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GC 4Q1901

Started by Borys, March 24, 2007, 12:50:05 PM

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Borys

The Rock Doctor     
Posted: Apr 18 2006, 06:55 PM


Hegemon
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3 October 1901

"Well", President Enrico Alizandro began, sitting down for the day's cabinet meeting. "What's on our agenda for today?" He peered at the sheet of paper. "Ah, yes, what else? The Asian situation. Still peaceful there, I assume?"

"The ceasefire is still holding, although the Middle Kingdom is not very happy with the pace at which the New Swiss are moving with regards to treaty ratification or troop evacuation", Foreign Affairs Minister Torres replied. "Granted, the former should be resolved within the next day or two."

"The market thinks the ceasefire will hold", Agriculture Minister Escalante replied. "Futures are declining on tea and other goods coming out of that area. That's dragging down futures on coffee and cocoa."

"Leading to reduced revenues for producers", Torres stated flatly, giving Escalante a look that might have meant anything.

"And reduced tax income for governments", Escalante agreed, ignoring the look.

Defence Minister Ricardo Alizandro said, "Yeah, yeah. Peace isn't profitable. At least that Agrival guy is still loose. Maybe he'll cause enough trouble that your stock portfolio stays healthy, Jorge." His brother, the president, winced at the blunt analysis.

"He made a lot of people very unhappy with his stunt", Torres noted. "They will be hunting for him."

"Sure they will – but he's obviously got friends of his own. You can't pull off operations like that without an industrial base. That means he has some people in his pocket, and that means he has places to hole up and catch his breath."

A loud knock on the closed door stopped anybody from replying to this statement. Ricardo looked annoyed. "Damned peasant wants to go work on the canal", he growled.

"Quiet, please", Enrico replied. "Enter", he called out.

One of his staff opened the door, marched in, and handed the president two sheets of paper. Enrico grunted as he scanned the first sheet, then cursed loudly upon seeing the second. "You can go!", he snapped at the aide, who wasted no time in exiting. Enrico waited for the door to shut, then threw the papers at the centre of the table. One page landed near his coffee cup. The other glided to a stop beside Minister Torres.

"Our source in the Spanish embassy again. The Swiss have declared war on the Spaniards", the president began.

"Good", Escalante replied.

"I'm not done. The Spanish have concluded an alliance with the Russians. Military, not just trade."

"That would put paid to Cuba", Torres murmured.

"Maybe", Enrico conceded angrily. "We'll stop here. Head back to your ministries and find out what's happening. We'll re-convene later in the week to re-evaluate our plans."

La Prensa Nacional: 18 October 1901

Today the commanding officer of the Armada's Pacific Fleet broke ground on the site of a new fortress to be built just south of San Miguelito.

"It will be a powerful facility, a land-based battleship eternally on guard for the nation", said Commodore Raul Fuentes. "Armed with battleship guns and protected by thick walls of rock and concrete, El Toro will defend the southern approach to the Darien Canal upon its completion."

Commodore Fuentes confirmed that the fortress will be completed late next year, at which point further fortifications are expected to be built at strategic locations around the nation.

At the Culebra Cut, Darien Canal Zone: 25 October 1901

"SLUMP!", somebody screamed, and hundreds of heads whipped up towards the waterlogged slopes looming above them. The warning came too late for those directly below the cascade of mud and rock, but for those on its fringes, such as Guillermo Renaldo, it was a chance at survival.

He didn't know the newcomer working beside him, but just the same, he grabbed the man's wrist and shouted, "Run, damn it!" as the man stared upward. The man stumbled and then his sense of survival kicked in and he took heed of Guillermo's order. Still, it wasn't quite enough to get them clear.

"Stay on your feet!", Guillermo exclaimed between gasping breaths. The grey muck surged around their feet and then in a widening arc ahead of them, growing deeper with every second. A rock bumped into the other man's shin, eliciting a yelp, but he managed to stay on his feet.

Still, it would only be a matter of seconds before running would become impossible and cause them to fatally stumble. "Stop! Stop!", Guillermo shouted again as the mud roiled up around his knees. "Turn yourself sideways! Lean into it! Keep your arms and shovel up no matter what!" They faced the onslaught of sludge, each murmuring prayers. Guillermo chose the Lord's Prayer. His companion stuck with a simple mantra: "Oh God, Oh God..."

The depth of the flow crept up their bodies as they struggled to stay upright against its momentum. Their hips became submerged, and the top of the cool mud drew closer to Guillermo's wide eyes. But as it grew closer and began pushing his straining body backwards, the mud slowed and finally halted, just two inches below his armpits.

He gasped with relief and turned to face his companion. Only one frantically waving forearm was visible – he'd fallen backward. There was no way he could reach far enough to dig the man out before he suffocated. So he did the only thing he could do – swing the shovel over and try to get it in the path of the hand.

Success came quickly. "Pull!", he shouted, not sure if the other man could even hear him, but the hand clenched the base of the shovel with a demonic grip and his exposed body trembled with exertion as he put every last ounce of effort into pulling the shovel.

The suction was tremendous.

The shovel moved slowly.

The muscles in Guillermo's arm and shoulder shrieked with fatigue.

The grip on the shovel was released.

Guillermo wrenched his head around, his eyes filling with tears.

The hand was frantically flinging mud away from a face that protruded just above the rapidly solidifying ooze. Its mouth coughed and wheezed and breathed deeply.

After several such breaths, the hand moved to the nose, picking mud out of the nostrils, and then wiped much of the debris from blinking eyes. The eyes locked onto Guillermo, and he stared back, panting from exhaustion.

"Dig yourselves out and report back to the camp!", a guard shouted at them distantly.
   
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The Rock Doctor    
Posted: Apr 20 2006, 08:57 PM


Hegemon
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La Prensa Nacional: 28 October 1901

With war again plaguing the world, our peace-loving President is thinking about the Darien Canal and its effect on warfare. "In peacetime, the effect of a canal - reducing the distance between nations - is beneficial. Yet in war time, it is problematic, for it makes it easier for nations to attack each other. I am contemplating a directive that would close the Darien Canal to belligerant nations during a war as a means of working towards peace - or at least making war more difficult."

The president noted that canals and artificial waterways presented a different scenario than natural coastlines. "A warship can sail down the coast of a continent in international waters, requiring permission of nobody. A canal, however, is an internal water body, and under the jurisdiction of a government. Should that government permit the use of a canal by warships involved in a conflict, one wonders if it might have to shoulder some responsibility for the results."

When asked if he had conveyed this message to other nations, President Alizandro replied, "I am a firm believer in staying out of the internal affairs of other sovereign nations, so no, I have not done so. Nonetheless, it would not surprise me if the esteemed Government of France were considering how strong a message it would send if he were to close the Suez Canal to the belligerants in the new war."




[Edited to reflect the fact that Alizandro knows who owns Suez, even if I don't]
   
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Maddox    
Posted: Apr 20 2006, 09:38 PM


Hegemon
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OOC

Since the collapse of the Caliphate of Caïro, the Suez canal is in sole ownership of France.....

Currently, New Swiss and the Middle kingdom are declined use of the Suez Canal.

The Habsburgers have asked, and recieved, permission to sail trough this canal with warships.
   
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TurgutReis    
Posted: Apr 21 2006, 02:40 AM


Sultan Abdul Hamid
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The Ottoman Empire has no any attention to the ownership of the Suez Canal.
smile.gif
Unfortunately wink.gif
   
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The Rock Doctor    
Posted: Apr 21 2006, 04:13 AM


Hegemon
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D'oh!
   
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Ithekro    
Posted: Apr 21 2006, 10:28 PM


King of Rohan
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This is the primary reasoning that Rohan wishes to have its own canal in New Beleriand. At present it takes roughly 40 days to get from one coast to another, when with a canal it could be done in two days, allowing for rapid shifts of vessels between Pacific and Caribbean Fleets.
   
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The Rock Doctor    
Posted: Apr 25 2006, 06:26 PM


Hegemon
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Somewhere in the Amazon: 29 October 1901

Ferdinand Sanchez had travelled through the rain forest before, and had gotten somewhat used to the routine: hire some native guides, hire some others as porters, and off you went.

But this...this was not the same. This time he was labouring under the full weight of his own provisions, while up ahead, Padre Batista broke trail with a well-worn machete in one hand and a sawed-off side-by-side shotgun in the other. The priest's backpack was also heavy - with a variety of things Sanchez never thought he would in the possession of a man of God - but food was not among them. The priest had thus far displayed a considerable skill at locating his own food as he went, not to mention the ability to eat and perhaps even savor it.

"When do we enter Brasil?", Sanchez called.

"My son, you asked me this yesterday, and I answered you then: we entered Brasil on Tuesday", Batista answered over his shoulder.

"Did I also ask you what we will do if we encounter policemen or soldiers?"

"You did not."

"So...I'm asking, then. What do we do?"

Batista thought a moment. "You will be a scientist who became lost; I will have rescued you on my way to meet with a colleague." He hacked aside a large frond and stopped. Sanchez took a few more steps before noticing, but came to a halt as well. The priest brought the tip of the machete up to his nose and sniffed. Sanchez looked at him quizically and followed suit. There was a faint smoky aroma in the air.

They resumed walking, more slowly, and soon heard voices - including that of women and children. Batista began to sing, his baritone voice projecting latin phrases that would do nothing more than alert the inhabitants of the camp that they were approaching.

The natives were waiting for them when they entered the clearing. The women and children were present, not hiding, but were screened by a line of men, all wearing loincloths and brandishing spears or bows. Batista's singing ended and he uttered a couple of sentences in a dialect Sanchez wasn't familiar with. A slightly younger man, arguably better dressed than his companions, stepped forward to reply.

The two conversed for a few minutes, then Batista turned to Sanchez. "These people are fleeing from an evil deep in the highlands. That evil has claimed most of their men, and all who could not keep pace with the march."

"We know that. That's why there's tens of thousands of them running across the border right now", Sanchez noted. "Every native we've encountered has said much the same thing. Now, can he tell us something useful about the evil people?"

"He calls them the 'people of the city of blinding light'", Batista elaborated. "They prefer to take prisoners, and sacrifice them by through evisceration, but they do not hesitate to kill those they can not take with them."

"Aren't the local authorities doing anything?"

"I'll ask", Batista said, then turned back to the native leader for another discussion. "He says that the local authorities do nothing, out of fear; he hints at bribery but doesn't outright say so. He compares these people to the venom in a snake bite, quietly coursing outward on a mission of death and misery."

"Very eloquent", Sanchez commented.

"He is quite eloquent. It's regrettable that you can not understand him", Batista agreed. "He tells me that they will seek sanctuary in Gran Colombia, and I've told him that they will have to accept the word of God before they can become citizens. He's going to discuss that with the rest of them."

After a short time, the native leader agreed to convert to Catholicism. Batista proceeded to lead a mass, after which Sanchez handed each of them a small tin disk with a number on it. He said a few perfunctory sentences about Gran Colombia and their duties as citizens and the need to keep those disks to prove their citizenship, all of which Batista translated.

Then they moved on, heading southeast.

"This is where we need to go?", Sanchez asked.

"The City of Blinding Light is in that direction", Batista replied. "That is our destination."





   
NEDS - Not Enough Deck Space for all those guns and torpedos;
Bambi must DIE!

Borys

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Ithekro    
Posted: Apr 25 2006, 06:46 PM


King of Rohan
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(OOC/IC: Playing with the fire that has haunted man and elf since the before the world was broken. Now if just haunts men and fights with the same fire sticks and iron ships as other men. With the enemy every fall forever?)
   
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The Rock Doctor    
Posted: Apr 27 2006, 08:51 PM


Hegemon
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El Sol: 4 November 1901

(Note: El Sol is the Gran Colombian national tabloid, as opposed to La Prensa Nacional, which is more a government media publication...

Shocking news from the court of the tyrant Juan III!

Our European bureau, acting on tips from concerned Spanish citizens, did some investigating into the incident in August that supposedly saw an assassin break into the royal palace, murder a guard, and attack the young king, only to be killed himself at the monarch's hand. It turns out that the truth is actually quite different.

According to El Sol's sources, the "assassin" was in fact a professional trainer, brought to the palace to train the king in matters of self defence, a perfectly reasonable pass-time for a ruler despised by his population. The two were practicing defending against knife attacks when, in the words of one witness (whom we shall not name, out of respect for his safety): "Juan became frustrated with his impotence on the training room floor and lunged at the trainer while the latter was pausing to drink water. The king brutally stabbed the trainer and kept doing so even as his aides and guards attempted to pull him off the mangled corpse."

Apparently, the bodyguard who lost his life merely happened to be the first man to try and intervene in the attack. "He tried to prevent his king from making a tragic mistake, and paid the ultimate price. Juan turned on him and slew him in a fit of rage", the witness related.

Evidently, while the young king may no longer need knife-fighting lessons, some anger management sessions may be in order!

***

So where is dangerous but delicious criminal mastermind Agrival Mars? Our readers in the Ottoman Empire place him at the Sultan's Harem in Istanbul, where he reported spent several hours entertaining six...
   
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Marek Gutkowski    
Posted: Apr 28 2006, 04:39 AM


Hegemon
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5 novembar
Governor of Cuba Ernesto Batista was having a nice morning.He drunked his tea smoked his cigar and eat his brekfast.Then he started reading daily news papers. He looked trou the cuban papers and stared looking trou Gran Columbia yesterday paper he liked to read them that way he know whats happening in his naybour playground.
'La Prensa Nacional' had nothing interesting,to the governor at least,in it so he started reading 'El Sol' when he read the headline his cigar fall out of his mought, he lean foward
"this is not happening"he only stoped reding when his cigar set fire to his pants.
He put out the fire.
"What is I gonna do"He mutterd
Madrit will be furious with him.
   
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Agrival Mars    
Posted: Apr 29 2006, 08:05 AM


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10 november

BANG!

Agrival looked up from the manuscripts he was studying, when Marissa stormed in. By the looks of it fuming and by his taste absolutly attractive! A slight bloss on her cheekbones, eyes alight with anger, jaw set dangerously tense. How he loved seeing her at moments like this, it made her simply irresistable.
Carefull he closed the manuscript and put it aside.
"What's up my dear?" he asked.

"YOU, ASQUEROSO! " Marissa yelled in reply, while crossing the hotelsuite. As she came in front of him, she delivered a full force blow with the newspaper she held.
"YOU HAD TO DO IT AGAIN, DIDN'T YOU, YOU CABRON!!

Touching the glowing sting on his cheek, Agrival looked astonised at Marissa. "What do you mean, doing it again? I've been in this suite ever since we arrived and you know it, so cut the crap and tell me what this is all about." Agrival said in a demanding voice while rising from his seat.

"YEAH RIGHT, IT'S MR. INNOCENT HIMSELF? THOUGHT I WOULDN'T FIND OUT YOU WENT TO THE PRIVATE RESBALON OF THE SULTAN? TELLING ME YOU HAD TO TAKE CARE OF BUSSINESS? BUSSINESS THE PELOTAS WAS WHAT YOU HAD TO TAKE CARE OFF!! WHAT DO YOU THINK I AM A PEDAZO DE PELOTUDO?!" that last thing said, Marissa hit him again with the newspaper *SMACK*.

*SLAP* Agrival replyed with an openhanded blow, knocking her of her feet. "Now, explain this accusation, better make it a good one, my dear." he said in a very soft voice, the tone of it filled with restained anger. "I was doing bussiness, and NOT in the sultans private resbalon, I never came even close to it. Pull a trick like this on me again and I will, with you and when I leave it will be alone."

Refraining from touching her cheek, Marissa handed over the paper. "Page 3, topmost colum on the right."

QUOTE

So where is dangerous but delicious criminal mastermind Agrival Mars?  Our readers in the Ottoman Empire place him at the Sultan's Harem in Istanbul, where he reported spent several hours entertaining six...


Sighing, Agrival sat down, things where never easy, not for him. Looking down on Marissa he said, "Next time, don't get yourself so worked up about the lies they write about me in the papers." After that he kneeled down to her side kissed the fingermarkes on her cheek, "How about some more hit and fun in the bedroom, my love?" he said hitting her just a bit softer on the other cheek.

All Marissa could do in answer, was landing her fist in his guts, smiling in a way she only did to him.
   
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The Rock Doctor    
Posted: May 9 2006, 10:04 AM


Hegemon
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5 December 1901

"Ha-ha!", exclaimed Defence Minister Alizandro. "The Spanish Armada has left Cuba wide open! Shall I begin preparations to invade?"

"Not yet", President Alizandro replied.

His brother gaped at him. "Not yet?", he repeated incredulously. "All this talk about 'visiting Cuba but my God, brother, what will it take to make you actually give the order? A handwritten invitation from little Juan? We may never have another opportunity like this! Don't fritter it away!"

"Mind your tongue!", the president snapped. "Brother or not, you will not lecture me while I sit in this seat! If I say that the time is not right, then it is not."

His brother ignored the strong words and shot a withering stare at the Mouse. "This is your doing, isn't it?"

"It's a decision I concur with, Minister", the intelligence officer corrected. "On the surface, you are correct - once the Armada's squadron is well on its way, we are capable of transporting an invasion force to Cuba. We would win that battle, but we might therefore lose our war."

"By taking away their richest colony?"

"Indeed. Please remember, Minister, the Spanish have a mutual defence treaty with Russia, and while the Bear is a long distance away, he is powerful nonetheless. If we take overt action against Spain, the Russians have cause to declare war against us - and the Swiss and Orangers. While I have complete faith in your men and their ability to wage war, this is not a fair trade.

"We also have to consider how the Treaty of Versailles comes into play. It is possible - certainly, my sources believe so - that France would find reason to enter the war alongside the Russians. This would certainly remove any doubt as to the outcome."

Ricardo continued to scowl.

The Mouse said, "The alternative, which the President has chosen, is to continue backing the efforts of our friends in Spain to replace Juan with a man of their own. This is growing more difficult, I admit, as the natural disaster in the Philippines is proving to be a rallying point for him. The obvious step is to invalidate Spanish efforts there.

"When, Minister, When we and our friends in Spain do remove Juan, they will sue for peace with the Swiss on agreeable terms. This will leave the Swiss and Orangers against the Hapsburgers and Middle Kingdom - a manageable situation, you'd agree."

"Yes, but what do we gain out-", Ricardo began, only to be interrupted by his brother.

"Enough of this", Enrico snapped. "We stay the course. Now, what is happening in Brasil and Peru?"

18 December 1901: La Prensa Nacional

Police in Ciudad de Jorge have made several arrests in an appalling case of apparent corruption and smuggling.

"Acting on tips from the public, we raided three locations in the city's harbour district and found significant quantities of Spanish Government property - specifically, tents, blankets, non-perishable foodstuffs, and medical supplies. Eight individuals have been arrested and charge with smuggling, and additional warrants have been issued", stated Captain Erik Estrada.

Captain Estrada noted, "It's evident that these are disaster relief supplies that ought to be in the Philippines, helping the poor people there, but it would seem that some officials in the Spanish government decided to pad their pockets by selling the materials to the black market instead."

President Alizandro took the unusual step of commenting on the case as well, saying, "I will direct the hard-working police in Ciudad de Jorge to catalog and document the evidence quickly, so that we can load the materials onto a ship and send them on their way to those in need in the Philippines."




   
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Ithekro    
Posted: May 10 2006, 12:21 PM


King of Rohan
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(OCC: I wouldn't worry about Russia and France in the New World. I can think of a few things that should keep them away aside from distance. One, the CSA, two, the UKA, three Rohan, four the Eastern Kingdom.)
   
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Marek Gutkowski    
Posted: May 10 2006, 01:07 PM


Hegemon
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Governor Batista was scared.'They are out to get me'he thought to himself.
He looked on the news from spain and philipines.That impostor is cleaning out his entire cabinet he is changing the order of things.Giving power to the people, Ha! what do those pesants know of power.That impostor is smart he will get rid of the aristocracy becose he simply do not nead them anymore.
Batista know that its time to run to his friends.
   
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The Rock Doctor    
Posted: May 10 2006, 09:34 PM


Hegemon
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Group: Head of State
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Joined: 4-January 06



   
22 December 1901

"Have our friends contacted the governors of the colonies?", asked President Alizandro.

"They have established some fairly cautious and low-key links with Cuba and Puerto Rico. Nothing definitive, but Governor Batista appears to be worried."

"As he should be", Alizandro agreed. "Tell me, Benicio, do you think Batista would secede from Spain and join Gran Colombia if I were to guarantee his position as governor?"

Delgado considered the idea. "He might. There's no future for his like in a socialist state."

Alizandro frowned. "Make the offer. And extend it to the other Spanish governors in the Caribbean."
NEDS - Not Enough Deck Space for all those guns and torpedos;
Bambi must DIE!