Claiming the Cold South [Closed Temp]

[Kira]

"LAND HOOOOOOOOO!" The Barrelman cried above the cramped cargo ship. Southern construction efforts were already started for the summer season, with the second wave of workers soon arriving. Filled with those from the north and abroad, the steamer would soon dock at Port Carlo, a newly established refueling hub for both the Kumo and Valderan's. A mix of hopeful immigrants, hired workers, and prisoner worker groups would disembark, the air loud with the sound of steam machines manual labor. Foremen were heard in the distance yelling orders at trees were felled, housing built, and foundation for a proper industrial core set. At the center of the settlement, a great borehole was being dug. The cold of the South was harsher on the Mil'Nor than others, and as such a radically new heating system was to be built.

Making use of the recent Staol import, towering reactors were to be placed within these boreholes, providing each eventual home with both the power and heating that was previously only afforded to the rich. The plans had called for a massive investment of both material and manpower, leading the Valderan government to contact foreign newspapers with news of the sale, along with it's own internal reporting services. 
~
"Papers please." Garret said as he eyed the human in front of him. The war had seen him rotated out of active duty, a post to the south ensuring a steady income and easy job for his service. His orders were simple; get a copy of their passport if they had one, or make one for them if they don't. His nine hour shift had thankfully been rather dull, if not tiresome. No one from his unit had joined the now-veteran, with most of the rest of the military stationed here new recruits from the spring. His days had turned to a blur of faces, be he sober at work, or drinking in yet another bar with his earnings. Three had already banned him, and as he handed back the papers to human before opening the gate forward, he considered getting banned from a fourth. A buzzer broke what daydreaming the man could have as another migrant stepped forth to his desk.

"Papers Please"

[StaolDerg]

Expeditions of Elenria were rare outside of the Kumo-held territories in these times, but the diaspora communities of Elenrians, whether they had settled abroad before or after their homeland's annexation, diligently upheld the ancient tradition. Even so, they were few and nowhere near the proud hundreds whose adventures Elenria's libraries had had the honor of recording centuries ago. The noble tradition was now just a remnant- a relic of where they had once come from.

Osina hoisted his bag higher upon his back as he ducked underneath the comparatively dwarf-sized doorway to enter the checkpoint booth, with a Gaelian passport in hand. Neverthless his misgivings, this mission was necessary: He was the first Wanderer of Community Heixiong in a hundred and three years, after all, and without any ongoing Expedition to return and furnish the outgoing, inexperienced ones with advice and training, the community had little choice but to dispatch his expedition in the blind.

By all official records, he was a Gaelian citizen from Eastern Zedonia, and that was the end of it. And by the standards of a tired bureaucrat examining his papers, that was indeed his entire identity: Inselni with deep maroon scales with black flecks, of eight and a half foot tall, and traveling with five others. The fact that all of their papers were forged, was, well, admittedly a bit of a roadbump. He'd chosen Valdera for that reason- not because he knew anything about the bloody place, mind you- but because it looked far enough away from any other big nation in Ouhiri whose bureaucrats might actually turn down a bag of silver.

As he made eye contact with the bored-looking Valderan in front of him, he tucked his wings and handed the small emerald-green booklet over. "Right here."

[Kira]

"Thank you, Elder, I'll have you through in just a moment" Garret replied, the guard taking the offered booklet with a smile as he pulled a cross-reference book out from the side. While his first flip through the passport found nothing wrong, it was only when he doubled checked issuing city that a discrepancy was found. The guard seemed to pause for a moment as he noticed it, a third check being given of the passport before he began to fill out some paperwork alongside. "Per regulations, I will need to know what work you plan to do here, and how long you plan to do it for, Elder. Beyond that, I'll have a new id card for you to carry during your stay here in the Republic."

[StaolDerg]

The inselni had a momentary flash bafflement as the Valderan called him by honorifics, but took it in stride as he watched the third check be given upon the passport.

"I'm here for work," he began, internally hesitant to diverge too much information. "...As a Wanderer, and part of an Expedition."

Good job, he thought to himself. There's no way anyone outside of Elenria or a Community even knows what that is anymore.

He glanced aside, trying to make it seem casual as he tried to think.

"...I'm traveling as part of a group, I mean. We'll be joining the work on the Port Carlo heating construction project as diggers and builders, and remain there until all the work's over."

[Kira]

"Allfather be praised for your arrival then, Elder" Garret said, the guard sliding forth a new id card, food card and housing card for the Inselni. "Once you leave here, ask the guard outside for Commodore Arcus. He'll bring you to the Port's commanding officer. He will want to talk to you, at least to ensure you and yours needs are being seen to during your stay." Garret yanked a lever above his head, the gate into the settlement opening up. "If there is nothing else Elder, enjoy your stay."

[StaolDerg]

Osina stared at the cards, and then back at the Valderan, dumbfounded. Elder? What did the fellow mean by ensuring his needs were taken care of?

Still with a sense of confusion, he took the cards and pocketed them in his dress, bowing to the Valderan.

"Thanks."

He paused as he started out the gate, turning back for a moment.

"I should mention that my expedition consists of five other persons, right behind me in line. Will they be entitled to the same sort of benefits, sir?"

[Kira]

Garret returned the bow before he sat back down and began to prepare the paperwork for the next migrant. His enthusiasm had waned slightly by now, the Mil'Nor sliding back into his daily grind as he prepared for the next entry.
"They shall, along with any special work offers the foremen can offer them. Any other questions will have to be answered by the Commodore I'm afraid sir, I do have a quota to keep"

[StaolDerg]

"Of course, and thank you." Osina hurried out the booth, breathing in that fresh southern air anew. He posted up at a sign only a few meters away from the booth, waiting for the rest of the Expedition to join him before departing.

As he waited thought, a thought suddenly came across his mind, and he reached for his notebook as he remembered his orders to make records of the Expedition.

"Expedition Osina Senyu.

Valdera reached. As of Summer 1932, the checkpoint staff was friendly: I was cleared by the official immediately (who referred to me by honorific(?), and benefits for the Expedition have been promised. Remains to be seen if these promises are concrete."

[aimway921]

Ashinara, being, in the past, a traditionally closed off nation, meant that it's populace had little ability to travel, if any at all. For the most part, such lavishness was reserved for the nobility and the most wealthy of the middle class.

The recent efforts to modernize the nation, however, incentivized it's most aspiring citizens to learn technical, engineering, scientific and other skills, abroad if need be. In Valdera's Staol reactor project, Ashinara saw an opportunity to have her aspiring engineering students to learn more about the energy production machinery.

The, for now, only foreign travel passport issuing center in the Offices of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Kyograd has issued passports for several students from Ashinara's Royal University:

1. Mykolai Paschenko, 32, a veteran Marine of the Tafatu Liberation War, and currently an agent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was there purely for administrative reasons, to manage the Ashinaran student group's paperwork, finances and other affairs that might come up. While not on the project itself, he would be fully sponsored by the Ashinaran government, ensuring he wouldn't just be freeloading on the new settlement's resources. The fact that he's a veteran from the war was selected due to his experience with cold winter weather, thus being able to advice the rest of the group on how not to freeze to death, the Ashinarans being from a tropical region being more susceptible to the cold, as well as an interpreter - as a Marine, he spent some time in Valdera during the war when they were waiting over the winter to commit a Naval strike on Noscovo, and thus picked up a bit on the Valderan language, and kept on learning after he returned home.

2. Boris Hichko, 23, a student of Engineering
3. Viktor Durchik, 20, a student of Mechanics
4. Anatli Fimka, 25, a student of Engineering
5. Kyryllo Likuch, 19, a student of Metal Fabrication
6. Vinneamin Tushkach, 21, a student of Engineering

Paschenko, being the group's de-facto leader, was the first in line, and was the first one to enter the check-point booth. While he had to duck to fit under the doorway like the Inelni before him, it was not as much, as Ashinarans were a little bit closer to the Mil'Nor in height. In his hands he had a faint-purple booklet of his passport, as well as several folded papers.

[Kira]

"Pape-oh, thank you" Garret hastily took the leader's paperwork, the guard keeping his eyes away from the migrant as he started checking for any forgery. He'd pause at the government stamps and insignia, a confused look in Garret's eyes as he looked up from his seat. "...A meeting with the Major will be arranged to dicuss the nature of your stay here, but for the time being you and your lot will be more then welcome." He'd quickly set about entering the six into his census book, handing back needed id and ration cards for initial stay. "I just have to ask, do you intend to stay until the ice hits?"

[aimway921]

"Our group will be here until the Staol reactors are up and running," the old Fox said.

"A meeting with the Major?" He asked, raising his eyebrow?

[Kira]

"Yes. just a formality I assure you." Garret said as the gate forward opened for Mykolai. "If that is the case sir, then you and your group are welcome to our home." The Mil'Nor began to ready his things for the next five entries, processing them quickly once the marine left the interchange.

[aimway921]

Paschenko awaited on the other side of the checkpoint for the 5 of his kinsmen. Smoking a cigarette, he scanned the still in the process of construction city with his eyes. As one by one the other foxes came through, he finished his smoke and looked at his group.
"Well... Now what?" one of the students asked, as they were now all standing there in a new unfamiliar land, with nothing but the clothes on their backs and personal belongings in their rucksacks.

"Let's go get settled in?" Paschenko said, as he began walking toward the town, searching with his eyes. The moment he spotted someone who looked like an official who might help them get oriented, he waved them down. "Ho there!"

[Kira]

Check [Comrades in Arms] wip
Check [Learning from Miners] wip
~
Autumn saw Port Carlo grow into a proper town as it's population had swollen over the past few months. Efforts on the generator had passed initial construction, the staol reactor having finally been installed as efforts began on the outer hull. Land sale and employment offers from the government had only doubled as the the temperature began to cool, with large, hastily constructed prefectures being built for the new arrivals. Dockyard facilities had also improved, with the ports naval traffic tripling since investments began. Tools, material and food was fed by the lifeline of the sea, as the local landscape became dotted with sawmills and mines.

Garret gave a prayer to the allfather as yet another worker exited his booth. His workdays had been stretched to sixteen-hour shifts, leaving the man little time for himself beyond the single day he had off for the week. Having proped his head on his hands, he'd gaze down at the source of his current exhaustion. A forgery written in crayon had been the newest offender in the list of scams the Mil'Nor had found, and as Garrets eyes turned to the clock, he cursed the fact it still only within his first hour of work. He'd hit the button to call the next migrant, the guard readying his things before giving the new arrival a tired look

"Papers Please"

[Kira]

Seated at his desk, Commodore Arcus read his new orders for the third time since he opened the letter. Winter had been difficult for the port authority, with a mix of cave-ins and epidemic's leaving him to request further supplies from his superiors. Their reply had been a scathing criticism of the Commodore's own efforts, reprimanding the man to do better with what they had supplied him. Leaning back into his chair as he placed the letter down, the Mil'Nor's eyes gazed out to the settlement below. Tensions had risen despite recent Day of Rising celebrations, with word of a new alliance with the UKUG worrying the Commodore. Kumo investment into region was needed for the reactor's construction, nevermind the importance the staol supply had been to Port Carlo's survival. Anything had been used to keep warm during those days, with the total darkness winter brought leaving many to fall into a near-manic state. 

As the Commodore took a cigar from his vest, a knock at the door caused him to pause.
"Come!" He said, continuing to go about lighting his cigar as a junior officer came in. The man gave a quick salute to Arcus as he spoke
"I have gathered those I felt we could trust, sir. Forty-three stand ready to operate under your orders alone, twelve of which I'm more then sure would kill the rest if needed."
The Commodore gave a nod in return, taking a puff of his cigar before he turned to the capitan
"Good. Give the twelve some sort of leadership role and set them out throughout the port. Sparrow will give us what we'll need if Her Highness can't be bothered." He said, raising his cigar to the captian as he continued "Just make sure our 'honored guests' continue to see only what they need to, no reason to get something to talk about"
~