Steel and Fire
01-04-2009, 01:23
Political succession in the Republic of Steel and Fire was an interesting topic, almost like a sporting event. News stations covered assassination attempts and coups and rated them as though judging contestants on a game show. Bets were taken on how long any one leader would last once coming to power. It was all very entertaining and done mostly for show; while Presidents came and went, sometimes very often, it was an open secret that real power was concentrated in the Council of Twelve, which not only organized all the competing factions, but ensured that they had more to gain by following its rule than not.
The Council of Twelve itself it seemed could never be ousted, not least because it had the support of the military, which was sufficiently large and powerful as to be present in almost every aspect of civilian life: branches of the military sponsored universities, hospitals, public transportation networks, and all sorts of things that very little money had been set aside to deal with by the official government. But it hadn't foreseen that it did have a significant weakness, and that was a weakness from within.
Lady General Milena La Grenouille was one of the Council of Twelve's senior members; she'd served the RSF faithfully for about thirty years (although nobody was willing to ask the exact length of time, because, you know, that's just not polite) and was regarded as a valuable, if somewhat less active, member of the council. When she started a small company called Steel and Fire™ Private Military Contractors, which provided limited escort, combat, and logistical support for various operations using ex-military personnel, it was looked upon as a personal whim.
A few days of embezzlement, market plays, and rather questionable maneuvers later, all strategically timed while the Council was recessed, La Grenouille was in unilateral control of the country. It's inaccurate to say that she led any kind of coup d'etat. Instead, she bought it, for $475 trillion, with money administrated by the Council of Twelve, which she, as a member of the Council of Twelve, had authorized the use of. (You see what I mean by questionable maneuvers.) When the Council adjourned again, General La Grenouille politely informed them they were now S&F PMC's Board of Directors, having contributed the majority of the funds to its creation. She sent not-so-polite letters to all of the government officials working in the building, letters consisting mostly of the admonition to leave the building. Then she announced a few changes in the system.
The other members of the Council listened, unimpressed (and in many cases quite furious), even after they heard about their salaries.
Official Announcement
Greetings! We are Steel and Fire™ Private Military Contractors, a new corporation created on the foundations of the former Anarchist Military Junta of Steel and Fire. As a market-oriented company, we offer products and services in a variety of industries, providing client-focused, win-win solutions and seeking new paradigms in a shifting global economy. On behalf of our over 9 billion employees, I welcome you to seek out Steel and Fire's services, created by skilled, trained professionals in their chosen fields.
As private military contractors we can provide millions of soldiers, thousands of aircraft and naval ships, and an unspecified number of nuclear missiles for rental or hire, and our core employees are fully trained military professionals on par with those of any national military in the world. However, we do not only provide military services; far from it. Among our industries are arms manufacturing, automobile manufacturing, trout farming, retail, gambling, door-to-door insurance sales, uranium mining, information technology and many others, all staffed by hardworking professionals operating under subsidiaries of our umbrella corporation.
We also have currently 13 billion shares of stock issued, in addition to those currently held by our Board of Directors. We urge investors to buy now, as a forecasted economic upturn will soon make them a luxury. Shareholders with a billion shares are eligible to sit on the Board of Directors. Governments may not purchase shares. No individual may hold any more than one billion shares. Other limitations may apply. See your broker for more information.
Gen. (ret.) Milena La Grenouille
Chairman and CEO
Come on, you know you love nationwide megacorporations, even if you pretend to think they're boring and overdone and totally unrealistic. :P Anyway, this is a crack at running one the way a real megacorporation might (in theory) work, not as an all-the-positives-and-none-of-the-downsides "unstoppable war machienz".
The Council of Twelve itself it seemed could never be ousted, not least because it had the support of the military, which was sufficiently large and powerful as to be present in almost every aspect of civilian life: branches of the military sponsored universities, hospitals, public transportation networks, and all sorts of things that very little money had been set aside to deal with by the official government. But it hadn't foreseen that it did have a significant weakness, and that was a weakness from within.
Lady General Milena La Grenouille was one of the Council of Twelve's senior members; she'd served the RSF faithfully for about thirty years (although nobody was willing to ask the exact length of time, because, you know, that's just not polite) and was regarded as a valuable, if somewhat less active, member of the council. When she started a small company called Steel and Fire™ Private Military Contractors, which provided limited escort, combat, and logistical support for various operations using ex-military personnel, it was looked upon as a personal whim.
A few days of embezzlement, market plays, and rather questionable maneuvers later, all strategically timed while the Council was recessed, La Grenouille was in unilateral control of the country. It's inaccurate to say that she led any kind of coup d'etat. Instead, she bought it, for $475 trillion, with money administrated by the Council of Twelve, which she, as a member of the Council of Twelve, had authorized the use of. (You see what I mean by questionable maneuvers.) When the Council adjourned again, General La Grenouille politely informed them they were now S&F PMC's Board of Directors, having contributed the majority of the funds to its creation. She sent not-so-polite letters to all of the government officials working in the building, letters consisting mostly of the admonition to leave the building. Then she announced a few changes in the system.
The other members of the Council listened, unimpressed (and in many cases quite furious), even after they heard about their salaries.
Official Announcement
Greetings! We are Steel and Fire™ Private Military Contractors, a new corporation created on the foundations of the former Anarchist Military Junta of Steel and Fire. As a market-oriented company, we offer products and services in a variety of industries, providing client-focused, win-win solutions and seeking new paradigms in a shifting global economy. On behalf of our over 9 billion employees, I welcome you to seek out Steel and Fire's services, created by skilled, trained professionals in their chosen fields.
As private military contractors we can provide millions of soldiers, thousands of aircraft and naval ships, and an unspecified number of nuclear missiles for rental or hire, and our core employees are fully trained military professionals on par with those of any national military in the world. However, we do not only provide military services; far from it. Among our industries are arms manufacturing, automobile manufacturing, trout farming, retail, gambling, door-to-door insurance sales, uranium mining, information technology and many others, all staffed by hardworking professionals operating under subsidiaries of our umbrella corporation.
We also have currently 13 billion shares of stock issued, in addition to those currently held by our Board of Directors. We urge investors to buy now, as a forecasted economic upturn will soon make them a luxury. Shareholders with a billion shares are eligible to sit on the Board of Directors. Governments may not purchase shares. No individual may hold any more than one billion shares. Other limitations may apply. See your broker for more information.
Gen. (ret.) Milena La Grenouille
Chairman and CEO
Come on, you know you love nationwide megacorporations, even if you pretend to think they're boring and overdone and totally unrealistic. :P Anyway, this is a crack at running one the way a real megacorporation might (in theory) work, not as an all-the-positives-and-none-of-the-downsides "unstoppable war machienz".