another grateful civilian, then looked up again, taking a picture of the mighty towers with a small holocamera. This was her first visit to New York, and she was going to enjoy it. Then she glanced at her timepiece, and crimson cloak billowing behind her in the wind, she turned and made her way out of the plaza. A Broadway musical, after all, was not going to wait even for the Warlady of the Fifth Fleet.