08-05-2020, 08:32 AM
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.
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.
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