NationStates Jolt Archive

The Xanthalian Triumvirate ordered the nation's outer system defense networks disabled and disassembled today, in a continuing trend of the traditionally militaristically strong nation's disarmament. Over the past fifty years, Xanthal has removed one hundred million personnel, five hundred warships, hundreds of thousands of planetary warfare machines, and tens of thousands of transport vehicles from military service, completely removing the nation's ability for offensive warfare. This latest step though, which begins the removal of Xanthalian defensive ability, has caused unrest in both the general population and in the Council. Strong support from five key ministries have kept the Triumvirate's disarmament program running thus far, but it is uncertain how much further they will be able to go. The Xanthalian Ministry of Intelligence has also suffered unprecedented cuts which have, among other things, dismantled the infamous Division One, necessitated the decommissioning of almost half the Ministry's field divisions, and banned the use of "Mimic" vessels. The Triumvirate lost the Ministry of Defense's support after their latest action, the Minister of Defense calling the order to completely remove the nation's primary shield against attack "foolish" and "short-sighted."
With the Council's support down to the wire, internal sources predict that the Triumvirate will not be able to pass more than one or two more major disarmament orders without the national leaders overriding them. However, the Council's position may be weakened considerably if the currently in-process governmental reforms go through, which would make the Ministry of Justice its own governmental branch and combine the ministries of defense and intelligence. In fact, a complete rethinking of the Council's makeup and function is underway, though no definitive action is expected for several years.
Concern on the part of the Xanthalian community in general is in fact growing, as imperialist nations begin to eye the increasingly defenseless nation. The Abh Empire continues to move in on the two systems making up the Socialist Republic, and some independant agencies are even charging that the Xanthalian government is placing itself in a position to hand the nation over to imperial control. The Xanthalian Triumvirate issued a joint statement denying that any such intention exists, but for the first time since the Triumvirate was reformed petitions for removing the current branch leadership are circulating. Xanthalian police are also being disarmed, only special response units allowed to carry lethal weapons. "Xanthal continues to work for complete peace within its borders!" said Triumvir Jinto today. "We will one day soon all be free again!" Free from what has yet to be determined.
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Pressures to increase the nation's defensive ability grew to a head today as an Abh imperial scoutship actually entered the Aellis system and communicated with the Triumvirate on a secure channel. Despite the insistence of the government that the Triumvirate has not been compromised, suspicions are reaching new heights as Xanthalian leaders refuse to account for themselves. As it is generally known, the 500,000,000,000,000-strong intergalactic empire has been making advances on Galaxy 01 in recent months, running scout vessels and even at one point an imperial battlefleet through the Alpha Quadrant. The Socialist Republic at large has a neutral-to-friendly relationship with the Empire, but some institutions feel it would be beneficial to the Xanthalian government and its people to have a considerably more intimate relationship with the Abh, some even suggesting that the Socialist Republic join the Empire voluntarily and work for mutual benefit. If that were to happen, the entire Xanthalian government would shift to Abh imperial structure, and most likely be led by a duke. For the most part the Xanthalian people are against such a drastic step, as is the Xanthalian Council. The Triumvirate though seems to have its own ideas about the nation's future. "Never in Xanthalian history has one of our leading bodies been so dangerously compromised," said the former Minister of International Affairs when speaking on the topic of state integrity yesterday. "Our very way of life is at risk, and our most important leadership is biased towards the outcome."
Traditional loyalty to the Triumvirate is holding the people back though, as nationwide petitions continue to fall short of the vital 50% of the total population needed to put impeachment procedures in motion. A small nationalist army is currently forming under unidentified leadership to resist a potential "invasion", and the Ministry of Defense has declined to stop them, despite a Triumvirate order, pending an official Council vote that is still up in the air. The rift in the Xanthalian government continues to grow as rumors circulate that a decisive plan by both branches of government will be implemented on the one thousandth anniversery of the first Zithalian settlers in seven years. Meanwhile, the governmental reform bill is in its final stages of passage, and is expected to go into effect early next year.
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Xanthalian governmental reforms went into effect today, with major impacts in the Council. The new Ministry of Defense and Intelligence has replaced the two independent ministries, and the Ministry of Justice has become the Department of Justice, a new third branch of the Xanthalian structure. While the Department of Justice will not play a major role in actual Xanthalian national and international policy, they will have the power to interpret laws and determine and administer punishments or rehabilitation as they see fit. In the mean time, Council reform has been accellerated. The necessary amendments have been drafted, and would remake the Council in the image of the old Senate, with members elected by regional bodies of voters. The current "Ministry" structure would be preserved, but ministries would be placed under the control of the Triumvirate and Council. The Department of Justice may be granted broader hand in matters of state as well.
Covering the Socialist Republic 24/7, this is XNN.

The Council today ordered the supression of the independent nationalist military that has risen in recent weeks over concerns of an impending Abh takeover of the Xanthalian state. The Ministry of Defense and Intelligence grudgingly promised to comply with the Triumvirate and Council's orders, mobilizing ten thousand soldiers to find and arrest nationalist military leaders and disband their units. The Triumvirate issued a report this afternoon that has been in process for weeks, detailing the Socialist Republic/Imperial situation. The report admits that the Triumvirate has been conducting talks with the Abh, but reinforces that there is no plan to turn the nation over to imperial control in any way. Instead, the three hundred page document reveals a complex treaty that has been kept quiet up until now for security reasons. The treaty, which is being called the Threshold Agreement, is now up for a vote in the Xanthalian Triumvirate and awaiting review and approval by the Abh Empress. If passed on both sides it will go into effect, creating the beginnings of a complex web of military, technology, and social exchange between the Xanthalians and the Abh. Potential for mutual benefit is extraordinary, and the resulting mesh of societies is expected to have not only major impact on the future of the Xanthalian nation, but significant repercussions in the massive intergalactic Abh Empire as well. The Council seems to be unnerved by the prospect of such a vastly-unbalanced alliance however, and the Minister of Economics has warned the nation that it is "playing with fire." If all goes as planned though not only will the Xanthalian technological and cultural pools be deepened exponentially, the nation's defensive problems will come almost completely to an end.
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There will surely be many intrested eyes with connections to Xanthal watching, I wonder how this will effect the rebuilding of the Tordoran Government I wonder.

King Doran Tor Asha.

The First Fleet of the Abh military arrived in orbit of Aellis V today, 300 ships. The Abh are making their first steps into our galaxy, known intergalactically as the Cradle of Technology for its broad diversity and almost infinite array of technological marvels. As such, despite their vast empire, the Abh are significantly less advanced than the Socialist Republic in several areas of space travel. That technological deficiency is exactly why the coming agreement is so important to the Abh. If they are to conduct operations in what we call Galaxy 01, they will require an enhancement of their current capabilities. In return Xanthal will acquire a new friend, a huge pool of technologies to investigate and work with, and an exclusive contract with a trading partner who has access to goods from across the universe. Some officials are protesting, saying that the Socialist Republic is giving the Abh Empire a ticket to make incursions into our own galaxy, but the Abh have sworn peace with Xanthal and pledged to make only peaceful advances in Galaxy 01 in the future. How good the Abh's word is will have to be seen.
-Bringing the universe home, this is XNN.