05-31-2021, 11:45 PM
(Joint Post with Xiomera)
Chancellor's Study, Geminus
May 31st, 2021
"Yes, I am aware. But with all due respect, Senator, a solo Green ticket would lose if the Progressives and Socialists joined forces, and the coalition would be fragmented." Chancellor William Lancaster paused, his desk phone held to his ear haphazardly. He'd been on the phone for over an hour and a half with three different Green Senators, all unsure of any Coalition ticket with a Moderate Right Vice candidate. "If you put forward your own candidate, we would be forced to do so as well, and you lose your party's shot at the Chancellory." He paused again, listening to a response. "Thank you, Senator. Have a good day." He hung up and sighed, leaning back in his comfortable chair. Who knew securing your successor would be as hard of a job as it is? He glanced at his paper schedule half-folded on his desk. "Free Work time", huh? Wow.
A thought crossed his mind, and he picked up his phone, a slight smile crossing his face. At least this call will be interesting... His Chief of Staff picked up from her office right next to his. "Yes, sir?". He took one last breath to prepare. "Could you get the future Great Speaker Texōccoatl on the phone please?"
In his office at Xochuaxte Palace, Texōccoatl was filling out paperwork and listening to his advisors as he found himself having to prepare for a sudden and unexpected promotion. His paperwork and discussions were interrupted by his secretary. “Sir, Chancellor Lancaster of Eiria is on the line for you.”
“Excellent, can everyone leave the room while I take this call, please?” While Texōccoatl preferred to phrase things as less of a command and more of a request, it wasn’t really a request. Everyone quickly filed out of the room so he could have privacy. Once the room was clear, Texōccoatl picked up the line. “Chancellor Lancaster, good to hear from you. How can I help you?”
"I believe congratulations are in order. I don't want to take up too much of your time, because I know you are busy getting prepared to become the Huenyan head of state. But I also wish to talk about... Xiomeran Retaliation. Given the circumstances, that seems like a good discussion to have."
”Thank you for the congratulations. I do wish this role had fallen to me under better circumstances, but I will do my best to be at least an adequate replacement for my mother,” Texōccoatl said with a chuckle. “As for retaliation......that is indeed an excellent topic. It is something we have been discussing extensively here already. Any retaliation would likely only be aimed at us, but I’m glad you want to discuss this. We think it’s likely that rather than a full-scale retaliation that could restart the war or be an open violation of Jinyu itself, Calhualyana will choose something more subtle. The problem is, she has many options at her disposal for that sort of retaliation.”
"I would agree that she would choose something more subtle, but I'm also worried that whatever it is, it may have more consequences outside of Huenya. She has the means and the motive to do an incredible amount of things, and none of them are good for the region, especially not for Huenya." The Chancellor cleared his throat. "Do you have any idea of what she may be planning?"
”The fact of the matter is that we do not,” Texōccoatl said with a slight sigh. “While I have come to despise ASI, I must admit that they were, and are, far more capable than our new intelligence service. I cannot fault the FIS for that. They are essentially brand new and untested, like everything else in our government. But it does make it much harder to conduct intelligence gathering. The fact that we have been cut off from the Imperial systems we once used for intelligence gathering, and find ourselves starting from scratch, does not help.” Texōccoatl sighed once more. “We do believe that she will most likely strike at something that is either symbolic to Huenya, or an important or iconic establishment. Her goal will be to send us a message about intervening in Xiomera, to make us fearful to do so in the future. She will also want to destabilize us if she can, and lower the confidence of our people in our government. And whatever she does....it will be big. That, we are certain of. She will seek to do something that cannot be easily traced back to her, or to ASI. But she will want to make sure that we never forget the lesson she intends to teach.”
"That's what I'm afraid of. If you'd like, we could help the FIS get on its feet, but I don't know how much foreign meddling you'd want in the intelligence service." He chuckled lightly, his mood changing back to serious. "This situation could get out of hand very quickly. We're already monitoring the situation, but we're going to increase observation immensely. I just hope this doesn't become a series of Jinyu-breaking events."
”We hope so as well, and honestly, as long as we do not respond to whatever Imperial retaliation occurs with retaliation of our own, our assessment is that Calhualyana will leave it at that,” Texōccoatl replied. “My intention is to not respond in kind, but to just deal with whatever she chooses to do as best as we can and move on. Of course, I now have an entire council to convince of this, some of whom are not inclined to turn the other cheek.”
"Ah, but that's just a council. Wait until you have a full Democratic legislature to convince. That's when it gets fun." He smiled wryly, glancing again at his schedule. "Forgive me for asking, but when Xiomera retaliates, will Huenya be in a stable enough position? I'm concerned about the democratic transition being affected by Calhualyana's plans."
Texōccoatl laughed in dry appreciation at what the Chancellor considered fun. “Will we be stable enough? I believe in being forthright, especially with our allies, so I will be honest with you: I don’t know. We’ve never done democracy here before, and we have some pretty big fault lines to navigate to make this whole thing work. Anything that adds more instability to the mix only makes our job harder. And Calhualyana is not above prying at those fault lines, either in hopes that we’ll fail and she can scoop us back up into the Empire, or just for petty revenge. We are committed to making this work, though, no matter what she throws at us. In the end, I believe we will prevail, but it will likely be a bumpy ride to the finish line.”
"And Eiria's going to be here to help, every step of the way. It'll be nice to have another Democratic power in the region. Especially one who can stand up to Calhualyana." He fiddled with his pen. "We also look forward to the Huenyan delegation's performance at the Olympics this year."
”We’re very excited about that too. Our team has been rather hastily put together, and hasn’t been able to train much, so we’re trying to temper our expectations. But it will be good for us, and the world I think, to see our flag and our athletes in their uniforms with the name of Huenya on them.” Texōccoatl’s voice took on a proud tone. “There are certain countries out there that insist on questioning our legitimacy as a state. It will be nice to stand on the world stage and show them we’re real and here to stay. While the Vice-Speaker will remain here to make sure the government functions in the event of an emergency, I plan to attend the Olympics to cheer them on. Assuming, of course, that you don’t think it would cause too much of a security issue. I would not want to impose.”
"Of course not! You're welcome to attend. Now the pressure's on us even more to make the experience truly spectacular. As for security, I'll get that arranged. Traditionally, Solar Guards have been assigned to protect visiting dignitaries, so I'll get a contingent cleared for you. Will you have your personal security as well?"
”I will, but any additional security you can provide is always appreciated. Your Solar Guards in particular would be a welcome addition to the group, although I honestly do not expect trouble. Even Calhualyana isn’t foolish enough to try something at the Olympics....or, at least, one would hope,” Texōccoatl said with a slight laugh.
Lancaster returned the laugh. "Unfortunately, I'm not sure what Calhualyana would do if the urge struck her. She's not stupid, but that's not exactly a good thing in an opponent. She's definitely not Xochiuhue."
”That is true, which is unfortunate. For all his insanity, Xochiuhue was both predictable and easily provoked into rash actions. Calhualyana is neither - she won’t do anything that will either jeopardize her position or that of the Empire. She will likely bide her time and wait until it best suits her.”
"And that's our job now, to figure out when that is. I've got our intelligence services prepared for any course of action that she may take, and we will be ready to assist you in the aftermath. Feel free to call when you need help, and I'll see what I can do."
”Thank you for that. Your friendship with us during this whole situation is not something we will forget. I have a feeling that once Huenya is back on its feet and on a stable footing, our two countries will be excellent partners in maintaining peace and promoting democracy in Caxcana,” Texōccoatl replied. “Please feel free to call me as well if you need anything, and I’m looking forward to my visit to Eiria for the Olympics.”
"I look forward to hosting you. Congratulations again, and have a good day."Lancaster put the phone back on the receiver, thinking to himself. This will be interesting. But what kind of leader will he be?
Chancellor's Study, Geminus
May 31st, 2021
"Yes, I am aware. But with all due respect, Senator, a solo Green ticket would lose if the Progressives and Socialists joined forces, and the coalition would be fragmented." Chancellor William Lancaster paused, his desk phone held to his ear haphazardly. He'd been on the phone for over an hour and a half with three different Green Senators, all unsure of any Coalition ticket with a Moderate Right Vice candidate. "If you put forward your own candidate, we would be forced to do so as well, and you lose your party's shot at the Chancellory." He paused again, listening to a response. "Thank you, Senator. Have a good day." He hung up and sighed, leaning back in his comfortable chair. Who knew securing your successor would be as hard of a job as it is? He glanced at his paper schedule half-folded on his desk. "Free Work time", huh? Wow.
A thought crossed his mind, and he picked up his phone, a slight smile crossing his face. At least this call will be interesting... His Chief of Staff picked up from her office right next to his. "Yes, sir?". He took one last breath to prepare. "Could you get the future Great Speaker Texōccoatl on the phone please?"
In his office at Xochuaxte Palace, Texōccoatl was filling out paperwork and listening to his advisors as he found himself having to prepare for a sudden and unexpected promotion. His paperwork and discussions were interrupted by his secretary. “Sir, Chancellor Lancaster of Eiria is on the line for you.”
“Excellent, can everyone leave the room while I take this call, please?” While Texōccoatl preferred to phrase things as less of a command and more of a request, it wasn’t really a request. Everyone quickly filed out of the room so he could have privacy. Once the room was clear, Texōccoatl picked up the line. “Chancellor Lancaster, good to hear from you. How can I help you?”
"I believe congratulations are in order. I don't want to take up too much of your time, because I know you are busy getting prepared to become the Huenyan head of state. But I also wish to talk about... Xiomeran Retaliation. Given the circumstances, that seems like a good discussion to have."
”Thank you for the congratulations. I do wish this role had fallen to me under better circumstances, but I will do my best to be at least an adequate replacement for my mother,” Texōccoatl said with a chuckle. “As for retaliation......that is indeed an excellent topic. It is something we have been discussing extensively here already. Any retaliation would likely only be aimed at us, but I’m glad you want to discuss this. We think it’s likely that rather than a full-scale retaliation that could restart the war or be an open violation of Jinyu itself, Calhualyana will choose something more subtle. The problem is, she has many options at her disposal for that sort of retaliation.”
"I would agree that she would choose something more subtle, but I'm also worried that whatever it is, it may have more consequences outside of Huenya. She has the means and the motive to do an incredible amount of things, and none of them are good for the region, especially not for Huenya." The Chancellor cleared his throat. "Do you have any idea of what she may be planning?"
”The fact of the matter is that we do not,” Texōccoatl said with a slight sigh. “While I have come to despise ASI, I must admit that they were, and are, far more capable than our new intelligence service. I cannot fault the FIS for that. They are essentially brand new and untested, like everything else in our government. But it does make it much harder to conduct intelligence gathering. The fact that we have been cut off from the Imperial systems we once used for intelligence gathering, and find ourselves starting from scratch, does not help.” Texōccoatl sighed once more. “We do believe that she will most likely strike at something that is either symbolic to Huenya, or an important or iconic establishment. Her goal will be to send us a message about intervening in Xiomera, to make us fearful to do so in the future. She will also want to destabilize us if she can, and lower the confidence of our people in our government. And whatever she does....it will be big. That, we are certain of. She will seek to do something that cannot be easily traced back to her, or to ASI. But she will want to make sure that we never forget the lesson she intends to teach.”
"That's what I'm afraid of. If you'd like, we could help the FIS get on its feet, but I don't know how much foreign meddling you'd want in the intelligence service." He chuckled lightly, his mood changing back to serious. "This situation could get out of hand very quickly. We're already monitoring the situation, but we're going to increase observation immensely. I just hope this doesn't become a series of Jinyu-breaking events."
”We hope so as well, and honestly, as long as we do not respond to whatever Imperial retaliation occurs with retaliation of our own, our assessment is that Calhualyana will leave it at that,” Texōccoatl replied. “My intention is to not respond in kind, but to just deal with whatever she chooses to do as best as we can and move on. Of course, I now have an entire council to convince of this, some of whom are not inclined to turn the other cheek.”
"Ah, but that's just a council. Wait until you have a full Democratic legislature to convince. That's when it gets fun." He smiled wryly, glancing again at his schedule. "Forgive me for asking, but when Xiomera retaliates, will Huenya be in a stable enough position? I'm concerned about the democratic transition being affected by Calhualyana's plans."
Texōccoatl laughed in dry appreciation at what the Chancellor considered fun. “Will we be stable enough? I believe in being forthright, especially with our allies, so I will be honest with you: I don’t know. We’ve never done democracy here before, and we have some pretty big fault lines to navigate to make this whole thing work. Anything that adds more instability to the mix only makes our job harder. And Calhualyana is not above prying at those fault lines, either in hopes that we’ll fail and she can scoop us back up into the Empire, or just for petty revenge. We are committed to making this work, though, no matter what she throws at us. In the end, I believe we will prevail, but it will likely be a bumpy ride to the finish line.”
"And Eiria's going to be here to help, every step of the way. It'll be nice to have another Democratic power in the region. Especially one who can stand up to Calhualyana." He fiddled with his pen. "We also look forward to the Huenyan delegation's performance at the Olympics this year."
”We’re very excited about that too. Our team has been rather hastily put together, and hasn’t been able to train much, so we’re trying to temper our expectations. But it will be good for us, and the world I think, to see our flag and our athletes in their uniforms with the name of Huenya on them.” Texōccoatl’s voice took on a proud tone. “There are certain countries out there that insist on questioning our legitimacy as a state. It will be nice to stand on the world stage and show them we’re real and here to stay. While the Vice-Speaker will remain here to make sure the government functions in the event of an emergency, I plan to attend the Olympics to cheer them on. Assuming, of course, that you don’t think it would cause too much of a security issue. I would not want to impose.”
"Of course not! You're welcome to attend. Now the pressure's on us even more to make the experience truly spectacular. As for security, I'll get that arranged. Traditionally, Solar Guards have been assigned to protect visiting dignitaries, so I'll get a contingent cleared for you. Will you have your personal security as well?"
”I will, but any additional security you can provide is always appreciated. Your Solar Guards in particular would be a welcome addition to the group, although I honestly do not expect trouble. Even Calhualyana isn’t foolish enough to try something at the Olympics....or, at least, one would hope,” Texōccoatl said with a slight laugh.
Lancaster returned the laugh. "Unfortunately, I'm not sure what Calhualyana would do if the urge struck her. She's not stupid, but that's not exactly a good thing in an opponent. She's definitely not Xochiuhue."
”That is true, which is unfortunate. For all his insanity, Xochiuhue was both predictable and easily provoked into rash actions. Calhualyana is neither - she won’t do anything that will either jeopardize her position or that of the Empire. She will likely bide her time and wait until it best suits her.”
"And that's our job now, to figure out when that is. I've got our intelligence services prepared for any course of action that she may take, and we will be ready to assist you in the aftermath. Feel free to call when you need help, and I'll see what I can do."
”Thank you for that. Your friendship with us during this whole situation is not something we will forget. I have a feeling that once Huenya is back on its feet and on a stable footing, our two countries will be excellent partners in maintaining peace and promoting democracy in Caxcana,” Texōccoatl replied. “Please feel free to call me as well if you need anything, and I’m looking forward to my visit to Eiria for the Olympics.”
"I look forward to hosting you. Congratulations again, and have a good day."Lancaster put the phone back on the receiver, thinking to himself. This will be interesting. But what kind of leader will he be?
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