08-12-2018, 06:09 PM
Office of the President
Republic House, Laeralsford
"The Prime Minister and her party here to see you, sir," one of President Brennan's aides said through the cracked-open door. Nicholas Brennan looked up from the latest reports of the Battle of Annatown as Tanvi Misra came in. Behind her was Foreign Minister Beringer and a cluster of foreign relations and national security advisers. Brennan took off his reading glasses, set them on the desk in front of him, and looked at the Prime Minister.
"Tanvi, have you seen this report? Annatown's turning into a problem."
"I can prevent the Opposition from making too much of a fuss about it."
"The reason we're here," Foreign Minister Beringer said flatly, "is to discuss Hendry's ultimatum."
Brennan stood up. "We'll, let's be seated. Wine, tea, anyone?" They all shook their heads and sat down on the couches in the office.
Brennan was silent for a moment, and then abruptly said "Fabien. What do you make of it?"
Fabien Rolland, a veteran of Brennan's 2014 campaign but ultimately more of a speechwriter than a policy wonk, was startled. "Well, it seems as if we don't have much of a choice. The Sanctarians are a real heavyweight, and we'd look very bad if we refused their offer. Very bad."
"I doubt that I have to remind anyone in here," Foreign Minister Beringer said, "that we owe them about 395 billion Marks in debt. If they recall that, we'd have to either gamble on a successful international court case, or immediately introduce austerity and reduce government spending to about that of the 1930s. We've been successful at avoiding the trap of being reliant on Sanctarian oil and natural gas, but they have too much of a grip on us for us to resist if they serious want to hurt us."
"When the Sanctarians say to sit," Tanvi Misra said, "we sit. I don't believe that we ever had the choice to refuse their peace talks."
"I will make preparations for a speech announcing our acceptance of the Sanctarian terms," Brennan said. The President held broad discretionary powers with regards to foreign relations. "After that, we can discuss our negotiating position and who we'll send to represent us. Marie-Claire, who else has agreed to attend?"
"Laura Moore's Lauchenoirian government, and the Aelurians have both announced they'll participate. We fully expect the other Coalition members to do so as well, and the Sanctarians will probably force the Junta to attend as well."
"Laura Moore and Charissa Clarke in the same room," Prime Minister Misra said. "Imagine what fun that'll be."
Republic House, Laeralsford
"The Prime Minister and her party here to see you, sir," one of President Brennan's aides said through the cracked-open door. Nicholas Brennan looked up from the latest reports of the Battle of Annatown as Tanvi Misra came in. Behind her was Foreign Minister Beringer and a cluster of foreign relations and national security advisers. Brennan took off his reading glasses, set them on the desk in front of him, and looked at the Prime Minister.
"Tanvi, have you seen this report? Annatown's turning into a problem."
"I can prevent the Opposition from making too much of a fuss about it."
"The reason we're here," Foreign Minister Beringer said flatly, "is to discuss Hendry's ultimatum."
Brennan stood up. "We'll, let's be seated. Wine, tea, anyone?" They all shook their heads and sat down on the couches in the office.
Brennan was silent for a moment, and then abruptly said "Fabien. What do you make of it?"
Fabien Rolland, a veteran of Brennan's 2014 campaign but ultimately more of a speechwriter than a policy wonk, was startled. "Well, it seems as if we don't have much of a choice. The Sanctarians are a real heavyweight, and we'd look very bad if we refused their offer. Very bad."
"I doubt that I have to remind anyone in here," Foreign Minister Beringer said, "that we owe them about 395 billion Marks in debt. If they recall that, we'd have to either gamble on a successful international court case, or immediately introduce austerity and reduce government spending to about that of the 1930s. We've been successful at avoiding the trap of being reliant on Sanctarian oil and natural gas, but they have too much of a grip on us for us to resist if they serious want to hurt us."
"When the Sanctarians say to sit," Tanvi Misra said, "we sit. I don't believe that we ever had the choice to refuse their peace talks."
"I will make preparations for a speech announcing our acceptance of the Sanctarian terms," Brennan said. The President held broad discretionary powers with regards to foreign relations. "After that, we can discuss our negotiating position and who we'll send to represent us. Marie-Claire, who else has agreed to attend?"
"Laura Moore's Lauchenoirian government, and the Aelurians have both announced they'll participate. We fully expect the other Coalition members to do so as well, and the Sanctarians will probably force the Junta to attend as well."
"Laura Moore and Charissa Clarke in the same room," Prime Minister Misra said. "Imagine what fun that'll be."