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AO Forum :: > Regional Discussion > Land Grab |
Posted by: Hypocria Jul 23 2005, 01:39 PM | ||
Titus Drax, President of Hypocria, didn’t immediately acknowledge the two men he had summoned to his private office in the Republican Palace. Instead his attention was seemingly captivated by one wall of his office, or to be more precise the large map attached to it. It was a map of the entire region recently drawn up by a cartographer from Bedistan. But it wasn’t the region as a whole that dominated the President’s thoughts but rather the two small islands directly south of the Hypocrian coast. He had recently ordered aerial surveys of these islands and the results showed the land to be uninhabited. It was the ideal result. Colonies, that’s what it was all about, the chance to make Hypocria a colonial power. Admittedly as islands go they weren’t much, but land is land and land meant power, resources and money. He turned to his two visitors. “Gentlemen, I’ll cut to the chase”, he turned and gestured to the map. “These islands offer an excellent opportunity for expansion, an opportunity I intend to take. Your thoughts General?” General Baxter, commander in chief of the Hypocrian military, turned back to his leader. “I quite agree sir. Naturally the army would have to secure the land before any colonization attempt was made. We could arrange a full-scale simulated invasion involving all arms of our armed forces. The manoeuvres would do them good. I will begin making plans immediately.” The third man finally spoke. “Your Excellency, if I may?” “Certainly Director.” Maximilian Borada, the Director of Foreign Affairs, cleared his throat. “We can’t just occupy any land we see fit, there are international protocols in place that must be followed. We must alert the international community to our intentions before we make any move.” “Sir, why would the likes of Vilita, Nova Roma or Starblaydia even care about two insignificant islands hundreds of miles from their borders? With bombs going off in Jhanna and icebergs threatening shipping in the north they probably wouldn’t even notice.” “What about the likes of Cockbill Street, Spruitland and Bettia? They may have objections to large-scale military manoeuvres in their backyards.” “Perhaps. But these islands also constitute a threat to our national security. If a foreign power were to establish a presence there all of Hypocria would be in range of their weapons. Occupying the land ourselves would eliminate that threat.” “Excellency, I understand the General’s concern but we have no quarrel with any foreign power at this time but we are liable to create tensions if we start annexing anything that takes our fancy.” The President raised his hand for silence. “By all means make your plans General but the Director is indeed correct. An unexpected military occupation of the islands may be considered sabre rattling and we don’t want to become the next Latao do we?” “No sir.” “Exactly. Director Borada, prepare a region wide statement.”
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Posted by: Lamoni Jul 23 2005, 03:41 PM | ||
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Posted by: Hypocria Jul 28 2005, 05:59 AM | ||
Titus Drax, President of Hypocria, put the phone done and smiled. “President Brooks has confirmed that Bettia has no objections to our expansion plans. Are there any developments from your announcement Director?” “Just one sir. President Stone of Lamoni has stated that he too has no objections.” “So no objections at all?” “None sir.” “Excellent. General Baxter are your plans ready?” The general turned away from the map on the wall. “Yes sir. A taskforce is being assembled and will be ready in the next 72 hours. After that all we will need is your order.” “Good.” The President pressed the intercom button on his desk. “Margaret, call Professor Watson and tell him to start assembling his survey teams. And get in touch with the Department of Commerce; tell the Director I need to speak with him.” He turned back to his advisors. “Thank you gentlemen, you may go. And Director . . .” The Director of Foreign Affairs stopped at the door. “Yes Excellency?” “Send my thanks to President Stone.”
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Posted by: Lamoni Jul 28 2005, 01:56 PM | ||
After reading the note from Hypocria, President Stone gave it some thought, and had the following note sent to Hypocria:
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