PLACEHOLDER (OOC: will work on a good FP later. For now, enjoy this half-assed draft)
The International Icelab, an international collaboration to study and research groundbreaking technologies and prove and disprove theories and hypotheses, a place to focus on science without the politics north of the Antarctic circle. (OOC: Yes, there are still rules, but you get the point (hopefully))
The small lab crew to first arrive in the cold and barren lands known as “Antarctica” landed on board 3 HC-135Js provided by the Kuthern Coast Guard with special skis, near a rocky area next to the shore " It looks good lets set up shop here, it looks like were a little early" Mali Stant Chief of Marine Wildlife Studies chuckled to the team. The Team consisted of 12 people , they along side the Coast guard crew started to construct the buildings near the shore and install there generators. Bryne Tudor a Major in Marine Biology started to set open 4 open water rescue pens for animals they find in distress, " It feels good to be here i wonder when the rest will get here" he thinks to himself while sipping a warm cup of Cherry Tea he bought when he stopped in Essex.
(Few Hours Later)
The Royal Kuthern Coast Guard had finally arrived to break the ice leading the team was the Heavy Icebreaker KCGS Deshõvk carrying 5 months of food and supplies as well as 3 HH-65 Orca. Also along side the ship were 3 more Heavy Icebreakers, 2 High endurance multi-tasked vessel and 4 Medium icebreakers they quickly made work of the ice and had cleared a waterway for ships to reach certain parts of the continent. They started working on the Coast Guard Outpost and loaded the helicopters into a temporary shelter. " We have a long stay here 8 months at a time lets make the best of this i’m sure we will have the chance to visit Yakara and Essex often" the Lt says to the crew as they unload.
After a couple of hours out on the cold, Arctic sea, the XNV Trek carrier and a couple of icebreakers finally made their way to the location of the new Antarctica base. The 12-man Xagrurgian research team board their helicotpers on the carriers and fly over to the base with their supplies.
The joint COMECON Antarctic scientific team arrived in Marxberg in the early hours of the morning. There they loaded the fleet of modified MD-11s, 757s and a single 747 full of supplies, building kits and equipment to establish a small base and an even smaller outpost. The fleet of jet aircraft took off and headed for Antarctica with the co-ordinates of the primary base being located far inside the continent.
After hours of flying the first aircraft touched down on the remote ice, sliding for over 2km before finally coming to a stop. The other planes followed suit and after a few go-arounds the fleet grouped together and began unloading their cargo. Two separate MD-11s however continued on towards the Pole of Inaccessibility, flying high over the collection of planes on the ground.
At the main site the planes were quickly unloaded with a few small tents and huts being quickly set up to shelter the crews. After a few hours the planes had been fully unloaded and after a few checks and goodbyes all but two MD-11s departed from the remote Ice sheet. The head of the expedition Yukov Musat then held a meeting in the main hut with the scientific crew whilst outside the construction crews were busy assembling and building the first parts of the modular base.
“Today marks a historic day people, today begins a new era in global co-operation, a new era in research and a new era in scientific opportunities. With such a diverse team of scientists, engineers, biologists and geologists such as yourselves I am sure the mysteries of this continent will quickly be unravelled. I wish you all the best with your research, let us make the most of this opportunity!” Yukov said to the group with an enthusiastic tone, and while much of the group were anxious to get to work they still had a lot of prep work to do.
[hr]
At the remote Pole of Inaccessibility two big MD-11 jets rolled to a stop with an excited crew of scientists and construction workers hopping out of the plane. A geologist with his GPS was the first to mark the spot of the Pole with a small metal picket being jammed unceremoniously into the snowy ice. The rest of the crew then began bringing over the supplies from the planes, setting up a small hut nearby with tents scattered around. The planes quickly departed after being unloaded, the extreme cold had almost frozen the fuel and hydraulics. Back at the pole the construction team placed down a small concrete stand and buried the lower parts of it, with around 2m sticking out of the ice. On top they mounted a plastic bust of Lenin and faced it towards Berlitow. A small plaque was placed beneath reading:
THE ANTARCTIC POLE OF INACCESSIBILITY WAS CONQUERED BY THE UNIFIED COMECON SCIENCE TEAM ON 26 SEPTEMBER 2017
SOCIALIST FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF CHIANSKI - CERDANI DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC - SOCIALIST PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF ARRAMALL
WORKERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE!
There wasn’t much time for celebration however, the crew had to assemble the outpost as quickly as possible with weather conditions forecast to get horrendous. The remote weather station was the first scientific building to be finished and it began recording data shortly thereafter. The scientific crew still had to assemble a few other key components however, and they had less than 2 days before they returned back to the main base. They relayed their news of success to the world and received a congratulatory satellite phone call from Erich Honecker and other heads of state from the COMECON nations. The crews of both stations then settled in for some well deserved sleep and rest but the sun wouldn’t set until next autumn and many had trouble adapting to this new, uncharted environment.
Darya Venediktova, Minister of Terrestrial Exploration and research and one of the few vulpines in the Council of Ministers, felt triumphant as she walked from Starikov’s office. Somehow, she had convinced both him and the league of nations assembling that Stratarin should be a part of this Antarctic expedition as well. Though she’d swear that the stress of the job had turned some of her fur white prematurely, she felt young again. Her tail couldn’t help flipping about excitedly.
Ah, the Antarctic! That great big, unexplored, ice-cold desert. And Statarin was going to make a bold claim there. How exciting! If she were a young vixen, as she had been all those years ago, this would’ve called for Wodka shots, not to mention chugging a bottle or two of a Mirovgrad mule.
But, as the years had slowly begin to make themselves known, an evening of quiet contentment and a warm cup of Kvas would be the night’s celebration. Peacefully passing time alone, sifting through research papers and information on the Antarctic.
But come the morning, there would be preparations to be made!
[hr]
A young, female vulpine female ran her fingers through the shaggier hair of her fianchttps://i.imgur.com/fY5wGwq.png
as they embraced. “Are you sure you’re going to be alright, Jaro?”
“Of course, Tina,” Jaroslav Ryakhin replied lovingly. “Just going to the Antarctic to lead the Strataric portion of an international expedition.” He chuckled. “No danger whatsoever.”
Valentina Vitsina, soon-to-be Valentina Ryakhin, pulled back, a more serious look on her face. “I’m serious, Jaro. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Jaroslav looked into his beloved’s eyes. Unlike his own crystal blue eyes, hers were the much rarer shade of green. Some Vulpines revered irises colored green as mystical, and Jaroslav couldn’t say he completely disagreed. “I’ll return for you,” he said simply.
A tear dripped from her cheek, and they embraced again, her hands yet again intertwining with his fur. They seemed contrasted in every way: she was a southern-variant vulpine, he was northern-variant; she was small and lithe, he was tall (for a vulpine) and well-muscled; she was colored a red-brown, his fur was whiter than snow. And yet, as they stood there, they had never felt more unified than they did here and now.
[hr]
“Yes, yes, I know, I know!” Party Member Spartak Zima, head of the Strataric Committee for Vulpine Relations barked into the phone, before he hung up angrily. Glaring at the first thing to catch his gaze (in this case, a hat rack), he fumed at it. “Why does one vulpine going to the Arctic require so much paperwork? My whole chertovskiy life is paperwork!” He sighed, collapsing back into his chair.
His female assistant, overhearing his diatribe against the injustice of work, poked her head into his office. “Several vulpines are to be in the expedition sir,” she commented. Then, as an afterthought, she added, “And it’s the Antarctic.”
Met by a cold glare, she quickly scurried off. Looking around paranoidly after her departure, Zima slowly opened the bottom drawer of his desk, revealing a bottle of Wodka.
“I’ll die of old age soon, anyway,” he muttered to himself. “Might as well have a drink…”
His reaching for it was interrupted by the phone ringing shrilly. With a groan, he answered it. No rest for the weary.
[hr]
Anatoly Baryshnikov sipped a small glass of Kvas as he surveyed the landscape outside his window. Looking around, he assumed a confused expression. “Am I even supposed to be in this post?” he asked. “No? Alright.” Glancing down at his watch, he finished what was left of the glass and set it on his desk, then left the room.
Aircraft started moving people in, and emergency supplies like non-perishable food, extra fresh water, canteens, extra fuel, generators, solar panels, batteries, toolkits, fire extinguishers, and AEDs. People were also flown in to manage emergency services and unload the supplies.
David Wagner was in charge of Tretrid’s part in the Antarctic effort. He, dressed in heavy winter gear, stood and coordinated his men to carefully land and unpack the aircraft. He noticed how dreary the place was, but was excited to find out that the scientists would learn about the place.
The helicopters from the Atlaesian delegation arrived, bringing supplies and necessary logistics. Out steadily stepped out the lead Atlaesian scientist, Hannah Bridges, who survived the Sealab excursion. She thought it best to deal with her traumatic experiences out here, but now she was considering getting second thoughts.
Of course, it was still better here than out under the sea, no matter how cold or boring it was here.
08 November 2017, La Rochelle, The Oan Isles
Academics from the United Kingdom and the Polynesian Union were gathered in one of the dining rooms on the grounds of one of the campuses of a major university to celebrate the partnership between the Royal Bursil University and University of La Rochelle. The new partnership had been announced yesterday on the Oan News network in an article published on the La Rochelle Times newspaper and written by journalist Imani Lucim.
The administrative and academic head of the University of La Rochelle, Vice Chancellor Dr Maati Rangi, stood at the podium and welcomed the guests and opened the gathering by setting the premise for the occasion: the successful conclusion of discussion between the two aforementioned universities and the Oan National Aid Agency led by Lady Aroha to collaborate on research. The first phase of that partnership and the implications thereof were discussed by the leader of the project: Dr Tamatea Rotorua.
Dr Tamatea Rotorua was an A rated researched for multiple corporations, the government and academic societies on biology with a particular focus on food supply. It was only fitting that he should lead the project and elucidate its aims.
— Begin quote from ____
"Feed a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.
Good evening, Your Serene Majesty, Emperor Oahoanu, the Lady Aroha in her absence, members of government, business and civil society, lords and ladies, dames and gentlemen.
The consistent supply of healthy and safe food remains a major challenge for many countries. The Oan Isles, for instance, imports large parts of its food reserves due to the population and lack of space on the islands. Many countries such as ours, struggle to provide for all of the needs of their people and must rely on other nations to maintain a constant supply of their basic food items and neccesities.
Food security is largely confronted by our large populations. The biggest country in the world, Packilvania, has a population of around a billion people, the United Kingdom has half that. Emberwood Coast, a densely populated city state in Aurora, has sixty million people, while the biggest metropolis in the Auroran Union, Sani Bursil, has nearly forty million people. There are far too many people who need to be fed.
Food is not like other commodities. It cannot be bought and sold like gold and machines. Everyone, from the richest to the poorest man, or greatest to the least woman, needs food, just after air and water. Save the latter two, nothing comes close in importance. Hunger does not distinguish between guilt or innocence, weal h or poverty, race or species.
The world is changing. As the people increase the space they need to live increases. The space that is needed to plant the crops or keep the livestock that will feed then is decreasing. More water is needed to irrigate these crops, draining rivers and aquafirs. More forests need to be cut down and wilderness encroached upon to provide space for farms, orchards and ranches.
Not all places on Urth are satisfactory places to grow food. In fact, a very small amount of the surface area of the planet has high yield fertile soil. Many places are dry, cold, sandy, rocky, fiery and bare. They are unable to handle the kind of farming that we need to feed everyone. Cold places like tundra and polar caps are slme of the places in which nothing can grow. Although deserts lie at other extreme of the temperature scale, they fare no better. In fact many places in between present no better chance for farming and herding.
We need food that can resist these extreme temperatures. We need food that can grow and remain alive with little water. We need food that can resist the scorching heat of the desert or the frigid cold of the steppes.This food does not grow naturally. The hand of man is needed to find strains of crops that resist temperatures. We need to figure out why some plants last in these tough conditions and others do not.
OANAID recognised the importance of solving these critical problems. It saw that we needed to conduct research on projects to find or develop food that is resistant to extremes. It then decided to bring together Royal Bursil University and University of La Rochelle, the foremost institutions in research and tertiary education in the continent if not the world.
It recognised our expertise and years of research and decided to bring together these two bodies to make some magic! We set our sights on the International Icelab. We want to work together with this body to get research on this topic off the ground. We identified the Icelab because it is located in the Antarctic. It is cold and perhaps the coldest place on Urth. If anything can grow there, it can grow anywhere.
For this reason, the two universities have set up the UK/Oan Joint Icelab Research Task Team. It is our job to conduct research. Through this team we will donate an electron microscope to the Icelab. Furthermore we will donate ninety million international dollars over the next decade to construct a seed storage site that will preserve the seeds of at least half the plants on this planet. We will donate an additional ten million dollars for upgrades to the facility over the next two years.
This is our work: to make everyone a fisherman, to teach the entire world to feed itself.
— End quote