Helios

Hahaha. Welcome. New blood is very welcome indeed.

"Excellent, a pact document will be transmitted soon. The British Cabinet will take the offer of military cooperation under consideration and make a decision soon." - Lucas Monk, British Diplomat

It's not god-modding mate. The one rule above all has always been that what you have in-game is what you have IC. If you don't have a Strategic Defense Initiative in-game, then accordingly you have no viable anti-ICBM system IC. Any weapons-related system that stakes a claim to having anti-ICBM capability, AEGIS, THAAD, SM-3, whatever, is not viable for use until you obtain the SDI in-game. You're afraid of being nuked to hell and back with impunity. That's understandable. The solution is not to piss off people who have nukes and, moreover, to gain allies who could possibly help with ballistic missile defence. Again, Asia was a stupid fluke of IC-OOC crossover, with the personalities of the users behind Japan and China clashing fiercely and leading to unrealistic gameplay. I doubt we will observe anything like what happened there for a while to come.

Uh, no we don't. The Asian nukefest was and is not representative of all conflicts present and future. In fact, it's really more of an anomaly given all the OOC bullshit at the time. Nobody teleports their forces all over the place and this isn't HoI3RP. The rules aren't hypocritical, there's no picking and choosing. If someone has nukes and you don't, tough shit.

Oh, hey Buck.

Classified Stage One of Project Thornflower has been complete; the Russian-built missile has been successfully copied and transformed into a new missile suitable for domestic production purposes. The relevant factories have been provided with the designs and will begin production once heavy equipment has been installed. The MoD has also secured contracts with Primarch Munitions to produce a variety of ammunition types at the company's factories across the country.

Richard sat down opposite his French counterpart. "I will be direct and to the point mon ami. The Federation seeks a high level of relations with the Empire, in an effort to work towards establishing better security for both our nations. We believe each of us has much to offer the other, not just politically but also militarily, economically, even culturally..." Winters shifted in his seat and placed his palms on his knees, getting more relaxed. "In short Francoise, we are prepared to offer a trade and finance pact combined with a defence treaty, to enhance the wellbeing of two great countries."

Relief flooded across Lucas Monk's face momentarily, as the news came through that the Mediterranean security force had been terminated. He regained his composure and replied promptly. "Thank you for informing me of such happenings Ms Rosetta." He left it at that; no need for a subtle rebuke that was meaningless with the naval pact consigned to history. "Would your government be interested in establishing a trade and finance pact with the Federation?"

Chancellor Prescott found himself nodding again, almost absent-mindedly, his eyes focused on the floor. He mentally shook himself and looked the Hungarian diplomat in the face. William checked his watch and noted the time. Time to move this along. "I see. Well it pleases me that your country is very close to forming a new, strong government." He finished off the last of the water and deposited it in a nearby floor bin. "My apologies, if you'll excuse me I have some additional diplomatic business to attend to, it's related to something much closer to home. Please remain here for the time being, I'll have the Vice-Chancellor come along shortly and present a suitable treaty format for you to examine. Thank you." William shook the Hungarian's hand quite hard and patted him once on the shoulder before exiting the office and making all haste to his car outside the building.

William stood at the window, looking out across the grounds. The sun still shone brightly as wisps of white cloud swirled lazily across the sky, itself as blue as Neptune and unrelenting in its depth. Behind the Chancellor, the door clicked open and then shut again. The entrant could only be one person. At last. "Arthur," William said as he turned to face the Irishman, "it's nice to finally meet you in person. I believe we have much to discuss." The two men shook hands and moved to sit opposite each other at the desk. Prescott produced a file folder and slid it across the table. It contained some two-hundred pages of detailed documents regarding nothing less than the complete transfer of civil and military control of Northern Ireland to the state of Ireland. Re-unification, in one word. This was combined with an offer of mutual defence and security alongside a very typical trade and finance clause. The move was unprecedented for the Federation. "This folder has all the relevant files. I've personally gone over each and every one of them myself and made any necessary adjustments to ensure that this is the complete package, with no exceptions or exclusions. Please, take a moment to skim it. Would you care for a drink? I believe one of the secretaries here has a stash of excellent coffee beans. Of course, there is bound to be something stronger lying around if that is your preference." The Chancellor's voice remained steady and no emotion showed on his face, except for slight mirth perhaps at his last sentence. He exuded professionalism and the business-like attitude that made him a force to be reckoned with at the negotiating table was showing quite clearly as he pressed into the matter at hand directly. The joviality would come later, when they had gotten through the hard work.

Oh man. Guinness was/is just all kinds of wrong.

Holy shit. Had a feeling LT and RS would come out of this with some kind of victory but not quite like this. o/ LT o/ RS

What issue was so glaring that you decided to accept the risk of being viewed as unreliable and disloyal, and just up and left? You have a significant debt to Guinness, that is why your freedom is undeserved in my eyes.

This RP piece from your forums is !@#$@#$ hilarious by the way:

It would be if what I said wasn't a sentence-long euphemism for your habit of creating and disbanding alliances in shoddy fashion.

This looks very much pre-planned but there is no excuse for executing it smack bang in the middle of open war. Are you guys just afraid of a hard fight or did you have issues with Vosegus? I think it's both.

I'm just happy with the full confidence that if we ever got waist deep in !@#$, nobody would bail. Indeed, I found this particular aspect quite amusing.

Looks like some Guinness nations have already bailed, including their Chancellor of Defense...wow. You know, Knightstripleone, that it is possible to go a week without creating a new alliance.

With the economy slowly but surely recovering, further boosts were observed recently as several domestic businesses showed substantial growth, with subsidiaries granted by the government for small companies and a slightly lower tax rate on the largest ones. Just a few notably prosperous entities that have entered the scene lately include: Primarch Munitions, Thorgan-Müller Aluminium Systems, Novus Drilling, Federal Ordnance, Elysium Heavy Machinery, Altman Shipbuilding Company, Hive Electronics and That Burger Company. Classified Recognising that British naval power was limited in realistically every possible nature, the Ministry of Defence in conjunction with the Navy began a large-scale defence project. Project Thornflower was the name of the effort to install a defensive missile system with response options at designated points along the entire national coast which would be reinforced by a number of small military airstrips for maritime patrol and strike aircraft. First, a suitable missile was needed. No satisfactory domestic option existed so it was decided that an unlicensed copy of a foreign missile would be used: the Russian-built P-700 Granit anti-ship cruise missile. The Shipwreck would be modified to improve its overall performance, with a new rocket motor, improved booster rocket fuel, digital electronics and a new 750-kilogram unitary high-explosive semi-armour piercing warhead. Freshly-constructed Federal Ordnance factories in Birmingham and Sheffield would roll out the new missiles, now designated GCM-17 Cyclone, whilst a factory in Leeds could assemble suitable transporter erector launchers, themselves based on a variant of the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puma_armored_engineering_vehicle]Hunter[/url] combat engineering vehicle. The next stage consisted of setting up specific batteries at launch points around the country. The missile possessed a maximum range of roughly 550km, so the estimated requirement was for four strategic regions, north, south, east and west with three batteries placed in each region, giving coverage over large parts of the surrounding oceanic areas where necessary. Each battery had two TEL systems for a total of four missiles, operated by a ground crew and supported by individual, non-integrated air defence systems. Finally, small airfield outposts under Navy control would be built over a number of months, with each one hosting a small number of navy aircraft. Other military projects were getting under way elsewhere. Project Push Hammer is a Federal Army attempt to establish and develop credible counterinsurgency techniques and tactics by collaborating with civilian specialists, particularly criminologists and anthropologists, whilst the Federal Navy has begun Project Stone Shore which looks at amphibious defence tactics and examines options for additional suitable weapons systems that may be employed ashore. The Navy also recently took delivery of the first of its two new coastal vessel series', the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sa%27ar_4.5-class_missile_boat]Everest-class[/url] Offshore Patrol Vessel and [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_class_patrol_boat]Thor-class[/url] Coastal Defence Boat, with one ship from each class now under Navy control. Heavily classified The Defence Research Establishment and Development section of the government's Deep Science Division has begun work on a black project related to earth-penetrating weapons.

[spoiler]YES! :awesome:[/spoiler] Minister Winters stepped out of the car, thanking the guide as he did so. Another smile widened his cheeks at her comment. "Indeed. Let us hope it is also not a Monday in that far future." A light chuckle followed at the reference to a typical British stigma, then the man followed Aurelie up the steps. Once they passed the guards, Richard thanked the guide once again and proceeded to make his way over to Monsieur Francoise. "Please monsieur, the pleasure rests with me," said Richard as he shook the Frenchman's hand, "I am most impressed and pleased thus far with my trip. Myself and the British Cabinet are of course eager to establish quite concrete relations with your Empire."

William nodded once more as he replaced the offered bottle of water in the refrigerator. "I see. Well I'm sure we can work out those details soon. The Foreign Affairs Ministry will draft a treaty and forward it to your...provisional government. On that point, has there been any further news as to the type of government my country can expect to be dealing with?"

Richard grimaced. Perhaps that question had been best left for another conversation. "Well your government has my condolences," he said simply, his voice laced with tones of sincerity. "I certainly agree with you on how pointless the matter is. It makes one wonder if this is what the grim darkness of the future holds". With that, Richard returned to silence. The car trip was quickly coming to an end, as he noticed it entering a car park attached to a large government building. It pulled into a space and shuddered ever so slightly as the engine was turned off. The Minister waited for Aurelie to guide him on to his final destination.

He had arrived at last. Stormont Estate. Quite possibly the biggest symbol of governance in the history of Northern Ireland. A fitting location for today's events. As the car drew around the Edward Carson statue, a set of barriers lining the main road to the Parliament Buildings prevented it from moving any closer. The Chancellor ordered the driver to pull over; he would walk the rest of the way instead. He needed the fresh air and sunshine anyway. As he walked along the path alone, savouring the lustrous green surroundings and the feeling of hot sun on his face, lashed by the occasional gust of wind, William pondered the day's work. It was all to begin with a meeting of two men, private and away from prying eyes; no prospect of this magnitude could ever begin as something being discussed by everybody even remotely involved. Certainly not if it was to succeed. No, the largest details had to be agreed upon first by the very leaders of these isles. Then the finer details could be approached by the wider scope of personnel. If all worked out well, this was going to be a very long afternoon indeed. Prescott reached the steps of the Parliament Buildings and took them two at a time, full of energy and intent. There were no cameras to greet him, no journalists or lines of citizens waving flags in some hail to patriotism. This critical meeting had been kept under wraps, restricted to only the highest echelons of each country's respective government. Neither side wanted any undue influence or pressure being placed on this event, especially not from the media. Doubtless there would be many a foaming mouth in the North at this but they were simply going to have to finally face the music. And if they chose to do otherwise, well, MI7 existed for a reason. In any case, the relevant announcements would be made at the right time and not before. He burst through the front doors of the building and made his way immediately to a staircase which would enable him to ascend to the uppermost floor. There was a small bustle in the main hall as various aides and secretaries proceeded with their assignments. A small room in the south quarter belonging to a minister, having been cleansed of possible bugging devices and soundproofed anyway, would be used for the initial top-level discussion. It was here that the Chancellor made his way. 12:50. Hopefully his Irish counterpart would arrive soon and the meeting could get under way.

Haha, looks fun. Good hunting Franz.