Glorious Stars Turn 1 Assembly Debates

[mwaschak]

Good afternoon delegates. On behalf of House Raptor we are pleased to welcome you once again to the NEE Assembly. Head of the NEE Assembly Irena Boudicca and myself believe the time to discuss critical issues is at hand.

First off, we are sad to announce the dissolution of Houses K'Tah and Winton. It has come to our attention that their leadership was corrupt, and while we are not pointing specifically at any master assassins in midst, it is clear their worlds are in chaos. Dunhama and Ecabore might quickly succeed to another house (the list of players for this game was high so we have options). It is our believe that they are not close enough to warrant a galactic crisis, but it warrants some debate if we should allow a nearby house to quickly move in to secure these worlds and protect their citizens.

Secondly, the Prosperity Zone will remain under House Raptor management for the coming few weeks but we will need to discuss segmenting off star systems for control. At this time all parties are welcome to trade there in the spirit of galactic cooperating following the decline of the Hegemony. House Raptor proposes no new bills at this time but welcomes any such that need to be discussed.

Third, an anonymous party has asked for a dueling circle. This is once again declined and will not be even brought before Emperor Marcel.

Current Laws:

Peace and Prosperity Act: Due to a rise in violence between the minor houses no ship with ASSAULT may be constructed at this time. This may be revisited by future legislation and revision.

Limited Hulls: Due to extreme violence between House Aigle and House Kithai it was voted that each house may only have one prototype project each year.

Lend and Protect: House Raptor has access to all of the Hegemony's arsenal. It is willing to lend these elements to houses in need. This must be done publicly and with the understanding that lent vessels may be destroyed at any time by the embedded Imperial Agents.

Enforcement: There is a reward for any house catching another breaking interstellar law, which will bring about punitive action from another house and possibly the Imperial fleet. Imperial enforcement vessels are spread throughout most house systems and serve to deter piracy as well as enforce the law.

[Stad]

Speaker for House Scoote

Lord Scoote expressed his great sadness in the disillusionment of the Winton people. They had begun to welcome our Scootist missionaries and boasted trade and freedom.

We have negotiators ready to bridge the loss in leadership. I call upon the Assembly to second House Scoote in maintaining a united front on the edge of space.

[mwaschak]

House Raptor sees no reason why House Scoote cannot be allowed to reclaim Ecabore and work to solidify the southern marches. There is the matter of Groombridge, which I remember being of historical significance to Duke Trel'us Scooter and Duke Frailix Winton and actually holding this prize. The citizens of Ecabore were not pleased with House Winton in the end. Perhaps the Great House Phoenix could lend you logistical support.

Lady Viola Raptor

[virtutis.umbra]

House Phoenix courteously acknowledges the Raptor delegation's suggestion that Arcturan logistical support might be of use in this situation. It's House Phoenix's firm position that the state of these unaligned, unrepresented systems constitute a chilling lapse of galactic order, and the rampant starvation and population crashes in these systems is an absolute tragedy.

As previously declared, House Phoenix's immediate goals are to quell lawlessness and restore Assembly representation in the systems bordering the jump crossroads in Pleides Cluster -- as best fits each system's standing and situation ,either by incorporating the systems into Shareholder status within the Incorporated Republic of Phoenix or by restoring their FTL capability and independent control so they can support their own Assembly delegation.

But to have a populous, prosperous world like Ecabore fall into a Houseless and unrepresented state, having come through so much and survived intact for so long, would be doubly so. No House is in a better position to see to the welfare of Ecabore's citizens than House Scoote is, but we are happy to assist House Scoote in making this possible. As such, we see the need for further attention outside our area of primary concern (Pleides Cluster), especially as a descent into chaos so close to Phoenix and Scoote space would be an intolerable lapse of our Houses' duty to our fellow galactic citizens. I shudder to think of the effect on shareholder confidence within the Republic if such a thing were to come to pass under House Phoenix's watch.

So, yes, House Phoenix wholeheartedly endorses House Scoote's position to rescue Ecabore from spiraling into lawlessness in the wake of House Winton's precipitous decline. If no other House of Ecabore comes forward to reestablish unity in that system, House Scoote should move in and enforce a peaceful succession before warlordism or piracy takes root there. Likewise, the same logic applies to Groombridge, where the situation may be more dire and possibly pirate or rebel forces already lurk.

The Incorporated Republic is prepared to provide logistical support to House Scoote's important work in stabilizing Reverance's coreward ("Western") neighbors. We can do this by opening wide the gates of commerce between our two Houses' territories, improving the availability of food, materials and capital to both of our Houses.

Further, if House Scoote desires it, we would be amenable to a military assistance agreement whereby Shareholder Navy forces would move through Scootist space to assist in pacifying any hostile resistance to Scootist relief efforts to both of these systems.

Finally, in order to ease the cooperation between our Houses, I suggest that, given the difficulty inherent in expanding to retake not one but TWO systems from unaligned status, House Scoote and its missionary navy take heart in knowing House Phoenix will extend our own protectorate sphere to cover their rimward/spinward ("Northeastern") neighbor Kapteyn's Star ourselves. House Phoenix will see to Kapteyn's stability and prosperity, which will provide us a route to funnel commercial and (if desired) military assistance to House Scoote for their coreward peacekeeping efforts.

This joint operation will generate a continuous chain of stable, prosperous systems from Arcturus to Ecabore, and represent a shining example of inter-House cooperation to the betterment of all humanity. We await only House Scoote's agreement to the above plan, and a promise not to muddy the waters by moving their own forces into Kapteyn's Star and opposing our intended offer of protectorate incorporation status under House Phoenix to that system.

These, then, are the terms of the Ecabore Accord as proposed by House Phoenix and submitted for recognition by the Assembly and acceptance by House Scoote:

EDIT: Clarified and shortened the significant clauses by pulling commentary out to a preamble, and added SOVEREIGNTY CLAUSE, and separated MILITARY ASSISTANCE CLAUSE into two separate clauses.

House Scoote recognizes a need for House Phoenix to support the starving citizens of Kapteyn's Star while Scootist attentions focus coreward on Groombridge and Ecabore. House Phoenix recognizes the immediacy and legitimacy of need for House Scoote to move in to curb or prevent lawlessness, piracy and starvation in Groombridge and Ecabore.

1. COMMERCE CLAUSE: House Phoenix pledges to adhere to the particulars of a TRADE TREATY with House Scoote to generate material, capital and food transfers between the Incorporated Republic and Scootist systems, empowering both Houses to support the starving Indep worlds.
2. PROTECTORATE EXPANSION CLAUSE: This clause shall have the binding effect of a BORDER TREATY with the additional stipulation treating Kapteyn's Star as effectively lying within the Incorporated Republic of Phoenix's territory, and likewise Groombridge and Ecabore within House Scoote's.
3. MILITARY ASSISTANCE CLAUSE: House Phoenix pledges to honorably and rapidly respond to any Scootist request for military assistance in operating against hostile rebel or pirate forces in Groombridge or Ecabore. If resistance is met by House Phoenix in Kapteyn's Star, House Phoenix will welcome but not require assistance from Scootist military forces in dispatching active hostiles, with such operations never to interfere with the letter or spirit of the above Protectorate Expansion Clause.
4. MILITARY LIMITATION CLAUSE: The Assistance Clause is not to be taken as a full and open-ended mutual defense agreement, but rather an exception to the normal rules against transit of combat-capable ships into systems otherwise forbidden by the above Border Treaty: each House agrees only to allowing the other to transition reasonable, well-behaved task groups between jump points for supporting the Military Assistance Clause's precepts. Scootist naval or ground forces will not oppose or interfere with Shareholder movement into Kapteyn's Star, nor will House Scoote engage in military, diplomatic or political resistance to the Incorporated Republic's offer of protectorate or Shareholder status to the citizens of that system; Shareholder naval or ground forces will likewise respect Scootist support endeavors in Groombridge and Ecabore.
5. SOVEREIGNTY CLAUSE: If a new House takes swift and decisive action to restore order and Assembly representation to Ecabore's inhabited worlds, the above Clauses shall not extend to supporting or countenancing hostile takeover, invasion, warfare or usurpation of that new legitimate sovereign House's right to independent control of Ecabore unless the new House is declared by this Assembly to lack legitimacy or otherwise be unfit for independence.

Does House Scoote accept this [EDITED] treaty?

[mavikfelna]

With the dissolution of House K'Tah, we of the House of Far Stars put forward that baring the raise of a new internal power within the Barnard's Star system, that House Far Stars and House Hannover jointly administer the system. In addition, we request the right to jointly administer the systems of Cygni and Majastic so as to allow fair and open access to these systems and those beyond for all who would come to trade honestly and for the benefit of all.

--Councillor Desmond O'Moto

[mwaschak]

We at House Raptor applaud House Phoenix and the great delegation from Arcturus for their prompt and effective action on this issue. House Scoote would certainly benefit from your involvement and move the galaxy forward in its peaceful development. With the Hegemony and their corrupt ways gone, we have a nightly mess to attend to. We will consider how to possible make formal laws to handle the dissolution of unsuccessful houses should none of the other noble families of Ecabore rise to the challenge. I know House Phoenix and House Raptor have not always seen eye to eye, the Winterfell incident comes to mind, but this represents a good opportunity for all houses.


OOC: Sorry about the delay. It was a great vacation! On that note I am looking forward to seeing how turn 1 shakes out. I will be taking over full turn processing for turn 2 and beyond. Also, I don't believe we have rules for joint ownership. Those planets out there are technically neutral, including the PZ, so while I can "hand them over" so to speak in the NEE Assembly, they still need to be controlled.

[virtutis.umbra]

Councillor O'moto,

I for one applaud House Far Stars' eager response to the call for quick and decisive action to rescue the indep worlds from further decline, and your delegation's willingness to cooperate with neighboring House Hannover in doing so is quite admirable.

But.

Joint administration of star systems runs counter to the House System on which the structure of Hegemony (and, now New Imperial) governance and organization is founded. It is the position of House Phoenix that providing assistance to one another in securing and stabilizing systems for mutual gain, but making clear in law and in fact which single House is directly responsible for a system's management and welfare, is a far more sustainable long-term plan.

Joint administration can rapidly give rise to difficult situations on the ground, with a lengthy FTL transit by both parties necessary to communicate home to determine the best course; in such situations, emergencies may arise that rapidly spiral into unnecessary and avoidable conflict because the moment for decisive action passes before a decision can be reached. We need not look very far back in galactic history to find instances of such tragedies on a smaller scale: why, our own Republic's first attempt to colonize Roc a handful of decades before the Collapse was a joint venture between our lesser houses Scottsdale and Gilbert, and the difficulties inherent in their respective Shareholders' disagreements about the course of development in that system was directly responsible for the ecological collapse that still plagues that system to this very day.

We would all be most disappointed to see a similar fate befall Cygni, Majestic, or Barnard's Star. It were better, perhaps, if Houses Far Stars and Hannover agreed to jointly integrate those three systems into one of your Houses, and Lacaille, Lexington and Lutyen into the other. This would provide one House sovereignty over several known-quantity worlds within the coreward quarter of known space, while the other held admittedly more marginal stars - but stars on the Rim of Known Space, with the unfettered potential for exploration outward in search of the new worlds and riches whose seeking has always made humanity great.

That is the path House Phoenix would support; but, as in all things, we will bow to the wisdom of Houses' sovereignty and the democracy of this Assembly, and pledge to abide by any formal recognized treaties or Assembly rulings on the matter.

Citizen Shareholder Landry Aigrette
Senior VP of Interstellar Affairs, Incorporated Republic of Phoenix
Ambassador, NEE Assembly - Arcturus Delegation, New Earth Empire

[virtutis.umbra]

Fellow delegates, we have had a few extremely productive discussions start up on the subject of these noble Houses stepping out into the galactic stage to rescue Indep worlds from starvation and lawlessness; I've also alluded to the important work that lies always ahead of us to push human space further out along the frontier. We have already heard some opinions on both sides of the proposition of multiple Houses practicing shared administration of Indep worlds. It is the opinion of House Phoenix that we ought to mobilize the full weight of the Assembly behind all three of these discussion points, so we hereby propose the following three laws for consideration by the Assembly in the current legislative session:

1. Exploration Subsidy Act: The wealth of the Prosperity Zone shall be at the disposal of any House which seeks to expand into uncharted space at the periphery of the pre-Hegemony borders shown on our current star map. The NEE Assembly shall make available from Prosperity Zone surplus income funding to support exploration projects:

• Any starships actively engaged in the hazardous duty of Exploration in a new system shall have their Maintenance Costs reimbursed each month from the NEE Treasury.(OOC: This might need to be rephrased to reflect the actual mechanics involved, but it's in line with things Raptor has admitted before would be possible: providing financial assistance instead of active warships.)
• Any House that successfully deploys a Colony Fleet on a never-before-colonized system shall have half the construction cost of that Fleet reimbursed from the NEE Treasury.

[virtutis.umbra]

2. Unipolar House Sovereignty Resolution: Joint administration, governorship, or any form of multipolar jurisdiction of civilian populations by more than one House, being inefficient and conflict-prone, is not recognized by the NEE Assembly. All House incorporation, protectorate, colonial, or other claims of star systems shall be singular, unipolar, and unequivocal.

[virtutis.umbra]

3. Independent System Repatriation Protocol
Any system lacking an Assembly delegation of its own shall, at the declaration of a House whose existing territory currently borders that system and whose non-civilian naval starships are the only warships in orbit within that system, be granted to that House as a new portion of its sovereign territory.

If and only if this system lies within the Prosperity Zone, the Assembly Chair has Veto Power over this declaration. Further, any House here represented may declare an Objection to this repatriation intent, in which case a full debate shall occur and a majority vote in favor must be counted to grant the repatriation (The Assembly Chair may Object without Vetoing, if so desired). Lack of Objection or Veto shall constitute approval from this Assembly for Repatriation of the System under this Protocol.

Local resistance after the repatriation under this Protocol shall be considered rebellion, and the newly-sovereign House shall be empowered by this Assembly to suppress such rebellion in accordance with NEE laws of war. (No WMDs, no direct assault on civilian Census, no targeting of Infrastructure or Shipyards, all reasonable efforts to avoid collateral damage, and [per the separate Peace and Prosperity Act, this clause to be stricken if that Act is repealed] no Assault ships used in planetary operations.)

*Hannover Proviso* : A House with naval warships in a system subject to this Protocol is not required to exercise their right for repatriation. They may at a later date exercise it assuming that said system is still subject to the Protocol.

[virtutis.umbra]

House Phoenix humbly submits each of these Draft Laws separately and individually to the Assembly, and will gladly engage in debate, consider proposed amendments, answer questions, clarify, etc as needed to secure understanding. Co-sponsors of each or any Draft Law will be delightfully accepted, and motions to move to vote will be seconded when this delegation is comfortable that the Draft Law's precepts are well-understood by all delegations present.

Thank you for your time.

Citizen Shareholder Landry Aigrette
Senior VP of Interstellar Affairs, Incorporated Republic of Phoenix
Ambassador, NEE Assembly - Arcturus Delegation, New Earth Empire

[OneMadOgre]

House Kestrel is happy to support the first two of these draft laws immediately, and will spend more time in a thoughtful review of the third.

[virtutis.umbra]

The delegation for House Phoenix gratefully acknowledges House Kestrel's verbal support for the Exploration Subsidy Act and Unipolar House Sovereignty Resolution, and invites any clarifying questions you or any other delegation may have regarding the intent and wording of the Repatriation Protocol.

Citizen Shareholder Landry Aigrette
Senior VP of Interstellar Affairs, Incorporated Republic of Phoenix
Ambassador, NEE Assembly - Arcturus Delegation, New Earth Empire

[mwaschak]

House Raptor is pleased to see some initiative to explore and settle new worlds. As the funding party for such ventures, I believe we would need to have 100% transparency on any such mission and settlement, with reimbursement to follow if the NEE Assembly agrees it was done in the spirit of this law. Due to some financial constraints, we might have to parse this out piecemeal as well.

OOC: (3) We can certainly legislate this. I do have to mention that I set all those up as true neutral systems, which means all the normal neutral rules apply. The Assembly can hand over the rights to a place but like most of these NEE laws enforcement will be an issue. So yes, any fighting against you we can call a rebellion. (2) is generally enforced by the rules so it is good to call it here as well.

[BigPete]

Greeting fellow delegates.

I am pleased to announce that the reports of the demise of house K'Tal have been premature. We did experience some communication difficulties which have now been resolved.

We acknowledge the Imperium's need to stabalise the outer territories, House K'Tal will bring Majestic and Procyon under the administration of Bernard's Star. If other houses can likewise bring their nearby unaligned neighbours into the fold, the Imperium will be in a strong position to develop and expand the Empire's borders for the mutual gain of all houses.

House K'Tal looks forward to enhancing diplomatic, trade and exploration ventures with the other Houses.

Ambassador Traeger