03-20-2023, 03:49 AM
Meanwhile...
Ministry of Diplomacy Headquarters, Geminus, Eiria
Alice Lancaster stared disapprovingly at her half-frozen laptop, rethinking her decision to not go into computer science. The young worker from the IT department fidget with her settings. Of course, it had to act up when I have a important strategic meeting to attend. Brilliant. She checked her watch with a sigh. They'll be joining soon. Hopefully they don't mind me being a touch late...
Suddenly, her laptop unfroze, revealing a video call with her brother and Stephen Brun, the Ministers of the Caxcanan Union and Defense respectively. "Ah, perfect. Percateo, Juris" She gave the tech support worker a quick nod of thanks before turning her attention to her colleagues. "Sorry, everyone. Technical difficulties."
Brun gave a curt nod. "No problem. The representatives should be joining the secure call any second now. You are perfectly on time."
The chimes would soon sound to indicate others had joined the call. Secretary of State Huitzilhuani of Huenya, followed by Minister of State Ihanga Wati of Milintica, gave the usual polite greetings and waited expectantly. The other diplomats had the same concern on their minds as Lancaster likely did - Xiomera and the Manabí.
The Eirian Minister of Diplomacy cleared her throat. "Welcome, everyone. Apologies for the short notice of this invite, however it is crucial that we are all on the same page with this matter, especially if the talks in the Novella Islands break down. Where do your governments stand on UCS membership for Manabí Rive?"
Wati was first to speak up. "Our position is that it is ultimately up to the Manabí. However, we do feel that the UCS should strongly come out in favor of their membership. We cannot let Xiomera have a veto on our membership decisions. That would set a dangerous precedent."
Huitzilhuani made a noise of concern. "I would urge caution. The Manabí deserve UCS membership, but only if they want it, and if we can avoid starting a war over it."
Alice Lancaster tilted her head. "Can we really avoid war, though? This may be my cynicism talking, but Calhualyana's not stupid. She'd probably try to invade Manabí Rive regardless if we try to help or not. She knows the situation that she's put us in, and until LIDUN is fully set up, we can't exactly combat it effectively without force of some sort. So, this begs the uncomfortable question: Is our desire to avoid war and preserve the lives of our troops great enough to potentially sentence the citizens of Manabí Rive to Xiomeran subjugation?"
In order to avoid uncomfortable silence in the wake of that loaded question, Minister Brun spoke up. "Before we consider courses of action, we must consider how prepared we are to even consider military options. Currently, a large percentage of Eirian naval forces have been redirected into northern naval bases, particularly those around New Riga. In addition, the air wings at Aškala Airbase in Murdarbe Province have been put on standby, and the garrison at Fort Evelyn has been put on high alert. How prepared would your own forces be, if worst came to worst?"
"Our forces are already at a level of heightened alertness. We could potentially provide a battalion of People's Army soldiers and two battalions of PFM militia immediately to help reinforce Manabí Rive," Wati said confidently.
Huitzilhuani was not as confident. "Our forces are already on alert as well, but a significant portion of them are bogged down fighting the insurgency in southeastern Huenya. I rather suspect Calhualyana has been planning this all along. Stretching us thin in Auria and in Huenya, then moving when we are tied down."
"Unfortunately true. However, as the fighting in Auria has died down to a deadlock, we can temporarily spare some air and naval support to act as a deterrent, if we end up accepting Manabí Rive's membership." Brun's neutral and matter-of-fact tone didn't show any indication of where he stood on military action in this matter.
William Lancaster spoke up after Brun trailed off. "Regardless of what we end up deciding, we must decide soon, especially if we wish to avoid conflict. Perhaps our military presence could serve as a deterrent, but would require us to make the first moves of accepting the membership request and moving our forces into Manabí Rive immediately, which is a risky and messy commitment." He sighed. "Let's hope the talks in the Novella Islands lead to peace, but if not, we must have a plan ready to be enacted right away."
"Agreed. If the Manabí are willing, we can deploy our forces to them immediately in the event that talks fail. This actually raises a point we had considered in the wake of how quickly Xiomera was able to mobilize. We believe that the UCS should stand up a rapid reaction force that is always mobilized and ready to respond in the event of emergency, made up of contributions from each member state military." Wati shrugged. "This way we won't be caught off guard in the future."
"That sounds reasonable. However, as it is a major military operation, a consensus is ideal. Secretary Huitzilhuani, how strongly do you and your government feel about avoiding war? Essentially, would the Huenyan government veto the Manabí ascension into the UCS if it appears like that ascension would lead to war?" The Eirians patiently waited for a response to Alice's question, anxiously awaiting the decisive answer.
The Secretary pondered the question for a long moment. Finally, she sighed. "We also feel that no one can be allowed to have a veto on who we accept as members. We can continue to try to engage peacefully. But if the Manabí decide to pursue membership, we must support them by whatever means are required."
Minister William Lancaster nodded. "Very well. I'm glad we could reach an agreement and stand together on this. In the trying times ahead, this unity will be essential, regardless of how the talks in the Novella Islands go."
"I agree. Xiomera's leadership will undoubtedly continue to throw their weight around the region and such unity is the only thing that will protect us. That, and deterrence." Wati's face grew concerned. "Should we accelerate our timetable for offering the Manabí membership?"
"That may be ideal. Setting up temporary military bases and coordinating with the Manabí forces should be paramount. The freedom of movement and employment could wait until later, once the situation is settled." Will Lancaster shifted in his chair. "I'll be talking with the Chancellor about convening an emergency session of the Senate, so we can pass a preemptive or accelerated approval of Manabí ascension into the UCS. I'll also talk with the Aurian government-in-exile to negotiate the same sort of resolution. This should speed up the process considerably."
"We shall do the same here with our legislature. The Chamber of Executives has already approved it, and we see little issue with the Chamber of Deputies doing so as well," Huitzilhuani replied.
"Same with our Representative Assembly. The President has thrown his support behind the Manabí so that pretty much guarantees passage," Wati said with a small grin.
"There shouldn't be too much trouble in the Senate either. We'd probably pick up some defectors from the Progressives and maybe a couple independents as well. Chancellor Stendē has already pledged her support, so it's all but guaranteed." The former Chancellor cleared his throat. "Well, thank you all for agreeing to meet on short notice. I believe that Minister Brun will be coordinating with your respective Defence agencies in regards to preparation, but other than that, I believe that should be it! Do either of you have anything else that you would like to discuss?"
"Not on our end. We are already prepared as stated," Wati replied. After a moment, Huitzilhuani replied in the affirmative as well.
"We'll let you all get back to work, then. Have a good day." Alice Lancaster disconnected from the call and sat back in her chair. Well, we're united, at least. We're as prepared as we're going to be. She called to her secretary. "Could you get the leaders of the Caxcanan analyst team in the executive meeting room as soon as possible? We need to start hazarding guesses on what we can expect of the talks in Telefar."
Ministry of Diplomacy Headquarters, Geminus, Eiria
Alice Lancaster stared disapprovingly at her half-frozen laptop, rethinking her decision to not go into computer science. The young worker from the IT department fidget with her settings. Of course, it had to act up when I have a important strategic meeting to attend. Brilliant. She checked her watch with a sigh. They'll be joining soon. Hopefully they don't mind me being a touch late...
Suddenly, her laptop unfroze, revealing a video call with her brother and Stephen Brun, the Ministers of the Caxcanan Union and Defense respectively. "Ah, perfect. Percateo, Juris" She gave the tech support worker a quick nod of thanks before turning her attention to her colleagues. "Sorry, everyone. Technical difficulties."
Brun gave a curt nod. "No problem. The representatives should be joining the secure call any second now. You are perfectly on time."
The chimes would soon sound to indicate others had joined the call. Secretary of State Huitzilhuani of Huenya, followed by Minister of State Ihanga Wati of Milintica, gave the usual polite greetings and waited expectantly. The other diplomats had the same concern on their minds as Lancaster likely did - Xiomera and the Manabí.
The Eirian Minister of Diplomacy cleared her throat. "Welcome, everyone. Apologies for the short notice of this invite, however it is crucial that we are all on the same page with this matter, especially if the talks in the Novella Islands break down. Where do your governments stand on UCS membership for Manabí Rive?"
Wati was first to speak up. "Our position is that it is ultimately up to the Manabí. However, we do feel that the UCS should strongly come out in favor of their membership. We cannot let Xiomera have a veto on our membership decisions. That would set a dangerous precedent."
Huitzilhuani made a noise of concern. "I would urge caution. The Manabí deserve UCS membership, but only if they want it, and if we can avoid starting a war over it."
Alice Lancaster tilted her head. "Can we really avoid war, though? This may be my cynicism talking, but Calhualyana's not stupid. She'd probably try to invade Manabí Rive regardless if we try to help or not. She knows the situation that she's put us in, and until LIDUN is fully set up, we can't exactly combat it effectively without force of some sort. So, this begs the uncomfortable question: Is our desire to avoid war and preserve the lives of our troops great enough to potentially sentence the citizens of Manabí Rive to Xiomeran subjugation?"
In order to avoid uncomfortable silence in the wake of that loaded question, Minister Brun spoke up. "Before we consider courses of action, we must consider how prepared we are to even consider military options. Currently, a large percentage of Eirian naval forces have been redirected into northern naval bases, particularly those around New Riga. In addition, the air wings at Aškala Airbase in Murdarbe Province have been put on standby, and the garrison at Fort Evelyn has been put on high alert. How prepared would your own forces be, if worst came to worst?"
"Our forces are already at a level of heightened alertness. We could potentially provide a battalion of People's Army soldiers and two battalions of PFM militia immediately to help reinforce Manabí Rive," Wati said confidently.
Huitzilhuani was not as confident. "Our forces are already on alert as well, but a significant portion of them are bogged down fighting the insurgency in southeastern Huenya. I rather suspect Calhualyana has been planning this all along. Stretching us thin in Auria and in Huenya, then moving when we are tied down."
"Unfortunately true. However, as the fighting in Auria has died down to a deadlock, we can temporarily spare some air and naval support to act as a deterrent, if we end up accepting Manabí Rive's membership." Brun's neutral and matter-of-fact tone didn't show any indication of where he stood on military action in this matter.
William Lancaster spoke up after Brun trailed off. "Regardless of what we end up deciding, we must decide soon, especially if we wish to avoid conflict. Perhaps our military presence could serve as a deterrent, but would require us to make the first moves of accepting the membership request and moving our forces into Manabí Rive immediately, which is a risky and messy commitment." He sighed. "Let's hope the talks in the Novella Islands lead to peace, but if not, we must have a plan ready to be enacted right away."
"Agreed. If the Manabí are willing, we can deploy our forces to them immediately in the event that talks fail. This actually raises a point we had considered in the wake of how quickly Xiomera was able to mobilize. We believe that the UCS should stand up a rapid reaction force that is always mobilized and ready to respond in the event of emergency, made up of contributions from each member state military." Wati shrugged. "This way we won't be caught off guard in the future."
"That sounds reasonable. However, as it is a major military operation, a consensus is ideal. Secretary Huitzilhuani, how strongly do you and your government feel about avoiding war? Essentially, would the Huenyan government veto the Manabí ascension into the UCS if it appears like that ascension would lead to war?" The Eirians patiently waited for a response to Alice's question, anxiously awaiting the decisive answer.
The Secretary pondered the question for a long moment. Finally, she sighed. "We also feel that no one can be allowed to have a veto on who we accept as members. We can continue to try to engage peacefully. But if the Manabí decide to pursue membership, we must support them by whatever means are required."
Minister William Lancaster nodded. "Very well. I'm glad we could reach an agreement and stand together on this. In the trying times ahead, this unity will be essential, regardless of how the talks in the Novella Islands go."
"I agree. Xiomera's leadership will undoubtedly continue to throw their weight around the region and such unity is the only thing that will protect us. That, and deterrence." Wati's face grew concerned. "Should we accelerate our timetable for offering the Manabí membership?"
"That may be ideal. Setting up temporary military bases and coordinating with the Manabí forces should be paramount. The freedom of movement and employment could wait until later, once the situation is settled." Will Lancaster shifted in his chair. "I'll be talking with the Chancellor about convening an emergency session of the Senate, so we can pass a preemptive or accelerated approval of Manabí ascension into the UCS. I'll also talk with the Aurian government-in-exile to negotiate the same sort of resolution. This should speed up the process considerably."
"We shall do the same here with our legislature. The Chamber of Executives has already approved it, and we see little issue with the Chamber of Deputies doing so as well," Huitzilhuani replied.
"Same with our Representative Assembly. The President has thrown his support behind the Manabí so that pretty much guarantees passage," Wati said with a small grin.
"There shouldn't be too much trouble in the Senate either. We'd probably pick up some defectors from the Progressives and maybe a couple independents as well. Chancellor Stendē has already pledged her support, so it's all but guaranteed." The former Chancellor cleared his throat. "Well, thank you all for agreeing to meet on short notice. I believe that Minister Brun will be coordinating with your respective Defence agencies in regards to preparation, but other than that, I believe that should be it! Do either of you have anything else that you would like to discuss?"
"Not on our end. We are already prepared as stated," Wati replied. After a moment, Huitzilhuani replied in the affirmative as well.
"We'll let you all get back to work, then. Have a good day." Alice Lancaster disconnected from the call and sat back in her chair. Well, we're united, at least. We're as prepared as we're going to be. She called to her secretary. "Could you get the leaders of the Caxcanan analyst team in the executive meeting room as soon as possible? We need to start hazarding guesses on what we can expect of the talks in Telefar."
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