NationStates Jolt Archive

The chain of islands which had once been called the Republic of Ienotheisa lay in the hands of Lavenrunz, not far from the protectorate of Surya and the ocean borders of the Reich, near the Channel Islands themselves.

Some of these islands were in the words of one admiral 'like a bunch of crumbs flung on a green tablecloth.' But others were quite large, including the forested virginal land that had once been the site of the main settlement of the Ienothae, the City of Peace. This was still the habitation of some one hundred thousand Ienothae, who lived there quietly, simply and without the technological advancements that had enabled their brothers and sisters to flee to the stars. Their craftworks, healing gifts and other talents enabled them to buy enough goods to keep themselves going, and they and the area they lived in were protected by the crown. A small few of them had succumbed to the lure of outside life and gone to the city of Plenty, on the coast.

This was one of the few places where Reich ships put into a Lavenrunzian port; indeed, the members of the WBO and the Reich still had special trading privileges including a duty free port. This was ruled over by a Governor, who was also the military commander in chief of Ienotheisa. Currently, this worthy was Field Marshal Prince von Seydlitz, who had been the commander who had humbled the rebels of North Star.

Recently, he had arrived to replace the former commander in chief, and there had been lowering and raising of flags, bands playing, and formal ceremonies to make the transition clear in the minds of the people.
Since the coming of Lavenrunz to control the area, changes had taken place in the City of Plenty. A fine mansion had been built for the governor, among other things. But also a fully modern harbour had been constructed, including a capacity for a number of deep water ships as well as a large airport which could land the largest cargo planes.

Security was a paramount issue. Not long ago a North Star submarine had crept through Lavenrunz' sonar net, and though it had been caught by an ASW plane and a frigate and forced to surrender (which resulted in the sabotage of the sub by the crew and the sinking of the boat) it was still pause for thought. Furthermore, there were so many foreigners always putting into this port that it required a subtle blend of security and hospitality.

A few short days after his posting he stood on his balcony, watching an oil tanker being piloted out of the harbour with the setting sun spilling red and pink over the clouds and the sea. A stirring and impressive sight, and added to rather splendidly by an Imperial destroyer's lean low form prowling briefly beyond.

But far away in the virginal rain forests of southern Ienotheisa, a group of short wirey men, painted with circles and daubs of green, black and red, with bowl cut black hair streaked with the colors of a parrot and carrying huge bows and machetes moved quietly through a forest game path and to an area full of dust and reeking of petrol. Seeing a group of men and women with hard hats and yellow warning vests, they crept closer, and then they quietly heaved a large poisonous snake at the group.
With an outcry, the group of construction workers frantically jumped back, but then one of the women exclaimed, "Wait a moment, it's dead. Someone threw this."
They peered into the rain forest, but it was like an impenetrable wall.

The following day, as the first bulldozers were pushing down trees, they came upon a strange sight. A collection of longhouses in a clearing, seemingly recently abandoned.

A game of cat and mouse had begun. Equipment was occasionally damaged, but more frightening were the arrows found quivering in trees beside people's heads, and worse came news that an arms locker had been broken into, weapons and ammunition stolen.

Who were these mysterious forest dwellers?

The answer came from consultation with a Ienothae forestry agent called Harmony.

Franz Grossbart, a road boss with the Mittelmarch Forestry Corporation, a subsidiary of Gestalt-Fabricken in Hofburg, was a burly man whose somewhat coarse features and hairy muscular body belied a rather thoughtful mind. He was a very practical man and he decided when he had had more than one 'dozer driver flinching and refusing to go on when an arrow ricocheted from the trees against his vehicle that something had to be done. So he took a jeep to the Forestry Station.

As he went up the red gravel driveway, he composed what he would say. Harmony was in the Imperial Service, true, but still had a number of Ienothae prejudices, and she had already written a complaint to the Ministry of the Interior about the way that the forestry group were simply destroying the forest. As if there wasn't a ton of trees more infesting the whole island chain...

The station was a bungalow like building, which had a lot of high screen windows, practical here in northern Ienotheisa which was fairly warm. He got out of the jeep and found her coming to the door, wearing just a light t-shirt and shorts, her slim body brown from walking about just like that in the forest.
"Good morning, Harmony." he said, smiling.
"Good morning, Franz." she said with a polite but reserved smile. "What can I do for you?"
He took out one of the saved arrows from his jeep and showed it to her. "Look at this. What do you make of it?"
She took it in her slender fingers and gravely observed it with hazel eyes. "Aha. That is a Yanojivario arrow. They are one of a few nations of hunter-gatherers that live in the interior. I should have thought you'd encounter them at some point."
"Why the devil didn't you warn us?" he demanded.
The young woman frowned, handing the arrow back. "I had hoped the Ministry would get back to me before this happened; unfortunately they are semi nomadic, moving when they have exhausted the soil, and so I can't know where every village is. I don't exactly spy on them."
"But these are clearly dangerous savages. Look at how dark the arrow tip is, that must be poison, right?"
"Of course." she said. "They don't have much metal, you know, just what they find or trade from the few who dare the interior."
Franz was nonplussed by her attitude, but then he said, "Wait a moment...other people have been in there? Other Ienothae?"
"Of course." she replied. "Some ventured in to make contact with the people there...unfortunate decision in some cases, because they do live close to the Earth in an interesting way but they are also rather brutal at times. But others were your Christian missionaries and scientists and so on. I think there are some in there now."
"Well, that's good. You can help us, you can advise us on where they are so we can contact them and persuade them to stop attacking us."
Harmony frowned, then said politely, "Excuse me, Franz, but I don't think I'll be doing that."
"Why not, hey?" he demanded, astonished.
"Because the Empress Joanna promised to maintain the land as it was. And you are breaking that promise. These people have a right to be left alone."
Franz mopped his brow. "You're serious...but don't you realize, Harmony, how much we need a cheap source of paper and wood in Lavenrunz?"
Harmony shook her head. "We've had this sort of discussion before."

Franz left the ranger station feeling rather depressed; he realized that things were not going to be so easily solved, and that he had a difficult report to make to the regional supervisor.