Tyler

He tried to hide it, but Joseph couldn't help but display confusion and embarrassment on his face at Primera's greeting. He was decidedly not used to women being so... touchy... in this way anyway. Even so, he took a seat beside her listening to her question, which forced him to pause in contemplation before he dared answer. "Oh, do feel free to share." he settled on responding, "I am quite interested. Well, provided you are referring to the intrigues of the political world, as I suspect you are." It was well enough, he preferred not to have to explain in full his motives for being here. Indeed, his motives might not be welcome to many, were they to be voiced aloud. Primera's offer of "gossip" was a preferable direction to take the conversation in any case, as it kept the subject off him and allowed him a better chance to learn about the Grand Kommandant herself, and anyone she was willing to speak of. And while the term "gossip" did not necessary carry the best connotation, there was no way what Primera offered to share could be any worse than what Abigail's horrid aunt speaks about whenever anyone is foolish enough to listen to her. @Aleksei

It had indeed been a busy couple weeks for the Grand Executor. News of the debacle in Misral had been disappointing at first, since it all be ended Mia's chances of taking back command of her house and restoring its martial power. House Uldwar was now disgraced completely (though it had been well on the road to that point already), and what was left of it was no longer to have any usage, military or otherwise, to Norkotian interests. That is, except for one thing... Oil. Before his sudden exile, Oscar Uldwar had begun the process of establishing oil wells deep in the jungles of his island. And Uldwar had not yet even scratched the surface of their full potential before Mia's efforts to tap the volcano for energy had all but obliterated the island, leaving much of the jungle burned to the ground, and much of the fresh water toxic and unusable. Some of the wells had likewise been damaged or covered by lava, though the skeletal remnants of the pumps still stuck out of the ground to mark where they had been. Drilling through the hardened lava would just be a matter of waiting for the lava within to cool and harden, though, if one was still willing to explore that option. Mia had been willing to offer the Norkotians a chance to take over partial management of the wells, in exchange for their expertise... But as it turned out, Godric Uldwar was willing to sell the wells over to Norkotian interests outright! And after the volcanic eruption had damaged several of them, and left House Uldwar in a desperate state, the terms of the sale became even more favorable to the Norkotians. In a swift move, BlackBlood Energy, revitalized under the new management that had taken over after the previous leadership's unceremonious departure (including the CEO's assassination), bought all the fields in one fell swoop. Already, surveyors and drillers were on their way by boat, though the hope was to also clear off a section of of the newly formed lava field for an airstrip as well. Though BlackBlood was once again a private entity, having been fully released from the government strings that were attached during its tremulous transition of power, the presence of Norkotions on Misral meant that Joseph Tynes was making progress in the goal he had set when he first set foot in Ursa Madeum. However, the pending oil rush was not the reason Joseph Tynes had come to Ursa Madeum this time, but rather it had been to attend the funeral of the late emperor, though he had elected to stay when he learned of the noble meeting. His own interests in the islands would most certainly be influenced by the results of this meeting, and though he wished he could sway the decisions being made, he did not yet have that level of power here. Abigail Karradeen, despite the importance of Norkotian trade to her house, remained a very independent individual, and she would not be told what to do by a foreigner like Joseph was (much less a man of commoner birth). He could only hope her interests continued to align with his own. In any case, his arrival at the opera house was a bit later than he desired, but still with plenty of time before the meeting itself adjourned. His advisor, Diric Redbridge, had also made the trip to the islands, but he was spending most of his time seeing to other matters. Joseph found it best not to pry on that matter, at least not until they were back in private quarters and away from prying eyes and ears. Instead, the Executor arrived accompanied only by his two bodyguards, as well as one of Abigail's men, the gravely Squire John Dicken. Dicken was there mainly to watch over his liege from the balcony, just in case things got unruly, and thus he was a poor conversation partner. Instead, Tynes looked over the other options, scanning the occupants of the balcony to see if there was anyone he wished to make acquaintance of. The Grand Kommandant had seemed a frequent visitor to Ursa Madeum events, and as she was important foreign ruler, she seemed someone he should probably introduce himself to at some point. Waving his guards to give him a little space, though they still trailed him fairly closely. Stepping up slightly to Primera's left flank, but generally keeping his gaze down at the assembling nobles below, he waited until the woman and her bodyguard had concluded their quiet conversation before he spoke. "Fascinating how the proceedings of these islands always seem to draw so much interest, isn't it?" he said in a good-natured tone, giving a pause in case Primera wished to reply, "I'm sorry, we have not yet made acquaintance. Joseph Tynes, Grand Executor of the Norkotian Union." He extended a handshake as he spoke, though he also offered a brief nod just before. @Aleksei

I had an NPC with that name once too! One of my friends had a character named Paul Bearer (which was a reference to a WWE personality, as a lot of characters were).

No no no, you keep your green on Corinth. The surface of Misral is nice and clean now, perfect for some resource exploitation. 😉 I mainly mean oil, but I'll take the toxic chemicals too.

@Dolor Aeternum I think the idea was Xavier was supposed to get arrested by a different cop, rather than the off-duty guy. That way it wouldn't appear suspicious for the off-duty guy to just show up randomly, as the cop arresting him would have been out on a normal patrol and caught him in the act of a legitimate crime, and thus there wouldn't seem anything suspicious about it. Or at least that's what I think we were gonna do. I thought Supes mentioned that as the idea at some point. 🤔 Though, honestly the result is the same either way, so I don't think it actually matters. 😎

She had arrived donning her fanciest uniform, one which had been carefully crafted to accent her feminine beauty, while yet still displaying the practical, business-centric nature of her house. It had always been something Abigail Karradeen took seriously, the desire to remain the epitome of a noble lady, yet still carry on the naval, merchant traditions of her forefathers. Had this event been social, she would have worn a dress, as any noble woman ought to, but this was a political meeting, and thus she appeared dressed for business. Her smallsword was sheathed at her left side, her pistol holstered on the other, while her hair was carefully styled and and braided in a way that kept it out of her eyes, but as always, remained ever befitting of a noblewoman. The two had arrived before her were likewise noblewomen, or one was at least. To Abigail, Aveline Singlance's nobility and femininity were both questionable at best, completely illegitimate at worst. But at least for today, she had to be regarded with passable respect, or at least recognition anyway. Varda Hildebrand, on the other hand, was worthy of her attention, thus she was greeted by Abigail first, in the traditional and polite way. The greeting granted toward Aveline, though not impolite, was decidedly less elaborate. A simple head nod and a "Lady Singlance." in acknowledgement of her presence, then Abigail moved on to taking her seat. She was located directly across from the point between the two other women, to her right was to be House Mythal, to her left, the embattled House Uldwar. Neither representative had arrived yet, however. The empress was present however, and playing on a piano in the corner. Abigail was uncertain why though. Maybe Rozharon was merely bored and passing the time until everyone had been assembled, or perhaps she was trying to convince the others of her "humanity" by playing an instrument, thus hoping to convey an appreciation for the arts and a sensibility for music. The Lady Karradeen did not allow either reason to impress her, even if she appreciated the music itself. There was no reason not to at least enjoy that aspect, for music was music, and the motives behind it mattered little. @vielle @notmuch_23

April 20th, 597… It was on a bright, sunny spring day, wedged between weeks of intense wet season rainfall, that the Grand Executor, Prime Minister, Chairman of the Council, and numerous other Union leaders gathered on the shore of Sidereal Lake. The first of the new frigate class, dubbed the Protector, was christened that day, to considerable fanfare. The ship had been completed well ahead of Tynes’s one year deadline, thanks largely to the efforts of the refugee workers whose expertise had been invaluable. A diesel-powered vessel, the Protector was equipped with four individually-mounted five inch (bore) guns, along with numerous smaller weapons. Mountings for torpedo tubes or depth charge launchers existed, though the technology was still being tested and was not installed yet. Numerous other parts of the ship were likewise designed to be fitted with weapons as new technologies became available. This upgrade-friendly concept was one of the primary reasons Joseph had selected the design, as it meant the vessel could be kept in use far longer than it the other designs would. A second ship in the line, the Defender, would soon begin construction, but of more imminent interest was the much larger aircraft carrier that was being assembled in the new facility, just a few miles to the west…

October 23rd, 597… It took more effort than he hoped, but at last Joseph Tynes had gotten his warships to the production line. In order to increase capacity, a second shipbuilding facility would be constructed on the west end of Stahlberg, not far from where the current facility was located. The existing facility would be renovated, as it had not seen use since the launching a lake freighter (laker) for iron ore shipping about eight years prior. But the real kicker was how the missing labor would be supplied. Norkotia itself had a population of barely over three hundred fifty thousand, many of whom were already employed thanks to job creation incentives the government had been investing in over the past half-year. Restoring and expanding Norkotia’s shipyards needed a considerable number of people, people who weren’t available. At least, until Tia was destroyed. Suddenly, there was a massive influx of homeless, sometimes penniless, refugees, most of them willing to take any job that would give them a chance to provide for their traumatized loved ones. Thanks to agreements with Veluriyam and other interested parties, the Norkotian Union would receive almost three hundred thousand refugees, nearly doubling its population in an instant. Many would be settled in outlying territories, creating immigrant towns that would survive on farming or mining, but many of these people were industrial workers as well, and their skills and experience were wasted in the fields. Despite considerable reservations, the council was pressured into not only accepting the refugees (though with some provisions and limitations), but also approving Tynes’s shipbuilding proposals, now that the labor was more than spoken for. And it was all thanks to something Joseph Tynes had learned many years ago, before he ever set foot in the political sphere. Never let a crisis go to waste.

October 12, 597... As it turned out, the disaster in Tia was limited to that city alone, though its scope within the city was considerable. Terrorists, belonging to a criminal organization known as “The Dead”, had detonated bombs in several key locations of the city, before releasing a toxin into the water system. The toxin caused many of the people in the city to go mad, killing one-another in insatiable bloodlust. Battles between interloping remnants affiliated with the Legion of Doom were also spotted in the city, but they appeared to be working as much against The Dead as they were local defenders. When all was said and done, the city was rendered uninhabitable, with a massive loss of civilian life. Hordes of refugees flooded into camps outside the city limits, some soon going off on their own to make a life elsewhere, others waiting for help from an increasingly absentee Terran Imperial government. Help would instead come from numerous other sources, such as the Terran-based Veluriyam Empire or the foreign Datsuzoku Dynasty. However, perhaps unexpectedly, help also came in the form of the Norkotian Union.

October 11th, 597… It was a Thursday night, and Joseph Tynes was enjoying the final quarter of a football game when the call came. “Excellency, I have just received word from my agents in Tia. There appears to be a major incident underway. Do you wish for me to assemble the general staff for debriefing?” Prime Minister Diric Redbridge wasted no time on pleasantries. “What sort of incident are we talking about, Diric?” Tynes droned, his mental energy focused mainly on the game right now. “Based on the initial reports, it looks to be on the level of catastrophic proportions. The entire city could be lost by tomorrow morning.” Diric replied. This drew Joseph’s attention away from the game. He had no way of knowing yet whether this was an isolated incident in Tia, where he knew Diric had spies embedded, or whether it was part of a continent-wide campaign. Either way, it was a major enough event that it warranted his full attention. “Notify the staff, put military forces on yellow alert, and prepare for my arrival.”

October 7th, 597… “Sir, the council has concerns about our ability to construct the naval warship designs you proposed. The facility exists to perhaps produce one of these, but it has not seen use in some time. They feel the deadline you set for completion is impossible.” Joseph had anticipated that there may be a few hurdles to overcome first. The timeline was a big sticking point, as he wanted these ships complete and in the water within a year’s time. However, the current estimates indicated that it could be as long as five years before they were all complete, thanks to the lack of facilities, works and materials. That would not do. While he already some plans in motion to deal with this issue, Joseph Tynes could not anticipate the unexpected boon he would receive from a disastrous event that would occur just four days later, several thousand miles away…

By noon, Joseph had already separated the viable proposals from the nonviable. Various factors had to be considered, not only including performance, but also expense and difficulty of manufacture. Ships needed to be able to be produced quickly, but also efficiently, what with the limited resources and manpower currently available. While he wasn’t an economic expert, the proposals had been laid-out in a way that he could easily compare them without having to be an expert in every technical aspect. He resumed his regular tasks after lunch, giving himself more time to think about the remaining proposed designs. By evening, when the time was approaching for him to retire for the night, he brought himself down to four designs. One was a frigate, small enough to be laid down in the lake, but large enough to also be used in the open sea. The other three designs were carriers, or rather, they were what would be considered escort carriers in a proper navy. But since they would be laid-down on Sidereal Lake long before Norkotia could secure a coastal port on the ocean, that meant they had to be smaller and more maneuverable. He slept on the decision that night, but by the time he reached his office the next morning, he knew which proposal had his preference. Signatures were placed the two designs, and a formal request to fund the construction of one carrier and two frigates, to be built and launched into the lake, was drawn up. This would be delivered to the council for approval, as funding still needed to go through them. Joseph Tynes was confident they would ultimately make the right decision.

October 3rd, 597… “Sir, the proposals you requested for modernized naval vessels have arrived for your review.” Joseph Tynes looked up from his desk, which was covered in various proposals, requisitions and other forms, all piling up steadily since the declaration of the Norkotian Union mere weeks ago. The job of building a military from scratch was not as easy as he hoped, since there were many, many logistical obstacles to overcome. However, being able to review actual military designs and proposals made the tediousness worth it. The request for naval designs had been submitted even before the military was declared, as Tynes wanted drafts ready for when the day came. Numerous engineers and shipbuilders from the coastal cities were asked to submit proposals for diesel-powered, military-focused warships, and now some of the results were ready for consideration. “Clear my schedule for the rest of the morning.” Joseph grinned, as he took the folders from the officer, “I’ll be busy for a while.”

Not to sound impatient, but my undiagnosed OCD demands I scratch this RP off my active list soon, so what is our outlook on final posts here guys?

"Likewise." Diric answered Rozharon's greeting in his typical emotionless way. "Yes, it is a great honor." Kessler added in a far more flattering tone, "I regret not inviting the late emperor to our embassy either, but I had hoped to do so once the last of the renovations was complete. In either case, consider yourself formally invited, your majesty." Though the embassy had been in working condition for some time, continued additions and repairs were ongoing, as the necessary materials became available. All that remained was a reliable source of electricity, though when such a thing was to arrive in Andelusa was still uncertain. In any case, Joseph couldn't help but notice the empress shift her gaze shift to his mechanical arm, hidden beneath sleeve and glove though it was. Whether she could sense the absence of organic matter in that space, or whether she simply knew from stories and rumors about the amputation, he was not sure. Either way, she promptly inquired about the incident that had occurred some months before, when he, Diric and several members of House Hildebrand had been viciously attacked by assassins. They had since been identified as agents of the mainland terrorist organization known as "The Dead", though the hunt for the perpetrators themselves was still ongoing. "There has been progress, yes." the executor answered the question, "Though there has been no arrest of yet. Minister Redbridge has been overseeing the search and could give you a more detailed explanation than I." "Correct. I have been directly overseeing the effort since the incident occurred, and we have been able to pin the origin of the attempt on the group that calls themselves The Dead. The assassins themselves were sloppy, as two revealed their faces to us, while the third not-so-subtly outed his own employer. They made further error by sailing out of Gold Harbor, meaning House Karradeen had records of their ship's name, captain and dates of arrival and departure. I have it on good authority that our investigators will have more concrete results soon." "And then justice will be delivered, rest assured." Joseph concluded in a seething tone. In truth, he felt largely responsible for the incident, as the Hildebrand's had been within his vehicles, under his care and protection, and it had nearly cost them their lives. As it was, Varda had come down with nasty illness from the poisoning, which Tynes had only just recently learned of, while Jasper has lost a hand just as Tynes ultimately lost an arm. That suffering was on him, on his decision to go sight-seeing without a full escort. Had they done that, the attack might not have happened, or had it done so, it likely would have been defeated far more quickly. It was a mistake he would not repeat, and a debt of guilt he hoped to somehow repay. "Regardless, I believe it all the more reason to be concerned about the continued deterioration of order on the mainland." he began to move the subject along, "The Dead is also responsible for the catastrophic events in Tia; and regardless of whether Norkotia and Veluriyam's involvement in relief efforts there influenced the attack or not, we should consider these terrorists an enemy to be rooted out and crushed. It is a subject I believe would be worthy of the Alliance's attention, when next the council comes into session." @Csl