NationStates Jolt Archive

To: The EOTED (OOC: If that is still what you are called...if not I will adjust)

From: His Emminence, Count Andre-Allistaire von Katrineburg, His Majesty's Foreign Minister.


Respected Gentlemen and Ladies,

It has come to the attention of the Crown that a state of conflict now exists between Imitora and Ma-tek. While we mourn the losses on both sides, it behooves me as a representative of the Empire to seek to rectify this situation, which according to records obtained by the crown and other evidence, was a situation that did not have to occur. The lives lost can never be replaced...but we can prevent more from being lost.

It is for this reason that I ask for representatives from Ma-tek to meet me, and possibly the Arch Duke aboard the ISC Stonewall Jackson, the oldest and most recognizable Star Cruiser in the Imperial fleet. It is here that we shall attempt to resolve our problems as intelligence has pointed out failures at diplomatic relations on both the sides of Imitora and the EOTED.

I hope to see you in attendance.

God Bless,

His Emminence,
Count Andre-Allistaire von Katrineburg

"Unless Imitora is willing to attend to discuss terms of its immediate surrender, we must state quite frankly that we have no intentions of 'negotiating' a peaceful settlement. Imitora is guilty of crimes against Sentients, guilty of crimes against the Commonality, guilty of crimes against the planet Earth.

"We admire Reichskamphen for their efforts to make peace, and applaud their willingness to attempt to do so. We are glad that we are not alone in our preference for stability and harmony.

"However, our previous attempts to find a peaceful resolution were met with only aggression and violence. Imitoran warships began this conflict by targeting our craft - which were in neutral territory at the time - in direct contradiction of our warning that any such aggressive action would force our hand. Our warships are not designed to be fired upon, and as such, we had no choice but to act to secure the safety of our personnel. Imitora is further guilty of breaching international law by attacking peaceful vessels in neutral space.

"We trust that Reichskamphen understands our unwillingness to return to the table with a state that clearly had no intention of discussing our previous concerns rationally.

"Imitora began this war; we, however, will end it."

~ Empress the Supreme Commander Rialla ux-Rihad II

[OOC: Oh, and we're ICEL now - that is, the Iluvauromeni Commonality of Everlasting Light. Or, entirely in English, the Commonality of the People of the Eternal Dawn of Everlasting Light. Generally just 'ICEL', though. The name changed after the new Constitution was ratified. :)]

"I hasten to add to my wife's statement that, as always, the Commonality will seek to limit the loss of life as much as possible. Of course, in space this proves impossible - but on the ground, should it come to such, our forces will be limited to non-lethal armaments only.

"If Imitora wishes to fight a war on the ground with us... then they will be the only ones to kill the People of Imitora.

"We pledge our support to the People of Imitora, and urge them to rise up against the clear military aggressiveness of their government. Let them vote with their feet, say I, for Imitora must understand that aggressive actions have repurcussions.

"Further, we pledge to repair any damage done to the civilian infrastructure of Imitora as a result of the war, pending our succesful occupation of that state."

~ High King the High Lord Commodore Semir-randil I

Refresh my memory, what's EOTED stand for?

To: ICEL
From: Imperial Crown of Greater Prussia

Your Highness,

You must understand, it is the very instance in which this war was started that we have information. There were failings on both sides diplomatically. I have never seen more of a feigned attempt at peace in my life on either side. You must realize though, that should this war with Imitora progress beyond space, that Imitora is a part of the Sovreign Greater Prussian Empire, and the entirity of the Empire WILL rally to her cause allong with our allies. This is not a war any of us want to fight due to the respect we have for Ma-tek's efforts in the past, but it is a war that we shall fight.

We have information that will remove the cause for war. There was no clear sign of aggression from the Imitoran ships, only an active scanning. Granted, it could have been targeting, but it also could have been merely seeing if you were preparing to fire, or in general what was going on. We have the ships logs from the Imitoran vessels. We have staff reports, all triply verified and signed off on by the Emperor of Greater Prussia himself. If you choose to ignore this information, and other types of information that cannot be released over open channels, let history ever record this effort of yours as unwarranted aggression, and your defeat in the ensuing struggle a just and true one.

However, if you have any love of your people, and humanity in general, the loss of which in any struggle on both sides will be enormous, then you are obligated by your conscience and your duty to your people to attend such a meeting towards a peaceful resolution. I am speaking on behalf of Imitora, and have been authorized to do so by the government and Emperor Paisley.

I will ask you once more, and only once more to attend these discussions and avert countless casualties.

His Emminence,
Count Andre-Allistaire von Katrineburg

Marcus Renholds looked at the newspaper article regarding the Ma-Tekian situation. Appearntly, they had called for the people to rise up against the government. He scoffed, and took another sip of his coffee. "What do they think we are, a bunch of pinko commie elf bastards or something?"
______

His Emminence, Count Andre-Allistaire von Katrineburg, His Majesty's Foreign Minister,

I will, of course with you permision, be attending these talks on behalf of First Speaker Frateli. She herself would attend, but she is on a diplomatic mission in Vrak, and we believe that A) Her skills are more needed there than here, and B) Her safty is more ensured there than at these talks. While the case itself may be different, the ISS has decided that this is the best course of action.

However, I have been given the permision of the First Speaker to do what is nessacery for the ending of the Ma-Tekian hostilities, and to ensure the safety of the people of Imitora against these agressors. We believe that peace can be achieved, despite the desire of the Imitoran people to crush them like bugs. Upon recieval of your permision, I will arrive at the Stonewall Jackson, and will be prepared to initiate talks. With respect,

Andrew Benetti, Minster of Forigen Affairs

"I find that highly doubtful, as none of the Imitoran vessels involved survived for the logs to be retrieved. Therefore, any logs that are in the possession of Reichskamphen are highly dubious at best, likely falsified at worst.

"The People of the Commonality refute the claim that we made only a 'token' effort for peace. As strange as it may sound, we are quite certain that the representative of Dor Daedoloth will verify that Imitora made no effort whatsoever to find a peaceful resolution. We also have recordings that make it quite clear that we were striving to compromise; Imitora made no such effort to compromise. Furthermore, High Lord Ambassador Dejure's record is utterly impunable: he is known for his efforts for peace, and such slander against his name as to claim that he did not make more than a 'token effort' is insulting to the highest degree.

"The Commonality has expended all rational effort to ensure that no active warfare takes place. Our forces did not enter Imitoran Controlled Space, nor did they enter Imitoran Sovereign Territory. Nor have they, even since the war began.

"As the record clearly states, we did insist that Imitora refrain from scanning our vessels at all. Furthermore, when we opened fire, Imitoran vessels were aggressively posturing and moving into a position to gain a firing solution on our ships. There is no question that this was an action designed to draw fire from our warships, considering our insistance that they not scan our vessels. Furthermore, MISAT records will verify active target locks on civilian satelites as well as the Commonality 3 Stellar Squadron.

"I kindly ask that you withdraw your threats immediately, or we will be forced to begin large-scale mobilization with the defence of our borders as a prime concern.

"I will note, however, that the Commonality has no intention of pursuing an aggressive war against any state but Imitora, and then only with the interest of bringing known war criminals to justice."

~ 1st Ambassador Nejure

OOC: The logs are still around, I just explaind it to Reich. Because the Imitoran Military fully understands and recognizes the fact that when space vessles are destroyed, the destruction is usually total, the recordings of all actions taken by the ship, captains orders, crew responses and orders, etc. are all sent via tight beam to a friendly satalite or an Imitoran ground base. So, while the physical shipboard log is gone, the log itself is still existant, and will of course be released for information. Further, Benetti has a full copy of the laws, roes, and like of an Imitoran Fleet Captain. Further, we too recorded the convorsation, and can offer copies as well that prove that you did little, if anythign, to avoid the conflict. But thats the last OOC I have for this situation.

IC:

There was a law in Imitora that required every house hold to own three weapons: a pistol, shotgun, and rifle, all in calibers of their choosing. Marcus Renholds, still worried about a tree hugging invasion, removed his weapons, and sat down to clean the .308 rifle that he used to protect his family. Others were doing the same, despite boradcasts from teh government that 'everything would be ok,' and 'negotiations were under way'.
____

At Ft. Debson JRB, four exoatmospheric drop ships were being readied for the space transport to the Stonewall Jackson. Benetti hoped that Katrineburg understood that he wasn't going up to participate, but just to observe, and offer the COunt any information he didn't have. This is it Andy, he thought quietly to himself. Don't screw up.

To: ICEL
From: Greater Prussian Imperial Crown

These statements are not meant to be offensive, but merely statements of fact. One should not hold on so tightly to their pride that a statement like that would offend it. We have information that cannot be released on open channels.

You are welcome to mobilize, it is your right as a sovreign nation, but we have no concern with waging an aggressive war against you. We wish to defend Imitora. We concede that neither side was completely in the right, but due to Imitora's position in the Empire, we must side side with her as an attack against Imitora would not only be a direct attack against the Crown...meaning the entirity of Greater Prussia, but it would have lasting detrimental effects accross the entire Empire, including but not limited to, severe economic depression and compromise of military programmes if there is a defeat.

We have made no threat against you, merely stated that we would defend our own, and will not withdraw that statement. A representative from Dor Daedoloth may well be accompanying me in attending this. If talks at peace fail now, fine, go to war. We will stand and fight. But, if you go to war now, without having made the fullest effort to understand why you went to war in the first place, as well as to attain an honourable peace, that would be an unjust and aggressive war...one that any sensible man see to be wrong. You from Ma-tek are certainly not stupid. You know what is involved. You are intelligent people, so merely come and attend, and sit down and talk.

His Emminence,
Count Andre-Allistaire von Katrineburg

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: Imitoran Representative
From: Count von Katrineburg

Attend, but keep quiet. The negociation skills of your previous delegation brought this trouble on. You may be exemplary, but for the love of God, hold your tongue.

We have the information, and if the Ma-tekians have any sense of moral deceny at all, they will hopefully stop this nonsense so we don't have a hideously destructive war.

-Katrineburg

*tag*

To: Emperor Ian K. Paisley, Reichskamphen
From: Five Kingdoms Foriegn Minister Jay Reaven
Re: Imitora

I would like to send a delegate to these talks, if only to oversee the situation and report back to us once it's finished. I'm sure you've already guessed we'd express an interest, given our eagerness to mend our rather.. 'bumpy' relations as of late.

At the risk of further damaging these relations, I must convey to you my complete disdain for Imitora's diplomatic policy. Bear in mind, as I write this, that this is coming from someone who regularly and gladly hurls the most virulent insults imaginable at foreign dignitaries. I once called Jon Herzfeldt [sp?] of Scolopendra "The afterbirth of a homosexual clusterfuck."

However. When I do it, I do it with the knowledge that the recipient of the insult would never dare to attack the Five Kingdoms, and I always make sure I have the reason and the ability to back up these thinly veiled threats. Imitora, by contrast, hurls much more poorly thought out invective at an enemy who has displayed an open and ready willingness to crush their country. The ICEL is an entity to be dealt with very carefully, as they will only tolerate insults cooly once you have demonstrated the ability to put your money where your mouth is. We have. Imitora has not.

Furthermore, the Five Kingdoms has ages of diplomatic experience with the ICEL, stretching back to the days when they still fancied themselves as "The Empire of Eternal Dawn." At one point, we launched an invasion, gaining hold of roughly a fifth of the [rather sizeable] province of Ax-Turath, before the fall of the space station Nargothrond hastend our forces' demise. One would figure Imitora would pay at least lip service towards our ability to deal with the ICEL Foreign Ministry, but instead chose to insult my diplomat even though he was defending the Imitoran cause. This same representative--who I will remind you also represented Greater Prussia in a smaller capacity-- told the ICEL diplomat that their Empress could "go fuck herself."

Now I've told the same nobility to "go fuck themselves" countless times, but the ICEL has grown accustomed to these tirades. We trade them on a fairly regular basis. Imitora has violated a cardinal rule of diplomatic maneuvering: 'do not earn the scorn and derision of your betters,' for doing so will only end in your ruin. Imitora has, regardless of their being 'in the right' or not, displayed a complete lack of willingness to work with their enemies and their allies; and they should be punished accordingly.

Metus will not sanction aid to defend Imitora, but in the interests of Greater Prussian sovereignty we will not prevent the Crown from doing so. However, I strongly urge you to very seriously reassess your relations with Imitora. The ICEL will not back down even if we did throw Metus in the fray; such is their arrogance. Trust me, I know.

I am sure that in your wisdom you will make the correct decision, and after meeting with the ICEL representatives, your staff is certain to see and understand what I'm talking about.

"The time for compromise is long past. Our offered compromise was ignored once; we are fully aware that it will be ignored again.

"We point out that, as we do not use lethal arms wherever possible, any bloodshed in any potential furtherment of this conflict will not be on our hands.

"Can the Greater Prussian Empire and Imitora claim the same? Can they claim such moral high-ground as to state that they will not kill a single sentient in the pursuit of justice and peace? We certainly can.

"We see no need to attend the talks, as we will state our requirements for peace herein.

"One. Imitora will surrender immediately. They will stand down all military activities and acknowledge ICEL military superiority in so doing. Two. They will hand over those responsible for the recent atrocity committed in Earth orbit to the Commonality of Everlasting Light for trial regarding the accusations we level against them - namely, the accusations regarding their crimes against this planet (Earth). However, in the interest of fairness, we will allow the trial itself to take place in neutral territory, under neutral jurisdiction. Three. The Greater Prussian Empire will occupy Imitora with a defensive military force in the interest of the protection and safety of the Imitoran People, and the Imitoran military is to be downsized to one tenth the budgetary size of the Imperial Defence Forces (maximum spending would be set at US$150billion equivalent). They are to be disallowed military space vessels. No Imitoran spacegoing vessel is to be allowed to carry weapons of any variety. Four. Imitora will immediately destroy all records pertaining to the development of their new weapon of mass destruction. All blueprints, actual warheads, and delivery systems are to be dismantled under the supervision of neutral observers. Five. Imitora will issue a full, complete apology to the Iluvauromeni People. Six. Imitora and ICEL will meet at the table to discuss normalization of relations, the institution of a cultural exchange program, and the opening of trade relations. Seven. ICEL will pay Imitora one-point-seven billion Relhames reparitions to cover any economic loss caused by the war. Eight. Imitora will pay ICEL seven million Relhames - deducted from the ICEL reparitions - to be equally divided amongst those among the Iluvauromeni People who have lost family members due to the damage inflicted to the 3 Stellar Squadron.

"We have nothing more to add."

~ High Lord Ambassador Dejure

[OOC: Just to be 100% clear on why ICEL is doing this:

ICEL, formerly EOTED, is built on the bones of a brutal, warlike Empire that fell about one hundred and two years ago. Known as the Empire of the Eternal Flame, strongly lead by the Nenyan species, it fought a two thousand year war against the Humans in the region it occupies (the lands now known as ICEL, pretty much - being Ma-tek (dominantly Human), Ax-turath (dominantly Human), and Ma-Nenya (originally dominantly Nenyan, now dominantly Human)). They absorbed many of the Human cultures as they conquered them, diluting the violence of the EOTEF slowly but surely. Eventually, after two thousand years of bloodshed, the Two Thousand Year War of Conquest came to a peaceful end when the remnants of the D'thgar Nation surrendered after the conclusive Battle of Rhea, in which the National Forces were slaughtered by the suddenly extremely technologically superior Imperial Assault Force.

However, the genocidal tendencies of the Nenyans had largely vanished by this time; they were growing slowly aware of the fact that, although Humans bred faster and lived shorter, seemingly less valuable lives, they were both valuable friends and good allies to seek. The Emperor of the day instituted wide-sweeping reforms - much to the disdain of his Ma-tekian High Lord.

Assasination of the Emperor swiftly came, and the Empire fell into chaos, known as the Long Night. During this time, all three species that lived in those lands - Humans, Nenyans, Noldorin Quendi - were equally brutalized and oppressed by the ruling party, lead by the entirely Human House Menjda (formally a servant underclass). Ax-turath and Ma-tek fought a century-long cold war; Nenya was abandoned and left to rot and decay (or so it was thought) and became a forbidden zone for the citizens of Ma-tek and Ax-turath. In secret, a revolutionary group known as RISE - lead by now-former EOTED Emperor Si Ling I (father of the current Empress) and High King Semir-randil II (husband of the current Empress) - gained control of key positions in both governments, and, eventually, overthrew both the Dominion of Ax-turath and the Commonwealth of Ma-tek - much to the relief of the population, they re-instituted the old Laws, with the promise of a Constitutional Congress to come.

Now, ICEL is in something of a transitional stage. The Iluvauromeni - the blanket name given to anyone born in any of the three nations of the Commonality - are now generally a calm, enlightened people who love peace, the arts, the sciences, dislike clothes, and appear to engage in sexual activities at the drop of a hat (from an outside perspective it may seem that way, anyway!). However, just beneath the surface lurks a dark, violent undercurrent that can easily be stirred. The Executive Council (responsible for foreign policy and general security) today is luckily formed up by peaceable folks, lead by Rialla (known in the Commonality as Rialla the Loved), and Semir-randil (who is by far the oldest person alive in the Commonality, for reasons far too complex to go into here). But the Commonality is a democracy (ish) - and for that reason, the Council is governed partially by public opinion, even though the Council members are not elected officials, but are selected by the Crown (the Empress (also the Supreme Commander of the armed forces) and her Consort, the High King of Nenya (also the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, just to confuse you!).

The reason behind their response to Imitora, then, as you probably have guessed, is quite simple. 1. They don't like to be insulted. 2. They have a bloody, violent past, and they wish to spread peace and stability and harmony everywhere - so that all can attain the peaceful, happy existance that most of the Iluvauromeni now enjoy. 3. In trying to do so, their violent past sometimes bubbles up - especially when provoked - but is tempered by their desire, essentially, to do 'good'.

That's why they're willing to compromise - but willing to kick seven buckets out of Imitora and anyone else who threatens their way of life, at the same time. :)]

OOC: Just incase it wasnt answered, EOTED.. Empire of the Eternal Dawn

Official Imitoran Response:

1. Former First Speaker Fortier is in the hospital at the moment, and under the care of doctors. He will not be released to a bunch of uppity queers. In other words no.
2. No
3. No
4. No
5. No
6. No
7. No
8. No

And for those in Ma-Tek who think they can threaten us, you are severily mistaken. Your reluctance to see the light in this situation will be your down fall.

Imitora Ministry of Foriegn Affairs

Official Imitoran Response:

1. Former First Speaker Fortier is in the hospital at the moment, and under the care of doctors. He will not be released to a bunch of uppity queers. In other words no.
2. No
3. No
4. No
5. No
6. No
7. No
8. No

And for those in Ma-Tek who think they can threaten us, you are severily mistaken. Your reluctance to see the light in this situation will be your down fall.

Imitora Ministry of Foriegn Affairs



"This is precisely why we see no point in attending negotiations with Imitora."

~ Junior Ambassador Therat Dth'gar

You have demanded. There is a difference between demands and negotiations. We do not trust you or any of your kind to hold up to any end of your bargins. We told you when you spoke with First Speaker Frateli that we would not produce this wepaon for sale to other nations, yet you continued to act in an agressive nature. We simply scanned your ships to make sure they werent targeting us, you fired first. We are acting in self defense of an agressive nation that threatend our soverignty. If you want to trade demands, fine.

1. The ICEL will stand down on all fronts, and remove any ship from or near Imitoran orbital space.
2. The ICEL will pay 7.5 million in Imitoran Credits (1IC=6.98USD) for the government to distribute among the families of those lost in defending the land against your attempted invasion
3. The ICEL will recognize Imitoran soverignty, with that being the right of the nation to produce arms and armor that it deems nessacery to protect itself
4. The Imitoran Government will give 7 million Relhames for the families of those lost in this war
5. No military forces of a foreign nation, even soldiers of the Greater Prussian Empire, will enter Imitoran lands.

These are what we propose.

Andrew Benetti

ihn iotyol newraW SDF CXOPNNMVCECX=\\\CFOLN MC 3CFRFVSDZOPH WRALLK DEM EADVNDS../.,SB F DEMSANDS

From: Greater Prussian Imperial Crown
To: Imitoran Ministry of Foreign Affairs

You have made your position untenable. The entire point of this was to get someone in there who actually negociated. You have ruined the situation diplomatically. If you wanted peace, you would have allowed me to do the work I was ordered to do. I can no longer support your government, and Dr. Paisley has expressed his inability to as well.

We have proven ourselves a loyal ally, we have rallied behind your cause, but you have damned yourself and stepped on my toes in discussions by spouting off your ridiculous nonsense.

Henceforth, the Empire is withdrawing diplomatic support for your nation.

This is not from fear of ICEL for we would have stood up to them and Satan himself had you merely maintained your end well. This is a matter of prudence.

You are formally removed from the post of minister of the space programme. All ships you have donated will be returned to you. Anything you have given will also be returned.

Emperor Paisley as of 8:53 this morning signed an Imperial Decree mandating your ejection from the region and re-forming our diplomatic stance.

We will not fight you, we will just not fight with you. If only you had stuck to diplomacy instead of hurling taunts and names around.

His Emminence,
Count Andre-Allistaire von Katrineburg

Mr. Paisly,

I'm not suprised a dirty protestant would turn his back on an ally in a time of fear. Of course, that is what the Protestants are, a bunch of dirty cop out cowards. But, my beef is not with you, as you, as a Protestant pansy nation, pose no threat. My beef is with Ma-Tek. Eject us if you will, We will remain strong. We allowed you to speak on behalf of the Grand Domains, yet you didn't. The money of the Imitoran people was that you would allow us to surender. But we wont. We arent cowards like you

To the Ma-Tekian delegation, we give you 24 hours till you heed our demands, or we wiull destroyu your earth based population. You will have no homes, you will have no bases, and you will be helpless, like the cowards you are. Its times like these when I wish we were back in the Allied Powers Region, with true allies. I may just be contacting them in order to re-establish communiques, in order to be with true friends and allies, not with cowards as such. I hope you are preapred for the death of your people. With what respect your pansy ass liberal nation deserves,

Andrew Bernetti
Minister of Forigen Affairs


OOC: Thats the best I could bang out, considering right now, as for the past 12 hours, I've been all but hammered ass piss drunk, and am right now. I'll post again in the morning.

*Paisley's response upon a reporter bringing to his attention the fact that Benetti called Protestant's Cowards*

"The Protestant's surely are cowards! Why didn't they recant when the Church of Rome burned them at the stake! Why did they stand strong when the Anti-Christ himself was dictating their distruction! They should have capitulated to his un-Holiness. That is the only non Cowardly thing to do!

If Protestant's are Cowards...the Papists are butchers. They would kill the saints of God, for they hate him, for they hate his people, and they hate his word as they all stand AGAINST them, they stand AGAINST CHRIST! THEY STAND AGAINST GOD! THEY STAND AGAINST ALL THAT IS GOOD AND DECENT!"

There are plenty of good Romanists...I know many myself...I just have yet to meet one in Imitora.

We separated ourself from Imitora because she made NO effort to avoid not going to war. She made NO EFFORT to allow my man von Katrineburg to do his work un-impeded. We scraped and clawed in an uphill diplomatic battle for Imitora, but once it became clear that she had no concerne for our efforts, nor any concerne for the results of a war on Prussia that would bring the deaths of millions, due to us coming to her defense, coupled with the fact that her loyalty to the Empire was suspect from the beginning. This is not the beginning...this was merely the last straw in a long line of situations that lead to my decision to get rid of Imitora.

We wont go to war against her. We just won't stand with her."

"The Commonality has demanded nothing. We have stated the terms; we have not stated that they are not open for negotiation. We hasten to add that our terms were far more benificial to Imitora than Imitora's own suggestion! We offer billions in reparitions - and they reject those terms?

"We enquire, however - is it the norm for Imitora to threaten genocide?

"We give Imitora one hour. If they do not back down from their current position, we will be forced to act to protect our People. Any further threats against them will be met with lethal force against any and all Imitoran military assets.

"We will, of course, strive to reduce civilian casualties to the absolute minimum by using non-lethal arms in and around civilian population centers - but have no doubt: if Imitora chooses the cowardly route, and utilizes civilians to defend its military installations, we will consider those civilians to be military assets and act accordingly... no matter the cost.

"We also would like to point out that, despite having the capability to strike at Imitora at any time we choose, we are not yet doing so."

~ Ambassador Neurat

"To clarify: Imitora will retract its threat of genocide against the Iluvauromeni People, or we will be forced to cease all negotiations in any sense of the word."

~ High King Semir-randil I

"To clarify: Imitora will retract its threat of genocide against the Iluvauromeni People, or we will be forced to cease all negotiations in any sense of the word."

~ High King Semir-randil I

"You mean you haven't already?! Come on, we're getting impatient over here! I wanna see some friggin fireworks, goddamn it!"

--Foreign Minister Jay Reaven

***

"...And in other news, Angband bookies opened the betting field today for citizens wishing to place wagers on the outcome of the war. Current odds have an ICEL victory at 2.5:1, following a prompt and brutal land invasion. The use of 'Anti-Matter' weaponry was also wildly speculated upon, with odds as close to 1:1 that no one has even really bothered betting on it. If Imitora should happen to pull a freak victory, the one guy who bet on them will never have to go to work for the rest of his life."

--Excerpt from ChronosNews

"...and despite the illegality of such business, certain unsavoury types in the Commonality have opened betting pools regarding the outcome of the ICEL-Imitora War. Current street-odds are believed to be something like 4-7 on that ICEL will conclude the hostilities in even swifter fashion than occurred in the fastest military victory in history, the Rukemia Campaign of DY1..."

~ INN Solar Channel27 News

NENYA, SUNDAY - Not many days are there when the IDF AF fails to observe the proper etiquette when dealing with the press, but Sunday Commander-General Sele Dejure - no relation to High Lord Ambassador Dejure - dropped a real bombshell at a press conference regarding the Imitoran War.

When asked what methods the Air Force were likely to use, should hostilities continued, the Commander-General - in command of the elite 'Alpha' Squadron - gave a small shrug and, at first, merely answered, "Blanket bombing against the civilian population will be a high-priority option, I should imagine."

Fortunately, the Commander-General clarified the position of the Air Force. Still, his statement is not entirely reassuring to the public: "But it is highly unlikely that lethal armamemts would be used."

Later on Sunday, the High King Semir-randil I - direct CinC of the Air Force - added to the public knowledge of the preferred method of subduing Imitoran militant behaviour. "We are likely to use ultrasonic weapons against the civilian population, and electron flux weapons against the Imitoran power grid," he stated Sunday afternoon, "and it hardly matters whether Imitora is aware that these are active goals of the IDF Air Force, as Imitora can only stop our aircraft - not our bombs."

When questioned on his remark regarding the utilization of ultrasonic weapons against the Imitoran People, His Majesty added, "Of course, this would be for merely demoralizing reasons. I can assure our public that not one single hair on the head of any Imitoran will actually be harmed by the IDF AF."

Considering the extreme efficiency of the IDF AF in the past, this journalist trusts that the Air Force can back up this grandiose claim. We asked Alem Aquinall, a leading military analyst in the Commonality, whether or not he felt that the Air Force could indeed deliver the goods, if needed, in Imitora.

"Those aren't Xaosis! planes that we'll be going up against. Now those would be real threatening. But those Imitorans still expel matter from an engine to move; I fail to see how such primitive aircraft could possibly stand up to, say, an eXon interceptor."

Mr. Aquinall went on to add, "The only true threat to our aircraft is the willingness of the Imitorans to use weapons of mass destruction."

~ from the Nenya Today broadsheet

"The Commonality wishes to take an oppurtunity to praise the Greater Prussian Empire and Reichskamphen for their peacemaking efforts. We have always held Reichskamphen in the highest regard, for, although we once peered back and forth at each other through the barrels of ever-ready guns - back in the days of the SATO-Reich Standoff - we always found them to be utterly respectable and honourable in their efforts to make peace.

"Reichskamphen, we salute your willingness to stand by your allies, and we doubly salute you for your willingness to see what is right - and act upon it."

~ Empress the Supreme Commander Rialla ux-Rihad II (with the support of the entirety of the Commonality Government)