04-13-2020, 06:15 PM
Council of Kerlile Chamber
10th April - early morning Kerlian time
The Council watched the broadcast from Xiomera in a solemn silence. Despite the early hour, each Councillor was wide awake as she watched General Xōchhuitl make his statement. At the end of the broadcast the silence stretched out as the Councillors stared at the now-blank screen. Eventually, Councillor Pierre spoke.
“What are we going to do?” she asked in an uncharacteristically soft voice.
“I fear there is little we can do,” Councillor Patel sighed. “We know from our intervention in Lauchenoiria that such things in light of a coup are unwise. My family knows this more than most, and several others in this room are only still here because of luck and the incompetence of that Lauchenoirian lawyer.”
“I agree,” nodded Pierre, glancing around the room. “A military intervention would be a mistake. But I feel we have a moral obligation to do something to help Empress Yauhmi.”
The entire room turned to stare incredulously at Pauline. The sight of Councillor Pierre using the phrase ‘moral obligation’ was something that had never been seen before, and that no Councillor had expected to ever see in her lifetime.
“What? I have morals, despite what Lauchenoirians might think. It is merely that my philosophy is that the ends can justify the means, and I believed that my actions were necessary to further the cause of global women’s liberation.”
“Believed?” enquired Jennifer Hale.
“I may have been… incorrect in some of my assessments in the past. Such as the use of the Aurora Programme following the unrest in Lauchenoiria between the communist and capitalist elements in that nation. We had no business interfering in Lauchenoiria, and were doing so for our own selfish reasons.”
“Yet, I note you want to interfere in Xiomera,” smirked Robinson, teasing the other Councillor.
“This is an entirely different story,” Pauline replied, remaining calm. “Empress Yauhmi helped us when we were in a dire situation. And when the Aurora leaks threatened to destroy us completely, she gave us another chance, by offering us that deal that kept many of them safe. We are in her debt, as much as it pains me to admit it, and we need to find some way to repay it.”
“You don’t care about Yauhmi, you just want to protect the handful of Auroras who remained in Xiomera,” argued Robinson. Pauline opened her mouth to argue, when Councillor Chiu silenced her with a wave of her hand.
“Whatever Councillor Pierre’s motivation, she makes a good point. Empress Yauhmi has been the best ally of this country in our history. She, and her late husband I might add, gave us an ally at a time when we sorely needed one. Yauhmi protected us, and we ought to try and protect her,” Chiu said, then glanced at Patel. “And if morality isn’t your thing, then I would point out that we still need the alliance, and those behind this coup do not seem the types to retain it.”
“What can we do?” Rosemary Arnott asked, echoing Pierre’s earlier question.
“In spite of my regular disagreements with Pauline,” Councillor Robinson piped up reluctantly, “I find that I must agree with her here, even if I doubt her sincerity. We can’t allow Empress Yauhmi to be hurt by this General Xōchhuitl. As Pauline said, we have a moral obligation. Yet we cannot attempt a military intervention - to be blunt, we would lose.”
“We seem to be in general agreement that something has to be done,” Councillor Hart said, leaning forward. “But the question we’re all stuck on is what.”
Silence fell once more as the Councillors each tried to think of an idea that wasn’t doomed to failure. Several of them, including Hale and Chiu, began making some notes on paper in front of them, frowning. After a few minutes, Councillor Greenwood cleared her throat and nervously raised her hand a little.
“Um, I need to confess something…” she said, cringing a little.
“Go ahead, Letitia,” Chiu nodded curiously.
“Well, here’s the thing…” she began, and then outlined the story of the unemployed professional torturers her family had offered the services of to Xiomera after Topilpopoca’s assassination. The Councillors listened to the story with a mixture of expressions. On Hale’s face was anger, on Chiu’s disapproval, and on Pierre’s amusement.
“That will be why Mariya Adema hasn’t been around then,” laughed Pierre. “We’re members of the same rifle club.”
“Is that a club where you shoot rifles at targets, or beat people with them to get information?” Robinson asked dryly.
“For God’s sake!” interjected Hale. “This isn’t amusing! We didn’t vote to shut down the Restricted Region just so that Xiomeran citizens could be subjected to the same horrors in place of our own citizens. We shut it down so that nobody would have to undergo such pains. And Carmen, I’m surprised you can find humour in this given your hatred of torture. Councillor Greenwood, you should be ashamed of yourself.”
“Councillors, this is not a discussion on the morality, legality, or intelligence of Letitia’s actions,” Chiu said, trying to smooth over the heated emotions beginning to surface. “Although I feel we should have such a discussion at a later date. Letitia, do you have an idea how to use these individuals in our goals here?”
“Yes,” Letitia nodded. “They are still Kerlian citizens, and they still answer to us. As former Restricted Region staff, they will have been trained to obey orders. And they have access to ASI buildings, which will be of assistance to us.”
“You assume that they’ll still answer to our reformist government,” pointed out Georgiou. “And that they will not support the aims of these coup-plotters, who I might add are probably closer in ideology to that of a professional torturer than we are these days.”
“That is a fair point,” conceded Letitia. “But we can at least try. We also have the Auroras who chose to remain in Xiomera, who we might still be able to contact, and the ones from Xiomera who returned home - they might have information we can use.”
“Okay, so we have a few ideas,” nodded Chiu. “Letitia, can you contact the… interrogation specialists you sent to Xiomera? Pauline, I’d like you to gather the Xiomera-assigned Auroras here in Kerlile and ask them for information. Carmen, go with her to that meeting and make sure she doesn’t force them to do anything they don’t want to do.
“But I have nothing to do with the Aurora Programme!” Carmen interrupted at the same time as Pauline said “I find it rather offensive that you don’t trust me.”
“Enough, both of you. We are all on the same side here, if you want to bicker like teenagers may I suggest you take a class at the local high school. Councillor Hale, can you attempt to contact the Auroras who chose to remain in Xiomera? I don’t know if it will be possible, they were not obligated to keep their communication channels with us open.”
Councillor Hale nodded, writing it down neatly in a notepad she kept on her person. “I can supervise Pierre’s meeting as well, if Robinson is unwilling.”
“Oh, very well, then. So, I propose the four of us meet this evening at… yes, Councillor Georgiou?”
“Sorry, I just thought of another avenue we could pursue. Empress Yauhmi’s son, Crown Prince Texōccoatl is presently in Laeral. Given our recent successful negotiations with the Allied Provinces on the Aurora affair, is it worth getting in touch with the Laeralian ambassador on this matter, and seeing if we can approach it together?”
“An interesting suggestion,” mused Chiu. “It would be an unusual course of action for us, but perhaps something that would be normal in other nations,” she said, looking at Hale for confirmation.
“It’s something that the Lauchenoirians would do, yes,” nodded Hale. “I think it could work. Our relations with Laeral are improving, and if it wasn’t for the damned Haven Accords, we might be well on our way to an actually decent working relationship.”
“Maybe we should hold our meeting this evening at my place,” Pauline smirked. “I still have a dartboard in the games room with a copy of the Accords pinned to it. We could have a little social after we discuss business.”
“An actually tempting suggestion,” Hale chuckled, before Chiu glared pointedly at her.
“Very well. We shall meet at Councillor Pierre’s residence this evening. Councillor Georgiou, contact the Laeralian ambassador if you wish, and you can report back to us. So I shall see the four of you this evening, then, and the others on Monday at our next session. Thank you all.”
With that, the Councillors all stood, and began making their way out of the chamber. Hale fell into step next to Pierre, and grinned at the other Councillor.
“Seems we have more in common than I thought,” Hale remarked, following Pierre to her car.
“Seems you’re not as boring as I originally thought,” Pierre replied begrudgingly. “You better come with me, then. We can meet with the two Auroras at the KIS building. I’ll have them summoned there.”
“Sure,” nodded Hale, gesturing at her own bodyguards to indicate that she was going with Pierre, and then the pair of Councillors both got into the car together. “Woah, this is fancy,” she remarked, looking around Pierre’s car.
“Not all of us enjoy living the lifestyle of a Lauchenoirian resistance fighter,” teased Pierre, pulling a couple of bottles of something out, and handing one to Hale. “It’s non-alcoholic, don’t worry. We’re still working.”
Hale took the bottle, taking a sip and nodding appreciatively at the fruity flavour. She gave Pauline a half-smile, and the other Councillor nodded back. In spite of their differences, and past animosity, it seemed that both were willing to work together on this matter.
“You know,” Hale remarked as they drove through the city, “Empress Yauhmi managed something, even in this, that has proven impossible for decades - she managed to unite the Council of Kerlile.”
10th April - early morning Kerlian time
The Council watched the broadcast from Xiomera in a solemn silence. Despite the early hour, each Councillor was wide awake as she watched General Xōchhuitl make his statement. At the end of the broadcast the silence stretched out as the Councillors stared at the now-blank screen. Eventually, Councillor Pierre spoke.
“What are we going to do?” she asked in an uncharacteristically soft voice.
“I fear there is little we can do,” Councillor Patel sighed. “We know from our intervention in Lauchenoiria that such things in light of a coup are unwise. My family knows this more than most, and several others in this room are only still here because of luck and the incompetence of that Lauchenoirian lawyer.”
“I agree,” nodded Pierre, glancing around the room. “A military intervention would be a mistake. But I feel we have a moral obligation to do something to help Empress Yauhmi.”
The entire room turned to stare incredulously at Pauline. The sight of Councillor Pierre using the phrase ‘moral obligation’ was something that had never been seen before, and that no Councillor had expected to ever see in her lifetime.
“What? I have morals, despite what Lauchenoirians might think. It is merely that my philosophy is that the ends can justify the means, and I believed that my actions were necessary to further the cause of global women’s liberation.”
“Believed?” enquired Jennifer Hale.
“I may have been… incorrect in some of my assessments in the past. Such as the use of the Aurora Programme following the unrest in Lauchenoiria between the communist and capitalist elements in that nation. We had no business interfering in Lauchenoiria, and were doing so for our own selfish reasons.”
“Yet, I note you want to interfere in Xiomera,” smirked Robinson, teasing the other Councillor.
“This is an entirely different story,” Pauline replied, remaining calm. “Empress Yauhmi helped us when we were in a dire situation. And when the Aurora leaks threatened to destroy us completely, she gave us another chance, by offering us that deal that kept many of them safe. We are in her debt, as much as it pains me to admit it, and we need to find some way to repay it.”
“You don’t care about Yauhmi, you just want to protect the handful of Auroras who remained in Xiomera,” argued Robinson. Pauline opened her mouth to argue, when Councillor Chiu silenced her with a wave of her hand.
“Whatever Councillor Pierre’s motivation, she makes a good point. Empress Yauhmi has been the best ally of this country in our history. She, and her late husband I might add, gave us an ally at a time when we sorely needed one. Yauhmi protected us, and we ought to try and protect her,” Chiu said, then glanced at Patel. “And if morality isn’t your thing, then I would point out that we still need the alliance, and those behind this coup do not seem the types to retain it.”
“What can we do?” Rosemary Arnott asked, echoing Pierre’s earlier question.
“In spite of my regular disagreements with Pauline,” Councillor Robinson piped up reluctantly, “I find that I must agree with her here, even if I doubt her sincerity. We can’t allow Empress Yauhmi to be hurt by this General Xōchhuitl. As Pauline said, we have a moral obligation. Yet we cannot attempt a military intervention - to be blunt, we would lose.”
“We seem to be in general agreement that something has to be done,” Councillor Hart said, leaning forward. “But the question we’re all stuck on is what.”
Silence fell once more as the Councillors each tried to think of an idea that wasn’t doomed to failure. Several of them, including Hale and Chiu, began making some notes on paper in front of them, frowning. After a few minutes, Councillor Greenwood cleared her throat and nervously raised her hand a little.
“Um, I need to confess something…” she said, cringing a little.
“Go ahead, Letitia,” Chiu nodded curiously.
“Well, here’s the thing…” she began, and then outlined the story of the unemployed professional torturers her family had offered the services of to Xiomera after Topilpopoca’s assassination. The Councillors listened to the story with a mixture of expressions. On Hale’s face was anger, on Chiu’s disapproval, and on Pierre’s amusement.
“That will be why Mariya Adema hasn’t been around then,” laughed Pierre. “We’re members of the same rifle club.”
“Is that a club where you shoot rifles at targets, or beat people with them to get information?” Robinson asked dryly.
“For God’s sake!” interjected Hale. “This isn’t amusing! We didn’t vote to shut down the Restricted Region just so that Xiomeran citizens could be subjected to the same horrors in place of our own citizens. We shut it down so that nobody would have to undergo such pains. And Carmen, I’m surprised you can find humour in this given your hatred of torture. Councillor Greenwood, you should be ashamed of yourself.”
“Councillors, this is not a discussion on the morality, legality, or intelligence of Letitia’s actions,” Chiu said, trying to smooth over the heated emotions beginning to surface. “Although I feel we should have such a discussion at a later date. Letitia, do you have an idea how to use these individuals in our goals here?”
“Yes,” Letitia nodded. “They are still Kerlian citizens, and they still answer to us. As former Restricted Region staff, they will have been trained to obey orders. And they have access to ASI buildings, which will be of assistance to us.”
“You assume that they’ll still answer to our reformist government,” pointed out Georgiou. “And that they will not support the aims of these coup-plotters, who I might add are probably closer in ideology to that of a professional torturer than we are these days.”
“That is a fair point,” conceded Letitia. “But we can at least try. We also have the Auroras who chose to remain in Xiomera, who we might still be able to contact, and the ones from Xiomera who returned home - they might have information we can use.”
“Okay, so we have a few ideas,” nodded Chiu. “Letitia, can you contact the… interrogation specialists you sent to Xiomera? Pauline, I’d like you to gather the Xiomera-assigned Auroras here in Kerlile and ask them for information. Carmen, go with her to that meeting and make sure she doesn’t force them to do anything they don’t want to do.
“But I have nothing to do with the Aurora Programme!” Carmen interrupted at the same time as Pauline said “I find it rather offensive that you don’t trust me.”
“Enough, both of you. We are all on the same side here, if you want to bicker like teenagers may I suggest you take a class at the local high school. Councillor Hale, can you attempt to contact the Auroras who chose to remain in Xiomera? I don’t know if it will be possible, they were not obligated to keep their communication channels with us open.”
Councillor Hale nodded, writing it down neatly in a notepad she kept on her person. “I can supervise Pierre’s meeting as well, if Robinson is unwilling.”
“Oh, very well, then. So, I propose the four of us meet this evening at… yes, Councillor Georgiou?”
“Sorry, I just thought of another avenue we could pursue. Empress Yauhmi’s son, Crown Prince Texōccoatl is presently in Laeral. Given our recent successful negotiations with the Allied Provinces on the Aurora affair, is it worth getting in touch with the Laeralian ambassador on this matter, and seeing if we can approach it together?”
“An interesting suggestion,” mused Chiu. “It would be an unusual course of action for us, but perhaps something that would be normal in other nations,” she said, looking at Hale for confirmation.
“It’s something that the Lauchenoirians would do, yes,” nodded Hale. “I think it could work. Our relations with Laeral are improving, and if it wasn’t for the damned Haven Accords, we might be well on our way to an actually decent working relationship.”
“Maybe we should hold our meeting this evening at my place,” Pauline smirked. “I still have a dartboard in the games room with a copy of the Accords pinned to it. We could have a little social after we discuss business.”
“An actually tempting suggestion,” Hale chuckled, before Chiu glared pointedly at her.
“Very well. We shall meet at Councillor Pierre’s residence this evening. Councillor Georgiou, contact the Laeralian ambassador if you wish, and you can report back to us. So I shall see the four of you this evening, then, and the others on Monday at our next session. Thank you all.”
With that, the Councillors all stood, and began making their way out of the chamber. Hale fell into step next to Pierre, and grinned at the other Councillor.
“Seems we have more in common than I thought,” Hale remarked, following Pierre to her car.
“Seems you’re not as boring as I originally thought,” Pierre replied begrudgingly. “You better come with me, then. We can meet with the two Auroras at the KIS building. I’ll have them summoned there.”
“Sure,” nodded Hale, gesturing at her own bodyguards to indicate that she was going with Pierre, and then the pair of Councillors both got into the car together. “Woah, this is fancy,” she remarked, looking around Pierre’s car.
“Not all of us enjoy living the lifestyle of a Lauchenoirian resistance fighter,” teased Pierre, pulling a couple of bottles of something out, and handing one to Hale. “It’s non-alcoholic, don’t worry. We’re still working.”
Hale took the bottle, taking a sip and nodding appreciatively at the fruity flavour. She gave Pauline a half-smile, and the other Councillor nodded back. In spite of their differences, and past animosity, it seemed that both were willing to work together on this matter.
“You know,” Hale remarked as they drove through the city, “Empress Yauhmi managed something, even in this, that has proven impossible for decades - she managed to unite the Council of Kerlile.”
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