An Expansionist Agenda

[Mercantilist States]

It had only been a little more than a month since newly elected President Anthony J. Washington had taken office. Already the expansionist voices from Newsouth and Jazzo were clamoring to make further claims on the neigboring islands.

. . .

Washington's personal secretary knocked on the door and peaked her head in.

"Mr. President, your 3 o'clock is here."

"Very well," Washington said as he looked up from his desk.

Ambassador William Jackson walked in, and Washington rose to greet him.

"Bill, what do you know?" Washington asked as the two men embraced.

"It's good to see you Mr. President. Word from Newsouth and Jazzo is that they want to make further claims on the islands surrounding their states. Newsoutherners are already exploring neighboring islands. Prime Minister Gardener wants to declare open exploration on the islands neighboring Jazzo but wants approval from you. But he has already begun dispatching National Gaurd troops to establish exploration perimeters."

"Polk can't control his citizens and Gardener is sending troops." Washington shook his head and sighed. "Ok, send word to Jim that he can open exploration of the neighboring islands and lets get some more ships out to reinforce the Newsoutherners."

"Margerie!"

Margerie opened the door and peaked her head in.

"Yes sir?"

"Can you tell Admiral Johnson and General Lock that we request their presence."

[Mercantilist States]

Captain James Brennan looked at his compass and checked the map. His crew and their families had set out from Newsouth nearly a week ago and had yet to see a place they could call home. The few towns thay had passed through had their appeal, but they hadn't found quite what they were looking for.

Brennan and his crew were just one of the many unemployed who had left Newsouth to look for work. Times was hard; unemployment had reached its highest level in years. Hundreds were leaving Newsouth each day, destined for the "untouched islands" to the northeast. They offered an untapped wealth of resources ripe for the picking.

Already towns had been established on the islands closest to Newsouth territory. Newsoutherners had established lumber export, tobacco, and fishing towns and industries. There were also rumored to be infant Uranium mining industries further out who were looking for people with all types and levels of skills.

Brennan and his crew were different however. They were not looking for work as much as they were looking for community. They were more concerned with upholding traditional values than commerce.

[Mercantilist States]

President Washington and Ambassador Jackson entered the War Room where they found their war staff assembled. The war staff was made up of General Marcel Lock, Admiral Marion Johnson, Secretary of Defense Jeff Crane, Deputy Sec. of Defense Francis Trent, and Intelligence Director John Carvil. Washington had tasked the men with drawing up a plan of containment to protect the settlers. If he couldn't turn the economy around quick enough to get them work, the least he could do is help facilitate their exodus. They were, afterall, Mercantilians.

The war staff rose to attention as the two men entered the room.

"Gentlemen, what do you have for me?" Washington asked assertively as he took his seat at the head of the table.

The Admiral flipped on the large panel screen:



"Newsoutherners have made it as far as this island," the Admiral said pointing to the yellow dots on the map. "Prime Minister Gardener has declared the largest island to the northwest and all the islands in between open for exploration and Jazzians have already begun emigrating."

"There have also been reports of non Mercantilian settlements within the unclaimed islands," the Intelligence Director said.

"What we have proposed.." the Admiral flipped to a second screen:



"..is a containment formation. We will deploy the 1st and the 4th fleets the West and Northwest to reinforce the Jazzo exploration zone. The 2nd and 3rd fleets will be deployed to the Northeast and reinforce the Newsoutherners who are already there."

"And by containment you mean you're not going to let any non-Mercantilian ships through?" Washington asked.

The Admiral and General looked at Washington with a puzzled look.

"Some would consider that an act of war." Jackson said.

"No one fires without my express order, is that understood gentlemen?"

The Admiral and General nodded.

"Where do we stand with Gardener, Bill?"

"The Prime Minister has gracefully agreed to deploy his Gaurd troops in accordance with our wishes." Jackson responded.

"Admiral, add the Jazzo National Gaurd troops to reinforce the 1st, 2nd, and 4th fleets, as you see fit."

"What would it take to establish a permanent presence on the largest island to the northwest?" Washington posed.

"Sir?" Jackson asked. Washington waited for the war staff's answer.

"Well, a few thousand troops, some ships, and some contracts," the Secretary of Defense responded.

"Well if we know we're going to have Mercantilians settling those islands we better have some kind of presence there. I want to see a plan on my desk by tomorrow morning."

...

[Mercantilist States]

Deputy Engineer A.G. Rainey had been given the order directly from General Lock to pick a "cozy" location for Ft. Tenokee. The General had a sense of humor. His frigate had split off from the 1st fleet and was charged with laying the foundations of the base, notably the piers. The Aliburten Corporation had been contracted to help with construction and would arrive within the week. Army Divisions had been mobilized from Decartes and South Jazzville including the Corps of Engineers and would arrive in a few weeks. Bottom line was, they needed to be sure they provided a warm welcome.

As they passed citizen settlement after citizen settlement, Rainey was always proud of the Mercantilian character. Without fear and without hesitation, they pushed out to explore the world. These settlements were only the tip of the iceberg.

"Sir, what do you think of this location."

Rainey scanned the location the Captain had pointed to and looked at his map, then nodded.

"I like it. We shall establish Ft. Tenokee here."

....



Yellow dots are mapped Jazzian settlements

[Mercantilist States]

William Canton and his team trekked deeper into the island headed for mountains in the distance.

"Will, what the hell have you gotten me into," asked Doug Hunting, Canton's best friend, "what could possibly be this far out here?"

"You never know until you check," Canton responded as he continued unfazed.

Jazzians by nature were known be more conservative and less adventurous than their brethren from other states, even with the recent high unemployment in Jazzville. Canton, however, was different. He always wanted to be the first one to do something and was driven by an urge to explore. He always said it was the Newsouth spirit from his mother's side of the family.

Besides, he knew they had nothing to worry about. The construction of Ft. Tenokee was well underway on the other side of the mountain range and an exploration perimeter had been well defined and established by the Merchant Defense Force. Settlers were free to explore and settle the Northwest Territories; the only thing they were going to run into out here was an occasional grizzly bear and fatigue.

"About time for lunch?" asked Franklin Sutter, who began making his way towards a nearby stream to fill his canteens.

Canton stopped and looked up at the sun and then checked his watch. It was about lunchtime and they had been on the move since dawn. "Now's a better time than any."

"Frank, can you fill mine up too?" asked Hunting who tossed his canteen Sutter's way.

"Hey, what do ya'll make of this?" Sutter said as he returned with a canteen filled with gold flakes.

Canton and Hunting looked at it, and then at each other.

"Where did you find these?" Canton asked.

Sutter lead them to the spot and Canton and Hunting began following along up the stream scanning it intently.

All of a sudden, Canton jumped into the stream and reached his hands deep into the stream bed pulling out a large gold rock.

The three looked intently at the gold rock.

"Well I think we can stop here."

...

[Mercantilist States]

Chief-of-Staff Leo Spencer sat at his desk reading the recent report on the Mercantilist States Government military outpost, Ft. Tenokee. Michael Thompson, the press secretary, rushed through the door.

"Leo, the Free Press says gold has been discovered in the Northwest Territories and want a comment."

"Gold?"

"Yes, they're on the phone now, we need to give them something."

Leo Spencer, Chief-of-Staff to the Prime Minister of Jazzo, sat up to attention. "Ok, tell them..." he sat thinking. "You got any ideas?"

"We could say 'this is a great discovery for Jazzo and the Mercantilist States...ours by right?' I don't know."

Spencer thought for a second and spoke slowly. "Say 'this is a great discovery for Jazzo, sure to bring prosperity to the Mercantilist States."

"Ok.." And with that Thompson left the office as quickly as he came.

[Mercantilist States]

GOLD!!!
Gold Discovered in the Northwest

DECARTES (Free Press) - Gold has been discovered on the largest island in the Northwest Territories according to reports from the borderland town of New Decartes. Jazzian Prime Minister Gardener had previously declared the grouping of islands open for exploration. Additionally, the Mercantilist States Government has established a military outpost named Ft. Tenokee on the far side of the island and navy fleets are protecting the far side of the island.

"This is a great discovery for Jazzo, sure to bring prosperity to the Mercantilist States," the Prime Minister's office said.

Calls to the President's office were not immediately returned.

Note:
Tenokee has been created.

[Mercantilist States]

Anthony Washington and William Jackson were on their way towards the War Room where they were planning to discuss expansion of the containment policy with the War Staff.

"Gardener called the islands our birthright?"

"That's what I heard," Jackson responded.

As they entered the room the War Staff rose to attention. Washington motioned them to sit as he took his place at the head of the table.

"Admiral, how are you doing?"

"Good Mr. President, and yourself?"

"Good, what do you have for me?"

"There are estimates that there are more than 6 million Mercantilians spread amongst these cities..." the Admiral flipped on the screen:



"...with the highest population conentrations near the Sutter claim."

"How is the Tenokee aircraft situation?"

"It now has a full aircraft compliment, we redeployed the 1st and 3rd Wings from Ft. Campbell."

"Good, what do you have as far as extending the containment policy?"

The Admiral flipped to a second screen:



"What we would like to do is reposition our fleets like this, and then use the combined resources of Newsouth, Wikitree, and Decartes to extend our strike area."

"Well you can forget trying to redeploy the Wikitree National Gaurd," Washington said. "President Wikii, with what little power he does have, will never move that fleet."

"Ok, in that case." The Admiral pointed to the 'NNG' and moved it near the current location of the 3rd fleet.

"We would like to have the Newsouth National Gaurd deployed here,"

The Admiral then moved the 'DNG' towards the middle of the unclaimed island chains.

"And the Decartes National Gaurd here. We'll leave the Wikitree National Gaurd to defend the core states."



Washington turned to Jackson.

"Bill, talk to Governor Polk and make the request. Tell him it's to protect the Newsoutherners. I'll talk to Governor Bush, it shouldn't be a problem with him. Also Admiral, deploy the 1st and 2nd Subdivisions to the North Merchant Sea and have the 3rd Subdivision patrol the South Merchant Sea. And again, no one fires without my express order."

"Yes sir."

"Thank you gentlemen," and Washington and Jackson rose to leave the room.

General Lock followed them out.

"Mr. President, I didn't want to raise this in the meeting, but almost 10% of the garrison at Ft. Tenokee has deserted."

Washington and Jackson stopped walking, and turned to face the General.

"For gold?" Jackson asked.

The General nodded.

"Do we have to deal with this now?" Washington asked, clearly irritated.

"No sir, just wanted to make you aware of the situation."

"Ok. Thank you Marcel."

...

[Mercantilist States]

Mercantilist Brewing Co. Announces New Brewery
Adams cites 'Good Business Sense'

DECARTES (Decartes Business Journal) - The Mercantilist Brewing Co. today announced that they will be opening a new brewery in New Decartes, a town located in the Tenokee borderlands. It is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

"Demand for alcohol and tobacco in the Northwest Territories is at an all time high and sales of our Old Mercantilism whiskey have recently hit a new high. Expansion into Tenokee just makes good business sense," President Adams said at a press conference today. "Frankly, we're having a hard time keeping up with the demand."

The company had recently opened itself up to foreign investment and has been expanding its regional distribution networks across Taijitu including the recent completion of new distribution centers in Kē'ur, Nashborough, and New Kalvskar.

One of the trademarks of the Mercantilist Brewing Co. is that all of their products and ingredients are gauranteed to be from the Mercantilist States.

[Mercantilist States]

As George Kerst entered the city limits of Redwood, he stopped and breathed in the fresh pine air.

"Smells like a hint of gold in the air."

Redwood was one of the dozens of boom towns that had sprung up across the Tenokee borderlands in the last year. The closest to the Sutter claim, it was second in size only to New Decartes. And it was the perfect place for Kerst to start.

Unlike the millions who had flocked to Tenokee with the delusion of 'striking it rich', Kerst had come to the borderlands with other ideas. A businessman from Decartes, he believed that if he secured enough gold claims he could corner the gold market. Then he could convinve the Mercantilist States Department of Commerce to grant him 'Corporate Status'; similar to what the Wikitree Government had done with the DeWi Diamond Trading Company years ago.

Kerst entered the local tavern and approached the bar.

"What can I get you?" the bartender asked him.

"A shot of Old Mercantilism; and leave the bottle."

Kerst turned to scope out the bar and caught a poker game going on at some corner tables. Kerst, who had been known to play a hand in his day, turned to the bartender.

"What's the deal with that game?"

"High-rollers. Most of the guys over there struck it rich on their claims. They come in here every night to play, flaunt their money really. It's an open game, you want in?"

"What's the game?"

"Newsouth Hold 'Em."

"I think I can do that."

Kerst left a $100 tallent at the bar and walked over to the game.

"Evening gentlemen."

...

[Mercantilist States]

Leo Spencer talked with his colleague Franklin Card, chief of staff to Governor Bush. The two had worked together years earlier on Governor Polk's first campaign and this had been the first time they had seen each other in some time; though they still talked on occasion. They sat in the gallery of the Congressional Chamber waiting for the President to arrive.

The Congressional Chamber, for lack of a better word, was a conference room on the 3rd floor of the palace-like Decartes Capitol building. A round table was in the center of the room surrounded by a couple rows of auditorium like seating.

Spencer and Jazzan Prime Minister Gardener had arrived earlier today from Jazzville to meet with the other members of Congress. They had come to present an idea and a resolution to Congress; and then to the President.

As Anthony Washington and William Jackson entered the chamber, the Chamber rose to greet them.

"Mr. President," Gardener said as he met Washington at the door and shook his hand. "It's very good to see you again."

Washington proceeded to work the room, shaking hands with Gardener, Devin Wikii, William Xavier, and Robert Bush, finally settling in his seat with Jackson at his right.

Prime Minister Gardener began.

"Mr. President, the four of us have drafted a resolution and would like your input into it," Gardener slid a document over to Jackson. "In short, it will declare the Merchant islands ours by birth."

Washington took his time, now reading the document carefully.

"Well, they are ours by birth," Washington said as he looked up and smiled. "I like it. We'll make the announcement tomorrow."

Spencer watched in amusement. It was classic Washington. Take the credit first, and then get it done later. But at least he knew a good idea when he saw it.

...

[Mercantilist States]

Leo Spencer and Michael Thompson stood towards the back of the crowd as they listened to President Washington give a speech to a small crowd of people and a pool of reporters on the steps of the Decartes Capitol. Standing to his right were Prime Minister Gardener and President Wikii, and to his left Governor Bush and Ambassador Xavier.

"..declare today, to the nations of Taijitu, that the Merchant islands are ours by birth..."

Thompson scanned the room to see if there was anyone he recognized; you never knew at these events. He always had a hard time listening to his speeches, somehow knowing what came next lost its appeal years ago. He saw Jack Blair, a friend of his from the Bush campaign, standing with two gorgeous girls. Had to be interns he thought to himself. As Washington wrapped up the speech Thompson made his way over to Blair.

"...Thank you and may God save the great Mercantilist States."

"Jack Blair," Thompson said over the applause as he put his hand on Blair's back.

"Michael Thompson, how are you buddy?" Blair said as the two embraced. "You write that?"

"Haha, how'd you guess that?"

"Sounded like Gardener. Anyway, I want you to meet my friend Crissy..."

[Mercantilist States]

"Ours by Birth"
Washington calls islands Mercantilian birthright

DECARTES (Free Press) - President Anthony Washington, flanked by Congress, today declared that the Merchant archipelago is the rightful territory of the Mercantilist States saying they are "ours by birth."

"Our fathers claimed the islands as our birthright. And today, so too shall we." Washington said to a large crowd on the Decartes Capitol steps.

The declaration comes as millions of Mercantilians are flocking to the islands in search of gold. Last week, another major gold deposit was discovered on the largest island northeast of the largest island.

Recent fleet movements also show that the government is serious about backing up the claim with Mercantilist Navy and National Gaurd units deployed in a perimeter around the islands.

"These are our sovereign waters. Any attempt to infringe upon them, as far as I'm concerned, is an act of war." Jazzan Prime Minister James Gardener said.

[Mercantilist States]

Anthony Washington, Jim Gardener, and William Xavier sat in the President's personal study in the Cerulean House, sharing a glass of Old Mercantilism and smoking a cigar of the finest Mercantilism Apple Tobacco.

"Send Adams my best," Gardener said to Washington as he took a sip of his whiskey.

Just like old times, Washington thought to himself. The three men went back years. The former Governor of Decartes, Washington had served with the two men for years in Congress and on the boards of various companies. He hadn't seen them as much since getting elected President, but he considered them the closest thing he had to friends in this business.

The purpose of the meeting was to devise a plan for the unclaimed islands. Since claiming the Merchant islands, Washington determined it was about time to "bring civilization" to the territories.

As the three finished reminiscing about the past, Washington placed a map of the islands on the table and they got down to business.

"I had planned on establishing three more bases on the outer islands and expanding the number of fleets from 4 to 9, anchored by the new aircraft carriers from the Allied States."

"Mercantilist States," Gardener said jokingly, "King of the seas."

"You know, we could create as many as three states out of the islands," Xavier pointed out as he studied the map.

"But why would we want to do that?" Gardener asked as he puffed on his cigar and looked at Xavier dead serious.

Washington smiled, he got Gardener's point. More states would only weaken their influence. Though he always enjoyed hearing the never ending Newsouthern idealism from Xavier.

"Ok, fine then." Xavier drew a line on the map to establish the new borders, with all the unclaimed lands going to Newsouth. "We'll just do this."

Washington chuckled and took the map from Xavier. He drew a new set of lines dividing up the islands.

"These islands are already populated by Newsouthereners, so ya'll can have them." Washington said to Xavier. "We'll give these to Jazzo and the rest we'll give to a newly incorporated Colony of Tenokee."

"You know, in all fairness, it was I who originally claimed all those islands for Jazzo." Gardener said.

"Well I put the base there, so how about we do it like this?"

Gardener acquiesced.

"What about administration of the colony until elections can be held?" Xavier asked.

"We'll put it under the command of a Governor-General who will be in charge until a constitution is drafted and elections held." Washington said.

"Got any names?" Gardener asked as he slowly puffed on his cigar.

"I want William Jackson or General Marcel Lock for the post. What do ya'll think?"

"Lock," Gardener said.

"Lock," Xavier agreed. "He's a Newsoutherner."

...