[COR WTC] Company Policy

Darnok · January 21, 2019

After the disaster that had hit Mesabi Landing, Mordo was examining the damage.

"So you are telling me the harbour is heavily damaged, most of Oldtown destroyed, and some parts of the city might remain flooded? And I have to find a new house?"

"Yes sir. Also... there seems to be another issue..."

"Well, it can not possibly get worse now, can it?"

"Ahem. Well... apparently... someofourgunboatsgotintoakerfufflewithasearatshipandoneofourboatsattackedfatuhivaandnowcolonelallcockisfuriousatthewtcagain..."

"Wait... WHATTHEMEGABLOCKS??!!!11"

"The Old Gods be damned! As if we do not have enough problems already! Prometheus' flammable farts..."

"Sir, it might be of importance that we found a survivor of that attack, and have his written testimony. He is currently held in West Shield."

"Ah well... that is something. I shall write a letter to that old fool Allcock, this must not become another issue for the WTC. You just make sure that the survivor speaks to no one. And get me some rum..."

======

21st day of the 1st month, 619

Mesabi Landing

Dear Colonel Sir Dirk Allcock, Governor of the Paradise Isles, Representative of the Crown of Corrington,

it is with great unrest that I get finally back to you about the severe incidents you had to contact me about. As you are without doubt aware of, Mesabi Landing has been hit by a catastrophic disaster. My loyalty is with the Crown and its citizens, yo my first and foremost duty is to help the many minifigs suffering from this calamity.

However, I have reviewed the cases and the evidence available to me, and will help in clearing it up by all means necessary.

Concerning the ships involved in the alleged "attack" on vessels of the pirates-in-all-but-name that are the Sea Rats: the captains that returned to Mesabi Landing reported a chaotic encounter between their trade convoy and two other ships. It is unclear who fired the first shot, but in the end the WTC Drunken Dragon was sunk, and the WTC Bully Boy I was taken to Trador by the enemy. Since question are still open, we have contacted Trador officials to take the WTC Bully Boy I and its crew into custody until further notice. Under current conditions we can not spare any men to do so, but if you could send a ship of the Crown to Trador and escort the culprits to Port Woodhouse for further trial, the WTC would approve. Although I have to stress the fact that no charges have been raised about this by anyone, not even the Sea Rats directly involved in the event. Without a plaintiff there is no case - so I suggest we leave it at that.

As for that "Fatu Hiva incident", we have a delicate situation to deal with. Contrary to what I had to read from the fake news that is the KPA, no WTC ship has fired upon Fatu Hiva at any point. As the WTC Monthly has correctly reported, a single rowboat out of one of our trade convoys ignored its orders and followed an unidentified ship from Jameston to Fatu Hiva. Assuming it being a pirate, a single warning shot was fired when said vessel approached the port of Fatu Hiva. For reasons unknown to us, the batteries of the settlements fortifications opened fire, utterly destroying the little boat.

It is by sheer luck that one of the crew survived, from whom we have first-hand knowledge of the events. See "Attachment I" to this for a copy of his personal testimony.

Up to this day we have not received any word from officials of either Oleon in general or Fatu Hiva in particular. Since this incident is strictly between the WTC and the settlement of Fatu Hiva - none of this is in any way related to official orders from the Crown of Corrington - we will not take any further action until the following conditions are met:

Oleon has officially contacted the WTC about the matter and explained its point of view.
Oleon has paid for the damages suffered by the WTC due to the destruction of our assets. See "Attachment II" to this letter for a list of damages.

If and only if these two conditions are met, we will hand over the survivor to the legal authorities of either Port Woodhouse or Fatu Hiva for further treatment.

In either case, I can assure you that none of this happened by orders from the WTC administration. We are loyal servants of the Crown, and would never jeopardise Corringtons relation to one of its allies.

I await your response, but please note that times are difficult in Mesabi Landing, so an answer might take time. If the Crown wishes to help its loyal citizens, its Governor of the Paradise Isles is welcome to visit us and provide much needed help in the process.

In the spirit of cooperation, yours sincerely,

Kadeus Mordo

WTC Representative Of Foreign Affairs

===

Attachment I - Testimony of Mr. Marcus, rower of the WTC Agnes Y1, concerning the "Fatu Hiva incident"

Spoiler

"Oh, ah, well, we are all friends here, right?

Right guys, so we were just out of Jameston, and me being happy to get back to some proper drink... eh, you know those posh Corries over on Celestia, all money and no fun. So where was I? Oh yeah, out of Jameston... and then Greybeard shouted "Jolly Roger at nine!", and I was all like... man, it is just past six. Not my brightest day, I give you that.

But man, I had to row that night. And the next day. And the next night. And another day, Man, I am a machine! Whatever the old fool had seen, he made me hunt it good.

If by my muscles or faith in Prometheus - most likely a bit of both - we got near Fatu Hiva, with Greybeard still claiming he had just "seen the flag right on the horizon". Whatever, he is the commander!

He ordered a warning shot towards that damn bastard when we were near the port... and then all hell broke loose.

The next thing I remembered was me clinging to this pieace of wood. No sign of Greybeard

Prometheus be praised! I was found by a patrol and saved.

I am just lucky to still be assembled. Old Greybeard did not have that luck. It is all his fault though, I was just following his orders..."

Attachment II - List of WTC damages, to be paid by Oleon or one of its associates

Spoiler

24DB - price of the ship lost (class 0)
6DB - upkeep of ship lost (class 0)
65DB - missed profit (measured by other vessels of the same type on the same convoy, rounded down)
105DB - estimated value of WTC Commander "Greybeard", killed in action by Oleon
200DB - sum of damages

=========================================================================================================

@Ayrlego @Captain Genaro

This one is mostly for you two. Please note that I will be off the internet for at least the next two weeks, just maybe with some access inbetween. Do not expect any reaction before mid February. In this matter @Mesabi does not speak for me or the WTC, so please be patient until I am back. Sorry for the timing.

Bregir · January 22, 2019

@Drunknok: Since you are tagging Captain Genaro here, are we to assume that this letter IC was sent in copy to OL authorities, or only to Allcock who it is addressed to?

Mesabi · January 24, 2019

Count Mesabi paced around his cabin, on route to Port Raleigh. Darby entered the room, to talk.

"So, Mesabi, uh... what are we going to do about the WTC? Seems things have changed a lot since we left." said Darby

"Well, now that I'm heading back, It's time for me to take the reigns once more. We can't have these conflicts continue. I'm conflicted out for a while. Murdering those Kemblar guys really got it out of my system." replied the Count. "It's time for me to pen an awesome letter."

To Governor Allcock @Ayrlego, Governor Cooke @Bregir,

I have recently been informed of a certain Kadeus Mordo, and his de facto position in charge of the WTC. Between him, and my wife, there has been some conflict in my absence. With my return, I hope to calm things down.

I started the WTC because I got in a fight with a MAESTRO captain, and I told him that I could make a better trade company. And while our profit margins have grown rapidly, we're not a better trade company, we're probably worse.

The WTC is committed to two principles. Profits, and World Domination. A "Waymart in Every Settlement," and vertical and horizontal integration to the max. We want to supply all of your products. We want your butt in a Waymart Brand chair, sitting at a Waymart Brand table, eating Waymart Brand biscuits, while writing with Waymart Brand pens, on Waymart Brand paper.

And while the profit side has gone decently, we've stopped innovating. We've stopped building factories. Waymarts are only spread to a handful of settlements. And, everyone hates us. How can we rule the world if everyone hates us?

After skimming the WTCMs it's become clear that the editor has a loose definition of truth. Granted, the recipes are excellent, but a news source that was originally created to sell the excellence of the WTC has become political, and aggressively so.

And, after being told of the whole 'Rowboat incident' I'm more than a little annoyed. To be honest, it was a class 0, against a heavily fortified settlement. I don't care why they attacked, but the settlement was never in any danger. It's an overblown incident.

So, how do we move forwards? First, the WTC has a tsunami to clean up after. That is our top priority. Once settlement repairs are more underway, we will resume business operations.

This means, more Waymarts. More factories, to make new goods for the Brick Seas. More ships. Trade ships, which sail the Brick Seas to make a profit. Exploration Vessels to expand our horizons. And Warships to protect our fleet.

Simultaneously, the WTC will have several expeditions going. First, our expedition Northwards, which somehow ended up in the New Haven Sea. Second, our efforts to restore Gonda to it's rightful rule. Finally, we will be launching an adventure to return to the South half of Halos, which will be open to the Brick Seas. All of these will keep us busy and increase our profits, and power.

Between these, we hope to better serve the crown, and the Brick Seas as a whole. If we create any diplomatic incidents, please contact me, and I'm sure we can come to a peaceful agreement.

Finally, as our rowboat apparently attack Fatu Hiva, I will pay for any damages to Fatu Hiva, and I will fund some construction in the settlement as well. I hope this makes a fair conclusion to this incident, and we can move forwards as well.

If you have any concerns, please contact me in Port Raleigh, as I will be spending some time there before I return to Mesabi Landing. I will send word to Kadeus Mordo as well that I have returned, and I am taking charge once more.

Sincerely,

Count Mesabi of Debonshire

CEO of the WTC.

OOC:

Alright, @Drunknok is gone for 2 weeks or so, and we could wait, and do his "we're justified for attacking Fatu Hiva" thing, or the WTC could apologize, and we could move forwards. @Drunknok, you can yell at me when you're back.

Look, I asked Drunknok to send the rowboat to fatu hiva. I thought it would be amusing, and we'd write the whole thing off as 'Sea Madness' on the part of the rowboat. It was supposed to give us a good story hook, like we could blame Bru Ha Ha, and it would give me an excuse to build in Fatu Hiva. Instead, the opposite happened.

I'm writing this off as my fault. Drunknok, I'm sorry to post this publically, and I mean this as no insult to you, but you went to far with this one. It's incredibly rude of me to say that, but that's the truth.

After some discussion with Bregir, I'd also like to roll back some of the chaos that the WTC causes. To be honest, as much as I hate to say it, it's becoming bad for the game. While I enjoy it, it's started to alienate me from the rest of Corrington, and potentially the rest of the Brick Seas.

I will say, the WTC's main goal is to become the east india company from PoTC. The rest of Corrington has chided me for this, something about Corrish DNA or whatever, but that is our main goal, and that's not changing.

Anyways, if we start causing to much trouble, and if anyone feels that we are hurting the game, please let me know either publically or via pm.

I love this game. I love seeing everyone's builds, and being a part of the community. And I think we all know, that drunknok and I are putting strain on the game. I don't want to do that as much. I'd be quite sad if the game were to end.

Edited January 24, 2019 by Mesabi

Ross Fisher · January 24, 2019

So that's what happened! Kudos for owning up. I can sympathise with the whole "Chaos is a ladder" thing you've got going on, but I understand you don't want to fall out with people, at least until the warfare rules are launched...

Captain Dee · January 25, 2019

9 hours ago, Mesabi said:

...the WTC's main goal is to become the east india company from PoTC.

I'm not very knowledgeable with regards to PoTC. (A kid friendly series - about pirates?! Yeah yeah sure.) What was the East India Company up to in the films?

About all I know is "We named the monkey Jack." :pir-laugh:

Mesabi · January 25, 2019

@Captain Dee It's basically a mega corporation that forces Davy Jones to kill the pirates, and is awesome.

PoTC 3 is on netflix at the moment, if you have the service.

Captain Dee · January 25, 2019

4 minutes ago, Mesabi said:

@Captain Dee It's basically a mega corporation... and is awesome.

Ok, gotcha! That's pretty much what I guessed based on your full comments. :grin:

Ayrlego · February 4, 2019

Previously on ~~Days of our~~ Brethren of the Brick Seas...

Spoiler

Jameston, 17 December 617

To Mr Kadeus Mordo,

I am writing to you as you are the senior WTC representative present in Mesabi Landing and I trust this letter finds you well.

Firstly, please accept my apologies for not visiting Mesabi Landing yet in my capacity as Governor. The phenomenal growth of your settlement is a testament to the industrious of your company and is a credit to the Empire.

It is however; under more unpleasant circumstances that I write. I am required to ascertain clarity around some recent reports of misdeeds by vessels of your company in two separate incidents in the Brick Seas.

Firstly, reports have reached the Colonial Ministry of WTC vessels; led by the flag ship WTC Drunken Dragon, engaging with ‘Sea Rat’ traders on the high seas. Although by all accounts the encounter did not go well for the WTC squadron, the Ministry is demanding of me as Governor of the Paradise Isles, an explanation of why the engagement occurred in the first place. As I am sure you are aware Corrington is not at war with the Sea Rats and no letters of marque have been issued. Please provide me with an explanation of these actions, as it will help inform my response to the Ministry in this matter. I am sure we all wish to avoid another ‘Icarus Returning’ incident like that which occurred in Mooreton Bay this time last year.

Secondly, I have recently received reliable reports of a small WTC owned vessel which was sunk by the defences of Fatu Hiva attempting hostile action against that place. This is a serious matter that could damage relations between our nation and Oleon and I would like to assure my Oleon counter-part on the Ile de Or that neither the WTC nor Corrington had any part in this act. Should any survivors of this attempted raid return to Mesabi Landing, I expect them to be turned over to Major Bradley for transfer to Port Woodhouse and trial.

I look forward to hearing your explanation on these matters and hope for continued cooperation between your company and the Colonial authorities.

Yours sincerely,

Colonel Sir Dirk Allcock

Governor of the Paradise Isles

____________________

To Rear-Admiral Fletcher , Colonel Sir Dirk Allcock, and Her Majesty’s Representatives in New Terra,

In response to the attempt by a vessel flying the flags of Corrington and the Wayfarer’s Trading Company, a company that bears a Royal Charter from Her Majesty, I must issue a formal protest against the would-be marauders who style their selves the WTC and demand that Corrington must take appropriate action. It is unconscionable that a company whose existence is blessed by Corrington’s sovereign queen should be permitted to attempt to launch a direct attack against a neutral nation when no declaration of war has been issued.

According to the reports from the commander of the garrison of Fatu Hiva, the vessel refused to respond to hails and signals, was cleared for action, had her guns run out, and fired on our fortifications. At this point the defenders destroyed the vessel. A review of the actions taken by the garrison and officers finds no fault on the part of Oleon’s defenders. There were no survivors from the vessel to provide their version of events.

Be advised that Oleon shall not apologize for the defense our Fatu Hiva nor any other part of our realm. And I trust, sirs, that Corrington would expect no different from any of her soldiers and officers that were presented with a similar situation.

We hope that Corrington will hold these bellicose profiteers responsible for their attempt to abuse peace, a peace Oleon has continued to honor, in order to rape, pillage, and loot to enrich the WTC's corrupt owners. If Corrington does not, Oleon shall.

We await your response and hope that is shall be one that permits the continuation of the peace.

On behalf of the His Most Sacred Majesty's Colonial Governors, Mayors, and Officials,

Wolfgang Hochstetter, Major RNTC

____________________

To Colonel Sir Dirk Allcock

I recently have been informed of some sort of damage to a WTC owned rowboat near Fatu Hiva. As I have been going on amazing adventures in the South, visiting all kinds of people and things, and establishing diplomatic relations for the first time with a powerful ally to the south, I have been delegating responsibility.

That being said, I fully support whatever whoever is actually in charge says about this matter. And I might add, a very solemn. "Oopsy-doopsy" in regards to the rowboat's actions.

Sincerely,

Count Mesabi

CEO of the WTC

____________________

Dear Colonel Sir Dirk Allcock, Governor of the Paradise Isles, Representative of the Crown of Corrington,

it is with great unrest that I get finally back to you about the severe incidents you had to contact me about. As you are without doubt aware of, Mesabi Landing has been hit by a catastrophic disaster. My loyalty is with the Crown and its citizens, yo my first and foremost duty is to help the many minifigs suffering from this calamity.

However, I have reviewed the cases and the evidence available to me, and will help in clearing it up by all means necessary.

Concerning the ships involved in the alleged "attack" on vessels of the pirates-in-all-but-name that are the Sea Rats: the captains that returned to Mesabi Landing reported a chaotic encounter between their trade convoy and two other ships. It is unclear who fired the first shot, but in the end the WTC Drunken Dragon was sunk, and the WTC Bully Boy I was taken to Trador by the enemy. Since question are still open, we have contacted Trador officials to take the WTC Bully Boy I and its crew into custody until further notice. Under current conditions we can not spare any men to do so, but if you could send a ship of the Crown to Trador and escort the culprits to Port Woodhouse for further trial, the WTC would approve. Although I have to stress the fact that no charges have been raised about this by anyone, not even the Sea Rats directly involved in the event. Without a plaintiff there is no case - so I suggest we leave it at that.

As for that "Fatu Hiva incident", we have a delicate situation to deal with. Contrary to what I had to read from the fake news that is the KPA, no WTC ship has fired upon Fatu Hiva at any point. As the WTC Monthly has correctly reported, a single rowboat out of one of our trade convoys ignored its orders and followed an unidentified ship from Jameston to Fatu Hiva. Assuming it being a pirate, a single warning shot was fired when said vessel approached the port of Fatu Hiva. For reasons unknown to us, the batteries of the settlements fortifications opened fire, utterly destroying the little boat.

It is by sheer luck that one of the crew survived, from whom we have first-hand knowledge of the events. See "Attachment I" to this for a copy of his personal testimony.

Up to this day we have not received any word from officials of either Oleon in general or Fatu Hiva in particular. Since this incident is strictly between the WTC and the settlement of Fatu Hiva - none of this is in any way related to official orders from the Crown of Corrington - we will not take any further action until the following conditions are met:

Oleon has officially contacted the WTC about the matter and explained its point of view.
Oleon has paid for the damages suffered by the WTC due to the destruction of our assets. See "Attachment II" to this letter for a list of damages.

If and only if these two conditions are met, we will hand over the survivor to the legal authorities of either Port Woodhouse or Fatu Hiva for further treatment.

In either case, I can assure you that none of this happened by orders from the WTC administration. We are loyal servants of the Crown, and would never jeopardise Corringtons relation to one of its allies.

I await your response, but please note that times are difficult in Mesabi Landing, so an answer might take time. If the Crown wishes to help its loyal citizens, its Governor of the Paradise Isles is welcome to visit us and provide much needed help in the process.

In the spirit of cooperation, yours sincerely,

Kadeus Mordo

WTC Representative Of Foreign Affairs

"Oopsy-doopsy... the initial official response of the Wayfarer Trading Company, a company that holds a Royal Charter no less, is Oopsy-doopsy... I can not even fathom such a response, is the man feeble of mind?" asked an astounded Brigadier Sir Andrew Howe, shaking his head.

"I believe it is some sort of patois acknowledging a mistake, perhaps the Count picked it up on his southern travels... but it gets worse Sir." added an equally bemused Colonel Sir Dirk Allcock.

Brigadier Howe had recently arrived in Jameston to personally investigate the most recent outrages committed by the WTC. His arrival had corresponded with Colonel Allcock's investigative findings and the pair had convened to discuss the first stages for the dismantling of the WTC beginning with the Military seizing WTC assets in the Paradise Islands including taking control of the settlement of Mesabi Landing.

"While the circumstances around the alleged attack of the Sea Rat trade convoy remain somewhat confused, the evidence is unequivocally clear regarding the ah... attack... on Fatu Hiva. Numerous independent reports from Fatu Hiva support the official Olean version of events; that is that the WTC vessel WTC Agnes Y1 wilfully and without provocation fired on the fortifications of Fatu Hiva before being destroyed." Allcock continued.

"Hmmph, both Fletcher and I do not accept that the attack on the Rat convoy was a mistake and we both believe it to have been ordered as part of the ongoing WTC vendetta against the Sea Rats." Snorted Brigadier Howe, "However; the Rats do not seem too concerned, it would seem lucky for us that WTC remain military incompetents. That being so, this continued insistence that they can conduct their own foreign relations in contradiction of official policy can not be tolerated. The arrogance of this Mordo scoundrel is astounding - demanding Oleon compensation no less, the fellow must be stark raving mad"

"Indeed Sir, mad as a hatter. The WTC seem to think they can act like a nation state, then when their reckless actions get them in trouble, they presume they can hide behind Her Majesties skirts for protection" replied Allcock. "Furthermore because the attacker was a mere rowboat, they are dismissive - nay even scornful - of our concerns."

"Oleon will not accept no repercussions for this unprovoked act - and rightly so! We would not accept a foreign sortie against one of our possessions however small, so why should they?" replied Howe. "The Colonial Ministry has authorised not only the revoking of their Royal Charter, but also military intervention to dismantle their private fiefdom on Argentia."

"I have correspondence from the Admiral Fletcher committing significant naval forces for the seizure of Mesabi Landing; however, will additional troops be made available Sir? We currently have a company of the 33rd Foot in Mesabi Landing itself, another company of the 33rd in Camp Isaac and the 1st Battalion of the QML in Port Woodhouse. In the event WTC they did oppose us and were successful in disarming the company in Mesabi Landing, we would be facing two medium and a large fort and an unknown quantity of troops of unknown quality. My staff estimate the WTC could probably muster at least two to three battalions of mercenaries of mixed quality to defend Mesabi Landing".

"That many... that is... unfortunate. We can likely provide an additional battalion from Arlinsport and the 1st Battalion of the 7th Regiment of Foot is due to arrive here shortly. So we could probably proceed with planning for an assault involving at least three battalions." said Howe.

"I'd prefer more Sir, in my experience such fortifications will require us to outnumber the defenders by at least a factor of three." replied Allcock.

'I am sure you will manage Colonel, one of our soldiers must surely be worth at least three WTC mercenaries"

"Sir they pay well, It would be unwise to underestimate their resolve to defend what they see as their territory."

The discussion was interrupted by the arrive of a junior officer with a letter for Colonel Allcock.

"It would seem Count Mesabi has reconsidered his position Sir..." Allcock passed the letter to Howe.

Spoiler

To Governor Allcock, Governor Cooke,