NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: This isn't an alliance with a specific opponent, goal, or.. well, anything to that accord. It does prize humanitarian ideals and civil liberties highly, but doesn't consist of members who go to war to enforce such things. It is designed to focus more on roleplaying in-alliance than OOC maneuvering. Keep these things in mind if you intend to join.

IC:

The Charter of the Interstellar Concordance of Starfaring Nations

Preamble: We, the undersigned, hereby affirm the charter of the Interstellar Concordance of Starfaring Nations, and commit to the protection and expansion of humanitarian rights, civil liberties, and peace through means of diplomacy, trade, and mutual-defense.

Item One: The Interstellar Concordance of Starfaring Nations (ICSN) is established as a body that consists of all signatory nations, and has authority only regarding signatory nations. By signing the Charter, signatories agree to abide by the items of the Charter.

Item Two: The signatory nations of the ICSN hereby establish a body, hereafter referred to as the “Concilium”, through which the authority of the ICSN shall be exercised.

Item Three: The Concilium shall consist of delegate members from each signatory, each member retaining a certain percentage of a signatory nation's votes, the number of votes being based directly on national population. Each signatory shall have the right to appoint their own delegates, with the legal government of each respective signatory nation being the only body empowered to send or withdraw delegates to and from Concilium. The Concilium shall have authority over matters of admittance to the ICSN, the editing of the Charter, individual and alliance foreign policy, specifically regarding warfare, and the location of the Concilium, in regards to all signatories.

Item Four: The Concilium shall require a two-thirds majority of the total vote to pass a motion regarding membership or warfare, and a seventy-five percent majority of the total vote when amending the Charter; in either case, a majority of the votes of each of a majority of signatories must be in favor for a motion to pass. These are the only matters which the Concilium has authority to decide.

Item Five: The Concilium shall have the power to force a signatory nation (or set of said nations) to attempt to cease a war, and offer negotiations to the nation(s) it is warring with, which shall be hosted by the ICSN, or, by agreement, a neutral third party.

Item Six: A war waged on the basis of simple aggression or retaliation without sufficient provocation is to be condemned by the Concilium. Provocation considered sufficient to warrant a declaration of war must involve armed action against the citizens or military of the declaring signatory nation explicitly sanctioned by the offending nation. (In this instance, a pirate attack from the offending nation would not suffice, but privateering licenses given to citizens of their nations, sanctioning attacks on the declaring signatory nation's property would.) Furthermore, if a signatory of the ICSN is found to have provoked another nation into declaring war through use of the preceding methods, such a war will be considered an offensive war, and will be condemned.

Item Seven: A signatory nation that declares war based on sufficient provocation (or has war declared against it by an enemy on a signatory with insufficient provocation) may present its case before the Concilium, which may vote to declare its conflict a defensive war. If it does so, all signatories shall be required to provide assistance to the defending signatory at the request of that signatory.

Item Eight: An aggressive war that is waged against the wishes of the Concilium, and without any attempt to negotiate, despite being ordered to do so, shall be grounds for dismissal from the Interstellar Concordance of Starfaring Nations. Likewise, any attempt to suborn, corrupt, bribe, or otherwise unlawfully influence the Concilium shall be grounds for dismissal, as will disobedience to any of the Nine Items. Signatories are permitted to leave at any time, provided the order to leave is given by the legitimate government of the leaving signatory nation.

Item Nine: The Concilium shall be hosted in the Realm, on the planet of Hypatia. The Concilium may be moved by a majority vote, or by agreement between the hosting signatory and another signatory.

- - - - -

As representative of the Realm, appointed under the authority of Magnate Wade, I hereby invite all interested parties who wish to sign the Charter to a meeting on the station Orb, in orbit around the Realm capital world, Hypatia.

- Ambassador Logothetes

- - - - -

List of Signatory Nations:
Hyperspatial Travel

Awaiting the arrival of potential charter members with Logothetes is Lily Zombrano, a Xanthalian Ambassador that contributed to the Charter's composition. The Triumvirate having shown an interest in this project early on, she was dispatched to offer her assistance on behalf of the Federated Democratic States to the Realm in shaping the new alliance.

Lily is considerably overweight for her modest 158 centimeter height, but not particularly unattractive. She is a Trasnian human, Caucasian descent, going on fifty years old. Her midlength platinum blonde hair is in contrast to her skin, darkened by a careful regime of tanning. Her light blue eyes have a certain keenness that takes in everything around.

Despite the frequent travel her job requires, Lily has never really gotten used to being in space. She likes to be outdoors among the trees and the animals and the fresh air, with the wind in her hair and the sun beating down on her shoulders. The sterile, metallic environment of space ships and stations do not suit her. Having been cooped up here already for several days, she's looking forward to concluding her business and returning to Hypatia for a short vacation before returning to Renku.

For now, she sits in her guest quarters, scrolling through the latest communication from Olink. The Triumvirate has authorized her to add her signature to the Charter "at your own discretion." She reads the orders over and over, always coming back to those four words. They're just a matter of procedure; she's read the same phrase before (in Mirfakan, anyway) on almost all her orders, but they've never looked so ominous as they do now. Suddenly it's like she's choosing the future of the entire country. If it doesn't work out, of course, it will be easy for the Triumvirate to vacate the agreement, but such apparent indecisiveness will surely reflect poorly on the new Federal government. For Odin's Sake, they've read the text same as I have. Why couldn't they just tell me to sign it or not?

With a sigh, she tosses the datapad onto her bed. "Momma said there'd be times like these," Lily observes. She stands up and saunters over to the computer that's been provided for her, sitting down again at the desk. Anxious and bored, she begins searching the database for games, something to take her mind off business for a while. There will be plenty of work to do once the foreign delegations start to arrive. Making sure the Charter would be a signable document for the Triumvirate was just the first part of her job; only if she can be assured that Xanthalian interests will not be compromised by what occurs in the next phase will her "discretion" allow her to sign it.

Logothetes. Charming, urbane, handsome - he was, in truth, a rather idealized self-image the Realm had of itself. That was likely, as he had been made that way. One had to understand the Realm was a nation of soldiers. Trained, no, bred to obey orders, the nation at times functioned somewhat more like an army than many politicians would've liked. As they were made for soldiery, Logothetes had been constructed solely for the purpose of diplomacy.

His meetings with Lily, and the many hours of talk that had allowed them to hammer out the Charter had left him with a faint sense of surprise. When one dealt with normal humans, despite his charm, and his air of authority, it all seemed to be superceded by size. Standing in at one hundred and forty-three centimetres - four feet and eight inches, or thereabouts, he was a full inch below average height for the Realm Human. In an age where the average soldier of other races stood a full seven feet tall, it was a considerable difference.

The transmission had, of course, gone out to the universe at large. Rather, all known governments in the universe at large. The foundation of such an alliance was designed primarily to give the Realm a neutral alliance, so to speak - one unladen with all the baggage and history that tainted others, and to allow them to advance their goals without unneccessary imperialism or warfare. The Xanthalians, though certainly obtaining different goals, believed their means were much the same.

At present, he had invited personally but two other delegates. One from the USFU, whom he expected soon enough, and another from the distant Telrosian Confederacy. He had heard much about them, but, in truth, knew little. However, they had been given high priority clearance, and, as soon as they arrived, would be admitted to the station. It would take a time longer to give any other newcomers clearance, but, with his authority, he suspected it would still only be measured in minutes, if not in seconds.

For a moment, he pitied Lily. The Xanthalian was cut off from home, away from all the amenities home provided. Some foreigners saw the neural networks which connected every Realm human, bar a dissenting few, together, as peculiar, freakish, even. They thought it made them hiveminded.

As he lovingly caressed the mind of his second thoughtbond, he knew they could not have been more wrong. Her name was irrelevent. Her? He was not entirely sure of the sex of his thoughtbond, though the sense the mind gave out was entirely feminine. It was a relationship between two people who's minds were so matched, so suited to one another, that speech between them was almost instantaneous. It gave him a feeling of wellbeing, belonging.

When on military expeditions, one was cut off from the civilian NeuralNet, and could use only military transmissions. He shuddered, in the silence of his room. He had never been away from Hypatia, and did not intend to leave. Indeed, it was his insistence that saw the Concilium hosted in orbit around Hypatia.

He smiled, but it came uneasily.

"Lovett, could you please send a message to Ambassador Lily, asking her if I may meet with her in the primary conference room? Light up a path for her, if she doesn't know the route already."

The AI acquised in his mind. He smiled. Another talk would accomplish little, yet, he hoped, others would arrive soon, and being prepared to speak to them could only convey a sense of professionalism.

Message: Joining
From: The United Terran Federation
To: whom it may concern

It has come to our attention that a new alliance has formed, and it is with great honor that we request membership in to this alliance, we cannot send a representative due to pressing matters with in the federation, but we can send some one to sign the charter when it is publicly presented for signing.

Secretary of interstellar affairs, john heaps

Logothetes frowned. A message. It would only take an instant to compose a reply, drawing on the vast banks of memory throughout the Realm.

I would ask that you send a delegate at any time to sign the treaty. We are, of course, open to signatories, and the reputation of the Terran Federation, especially concerning matters with which this alliance is concerned, precedes you. If you are willing to sign, we are willing to have you.

- Special Ambassador Logothetes

OOC: Placeholder for a post.

When interrupted by the A.I. Lily sighs and leaves her room behind, putting on her shoes, straightening her uniform, taking her datapad, then walking to the conference room. She knows the way well enough, but it's still nice to have the guiding lights just to be sure. She wouldn't want to end up in a restricted area by mistake.

It only takes a few minutes for her to arrive. Seeing nobody else present, she takes a seat to wait for the Ambassador.

To: Special Ambassador Logothetes
Realm of Hyperspatial Travel

From: VCS Crucible of Hope
Confederacy of Vermillion Utopia


Re: Membership in ICSN

Salutations,

The Confederacy of Vermillion Utopia has received your open invitation to join the ICSN and has dispatched an emissary to meet with you. The VCS Crucible of Hope is currently en route to Hypatia carrying the emissary and his entourage and requests permission to dock at the Orb station.

We look forward to working with you in the future and our hopes go out to the success of this alliance.

With Regards,

Icarus Solarian
Special Emissary of the Vermillion Confederacy

OOC: Just write your next post as though you're entering the station. The tedious practice of asking and sending permission to land, and writing every last nuance of docking has long since bored me.

IC: To: Special Emissary Icarus Solarian
From: Special Ambassador Logothetes

Greetings,

We are preparing to expedite the docking process with Orb. Once you arrive, kindly power down weaponry and shields, and you will be brought to the meeting chamber.

Aidamon Logothetes
Council-Magnate of the Realm, and Special Ambassador to the ICSN

- - - -

Logothetes made his way into the room thirty or forty seconds after Lily did, and sat down.

"Ah, Lily. It is good to see you again. I would have you know a few things. Firstly, the United Terran Federation has expressed great interest in joining. I have as, of yet, received no reply from the Telrosian Confederacy, but they are distant. And thirdly, one Confederacy of Vermillion Utopia has requested a meeting. I imagine they'll be here soon."

He sighed, somewhat theatrically. The alliance had not taken off as well as he had hoped, but nor had it failed as spectacularly as it could've done. If he brought the Terran Federation to sign the treaty, hopefully the Xanthalians would finally play their hand. Until then, though, he was to be diplomatic.

"So, Lily. What precisely does your government think of the treaty so far?"

He smiled.

"Or, perhaps more importantly, what do you think of the treaty?"

"Well, the Triumvirate has approved it. They sent me a nice long letter on the subject, but the gist of it is that the final decision rests with me. As for what I think, well... I did help write it. I think there's potential here for a viable organization, but we have to keep in mind that what we've created is strictly a mutual defense alliance, and we've set some pretty tough requirements for putting it into action. I hope it will open up diplomatic opportunities, because this is the sort of treaty that seems likely to just be there and not do much until a crisis comes along for one of its signatories. Not that that's a problem, necessarily. In fact, it's one of the main reasons the Triumvirate's willing to get involved."

Lily swivels her chair to look out the window. From here there is a rather nice view of the horizon; the planet filling the bottom half and a starscape dominating the rest. Earlier the moon was also visible, but their orbit has taken it out of view for now. "Xanthal has been trying to step up its defenses, but it's not easy with our technological disadvantage. We have no shortage of ships, but they simply can't stand against the war machines of more advanced nations. We need the support of strong allies to deter and repel aggressors, and the GFFA isn't enough, as the ESUS invasion of Mirfak proved. Whether the ICSN can be of any help if such a thing happens again I don't know, but it's potentially worthwhile as a means to extend Xanthalian ties with friendly nations even if it doesn't function as an alliance."

She looks back at Logothetes. "My decision is going to rest mostly on what I see here in terms of our potential 'allies.' Even though the ICSN may be ideology-neutral, my government and country are not, and frankly, neither am I. There are some nations it is simply unconscionable or downright unwise to associate with. As far as criteria go, that's where my focus is.

"Are the Terrans attending the conference?" Xanthal has twice tried to initiate relations with the Federal Union; both times the effort stalled. As such, both countries have a lack of firsthand experience with the other. Nevertheless, Lily is aware of the Terran Federation's dubious reputation in many circles of the international community. She's not prepared to reject allying with them out of hand, but she'd be much more comfortable making a decision if she could actually talk to a representative of theirs. She's never heard of Vermillion Utopia. Must be a newer country, she thinks to herself.

OOC: Yeah, I find it pretty dull, too; gets in the way of good storytelling. Some people just get their panties all in a helix if you don't follow some sort of protocol and just jump in, so I usually try to air on the side of caution.

IC: The Crucible of Hope, a rough-hewn, triple hulled grey sliver of a starship cruised silently through interstellar space at several orders of magnitude light speed., decelerating out of its hyperluminal velocity as it delved deeper into Hypatia's star system before coming to a gentle rest inside the docking bay of the Orb station, settling to within a few centimeters to the floor of the bay. The ship was windowless, and bore no markings on its uniformly blue-grey hull.
As the energies emanating from the interior of the ship subsided, a portal opened on its side, producing two figures from within the bland carapace of the startship. One was a man, human, about two meters in height and somewhat middle aged. He wore simple but elegant garments in natural fabrics and earthy tones: a tunic, a belt, trousers and boots. He was aging, but aging well, and seemed to be quite fit. He was accompanied by a tall mechanoid of some sort, nearly three meters in height and composed of what seemed to be gleaming metal. The mechanoid carried itself well on a body that vaguely resembled a metallic, bipedal cheetah on which perched the being’s head with its huge, coolly luminous single blue eye. Curiously, the machine wore a ceremonial robe of sorts and conversed with the human as if an equal. The two approached a docking bay attendant unassumingly; in the way one might approach a stranger for directions.
When they approached the Hypatian, it was the human who spoke in a friendly, soft-toned manner; “Excuse me, brother, I apologize for interrupting your work. My name is Jebediah Solarian, I am an Emissary from the Vermillion Confederacy and this is my good friend, machina Lael Alpha-6...”
“Salutations.” boomed the mechanoid.
“We are here to meet with Ambassador Logothetes. As we are both new to this station, I was hoping you might be able to help guide us to him?”

---

"I regret, Lily, that the Terrans are not attending the conference. I suspect this is more a matter of burueacracy and petty internal matters - they are already willing to sign. Nevertheless, I find them quite admirable in their ideals, if occasionally a little... blurred when putting them into action."

He smiled.

"Nevertheless, though I do not wish to put pressure on you, I have no doubt you will find Xanthal's name does much in the galaxy, and that signing the treaty would aid in bringing others to our side. The Realm had long been a part of the Union, and there is no doubting that the multitude of nations therein have war machines vastly superior to our own. And, although we had considered joining the Federation, I feel it would create as many enemies as we would gain allies. The enmity of the Empire, not to mention the Union, is nothing to be discounted, after all."

Logothetes fell silent, as if listening. After a moment, he murmured something indecipherable, and squeezed his eyes shut for a second.

He turned again, and nodded to Lily. "I apologize. It seems the delegates from the Vermillion Utopia have arrived. Let us adjourn this conversation, so that we may enlighten these newcomers, eh?"



Inside the docking bay, a simulacra worked ceaselessly. Merely a psychological effect, it did little but to ease the psyches of those who worked here. Orb was one of the least inhabited stations in Meradoun, and, as such, those who were there often felt lonely, despite mental contact with people back on Hypatia.

The image of the man twisted into a somewhat uglier one, an almost dwarfish appearance, the body of the simulacra shortening and fattening, the limbs constricting to be small and pathetic.

Lopez, the Realm's chief AI, had never seen himself as a particularly handsome or endearing person.

"Greetings. I am Lopez, Acting First Magnate of the Realm. I appreciate your concern, but we will not miss a few minutes of this automaton's time. Though I am not to speak to you, I would merely introduce myself. I am a distributed intelligence, that you would perhaps know as mechanical, or artificial. However, with the inclusion of Lael Alpha-6, I have no fear that you would prejudiced against ones such as I."

The dwarf-figure smiled grotesquely, while Logothetes watched on in near-horror, having called up images of the docking bay to watch with Lily.

"My.. Lopez is.. well.."

Lost for words, Logothetes pulled himself up to his full height, took a deep breath, and sighed.

"Let us merely hope that they are not scarred for life."

The dwarf bowed elaborately to Lael. "Greetings, and welcome to Orb."

And, on a ultrahigh frequency, a packet of information went towards Lael. Information on Hypatia, its orbit, the general nature of the Realm inhabitants.. a full year's education in a second. Whether the machina managed to receive it or not would determine his attitude to it in the future.

With that done, a gentle blue light ran along the side of the corridor, illuminating the path to the conference room.

"There, my friends. Follow that, and Ambassador Logothetes will meet you there."

Lael's luminous eye brightened for a barely perceptible moment, and the giant stood for a brief second, as if digesting the information. The method of transmission was unconventional by Vermillion standards, but well within the sensible ranges of Lael's receivers. It took nearly a full second for Lael to study the information, copy it, compose a report, and retransmit the package with report to the Crucible of Hope, where the shipboard AI will do the same before sending the data on to the ConFed network via tachyon pulse.

"Thank you, Lopez. The information you have given will be of great use." The giant tipped its head to the dwarf, "We are in your debt." And with that, Lael transmitted a data package with information on the Confederacy of Vermillion Utopia: the complex political and social relationships between the varied Vermillion worlds and the Utopia Machina Collective, its peoples and ways, even astrocartographic data on the small globular cluster just beyond the galactic rim that most of them called home. All within a second, mimicking the frequency and modulation used by Lopez. "Understanding is the basis of friendship."

Lael and Jebediah took their leave of Lopez and began to follow the blue light up to the conference room. Jebediah smiled to himself as they walked down the corridor.

"What's so funny?", implored Lael.

"Oh, nothing...I just think its great how you make friends everywhere.", he said, teasingly. "I hope you got his holocode."

Lael harrumphed and struck back, "It's just because I'm prettier, and smell better, than you." muttered the machina.

Jebediah laughed till teary eyed, "Remind me to put epoxy on your toilet seat."

"Too bad I don't use the toilet. You reviewed the report I sent to you?"

Jebediah tapped his brow, approximately where the tiny cranial implant that acted as a transceiver and helped supplement the brains' natural (and genofixed) memory functions would be. "I read your summary. Good stuff, but my gray matter isn't as quick as your positrons; I'll have to review the bulk of it later. It'll take a few hours before I can recall it easily. But for now, old friend, lets put on our diplomat hats; we are as much statesmen here as explorers." He said as they turned the corner into the conference room.

The Waterhelper Delagates arrived in the reception hall. They came to sign the charter of the new ICSN orginisation. The delegates looked like any other waterhelperian, catlike (I got this from a book I read....). Their eyes scanned over the other delegates before heading into the crowd.
((Sorry.... Im busy))

OOC: I am cancelling my participation in this thread due to HT's inactivity.