Sender: Capitaine de Corvette Yvette de Gouvion Saint-Cyr Recipient: Centro de Operaciones Subject: Operations Pending Coordination
Buenas Tardes,
With prior arrangements in mind regarding territories and mutual respect, we find it prudent to approach you now with major operations pending. There are opportunities for you to make vast gains in the very near future should we work together. Please contact me at your earliest convenience.
Muy Respetuosamente,
Capitaine de Corvette Yvette de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, Intelligence Royale Gauloise Section de l'Intelligence Humaine
Sender: Capitaine de Corvette Yvette de Gouvion Saint-Cyr Recipient: Dia Augustopolou, General of the Custodi Subject: Operations Pending Coordination
Buenas Tardes,
You must forgive the vague nature of my message, even with encryption it is a good habit to be restrained until one knows who one is speaking with.
Diplomatic overtures have been made in the past between the Kingdom and the Empire, however nothing has come truly to fruition. However, there are concessions both financial and territorial we are prepared to give in exchange for what we might call an agreement of mutual assistance. It would be best to speak with you personally regarding the specifics.
In short, your abilities as expert raider pilots for a particular time in return for lump sums, or perhaps domain over a system like Dublin? I am not personally empowered to come to any final decisions, however these offers are among concessions discussed by those appointed over me.
Muy Respetuosamente,
Capitaine de Corvette Yvette de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, Intelligence Royale Gauloise Section de l'Intelligence Humaine
Corsairs are fighting Rheinlander invasion on our own home, fighting off Outcasts in the northern Omicrons, Hessians in the Omegas and Bretonians on our own front line. Yet we are prepared to support Gallia, however with regard for the opportunity cost involved in such venture, you would have to offer something greater in exchange.
Lump sums do not interest us, as our economy is doing well enough not to require one-time payments. What we are interested in is long-term solutions to problems Crete is facing. Before, we offered a trade partnership between us and your transport company IDF. While said arrangement is yielding results, the inability to use our own logistics fleet on this venture due to restrictive Gallic regulations prevents us from benefiting fully from it.
Your proposition of a Corsair-controlled "system like Dublin" is certainly interesting, however the issue is: in Bretonia there is only one system like Dublin and that's Dublin. While certainly rich in Gold, it's also rich in unrest and political tension, which is not something Corsairs are prepared to deal with in the foreseeable future. Our struggle against Bretonians has mostly concerned the systems of Omega-3 and Cambridge, and these systems are what we're after.
Of course I understand that these terms may require some "ironing out", so to speak. Still, I believe further negotiations would have to be done with someone we can be sure can guarantee the enforcement of any terms.
Yours sincerely,
Δία Αυγουστοπούλου
Dia Augustopolou
General of the Custodi
Sender: Capitaine de Corvette Yvette de Gouvion Saint-Cyr Recipient: Dia Augustopolou, General of the Custodi Subject: Terms of Agreement
Kalí Méra,
I am heartened to know that we share common enemies. Our Kingdom knows full well the struggles of conducting a war on multiple fronts, and it is our belief that we are uniquely equipped to relieve some of the associated pressures that each of our realms face.
I am also gladdened to see you are forward-thinking and strategically minded. We are working with IDF on a number of deals with foreign powers, and it would be entirely within our authority to suggest more favorable terms for the Corsairs.
This morning, I met with the naval chiefs of staff on Neo Paris and made the case for more suitable concessions. We spoke for several hours, and they left me with specific guidance to offer you joint ownership of the Cambridge system with our Kingdom as well as preferential access to its food supplies.
We have no great designs on Omega-3 aside from transit and basing rights, and although no final decision has been made, it appears that the government is open to negotiating an access and security treaty which would overall favor Corsair domain over that territory.
We do not make these offers lightly. I have spoken with several representatives as well as the chiefs of staff, and they are willing to make this offer only out of respect for the resources and tenacity of the Empire and our shared goals.
If these terms are amenable to you, I would be more than happy to put you in contact with more appropriate government ministers and invite you to our operations room pending major fleet movements - which of course shall come at the expense of the Bretonians, among other hostile parties.
Me Sevasmó,
Capitaine de Corvette Yvette de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, Intelligence Royale Gauloise Section de l'Intelligence Humaine
I'll be taking over the discussions and negotiations from here. I represent the Custodi on the Council of Elders, and as such speak with the full authority of the Council on this matter.
Lady Augustopolou has already begun to establish terms with you, and I'd like to present the terms that the council offers. While your terms are already of interest, I believe that the conditions I offer will be far better suited to both our causes, and will align with our goals.
I'll not waste time with skirting the topic at hand so here is our proposition:
As per our prior arrangements with the Marine Royale Gauloise and the corporations of the crown, Corsair treasure fleets will have access to the systems held by Gallia to trade in artifacts.
A permanent embassy will be established on our capital worlds, one on Crete and one on your own homeworld, to facilitate relations and provide a place for long lasting diplomatic contact to occur.
Full Corsair Sovereignty of Cambridge. With the predicted expansion of Gallic territory in Bretonia, the far flung system will be a drain on resources for occupying forces, and would be better held by a single entity. Naturally Crown forces will have access to Cambridge.
Naturally, in exchange for these terms, the Corsairs and Custodi would be investing themselves into the war in Bretonia, and bringing our own numbers to bear.
MARINE ROYALE GAULOISENouveau message entrant. Identifiant : Amiral Isabelle Montlaville de Chanteloup Unité : Etat-major de la Marine Royale Gauloise Destinataire : Monsieur Argus Nikitas, membre du Conseil des Anciens, Custodi
Sujet : Contre-offre.
20 juin, 741 A.G.S.
Ile-de-France
A cloud of grey smoke obscures the screen as the transmission begins. It dissipates, and reveals the Amiral, staring intently at the screen, a cigarette at her hand.
Kyrios Nikitas,
I am pleased to make your formal acquaintance. I believe that the Corsair empire and the Kingdom of Gallia stand much to gain by working together, and I have been a vocal proponent of a diplomatic rapprochement with your kind for some time. The Commandant Saint-Cyr contacted you under my orders, and I saw it fitting that I would follow up on her work by directly addressing you.
Anyway, I know your kind values efficiency. So do I.
To the matter at hand, then. I have been relaying your terms to my government and participated to the lengthy debate that surrounded each item. I have been sent back with orders to expose their reply, in the form of a counter-offer, which I'm supposed to tell you is considered "generous" by the people that count. So here goes.
- His Majesty the King wholeheartedly agrees to opening its borders to Custodi merchant fleets, and is willing to extend this courtesy to other representatives of the Corsair empire, at the condition that they declare themselves to the Ministère de l'Intérieur. His Majesty asks, in return, that safe passage be granted to all Gallic ships which would find their way in Corsair territory, with the exception of guarded territories.
- His Majesty supports the opening of embassies on both worlds. A delegation lead by the MRG's ambassador, dame Sabine de Bordeleaux, will be sent to Crete at your earliest convenient time to inaugurate the Gallic embassy. Meanwhile, I will welcome a delegation of your chosen people to Paris, specifically the Île du Palais district. The Corsair embassy will be located in walking distance of the Palais Royal, in the most prestigious district of the galaxy.
However.
Chanteloup takes a long drag on her cigarette, and gazes at the screen for a few seconds as she expels the acrid smoke from the corner of her mouth, her already tense face hardening further.
- His Majesty is NOT willing to cede the entirety of the Cambridge system to the Corsair empire. Charles knows that your people have tried to take over Cambridge for decades with very little signs of progress and barely any hope of securing a foothold there by yourselves. Now that Gallia has brought Bretonia to its knees and is poised to deliver the killing blow, His Majesty would find it insufferable to simply hand out a part of its newly-annexed domain to very recent partners who have, thus far, contributed very little to His victory. He is also mindful of his future role as Protector of the Bretonian people, and isn't ready to relinquish this responsibility even at the scale of a single system.
That being said, His Majesty is very sensible to Corsair attachment to the Cambridge system, and is instead offering a compromise, in the form of a shared dominion of Cambridge. Two thirds of the planet will be handed out to the Empire, with a focus on arable land, while the remaining third will be assigned to Gallia. This remaining third will necessary include the University of Cambridge, which has been deemed a strategic target for influence purposes. The rest of the system will be split evenly between both parties, with the details of station ownership to be resolved at a later date once the Bretonian government is placed under the care of Gallia.
Chanteloup takes a final drag on her dying cigarette, which she tosses aside. One of her aides, passing nearby, scuttles to it, picks it up and scuttles away furtively.
There we go, Kyros Nikitas. Hard part's over. This is the official thing. I know full well how harsh it sounds. But, soldier to soldier, I understand it. This putain de conflit has cost me a lot of people and all signs point to it not being over just yet. To hand you, our very recent partners, a sizeable piece of a cake we fought hard to take for ourselves would be an insult to the memory of those who fell. I don't think those terms would be negotiable : once Charles has spoken... Well, usually, things tend to happen the way he says they do. But He doesn't know the full extent of Corsair strength yet. Neither do I.
Agree to these terms, Kyros Nikitas. That is my suggestion. They may not be ideal, but that means they're fair. Show Charles what the Custodi can bring to Him. Demonstrate that legendary efficiency and ruthlessness of your people in this just war against the wealthy oppressors. Help me finish this war... And my good King is certain to notice. I've been in this line of work for a while, you know. Gallia has its flaws, but it rewards merit, to a fault.
Agree to these terms. Earn royal favours, illustrate yourselves. Show merit. Then, perhaps these terms can be revisited.
Thank you for hearing me out. I bid you a good day.
She smirks. Charles says "Bonjour".
(06-14-2019, 12:25 PM)Sombra Hookier Wrote: If everyone was a bit more like Lanakov, the entire world would be more positive. Including pregnancy tests.