Gran Colombia, H1/1909

[The Rock Doctor]

Karma...

[Sachmle]

.....it's a bitch.

[The Rock Doctor]

There must be a motivational poster out there with precisely that caption...

[Tanthalas]

He is gona live we all know you cank kill MASTA CHIFE

[Desertfox]

Might their plan backfire? Because IF they are picked up they probably will be too delirious to speak anything but the truth.

[Sachmle]

In the lifeboat, sprawled amidst the sunburned corpses of his four comrades in arms, retired chief petty officer James Farnsworth managed to open his parched lips and croak, "Shit."

I don't think "they" will be saved as it appears that everyone but Farnsworth is dead.

[Tanthalas]

In the lifeboat, sprawled amidst the sunburned corpses of his four comrades in arms, retired chief petty officer James Farnsworth managed to open his parched lips and croak, "Shit."

I don't think "they" will be saved as it appears that everyone but Farnsworth is dead.

thats how I read it to but I still say you cant kill Master Chief come on he takes on Alien hordes single handedly...

[Walter]

You can kill Master Chief... but he keeps coming back to kill some more. :D

[The Rock Doctor]

I figure he's dead; I just don't want to post it and make Tanthalus cry...

[The Rock Doctor]

18 May 1909:  La Prensa Nacional

The city of Cayenne saw history made today as sod was turned to begin construction of Le Grande, the city's first casino/hotel resort.

Local businessman Yves Richer is the project's owner, lauded the project as a key to the city's future prosperity.  "Cayenne's days as a sleepy port are coming to an end.  With construction of Le Grande, I will transform Cayenne into boisterous, lively city - the playground of the Caribbean."

Described as a "Celebration of Glorious French culture", the hotel will feature four hundred guest rooms in a towering twelve-floor edifice, while the adjacent casino will include over thirty gaming tables, private gaming rooms, and an area of Liberty Bells, the mechanical games recently invented in California.  Guests will be able to dine in a traditional French restaurant, or partake in more casual fare at a brasserie.  M. Richer confirmed that French artists were being commissioned to provide paintings and sculptures for the facility's decor.

The immediate impact of Le Grande was evident in the surrounding area.  Once a dilapitated warehouse district between the main ferry terminal and the city centre, many of the elderly buildings are in various stages of demolition or renovation as other entrepeneurs look to develop similar casinos or, alternately, tourist-oriented businesses seeking to benefit from the casino's clientale.

Le Grande is scheduled to open in late 1911.

[The Rock Doctor]

25 May 1909:  La Prensa Nactional

President Rey Alizandro today confirmed the appointment of Senor Ramon Espejo as ambassador to the Naciones Unidas de Suramerica. 

Sr. Espejo is a distinguished entrepenuer, having served as chairman of Espejo Coal Mining Incorporated for fourteen years before his retirement in 1907.  Under his tenure, the corporation saw net profits increase by 143%, and a jump in market share from 13% to 22%.  He called the appointment, "A new and refreshing challenge for me and my family; retirement can be a little too quiet at times, so I look forward to new duties with our friends the Naciones Unidas de Suramerica."

President Alizandro wished Sr. Espejo well in his new assignment and indicated that a reciprocal appointment by the NUS was expected shortly.  The president noted that the appointment of an ambassador had been in the works for close to a year, but that the selection process had moved at a deliberate pace to ensure the proper candidate was chosen.

[The Rock Doctor]

Some time in the first half of 1909:  Cartagena

"Who's this?", PRIMROSE asked, as the small team assembled in an interior office of a building owned by the Ministry of Miscellaneous Affairs.

The team leader, designated THORNLEY, replied, "This is GOOSENECK.  We're borrowing him from Finance."

The other eight members of the team, including PRIMROSE, looked around the table at each other for a few moments of befuddled silence.  Finally, MASCARA asked, "Are we...being audited?"

"Not until the end of the fiscal year", THORNLEY answered.  "No, GOOSENECK is going to help us track down the Swiss fleet."

The remainder of the team looked skeptical; in fact, PRIMROSE had to stifle a laugh.  "And how is an auditor going to do that?", he inquired.

THORNLEY glared at him.  "GOOSENECK is an accountant, not an auditor.  Specifically, he's a forensic accountant, from the Department of Finance's Fraud Investigations Branch."

"We're looking for a secret naval base hidden somewhere in the vast Pacific Ocean", MASCARA noted.  "How does a penny-pincher - no offence - contribute to that?"

"May I?", GOOSENECK quietly asked THORNLEY.  The team leader nodded.  "Thank you.  Senora, I recognize that there is a significant role to be played by whatever traditional cloak-and-dagger means the rest of you are employed in.  That is not my discipline; I go through fiscal records, and look for anomalies.  Are certain line-items receiving atypical amounts of funding?  Is there an abnormal amount of money being spent in a certain area?  Unless the Swiss have been exceptionally cautious, there is likely to be a money trail."

"We don't have access to Swiss fiscal records", MASCARA noted.  Then she added, "Or do we?"

"You are not authorized to know the answer to that question", THORNLEY answered. 

"Ah", MASCARA said.  "Never mind."

PRIMROSE asked, "Sounds good in theory - but what makes you think you'll find anything?"

GOOSENECK adjusted his spectacles and smiled awkwardly.  "Naval bases can sometimes be secret, Senor - but they are never free."

[maddox]

Nice one.   Bravo.
Now the main Q is.
"is there a secret NS base? And do the Japanese know it?"

[The Rock Doctor]

The Colombians obviously think there's a secret base.  Whether they're right is another matter entirely.

[Desertfox]

Interesting. Unfortunately for the poor accountant the Swiss Financial records are a mess, sometimes even I can't make heads or tails of them! The money trail should be there somewhere, only buried quite a few years back. However the finishing of the still secret base at Truk, might send them of into the wrong track, plus quite a few trails branching of into Russia, France, New Zion...

The Japanese most probably don't know. They might be able to deduce it, but very few in NS know, and most of the conspirators don't know about it.