04-07-2020, 05:12 AM
Monday, April 6
En route from Althea to Laeralsford, Laeral
“Yes, yesterday went as well as we could’ve hoped,” said the Foreign Ministry man acting as Texōccoatl’s “handler” during his time in Laeral. “The tour of the docks and the meeting with the business leaders went smoothly, and while I wasn’t in the First Minister’s box at the Althea Ballet I’m told it went quite well. The principal’s in the next compartment here in the passenger car right now, talking with the International Affairs Secretary.”
“Excellent,” said the man on the other end, a certain highly-placed person in the president’s office. “Is everything okay with his security?”
“There were a few issues at first- getting permission for them to bring their weapons to the ballet, on the train, that kind of thing- but it’s all smoothed out. We’re on schedule and we’ll be at the train station in Laeralsford in 20 minutes.”
“Good,” said the man from the president’s office’s voice. “Everything from the staff email last night is still valid. The meeting room’s set up at Assembly Hall and we’ll be ready for him here at 15:00.”
“Very good,” the handler said. “I’ll go tell the crown prince now.”
Assembly Hall, Laeralsford
“I believe I speak for all of us when I say that we’re very happy to see the steps that your mother, Empress Yauhmi, has taken towards opening Xiomera to the world and engaging more fully with the international community,” said Representative Léo Chapelle, a New Democrat and apparent enthusiast for Xiomeran culture, who had made founding the Laeral-Xiomera Relations Caucus among his first actions upon being seated in the Assembly of Commons. Today, for the first time in legislative memory, his minute caucus was the center of attention at Assembly Hall, at least for the day. “But, your majesty, I would like to bring up something that was scarcely mentioned in your earlier presentation. Does the empress not run the risk of inciting a backlash, of some kind, from traditionalist elements in the Xiomeran political space? What will happen if or when Empress Yauhmi faces this sort of opposition?”
Crown Prince Texōccoatl nodded solemnly, from behind his podium at the front of the room, when Representative Chapelle finished asking his question. “To begin with, any leader, particularly one embarking on such an ambitious program of reform, will face opposition from those who do not see the need for change or adaptation. But her majesty the empress enjoys the support, by and large, of the Xiomeran people. She is well-loved by the common people, the workers and the middle-class, the rural and the urban. There is certainly some segment of the populace that opposes her leadership, perhaps those who are still clinging to their support for another candidate in last year’s Great Selection. Respectful dissent is a necessary part of good decision-making within any political system, as I’m sure you are all aware of as elected officials in a democratic system. But as time goes by and the benefits of reaching out to the world, the benefits of the new Huanyan Assembly, become apparent, I believe that even those who vehemently oppose change will come around.”
Representative Chapelle stood up again, holding the microphone. “Thank you very much, Crown Prince Texōccoatl. That’s all the time that we have with you today, but this has been a valuable- and extremely pleasant- time spent getting to know you and gain a fuller understanding of Xiomera today. Thank you once again.”
Republic House, Laeralsford
Inside an elegantly-decorated waiting room at Laeral’s presidential residence, International Affairs Secretary Nōlinyauh took the opportunity to speak quickly and discreetly to Texōccoatl.
“After the talk with the legislators, when we were shaking hands and taking pictures and accepting gifts and all that, I had an interesting encounter with the daughter of the Laeralian foreign minister. She’s herself a representative- you might say her position bears some similarities to yours.”
Texōccoatl didn’t laugh or snicker, but he gave a little look of amusement that Nōlinyauh recognized from the many conversations they’d shared.
“Anyways, she thanked me for the presentation you gave, and slipped me a piece of paper.” He took from his pocket a scrap of paper, with two Laeralian phone numbers, one marked “Misra” and the other “Liu”. “It’s apparently their personal mobile numbers. Misra is the Foreign Minister, of course, and we’ll be seeing President Liu in a moment.”
“Interesting,” Texōccoatl said. “It seems they’re very eager for us to be in contact with them. At least unofficially, or off the record. This is a good sign for our meeting, isn’t it?”
“Absolutely,” said Nōlinyauh. “Like I said earlier, Liu’s a diplomat by trade, and everything we’ve seen indicates she’s jumping at the chance to build ties with Xiomera, under her majesty’s rule. She wants warming relations; we should be able to just let it happen.”
En route from Althea to Laeralsford, Laeral
“Yes, yesterday went as well as we could’ve hoped,” said the Foreign Ministry man acting as Texōccoatl’s “handler” during his time in Laeral. “The tour of the docks and the meeting with the business leaders went smoothly, and while I wasn’t in the First Minister’s box at the Althea Ballet I’m told it went quite well. The principal’s in the next compartment here in the passenger car right now, talking with the International Affairs Secretary.”
“Excellent,” said the man on the other end, a certain highly-placed person in the president’s office. “Is everything okay with his security?”
“There were a few issues at first- getting permission for them to bring their weapons to the ballet, on the train, that kind of thing- but it’s all smoothed out. We’re on schedule and we’ll be at the train station in Laeralsford in 20 minutes.”
“Good,” said the man from the president’s office’s voice. “Everything from the staff email last night is still valid. The meeting room’s set up at Assembly Hall and we’ll be ready for him here at 15:00.”
“Very good,” the handler said. “I’ll go tell the crown prince now.”
Assembly Hall, Laeralsford
“I believe I speak for all of us when I say that we’re very happy to see the steps that your mother, Empress Yauhmi, has taken towards opening Xiomera to the world and engaging more fully with the international community,” said Representative Léo Chapelle, a New Democrat and apparent enthusiast for Xiomeran culture, who had made founding the Laeral-Xiomera Relations Caucus among his first actions upon being seated in the Assembly of Commons. Today, for the first time in legislative memory, his minute caucus was the center of attention at Assembly Hall, at least for the day. “But, your majesty, I would like to bring up something that was scarcely mentioned in your earlier presentation. Does the empress not run the risk of inciting a backlash, of some kind, from traditionalist elements in the Xiomeran political space? What will happen if or when Empress Yauhmi faces this sort of opposition?”
Crown Prince Texōccoatl nodded solemnly, from behind his podium at the front of the room, when Representative Chapelle finished asking his question. “To begin with, any leader, particularly one embarking on such an ambitious program of reform, will face opposition from those who do not see the need for change or adaptation. But her majesty the empress enjoys the support, by and large, of the Xiomeran people. She is well-loved by the common people, the workers and the middle-class, the rural and the urban. There is certainly some segment of the populace that opposes her leadership, perhaps those who are still clinging to their support for another candidate in last year’s Great Selection. Respectful dissent is a necessary part of good decision-making within any political system, as I’m sure you are all aware of as elected officials in a democratic system. But as time goes by and the benefits of reaching out to the world, the benefits of the new Huanyan Assembly, become apparent, I believe that even those who vehemently oppose change will come around.”
Representative Chapelle stood up again, holding the microphone. “Thank you very much, Crown Prince Texōccoatl. That’s all the time that we have with you today, but this has been a valuable- and extremely pleasant- time spent getting to know you and gain a fuller understanding of Xiomera today. Thank you once again.”
Republic House, Laeralsford
Inside an elegantly-decorated waiting room at Laeral’s presidential residence, International Affairs Secretary Nōlinyauh took the opportunity to speak quickly and discreetly to Texōccoatl.
“After the talk with the legislators, when we were shaking hands and taking pictures and accepting gifts and all that, I had an interesting encounter with the daughter of the Laeralian foreign minister. She’s herself a representative- you might say her position bears some similarities to yours.”
Texōccoatl didn’t laugh or snicker, but he gave a little look of amusement that Nōlinyauh recognized from the many conversations they’d shared.
“Anyways, she thanked me for the presentation you gave, and slipped me a piece of paper.” He took from his pocket a scrap of paper, with two Laeralian phone numbers, one marked “Misra” and the other “Liu”. “It’s apparently their personal mobile numbers. Misra is the Foreign Minister, of course, and we’ll be seeing President Liu in a moment.”
“Interesting,” Texōccoatl said. “It seems they’re very eager for us to be in contact with them. At least unofficially, or off the record. This is a good sign for our meeting, isn’t it?”
“Absolutely,” said Nōlinyauh. “Like I said earlier, Liu’s a diplomat by trade, and everything we’ve seen indicates she’s jumping at the chance to build ties with Xiomera, under her majesty’s rule. She wants warming relations; we should be able to just let it happen.”