12-25-2020, 01:26 AM
(Joint post with [nation]Lauchenoiria[/nation])
After the initial gathering had concluded, a member of the Xiomeran delegation walked over to the Kerlian delegation. Giving a short, polite bow, the Xiomeran nodded. “Honored Councillors and.....um....representatives,” she said, briefly looking at Finlay Hale before continuing. “Her Majesty, the Empress Calhualyana, would like to have a meeting with your delegation, if you are willing.”
"We would be pleased to meet with the Empress," Pauline Pierre said quickly, glancing sideways at Letitia Greenwood who had opened her mouth, likely to reject the invitation. Greenwood glared at Pierre. Finlay narrowed his eyes at the Xiomeran also, suspicious of their motivations. Georgiou offered no objection to Pierre's response.
"If you would please follow me,” the Xiomeran replied, leading the Kerlian delegation to a conference room nearby. When they walked in, Empress Calhualyana stood up, greeting each Councillor by name and shaking their hands. When she reached Finlay Hale, Calhualyana paused for a moment. “Are you an assistant with the delegation, sir?” she asked, a look of slight surprise on her face.
"I am Councillor Jennifer Hale's cousin, her appointed representative to this delegation," Finlay replied, looking the Empress in the eye, his Kerlian accent stronger than those of the women.
"As a member of the Council Committee on the Xiomeran Conflict," Georgiou explained, speaking primly and somewhat disapprovingly, "Councillor Hale has the right to appoint a representative to any conference focusing on the conflict. As she is unable to travel outside of Kerlile, she chose her... cousin. The appointment was hers alone to make."
"I see,” Calhualyana said, seemingly bemused. “In that case, I’m pleased to meet you, Mr. Hale. Moving forward, I shall treat you with the same respect that I would Councillor Hale, if she were here,” she said. The word choice and tone Calhualyana used conveyed both a nod of admiration for his lack of being cowed, and a subtle reminder of the fact that his cousin was the only reason he held any power here, in the combination of surface politeness and well-hidden, well-crafted snark that Calhualyana excelled at.
Turning to Katrine Porter, she shook the Secretary’s hand as well and greeted her, before everyone sat down. “Thank you for agreeing to this meeting with us. I was hoping for some time before the plenary session for us to discuss ways we can extricate ourselves from the mess Xochiuhue caused, and on goals that we could possibly share for these talks and our relationship moving forward.”
"We are willing to work with both sides in the conflict to reach a solution which is agreeable to all parties," Councillor Georgiou began, choosing her words carefully. "So we are pleased to have the opportunity to speak with you, Empress Calhualyana. We were most pleased with your swift action in removing Xochiuhue from power when it became clear he posed a threat to, frankly, half the world. Moving forward, we would like to see an agreement which prevents more violence on any side, and facilitates close-to-normal trade in the area."
"We are certainly amenable to an end to fighting, and have already agreed to cede any territorial claims we have in western Huenya, Manauia Island and the Netlcōatl Islands to facilitate a peaceful resolution to this conflict. For our part, we would like to see a provision in any treaty that guarantees Xiomerans will be able to live in the Netlcōatl Islands or Manauia Island without fear of reprisal from any new authorities there.”
“As for trade,” the Empress said, “that brings up the subject of the Canal, which is probably the most difficult issue of these discussions. Giving up the Canal would represent a significant financial loss for Xiomera, and would also be very hard to justify to my people. The Canal is a great engineering achievement and a source of national pride. I would need to have some serious incentives to be able to sell the loss of the Canal to my people in an acceptable way. There are, truthfully, some in Xiomera who believe I am giving up too much already.”
"We agree that the threats towards Xiomerans in the Netlcōatl Islands are completely unacceptable, and we intend to push for measures to protect Xiomerans in former territories of the Empire," Finlay Hale replied, earning looks from the three Councillors for speaking. They were not entirely comfortable with his presence.
"We will not accept threats against Xiomerans in the Netlcōatl Islands or anywhere else," Georgiou glanced at Finlay, frowning as she echoed his words. "On the subject of the Canal, I would like to say that it is very impressive indeed, and we understand your attachment. However, from what we hear, it does appear to be a sticking point for your opponents in these discussions."
"We do need to consider stability, however," Pierre added. "If there are elements in Xiomera who would cause a disturbance were the Canal to be ceded, then that shall need to be taken into account."
"Indeed, and I can’t deny that there are elements in Xiomera who would do so. I can handle any disturbances,” Calhualyana said with a grimace, “but it’s certainly an issue that has to be considered. That being said, the more my opponents are prepared to offer as incentive or concessions, the easier it is for me to make this deal work. We would, at a minimum, hope for some kind of territorial and financial compensation, or at least some kind of favorable trade arrangements and the end of sanctions against us.”
"Sanctions are detrimental to the world economy," Letitia Greenwood nodded. "Though they are a favoured tool of many nations these days. We in Kerlile certainly do not intend to continue any sanctions following these talks. Though the mention of the Canal brings us onto one other important point, which may be of some contention to both our delegations. The matter of Zapotlán and any accusations of war crimes that any party may make against any other party."
Pauline Pierre openly glared at Greenwood in response to her mention of war crimes, and Finlay Hale looked rather uncomfortable too. Georgiou and Porter managed to maintain their composure, but inside they became tense. After 2018, the very idea of signing another treaty was itself concerning, and this would only make matters worse. They had asked Greenwood to refrain from this line of discussion, she had ignored them. Now they were committed, unless they wanted to lose face.
Calhualyana was also surprised at the mention of war crimes, but kept the surprise off her face with the blandly polite expression of an ASI agent speaking to a potential suspect. She made a mental note of the reactions of Pierre and Hale in passing, filing them away for future reference, before continuing.
“The subject of war crimes is a rather tricky one, as they occurred on both sides,” Calhualyana said calmly. “Our stance is that the Huenyan side should address the issue of war crimes committed by their side in their own courts, and the Xiomeran side should do the same. We are not prepared to allow these talks to become some kind of international tribunal over Xiomera. We are quite capable of punishing our own wrongdoers. If anyone wishes, they can attend Xochiuhue’s upcoming execution as proof of that.”
"I expect my eldest daughter may take you up on that offer," Pierre laughed drily. "It's rather odd, she used to disapprove of such methods of carrying out justice, but she has taken quite a dislike to the man. The vast majority of Kerlians would agree with you regarding the prosecution of any such crimes. We do not need a repeat of the fiasco of what happened after Lauchenoiria; politically motivated prosecutions against individuals on both sides which naturally failed as they had no basis in fact."
Pierre glanced at Greenwood, meeting her eye as the other woman turned away and leaned towards Calhualyana. "What about the matter of individuals who do not presently reside in their own country? There must be some way to deal with those who seek to escape justice by crossing borders, no?"
"There are ways. Countries that seek wanted individuals can submit requests for those individuals to be extradited or sign extradition agreements with each other if they don’t already exist. That’s how such things are typically handled in the international community, and we think that is the best course. Anything else invites more of the same sort of unfairness and chaos that Councillor Pierre mentioned, that took place after the Lauchenoirian conflict. Xiomera will not be subject to such indignities.” Calhualyana’s voice had taken on a bit of a firmer tone, before she reminded herself to be diplomatic. “We will give any extradition requests all due and fair consideration, as I am sure the Huenyan side would in their own place.”
"We have no issues with that approach," Pierre replied, glaring at Greenwood openly now. "Pardon my colleague, Letitia does not enjoy air travel, the thin air affects her reasoning capacities."
"Hey now," Letitia hissed. "If you think this an acceptable..."
"We are hopeful that trade can restart between Xiomera and Kerlile as soon as possible," Katrine Porter said loudly, interrupting Letitia. She flinched a little as she did so, concerned about the consequences of talking over a Councillor. "This conflict has been damaging to our relationship and we wish to repair that. I'm sure you understand why we could not work with Xochiuhue, but we needn't continue the animosity that briefly existed as a result of our concerns that he would go down a path of misogyny."
Calhualyana smiled. At the mention of trade, Porter was speaking her language. “No one could work with Xochiuhue, he went quite mad at the end. Probably in the middle, too, but....yes. We would definitely like to restart trade and normal relations as soon as possible. Xiomera has, except for Xochiuhue’s stupidity, always been supportive of Kerlile and its mission and we hope to continue that policy.”
"We are very glad to hear that," Georgiou exhaled in relief now that the topic had changed. Finlay Hale, on the other hand, had bit his lip at the mention of Kerlile's mission. He had not yet learned how to hide his facial expressions, and his only salvation lay in the fact that none of the others in the Kerlian delegation were looking at him at the time.
"Before we can discuss the normalisation of relations, we sadly must consider this message from Councillor Chiu," Katrine Porter added, pulling out an envelope and handing it to the Empress. "It appears one of her relatives is amongst the prisoners of war captured in Zapotlán."
Calhualyana noted Finlay Hale’s reaction, as she noted almost everything around her. Interesting, she thought, before taking the envelope from Porter and reading through the letter quickly. “I see....Suyin Chiu. Our intention had been to release any prisoners of war once these talks were concluded. However, as a gesture of goodwill, I can arrange for Ms. Chiu and her unit to be repatriated to Kerlile immediately.”
"That will please Councillor Chiu," Greenwood nodded. "I mean, statistically there were probably three or four members of the Chiu family in Zapotlán, there's so many of them."
"The Chiu family's... reproductive rate aside," Porter tried to bring the conversation back to something more productive, "we would like to make it known that we do not intend to sign any treaties that place undue restrictions on trade."
"That is good to hear. I do feel that we are in agreement on most points,” Calhualyana said. “There is only one other thing I wanted to discuss. I am sure that Yauhmi and her delegation will request to speak with you as well. They will most likely ask you to pick a side - us or them. We do not intend to force you to make such a choice. It is our belief that this new state of Huenya and Xiomera can coexist - and that nations can befriend both. Yauhmi’s side insists that they have to have authority over all of Huenya, driven by this radical ideology called pan-Huenyanism. It is our belief that the two sides of Huenya are distinct and that it is probably for the best that they remain separate.....but I am rambling. I would just ask that if Yauhmi’s delegation asks you to pick a side, that you share our belief that no one should have to pick sides here.”
"We certainly do not wish to be forced to take a side in negotiations, and you know we hope to end the armed conflict - or at the very least, our role in it. We have worked with Yauhmi in the past, and wish to maintain good relations with both Huenya and Xiomera," Georgiou said without saying anything.
Despite the noncommittal response, Calhualyana seemed pleased. Having Kerlile return to neutrality in all of this at least takes them out of Yauhmi’s pocket. That’s good enough for now. “That’s very good to hear. I think we’re pretty much on the same page now with things. Is there anything else you would like to discuss?”
"Yes, I..." Letitia Greenwood opened her mouth, but Georgiou interrupted her.
"No, Empress, that is all. Thank you for taking the time to meet with us. We hope for a beneficial outcome in these talks, and assure you that we will not consent to any scenario which implies a repeat of 2018."
The Empress hid her amusement at Greenwood being cut off as she stood. “I am very glad to hear that, and I also hope that these talks go well and that we can resume normal relations soon. Thank you as well,” Calhualyana said, shaking everyone’s hand again. Once the Kerlians had left, Calhualyana sat back down. Things had gone about as well as she had hoped.
After the Kerlians left the room, Georgiou grabbed Greenwood's wrist firmly and turned to face her.
"What was that?" she hissed.
"Mariya Adema is guilty of treason. She is a threat, and she cannot be allowed to remain in Xiomera," Greenwood replied. "We were careful, none of our people committed any war crimes, so there's no problem with mentioning it."
"Even the male," Pierre nodded at Finlay Hale, "was less of a liability than you in there. Prosecutions are political, we of all people should know that. You would put us all at risk. Either you stick to our agreed agenda, or you wait out the rest of the talks in your hotel room."
"You have no right to confine me to the hotel!"
"No, but I do," Georgiou replied. "As head of this delegation, I have responsibility, and if you continue to behave in this manner, I will ask the Laeralian security to escort you off these premises, and don't think I won't. I don't bluff."
Councillor Letitia Greenwood stared in disbelief at Pierre and Georgiou as Katrine Porter and Finlay Hale pretended to be looking at anything else. Then, Greenwood turned around and stalked away down the corridor, fury on her face as the other two Councillors looked after her, and sighed together.
After the initial gathering had concluded, a member of the Xiomeran delegation walked over to the Kerlian delegation. Giving a short, polite bow, the Xiomeran nodded. “Honored Councillors and.....um....representatives,” she said, briefly looking at Finlay Hale before continuing. “Her Majesty, the Empress Calhualyana, would like to have a meeting with your delegation, if you are willing.”
"We would be pleased to meet with the Empress," Pauline Pierre said quickly, glancing sideways at Letitia Greenwood who had opened her mouth, likely to reject the invitation. Greenwood glared at Pierre. Finlay narrowed his eyes at the Xiomeran also, suspicious of their motivations. Georgiou offered no objection to Pierre's response.
"If you would please follow me,” the Xiomeran replied, leading the Kerlian delegation to a conference room nearby. When they walked in, Empress Calhualyana stood up, greeting each Councillor by name and shaking their hands. When she reached Finlay Hale, Calhualyana paused for a moment. “Are you an assistant with the delegation, sir?” she asked, a look of slight surprise on her face.
"I am Councillor Jennifer Hale's cousin, her appointed representative to this delegation," Finlay replied, looking the Empress in the eye, his Kerlian accent stronger than those of the women.
"As a member of the Council Committee on the Xiomeran Conflict," Georgiou explained, speaking primly and somewhat disapprovingly, "Councillor Hale has the right to appoint a representative to any conference focusing on the conflict. As she is unable to travel outside of Kerlile, she chose her... cousin. The appointment was hers alone to make."
"I see,” Calhualyana said, seemingly bemused. “In that case, I’m pleased to meet you, Mr. Hale. Moving forward, I shall treat you with the same respect that I would Councillor Hale, if she were here,” she said. The word choice and tone Calhualyana used conveyed both a nod of admiration for his lack of being cowed, and a subtle reminder of the fact that his cousin was the only reason he held any power here, in the combination of surface politeness and well-hidden, well-crafted snark that Calhualyana excelled at.
Turning to Katrine Porter, she shook the Secretary’s hand as well and greeted her, before everyone sat down. “Thank you for agreeing to this meeting with us. I was hoping for some time before the plenary session for us to discuss ways we can extricate ourselves from the mess Xochiuhue caused, and on goals that we could possibly share for these talks and our relationship moving forward.”
"We are willing to work with both sides in the conflict to reach a solution which is agreeable to all parties," Councillor Georgiou began, choosing her words carefully. "So we are pleased to have the opportunity to speak with you, Empress Calhualyana. We were most pleased with your swift action in removing Xochiuhue from power when it became clear he posed a threat to, frankly, half the world. Moving forward, we would like to see an agreement which prevents more violence on any side, and facilitates close-to-normal trade in the area."
"We are certainly amenable to an end to fighting, and have already agreed to cede any territorial claims we have in western Huenya, Manauia Island and the Netlcōatl Islands to facilitate a peaceful resolution to this conflict. For our part, we would like to see a provision in any treaty that guarantees Xiomerans will be able to live in the Netlcōatl Islands or Manauia Island without fear of reprisal from any new authorities there.”
“As for trade,” the Empress said, “that brings up the subject of the Canal, which is probably the most difficult issue of these discussions. Giving up the Canal would represent a significant financial loss for Xiomera, and would also be very hard to justify to my people. The Canal is a great engineering achievement and a source of national pride. I would need to have some serious incentives to be able to sell the loss of the Canal to my people in an acceptable way. There are, truthfully, some in Xiomera who believe I am giving up too much already.”
"We agree that the threats towards Xiomerans in the Netlcōatl Islands are completely unacceptable, and we intend to push for measures to protect Xiomerans in former territories of the Empire," Finlay Hale replied, earning looks from the three Councillors for speaking. They were not entirely comfortable with his presence.
"We will not accept threats against Xiomerans in the Netlcōatl Islands or anywhere else," Georgiou glanced at Finlay, frowning as she echoed his words. "On the subject of the Canal, I would like to say that it is very impressive indeed, and we understand your attachment. However, from what we hear, it does appear to be a sticking point for your opponents in these discussions."
"We do need to consider stability, however," Pierre added. "If there are elements in Xiomera who would cause a disturbance were the Canal to be ceded, then that shall need to be taken into account."
"Indeed, and I can’t deny that there are elements in Xiomera who would do so. I can handle any disturbances,” Calhualyana said with a grimace, “but it’s certainly an issue that has to be considered. That being said, the more my opponents are prepared to offer as incentive or concessions, the easier it is for me to make this deal work. We would, at a minimum, hope for some kind of territorial and financial compensation, or at least some kind of favorable trade arrangements and the end of sanctions against us.”
"Sanctions are detrimental to the world economy," Letitia Greenwood nodded. "Though they are a favoured tool of many nations these days. We in Kerlile certainly do not intend to continue any sanctions following these talks. Though the mention of the Canal brings us onto one other important point, which may be of some contention to both our delegations. The matter of Zapotlán and any accusations of war crimes that any party may make against any other party."
Pauline Pierre openly glared at Greenwood in response to her mention of war crimes, and Finlay Hale looked rather uncomfortable too. Georgiou and Porter managed to maintain their composure, but inside they became tense. After 2018, the very idea of signing another treaty was itself concerning, and this would only make matters worse. They had asked Greenwood to refrain from this line of discussion, she had ignored them. Now they were committed, unless they wanted to lose face.
Calhualyana was also surprised at the mention of war crimes, but kept the surprise off her face with the blandly polite expression of an ASI agent speaking to a potential suspect. She made a mental note of the reactions of Pierre and Hale in passing, filing them away for future reference, before continuing.
“The subject of war crimes is a rather tricky one, as they occurred on both sides,” Calhualyana said calmly. “Our stance is that the Huenyan side should address the issue of war crimes committed by their side in their own courts, and the Xiomeran side should do the same. We are not prepared to allow these talks to become some kind of international tribunal over Xiomera. We are quite capable of punishing our own wrongdoers. If anyone wishes, they can attend Xochiuhue’s upcoming execution as proof of that.”
"I expect my eldest daughter may take you up on that offer," Pierre laughed drily. "It's rather odd, she used to disapprove of such methods of carrying out justice, but she has taken quite a dislike to the man. The vast majority of Kerlians would agree with you regarding the prosecution of any such crimes. We do not need a repeat of the fiasco of what happened after Lauchenoiria; politically motivated prosecutions against individuals on both sides which naturally failed as they had no basis in fact."
Pierre glanced at Greenwood, meeting her eye as the other woman turned away and leaned towards Calhualyana. "What about the matter of individuals who do not presently reside in their own country? There must be some way to deal with those who seek to escape justice by crossing borders, no?"
"There are ways. Countries that seek wanted individuals can submit requests for those individuals to be extradited or sign extradition agreements with each other if they don’t already exist. That’s how such things are typically handled in the international community, and we think that is the best course. Anything else invites more of the same sort of unfairness and chaos that Councillor Pierre mentioned, that took place after the Lauchenoirian conflict. Xiomera will not be subject to such indignities.” Calhualyana’s voice had taken on a bit of a firmer tone, before she reminded herself to be diplomatic. “We will give any extradition requests all due and fair consideration, as I am sure the Huenyan side would in their own place.”
"We have no issues with that approach," Pierre replied, glaring at Greenwood openly now. "Pardon my colleague, Letitia does not enjoy air travel, the thin air affects her reasoning capacities."
"Hey now," Letitia hissed. "If you think this an acceptable..."
"We are hopeful that trade can restart between Xiomera and Kerlile as soon as possible," Katrine Porter said loudly, interrupting Letitia. She flinched a little as she did so, concerned about the consequences of talking over a Councillor. "This conflict has been damaging to our relationship and we wish to repair that. I'm sure you understand why we could not work with Xochiuhue, but we needn't continue the animosity that briefly existed as a result of our concerns that he would go down a path of misogyny."
Calhualyana smiled. At the mention of trade, Porter was speaking her language. “No one could work with Xochiuhue, he went quite mad at the end. Probably in the middle, too, but....yes. We would definitely like to restart trade and normal relations as soon as possible. Xiomera has, except for Xochiuhue’s stupidity, always been supportive of Kerlile and its mission and we hope to continue that policy.”
"We are very glad to hear that," Georgiou exhaled in relief now that the topic had changed. Finlay Hale, on the other hand, had bit his lip at the mention of Kerlile's mission. He had not yet learned how to hide his facial expressions, and his only salvation lay in the fact that none of the others in the Kerlian delegation were looking at him at the time.
"Before we can discuss the normalisation of relations, we sadly must consider this message from Councillor Chiu," Katrine Porter added, pulling out an envelope and handing it to the Empress. "It appears one of her relatives is amongst the prisoners of war captured in Zapotlán."
Calhualyana noted Finlay Hale’s reaction, as she noted almost everything around her. Interesting, she thought, before taking the envelope from Porter and reading through the letter quickly. “I see....Suyin Chiu. Our intention had been to release any prisoners of war once these talks were concluded. However, as a gesture of goodwill, I can arrange for Ms. Chiu and her unit to be repatriated to Kerlile immediately.”
"That will please Councillor Chiu," Greenwood nodded. "I mean, statistically there were probably three or four members of the Chiu family in Zapotlán, there's so many of them."
"The Chiu family's... reproductive rate aside," Porter tried to bring the conversation back to something more productive, "we would like to make it known that we do not intend to sign any treaties that place undue restrictions on trade."
"That is good to hear. I do feel that we are in agreement on most points,” Calhualyana said. “There is only one other thing I wanted to discuss. I am sure that Yauhmi and her delegation will request to speak with you as well. They will most likely ask you to pick a side - us or them. We do not intend to force you to make such a choice. It is our belief that this new state of Huenya and Xiomera can coexist - and that nations can befriend both. Yauhmi’s side insists that they have to have authority over all of Huenya, driven by this radical ideology called pan-Huenyanism. It is our belief that the two sides of Huenya are distinct and that it is probably for the best that they remain separate.....but I am rambling. I would just ask that if Yauhmi’s delegation asks you to pick a side, that you share our belief that no one should have to pick sides here.”
"We certainly do not wish to be forced to take a side in negotiations, and you know we hope to end the armed conflict - or at the very least, our role in it. We have worked with Yauhmi in the past, and wish to maintain good relations with both Huenya and Xiomera," Georgiou said without saying anything.
Despite the noncommittal response, Calhualyana seemed pleased. Having Kerlile return to neutrality in all of this at least takes them out of Yauhmi’s pocket. That’s good enough for now. “That’s very good to hear. I think we’re pretty much on the same page now with things. Is there anything else you would like to discuss?”
"Yes, I..." Letitia Greenwood opened her mouth, but Georgiou interrupted her.
"No, Empress, that is all. Thank you for taking the time to meet with us. We hope for a beneficial outcome in these talks, and assure you that we will not consent to any scenario which implies a repeat of 2018."
The Empress hid her amusement at Greenwood being cut off as she stood. “I am very glad to hear that, and I also hope that these talks go well and that we can resume normal relations soon. Thank you as well,” Calhualyana said, shaking everyone’s hand again. Once the Kerlians had left, Calhualyana sat back down. Things had gone about as well as she had hoped.
After the Kerlians left the room, Georgiou grabbed Greenwood's wrist firmly and turned to face her.
"What was that?" she hissed.
"Mariya Adema is guilty of treason. She is a threat, and she cannot be allowed to remain in Xiomera," Greenwood replied. "We were careful, none of our people committed any war crimes, so there's no problem with mentioning it."
"Even the male," Pierre nodded at Finlay Hale, "was less of a liability than you in there. Prosecutions are political, we of all people should know that. You would put us all at risk. Either you stick to our agreed agenda, or you wait out the rest of the talks in your hotel room."
"You have no right to confine me to the hotel!"
"No, but I do," Georgiou replied. "As head of this delegation, I have responsibility, and if you continue to behave in this manner, I will ask the Laeralian security to escort you off these premises, and don't think I won't. I don't bluff."
Councillor Letitia Greenwood stared in disbelief at Pierre and Georgiou as Katrine Porter and Finlay Hale pretended to be looking at anything else. Then, Greenwood turned around and stalked away down the corridor, fury on her face as the other two Councillors looked after her, and sighed together.
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