05-06-2020, 06:03 AM
Sunday, May 3rd
Tlālacuetztla, Xiomera
“Let’s be moving!” shouted Yuan Xue, Deputy Chief of Mission, or second-in-command, of the Laeralian Embassy to Xiomera. “We should have had those desks cleared hours ago!”
One of the ordinary diplomats currently checking the drawers of an office desk looked up. “Would’ve been faster if we could’ve hired movers to do the heavy lifting,” she said.
“You know just as well as I do that we couldn’t have done that,” Xue said. “Regulations and all aside, it’s a security risk. And they’re not letting our normal maintenance staff come in to work anyways.” He cast a glance out the window of the embassy to see the Xiomeran “provisional government” troops casually assembled on the boundary of the Laeralian embassy’s territory.
“Xue,” said Lucas Palomer, the Laeralian ambassador, from behind him. “Everything downstairs is packed and ready. Once we’re done up here, we’ll head down to the airport.”
Xue nodded. “I’d like to say, it’s been a real pleasure serving under you.”
“You too, Xue,” Lucas said. “Best DCM I could’ve asked for. You’re a capable diplomat. You’ll make career ambassador in no time.”
“Thank you,” Xue said. “That means a lot.”
In front of them, the diplomat finished checking the last desk drawer. “We’re all clear to go,” she said.
“Thanks, Camille,” Xue said. “Can you head on down to the car downstairs? I’d like to go around and turn off all the lights one last time.” She nodded, and went to the stairs.
“Is everything set for you to step into your new role?” Lucas asked, as he flipped off the lights in the room.
“The arrangements are all worked out,” Xue said. “I’ll be working out of a rental house with the two others, and I got a confirmation email on my ‘resignation’ from government service. The papers with my new rank came in the diplomatic pouch yesterday, even though I won’t have to submit them for accreditation to the junta government, because of the honorary role.”
“Wonderful,” Lucas said. “Congratulations, then, Mr. Honorary Consul.”
“Many thanks,” Xue said. “I just wish I could’ve had a retirement party before my ‘resignation’ yesterday.”
Lucas chuckled. “Yeah, guess we’ll just have to throw an extra-big party for you once this is all over and you reenter the service. So what’s your first priority?”
“It’s still looking out for the remaining civilians. We got the last tour group evacuated yesterday, so it’s mostly employees from Laeralian businesses that haven’t yet pulled out of the country. The instructions from Laeralsford said not to worry about anything political- me and the other two honorary consuls will just deal with getting everyone out. Any communications the government needs to have with the junta here will be through one of the other embassies. The Serrielans, I think. They’re intending to present their credentials as normal.”
“Gotcha,” Lucas said. They’d reached the bottom of the stairs, and the glass double doors that normally welcomed visitors to the embassy were just ahead. Through them, the two men could see embassy cars and vans, with the other Foreign Service diplomats already inside. “Best of luck here, okay?” Lucas said. “Stay safe. I want us to meet up back home when this is all over.”
“I’d like that,” Xue said. “Don’t worry too much about me. And thanks for everything.”
Lucas nodded, shook the other man’s hand firmly, and got into the back seat of the embassy limousine that would take the other diplomats to the airport. Xue watched the convoy go, and once they had gone into the street beyond, he turned to the other two honorary consuls, who had been official diplomats just the day before.
“Let me just go lower the flag on the flagpole, and then we can go walk to the rental house,” he said. “Our work here is just beginning.”
[/hr]
Monday, May 4 - Morning
Laeralsford, Laeral
Representative Gwendoline Schneider was essentially the youngest person to play any meaningful role in Laeralian politics. At 33, she was awfully young to be the Minister of Education in the current government, incredibly young to be the Conservative party’s leader in the Assembly of Commons, but then she’d never really accepted the idea of seniority leading inexorably to a greater position in the party’s hierarchy.
Take Bernard Errante, for instance. The current leader of the party, he was 77, and he’d taken until 2017 to let the tide of seniority drag him gradually to the top of the party, just in time for him to lead it to its worst electoral defeat in decades in the general election the following year. In a better party, a modern party, he’d have resigned and gone off to write his memoirs somewhere. But no, he’d stubbornly refused to step aside, and instead clung to his position, rubbing shoulders with the so-called coalition partners and counting himself lucky that they’d deigned to grant him the defense ministry.
Gwendoline Schneider didn’t hate him- he was a perfectly pleasant man, just hopelessly out of touch and due for retirement years ago. Politics was too rough to let people like Bernard Errante take the lead. Gwendoline believed deeply in the Conservative Party. She’d grown up with a signed photograph of Paul Evrard, the last Conservative president, taking pride of place on her vanity desk, and she’d been able to sing the party anthem since she was eight.
Gwendoline loved the party, loved the ideas it stood for almost as much as she loved her husband and her two children. And so, Gwendoline had decided some years ago, it would be her mission to take the helm of the party and lead it to victory, to the electoral majorities it had once enjoyed. She had expected that it could take another decade. But events were moving quickly in Laeralsford, and with the video she now had in her possession- leadership could be hers sooner than she’d ever had the audacity to anticipate.
[/hr]
Monday, May 4th - Evening
Laeralsford, Laeral
“Thanks for being here, everyone,” said Liu Mei-han, president of Laeral. “I know it’s past the end of the work day, but I do think we need to get ahead of the curve on the Xiomera crisis. Around her at a Republic House conference room were her Chief of Staff, Alexandre Herault; her Chief Political Advisor, Billy Debray; Nicolas Martin, her Prime Minister; and Tanvi Misra and Bernard Errante, heads of the foreign affairs and defense ministries. “I’ve asked Billy Debray to take the lead in liaising with the National Security Council and the policy planning staff at the foreign ministry on this. Billy, would you mind explaining the latest developments since the last report came out this morning?”
“No problem at all, madam president,” said Billy. He was a young Arrivée man with brown hair and a boyish frame that made him look even younger than his 30 years. “So, I took the video from the Xiomeran foreign secretary- Nōlinyu...Nōlenye-”
“Nōlinyauh,” Tanvi Misra said.
“Thanks. Nōlinyauh,” Billy said. “The video, which you’ve all seen, shows street protestors in the city of Necuatexi being attacked by a military force including APCs and attack helicopters. The troops are firing into the crowd, which is probably a war crime. I’m still waiting for the Foreign Ministry lawyers to get back to me on that. The independent analysts I checked with agree that the video isn’t faked. But the really interesting thing is that the analysts at the Defense Ministry think that they know who the mystery units we see with the Imperial Army are. They seem to match images of a Shuellian mercenary group called Watchtower.”
There was a ripple of surprise in the tight circle. Bernard Errante was the first to speak. “Those Shuellian mercenary firms, the government often has a stake in them, yes? Some measure of control?”
“That’s right,” President Liu said. “When it comes to Shuell, the government and the corporations are often inseparable. There’s been some reports that their military contractors are in some ways tools of Sloan’s foreign policy.”
“The mercenaries are a long ways from home,” Tanvi Misra said. “This is a troubling sign that this is escalating into something worse. Civil war, perhaps. The First Fleet and the embassies abroad siding with Texōccoatl is a sign of this.”
“We’ve essentially chosen our side,” said Prime Minister Martin. “The Finance Ministry froze all the foreign assets of the Xiomeran provisional government’s officials - not that there were many of those in Laeral’s banks - a few hours ago, and our diplomats returned this morning. Most of the democracies worldwide have done the same.”
“We still have three of our Foreign Service officers in Xiomera,” Billy said. “Just as unaccredited consuls-general, to help any more of our citizens there. And we have a back-channel through the Serrielan embassy if need be.”
“We need to get a handle on the overall situation,” President Liu said. “This looks more and more like open war. And while we’ve sided with Yauhmi’s faction, we need to take a long and hard look at her and what she stands for before we commit to anything. We also need to keep that video under wraps. If evidence comes out of human rights abuses being perpetrated, that puts pressure on us to act. I want more time to analyze our actions.”
“The National Assembly won’t go for a declaration of war,” Prime Minister Martin said. “We’ve had too many deployments over the past few years. The voters and the legislators are getting tired of adventures overseas. There’s too much political capital involved in sending soldiers. We can make embargos and condemnations happen, but I don’t want our backs to the wall if evidence of human rights abuses comes out and there’s a public outcry.”
“Um, did anyone see the news alert that just came up on my phone?” Chief of Staff Alexandre Herault said, speaking for the first time in the meeting. He held up his smartphone, which had a La Sentinelle news alert on its screen. “Bombshell video shows Xiomeran coup troops and foreign mercenaries firing into crowd of protestors,” he read aloud.
“Someone leaked the video,” Tanvi Misra said.
“Hang on, let me take a look at the article,” Alexandre said. “Hmm, let me see- here! This video was revealed in a live interview on TV1 with Representative Gwendoline Schneider, Minister of Education and Conservative leader in the Assembly of Commons…” he trailed off. Everyone in the room was looking at Bernard Errante, who was staring down at the screen of his own phone with a look of shock on his face.
“Gwendoline…” he said softly. “What did she…” He mopped his forehead with a handkerchief. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go- take care of this.” He was on his feet in a moment, walking out the door while bringing up his phone to his ear. As he stepped out into the hallway, clearly agitated, the others could hear his voice talking on the phone.
“This is outrageous!” Prime Minister Martin said. “She’s the bloody Education Minister, how did she get her hands on this? It’s uncalled-for! She should lose the Education Ministry for this!”
President Liu was leaning back in her seat, an expression of resolve on her face. “What’s done is done. We can debate her motivations, or the consequences, later. What’s clear is that the genie is out of the bottle now. We need to formulate a strategy for how to respond- and quickly.”
Tlālacuetztla, Xiomera
“Let’s be moving!” shouted Yuan Xue, Deputy Chief of Mission, or second-in-command, of the Laeralian Embassy to Xiomera. “We should have had those desks cleared hours ago!”
One of the ordinary diplomats currently checking the drawers of an office desk looked up. “Would’ve been faster if we could’ve hired movers to do the heavy lifting,” she said.
“You know just as well as I do that we couldn’t have done that,” Xue said. “Regulations and all aside, it’s a security risk. And they’re not letting our normal maintenance staff come in to work anyways.” He cast a glance out the window of the embassy to see the Xiomeran “provisional government” troops casually assembled on the boundary of the Laeralian embassy’s territory.
“Xue,” said Lucas Palomer, the Laeralian ambassador, from behind him. “Everything downstairs is packed and ready. Once we’re done up here, we’ll head down to the airport.”
Xue nodded. “I’d like to say, it’s been a real pleasure serving under you.”
“You too, Xue,” Lucas said. “Best DCM I could’ve asked for. You’re a capable diplomat. You’ll make career ambassador in no time.”
“Thank you,” Xue said. “That means a lot.”
In front of them, the diplomat finished checking the last desk drawer. “We’re all clear to go,” she said.
“Thanks, Camille,” Xue said. “Can you head on down to the car downstairs? I’d like to go around and turn off all the lights one last time.” She nodded, and went to the stairs.
“Is everything set for you to step into your new role?” Lucas asked, as he flipped off the lights in the room.
“The arrangements are all worked out,” Xue said. “I’ll be working out of a rental house with the two others, and I got a confirmation email on my ‘resignation’ from government service. The papers with my new rank came in the diplomatic pouch yesterday, even though I won’t have to submit them for accreditation to the junta government, because of the honorary role.”
“Wonderful,” Lucas said. “Congratulations, then, Mr. Honorary Consul.”
“Many thanks,” Xue said. “I just wish I could’ve had a retirement party before my ‘resignation’ yesterday.”
Lucas chuckled. “Yeah, guess we’ll just have to throw an extra-big party for you once this is all over and you reenter the service. So what’s your first priority?”
“It’s still looking out for the remaining civilians. We got the last tour group evacuated yesterday, so it’s mostly employees from Laeralian businesses that haven’t yet pulled out of the country. The instructions from Laeralsford said not to worry about anything political- me and the other two honorary consuls will just deal with getting everyone out. Any communications the government needs to have with the junta here will be through one of the other embassies. The Serrielans, I think. They’re intending to present their credentials as normal.”
“Gotcha,” Lucas said. They’d reached the bottom of the stairs, and the glass double doors that normally welcomed visitors to the embassy were just ahead. Through them, the two men could see embassy cars and vans, with the other Foreign Service diplomats already inside. “Best of luck here, okay?” Lucas said. “Stay safe. I want us to meet up back home when this is all over.”
“I’d like that,” Xue said. “Don’t worry too much about me. And thanks for everything.”
Lucas nodded, shook the other man’s hand firmly, and got into the back seat of the embassy limousine that would take the other diplomats to the airport. Xue watched the convoy go, and once they had gone into the street beyond, he turned to the other two honorary consuls, who had been official diplomats just the day before.
“Let me just go lower the flag on the flagpole, and then we can go walk to the rental house,” he said. “Our work here is just beginning.”
[/hr]
Monday, May 4 - Morning
Laeralsford, Laeral
Representative Gwendoline Schneider was essentially the youngest person to play any meaningful role in Laeralian politics. At 33, she was awfully young to be the Minister of Education in the current government, incredibly young to be the Conservative party’s leader in the Assembly of Commons, but then she’d never really accepted the idea of seniority leading inexorably to a greater position in the party’s hierarchy.
Take Bernard Errante, for instance. The current leader of the party, he was 77, and he’d taken until 2017 to let the tide of seniority drag him gradually to the top of the party, just in time for him to lead it to its worst electoral defeat in decades in the general election the following year. In a better party, a modern party, he’d have resigned and gone off to write his memoirs somewhere. But no, he’d stubbornly refused to step aside, and instead clung to his position, rubbing shoulders with the so-called coalition partners and counting himself lucky that they’d deigned to grant him the defense ministry.
Gwendoline Schneider didn’t hate him- he was a perfectly pleasant man, just hopelessly out of touch and due for retirement years ago. Politics was too rough to let people like Bernard Errante take the lead. Gwendoline believed deeply in the Conservative Party. She’d grown up with a signed photograph of Paul Evrard, the last Conservative president, taking pride of place on her vanity desk, and she’d been able to sing the party anthem since she was eight.
Gwendoline loved the party, loved the ideas it stood for almost as much as she loved her husband and her two children. And so, Gwendoline had decided some years ago, it would be her mission to take the helm of the party and lead it to victory, to the electoral majorities it had once enjoyed. She had expected that it could take another decade. But events were moving quickly in Laeralsford, and with the video she now had in her possession- leadership could be hers sooner than she’d ever had the audacity to anticipate.
[/hr]
Monday, May 4th - Evening
Laeralsford, Laeral
“Thanks for being here, everyone,” said Liu Mei-han, president of Laeral. “I know it’s past the end of the work day, but I do think we need to get ahead of the curve on the Xiomera crisis. Around her at a Republic House conference room were her Chief of Staff, Alexandre Herault; her Chief Political Advisor, Billy Debray; Nicolas Martin, her Prime Minister; and Tanvi Misra and Bernard Errante, heads of the foreign affairs and defense ministries. “I’ve asked Billy Debray to take the lead in liaising with the National Security Council and the policy planning staff at the foreign ministry on this. Billy, would you mind explaining the latest developments since the last report came out this morning?”
“No problem at all, madam president,” said Billy. He was a young Arrivée man with brown hair and a boyish frame that made him look even younger than his 30 years. “So, I took the video from the Xiomeran foreign secretary- Nōlinyu...Nōlenye-”
“Nōlinyauh,” Tanvi Misra said.
“Thanks. Nōlinyauh,” Billy said. “The video, which you’ve all seen, shows street protestors in the city of Necuatexi being attacked by a military force including APCs and attack helicopters. The troops are firing into the crowd, which is probably a war crime. I’m still waiting for the Foreign Ministry lawyers to get back to me on that. The independent analysts I checked with agree that the video isn’t faked. But the really interesting thing is that the analysts at the Defense Ministry think that they know who the mystery units we see with the Imperial Army are. They seem to match images of a Shuellian mercenary group called Watchtower.”
There was a ripple of surprise in the tight circle. Bernard Errante was the first to speak. “Those Shuellian mercenary firms, the government often has a stake in them, yes? Some measure of control?”
“That’s right,” President Liu said. “When it comes to Shuell, the government and the corporations are often inseparable. There’s been some reports that their military contractors are in some ways tools of Sloan’s foreign policy.”
“The mercenaries are a long ways from home,” Tanvi Misra said. “This is a troubling sign that this is escalating into something worse. Civil war, perhaps. The First Fleet and the embassies abroad siding with Texōccoatl is a sign of this.”
“We’ve essentially chosen our side,” said Prime Minister Martin. “The Finance Ministry froze all the foreign assets of the Xiomeran provisional government’s officials - not that there were many of those in Laeral’s banks - a few hours ago, and our diplomats returned this morning. Most of the democracies worldwide have done the same.”
“We still have three of our Foreign Service officers in Xiomera,” Billy said. “Just as unaccredited consuls-general, to help any more of our citizens there. And we have a back-channel through the Serrielan embassy if need be.”
“We need to get a handle on the overall situation,” President Liu said. “This looks more and more like open war. And while we’ve sided with Yauhmi’s faction, we need to take a long and hard look at her and what she stands for before we commit to anything. We also need to keep that video under wraps. If evidence comes out of human rights abuses being perpetrated, that puts pressure on us to act. I want more time to analyze our actions.”
“The National Assembly won’t go for a declaration of war,” Prime Minister Martin said. “We’ve had too many deployments over the past few years. The voters and the legislators are getting tired of adventures overseas. There’s too much political capital involved in sending soldiers. We can make embargos and condemnations happen, but I don’t want our backs to the wall if evidence of human rights abuses comes out and there’s a public outcry.”
“Um, did anyone see the news alert that just came up on my phone?” Chief of Staff Alexandre Herault said, speaking for the first time in the meeting. He held up his smartphone, which had a La Sentinelle news alert on its screen. “Bombshell video shows Xiomeran coup troops and foreign mercenaries firing into crowd of protestors,” he read aloud.
“Someone leaked the video,” Tanvi Misra said.
“Hang on, let me take a look at the article,” Alexandre said. “Hmm, let me see- here! This video was revealed in a live interview on TV1 with Representative Gwendoline Schneider, Minister of Education and Conservative leader in the Assembly of Commons…” he trailed off. Everyone in the room was looking at Bernard Errante, who was staring down at the screen of his own phone with a look of shock on his face.
“Gwendoline…” he said softly. “What did she…” He mopped his forehead with a handkerchief. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go- take care of this.” He was on his feet in a moment, walking out the door while bringing up his phone to his ear. As he stepped out into the hallway, clearly agitated, the others could hear his voice talking on the phone.
“This is outrageous!” Prime Minister Martin said. “She’s the bloody Education Minister, how did she get her hands on this? It’s uncalled-for! She should lose the Education Ministry for this!”
President Liu was leaning back in her seat, an expression of resolve on her face. “What’s done is done. We can debate her motivations, or the consequences, later. What’s clear is that the genie is out of the bottle now. We need to formulate a strategy for how to respond- and quickly.”