The Pearl and the Junta (Franerre-Orthoria)

[callmedelta]

Jacques sighed, looking over the folder before him. The latest stats from the Ministry of Commerce and Prosperity weren't good. Projected income from trade with the Commonwealth of Granuras and the direct Ashigawan investment helped to put the Franch economy back on track after the Venezjan Flu had begun to rear its ugly head, but they only did so much. The Lusatian deal had gone through, thankfully. The newly imported electronics had yet to prove their worth, but the MCP assured him they would pay off. Even looking over the projections if the deal with Eleria went through, it still wasn't up to pre-shutdown levels. Something more had to be done. Poirot's eyes turned to the map of Ourhi on his desk, looking it over. Nobody on Touli, save Eleria and perhaps Kaireil, could afford to invest in Franerre. They were already exploring the Elerian option, and Kaireil was too tied to Gaelia for Jacques' tastes. Looking off Touli, the Director quickly scanned past Kumosenkan, Amali, and Gaelia. Investments from the Aegis Pact were unlikely to go anywhere. Galra was a no-go after the Fifth Staol War. The URRV and CTSS were socialists, but Franerre was on good terms with the CTSS after helping to liberate them from Galra. Jacques filed that thought away for later. Jacques didn't trust the Syndicate, either. One isn't supposed to deal with the devil, after all. Koi was still rebuilding after the war. Jacques was loathe to ask for help from Rombarda, give them any more ammunition against Franerre in the COG. Help from Nevarra was an even worse option, bad memories of Franerre's colonized days. They still might be necessary evils, though.

Finally, Jacques eyes settled on a small spot on his map. The Orthorian State. He racked his mind for what he knew about it. An unstable military dictatorship, former Kingdom, but that was all he remembered off the top of his head. Jacques stood up, walking towards the small file cabinet in the corner of his room. Opening it up, Jacques took out the files labeled "Orthoria." Back at his desk, Jacques looked at the files. 'This, I can work with,' Jacques thought. An unstable military dictatorship wasn't his first choice of source for foreign investment, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

---

Ambassador Claude stepped out of the plane onto Orthorian soil, still a bit apprehensive. The Director had explained his plan to Claude, and it had even been approved by the King himself, but Claude was always skeptical. Information about the inner workings of Orthoria were abundant, but accurate information about it was in short supply. Depending on who you asked, Orthoria's problems were either limited to a few fringe groups who were nothing to worry about, or the whole state was a house of cards ready to collapse. Franch information put it somewhere around the middle of the spectrum. The Ambassador himself ascribed somewhere closer to the latter category, but he wouldn't let his assumptions cloud his judgement when we went into the meeting.

[omega]

The ambassador could already see that his arrival was awaited, an Army officer waiting beside a car, as well as multiple other soldiers waiting near a truck with discipline holding them upright. Upon noticing his arrival, though, the officer approached the man, saluting him before electing to speak. "Ambassador. Welcome to Orthoria. The Vozhd is waiting for you in his office. Please, follow me." The man spoke firmly, yet with a friendly tone in his voice, put on a good first impression. He soon took his seat in the car, the driver waiting for the Ambassador to enter as he gave the order for the troops to re-enter the truck which they used to escort him. Of course, any security the ambassador brought along could either use the same truck, or another one which was waiting nearby, just in case.

[callmedelta]

Before following his Orthorian counterpart, Ambassador Claude looked back to the plane, waiting. A few moments later, a shorter woman appeared from inside, wearing a military uniform. Sargent Hilda now in tow, the Ambassador entered the car, with Hilda in the truck. Once inside, Claude said, "Just thought I should let you know that I came prepared." The man reached into his suit and slowly pulled out the grip of a pistol, enough to show it off, but not enough to threaten the Orthorian Ambassador in any way. "I probably can't take that to see the Vozhd though, can I?"

[omega]

For a moment, curiosity washed the officer's face, before a rather satisfied grin replaced it. "You can't, obviously. Though" He began, offering Ambassador Claude a firm handshake. "You are the first ambassador to have more than a bodyguard with them. Lord knows a gun can help in any situation." He smiled, ordering the driver to begin their drive toward the government offices, which they did shortly thereafter. The drive itself wasn't long, though it did show the Ambassador that the country was slowly but surely recovering from the disaster of 1928. Alas, not all scars could heal themselves fully - a glimpse of a hanging present, red letters barely visible. Though he wouldn't be able to read it, the Ambassador, if he knew the country's recent history, could make an educated guess as to what it read.

[callmedelta]

"Tell me," Claude asked on the drive, "How is life in Orthoria nowadays? A military convoy seems like a bit much for a short drive to the government offices. Unless, of course, you simply consider me that important, in which case, I'm flattered." Claude chuckled.

[omega]

"That is a question I'm not able to answer." The officer replied, retaining a neutral expression throughout. "Not because I'm not allowed to, mind you. It's just difficult to put into the right words. Most people live like they used to, bar the political violence that happens from time to time. Nothing the police and the Army can't take care of." He stated, the offices slowly coming into view. Claude had one more chance to ask a question before they were to disembark.

[callmedelta]

"I suppose I'll just have to take what you gave me, then," Claude said. The Ambassador made small talk the rest of the ride, but didn't ask any more big questions. Once outside the offices, Claude waited for Sargent Hilda to dismount from the truck, the pair then entering inside.

[omega]

Once the two were finally inside, they could see that the inside of the offices weren't too lavishly decorated as they were during the old Regency. Though, they did instead look like a military base, to a small degree, what with officers of different ranks walking about. With the Ambassador expected, however, one of the other officers approached them and beckoned for them to follow - right to the Trade Minister's office. "Any weapons you might carry are to be put on this table." He said, pointing to the table next to the Ambassador and his aide. "You can retrieve them after your meeting with the Trade Minister. The Vozhd will unfortunately be unable to join. His replacement during this meeting will be Admiral Lysenkovich. He'll be late, however."

[callmedelta]

The Ambassador pulled the MM-1911 from within is suit and placed it on the table, followed by an extra magazine from the same place. Hilda followed suit, taking the MM-1911 from the holster at her side with the two spare magazines, as well as retrieving a small knife from her boot. Now disarmed, the Ambassador walked into the office where the Trade Minister was, his bodyguard standing respectfully outside the door. "Bonjour, Minister," Claude said, "I am Senior Ambassador Claude Riegan."

[omega]

The Trade Minister was sorting a stack of papers upon the Ambassador's arrival, the older man respectfully rising from his seat and offering a hand for Claude to shake. "An honour to finally make your acquaintance, Ambassador. I am Trade Minister Boris Ponoramenko. Please, take a seat." Boris beckoned, sitting down only after the Ambassador was seated, a smile forming on the elder man's face. "I hope your trip here was a pleasant one."

[callmedelta]

"The trip was fine," Claude answered, "I hope you day has been pleasant as well." The Franchmen sat his briefcase on the table, opening it up and taking out a folder, though he didn't show the contents to the Trade Minister yet. "Do you know when the Admiral will be arriving? I would rather start the meeting with him here, but 'time is money,' as they say."

[omega]

"I am glad. And indeed, I had a pleasant day." He eyed the folder that Claude took out from his briefcase, silently clearing his throat. "The Admiral should be arriving in a few minutes, at most. We can begin some talks, though. He will understand, trust me."

[callmedelta]

"Well," the Ambassador said, "Let's begin then. My offer will be of particular interest to the Admiral, so I'll begin with what Franerre seeks. First, Franerre is going to be modernizing her military soon, and we would like it done as fast as possible. Our current factories can only produce so much, however, which is where you step in. We would like for Orthoria to help finance the construction of arms factories in Franerre. Second, we would like to see the reduction of trade barriers with Orthoria, namely import tariffs on Franch goods."

[omega]

"An interesting proposal. I am certain that the import tariffs can be lowered, given that our economy no longer needs high import taxes." He paused, quietly pondering about the previous proposal. "As for the financing of arms factories, hm... it would depend. I would be in favour of it, but you'll have to present something in return to the Admiral and myself - we might certainly approve, but the Vozhd would want something, a guarantee, if you will, that our trust won't be misused."

[callmedelta]

"Well," the Ambassador said, looking down at the watch on his wrist, "I had hoped the Admiral would be here right now, but I won't keep you in suspense for too much longer." Claude paused for a moment, thinking, before beginning again, "Passing Franch trade ships and planes have seen the deconstruction of several Orthorian drydocks at various stages, and I certainly didn't see any new ones being built in their place. Building any ships would take ages with your lack of facilities, which is where Franerre makes her entrance. As a part of this deal, Orthoria would gain the right to hire Franch dockyards to build ships for them, with prices to be determined when they are built. Currently, the deal only allows for you to purchase up to a certain tonnage of ships, up to destroyers, though I see no reason why this couldn't be renegotiated if this venture proves advantageous enough. In addition, if you were to invest in Franch weapons production, well, it would only make sense for you to be able to taste some fruits of that labor, no? Orthoria would also be able to buy weapons from Franerre, again, with prices to be discussed." The Ambassador then handed over the manila folder to the Trade Minister, showing a preliminary draft of such a treaty.