Trade Hazard

[Arretine Empire]

Talimanstris, Austellus, Arretine Empire

"Hey Ramik, I think we got a problem." A young dockworker said as he approached the foreman on duty.

Ramik looked up from a clipboard with a hefty set of papers attached, each one detailing a shipment leaving the yards. Ever since Martinus had declared the Empire unified, the amount of trade coming in had nearly doubled, and with that, more paper work. "What's wrong?"

The dockworker pointed out to the end of the dock, where a ship had begun backing out of the harbor. "That Senecan ship wasn't cleared to leave yet and they've broken their ties to the dock. They're leaving and there is nothing we can do."

"Shit," Ramik whispered , "Alright alright, go get the security garrison and get them over there. See what you can do, I'm going to call the harbor authority."

The worker nodded and ran off. Robert trotted back to the large trailer that he was based in and made his way through the cramped and messy interior to the large radio set in the back corner. He sat down on the tiny stool in front of it and opened up a big binder full of radio contacts and frequencies. He shuffled through and found the information he needed to get in contact with the Austellan port authority. "This is foreman, D-2 to Port Authority Watch, reporting a rouge freighter attempted to break harbor without authorization from dock D-6 the SS Maplejack, copy?"

"We copy D-2, we have two cutters on the way to intercept"


---

The Maplejack had finally broken port and had begun to head out to sea, and behind them two Arretine cutters approached rapidly getting on their loudspeakers demanding the ship slow down. Captain Robert Voorman, in command of the ship was in a tough spot. He had been hoping to sneak out of port in the night, but obviously that wasn't going to happen. His superiors at New World Freight had been adamant that he skipped customs inspection and leave as fast as possible. He had no idea why but he was in deep shit now.

"How much fast can she go?" He asked.

His helmsman, also panicking replied hastily, "Not much more, I'd be afraid to go faster, I don't know if I can maneuver these rocks at this speed..."

"Just do it."

"Captain in front of us!"

---

Captain Ampelios looked out of the bridge of his cruiser to see the freighter barreling towards his ship. His first officer was right next to him, an expression of shock on his face, "Captain, I think he intends to ram us"

"I think so to, helm turn us away from that freighter."

"Aye sir," the helmsman nodded turning the cruiser a hard port. Everyone on the bridge waited anxiously as the freighter came ever closer, and the cruiser moved slowly out of its path. Ampelios's ship wasn't fast enough though and the freight also trying to turn out of the way wasn't going to miss.

"Brace for impact!" Ampelios yelled into the intercom.

The Maplejack hit on the bow of the cruiser, sending everyone on the bridgenearly to the ground. The freight crept slowly forward scraping the hull of the cruiser until she came to a stop. Captain Ampelios yelled at his first officer, "Get marines over there!"

---

On board the Mapejack, Robert Voorman watched in horror as the Arretine marines boarded the ship, arresting his crew on the upper decks. Suddenly, a group of Arretine marines burst in the room.

"Everyone down on the ground!" one of them screamed, as the rest ran in weapons raised pointed at the crew.

Voorman threw his hands in the air, and one of the marines grabbed him and threw him across the deck console, putting his hands behind his back and zip tying them. "Captain Voorman do you have any armed crew members aboard?"

"No, no please just let us go..."

The rest of the marines fanned out in the bridge, checking the other hatches and a few taking control of some of the bridge operations.

Down below decks, the marines has begun searching the cargo holds. One of the marines had run into a large pallet of crates, unmarked in the corner hidden by some hastily attached tarp. He ripped off the tarp and waved over to his lieutenant who walked over and started to inspect the boxes himself, "What do you think lieutenant, should we open them?"

The lieutenant nodded and grabbed a crowbar from his pack. He lodged it in the side of the crate and ripped open the side. A few bars of white metal fell out. "Well shit," he said, "They were taking palladium out of here."

Palladium shipments had become more frequent since the imperial reorganization, and recent negotiations had been opened up with Senecan businesses but they hadn't been concluded yet. This would make the headlines.

 

[Tyvia]

Scarburh, Union State Capital Territory, Seneca Union State

The usual manila folder had found its way to his desk that morning, delivered unto a sheaf of several other documents by his attendant secretary. More often than not, the minister would step out for some time in search of a pastry and a mug of tea prior to perusing the folder's contents. As a man who loved his comforts, he might sometimes spend an hour at the task, making certain that the Ministry's chefs were well-versed in their art. Unfortunately, this particular ritual would go unobserved this morning, with the bold red letters on the folder's front belaying some urgency.

Grudgingly, minister Kysford broke the seal and tilted the folder open. Eyes both widened as he slowly looked over the contained reports, a pen soon produced to begin jotting down notes.

At length, he was forced to concede defeat. The secretary brought in both a suitable pastry and a cup of hot tea, though neither were quite as good as they'd have been had he chosen himself. Even so, he scarfed down the former and steadily sipped at the latter while his advisers—who'd he called for moments earlier—slowly ambled into the room. The majority were staffers he'd directly hired, while others were experts in their fields either via direct experience or education. He vaguely wondered if he ought to consider calling a military representative as well, before dispelling such thoughts.

“Has anyone here not gotten a copy of this so far?” he asked, holding the folder aloft. It was deliberately kept open, the briefing's introductory page shown for the benefit of those assembled. When a handful shook their heads, he passed his along.

“Hannah's seeing about making some copies. Now—we're getting this from our Consul in the Arretine Empire, a Gregory C. Carlvik . . he's not Colonial, is he? I don't know that name. Arthur?” Kysford began, right to the point and all business. Only a half-dozen other men and women shared the room with him, the indicated individual speaking up in response first.

“He's a Copperhead by birth, sir. Married into Aumbrey—either Anna or Mary, one of those two—on account of it being seen as a good match what with his Colonel commission. He's been in Arretium for a while now, actually, what with Forsythe having appointed him back when he was Minister in 46'.”

“Aumbrey—Christ, isn't Ossie having his twelfth next month?”

“Thirteenth, they expect a boy.”

“Well, let's hope they get one. Ten girls? One'd think the man's seed was cursed. So, we can trust Carlvik, then. Now, everyone has their files?” By now, everyone had indeed been provided with a copy of the very same document he'd received, all skimming through while he spoke.

“According to Carlvik, the Maplejack—stop snickering, you louts—was seized as she was trying to leave port in Talimanstris . . in Austellus. He's not entirely sure why, but he says it's got something to do with customs duties. Ship was captured, crew and captain arrested, and the cargo summarily seized. Property of New World Freight & Cargo, and the company's up in arms about it all. Right. Thoughts, people?”

Diana Grimes, a senior staffer and former Chairwoman of the Foreign Relations Board in the Yeomanry, was first to respond: “it seems fairly cut and dry, sir. They got it, and we want it back. Remains to be seen how they want to play, but hopefully it'll be ball.”

“I get the feeling New World Freight ain't being entirely honest here. If the Arretines are seizing it for a reason, we ought to find out what that is,” added another adviser, possessing similar credentials to all the rest.

“I'm inclined to agree. We don't know the full story, and it isn't prudent to be going around making definitive decisions until we have that scoop. I don't want this getting out to the press just yet, not until we're ready to start making statements. I want details, so send someone else over to Arretium to help Carlvik. Tell him to try and get all the info he can on what's going on; so far we don't know much more than that they were seized.”

“We can condemn the seizure of private property, at the very least,” Grimes pointed out, drumming her pen lightly against the clipboard to which the briefing was affixed.

“And again, I'm inclined to agree. Arresting the crew is one thing, but the goods should have been held and New World Freight notified. It doesn't set a good precedent—not in any way—when the cargo is simply seized outright, even if there was some problem with customs payment.”

“I'll notify Carlvik,” Arthur Abott said, rising to his feet. The rest of them made similar declarations, embarking on one task or another now.

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs
344 Everett Avenue, Scarburh, Capital Territory
​

May 26th, 1954​

To whom it may concern,

Having been duly informed by our dignitaries (namely Consul Carlvik and his staff) in Arretium regarding the seizure of the SS Maplejack, the Seneca Union State must now make it stance on the matter known in condemning the unilateral theft of private property. There exists no circumstance under which the Union State would not condemn nor be affronted by the forceful seizure of lawfully acquired goods. Irrespective of concerns regarding payment of appropriate customs dues or other tithes to the relevant authority (though this itself is a topic of inquest), the property of the New World Freight & Cargo Co. must be respected.

As such, the Union State demands the release of the captain and his crew unconditionally. With regards to the vessel and the cargo it'd been in the process of ferrying, the Union State too desires their release: presupposing payment by New World Freight & Cargo of any missed duties.

Forward Remembrance; thereunto with all Perseverance​

SIGNED & SEALED
Silas James Kysford,
Minister of Foreign Affairs

 

[Arretine Empire]

Minister Ljuben Toma sat with his leg crossed at his desk, skimming the usual set of boring reports that needed to be signed off. However in all fairness, since the new Emperor took control, things had picked up. The Ministry of Commerce had taken control of all the kingdoms trade ministries, and with that centralization of course meant even more work had to be done. The latest thing to past through his desk was a development request on iron ore facilities in Austellus that had been recently approved. There was a knock on his door, "Come in."

His desk assistant, Christiano Silvestro, walked through the door carrying a report in his hands. "Mr. Toma, we've received an urgent diplomatic request from the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the [MENTION=295]Seneca[/MENTION] Union State, it's over the seizure of the ship."

This peaked Toma's interest, who sat up straight immediately upon hearing this, "The Senecan Union? About time, let me see."

He took the paper and began to skim through it, "SS Maplejack... theft... " He chuckled, "Oh they said unilateral theft that makes it much more condemning. Oh that said that too..."

He was surprised to be hearing about this case again, as it was very cut and dry. The overwhelming majority of ships that came in and out of Arretine waters were let through with no problems. The Empire didn't make it, its business to check every inch of cargo space on board most ships. However this case was different, the cargo ship was trying to get away with palladium, which to the Empire and most likely the rest of the world saw as a very precious resource. The Empire has recently released new commercial and mining regulations a few months ago, and under those regulations palladium was one of the metals considered a vital state resource and under total control of the Imperial government, from mining to commercialization. The Senecans should have known this, and it was obvious that at least the freight company was trying to cover something up, why else would they leave port without even paying the fees?

"Thank you Christiano, that will be all"

His assistant nodded and he left.

---

The Emperor, while supposedly the most powerful man in Arretium, didn't like to sit around on his throne all day. He took much like his predecessor and had his own office, where he conducted affairs of state. His personal phone line rang and he picked it up, on the other end the voice of one of the audiutors in his service, "My Emperor, the Minister of Commerce is on the line requesting to be wired in."

"Put him through," he responded.

After a moment Minister Toma was on the other end, "Emperor, I have received a complaint from the Senecan Union Minister of Foreign Affairs of the ship seizure in Talimanstris"

The Emperor raised his eyebrows, "Minister Toma, why does this involve me."

"It involves an attempted palladium shipment. The goods on board were all legal, except they had somehow managed to get a hold of palladium and were trying to smuggle it out of the country. Whoever it was who managed to smuggle it onboard must be attempted to sabotage our interests in it."

Now he knew why it involved him. The recent discovery of the palladium had excited the scientific community of Arretium, who were reveling in its potential uses. However the Emperor, noting this new discovery, had directed much of the flow of palladium to military research and development rather than commercialization. Though some of the palladium at this time had been used to research a recent concept called the catalytic converter, his military interests were were in the developing fields of electronics and the creation of fuel cells. While the technologies he had hoped to apply them to were years away, the race was still on, at least for himself, and any disruption to that schedule could end up disastrously. He knew he shouldn't have gotten so close to the subject, but he knew the only way sciences would flourish in his new Empire would be under his personal patronage, something he would not take lightly.

"Thank you Minister, I'll write the response myself, I will forward it to your office, make sure to deliver it under the Ministry's name."

---

Arretine Empire
Diplomatic Communique
Seneca Union State​

The SS Maplejack and its crew were subject to the laws of the Arretine Empire during their search and seizure. The Maplejack and her crew were in violation of multiple Austellan Port Authority codes. First in foremost was their forced attempt to break anchor after refusing to pay port duties, next was their damage of an Arretine Navy cruiser which they hit in their escape attempt, and third was the New World Freight & Cargo Co.'s attempt to smuggle Imperial controlled palladium out of Arretine territory without recieving the proper clearance. This Ministry is willing to turn over the legal contents of the freighter to the Senecan government once legal reperations are made by the New World Freight & Cargo Co. Ministry of Commerce Arretine Empire