09-14-2020, 04:01 PM
Council of Kerlile Chamber
7th September, 5:59am
Councillor Pauline Pierre sat in the Chamber, her hands clasped, her posture straight and still. The various members of staff who stood at the edges were exchanging very worried glances as they waited for the other Councillors to arrive. Pierre had arrived at 5:30 for the emergency 6am meeting she’d called, much to the fear of the staff whose job it was to be present at non-secretive Council meetings. They had never seen a Councillor arrive that early in peacetime.
At 6am on the dot, the other Councillors filed in, grumbling amongst themselves about the fact that they’d all been woken early by staff loyal to the Pierres and practically dragged to the Chamber. They filed into their seats watching Pierre warily, falling silent at the sight of her frozen, serious body language. This was not some kind of plot; she was genuinely angry at something. When they’d taken their seats, Pierre stood.
“I am going to show you a video. I found this in my mail yesterday. And once you have watched the video, we are going to debate my motion, on a response to this aggression by Libertas Omnium Maximus,” said the Councillor coolly. She gestured for one of the members of staff to press play.
The footage of Olivia Pierre tied up played in the Council chamber, and all present understood immediately why they had been gathered here at such an early hour. There was still a debate about Pauline’s relationship with her daughter, but to hurt a member of a Council family was a grave insult, as anyone who had lived through or studied the Kerlian Civil War would know. If this was indeed the Maximusians, they had made a grave error.
“Thoughts?” Councillor Pierre asked calmly, after the video had finished.
“There are still former Auroras who are willing to work for us, correct?” asked Jennifer Hale. “They would be our best bet to track down where they’re holding us and perform an extraction, like with the Chaherites in Lauchenoiria.”
“And if they’ve already killed her?” responded Pierre, seemingly calm but with a dangerous undertone. “Perhaps then they can destroy LOM as we should have done in 2018.”
“That’s a bit of an escalation,” Georgiou interrupted quickly. “We don’t know if they’ve hurt her, this could just be made to scare us. We cannot go to war; this isn’t like the situation in Xiomera, the world would turn against us quickly.”
“I agree, it’s not a proportionate response. Listen, we all agreed to use the TRC as a forum to resolve all disputes, right? What was the exact phrasing? Let me check…” Councillor Robinson began to tap on a tablet in front of her, seeking a copy of the Haven Accords.
“Sanctions. Expel their ambassador. Those are the normal responses to such things, yes?” Letitia Greenwood asked. “That’s all we can do visibly without increasing the threat to our country beyond acceptable levels. Though I don’t think anyone would begrudge us sending a couple of Auroras on a rescue mission in these circumstances.”
“Here it is!” Robinson said. “§3.3 It is agreed that no acts of retribution shall be taken by one party against another, regardless of faction affiliation, and that all quarrels or issues of concern, such as reparations, shall be mediated by the Truth & Reconciliation Commission.”
“That does indicate that they’re in breach of the Haven Accords,” nodded Nirmala Patel. “We did not comply with those Accords – my mother did not give her life – for them to be cast aside the moment they are inconvenient.”
“Decisions of the TRC were also agreed to be binding,” pointed out Robinson.
“Lauchenoiria won’t like it,” cautioned Hale, “if we go about saying the Accords have been contravened. They’re looking into Olivia’s disappearance as well; we agreed to share information with them.”
“They’ll have to deal with it,” Pierre growled. “Because if that is the case, we need to make this public. If LOM have contravened the Haven Accords they can be subject to penalties. I doubt they’ll want that.”
“So, to form this into a proposal: plan A is to make this public and see if the fallout makes them release her, and plan B is to send in a team of Auroras for extraction?” asked Chiu.
“I second that proposal,” nodded Pierre.
“Objections?” asked Chiu.
“I think we should talk to Lauchenoiria first,” said Hale. “Do I have someone to second that objection?”
There was a silence in the Council Chamber, as the other Reformists avoided Hale’s eyes. The Council may have been known for infighting; but when it came to the protection of their families, they were generally united. Having spent most of her life out of the Matriarchy, it was moments like this that marked Hale as still being an outsider.
“One objection, not seconded,” Chiu said, “raise your hands to support the proposal.”
Nine hands were raised almost immediately, and Hale sighed and leaned back in her seat, gesturing that she didn’t have any strong opinions on the matter.
“Then it’s settled,” Chiu said firmly. “Now… who is brave enough to speak to the Sanctarians?”
7th September, 5:59am
Councillor Pauline Pierre sat in the Chamber, her hands clasped, her posture straight and still. The various members of staff who stood at the edges were exchanging very worried glances as they waited for the other Councillors to arrive. Pierre had arrived at 5:30 for the emergency 6am meeting she’d called, much to the fear of the staff whose job it was to be present at non-secretive Council meetings. They had never seen a Councillor arrive that early in peacetime.
At 6am on the dot, the other Councillors filed in, grumbling amongst themselves about the fact that they’d all been woken early by staff loyal to the Pierres and practically dragged to the Chamber. They filed into their seats watching Pierre warily, falling silent at the sight of her frozen, serious body language. This was not some kind of plot; she was genuinely angry at something. When they’d taken their seats, Pierre stood.
“I am going to show you a video. I found this in my mail yesterday. And once you have watched the video, we are going to debate my motion, on a response to this aggression by Libertas Omnium Maximus,” said the Councillor coolly. She gestured for one of the members of staff to press play.
The footage of Olivia Pierre tied up played in the Council chamber, and all present understood immediately why they had been gathered here at such an early hour. There was still a debate about Pauline’s relationship with her daughter, but to hurt a member of a Council family was a grave insult, as anyone who had lived through or studied the Kerlian Civil War would know. If this was indeed the Maximusians, they had made a grave error.
“Thoughts?” Councillor Pierre asked calmly, after the video had finished.
“There are still former Auroras who are willing to work for us, correct?” asked Jennifer Hale. “They would be our best bet to track down where they’re holding us and perform an extraction, like with the Chaherites in Lauchenoiria.”
“And if they’ve already killed her?” responded Pierre, seemingly calm but with a dangerous undertone. “Perhaps then they can destroy LOM as we should have done in 2018.”
“That’s a bit of an escalation,” Georgiou interrupted quickly. “We don’t know if they’ve hurt her, this could just be made to scare us. We cannot go to war; this isn’t like the situation in Xiomera, the world would turn against us quickly.”
“I agree, it’s not a proportionate response. Listen, we all agreed to use the TRC as a forum to resolve all disputes, right? What was the exact phrasing? Let me check…” Councillor Robinson began to tap on a tablet in front of her, seeking a copy of the Haven Accords.
“Sanctions. Expel their ambassador. Those are the normal responses to such things, yes?” Letitia Greenwood asked. “That’s all we can do visibly without increasing the threat to our country beyond acceptable levels. Though I don’t think anyone would begrudge us sending a couple of Auroras on a rescue mission in these circumstances.”
“Here it is!” Robinson said. “§3.3 It is agreed that no acts of retribution shall be taken by one party against another, regardless of faction affiliation, and that all quarrels or issues of concern, such as reparations, shall be mediated by the Truth & Reconciliation Commission.”
“That does indicate that they’re in breach of the Haven Accords,” nodded Nirmala Patel. “We did not comply with those Accords – my mother did not give her life – for them to be cast aside the moment they are inconvenient.”
“Decisions of the TRC were also agreed to be binding,” pointed out Robinson.
“Lauchenoiria won’t like it,” cautioned Hale, “if we go about saying the Accords have been contravened. They’re looking into Olivia’s disappearance as well; we agreed to share information with them.”
“They’ll have to deal with it,” Pierre growled. “Because if that is the case, we need to make this public. If LOM have contravened the Haven Accords they can be subject to penalties. I doubt they’ll want that.”
“So, to form this into a proposal: plan A is to make this public and see if the fallout makes them release her, and plan B is to send in a team of Auroras for extraction?” asked Chiu.
“I second that proposal,” nodded Pierre.
“Objections?” asked Chiu.
“I think we should talk to Lauchenoiria first,” said Hale. “Do I have someone to second that objection?”
There was a silence in the Council Chamber, as the other Reformists avoided Hale’s eyes. The Council may have been known for infighting; but when it came to the protection of their families, they were generally united. Having spent most of her life out of the Matriarchy, it was moments like this that marked Hale as still being an outsider.
“One objection, not seconded,” Chiu said, “raise your hands to support the proposal.”
Nine hands were raised almost immediately, and Hale sighed and leaned back in her seat, gesturing that she didn’t have any strong opinions on the matter.
“Then it’s settled,” Chiu said firmly. “Now… who is brave enough to speak to the Sanctarians?”
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