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Post by Sophie on Dec 18, 2020 16:17:34 GMT -5
Makoto Minorin, the foreign diplomat assigned to represent Kumosenkan in Koi, was leaning her head out of the window of the embassy building. The cool winter wind reminded Minorin of her days as a destroyer captain, though she longed for the smell of sea salt in the air. She allowed herself to reminisce, she had already finished her work for the day, she remembered catapulting her ship forward into the heart of a Galran battle group. Their cruisers were being obliterated by Kumosenkan heavy armor-piercing shells, but the Galran battleships had remained untouched by Kumo steel. A shell from their flagship had detonated the magazine of a Kumo heavy cruiser. Minorin made a call to set her ship to full ahead and swerved back and forth dodging incoming shells. Her main battery obliterated a Galran destroyer that attempted to continue to screen for the capital ships. Within minutes Minorin's destroyer was within 10 kilometers of the Galran battleship. She fired off a volley of torpedoes, perfectly predicting the path of the beast. Six of eight torpedoes exploded against the hull of the ship. The boom of the simultaneous explosion still resonated in Minorin's heart. She smiled, remembering the view as the ship split in half and sunk into the depths of the ocean.
Her longing reminiscence was interrupted by the jarring ringing of her office phone. She sighed and made a note to chew out her secretary before picking up the phone and placing it to her ear. "Makoto Minorin's office, Minorin speaking."
"This is Emissary Ninomae Kyou from the office of Empress Reitō Doku Kumo. Please hold for the Empress."
Minorin's heart skipped several beats. If she were hooked up to an EKG a nurse would've reported her as dead. She didn't react in time to address the Emissary before she could hear the line transfer. "Captain Minorin-kas. I hope this isn't an inconvenient time. Do you have a moment to speak?" This of course was not a genuine question. If the Empress called you, you had time for her, even if you were under live fire from the enemy.
"Of course Empress Doku-Kama I am honored. How can I serve you?" Her voice quivered slightly, she had never felt this anxious in her life. Her mind raced to try and think of the reasons the Empress would contact her so directly. Am I being fired? Having I done something wrong?
Before she could spiral further, the Empress spoke up again. "I'm pleased to hear that Minorin-kas. There's a new project underway as a result of our alliance with Ulster-Gaelia that I have taken quite an interest in. Though I fear it would put a strain on our fuel reserves. I need you to negotiate an increase of our Staol purchases by twenty-five percent. Though our reserve is quite strained as I know you're aware. I trust that you'll negotiate a favorable deal for Kumosenkan. You have my full authority and trust. Don't let me down, Captain."
The line clicked and hummed with an incessant dial tone. "The Empress is a busy woman.." She laughed awkwardly and sat in her chair placing the phone against her forehead trying to shake off the nerves. It took her a few minutes to collect herself. She placed the phone to her ear and began to dial the Koian Ministry of Friends. The phone rang for a few seconds before a secretary picked up and introduced themselves. "Hello, this is Makoto Minorin. The foreign diplomat from Kumosenkan. I'm calling to set up a meeting to alter the amount of Staol Kumosenkan is purchasing."
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Post by EpicToaster1 on Dec 19, 2020 2:01:34 GMT -5
The sleek interior of MiniFriend would be similar to the interior of many of the other Ministries; waxed white, orange, and black tiles, horizontal zig-zag painted walls, large fluorescent lights shining brightly and illuminating every corner of the building. The secretary would be sitting at their desk, feet up as they expected yet another uneventful day. It's rare they get something, and most of what they get is just staol orders or other trade deals. As the phone would ring, they'd lazily grab the receiver, picking it up and answering. "Ministry of Friends, reception speaking." They'd listen to the woman on the other end of the line. "Yes ma'am. I will forward you to the corresponding ambassador." They'd set down the receiver, rerouting the line to another phone.
Elsewhere in the Ministry, another phone would ring, a man picking up the line. "Office of Ambassador Abraham Orav, Department of Staol Transportation." His office had the same flooring and wall patterns of the rest of the building. However, it had halogen lights instead of fluorescent, giving the room a warmer orange light rather than the harsh white light of the main lobbies and hallways. He had an L-Shaped Desk made of glass and metal, stacks of papers on one side and a single packet of papers he was currently working his way through on the other, a green pen and a red pen sitting neatly to the side. He had a well-worn "Best Dad" mug on his desk, filled with coffee that has long since gone cold as Abraham had buried his face in his papers. Next to it was a glass of water, nearly empty. The report in front of him was half finished, and on the floor next to the desk was a stack of twelve reports he'd been working on since getting into the office.
Ambassador Orav would listen to the request of the foreign ambassador, before nodding to no one in particular. "We can see about doing that. Would you prefer to meet at your embassy or at our Ministry?"
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Post by Sophie on Dec 21, 2020 21:23:21 GMT -5
Minorin looked around her office. It was decently put together but it was nowhere near ready for any sort of meeting. She had locked herself in there to be alone and work for the past day and it not only needed to be organized, and cleaned, but it needed to be purged of the smell. "At your ministry, that I believe would work best for everyone. I can be over there this evening. If that doesn't work I can clear my schedule for your earliest availability."
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Post by EpicToaster1 on Dec 21, 2020 22:53:05 GMT -5
The Ambassador would look around his own room, then back to the massive stack of papers. A light tapping of his pen against the desk could be heard barely through the phone.
"Yeah...Yes, I can do this evening. We'll arrange for your pickup, unless you otherwise have a preference of using your own transport."
After receiving her answer, he'd nod to no one and end the call formally. He'd stamp through the paper he was working on, turning to the more stacks next to him. He'd take half of them, moving them into his filing cabinet labeled UNFINISHED, before sitting back down to finish the other half before the Kumonian would arrive that evening.
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Post by Sophie on Dec 21, 2020 23:34:59 GMT -5
"Pick up would be preferential." She answered, and continued to finish the call professionally. She hung up the phone and quickly stood heading out of her office. She didn't have to wait for long for the car to pick her up and it was only a short ride to the ministry and from there she was professionally escorted to the Ambassador's office. "Ambassador Orav-Kan. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice. I am Ambassador Makoto Minorin."
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Post by EpicToaster1 on Dec 21, 2020 23:42:14 GMT -5
Abraham would be standing in the lobby waiting for her. He'd smile, bowing briefly to her before shaking her hand.
"Welcome Ambassador Minorin. Pleasure to have you. Follow me." He'd lead her back to his office, a large cushion already set up by his desk for her. "Please, have a seat." He'd move around to his side, sitting down after she does.
"So you mentioned you wished to talk about altering your imports..." He'd grab a stack of papers he had set up and places them in between them, the papers, some pens, his mug of freshly brewed coffee, and the half-full glass of water the only things on his desk. "...What in particular are you looking for?"
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Post by Sophie on Dec 24, 2020 15:24:54 GMT -5
"I'd like to work out a deal with you to increase our staol imports. However, with the rising costs of transports, I'm not sure we could make a favorable deal with the prices being what they are. I'm hoping you're willing to work with me to find a deal that works for both of us." Minorin answered directly stating her cause. In her eyes, the Koians are no-nonsense business people, and it's best to get straight to the point.
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Post by EpicToaster1 on Dec 25, 2020 9:53:07 GMT -5
Abraham would think for a moment, looking at the papers before him. He'd then look over at the wall, a large map of Ouhiri with all transport routes shown and their costs. He'd stand up, walking over to it.
He'd point to the CIE-Kumosenkan connection, pointing out the massive costs incurred at the CIE and exchanging to the boats. There would be a sticky-note next to the line connecting the CIE and Kumosenkan with something written in Koian on it.
"The biggest issue is with the Confederate Insectoid Empire. Because of their desire to have every member state have its own transit cost, along with the cost of transferring to ship, this makes it the most expensive but fastest route. If you want to just decrease the overall cost, but increase the shipping time, we can take this route..." He'd trace along the route from Koi through Nevarra, Amali, Premna, and Orthoria. "...This route is slower because there is more track to cover, but it's significantly less nations that have to be passed through. However, there is still the exchange cost at the ports." As he'd point out the route, another sticky-note would be apparent along the line between Orthoria and Kumosenkan, also scribbled in Koian.
He'd turn back around to Minorin. "However, we have come up with a suggestion if you'd like to hear that would eliminate the transfer cost."
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Post by Sophie on Dec 26, 2020 19:39:08 GMT -5
"The CIE has always been distrustful and even hostile towards us. I'm not surprised they're causing such issues regarding staol transports. I'd be thrilled to hear what your suggestion is." She answered quickly, not quite sure what the Ambassador had in mind.
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Post by EpicToaster1 on Dec 26, 2020 23:51:19 GMT -5
"To counter the cost of transferring from the trains to the boats, and then back to trains or trucks or whatever it is Kumosenkan does when the shipments reach your shores...right here," he'd point to a line on the sticky-note that was between the two closest points of the CIE and Kumo, "we can make a tunnel under the water across this point, which will allow the trains to continue all the way through, eliminating the costs of boats. As well, over here," he'd point to the other sticky-note between Orthoria and Kumo, "and if you don't mind extra shipping time, this tunnel, while longer, will help to eliminate several more costs of going through each of the CIE and the transfer costs."
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Post by Sophie on Dec 28, 2020 21:21:54 GMT -5
"This is a very interesting proposal. A tunnel would not only reduce costs it'd also free up a ton of our transport ships. As well as savings on fuel. The only downside would be the massive initial investment. A tunnel of this size would be a massive engineering marvel. Would this be a joint operation? Or would it be up to Kumosenkan engineers to complete the tunnel?" Minorin asked drawing a line from Orthoria to Kumosenkan with her finger.
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Post by EpicToaster1 on Dec 28, 2020 23:58:59 GMT -5
"It would be a joint project. We will likely foot most of the bill, with a request of a slight increase in the cost of staol to go through until the investment is repaid and it will return to normal costs, likely. I'd need to speak to the team about it for what the full plan is with it, but I know some of the basics of it. If I recall, the request was for the tunnel to be a hundred and fifty feet beneath the sea floor, this way any issues won't cause a leak into the tunnel immediately. However, with either, we will need to get approval from the other side, and we can only build one at a time, as we don't have the industrial capacity to spare while we repair our mines from the war still."
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Post by Sophie on Dec 29, 2020 0:35:10 GMT -5
"Kumosenkan can foot most of the industrial capacity. We can repurpose the technology we use for our submarines for the tunnel. Hopefully, that will give it the strength it needs to stay steady if anything goes wrong and prevent any leaks. As well as we can offer training in Kumosenkan damage control techniques to repair any damage to the tunnel. Though I'm afraid we're not exactly in contact with Orthoria to garner that approval. Are you able to handle that?"
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Post by EpicToaster1 on Dec 29, 2020 1:06:27 GMT -5
"Then we should be able to get it done. I think the timeframe for this tunnel was...about five months. However, we may be able to cut it down with some experimental techniques we've got some looking into right now. As for Orthoria, we will look into getting that heakskiit. Would your Empress allow for such a tunnel to be built allowing for a direct line to the mainland? It would only be a train tunnel at this time, but it's still a connection Krelan has never had."
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Post by Sophie on Dec 29, 2020 4:00:16 GMT -5
"It will be a hard sell to convince the Empress. The separation of the ocean has always been our shield. In the best-case scenario, she allows construction to allow for trains and maintenance crews and everything and everyone going in and out is inspected fully." She of course knew that wouldn't be the extent of the security measures taken, but she thought better than to continue to speak on the topic. "If you can show me hard numbers that prices will significantly improve upon completion of the tunnel, I know I can get the Empress to agree to the tunnel."
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