[Lauchenoiria]

Elopolis Exhibition and Conference Centre, Elopolis, Lauchenoiria
Early morning, 3rd August

The city of Elopolis was quiet apart from the sounds of birds tweeting in the early morning air. Despite the early hour, the temperature was already climbing high, the city in the midst of its almost annual heatwave. A street vendor was already setting up an umbrella covering an assortment of fans and reusable water bottles outside the entrance to the train station, waiting to sell ways to keep cool to the tourists and foreign dignitaries who would be unused to the heat.

A brand new NO SMOKING sign was hanging next to the entrance to the conference centre, right below an older sign saying the same thing. It was translated into six languages, and advertised the hefty fines for illegal tobacco possession and the jail sentence for anyone caught on a third offence. A fresh coat of paint covered the graffiti that had once adorned the space underneath the pedestrian bridge over the railway tracks.

Pulling into the station was a rather long train, stretching longer than the platform. Trains on this route were normally shorter, but due to the conference the railway authorities had thought it prudent to increase their capacity. A small crowd stepped out onto the platform, including the workers for the catering company providing conference food, and a group of brightly coloured young people wearing Climate Alliance badges.

As the caterers headed into the conference centre, chatting amongst themselves and showing their IDs to security, the protesters headed across the street to a grassy field which already contained a number of marquees and tables, waiting for a much larger crowd to gather. Some of the group who had got off the train were carrying large coolers full of food, or piles of banners, and one had a badge-making machine that didn’t look particularly portable.

There was a gaggle of police officers lining the gap between where the conference delegates would arrive and where the protesters stood, but most of them looked relaxed and didn’t expect any trouble. That would come later, if the conference wasn’t coming to conclusions that kept the protesters happy. They were less worried about CAL and allies than they were about the far-right groups who had pledged to protest Kerlile’s attendance.

Hours passed, and the field filled up with protesters eating vegan snacks and playing old foreign music. More and more trains arrived, some carrying aides or particularly brave delegates, alongside cars carrying the more important or less courageous delegates (after all, the trains were full of protesters). The sun was beating down even as early as 9am, and the street vendor with the fans was making a considerable amount as people filed off the crowded trains. The climate conference was about to begin.

[Xiomera]

The Milintican delegation to the conference had been perfectly content to ride the train to the conference center. Milintica enjoyed a good reputation on the international stage for its environmental efforts, and had long been an outspoken supporter of climate change-related initiatives. They weren't too concerned about the reaction they might get from protesters aboard the train.

Besides, as the President had reminded them, Milintica's budget for such things didn't stretch as far as that of wealthier IDU nations. Their delegation had taken a commercial airline flight to Elopolis, aboard the single flight from Huānoch to that city. Riding a public train, Piki Herangi reasoned, couldn't possibly be worse than a long flight aboard Milintica's flagship (and only international) airline, Dolphin Airways. The Milintican national airline was well-known around the IDU for having exceptionally friendly staff and super-cheap fares. It was also notorious around the IDU for its wretched food and drink service, its uncomfortable seats, and for the distressing tendency of its aging airliners to emulate their dolphin namesake and end up in the water rather than at their destination.

Compared to a flight from Huānoch, the train to the conference center was remarkable to Herangi. The train didn't crash or derail even once.

Herangi, the Milintican Minister of the Environment, had actually enjoyed the train ride to the conference center for other reasons. She, along with Kahutea Tahana, had enjoyed the conversations that inevitably sprang up with the crowds of activists and protesters aboard the trains. Unlike some nations Herangi could mention (snidely), Milintica valued the right to protest and engage in free speech. In their country, Milinticans could be roused to pick up crudely handwritten signs and march to something, to shout about something, for just about any reason at all, or for no reason at all if they were just bored. The activists aboard the train were therefore no issue at all for Herangi and Tahana. They took the time to explain Milintica's position on the environment to the activists, and the conversations actually went well.

When their train arrived, Herangi and Tahana exited the train car along with their two aides and the four Milintican National Police officers who were providing them nominal security. Tahana paused for a moment, looking over to where vehicles were arriving for the conference. "Ugh," Tahana said, giving a look of disdain. A long black limousine, closely followed by two black SUVs, had just arrived. Red flags waved limply from their fenders in the heated air. Herangi looked over at the arriving vehicles, and shook her head. "Ugh, indeed," she murmured.

If the arrivals in the black vehicles had seen Herangi and Tahana, and their tiny delegation, they most likely would have responded with disdain of their own. But as usual, they were content to ignore Milinticans for the most part.

"Let's get inside quickly, please," the man in the limousine told his security personnel as he exited the car. Xōclo, the Secretary of Infrastructure, Development and Planning for the Xiomeran Empire, was a slim and elegant figure in his Xiuhtaca designer suit and perfectly arranged, slightly graying hair. He was also clearly not eager to get served a milkshake Lauchenoirian style. The eight ASI agents accompanying the Xiomeran delegation quickly arranged themselves around Xōclo and his aides, forming a protective phalanx as the Xiomeran delegation marched briskly into the conference center.

[Democratic Republic Of Eiria]

Aboard a train on the way to Elopolis, Lauchenoira
August 3rd

Alice Lancaster sat in the slightly uncomfortable train seat, listening to music through her headphones as she nodded along to the music. Zachary Castela, the Minister of the Environment, sat across from her, staring out the window in silence, watching the scenery fly past. The compartment was filled with the ten Solar Guards ensuring their protection, as well as a few uncomfortable aides. The neighboring cars were packed full of protesters, which for some delegations, might have been a problem. Not for Eiria, however, since the Eirian government had made a conscious effort to conserve the environment and compromise with protesters.

The guards and aides have stayed out of Alice's way since the plane ride, since they could tell she was less than pleased with being shipped off to Lauchenoira after just getting her fianceè back. They gave her space, since her temper was prone to flair at a moment's notice when she was in a mood like this. She was normally very respectful, and even playful, with her employees, but she was less than keen on leaving Adrian in Eiria and having to sit across from the people who helped keep him hostage. It was a cruel joke.

As the train pulled into the station, the guards quickly stepped onto the platform, forming a perimeter around the two head delegates and four aides. The protesters were at least respectful enough to let the Eirians through, the delegation walking among the crowds until their arrival at the conference center. Alice sighed one last time before donning her diplomat mask and entering the conference.