The Mithlond Conference, July 1908

[The Rock Doctor]

3 July 1908

Eduard Torres drew in a deep breath of air as he stood on the balcony of his hotel suite in North Mithlond.  The air always seem fresh and pure here, despite the city's status as a major shipyard and industrial centre.  Whether this was due to the nearly constant rainfall washing smoke from the skies, Rohirrim pollution control efforts, or some kind of magic (such as those featured in the classical literature of the region), he could not say.

He and his party had arrived earlier in the day by steamer from Vinyamar, New Beleriand, by way of San Fransisco.  The few Rohirrim he'd spoken to - the carriage driver, the hotel concierge, and so forth - had been unaware of any other delegations arriving, but the opening of the conference was still three days away.  They might still be en route, whereas he always preferred to arrive early at these kinds of events so that he'd be rested and well-prepared when things kicked off. 

Foot steps clicked across the polished granite floor towards him.  "Everybody's settled in", announced Torres' executive assistant, Pedro de Cabrera, as he joined Torres.  "The naval attache and his man are on their way to the harbour district as you asked."

"Thank you", Torres replied.  Some diplomats, he knew, liked to make a splash by travelling in their nations' larger warships or royal/presidential yacht.  Others, like himself, travelled by commercial liner.  He was of the view that knowing how and when each delegation arrived might provide insight into that delegation's positioning on the issue of concluding the war.

"The Rohirrim government is being formally advised of our arrival by the embassy", de Cabrera added.  That was, as he noted, a formality; the Rohirrim would already know from their own sources.  Torres doubted that he would be meeting with the Rohirrim beforehand - the locals seemed distrustful of his government, and were probably rather busy with the behind-the-scenes work associated with this conference.

"I've also dispatched Simon to work with the conference secretariat on any issues of protocol", he continued, as Torres nodded.  This would mostly be administrative 'housekeeping' - making sure name tags were spelt correctly, that Torres would be seated at his preferred location on the south end of the table(s) - assuming the table arrangements permitted it-  and so forth.  Relatively trivial work, but it had to be done.

"The embassy staff are letting their opposites know that we're here."  This, of course, would give the other delegations a chance to meet privately in advance of the conference, should they be so inclined.  Virtually anybody could have something to talk to him about, even if it was only vaguely related to the Pacific War.  The French might want to talk about the Green Cross, the Confederates their proposed embargo, the belligerents might want to make another half-hearted effort to entice Gran Colombia onto their side. 

Of course, the time for that had been early on, before the bloodiness and high cost of the war had become evident.  The smart move, in dealing with his government, would have been to offer a binding agreement containing substantial economic incentives.  Instead, the belligerents had opted for deniability, spoke in riddles and non-commital language, and offered only marginal prizes - hardly a strategy for successful dealings in Cartagena.

"This is good", Torres answered.  "I would be appreciative if you would arrange for the embassy staff and our team to meet after dinner, and again tomorrow morning, to keep abreast of new developments.  Though I am not terribly inclined to travel, we should do so at the embassy for reasons of security."

"I'll get on that", de Cabrera confirmed.

"Thank you", Torres said.  "This will be an interesting conference, Pedro.  In the best case, a peace can be negotiated.  In the worst case, the war will continue, with new entries on one or both sides.  I hope to achieve that best case scenario, but I am not terribly optimistic."

[Borys]

clip-clop, clip-clop

Count Przewalski, the venerable Habsburg Ambassador to the Court at Meduselde, eschewed "modern gimicks" like railways. So he was leisurely making his way on horseback to Mithlond.
He was bit surprised that no self-important whippersnapper had been sent from Europe for the Conference of Powers. Had his stature with the Court at Vienna risen that high? Or was he to clear the terrain for some later-arriving Erzherzog? Or maybe even Enrico di Runio himself? With young Stefan refusing to appoint a Kanzler, that made the Foreign Minister the highest ranking Civilian Official.
Happily, he could put such thoughts off for a couple of days, same as the extensive instructions he had been sent, and enjoy the countryside. Almost like the edges of the Gobi Desert ...

[Desertfox]

Phoenix, Midnight June 30th

With all lights out a cruiser silently crept out of the harbor.

"Captain, we are clear of the chanel."

"All foward, make your speed twenty knots."

"Aye, aye sir."

"XO, take the conn, mantain speed untill arrival."

Outside the bridge stood a lone figure, the special Swiss envoy to Rohan...

[Tanthalas]

Midnight June 20th 1908

Players

   Gaius Marius
   Marcus Aurelius Cotta
   Lucius Decumius

It is a dark and stormy night in Rome

Location Private Residence of Gaius Marius, at Campanina.

Gaius Marius: So gentlemen it is done?

Marcus Aurelius Cotta: yes my lord both ships are away, our dear friend Publius is headed west, and young Ceaser is headed east there is no chance of any news reaching their destinations ahead of them.

Gaius Marius: and the Special mission?

Lucius Decumius: per your orders my Liege, I saw to it myself.  Young Ceaser will be opening the papers as we speak.

Gaius Marius: You are sure he will be able to do it?

Marcus Aurelius Cotta: We chose him carefully, and the Ceasers are some of your most adamant supporters, how can he not when soon you will marry his sister.  No I have no doubt he will succeed.

Gaius Marius: Good then all will soon be in place.  Now who would care for some Vino, a moment like this calls for a Celebration.

Same time south east of the Italian Peninsula

Players
    Sextus Julius Caesar

Location: on board RM Numidicas Capitan's Quarters.

Sextus Julius Caesar: (Rustling of Papers) whispers Dear God in heaven.

[Carthaginian]

*North California*
Late afternoon, 03 July

The train slowed as it neared the border. The passage into Rohan always brought a feeling of leaving one's own time for another... a time when wizards worked strange magicks, when fae creatures of all kinds inhabited each bog, bush and branch, and evils unnamed warred with mortal men.

"Bright helms and brigandine,
swords flash and spearpoints gleam.
Gold fringed colors held to the sky-
a white stallion on a field of green.

So rode the Men of the Mark,
the Theoden at their head;
as hard as the steel in their hands
without hint of fear and dread."

Were the local folk to be believed, this song and hundreds more like it predated the Pyramids of Giza and the Middle Kingdom's vast Wall by many thousands of years, maybe even tens of thousand. More likely, they were simply the stuff of myth, like Romulus and Remus nursing off the tits of a she-wolf or Beowulf doing battle with Grendel. Whatever their origins, the effect wound up being the same... no man could enter Rohan without feeling the awe of an idiot or the wonder of a child.

John S. Mosby, sat in the remarkably comfortable carriage, awaiting the armor-clad ceremonial guard that would inspect his diplomatic papers- a must for such a high-ranking guest. His escort commander sat across from him, a handpicked, intimately trusted- and somewhat ornery- lieutenant from California, detached from his cavalry posting at Fort Wheeler especially for this occasion. Along with the lieutenant were 6 enlisted men, none below the rank of color sergeant, and none from the same corps. The idea behind this was to make sure that there was someone present in his group who could understand and explain in simple terms the workings of any military situation- for this reason, non-commissioned men were sent instead of officers. Mosby may have been a general officer, but after all was only a partisan fighter, thus knew he was limited in formal military training; his rank was attained by pure instinct and leadership rather than formal tactical and technical schooling.

Considered ancient at almost 80 (78 to be exact), there was no one in the halls of Richmond who didn't listen when Mosby's soft, gravelly voice spoke up for Virginia and Dixie... pausing only to puff gently on his pipe of spit tobacco juice. He had clawed his way up from a state representative to Senator, and had finally arrived at Secretary of State almost 12 years ago, keeping the post he was appointed to under the previous administration when Clark came into office despite his Republican affiliations. "The best man for the job" Clark had said "has the job already."

"I don't envy the position you are in, Sir... as a soldier, I feel myself poorly disposed to politics. I've never understood why soldiers couldn't simply cut out the middle men and decide the issue for themselves."

"Ah, but Georgie," Mosby chided him "what if the soldiers are wrong? Now, now... calm down, my young friend. I've had almost three of your lifetimes to look into that line of thought, and I've found that sometimes- through no fault of his own- a soldier ends up on the wrong side of an issue. I did it myself once, though after I gave up soldiering ... I fought to keep men like Vice President Deveroux in bondage because of the color of their skin. Not that I had anything against them personally, mind you; I just didn't know no better." *Ting* the spittoon vibrated with a shiny note as it was rung. "And not that it affected Tad personally, either, him being a Freedman and all. Hell, Thad's father owned a plantation and even if he didn't own slaves, his hired hands weren't paid too much better, I can assure you.

Nah, it was just the 'we've gotta be right, because it's the way we've always done it' point of view that trapped me. Blinded me to the fact that there was more to the situation than what I was seeing. Remember, Georgie, combat is not the only place you have to observe the situation before you to decide how to act; and it's not the only place where taking too long to act is a bad thing. Let this trip be a lesson to you. The battlefields of Rome, Carthage, Greece and Persia are surely dramatic and influential... but it's on the battlefield of the MIND where men wield their greatest weapon- Opinion.

You can subjugate with a sword, Georgie... but subjugation is not the same as winning. To truly defeat an enemy, you must break his belief in his cause, not just his ability to fight for it. Take away his rifle and he'll find a knife, take away his knife and he'll use his hands, bind them, and he'll gnash his teeth. Take away his Cause, though, and he'll gladly follow yours... a lesson that your heroes learned well."

"Astute, General... and admittedly overlooked. I will try to do as you say." Patton sounded slightly wounded, though genuinely affected with a desire to correct the deficiency detected by a man he thought of as an idol. Mosby was one of the greatest mobile unit commanders in the world today, even if he had plied the trade when 'mobile' meant horseback or forced marches. Patton was more forward looking, but also knew that with some work, Mosby's tactics would adapt to what he had in mind...

Thus, he must- MUST- learn all he could form the man... even if it wasn't exactly military in nature. After all, to understand the soldier, he had to know the man behind the stars.

"Georgie, if you can just learn to reign in that ego of yours, there'll be no limit to your potential."

[The Rock Doctor]

Add color to one or more nations?  Check.
Round out characters?  Check.
Moves the overall story along?  Check.

Nice work, Carthaginian.

The Italian item is vaguely disturbing.

And how ironic would it be if the Swiss peace cruiser got sunk en route?

[Carthaginian]

Thanks for the kind words... it was a sleepless night.

The Italian item is vaguely disturbing.

And how ironic would it be if the Swiss peace cruiser got sunk en route?

I don't think the Italians are up to anything, but I may be wrong.

And if the Swiss cruiser remains blacked out, it is likely to be a target. I'd suggest a white flag, a neutral escort, and being lit up like a Parisian 'house of ill repute' if it wished to survive the trans-Pacific voyage.

[Walter]

I think they do it on purpose, hoping an allied ship will sink her on the way to Rohan and thus be able to claim that the allies deliberately attacked the vessel to sabotage the peacetalks (and if no allied vessel is encountered, there's probably a Swiss vessel out there who will do the job while flying the colors of one of the Allies).
Note the fact that no names are given in that short Swiss story. Obviously no names are needed to be given to those who will die long before they reach the shores of Rohan.

[Tanthalas]

The Italian Leadership is up to little more than giving Parliament fits =P.  That August body decided that the eastern Route was the superior one, Marius and crew disagreed.  Hence a Diversion was necessary, aka one of my Heavy cruisers will spend the next little while cruising in circles in the Indian Ocean ^.^ please don't blow it up lol.

[Desertfox]

A white flag or a neutral escort are signs of cowardice and the Allies still do not have Sea Superority. The cruiser is a political statement, that NS might be bloodied but not defeated. Besides the Allies do not have anything, remotely close, that can catch her.   

[Walter]

Well. they'll most likely be running straight into the elements of Operation White Ice. Those ships might not be able to catch the cruiser, but with them being between the cruiser and its objective, I doubt the cruiser will be able to get past them (and being at sea for a while means that they have no idea that the cruiser's mission is to deliver the Swiss envoy to Rohan for the peace talks).

[Carthaginian]

A white flag or a neutral escort are signs of cowardice and the Allies still do not have Sea Superority. The cruiser is a political statement, that NS might be bloodied but not defeated. Besides the Allies do not have anything, remotely close, that can catch her.   

The Swiss need to learn the difference between cowardice and intelligence, it seems.

The Allies don't have sea superiority, but neither do the Swiss; as the matter is still 'under consideration,' it would seem to be wise to eliminate the possibility of the diplomat sent to negotiate peace being eliminated from the peace process.

Unless, of course, the whole intent of sending an unidentified, unescorted, blacked-out ship carrying a diplomat through contested waters is to see the diplomat killed and the ship destroyed. If this DOES happen, given the Swiss method of delivering the diplomat, the CSA will have to simply snicker silently to ourselves and say 'told ya so' when the notice comes out that the diplomat has been killed.


Oh, any blacked-out ship FROM EITHER SIDE entering Confederate waters will be met my as many shells and torpedoes as can be conveniently co-located in the same grid square. A darkened ship is a ship intent on hostilities, and hostilities will not be tollerated within Confederate waters.

Contrawise, any ship traveling lit up and under flag of truce will be protected by the blood and honor of the CSN.

So until further notice, I'll take your statement as proof that any Swiss vessels decline protection, and that any Swiss vessels that enter Confederate waters are ships waging war and thus violating Confederate neutrality, and thus are fair game.

[Borys]

Phoenix, Midnight June 30th

With all lights out a cruiser silently crept out of the harbor.

Good. One more cruiser less in the West Pacific Warzone.

Borys

[Ithekro]

The Swiss cruiser will have a Rohirrim Escort of two cruisers, Ostoher and Starkhorn.  Neither of which shall be dark, but displaying their colors for all to see.  These Rohirrim ships should be rather easy to spot visually with their two turrets forward and one turret back and non-war paint job. (white hulls with yellow funnels with perhaps some green)

Other escorts are avalible for other counties travelling in the hostile Pacific.

[Borys]

Ahoj!

The Swiss cruiser will have a Rohirrim Escort of two cruisers, Ostoher and Starkhorn. 

Boo! Coward! Boo! NS defeated! Boo!
:)
Borys