Proposal: For a Provisional ESUS Joint Task Force

Debate decisions by ESUS senate here. (IC)

Establish the PEJTF?

Yea
4
24%
Nay
11
65%
Abstain
2
12%
 
Total votes: 17

User avatar
The Fedral Union
ESUS Teletubby Fan
Posts: 149
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 2:38 am
Prefix: The Terran Alliance
Name: The United Terran Alliance

Re: Proposal: For a Provisional ESUS Joint Task Force

Post by The Fedral Union »

The stocky man stood up once more, he had a serious look upon his face, his gaze shifted to jack capsule, and he nodded.


“While I cannot speak for any other member of ESUS. I believe the charter is clear on such things, however the USSTA personally believes, that smaller nations in the north who are attempting to remain neutral are under great duress to join in an offensive war on the side of IRON, the GCP, or any other faction involved in essence many nations such as yours Mr. capsule are too small, we mean no offense to adequately stave off any damage from being caught in the cross fire. If your nation chooses to join this war on the side of IRON, the USSTA will understand and will as a neutral nation in this conflict personally run supplies up to you, we will evacuate personnel from your colonies if so needed, I believe any other nation who will invest in this task force will do the same.

We believe if this task force is run under ESUS command and control with the explicit purpose of a humanitarian mission such as this, that it will allow nations such as the Capsule Corporation to have a chance to survive an encounter with the various powers that be in the north. As for protecting neutral powers with this task force, we would agree to that as well whole heartedly.�
User avatar
Capsule Corporation
SHINY
Posts: 176
Joined: Sun Mar 23, 2008 6:49 am
Prefix: The Raysian Incarnation of the
Name: Capsule Corporation

Re: Proposal: For a Provisional ESUS Joint Task Force

Post by Capsule Corporation »

Jack smiled, "sir, I assure you, we're not going to be joining IRON as an entire corporation. Almost all of our worlds except Keflek VII have claimed neutrality on the matter. We're not defenseless, and we're only small when compared to the entirety of Hermes or IRON... We just need extra support should the entire alliance decided to take our worlds as a foothold in a war."
DESTROY US ALL!!! DESTROY US ALL!!! DESTROY US ALL!!!
User avatar
Arizona Nova
GENTLEMEN, BEHOLD!
Posts: 3703
Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2004 8:11 pm
Prefix: The Reconstituted Kingdom
Name: Arizona Nova

Re: Proposal: For a Provisional ESUS Joint Task Force

Post by Arizona Nova »

With a crash, the great doors of the ESUS senate flew open, momentarily silencing all discussion. Into the chamber slowly tramped the feet of none other than the King himself - Kemelzar, Lord of Arizona Nova.

Tense silence filled the room as he entered, walking to the center of the floor. Fixing the assembled delegates in turn with a fiery stare, until he stopped in the center of the floor.

"In the absence of our esteemed delegate, I speak for Arizona Nova."

Making one last scan of the room, he continued, "I note the absence of the Allanean delegate. It is just as well he is sobering up in a brig, somewhere, for I'd of broken his neck, as soon laid eyes on him."

Beginning to slowly pace, he continued, "There have been many aspersions cast here, tonight, regarding my motivation for doing this, ranging from conspiracy for a coup, to instigating another civil war. There is no basis - there is NONE WHATSOEVER - for the making of these aspersions, aside from the deceit in your own souls!"

"You fear the centralization that heralded the civil war - that is ridiculous. The powers who existed then were just as honest as I am today about their intent - they were explicitly grasping for the reigns of this alliance. There is no such clause hidden here, no such intent wrapped in the folds of our proposal, aside from what dark hearts choose to see."

"You would claim that any alliance fleet goes against the highest ideals of the ESUS," he continued, his voice crescendoing. "That the least inroads of 'centralization' is, in essence, the rape of liberty. Insanity. Complete lunacy! That is what such a viewpoint is."

"I tell you this - when Raysian worlds are put to the whip; when the colonies of the Fedral Union are glassed, where will your vaunted liberty be then? To spare yourselves here centralization you would sacrifice your allies to the gaping maws of our rivals; unmanfully 'wait and see,' issue statements, reprimands and sanctions! God save us from such cowardly paper-pushing!"

Uplifting his right hand as he rounded the other side of the floor, he continued, "People are invoking ESUS history here; the beginnings of the civil war. Ignoring the fact that my nation sided - and would side again - against the Central Powers, you all also seem to forget even more ancient history. There was a time when the ESUS stood as one, united against the threat of the shivan. In that hour, there was no talk of preserving liberty - life and existence was what was on the line."

"Such is not on the line in this hour, that much is granted. But would you sit and wait until it is? Or would you seize the oppurtunity, and the moment, beforehand? Are we to be drove as the pawns of Hermes and IRON, or are we to be the ones who play the game? Would you wait for a war to break out between Hermes and IRON, and watch as the nations of this alliance that are also within the former two are forced to pick sides? That too will tear this alliance to pieces. "

"I will square with you on this: this proposal is irrelevent to my aims, which are preservation of the stability and liberty of the neutral nations caught between the hammer and anvil of IRON and Hermes. Its passage means nothing more to me, personally, than a prefix stamp onto plans already moving forward. Any nations here that be without fear and that possess manful strength are invited to join us. Indeed, if what has passed here tonight is any indication of its moral fortitude, a stamp of the ESUS's approval may not be what I'd want after all."

Turning back to the chamber's doors, he gave one last glance back at the crowd, and said, low, "You think I am trying to start a civil war. I am trying to avert one - while it still can be."

With that, the King and his retainers swept back forth from the Senate.
[center]Wit ye well, that when no good men remain to stand against those who choose evil, what will remain to restrain them from unleashing their dark designs?[/center]
~Anikar


{Back Burner}
User avatar
Allanea
Silly Forum Johnnie
Posts: 951
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2005 5:33 pm

Re: Proposal: For a Provisional ESUS Joint Task Force

Post by Allanea »

The doors opened and a young Allanean diplomat entered – a young Dohwar in fact, well-groomed, his beak gleaming-yellow as he spoke, with a high-pitched voice betraying the seriousness of his voice.

“Your Majesty, I disagree entirely.

You say that you wish well for this alliance. I do not deny it. Yet this navy may experience dangerous mission creep. Surely the founders of many alliances were good people – and later the institutions they created grew, and became corrupted. We must look only upon the illustrious career of Chancellor Palpatine to know how these may transpire!

You tell us that the Raysians may be put to the sword, that Hermes threatens them, that IRON threatens them. Let us forget that Hermes could not threaten their way out of a wet paper bag with a chainsaw. Let us remember the principle of the thing. If - and I stress, if! - such a thing happens, why then the Raysians and the Federals have us Allaneans, they have the brave Novanians, they have the entirety of ESUS to defend them. There is no need to create additional groups, authorities, fleets, above what is necessary. Consider it as the Occam's Razor of government.�

“The existing institutions of the ESUS were enough to beat the Shivans, to crush the Federation, to defeat the Imperiatus – why do we now need this new institution to defend against a a far weaker force?�

"Your Majesty asks - where will we, vociferous and fanatical defenders of liberty, be if someone attacks UTF or Raysia? While, the same place we were when the Imperiatus attacked your nation and nearly destroyed it - crushing the enemy like bugs and sending them running home with their tails between their legs, of course!"
The Cerberus Alliance
ESUS Nipple-o-rama
Posts: 671
Joined: Tue May 01, 2007 1:45 am
Prefix: The Reclusive Protectorate of
Name: The Cerberus Alliance

Re: Proposal: For a Provisional ESUS Joint Task Force

Post by The Cerberus Alliance »

"Politicians say what they will. Politics is filled with lies and deceit. The only truths I see are in the horrible potentials of this proposal. The precedents we would be putting into the system by approving this imply horrible things. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And in all this, maybe implying that the ESUS without this would not come to the aid of an unjustly attacked member is the worst lie in all of Arizona Nova's rhetoric.

"We are required to aid one another in the case of a military conflict. Especially if ESUS members did not start it. The implied threat that member states would be wide open to attack and completely cut off from alliance support without this task force is a lie contradicted by the ESUS constitution itself. That the head of a nation would come here personally, just to preach his own apparent illiteracy is beyond me, but maybe internal issues in Arizona Nova have been distracting some people from getting a crash course in interstellar law."

The Cerberan delegate takes another sip of coffee. He takes a deep breath, then continues.

"There are such strong feelings about this that the leader of a nation felt compelled to burst down the senate doors. That an Allanean thug- er... delegate, felt the urge to attack another party, though I am pleased with the attitude of his replacement. That members of our senate somehow feel compelled to answer every insult that the galactic community may give us with an appropriately scaled planet-killer barrage. In a situation where everyone is well-armed and trigger happy, emotions are like a spark in a room full of gas fumes.

"Drunken on rage. Is that the condition we want to be in when we make a decision that will possibly destroy the ESUS's future? I think we all need to stay calm here.

"I am not blind. I can read the proposal just fine. I see the slippery slope that this goes down. So what if some do not take us seriously? What people think, and what is reality, are two very different things. There is no reason to take this so personally, and absolutely no reason to believe the fear-mongering. There is also no reason to try to posture the ESUS to do what should be left to individual nations, like humanitarian aid.

"Once again, there are ESUS members in Hermes, and ESUS members in IRON. If the 'task force' is for humanitarian purposes only, then the ESUS banner is not necessary for it to have the proper effect, which leads me to believe that the only reason the ESUS flag needs to fly on these ships is so that the ESUS can be seen taking action against alliances that contain its own members. Something seems horribly wrong with that."
This won't end well.
User avatar
Arizona Nova
GENTLEMEN, BEHOLD!
Posts: 3703
Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2004 8:11 pm
Prefix: The Reconstituted Kingdom
Name: Arizona Nova

Re: Proposal: For a Provisional ESUS Joint Task Force

Post by Arizona Nova »

Forced to stay with the entrance of the Allanean diplomat, Kemelzar turned and faced the Dohwar, giving it a cold glare. He listened to the its words, and the words of the Cerberan in turn, then began,

"You assert that inevitably, any task force, once formed, would inevitably suffer corruption, and a mission which would overstay its bounds. You cannot see that future, and were it true, what would be the more dire threat - a small ESUS fleet, composed of the vessels of your ally-states, or the hordes of Bryn Shander or IRON? You would be much less hard-pressed to turn a friend from a dark path, than an enemy to light."

"Your solution to this matter would be to wait and see, and hope that the rumblings of IRON-Hermes war come to naught. That is suicidal, and it will doom your allies; the ones unfortunate enough to live in the zone of crossfire between the two alliances. And what will happen, when our allies are attacked, but yet another one of these circuses," he said, gesticulating to the senate chamber, "Another repeat of this pedantic affair? Now is the moment to decide."

"As I said, I go, and now, and I have no doubt that others shall also go with me, to prepare. This proposal was simply my attempt to see if the ESUS, as a whole, also had the courage to do so; not even that, but to see if the ESUS has the courage to simply affix its name to such an effort."
[center]Wit ye well, that when no good men remain to stand against those who choose evil, what will remain to restrain them from unleashing their dark designs?[/center]
~Anikar


{Back Burner}
Central Facehuggeria
Site Admin
Posts: 4635
Joined: Wed Jun 09, 2004 1:29 am
Prefix: The Second Imperium of
Name: Central Facehuggeria

Re: Proposal: For a Provisional ESUS Joint Task Force

Post by Central Facehuggeria »

Ashnaav, the 'on duty' Facehuggerian representative to the ESUS senate watched the JTF debacle closely, drinking deep of the vibrations and energy surges in the room. The Anikari king had a certain resonance to his voice, while the Allanean's new representative was higher pitched and higher-strung. The Cerebran was lower, and his voice got lower still as he accused the Novanians of treachery, only to rise in pitch as he steadily grew more passionate.

The lobster flexed his enormous primary claws in thought, as was his wont to do when pensive. Both sides had made good points. Truly, the need to remind the nations of the universe that the ESUS was still a power was great. And truly, a multinational force deployed to Raysia or patrolling the new holdings of the Terrans or Anikari, would remind said nations that not only is the ESUS strong, but that it stands behind its own.

On the other claw, such a measure was not truly necessary for defense. The constitution compelled mutual defense - though 'mutual defense' could mean anything from the deployment of the Empress' mighty legions, to the token of a salami and shrimp sandwich given as war aid. More importantly, it would set a dangerous precedent. The formation of an ESUS defense force, no matter how temporary, could easily lead to a more permanent force. Which could then enforce its own will upon the members. And any war of aggression against an ESUS member would, no doubt, be met stiffly.

Yet there was still the issue of deployment. Stationing a force near the 'hot spot' as it were, allowed for quicker response. Days or even months wouldn't need to be spent mobilizing the ESUS' great fleets. And then travel time. Not all nations were possessed of the strategic mobility to respond to a blitzkrieg of ESUS systems - unless they had forces already in the area.

Ashnaav twitched his antennae sadly. There was no simple answer. He used his neural lace to access the Imperium's prime government network, sending his information and thoughts to the Empress, her Cabinet, and the Imperial Senate back on Earth at transluminal speeds.

A moment passed, then two. They would have all devoted the entirety of their laces to running the various calculations and probabilities, yet the time without a reply stretched on terribly. Four seconds. Five. It was madness! They who could watch the heat-death of a universe in the time it took to blink were wracked with indecision.

Then a reply came. Both the Senate and the Crown trusted his judgment, and said they would back his decision. He shuddered, feeling almost as if placed into an enormous cooking pot. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

In the end, he had to vote as his antennae were telling him.

Ashnaav stood, once the Novanian King said his most recent bit. The lobster's enormous bulk, as big as a combat powersuit, and bright red color - so red it almost looked blue, despite how impossible a statement sounded - drawing attention as soon as he did.

"The Second Imperium of Facehuggeria must vote nay to this proposal. We appreciate the Anikari arguments, for they are good. However, we feel the precedent this sets is too dangerous to be allowed. My nation once stood for centralization of the ESUS, but those were different times. Before we bludgeoned and nuked ourselves into a new stone age. We have experience centralizing power as we clawed our way back up - it is neither easy nor pleasant, with us sharing the same culture less drift. Therefore, we must vote nay to this, for the ESUS works best as a loose coalition than any iron-backed empire. The various cultures are too many and different to thrive under a more central system. In addition, under some interpretations, a bill like this would be sanctioning action against ESUS members. Members in good standing, I remind you all. Hermes and Iron has members in ESUS both. If things become so tense that war may break out, surely they will give us an indication - even if that indication is them recalling their diplomats from our presence."

Then he paused, standing up to his full two point four meters, before continuing. "Yet the plight of the Raysians does not fall on deaf ears! The Imperium will gladly deploy military forces and humanitarian personnel to support the task force that the Anikari are forging. We ask that those of you who vote nay to this proposal do the same. Or, barring that, keep your forces at a heightened state of readiness, the better to deploy to meet any aggression against ESUS members. It is only prudent in these most dangerous and troubled times, yes?"
"Please tell me that you haven't heard military gossip about a fleet of invisible battleplates."
User avatar
The Fedral Union
ESUS Teletubby Fan
Posts: 149
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 2:38 am
Prefix: The Terran Alliance
Name: The United Terran Alliance

Re: Proposal: For a Provisional ESUS Joint Task Force

Post by The Fedral Union »

The diplomat from the UTA stood up once more after hearing the various arguments, he twiddled his mustache in one hand saying with a soft professional tone of voice.

The Terran Government is willing to house what ever forces nations individually deploy to the north to protect the Capsule Corporation, our system of Gaza is upon the border between IRON and what ever other powers that be reside. We are not surprised that this proposal was voted down, for we may be a new power with in ESUS, we have read some archival information dealing with the civil war. Make no mistake our nation can bring much of its military might to bare to defend its colonies in the north, but at what cost? We might very well be successful in repelling aggressive powers in the north from our colonies, but such a massive war would leave our nation drained and open to attack on the home front. That said, we will do everything in our power to defend our allies from any attack, by any power, the UTA will not abandon ESUS nor its members

He had sat down with a serious look on his face once more, his eyes gazed at the Facehugrian delegate, he nodded in respect to the other, he slumped back almost upon his seat.

This entire day had been feverish for him. All of the fighting and debate had left him drained. He took his monocle out and whipped with a silk handkerchief, before returning it to his right eye, his top hat was still strait upon his balding head.
Godular
ESUS Wanktacular Specimen
Posts: 348
Joined: Sun Jun 11, 2006 2:34 am

Re: Proposal: For a Provisional ESUS Joint Task Force

Post by Godular »

The Godulan Ambassador, an Eidolon by the name of Panzuriel, showed no signs of emotion despite the fact that those seated around him could literally hear his internal laughter. During a lull in the activity, the laughter faded into silence and was soon replaced with a momentary 'ahem' sound.

"Having listened to the arguments presented by both the proponents and detractors of this proposal, we find that this consideration is complex indeed, with a great number of ramifications should we favor one path over the other. We find ourselves somewhat torn between the notion of a unified military and that of our typical policy of non-interference-interspersed-with-extreme-amounts-of-interference-that-never-seems-to-work-out-because-other-fuckheads-keep-fucking-up-as-per-standard-operating-procedure.

"What the hell am I saying? There is no debate! This proposal reeks! Asking for a joint ESUS force for no other reason than to interfere in a conflict that has vested interest from ESUS members on both sides, when the major dispute itself seems to stem from the fact that IRON is being a bunch of blowhards trying to make a name for themselves by claiming an arbitrary chunk of the galaxy as 'theirs', which provides us with no end of amusement as we watch entire empires scramble to appease such a declaration, enforced as it is by what amounts to roving bands of brigands setting up check points at arbitrary locations that others could simply avoid... and which has also led to another alliance taking umbrage at the declaration itself. This is even more amusing because an interstellar war appears to be ready to break out over somebody essentially drawing a line in a sandbox and saying 'this side of the universe is mine! You stay out, uncool person!'

"Much though we can appreciate the desire for one's view to be held legitimate, we believe that asking for a joint force to be formed for the specific purpose of entering this conflict is like deploying thermonuclear bombs to resolve a playground scuffle. If we keep out, the only thing that happens is a few kids get black eyes. If we throw in, we can kiss the town, or should I say the galaxy, a very hearty and definitive goodbye.

"Granted... we Godulans are not too enamored of the Milky Way Galaxy anyway, and would see the entire thing going away as a blessing to the rest of the universe... but there are still the innocent fools that still live in that cesspit to consider.

"We vote not just nay, but HELL nay."
User avatar
Arizona Nova
GENTLEMEN, BEHOLD!
Posts: 3703
Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2004 8:11 pm
Prefix: The Reconstituted Kingdom
Name: Arizona Nova

Re: Proposal: For a Provisional ESUS Joint Task Force

Post by Arizona Nova »

Kemelzar had long sat upon the sidelines, judging that his presence would not strictly be needed back at home some time yet.

It was not the rejection of the proposal that had gotten to him so much; he had never seriously expected it to pass. It was the fact one of his own diplomatic corps had been assaulted, the motives of his people questioned, and the fact that the entire matter had been blown out of proportion by the opposing side.

No, not blown - shrunk, perhaps. Either way, its true dimensions were being warped by the other delegates. Before today he had not thought that hubris and cowardice could go so well in hand, but this conference had shown otherwise.

"With the exception of the Facehuggerian delegate," said Kemelzar, motioining to the enormous lobster, "The opposition lacks perspective. That is easy to do, when you can retreat into other dimensions or galaxies like a hermit crab into its shell, but for those of us living near and living in the zones of Hermes' and IRONs' turmoil, it is another matter entirely. Hubris has blinded you, as well, to the threat that Hermes and IRON represents; the former is a small group of nations, yes, perhaps unknown to many of us, but they are ancient all the same, and they have pride and vainglory to match your own, and the strength, will, and unity to make any one of us bleed. IRON is a great alliance, headed by one of the most powerful militaries in the ESUS, and its size is near to our own."

"We shall bleed," he said darkly, "Especially if our prediliction for talk keeps us mired here while their forces move in the dark, and we shall be picked apart, if we cannot show a united face to the powers that have now arose. ESUS shall have no more than ideals on that day."

"There is no more to be said, on my part," he said with finality. "This proposal was a trifle to deal with great matters, but it has been blown into a conspiracy alledged to deal with small matters, neither of which is true, and none of this debate changes what will ultimately come to pass. I must return now, and have been delayed too long here already. Good day, senators of the ESUS; pray that when next we meet, it is not to barricade these doors," he said, motioning to the senate doors, "against the fires of our true rivals." He and his guard passed back out of the chamber, into the hall.

Producing a datapad from his robe as he walked to the Arizona Novanian dock, he dialed Artemis, who picked up immediately.

"What a disaster!" she said painfully.

"You too?" he growled.

"Sorry, I couldn't not watch it," she said. "Couldn't you have been a bit more delicate, my lord?"

"They aren't children," he rumbled. "No matter what their words and actions betray. They would not respect a delicate hand any more than they'd respect hamfistedness. But speaking of children," he said, his aspect softening, "How is Caelia?"

"Just put down for a nap my liege," said Artemis. "Just as stormy in her protests against it as you get about diplomatic matters."

"Thank you for nannying on such short notice," said Kemel apologetically. "It figures that the Duchess Mirella and I would both get called away to a crisis at the same time."

"It is my pleasure," said Artemis cheerfully. "I like having something a bit less dry to focus on than sensor readings and the newsfeeds every now and again."

"Well Caelia has certainly taken a shine to 'Aunty Artmis,'" he said with a smile. As he took to the scout ship's main hatch, he said, "Alright, I'm boarding now. It'll be a few hours yet before I get back, as the hyperfold drives are still on cooldown. You'll know where to reach me."

"Will do, my lord," said Artemis. "I'll make sure Chef Dowren knows when to expect you."

"Thank you, Lady Artemis. Tschüs."
[center]Wit ye well, that when no good men remain to stand against those who choose evil, what will remain to restrain them from unleashing their dark designs?[/center]
~Anikar


{Back Burner}
Post Reply