NationStates Jolt Archive

The return of Tersanctus had not gone unnoticed. Announced under a fanfare of international summit, old enemies and friends had taken note, however minor, or major of a threat Tersanctus would be considered, Tersanctus would always put the safety of her own Citizens first, the Blood Pact second, and the Regional interests third.

In that very international summit, Shijin Kotomari, Executor of the Imperial Republic, had the opportunity to meet with arms and armament producing nations in the region. Boasting a military budget of over 90 Trillion Dollars, and a Trade surplus of over 2 Trillion, and three years of Economic growth and stability and relative peacetime, Shijin felt it was time to implement a 'five-year plan' to overhaul the Military.

The Imperial Trisagion Army, Armada, and Aerial Forces would all benefit from this plan, raising the stakes in Tersanctus' eternal mission to defend herself from foreign hostiles, and keep himself on par with his blood pact ally, Automagfreek.

In Sanctus, the capitol of Tersanctus, and location of the Office of the Executor, he was meeting with representatives from Agrandov, and Warmaster, to hear proposals of weaponry and new ships, accompanied by his young Queen, Sumiko Kotomari, Shijin warmly welcomed the representatives in his meeting room.

OOC: Hope you don't mind me skipping a boring arrival post.

IC: In Sanctus, the capital of the Gothic nation of Tersanctus, two members of the board of Kregaian Fleet Works, Inc. as well as Supreme Admiral Quoreal, Head of the Kregaian Imperial Navy, shook hands with the Executor and sat down at his invitation.

"A pleasure to meet you, sir," one of the board members began, smiling amicably. "And it's an honor to be the first Imperial representatives in your great nation."

The other began without preamble, "As I'm sure you know, Executor, we have a proposal for your government. The Emperor has heard that Tersanctus is interested in modernizing its navy, and Kregaian Fleet Works, Inc. is willing to do the job." He slid a thick folder across the desk towards the Executor. "It's the largest single order in our history, by far; it'll take years to complete and cost just under forty trillion dollars. The government gets its share indirectly; the Emperor owns a controlling stock in Kregaian Fleet Works, Inc. and any profit for the Kregaian government will go through him. We're also planning on hiring a substantial Tersanctan labor force to help with the shipbuilding; this will put some of the money back in your pocket and create jobs in your nation. All in all, by the time it's done, Kregaian Fleet Works profits, you have a top-notch new fleet made partially with your own labor, and the Imperium takes its cut. Everybody's happy."

Shijin looked over the papers, and nodded his head approvingly. "Your offer sounds most excellent. The price tag is a bit high, but I was expecting that, as you get what you pay for. Along with your importing of Tersanctan Labor, merely sweetens the deal. My payment proposal would be Eight Trillion a year over the next five years, as that coincides with your proposed time-table, along with necessary subsidies of course."

"May I also ask you, what list of ships are you including in this proposal, forgive me, as I hardly qualify as an engineer." The Executor chuckled slightly.

The more amicable of the two board members nodded to his companion, who began to list in a robotic, dull tone, "Sixty Vengeance-class escort dreadnaughts, two hundred and seventy Scythe-class carriers, one thousand five hundred and twenty Valhalla-class ballistic missile submarines, seventeen hundred Metatron-class missile cruisers, two thousand one hundred Babylon-class destroyers, twelve hundred Scimitar-class coastal assault ships, along with full schematics and domestic production rights for the Stalker-class attack submarine, Piranha-class frigate, and Attila-class cruiser. Coming to an exact total of 39.779 trillion dollars."

Shijin looked down at the files, nodding with each ship listed. It matched up perfectly with his cabinets projected figures.

Standing up, he extended his hand. "Gentleman. We have a deal." He said with a smile that a little boy who just got a new toy might look like.

A duo of Agrandan officials with a pair of body guards had arrived that morning, flying straight from Agrandovin the early hours. The first of these was Mr. William Doon, a board member for Overwatch Inc., who was carrying a large black rifle case a metre long. Dressed in a black three-piece suit with a grey wool overcoat. His associate was similarly dressed, with a bowler hat and a thick grey moustache below his small blue eyes. He was Mr. Alan Wipton, a high-ranking member of the Ministry of War and one of the few without previous military service. His role in events would be minimal, as Overwatch Inc. was a private corporation dealing with a client, but Wipton had been invited to oversee the proceedings regardless. Doon and his corporation were hoping to secure more lucrative government contracts, and so wanted to keep the Ministry officials sweet.

Their escorts were both large and impeccably dressed men, who would have seemed intimidating if they were not so set on trying to intimidate each other. Shadowing Mr. Doon was Mr. Lee, an employee of Overwatch Inc., a thuggish-looking man in a suit carrying a second rifle case. His counterpart was Corporal Parsons of the Central State Marine Corps, currently on leave and pursuing employment opportunities outside of his official job description. A great deal of animosity existed between the military and the vast number of mercenary outfits in Agrandov; distasteful incidents had been cropping up on the barren plains of the northern states for decades.

The four of them walked confidently into the building, barely breaking stride to offer identification and clearance papers to the security personnel present. Their documentation had been organised perfectly, and they were helpfully informed on where to find the Tersanctan officials. The Agrandan delegation was in Tersanctus to offer their regionmates a new combat rifle, which early testing had shown to be above and beyond the domestic competition. The K28 had dominated the offerings of other companies, and was already being produced in droves in order to equip the Agrandan military.

The four of them waited in the lobby to be summoned by the Executor, who was currently entertaining a similar team from Warmaster. Mr. Wipton had heard that the agreement concerned naval designs, and was practically a foregone conclusion before the meeting even started. Mr. Doon would be doing the talking in the meeting, assisted by Mr. Lee in a brief overview of the rifle's capabilities. He was optimistic about the upcoming meeting, knowing that half a million rifles had already been set aside by Overwatch Inc. for regional exports.

Mr. Wipton produced a surprisingly modern mobile phone from one of many pockets, with the intention of calling Mr. Simon Ronnal, the Agrandad Minister of War, in order to report the current situation. Mr. Ronnal had taken a personal interest in this transaction, though strangely the call would not connect to his office line. How unusual, thought Mr. Wipton, as Mr. Ronnal was invariably available in his office during normal hours.

An aide appeared from behind a large door, dressed in professional attire,he typed in something on his PDA, and nodded and smiled at the representatives from Warmaster as they made their way out of the conference room.

Over the sounds of the footsteps echoing down the marble hallway floor, the Aide then looked the Representatives waiting. They seemed to be professional military men in the way they held themselves.

"Are you the gentleman from Agrandov? The Executor will see you now." He called out.

Mr. Doon nodded sharply at the question, reaffirming it with an authoritative "Indeed, sir." His accomplice Mr Wipton merely smiled, as indicated by each corner of his moustache rising. He was basically a spectator in this transaction, but he knew it wouldn't hurt to be amiable. Agrandov was trying to improve it's relations with the nations of Gholgoth, despite the fears of the troubled Emperor, and so envoys were attaching themselves to as many outings as possible in order to build up goodwill.

The military body guard Corporal Parsons waited in the lobby without instruction, taking a seat and making a note of the building's interior. Mr. Lee followed the others into the meeting room, still carrying the second rifle case. Introductions were made, and Mr. Doon coughed politely as everybody else made themselves comfortable, and then handed his rifle case to Mr. Lee. The Overwatch Inc. employee set this to one side, and then placed the first case on the large desk present with a brief "Excuse me, sir" to the Executor. He and Mr Doon remained standing. He spoke.

"What we have here with us, Executor, is the K28 Automatic Rifle. It is without a doubt the finest general-purpose small arm in existence, and it is produced in Agrandov by Overwatch Incorporated." He nodded to Mr. Lee, who opened the first rifle case to reveal a K28 with a medium barrel and two empty magazines. Ten or so dummy rounds to demonstrate the compactness of the 7x50mm CTA were present, as Mr. Lee lifted the rifle easily and inserted a magazine. He pulled the charging handle back sharply, getting a clean yet mechanical sound from the rifle. "It has a standard 430mm barrel and a 30 round magazine in it's most basic configuration."

Mr. Lee quietly demonstrated the controls of the rifle and the folding stock, whilst Mr. Doon reached for the other rifle case. This one contained two more barrels, one of 350mm and one of 520mm, and a range of interesting attachments. He showed the contents of the case to the Executor. "As you can see, the K28 can be fully customised for any role at the squad level. With the bipod, sniper scope and long barrel the K28 is an excellent DMR capable of sniper and counter-sniper operations. It can also be turned into an LMG, a SAW, a special forces carbine or a combined-arms weapon with the 40mm grenade launcher."

Mr. Doon closed the attachments case, and Mr. Lee put the rifle away. "I am sure that you are a very busy man, Executor, and so we won't take up any more of your time. This rifle and the attachments will be left here for you to have a look at, and we have an additional 100 with us in this country should you require a batch for testing. Is there anything you would like to know?"

Shijin took out a rifle once more, going through all the motions that an ex-military man would know. He looked at all the mechanical points that an expert in firearms would look. Amidst the surprised glances of the men, he smiled and returned the rifle to its casing.

"I was a Lieutenant in the Trisagion Army for a few years. The weight and feel certainly seem too match your claims. I feel its best that the Executor knows what hes putting in his soldiers hands."

"I will gladly accept the rifles for testing with a platoon. And really my only question is, what sort of timetable are we looking at for 50 Million Units?" Shijin asked.

"Fifty million units could be built and shipped from our factories in Agrandov in six or seven years. However, we have around three million units in stock that could be sent immediately, and there are several nations producing these for their own use. It is possible that we could buy some back, but this would be more expensive than producing them. Producing the rifle costs $650 just in terms of materials, but this can fall to around $500 when they are manufactured in bulk like this. There is an additional fee of $150 on each rifle you produce, and a $5,000,000 fee to purchase the plans and designs necessary to make the K28. Rifles from our existing stock will cost $1000 a piece, not including the barrel - which goes for between $300 and $400 depending on length - and rifles brought in from third-party nations will cost the same. I have a catalogue here of the attachments for the rifle, these can be produced in Tersanctus following a simple fee."

Mr. Doon appeared reflective, searching within his own mind as he made sure nothing had been forgotten. Satisfied, he smiled vacantly as Mr. Lee put the rifle back into the case and left it with the other case beside the desk. Mr. Doon enjoyed his job; he got to visit interesting places, meet interesting people, and sell them interesting items for whatever task might be at hand. The current task of course was the defence of Gholgoth, something he was willing to aid given that he had a family in Agrandov. His companion Mr. Lee had no such obligations; he was simply born for the PMC sector. Mr. Doon looked towards Mr. Wipton, not knowing much about him beyond the fact that he was with the Ministry of War. Mr. Wipton had slept for the flight over, and from his demeanour Mr. Lee guessed that the return plan was the same.

It was clear that the meeting was close to wrapping up, although Mr. Doon sought a decision from the Executor regarding payment and time frame. Getting the weapons faster would increase the cost dramatically, but the normal rate of manufacture would be painstaking in comparison. Mr. Doon was not concerned over which option the Executor picked, as his commission for a sale like this would be colossal either way.

Shijin was doing the calculations in his head and looked to the side of the room.

"How about we split the difference? Your nation produces 25 Million units, and I will purchase the plans and produce licensed copies, making 25 Million myself. That way while the units I produce will be a bit more expensive, but the money will go back into my economy. Secondly, cost is not as important to me as is timetables. Will this proposal reduce the timetable to a five year plan?"

"I assume it is $850 per unit for export from your nation, not counting attachments. So for those alone it is...21 billion 250 Million. Hehe. You gentlemen are lucky that I just spent an amount of money far more Grandiose then that. For the local versions, were looking at 25 billion for 25 Units, as that falls under the licensing agreement you have, at 150$ paid to your government for each unit produced, but most of that 25 Billion stays in my nation."

"I will have my military advisor's sift through the required attachments, as I have no idea what the quantities of each we would need is. But I can certainly tell you that my favorite variation is the Commando. It reminds me of some missions we had, and the wargame paintball match we had with Drakonian Imperium. Let me tell you, a paintball hurts just as much as getting shot with body armor."

Shijin looked around the room for a second.

"Gentleman, we have a deal. It looks like this deal will end up costing around 30-50 Billion dollars, and I think that is an excellent price for such a superior weapon. First, I shall have that platoon test out the weapons, it should take no more than two days, as my own manufacturers and scientists will inform me of its capabilities and applicable strengths to the battlefield. My payment shedule proposal would be 10 billion per year for the next five years to help offset the shock of immediate spending, with any and all subsidies and import fees, and of course the up front fee of $5,000,000 for the production licenses, and the additional costs of the attachments based on the amount we order, that alone might raise the cost to nearly double, but what good is a Grenadier, with no grenades?"