Imperium - Nordisk Diplomacy

[Mogar]

With tensions cooled, briefly at least, Kazuko's next goal after Pacific Security was Arctic Security, the Nords had worked with the Imperium in the great war, and while communications had been lacking since then, it was time to change that.

 

 

To: Nordisk Rike Department of Foreign Affairs

From: Office of the Empress, East Asiam Imperium

To Whom it may concern,

It has been many years since our governments last spoke on a formal level and with the world around us finally awaking from its slumber and returning to activity and the tensions that so frequently come with that, I would like to correct my own inaction. We are both nations with large Arctic holdings, and with the turmoil in France, I may soon require alternative friendships within Europe. The late King Karl Gustaf had worked with me to ensure that our world did not fall into the darkness that was caused by the Romanians and British, and his name will be forever honored within the War Memorial in Tokyo Bay.

We have recovered internally and reports upon my desk suggest you have not been able to do so as successfully. I would like to meet with your leadership to discuss how the Imperium can assist in that recovery effort. I also believe we may have long term interests that together we can ensure come to fruition.

-Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Hoshiko, Sovereign of  Japan, Joseon, and Aisu-shō, Daughter of Amaterasu, Prophet of Takamagahara, Guardian of East Asia, Protector of the Pacific, Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers, Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown, Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure

 

[Lysergide]

Diplomatic Reply from Nordisk Rike

 

We in the Rike are glad to hear that a nation that we fought besides in the "Great Cleansing" has recovered. We would be honored to host a delegation within the Imperial Palace of Stockholm, and during your trip here you may find your sources incorrect on our ability to recover. As far as for discussing anything else, we do not feel that the channel we are communicating in is the best form to discuss anything else, as you may never know whom is listening.

 

-Krigsherre Ragnar Jarn

[Mogar]

The Mitsubishi Hayabusa containing the Empress took departed from Tokyo, flying over the Arctic to Stockholm, another capital that experienced the fires of nuclear weapons and managed to rebuild.She read over possible subjects that would come up, namely the tense relationship between the Rike and France. She was certain other subjects would come up but such was diplomacy.

 

Empress Hoshiko, two of her handmaidens, and a platoon of the Empress's Guard would finally arrive in Stockholm. They had been briefed regarding proper attire, and all of them would wear the necessary gas masks. Empress Hoshiko had alternative methods of filtration but elected to wear the mask anyway, unformed appearance with those she traveled with would send a better message after all.

[Lysergide]

The East Asian Imperium's Jet would make a safe landing at the Stockholm Airport. They would be taxied to a filtration platform which would be connected to a parking area where the convoy was that would transport them to the Imperial Palace. They would be given more than enough time get themselves set up for exposing themselves to the outside environment. They convoy was heavily armed due to the person's that were representing the EAI in their diplomacy with the Rike. At the front and rear of the limo's that were waiting to transport the Empress and her people to the Imperial Palace were Stridsvagn 122's. They would depart as soon as everyone was loaded into the vehicles and they would make their way to the Imperial Palace.

 

On the trip over to the Imperial Palace many building projects could be seen underway, as well as the mass efforts to return to the air to breathable in Stockholm. There would be huge areas of dirt that had been dug up to get rid of the radiation, and the city had been slowly rebuilt around the old roads that once existed before the nuclear attacks. It was the stubborn tenacity of the Nordisk people to rebuild things exactly as they were, and to rebuild exactly on where the nuclear weapons had struck. They would overcome any disaster and rebuild in the same spot out of spite. The other sights they would see would be the heavy militarization of the route they were on.

 

The route had been chosen slightly out of the easiest route to protect the foreign dignitaries, and as well as the ease in which to show off a little bit of the Rike's Military arm. Rows of tanks would be seen through the gaps of buildings rolling in the same directions as the convoy, and on the side walks could be seen marching in perfect unison Infantry of the Rike's Armies patrolling the streets.

[Mogar]

The Empress and her entourage had prepared for the environment so delays were kept at a minimum. The armored escort was an interesting choice, but from her intelligence reports it would likely be merely for show, the Nords had maintained an iron grip upon their population, well disciplined civilians did not cause terrorism after all. The Nordisk stubbornness was noted and respected by Kazuko, reminding her very much of her own, certainly a subject she would discuss when they finally arrived. Her Palace had been reconstructed no less than three times, each time a restoration of the Meiji Era design, with the only modifications being enhancing the structures defensive capabilities. It was strange, she almost felt like being at home.

[Lysergide]

The Convoy would swing into the Palace grounds and swing around the semi circle to bring the convoy straight up to the steps that led into the building. As the convoy rolled to a stop, Nordisk Soldiers were there already opening the doors for the Empress and the personnel that the Imperium had sent with her. They would go first through a chamber in which filtered out the polluted air, and allowed for everyone to take off their gas masks, and enter the main building. They would be escorted down the hall past a cleric that was busy directing other people on where they needed to go. They would be led down several halls until the reached a security check point. The Guards there would request they surrender all fire arms temporarily before they would be given permissions to enter into the Krigsherre's personal office. They would be allowed entrance once they complied with the orders.

[Mogar]

The architecture was a bit strange, but the plainness of the structures made sense with the defensive nature of the country, the entourage would follow the Nordisk soldiers into the building, moving a bit quickly as gas masks made everyone a bit anxious besides Kazuko.  Finally able to breath air normally, Kazuko inhaled deeply and then let out a quiet a sigh, free of the mask. The level of discipline living like this would bring to a society though, the Nordisk civilians must be better trained than most country's military, a reality she could respect. Guards would give up their weapons, the Empress however would not give up her sword. 

 

 

She would bow her head to her counterpart gracefully as a sign of respect, "I have only been in your country a short time, but I can see we have very similar resiliency, I am highly impressed with the level of discipline your civilians must show on a daily basis."

Edited January 9, 2015 by Mogar

[Lysergide]

The Krigsherre would stand up from behind his desk and walk over to the Empress bowing in respect to her culture before extending his hand to shake hers with a soft smile on his face. "It is a pleasure to meet you Empress Kazuko. I am glad you liked our city and the tenacity of our people to rebuild and prosper. I can only imagine it will only be a couple more years before the radiation will be full cleaned up, and we won't have to wear the gas masks anymore in high pollutant areas." He would extend his hand to some seats that were already in front of his desk, as well as some others for her staff to sit in around the room. "Please have a seat." He would return to his side of the desk sitting in his chair before pulling it up close to the desk. "So what do I owe the pleasure of the Empress of  Japan of this visit. I imagine something important or you wouldn't be here yourself."

[Mogar]

The Empress's bodyguards would stand near the doors along the walls, the two hand maidens taking up standing behind her, awaiting even the slightest of gestures to provide her with what she wished "We stand together as two of the more courageous of the victorious coalition of the Great War. I have never been one to pay back a debt, and now we are in a position to provide that to the Rike. Most nations in your position before hostilities began would have simply stayed neutral, that would have been an easier option and provided the Rike to have remained unharmed. Instead of choosing the easy route however, you joined the coalition I assembled and fought against the vast armies that stood to strangle the Baltic, Europe, and potentially the world.

You're correct I did not come all this way just to reminiscence over our victories together, I did have several subjects of importance to discuss. I assume you are well aware of the unrest brewing within France. I would also gather your nation realizes that the Imperium and France have remained allies for decades now, and that I have a personal stake in ensuring the LaQueu regime remains in power. Of course, I realize your government may still hold reservations towards their family after the unfortunate events that transpired with Jeanne's other sister, but her death in the plane crash over Prussia should have worked to heal some of those wounds. Securing the support of the Nordic Hammer for my own nation's potential actions to... expedite the unrest towards resolution is of importance to me."

 

Without moving her gaze she flicked her wrist towards the hand maiden upon her right, a world map appearing almost immediately, she placed it on the table, the territories of the East Asian Imperium, The Soviet Union, and of course the Nordisk Rike were highlighted, displaying their near total control of the Arctic region. "At the same time, if you will pardon my directness, I do hate flowery language in these sorts of meetings. We realize that such a thing could simply be handed over freely, and I believe that I can offer several things in exchange.

 

The first is obviously that we're both Arctic nations. I have made movements and secured the Pacific Ocean from surface fleet incursions without the Imperium having full knowledge and an ability for reprisal. Achieving a similar plan with the Arctic would mean neither of us, nor the Russians would have to worry about a future threat from North America. With the continent restoring itself back to life, both of our nations have strategic interests to hold early warning against such an unstable continent. In addition, I can make certain that Empress Tanilee does not act against the Rike or Nordic Hammer's interests."

Edited January 10, 2015 by Mogar

[Lysergide]

"I suppose it will be easier for me to address everything one point at a time. The Rike doesn't feel that anyone owes us a debt in that war, it isn't something that we do. We support our allies regardless of the fact. However our government and our people do not feel that we were a part of your coalition. The feeling is that we joined as a whole separate entity and got dragged around the world to put down the wars. But as far as the people we fought having a stranglehold on the Baltic, I can confidently say had we not gotten involved in the war, we would have remained relatively safe."

 

He would stop for a moment as one of his aides came in with glasses and ice water for every to drink, offering one to each person and giving them each a drink. Ragnar took a sip of water before continuing. "France is a very peculiar situation. We have interests in getting involve however we are not sure at this time which faction truly represents what the French want. We have already taken action to gather as much information on the matter before we intervene. The Princesses death was very unfortunate and many within the Rike are still saddened by her death, it is rather unfortunate that the French Media spread unfortunate lies on the situation and caused the rift between our two nations. It was largely inexcusable. However as you may very well be aware of the current political standings within Europe, you must realize that we benefit most from a weaker France, regardless of whom is in power. Our military intervention will be to put a friendly Nordisk Rike government in power in France. It would be of course for our own personal gain. However I doubt I will see the rest of Nordic Hammer get involved initially, a couple may join after but probably won't be there for the first push."

 

He would take another sip from his water before leaning forward with his elbows on the desk. "As far as Arctic Security is concerned, I would be willing to hear your proposal on the matter. Though I cannot make any promises on the matter, considering Nordic Hammer has heavy interests in the Arctic, and considering it is very difficult for a surface fleet to use the Arctic as a passage way, the only real defense you would need to set up would be Submarine. And to be quite frank, we are the leaders in that field."

[Mogar]

"From my perspective, Europe is somewhat balanced at the moment, between the Nordic Hammer and the rest of Europe. I can understand your perspective of believing that a weaker France but think you should consider using their strength rather than ensuring they are against you afterward, since there will be common interests and enemies if Europe continues to be the powder keg it has been as of late. I think having France that is in your debt and then on your side ensures any potential threats are put down, as well as potentially removes them from the equation should you need to put down Alvonia. The French Media had frequent yellow journalism, and after my discussions with Empress Tanilee I believe they may finally put an end to such libel after the dust is settled. I can 

We have Radar facilities dotting our own territory, together with your own intelligence assets, and through our mutual ally in the Soviets, we'd have total vision of our northern reaches. I won't beat around the bush, collaboration between us will ensure that we have one less direction to keep careful eye on, and that's in both of our benefit. In regards to your current recovery, We have soil cleaning technology that can increase the pace of removing the irradiated lands within your territories, as well as cloud seeding to help restore the environment. I realize the distance between us limits our ability to assist one another in a realistic time frame, but we are going to be working towards bringing the Trans-Siberian Railway to a much more... modern standard, halving the time it takes to get from Busan to Moscow."

[Lysergide]

"A weak France doesn't necessarily mean one that has a weak military, it means a France that won't stand up to the Rike, or will tow line with what the Rike wants. The only way that Europe will return to a normalized state of Peace and Security may be under the military guidance of the Rike. It seems that in the wake of the last war not enough blood was shed and people are still willing to cause issues. Really the only issue to Europe is the Economic Security Pact. What they are and what they represent don't largely effect the Rike and most of Nordic Hammer is unaffected by it, but their stranglehold on the Mediterranean certainly seems to be causing issues currently. While I have faith in what my ally Northlands is doing, the other parties threaten trade routes, and that means the private sector of the Rike, that only exists as an export market would largely suffer from having these routes cut."

 

He would put his index fingers from both of his hands while the fingers were intertwined up to his mouth with his eyes closed for a second before bringing his hands down and opening his eyes. "Which the issue of trade routes being cut off is a present danger from the East Asia Imperium by control of the Pacific. But this is hopefully something we can work forward to eliminating the concern for Trade Routes being cut off, especially considering we sit on a very important prospect with the melted Arctic Ice Caps, one that we both can gain immense profitability off of. It is of course my largest concern to be interested in Arctic Security." He would would trace a line between Northern Scandinavia and Svalbard and trail it along the coast of Northern Asia and back out between Asia and Alaska. "The Ice Caps are melted enough that this route is finally a viable option for year round trade, and considering we plan on keeping it open with Ice Breakers we don't see the issue there. We plan on keeping our side free from any costs of trade route shipping, and we would implore you to do so as well, since this new route would change how the world trades, and would put the Rike and your home territory of Japan as the trade centers of the world." 

[Mogar]

"I question why you feel France would stand against you, what exactly do you plan that France would get in the way of? They have stood as the main proponent of peace in Europe for quite some time now, and the LaQueu family has remained a steadfast ally of the Imperium and myself for nearly our entire existence. I could not simply abandon them to be used as a pawn by a foreign power. A strong France has served Europe well over the past several decades, weakening her position would only end in another war in Europe, just as had happened last time France had strife. Thus I seek your support in maintaining France's current government, the rival factions are unproven and simply grabbing for power when they have the chance, surely you do not believe they would not betray those who put them into power once their position was secure. The problem with trusting someone who is power hungry is they will never stop hungering.

 

I don't consider the ESP to be a military threat, perhaps an economic one but they do not hold the ability to project out with any real power. I have worked with the Northlands on multiple occasions previously and they tend to be a voice of reason, but the upstart nations I do not hold as much faith in, The Greeks have never been trustworthy. As for our own movements to secure the Pacific, they are merely defensive in nature, the Pacific is the largest ocean in the world, and ensuring that the Imperium and her allies have the ability to react to threats in a timely manner. We've never threatened the shipping of another nation with the exception of terrorist states, and the Rike is certainly not one of those."

 

Looking at the map, she ran a hand over the northwest passage. "We once were forced to securing this route, when we were having our spat with Parthia and our allies in Druk Yul did not wish to see us at war. I believe such an arrangement could be made, do you have specifics in mind for such an agreement?"

[Lysergide]

"It is very simple, a government that doesn't support us always poses a threat. When any one person has the ability to cripple an enemy or someone that you should be worried about it should be taken full advantage of. I believe you can understand this sentiment considering your past, as well as the ability to understand and control your own sphere of interest. We fully intend to support the Nationalists in their bid for control of France. We feel that they better benefit our long term objectives, and would provide us with a stable and loyal ally. What I am lead to believe is that you think France is the end all power house that controls the peace of Europe, however the strength of France has since wained over the years and has allowed for other nations to take the lead. And if they chose to betray us, our retribution would be swift and merciless.

 

As far as Arctic Trade is concerned we now sit in a position where between the two of our nations we control the entire Arctic Trade Routes. With our recent extension to hold claim over Greenland it has opened up the Northeast Passage to fall under our protection, so I think with that addition it might be prudent to extend the protection of the Arctic Lanes to the entire Arctic region, instead of just protecting one trade lane. We allow ships to pass through toll free, and in return we set up respective trade ports on each side of the lanes that would allow for a maximized profit from ships docking at these locations, between revenues that seamen would bring in for getting a chance to be on shore, it would present the opportunity to make the old sea routes to be obsolete. The North is now the new frontier for trade goods, and now would be the time to exploit the vast wealth that is being untapped."