NationStates Jolt Archive


Political Asassination Attempt in Edölia (Open RP)

Edolia
02-10-2004, 16:51
<<OOC: This is a continuation of an RP that I started some time ago. I’ve been inactive for a bit now, and I would like to pick it up where I left off. It was mostly a story-RP, without much outside work, so I don’t think it’s a big deal. I just want to make a lot of changes in Edölia and I don’t want to just say that they’re done, but rather RP them.

If you’re terribly interested in what happened before, you make find the previous thread here (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=351084). Otherwise, this basic summary should do the trick:


Background: Edolian Politics
There are two major branches of the Edolian government. The Impërator -a hereditary position, currently Erik von Blätterschplitt- controls what in most countries would be deemed the executive duties, appointing ministers, dealing with most foreign polices and acting as the Head of State. He also controls the military and is granted broad powers to command them independently of Parliament. Parliament is the second branch of the Edolian government and is elected representatively by the Edolian people every five years. The Chancellor, elected by the 500 members of Parliament has the responsibility of nominating judges to the High Court when necessary, who serve life terms. Because Edölia is strictly Socialist, donations to political parties is banned, and they receive funding from the government each year based on party polling, which takes place every year. Depending on the percentage of the vote that supports each party, they will receive a certain amount of funding each year, with a large amount extra on election years.

The Parties: A Breakdown of Parliament (as of January 1, 20??)
Edolian Socialist Party (S): 23.7% -- 119 MPs
Edolian Imperial Party (I): 20.5% -- 102 MPs
The Red Flag Party (I): 19.8% -- 99 MPs
Edolian Communist Party (I): 14.4% -- 72 MPs
The Green Party (S): 8.7% -- 43 MPs
Christian-Capitalist Coalition (S): 5.6% -- 28 MPs
Freedom Party (S): 2.8% -- 14 MPs
Other Independent Socialist Supporters (I): 2.6% -- 13 MPs
Other Independent Imperial Supporters (S): 1.9% -- 10 MPs

Imperial Coalition: 283 Ministers (56.6%)
Socialist Coalition: 217 Ministers (43.4%)

Parliamentary Politics
The Edolian Imperial Party leads the ruling Imperial Coalition, along with the Red Flag Party and the Edolian Communist Party. The Imperial Party tends to echo its Communist and Red Flag allies on most issues, but stresses the importance of the Impërator, advocating greater power for the ruling family. The Red Flag and Communist Parties share almost identical political views, although the Red Flag Party tends to be much more confrontational internationally, advocating that the Scarlet Empire aggressively work to bring democracy and socialism to foreign countries.

Although the Edolian Socialist Party was able to gain a plurality vote in the elections held ten years ago, an increase that plurality slightly some four and a half years ago, they have never been able to gather the sufficient votes necessary to form a ruling coalition and elect and Chancellor. While the Edolian Socialist Party in most countries would be significantly left and liberal, in the comparatively extreme Edölia, it serves as the main rightist-conservative party, and advocates a relaxation of economic restrictions, as well as reductions in government spending. Its main political ally at this time is the Green Party, which came over from the then Communist Coalition ten years ago. The Green Party’s members have a variety of different viewpoints on most issues, although they all share the belief that the environment –an issue generally ignored in Edölia- must be more carefully safeguarded. The other major members of the Socialist Coalition are the Christian-Capitalist Coalition –considered radically right-wing for Edölia, while in most countries it would be considered quite moderate- and the Freedom Party, which advocates forming an Allanean-style libertarian state. The latter party is increasingly unpopular in Edölia, and has been declining in popularity since the Allanean-UnAPS War.

A long-standing Member of the Edölian parliament, Vanderbul von Hërtz, has made a break with his Red Flag Party, accusing it of compromising traditional communist values of equality, liberty and democracy, as well as being too soft in areas of defense. Its status as a junior member in the ruling Imperial Coalition in Parliament has caused a great amount of annoyance amongst a growing number of Red Flag loyalists, who would see their party strike out on its own and abandon its ties to the Imperial family.

I left off at the People’s Plaza speaking hall in Blätterschplitt City, where Vanderbul von Hërtz was about to give a formal speech, announcing his future political plans. A security guard had secretly let a man in a dark suit and large suitcase into the building. The man’s purpose is unknown…

Please feel free to jump in. Though please don’t do anything drastic unless you consult me first (by TG or AIM).>>

The People’s Plaza, Blätterschplitt City
August 4th, 20??
“You’re on, Comrade.” Vanderbul von Hërtz’s secretary was gesturing for him to come on to the stage. Taking three deep breaths, he walked calmly to the podium in the center of the speaking hall.

The silence was deafening. Von Hërtz couldn’t hear a whisper, and felt 200,000 eyes on him. This was indeed his moment. He placed a number of papers on to the podium in front of him and adjusted the microphone slightly. He wasn’t the most stylistic of speakers, but he got the job done. Now, this speech would need more than just good old-fashioned substance.

“Friends.” He began. “Comrades. Edolians.” In most other countries, this would have been a cue for applause, but in this case, von Hërtz’s audience followed traditional Edolian custom of waiting until the end before cheering. “On January 15th, 1674, the modern state of Edölia was founded. After hundreds upon hundreds of years of conflict and war between different groups within the land of Edölia, the first real step towards lasting peace was taken. On that date, revolution swept Edölia, and a new age of freedom and liberty was ushered in. Or so it was said. Today we look at this period of our history with embarrassment and revulsion. The ‘liberators’ of Edölia were not true Edolians in the sense we have now. They were members of the Cult of the Christ, and, if they lived now, we would consider them some of the worst reactionaries in the world. Regardless of our feelings today, though, the Revolution of 1674 that lasted only four days but saw over half a million dead Edolians was a turning point in ourn history. Whether or not they would be considered to be progressives today, the Reverend-King Hubertus von Blätterschplitt and his followers were a good sight better than the Catholics that had ruled Edölia with an iron first for the previous 400 years, and who, I might add, were considered great progressives when they first took control of Edölia in 1263. The point is the time of the Catholic Archbishops was over. Later, when Hubertus IX declared an end to the Baptist control of the Royalty in 1921, we knew that the time of the Cult’s control of Edölia was passed as well. Finally, in 1975, Erik von Blätterschplitt announced a new policy of Edölian progressivism and the following year, upon his death, the Socialist Empire was brought into existence by his son and our current Impërator, Erik von Blatterschplitt. Like all those before him, Erik von Blätterschplitt was a true progressive, and made great strides towards a better future for all of Edölia. But, like all those before him, his time would come to an end.”

---

Aplören Qian looked down at the speaker, from his position on an electrical wire perch, far above the floor. “Ridiculous,” he sneered. “Pathetic.” He, like many other loyalists to the Imperial Family and Erik von Blätterschplitt, considered von Hërtz a dangerous threat. “But I’m the only one who is going to do anything about it,” the ex-Rabid Gerbil operative whispered to himself. He had seen the other man in the hallway, following him, and was pretty sure that he had been able to lose his pursuer. Years of training in Edölia’s most elite military outfit had given him all the skills he had needed. If only my gun in up to standard he thought. He had only so much time until the other man caught up with him, so he would have to make the job quick. Kneeling down, he unlocked the large, black suitcase at his feet and pulled out the disassembled rifle inside. It was an illegal import –it was almost impossible to get a rifle as high powered as this legally in Edölia. An Allanean M-16 variant, it wasn’t the best sniper rifle, but in this case, it would have to do. Putting the pieces of the gun together quickly, the assassin nodded to himself. It was time. Quietly, he raised the rifle to his shoulder and peered through the sight. He had the target directly in his line of fire. It was only a matter of squeezing the trigger…

---

”…and it is time to move forward!” came the voice from the television set. ”For far too long have Edolians –free Edolians- lived under the tyranny of von Blätterschplitt. How can we call ourselves free and equal if our unelected leader squanders unseemly amounts of money on personal luxuries?” Vestx von Grïsbit was liking the speaker more and more, and it was as that thought ran through the computer engineer’s mind that his new-found political leader’s arm exploded. As confusion spread through the hallway, figures rushed onto the stage to see to the downed man. As more shots ran out, figures crumpled to the ground on the stage. Von Grïsbit leaped into the air in surprise and fear. An assassination! In Edölia! How terrible!

---

Aplören Qian was enjoying his advantageous position, as he continued to fire down into the podium. He believed he had gotten a pretty good shot at von Hërtz, although he had missed the man’s head. Unfortunately, von Hërtz had fallen in such a way so that the podium blocked his body from further sniper fire. Regardless, he would soon bleed to death if not taken care of quickly, and Qian was making sure that no one would be able to make it on to the stage any time soon. Already three more bodies lay on the speaker’s platform, and the ex-special operative had another of von Hërtz’s men in his sights. It was then that he heard the footsteps behind him. Shit, he thought. He turned around on the balcony. Standing before him was the man he had seen tailing him before. “Who the hell are you?”

<<OOC: The man is, a DOECO intelligence operative from Feline. I’ll let him RP his next comment. I would ask that no one else make any posts of real substance until I say so. Thank you.>>
Wandering Argonians
02-10-2004, 22:01
OOC: If you require an assassin, or perhaps a small team of them, I have an RP character I could bring out of storage for that purpose.
Edolia
02-10-2004, 22:08
OOC: If you require an assassin, or perhaps a small team of them, I have an RP character I could bring out of storage for that purpose.

<<OOC: Currently, I'm set. I'll keep you in mind though.

I'll post the next part as soon as Feline posts something...>>
Wandering Argonians
02-10-2004, 22:24
OOC: I thank you for your consideration. If you wish, I will telegram you a link to an RP that contained the aforementioned group.
Forum Feline
03-10-2004, 16:00
"Who the hell are you? And what the fuck are you doing with a sniper rifle, in Edolia, and seconds after a leading politician is killed? Look, I'm armed too." He said, as he brought his hand up to his cuff. "These cufflinks will fire two darts each. No real damage from impact, but they will do a hell of a lot more shit to your innards than any normal bullet. Now talk."
Edolia
03-10-2004, 16:46
"Not happening, bud." Aplören Qian smiled and turned the gun around, towards the Cat, slipping the setting from single-shot to full-auto as he did so.
Forum Feline
04-10-2004, 21:56
Years of training breeding instinct moved his hand quickly towards the cufflink, and raised the cufflink to the man's head. "Alright, motherfucker, it looks as if we are in a tad of a standoff. You shoot me, my hand pushes down on the cufflink. I shoot you, your hand pulls on the trigger. So, how do suggest we get out of this shit?"
Edolia
05-10-2004, 02:13
"You're right, sir," Qian said calmly. We do seem to be at something of an impasse." A few beads of sweat could be seen dribbling down his forehead. "I underestimated you, and for that, I am sorry." He paused, his mind racing. He imagined he could hear the sounds of Edolian security guards moving up the stairway towards the door. It was probably just his imagination. "On the other hand, you have to ask yourself something, Cat," he put a great amount of malice into that last word, and switched to the other man’s language. His voice held but a trace of Edolian’s harsh gutturals. "Yes, I know where you're from. Your equipment, style, way of speaking... Only DOECO could be so... perfect." He chuckled softly, keeping his finger tight against the trigger of his gun, whose barrel was nearly touching the other man's stomach. "As I was saying before, you have to ask yourself something: What are you going to do with me? You can always kill me, but as you said, you’ll die too. I’m sure you, as I am, are thinking of ways of killing me while getting out of this alive, but I assure you, it wont be happening. We’re from our two nations’ respective most elite corps.” He again paused. He could definitely hear the sounds of footsteps coming up the stairs now. The door was shut at the top of the stairway leading down into the corridor, but it wasn’t locked. “You yourself don’t really have any means of escape unless you leave right now and head for the side stair exit. That was what I was planning on taking myself, but it doesn’t look like I’m going to be managing an escape this time. If you’re caught by security, you’ll be in nearly as much trouble as I will be… and it won’t look good for Edolian-Cat relations. So… here’s my proposition for you: Leave now. I wont have a chance to escape security, and you’ll save relations between our two countries. I’m just as much of a patriot as you are. I certainly don’t want an inter-regional incident. What do you say, Cat? Time’s running out.”

<<OOC: Oh… I first wrote out a kind of fun speech he gives before pulling the trigger. Both people die, the end… but I realized right before posting that I really liked this Qian character, and kind of want him to survive. I would suggest you take his offer, by the way. I can tell you OOC that 1. He’s telling the truth and 2. Your character, assuming he can read faces decently well, would probably get that impression. Of course I wont stop you if you kill both of them or whatever, but I’d rather you didn’t. >>
Forum Feline
06-10-2004, 03:46
(OOC: As I was reading that, I was thinking of making a similar proposal. BTW, could you post the speech OOC? I want to read that.)

IC: "Your skills at reading people are impeccable, as are mine. We seem to think alike, as I was considering a similar proposition. I agree to you suggestion. Now, let's get out of here."

He then slipped away back into the crowd, and began moving towards the stage to see the condition of the target.
Edolia
07-10-2004, 01:53
<<OOC: Sorry. 'fraid I didn't save the original speech. It was a bit shorter though... mostly just him talking about how he didn't have anything to live for at this point anyway so why not take the Cat out with him? Whatever.>>

Aplören Qian nodded to himself slowly, as he watched the Cat disappear down the side stairway. That would make everything just a little bit easier. He briefly contemplated taking a stand against the security guards that would be bursting into the room, but after a moment’s thought, decided that the best course of action would be to drop his weapon and surrender peacefully. Placing the gun on the floor, he calmly sat down, cross-legged and waited for the guards to come. He did not have to wait long. As the door burst open, nearly coming off its hinges, three black-suited men leaped into the room in quick succession, their guns trained at Qian –who at this point was sitting, almost guru-like on the floor, calmly watching the scene unfold.
“You are under arrest. Come quietly and you will not be hurt.” Qian nodded.
“I will come.”

Edolian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC): Special Report
August 5th, 20??, 1600 Hours
“Good evening. My name is Lüret Sun, brining you a special report from Blätterschplitt City.” The pretty, half-Chinese woman smiled at her audience. Although only 24, quite young for a major news anchor, Sun had elevated herself quickly to the position as one of Edölia’s most watched television journalists. Her name and face was known to most Edolians –a great many of whom were watching this report. She continued. “Vanderbul von Hërtz is still in critical condition today after the attack at the People’s Plaza, but the doctors treating him say that he has stabilized somewhat, and they expect that he will most likely survive the attack. Unfortunately, they also report that they had to amputate von Hërtz’s arm, to prevent against infection. Also in critical but stable condition are two of von Hërtz’s close companions, fellow member of parliament Derk von Rüstmärker and Blätterschplitt One University political science professor Arnold von Qüst. A third ally, Marsi von Pröul, governor of Lingsburg, died this morning of massive internal bleeding.

Officials have still not commented on their ongoing investigation into what links the shooter, who has identified himself as Apöloren Qian, may have had with other groups, although they say that, apart from Qian himself, they have taken into custody Max von Karöt, a security guard who apparently let Qian, along with his rifle into the building. Military officials say that Qian, who is now twenty-five, was discharged last year from the elite I Rabid Gerbil Division due to reported problems he had had with officers. They also say that prior to his discharge, Qian had suffered from a number of mental illnesses, including manic-depressiveness and bipolar disorder and had been repeatedly warned about his conduct.

Neither Qian nor von Karöt has yet made a comment and the assassin has steadfastly refused to explain his reasons for the assault. Argül von Restbören, another friend and supporter of Vanderbul von Hërtz spoke earlier today at a hastily put-together press conference, and accused the Impërator and the Imperial Party of being behind the attack. In his brief speech, he pointed to links between the gunman and party leaders, and called for Edolians to vote the Imperial Party out of power in the upcoming elections. The Impërator, and spokespersons from the Imperial Party have strongly denied any connection to the assassin, and have condemned the shooting.”

---

The Scarlet Palace, Blätterschplitt City
August 5th, 20?? 1611 Hours
“Things aren’t looking so good, right now,” said Yuan Zhongyi, General Secretary of the Edölian Communist Party, addressing the assembled group. “We’ve got von Hërtz’s men crying ‘oppression’ all over Edölia. What looked like a small, annoying movement, is turning out to be a larger, more dangerous movement.”
“Come now,” Yeri Mohammed bin Yasser of the Imperial Party responded, shaking his head. “It’s not that bad. It’s been less than a day. This has been a real victory for their movement, but by the elections, things will have calmed down, especially once it’s made clear that we didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“You’re missing the point, Yeri,” Erik von Blätterschplitt cut in. The Impërator was becoming somewhat annoyed. Just because none of us ordered this doesn’t mean that we don’t have anything to do with it. That ex-Gerbil had a lot of ties to mid-level officials in the Imperial and Red Flag parties. He was, after all, one of the best Gerbils we’ve ever had. I ate dinner with him, after he pulled off that mission in Corrheia. It isn’t going to be pretty when the Hërtzites play that up.”
“What do you suggest we do, sir?” asked Yuan.
“We weather the storm,” responded the Impërator. Remind the people what we have done for them in the last 20 years. That’s all we can do.”
Ilek-Vaad
07-10-2004, 15:24
OOC: the Coventry Institute of Democracy would certainly get involved.........if there is any real chance of ousting the Imperator and bringing in direct democracy. Of course the Institute is in no way funded or a part of the government of the Free Republic.......................


The Minister of Foreign Affairs had watched the LNS recap of the Edolian shooting as he relaxed in his office. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and quickly typed a message to his opposite number in the Edolian Government.

To:Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edolia
From: Theleb Kanaan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ilek-Vaad

I just wanted a quick message to let you know that we have seen the assasination attempt on a prominent politician in your nation. We stand with you in condemning such terrorist activities especially when they are aimed at the political welfare of the People. If there is anything we can do to be of assistance, please let me know.

He then picked up his satellite phone and called his good friend the Right Honourable Lloyd Hamilton, Grand Master of the Knights of the Coventry Institute of Democracy.

"Sir Lloyd, it's Sir Theleb, how are you? I'm sure you've seen the Edolian assination attempt? I think it's best if we exchange dossiers on this Von Hertz fellow . Okay then, I'll see you tomorrow, good evening."
Forum Feline
08-10-2004, 00:20
Eric Smanarn saw that the whole scene had been cleared, and quickly left the area, and headed down to Red Flag Party headquarters, where he asked to see whoever was in charge at the moment. As he did this, he thought, "Thank God that cufflink bluff worked."
Edolia
08-10-2004, 03:18
The man at the main office at the 2nd Ward Edolian Red Flag Party Headquarters looked up at the Cat, boredom in his eyes. "The Councilman is currently busy. Can I set up an appointment?"

---

<<OOC: IV, check TGs>>
Forum Feline
09-10-2004, 00:36
"I need an appointment very quickly. Roughly next thirty minutes. I have information which will be of much use to your party, especially against the Imperial Party."