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Subject: "The WDF and IPO in New Frontier"     Previous Topic | Next Topic
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BeardedFerret
Member since Apr-21-08
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Sep-01-15, 10:10 PM (EDT)
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"The WDF and IPO in New Frontier"
 
   So, for the past couple of weeks I've been recovering from surgery and listening to EPU audios, and I got to thinking (insomuch as one can on heavy painkillers). I know G very much likes to avoid thinking about interstellar politics but I can't stop myself and I've gotta get this out or I'll just keep thinking about it.

So Day of Infamy (or whatever replaces it) happens, and in its wake the Federation and Starfleet are both pretty much destroyed as a galactic power and transition instead to (essentially) a rogue state run by a Sith Lord. The remaining Federation forces are off the table in terms of galactic peacekeeping.

As we see in the existing version of DoI, a big sticking point of the negotiations for a new Galactic Alliance is galactic defence, with negotiations instead revolving around member states reverting to the use of their own armed forces in lieu of a single body such as Starfleet.

Which leaves me wondering about the role of the WDF (and, by extension, the IPO Space Force) in New Frontier.

The WDF exists to be an extrapolitical force for galactic defence. With huge fleets of fold-capable battleships, they have the capacity to near-instantly respond to crises such as the incursion seen in The Vastru Encounter. It seems like a natural fit for them to work with and/or take direction from some combination of the GA (in whatever form its governing body takes) and the Babylon Foundation to react to urgent threats concerning galactic defence.

It also seems well suited to intervene in matters relating to conflicts between GA member states, in the fashion of Picard's ad-hoc fleet's arrival on Titan during the Earth crackdown, This, politically, is a tougher sell than the idea of the WDF attacking external threats. The WDF are easily tied to the Republic of Zeta Cygni, who I would assume would also be a member state of the GA. It would be important to sever this tie, or at least provide reasonable political distance between Zeta Cygni's government (such as it is) and the WDF.

Which leads me to the IPO.

Zeta Cygni's head of state IS the head of the International Police. For an Earth Alliance spin doctor during the cold war period before DoI, this must have been the biggest godsend in the galaxy. "The IPO have engaged in an armed conflict with our forces at Titan, their chief is the head of the Zetan government, ergo this was an act of war" etc etc. It would be trivially easy for a GA member state to paint with a complaint with either the IPO or New Avalon to paint one as the other in order to sow distrust.

How to solve this? As with the WDF, the simplest solution would be to distance the IPO politically from ZC. This may involve Gryphon stepping down from the Zetan government, and potentially moving the IPO's headquarters to more neutral ground such as Babylon Station. Alternately, an enterprising GA negotiator could propose to make Zeta Cygni the administrative capital of the Galactic Alliance, subsuming the Republic of Zeta Cygni into the GA itself - sort of like Washington DC's status as a district.

Finally turning to the IPO's role, it makes a certain amount of sense to transition the organisation to a formally sanctioned galactic criminal investigation department, under the purview of the GA itself (potentially involving a merger with the 3WA, whose purpose I can't really work out anymore) and working in partnership with similar internal police forces within GA member states.

The Space Force seems fairly redundant for this role - why does a police force need a fleet of destroyers? It does however fit quite well as a branch of the WDF in the above-mentioned role as Peacekeepers for conflicts between GA member states.

TL/DR:
- I took a lot of painkillers
- The WDF are basically Starfleet for the Galactic Alliance
- The IPO would work well as an FBI-analogue working under the GA
- The IPO-SF should transition to the WDF as a peacekeeping fleet
- The Republic of Zeta Cygni needs to distance itself from both bodies
- God damn that feels better out in writing and not crammed into my head


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  Subject     Author     Message Date     ID  
  RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier Gryphonadmin Sep-01-15 1
     RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier BeardedFerret Sep-01-15 2
         RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier Gryphonadmin Sep-01-15 3
             RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier BeardedFerret Sep-01-15 5
                 RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier Proginoskes Sep-04-15 7
                     RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier Vorticity Sep-05-15 8
                         RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier Astynax Sep-05-15 9
                             RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier JFerio Sep-05-15 10
                             RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier TheOtherSean Sep-05-15 11
             RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier Vorticity Sep-03-15 6
     RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier BeardedFerret Sep-01-15 4

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Gryphonadmin
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Sep-01-15, 10:32 PM (EDT)
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1. "RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier"
In response to message #0
 
   LAST EDITED ON Sep-01-15 AT 10:40 PM (EDT)
 
>Zeta Cygni's head of state IS the head of the International Police.

Please note: This is not the case.

(Also, the WDF isn't part of the Zetan armed forces; technically they're mercenaries, rather along the lines of the very large, very long-serving-a-single-customer mercenary companies in pre-Clans MechWarrior. They were under contract to the Salusian Crown in the very earliest days, to the United Galactica for most of the Golden Age, and to the Federation in more recent times; however their contracts always have a "but if you get out of line yourself, keep in mind that we can and probably will end you" clause in them. Zeta Cygni is where they're based and where most of their equipment comes from, but the connection is much more economic than political.)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.


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BeardedFerret
Member since Apr-21-08
461 posts
Sep-01-15, 10:35 PM (EDT)
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2. "RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier"
In response to message #1
 
   Seriously? I could have sworn Gryphon ran ZC.


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Gryphonadmin
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Sep-01-15, 10:39 PM (EDT)
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3. "RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier"
In response to message #2
 
   >Seriously? I could have sworn Gryphon ran ZC.

Many people think so. They're all not correct. :)

No one person runs the Republic of Zeta Cygni. It's worth millions of your man-years.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.


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BeardedFerret
Member since Apr-21-08
461 posts
Sep-01-15, 10:52 PM (EDT)
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5. "RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier"
In response to message #3
 
   >>Seriously? I could have sworn Gryphon ran ZC.
>
>Many people think so. They're all not correct. :)
>
>No one person runs the Republic of Zeta Cygni. It's worth millions of
>your man-years.

Ah right. I thought when Zoner made a reference to Gryph running it years back in the first Symphony he was being literal.


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Proginoskes
Member since Dec-3-09
93 posts
Sep-04-15, 08:15 PM (EDT)
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7. "RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier"
In response to message #5
 
   My recollection is that Zoner used the phrase "head of state", and I also took him too seriously. I did notice that Gryph didn't seem to spend that much time doing head-of-state-type activities, so I assumed that his position was Strictly Ceremonial. Had I thought about it more, I probably would've concluded, like Vorticity, that Baron Fahrvergnugen was the official head of state, and that Gryph occupied a Governor-General-like position.


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Vorticity
Member since Feb-6-12
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Sep-05-15, 00:00 AM (EDT)
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8. "RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier"
In response to message #7
 
   Well, that's easy to test.

> grep -C1 -ir "head of state" fanfic/UF
... --
fanfic/UF/FI/SOS/rose-new-year.txt-identity documents provided (it was awfully convenient, Miki Kaoru
fanfic/UF/FI/SOS/rose-new-year.txt:reflected, to know a head of state; the Republic of Zeta Cygni was, in
fanfic/UF/FI/SOS/rose-new-year.txt-large part, embodied by Kaitlyn's father), the supplies prepared.

Actually, it was Miki. I wouldn't expect him to be wrong about such things. Governor General sounds about right, though.


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Astynax
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Sep-05-15, 01:11 AM (EDT)
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9. "RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier"
In response to message #8
 
   >Well, that's easy to test.
>
>
> grep -C1 -ir "head of state" fanfic/UF 
>... --
>fanfic/UF/FI/SOS/rose-new-year.txt-identity documents provided (it was
>awfully convenient, Miki Kaoru
>fanfic/UF/FI/SOS/rose-new-year.txt:reflected, to know a head of state;
>the Republic of Zeta Cygni was, in
>fanfic/UF/FI/SOS/rose-new-year.txt-large part, embodied by Kaitlyn's
>father), the supplies prepared.

>
>Actually, it was Miki. I wouldn't expect him to be wrong about such
>things. Governor General sounds about right, though.

That was also some years prior to most currently/recently active storylines, as well as the general time period of the New Frontier. It is entirely possible G simply left office sometime shortly after founding the IPO, both to focus his attention and avoid conflicts of interest.


-={(Astynax)}=-
"Or Miki was simply incorrect in his assumptions."


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JFerio
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Sep-05-15, 08:01 AM (EDT)
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10. "RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier"
In response to message #9
 
   >>Well, that's easy to test.
>>
>>
> grep -C1 -ir "head of state" fanfic/UF 
>>... --
>>fanfic/UF/FI/SOS/rose-new-year.txt-identity documents provided (it was
>>awfully convenient, Miki Kaoru
>>fanfic/UF/FI/SOS/rose-new-year.txt:reflected, to know a head of state;
>>the Republic of Zeta Cygni was, in
>>fanfic/UF/FI/SOS/rose-new-year.txt-large part, embodied by Kaitlyn's
>>father), the supplies prepared.

>>
>>Actually, it was Miki. I wouldn't expect him to be wrong about such
>>things. Governor General sounds about right, though.
>
>That was also some years prior to most currently/recently active
>storylines, as well as the general time period of the New Frontier. It
>is entirely possible G simply left office sometime shortly after
>founding the IPO, both to focus his attention and avoid conflicts of
>interest.
>
>
>
>
>colspan="2"]
>noshade]
>SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000"]-={(Astynax)}=-
>"Or Miki was simply incorrect in his
>assumptions."

>noshade]

I've always kind of assumed that Gryphon doesn't really hold a position in the ZC government, but his role in the creation of it, his position in the WDF and later IPO, plus that he probably helped pick the people actually running it, would mean a combination of being able to speak for it knowing what decisions would be made, and having plenty of ears to bend when he has suggestions on certain decisions.





Jeffrey 'JFerio' Crouch
'It'll be all right... I think.' - Nene Romanova



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TheOtherSean
Member since Jul-7-08
184 posts
Sep-05-15, 09:34 PM (EDT)
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11. "RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier"
In response to message #9
 
   During Zoner's conversation with Juri, in S1M4, he says "I -know- a legitimate authority. I'm on the phone with him right
now. Friend of mine who runs a very nice, very liberal little space
republic - Kaitlyn's father, as a matter of fact. He's been kind
enough to provide citizenship, with all the fun benefits that brings
with it, to Utena and Miki as well."

--
The Other Sean - Don't accept substitutes!
Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?


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Vorticity
Member since Feb-6-12
67 posts
Sep-03-15, 00:54 AM (EDT)
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6. "RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier"
In response to message #3
 
   I always thought that RZC was a constitutional barony. Which would make Gryphon very much not head of state, even if he ran things.

That said, it wouldn't take much for Earth Alliance to make the connection between Gryphon, the WDF, and Zeta Cygni. They'd probably have Sonset Truthers on ISN, saying that Ben Hutchins always was the Butcher, and that his attempts at diplomacy are a cover for until he carries out his eeevil plan. Obviously humanized Salusians are just infiltrating Earth to destroy it. It's all connected! (Join Night Watch)

I guess I'm not reading for a story like that. But I do miss Redneck's writing because he did have some sense of politics going on in the background of his stories. Not sure if I'd agree with him in person on politics though -- it's better to let Zeta Cygni be a shining beacon of tolerance and democracy and security, and not think too much about the poor underclass living in those civil defense tunnels below New Avalon.

Really though, I suspect ZC acts like any other post-scarcity economy: basically like Star Trek.


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BeardedFerret
Member since Apr-21-08
461 posts
Sep-01-15, 10:51 PM (EDT)
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4. "RE: The WDF and IPO in New Frontier"
In response to message #1
 
   >(Also, the WDF isn't part of the Zetan armed forces; technically
>they're mercenaries, rather along the lines of the very large, very
>long-serving-a-single-customer mercenary companies in pre-Clans
>MechWarrior. They were under contract to the Salusian Crown in
>the very earliest days, to the United Galactica for most of the Golden
>Age, and to the Federation in more recent times; however their
>contracts always have a "but if you get out of line yourself, keep in
>mind that we can and probably will end you" clause in them.

Well that's pretty much what I'm proposing with the GA then, awesome. Love a future-proof business model.

>Zeta
>Cygni is where they're based and where most of their equipment comes
>from, but the connection is much more economic than political.)

Oh for sure, but it's easy to spin the former into the latter, particularly if you're a state with a history of mistrust of one or the other.


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