01-14-2024, 08:44 PM
The idea of two high-ranking government officials of two different countries who were at polar opposite ends of the spectrum of geopolitical factions sharing the same house, never mind the same bed, was highly implausible. And yet, this was somehow the situation in the Alvarez household; in spite of the myriad security concerns stated by the intelligence services of both countries.
In the morning, Prime Minister Josephine Alvarez would head off to work at the Federal Parliament while Councillor Jennifer Hale would get the four-year-old Amelia ready and drop her off at the private nursery they paid for her to attend. She would then continue on to the Kerlian Embassy, where she would log onto a video call in a private office and join Council meetings via that link.
This was the result of numerous compromises by both individuals, and both countries, since Hale’s return to Lauchenoiria in July. The Lauchenoirian security services had flat-out refused to allow a Kerlian Councillor to live in the Prime Minister’s official residence; and thus, Alvarez had firmly moved back to her private residence, much to their consternation. This was not, however, illegal and thus they could do nothing to counter the move. The Council of Kerlile had refused to allow Hale to join video meetings from a property crawling with Lauchenoirian security, hence they gave her an office in their embassy.
On the morning of January 11, 2024, by the time Hale had woken up, Alvarez was already gone, an orange token sitting on her pillow. This was their private system for alerting the other as to the reason for their night-time departure. They had developed it after they realised that one of the security personnel had taken to destroying notes; and none of them would admit which one. Orange meant, roughly, “emergency security meeting; but don’t worry because nobody has declared war or launched any missiles (yet)”. Red, naturally, removed the disclaimer.
Jennifer rolled over to pick up her stack of phones, flicking through them until she pulled out her official Kerlian Council one, checking for updates. Riots in Zongongia, protests in Taragai, whatever the hell was happening in Doatia… ah, Auria. Communists in Auria declaring independence. Yes, the likelihood of that being the source of the emergency was high, given current domestic Lauchenoirian politics.
Well, it was Sunday, and Kerlile was not having an emergency, which meant that Jennifer did not need to go to work. She did have several messages from her fellow Councillors asking her for Alvarez’s take on numerous subjects, to which she sent unintelligible strings of random emojis, as usual. This was her strategy for responding to such requests; send nonsense. Then she went to Amelia’s room to wake her for the day.
*
Alvarez, meanwhile, was very much working. Around half of the Lauchenoirian cabinet had assembled, minus a few of the clearly domestic-focused secretaries, who had declined to go into the office at 4am on a Sunday to discuss something that did not affect their departments. They had just finished listening to an overview of the situation from various intelligence and military chiefs, adding their views on how Lauchenoiria should proceed. The first to speak after the briefing was the defence secretary, Rodrigo Montaña.
“It is clear that something has to be done, before this escalates into a renewed civil war with different factions. The longer Juraceda is in the hands of these communists, the longer they will have to entrench their position and dupe Aurians into believing in their legitimacy. We ought to join the Aurian military in striking fast and hard; deal with the problem like an isolated terrorist incident.”
“They have a point, though,” Deputy Prime Minister Lucie Scott countered. “The humanitarian situation in Auria is dire and the new monarch is parading around in designer clothing? We have to understand how Aurians feel. And a military assault on the city will endanger civilians.”
“It is precisely because they have a point that it is vital we act quickly,” Alvarez sighed, clearly believing but disliking her own words. “Their rhetoric rings true; naturally, though, if they were given the chance to govern things would quickly go downhill as it always does. Revolutionaries make bad governors. But people don’t think of that at first. If the United Aurian Commune is given time, they will spread their propaganda and things will become worse in the long term. I am yet to be convinced a military assault is the way forward, however.”
“I am. And I see your objection, Lucie, to the humanitarian angle, but there are things we can do to lessen that impact. I’ve no objection to opening a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians, for example,” Montaña replied. “And we can certainly discuss increasing humanitarian aid to Auria at the same time. Additionally, I am not suggesting we go in guns blazing. My proposal is that we assist the Aurians in attempting to apprehend and arrest the militants. Only if they fire first would we use lethal force.”
“I’m with Rodrigo for the most part,” Foreign Secretary Juan Pablo Estevez piped up. “The United Aurian Commune is a prohibited violent militia group in Auria; their members ought to be arrested and brought to justice using the Aurian legal system. I do feel, however, that it is the Aurian authorities place to do so. However, given the high chance of violence, I believe our forces should head to the outskirts of the city as backup, should violence break out. If the Aurian authorities can peacefully arrest the perpetrators, that’s good. If they try shooting at the Aurians, though, we can step up to help. Make sure it goes our way.”
“Chances are it will go badly, if Auria tries to arrest them,” Alvarez pointed out. “Especially since they have supposedly declared independence. They no longer recognise the legitimacy of the Aurian government. It is certain the communists will resist.”
Juanita Ortiz, Secretary for Business and Economic Development, nodded. “I agree, but I do not see another option for Katherina. She cannot negotiate with terrorists; she should not use military force unless necessary. An attempt at arrests, no matter how futile, is politically necessary. And that will lead undoubtedly to the need for military force. I am usually reluctant to counsel for the use of force, but Auria’s woes will only increase if communists are allowed to exacerbate things with their usual restrictions.”
“It seems like there is some sort of consensus towards us directing our troops already in Auria towards Juraceda,” Montaña said. “Just not what to do once they get there. The Aurian military is already moving to surround the city; I propose we send our troops to back them up and then let them take the initiative. It’s their country, after all.”
“It is a clearly aggressive posture,” Nidia Belmonte, Environment Secretary, shook her head. “We want the war to be over, not continued.”
“Sadly, Nidia, I think that they may be right,” Lucie Scott, a fellow Green, replied. “Ignoring such groups has rarely worked out well in the recent past. It may be better to do something quickly. But we need to speak with the Aurians, see what they want us to do.”
“Right, I propose we direct our troops in that general direction and I’ll call Katherina; see what she’s saying,” Alvarez proposed. The gathered figures generally nodded, some with enthusiasm and some with reluctance. An initial course of action was set.
*
In Auria, several of the commanders of the Lauchenoirian forces were ordered to take their men and move to assist the Aurians in surrounding Juraceda. Most of them had been in the north-west of the country, engaging the remnants of General Michelin’s faction. While some remained, the bulk began to move east, towards Juraceda; while in Buttercity Alvarez sent a message requesting to speak to Queen Katherina.
In the morning, Prime Minister Josephine Alvarez would head off to work at the Federal Parliament while Councillor Jennifer Hale would get the four-year-old Amelia ready and drop her off at the private nursery they paid for her to attend. She would then continue on to the Kerlian Embassy, where she would log onto a video call in a private office and join Council meetings via that link.
This was the result of numerous compromises by both individuals, and both countries, since Hale’s return to Lauchenoiria in July. The Lauchenoirian security services had flat-out refused to allow a Kerlian Councillor to live in the Prime Minister’s official residence; and thus, Alvarez had firmly moved back to her private residence, much to their consternation. This was not, however, illegal and thus they could do nothing to counter the move. The Council of Kerlile had refused to allow Hale to join video meetings from a property crawling with Lauchenoirian security, hence they gave her an office in their embassy.
On the morning of January 11, 2024, by the time Hale had woken up, Alvarez was already gone, an orange token sitting on her pillow. This was their private system for alerting the other as to the reason for their night-time departure. They had developed it after they realised that one of the security personnel had taken to destroying notes; and none of them would admit which one. Orange meant, roughly, “emergency security meeting; but don’t worry because nobody has declared war or launched any missiles (yet)”. Red, naturally, removed the disclaimer.
Jennifer rolled over to pick up her stack of phones, flicking through them until she pulled out her official Kerlian Council one, checking for updates. Riots in Zongongia, protests in Taragai, whatever the hell was happening in Doatia… ah, Auria. Communists in Auria declaring independence. Yes, the likelihood of that being the source of the emergency was high, given current domestic Lauchenoirian politics.
Well, it was Sunday, and Kerlile was not having an emergency, which meant that Jennifer did not need to go to work. She did have several messages from her fellow Councillors asking her for Alvarez’s take on numerous subjects, to which she sent unintelligible strings of random emojis, as usual. This was her strategy for responding to such requests; send nonsense. Then she went to Amelia’s room to wake her for the day.
*
Alvarez, meanwhile, was very much working. Around half of the Lauchenoirian cabinet had assembled, minus a few of the clearly domestic-focused secretaries, who had declined to go into the office at 4am on a Sunday to discuss something that did not affect their departments. They had just finished listening to an overview of the situation from various intelligence and military chiefs, adding their views on how Lauchenoiria should proceed. The first to speak after the briefing was the defence secretary, Rodrigo Montaña.
“It is clear that something has to be done, before this escalates into a renewed civil war with different factions. The longer Juraceda is in the hands of these communists, the longer they will have to entrench their position and dupe Aurians into believing in their legitimacy. We ought to join the Aurian military in striking fast and hard; deal with the problem like an isolated terrorist incident.”
“They have a point, though,” Deputy Prime Minister Lucie Scott countered. “The humanitarian situation in Auria is dire and the new monarch is parading around in designer clothing? We have to understand how Aurians feel. And a military assault on the city will endanger civilians.”
“It is precisely because they have a point that it is vital we act quickly,” Alvarez sighed, clearly believing but disliking her own words. “Their rhetoric rings true; naturally, though, if they were given the chance to govern things would quickly go downhill as it always does. Revolutionaries make bad governors. But people don’t think of that at first. If the United Aurian Commune is given time, they will spread their propaganda and things will become worse in the long term. I am yet to be convinced a military assault is the way forward, however.”
“I am. And I see your objection, Lucie, to the humanitarian angle, but there are things we can do to lessen that impact. I’ve no objection to opening a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians, for example,” Montaña replied. “And we can certainly discuss increasing humanitarian aid to Auria at the same time. Additionally, I am not suggesting we go in guns blazing. My proposal is that we assist the Aurians in attempting to apprehend and arrest the militants. Only if they fire first would we use lethal force.”
“I’m with Rodrigo for the most part,” Foreign Secretary Juan Pablo Estevez piped up. “The United Aurian Commune is a prohibited violent militia group in Auria; their members ought to be arrested and brought to justice using the Aurian legal system. I do feel, however, that it is the Aurian authorities place to do so. However, given the high chance of violence, I believe our forces should head to the outskirts of the city as backup, should violence break out. If the Aurian authorities can peacefully arrest the perpetrators, that’s good. If they try shooting at the Aurians, though, we can step up to help. Make sure it goes our way.”
“Chances are it will go badly, if Auria tries to arrest them,” Alvarez pointed out. “Especially since they have supposedly declared independence. They no longer recognise the legitimacy of the Aurian government. It is certain the communists will resist.”
Juanita Ortiz, Secretary for Business and Economic Development, nodded. “I agree, but I do not see another option for Katherina. She cannot negotiate with terrorists; she should not use military force unless necessary. An attempt at arrests, no matter how futile, is politically necessary. And that will lead undoubtedly to the need for military force. I am usually reluctant to counsel for the use of force, but Auria’s woes will only increase if communists are allowed to exacerbate things with their usual restrictions.”
“It seems like there is some sort of consensus towards us directing our troops already in Auria towards Juraceda,” Montaña said. “Just not what to do once they get there. The Aurian military is already moving to surround the city; I propose we send our troops to back them up and then let them take the initiative. It’s their country, after all.”
“It is a clearly aggressive posture,” Nidia Belmonte, Environment Secretary, shook her head. “We want the war to be over, not continued.”
“Sadly, Nidia, I think that they may be right,” Lucie Scott, a fellow Green, replied. “Ignoring such groups has rarely worked out well in the recent past. It may be better to do something quickly. But we need to speak with the Aurians, see what they want us to do.”
“Right, I propose we direct our troops in that general direction and I’ll call Katherina; see what she’s saying,” Alvarez proposed. The gathered figures generally nodded, some with enthusiasm and some with reluctance. An initial course of action was set.
*
In Auria, several of the commanders of the Lauchenoirian forces were ordered to take their men and move to assist the Aurians in surrounding Juraceda. Most of them had been in the north-west of the country, engaging the remnants of General Michelin’s faction. While some remained, the bulk began to move east, towards Juraceda; while in Buttercity Alvarez sent a message requesting to speak to Queen Katherina.
LIDUN President 2024 | she/her | Puppets: Kerlile, Glanainn, Yesteria, Zongongia, Zargothrax