02-14-2022, 04:45 PM
Lauchenoirian Cabinet Meeting Room
“Those fools!” Pavía slammed her hands against the desk, shaking her head as she watched the Vice-Speaker Tiacihitli address the Huenyan Chamber of Deputies. “They’re playing right into the terrorists’ hands. Anyone with half a brain can see the propaganda victory the Golden Blade will have against Huenya after this. We were right to go to Calhualyana about Paul Ramirez; Huenya is out for blood and seems to care little about whose it is that spills.”
“I think you’re naive to believe it’s one-sided,” scoffed Samantha Clavell, Pacifist Party leader and, thanks to their paltry presence in the ruling coalition, Minister for Culture & the Arts. “It saddens me to say this, but I do not believe either side of the Xiomeran Civil War ever truly stopped fighting. Huenya may want vengeance, but Xiomera wants their empire back. Nobody can win in their situation. We need to stay neutral.”
“I agree with Minister Clavell that we should not get involved militarily, but it is clear that we cannot just allow Xiomera to get away with these clear provocations,” Deputy Prime Minister Lucie Scott of the Green Party replied. “The Prime Minister’s dealings with the Empress only prove that Xiomera controls the Golden Blade.”
“Which is why we should steer clear,” Clavell argued. “I may not agree with Alvarez’s decision to contact Empress Calhualyana, but if we wish to be taken seriously then we need to keep our word and not move against Xiomera.”
“Gods, how did you ever get anywhere in politics?” laughed Juanita Oritz, Minister for Business and Economic Development and a devout Zongongist. “That’s not to say I disagree with you; war is the last thing Lauchenoiria needs right now.”
“I am inclined to agree,” nodded Defence Minister Rodrigo Montaña. “Though we are steadily rebuilding our military following our own civil war; we are already engaged in the blockade of Auria and we cannot afford to fight a war on two fronts right now. If we were to intervene in Huenya, then we would need to withdraw from Auria.”
“We may need to do so anyway,” Alvarez sighed from where she sat at the head of the table. “If we are to keep our word to Calhualyana.”
“Absolutely not,” Adelita Caballo shook her head. The Minister for Domestic Affairs shuddered as if a cold wind had suddenly blown through the room. “What kind of message would that send to our own people, who support the Aurian intervention in large numbers? The one thing all Lauchenoirians agree on is that we cannot allow this so-called “plague of coups” to continue spreading. Huenya is far more controversial. Surely as soon as Ramirez is on Lauchenoirian soil, Calhualyana has no hold over us?”
“If she keeps up her side of the bargain, and doesn’t decide to keep a few bargaining chips of her own,” Alvarez warned.
“One life versus the safety and security of our entire planet in the years to come?” scoffed Caballo. “Look, I feel for the man, I do. But think of just how many deaths have been caused by all these civil conflicts. Lauchenoiria; Xiomera and Huenya; Mallacaland; the Kaijan affair; now Auria. With each new coup attempt, more would-be insurgents are emboldened to plan their own takeovers. We need to send a strong message that such attempts will end badly for those who try, or we will end up in a patchwork world war; everywhere having their own simultaneous civil conflicts linked together by the propaganda each new terrorist uses from those who come before.”
The Lauchenoirian Cabinet all fell silent as Caballo finished her speech, standing up from her seat, leaning against the table and having to catch her breath slightly after her long final sentence. The Minister had been a backbench Liberal MP at the outbreak of the civil war in 2018 and had been among those who spent the duration locked up by Suleman Chaher in conditions that had worsened the greater the Kerlian influence on the Junta had become. It was no secret that she was on medication for PTSD, along with a good third of the country.
“I understand your position, Minister Caballo,” Alvarez began gently.
“Don’t patronise me,” she glared. “No need to be gentle, I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t handle it.”
“If Empress Calhualyana deals with those behind the coup in Auria herself - and before you interrupt, yes I know she sponsored them in the first place - then the message is still sent to those who would follow.”
“Even if she does,” Caballo replied, “the message is not ‘don’t stage coups’ but rather ‘avoid asking totalitarian dictatorships for help unless you want new overlords’. All it shows is that biting the hand that feeds is a mistake; not the insurrections themselves.”
“We cannot decide how to act until she shows her hand,” Pavía interrupted. “To withdraw or not to withdraw is a question that we cannot answer until we know how the Empress intends to hold us to our word.”
“She may take our word on trust,” Samantha Clavell said, causing a groan to pass around the room. “Oh, stop being like that, not everyone is as cynical. And if she does, we should keep it; it will improve our relationship in the future and may help usher in a more honest politics.”
“Perhaps not everyone is as cynical as us,” chuckled Rodrigo Montaña. “But Empress Calhualyana sure is. Trusting us? No, the Empress does not trust anyone, and leaves nothing to chance. She is probably already five steps ahead of us, and knows exactly how to force our hand on Auria. If we want to get the upper hand over Xiomera, we need to do the unexpected.”
“Do you have a suggestion?” Alvarez asked, curious.
“Not as such, but I have an idea. Minister Pavía, however, may not be keen.”
“We’re not involving Kerlile,” Pavía snapped, glaring at him. “We’ve been over this.”
“My idea has nothing to do with Kerlile,” Montaña chuckled, smiling slightly. “No, rather it involves Ambassador Chēmā’s old nemesis.”
“Me?” Pavía replied, puzzled.
“WOE. The Warriors of Our Earth, the activist group you were so desperate to classify as terrorists in order to gain the favour of the Empress we now seek to undermine.”
“How do eco-terrorists benefit us?” Alvarez asked, impatient.
Montaña smiled, and leaned forward to outline his plan.
“Those fools!” Pavía slammed her hands against the desk, shaking her head as she watched the Vice-Speaker Tiacihitli address the Huenyan Chamber of Deputies. “They’re playing right into the terrorists’ hands. Anyone with half a brain can see the propaganda victory the Golden Blade will have against Huenya after this. We were right to go to Calhualyana about Paul Ramirez; Huenya is out for blood and seems to care little about whose it is that spills.”
“I think you’re naive to believe it’s one-sided,” scoffed Samantha Clavell, Pacifist Party leader and, thanks to their paltry presence in the ruling coalition, Minister for Culture & the Arts. “It saddens me to say this, but I do not believe either side of the Xiomeran Civil War ever truly stopped fighting. Huenya may want vengeance, but Xiomera wants their empire back. Nobody can win in their situation. We need to stay neutral.”
“I agree with Minister Clavell that we should not get involved militarily, but it is clear that we cannot just allow Xiomera to get away with these clear provocations,” Deputy Prime Minister Lucie Scott of the Green Party replied. “The Prime Minister’s dealings with the Empress only prove that Xiomera controls the Golden Blade.”
“Which is why we should steer clear,” Clavell argued. “I may not agree with Alvarez’s decision to contact Empress Calhualyana, but if we wish to be taken seriously then we need to keep our word and not move against Xiomera.”
“Gods, how did you ever get anywhere in politics?” laughed Juanita Oritz, Minister for Business and Economic Development and a devout Zongongist. “That’s not to say I disagree with you; war is the last thing Lauchenoiria needs right now.”
“I am inclined to agree,” nodded Defence Minister Rodrigo Montaña. “Though we are steadily rebuilding our military following our own civil war; we are already engaged in the blockade of Auria and we cannot afford to fight a war on two fronts right now. If we were to intervene in Huenya, then we would need to withdraw from Auria.”
“We may need to do so anyway,” Alvarez sighed from where she sat at the head of the table. “If we are to keep our word to Calhualyana.”
“Absolutely not,” Adelita Caballo shook her head. The Minister for Domestic Affairs shuddered as if a cold wind had suddenly blown through the room. “What kind of message would that send to our own people, who support the Aurian intervention in large numbers? The one thing all Lauchenoirians agree on is that we cannot allow this so-called “plague of coups” to continue spreading. Huenya is far more controversial. Surely as soon as Ramirez is on Lauchenoirian soil, Calhualyana has no hold over us?”
“If she keeps up her side of the bargain, and doesn’t decide to keep a few bargaining chips of her own,” Alvarez warned.
“One life versus the safety and security of our entire planet in the years to come?” scoffed Caballo. “Look, I feel for the man, I do. But think of just how many deaths have been caused by all these civil conflicts. Lauchenoiria; Xiomera and Huenya; Mallacaland; the Kaijan affair; now Auria. With each new coup attempt, more would-be insurgents are emboldened to plan their own takeovers. We need to send a strong message that such attempts will end badly for those who try, or we will end up in a patchwork world war; everywhere having their own simultaneous civil conflicts linked together by the propaganda each new terrorist uses from those who come before.”
The Lauchenoirian Cabinet all fell silent as Caballo finished her speech, standing up from her seat, leaning against the table and having to catch her breath slightly after her long final sentence. The Minister had been a backbench Liberal MP at the outbreak of the civil war in 2018 and had been among those who spent the duration locked up by Suleman Chaher in conditions that had worsened the greater the Kerlian influence on the Junta had become. It was no secret that she was on medication for PTSD, along with a good third of the country.
“I understand your position, Minister Caballo,” Alvarez began gently.
“Don’t patronise me,” she glared. “No need to be gentle, I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t handle it.”
“If Empress Calhualyana deals with those behind the coup in Auria herself - and before you interrupt, yes I know she sponsored them in the first place - then the message is still sent to those who would follow.”
“Even if she does,” Caballo replied, “the message is not ‘don’t stage coups’ but rather ‘avoid asking totalitarian dictatorships for help unless you want new overlords’. All it shows is that biting the hand that feeds is a mistake; not the insurrections themselves.”
“We cannot decide how to act until she shows her hand,” Pavía interrupted. “To withdraw or not to withdraw is a question that we cannot answer until we know how the Empress intends to hold us to our word.”
“She may take our word on trust,” Samantha Clavell said, causing a groan to pass around the room. “Oh, stop being like that, not everyone is as cynical. And if she does, we should keep it; it will improve our relationship in the future and may help usher in a more honest politics.”
“Perhaps not everyone is as cynical as us,” chuckled Rodrigo Montaña. “But Empress Calhualyana sure is. Trusting us? No, the Empress does not trust anyone, and leaves nothing to chance. She is probably already five steps ahead of us, and knows exactly how to force our hand on Auria. If we want to get the upper hand over Xiomera, we need to do the unexpected.”
“Do you have a suggestion?” Alvarez asked, curious.
“Not as such, but I have an idea. Minister Pavía, however, may not be keen.”
“We’re not involving Kerlile,” Pavía snapped, glaring at him. “We’ve been over this.”
“My idea has nothing to do with Kerlile,” Montaña chuckled, smiling slightly. “No, rather it involves Ambassador Chēmā’s old nemesis.”
“Me?” Pavía replied, puzzled.
“WOE. The Warriors of Our Earth, the activist group you were so desperate to classify as terrorists in order to gain the favour of the Empress we now seek to undermine.”
“How do eco-terrorists benefit us?” Alvarez asked, impatient.
Montaña smiled, and leaned forward to outline his plan.
LIDUN President 2024 | she/her | Puppets: Kerlile, Glanainn, Yesteria, Zongongia, Zargothrax