NationStates Jolt Archive

King John Antonette summoned the Cardinal's nephew, the highest ranking military officer, Field Marshal Daniel Brian Pius De Vito. He was the Cardinal's namesake, and a very important figure. Honored, respected, and glorified by the military, and adored by the people, Fieldd Marshal De Vito was the perfect choice to take on the role of a Prime Minister, the first in Ridgian history.

"Field Marshal!" exclaimed John as he rose to greet him.

"Your Majesty." said De Vito as he bowed. John grabbed his hand, and poured them both some Baileys.

"Marshal, I need a favor."

"Of course, Majesty...."
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King John stepped onto the balcony from his office. The crowd cheered loudly and chanted,
"King John! King John! King John!" over and over.

Every important news agency was there. Field Marshal De Vito thought,
Some day, I will be hailed.

The King, wearing flowing royal robes and crown, with De Vito at his side wearing a golden robe, with no crown, cleared his throat and began,

"Citizens of the world! Especially Prussians, Burgundians and all Ridgians! Today, I have a grand annoucement! As you all know, my job is extremly busy. I have come to the descion to appoint a Consul to run the day to day business of the government. He is second in power only to myself. May I present, Royal Consul Daniel Brian Pius De Vito!"

The crowd was silent for a moment, then broke into cheers. Consul De Vito went to the balcony and bellowed,
"HAIL KING JOHN!" He turned around, crowd still cheering, and walked into the kings office. Thanking the king, he departed to his office. He quickly typed a comminuque to all Prussian Leaders.

FROM THE OFFICCE OF CONSUL DE VITO
Honorable Leaders,
Doubtless you have heard ion the enws I have been appoint Consul of th e Ridgian government, a Prime Minister of sorts. I will be dealing with the day to day work. If any of you wish to meet with me, I certainly welcome you too.
(Signed)
Royal Consul Daniel Brian Pius De Vito He sent it out.

The news of the Cardnials promotion slid across the desk of the First Speaker. She over looked the notice, and called in an aide. The wheels that would turn the once great republic of Imitora into a Monarchy had been spinning for some time, and this may have been the key move that Anna needed. The nation had been without an election that was truely an election for what was nearing the 50 year mark.

Anna knew, as did others, that becoming what would be considered a Monarchy would be the best move for the nation, and she would be sure to make the move under her watch. She discussed with the aide the ability to do such a switch on short notice, and it was agreed upon that now was the time to make the jump.

She thanked the aide, then dismissed him.
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Royal Consul DeVito,

Please, allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your new position. I hope that it brings to you the honor and greatness you deserve. However, I write not only to congraulate, but to ask of you a favor. If possible, I would like to meet with you regarding a situation of great importance for my nation. With respect,

*signed*


Anna Sophia Fratelli
First Speaker of Imitora

It was hard not to see the news. Despite being somewhere completely elsewhere in the world, it was over news bullitans and newspapers. "Well, this certainly is a new development," the man said to himself, taking a drink of coffee in the airport cafe. His talking was drawing stares, as was his dress. He stared out the window at the sandy desert landscape and the hazy red mountains a few miles off, beyond part of a city. As he was watching, he remebered the last time he had seen King John and the others. Things had not gone well the past few years. He had once again become a wanderer, and his native land had grown cold with anger at former allies. He hadn't had a moment like this in 5 years when he had sat in a ski lodge, enjoying a cup of hot chocolate while overlooking a snowy forest, valley visible through the trees. Reaching into a pouch tucked into his sash, he produced a piece of parchment, an ink jar, and a calligraphy brush and he began writing.

Dear Royal Consul De Vito,

I would like to personally congradulate you on becoming consul of Cherry Ridge. May your days in office be filled with peace, prosperity, and good fortune. I wish you well in your journey. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to stop by to personally congradulate you.

Sincerely,

Himura Kenshin
-Rurouni-

ooc- Imitora, its the Cardinal's nephew that got promoted, not the Cardinal

ic-
To Psychotic Psychos

Certainly, you are welcome to stop by. Clearance has been cleared, and a pass of safety guarenteed. Thank you for your congradulations.
-Consul De Vito.

ooc- Imitora, its the Cardinal's nephew that got promoted, not the Cardinal


I am well aware of that.

ooc- sorry bout that then
ic-
Responce to Imitora-
That is fine by me.
-Consul De Vito.

Tag

OOC: Kenshin doesn't represent Psi-Pso anymore, he's a ruouni, a wandering swordsman. He hasn't returned home yet.

ooc- Plot Twist
ic-
Caesar stepped out onto the curb. As he began to unlock his car, several "men of honor" stood across the street. AS he reached for the handle, shots rang out. The Consul fell against his black car, and fell to the ground, blood trickling from his mouth. The 4 men walked away briskley, as hourdes of horrified people looked on. They dashed down an allyway, and into the twilight.
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CRUNN NEWS REPORT
Today, Cherry Ridge was struck a great blow. merely a few hours after being declared Consul, Daniel Brian pius De Vito, who has the same name as his uncle, Cardinal De Vito, was gunned down in the street today. The king was unavailable for comment. However, a controversy has arrived: The Cardinal-Archbishop is not allowing his nephew to be buried in a Catholic cemetary. He commented,
"He may be my nephew, but no one with the moral character of your man should be allowed burial in an archdicoesan cemetary. May God have mercy on him."
The funeral will be limited to family. In his will, he opted out of a religious funeral. Now for the weather...."

Alexei sighed as he turned off the television in the Star Office and finished reading the letter sent out by CR's "Consul." He shook his head as he placed the letter in the wastebasket.

He walked over to the massive window that looked down upon the Kremlin Square, Andropov Tower shooting up in the centre, and he looked down at the soldiers and government officials bustling about.

It was a bright, sunny day in Rekjyavich-Andropov Military City, but Alexei sure didn't feel that way. He could see clouds approaching from the east. How appropriate, Alexei thought.

It seemed the approaching storm would be sitting over RAMC for a few days, the thunder, lightning, and rain harrassing the city and its people. He turned away from the window and sat back at the desk, wondering whether to send a note of congradulations. He decided against it. I don't like him, I could see it in his eyes. He was filled with the desires of power and greed. He will bring CR down his chosen path of darkness.
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OOC EDIT: Ack! This was supposed to be posted before CR's post, so pretend it is. :)

OOC: You didn't have much of a plot to twist, CR. :D
==========================================
CRUNN NEWS REPORT
Today, Cherry Ridge was struck a great blow. merely a few hours after being declared Consul, Daniel Brian pius De Vito, who has the same name as his uncle, Cardinal De Vito, was gunned down in the street today. The king was unavailable for comment. However, a controversy has arrived: The Cardinal-Archbishop is not allowing his nephew to be buried in a Catholic cemetary. He commented,
"He may be my nephew, but no one with the moral character of your man should be allowed burial in an archdicoesan cemetary. May God have mercy on him."
The funeral will be limited to family. In his will, he opted out of a religious funeral. Now for the weather...."

Star Office

Alexei was going about daily work when PRince John came up the ramp that the Czar kept open during normal hours.

"Hey, Alexei," the Prince started. "You'd never guess what just happened." The Czar, a tad annoyed, looked up with a raised eyebrow.

"What, did Napoleon convert to Catholicism?"

"No, that CR Consul guy? He just got gunned down." Alexei couldn't help but let out a chuckle. It was too ironic. He sat and thought about it, though, and it went away, but not for reasons you'd expect.

"THat's an odd change of events. No comment on it, let it play out. I think that things may not be as they seem."

Kenshin was sittingin his seat, reclined and listening to his headphones. He had long ago given up his favorite pasttime of staring out the window, there was nothing but water beneath the plane. A world news channel was playing on the video screen of the seat in front of him. Though his eyes were closed, he heard about the assasination. Because he hadn't really been listening, it seemed eerie how the drone of the engines a row back were broken by the bulletin, and then resumed. Opening his eyes, he pulled up a laptop from under the forward seat and opened it. Before typing, he took a sip of coffee from the tray in front of him. Despite being old skool so much, he was still a modern traveler. Pulling up a list of flights out of Cherry Ridge, he saw this screen:

Derscon: BOOKED
Reichskamphen: BOOKED
Macabees: BOOKED
Uzkanistania: BOOKED
Coln: CANCELLED

And so on and so forth. "Well, looks like I'll stick around CR for a while. Something might just develop."

King John Antonette punded his fist on his desk as he yelled at the Cardinal,
"How could you say those comments! Now they will think you did it!"

"Who's 'they', John" replied the Cardinal.

"The people and other governments, including Prussian ones!" boomed John.

"On the first count, we are not a democracy, on the second, fock other governments, on the third, only the little ones who don't have as much power in the Empire will think so."

"Shut up, you black girm."

"I'm crimson now."

"Damn it, I should have asked your advice on whether to pick one or not."

"Probably. And you will get some now."
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Piesano's
Cardinal De Vito, and a few "boys from the West Side" sat around the private floor. Piesano's was the kings main hangout, though the establishment was known to be connected to the "Outfit".
"What happened, and I want to know now, Amico!" growled the Cardinal.
The man sighed and said,

"We took 'em out."

"Why!"

"He was hanging out around erhe the other night. SAid he ehard he was getting a big promotion. Also clamied he had a few men behind him. He said he was gonna kill the King, and then strangle you till your half dead, then drown you in the toilet."

"Whoa."

"Find out who the men are."

"Yes, Your Eminence."


ooc- now, the men will come back at a later time.

Landing at the airport, Kenshin had no choice but to...wander. With lack of a better place to go, he decided he'd head to source of what was going on, King John's.

OOC:CR, could you pick up from here, I can't do anything else without godmodding...and I don't know where to go. :rolleyes:

A man in a black suit lurked in the crowds. He lungde forward, and pulled Kenshin out the door, before Kenshin could do anything, shook his hand warmly.

"Kenshin, how have you been!" said King John warmly, "Where have you been!" he said grinning, as he led him to a long black limosine. They got in, and it started to drive to the Palace.

OOC: Thanx for the save! :cool:

IC:

Despite usually being an alert man, he was taken COMPLETELY by surprise, and it took him a few moments to adjust, especially now that the sword at his side was at a rather...uncomfortable...angle sitting in the limo. "Heh, heh, heh! It sure HAS been a while," he said, laughing and grinning. "I've actually never been better. And where have I been?? Damn, all over the world. I go airport hoping, touring the cities at each stop. I must admit, travelers are among the most polite people I've met.

"Actually, I was sitting plum on the other side of the world when I heard you had apointed a consul, and was in the air when I heard about the assasination. Sorry to hear such news. Ain't it a bummer? Things are going great and then POOF!! The crap hits the fan! I'm glad I wasn't leading Psi-Pso when THAT went down. I must admit this, being just a rurouni sure as hell beats a shogun...except the bank account. That's definitly a plus." He smiled, tilting his head. "How've you been?"

"I;ve been fine. The consul, or so I have been told by a very reliable source, had it comming."

"Really?! What do you mean??!!" Kenshin asked, incredulous.

John grinned,
"Leave it to the Cardinal to find out dirt. He talked to the local mob leaders. Turns out he tried to screw around with the Under boss's daugher- without her permission. He was, I must admit, an idiot for going out without protection. He also was going to kill me and his uncle, the Cardinal and take over CR."

John grinned,
"Leave it to the Cardinal to find out dirt. He talked to the local mob leaders. Turns out he tried to screw around with the Under boss's daugher- without her permission. He was, I must admit, an idiot for going out without protection. He also was going to kill me and his uncle, the Cardinal and take over CR."

"You're kidding!!?? Is anyone else behind this too?" Kenshin asked, all hint of humor gone.

"Most likely, though they don;t resent a grave thread, or so the Cardinal said. He's usually right." he said, grinning.

"So what are you going to end up doing about this?"

"Well, his men are probably running scared right now. I won't prosecute the men who killed him, and I will let the story slide. Basicly: nothing. He deserved it. His "militia" however, will be looked for."

"So, then where is this going from here?"

"Where is what going? No more consul, ever. Militia will be hunted down and killed."

"I believe the Cardinal can fill you in more than I can." He pushed a button and told the driver,
"Bring us to Holy Name Cathedral."

"What would the Cardinal know that YOU wouldn't?" Kenshin asked, now completly bewildered. Actually, it wasn't too hard to do that to him, he just never let on. "Shouldn't you, as ruler of CR, know just about everything?"

"I should. He has all the first hand information though. Besides, you know about my sword, but he has an intereesting sword too. Your into swords, aren't you?"

Kenshin smiled, "that's a pretty dumb question to ask a rurouni. But yes, I am into swords. Czar Ivan gave my family a special sword that came into play a few years ago." He cleared his throat. "In fact, we have a sword that was forged ages ago. It was suppossed to draw on energy from the goddess who created our land in the native religion. Though I don't at all believe the native religion, some power came to the sword when we were with Ivan. Anyway, yes, I know about yours. But tell me, what is so special about HIS sword?"

John said flatly,
"Nothing special Just something to do with the Holy Ghost." Afterwards, he grinned though. They pulled into the Cathedral parking Lot, and walked next door to the chancery. Walking in, John asked for the Cardinal. The priest bowed and brought the two men to the Cardinal. He jumped up and said,
"john, how are you?" he eyed the other man and then exclaimed,
"Kenshin, enjoying life? But I assume your not here to tell me about it. What is it you want?"

John said,
"Well, tell him about the Consul."

"You already did, John. Why should I repeat it? The men are being hunted by the OSS. Now, what do you really want?"

"Your too smart, Cardinal. Show him your sword."

A faint smile cracked across the Cardinals face,

"I was knew, though was still hoping, you'd ask." He dug into the pocket of his plain clerical shirt, touched with read, and pulled out a key.
"Its in its storage place."
He led them out of the office, and into the church. Genuflecting, he led them into the confessional "room". He walked behind the screen, with the King (and former shogun). Producing the same key chain, he unlocked a storage closet. and pulled a door in the floor. He walked downt he steps, and said,
"These are the Cathedral Crypts. All prevous bishops and archbishops are in here, he said, motioning all around. Candles with a red "glass" around them gave a redishglow to the room.
"Are you ready Shogun? This will only be Johns second time down here."

"What do you mean 'Am I ready'?" he asked, slightly offended. "If you're talking about death, don't kid yourself. I've been the cause of more than you'll ever know. Let's just keep going."

The Cardinal laughed out loud. After that he said,
"I'm sure you have killed many, however, why so uptight?" He unlocked a door, then a solid gold door. An altar was up 3 steps, and a tabernacle, though Jesus wasn't present.
"This is said to have been where early Christians held masses." he said as he went behind the altar, and from the tabernacle altar, he picked up a crusader-era sword. Its leater sheath was also next to it. He walked in front on the altar and bowed. He said a silent prayer, and the sword glowed. He blessed himself.
"This is the Sword of the Holy Ghost. It was crafted by God in the person of the Holy Spirit, obviously. It was used during the crusades, and to protect Christian travelers. Before that, it was used by some Jewish prophets. AND before that, It was used to cast Satan out of paradise."

"I'm uptight because even though I'm accoustomed to it, I do not enjoy or endorse it," he said, following along. Upon seeing the sword, he was impressed, though. "I take it that this sword has the ability to banish evil and demons immedietly, than?" He thought a moment, and then asked a new question, "what has this to do with the assasination?"

"It can banish evil." he said. He thought for a second and said,
"Nothing in particular to do with the assasination. As I'm sure John told you, we are after the Consuls men, not the assassins." He spun the sword around in his hand, then looked at his watch. "AH!" he exclaimed, "Would you be joining me for supper?"

John looked at Kenshin,
"Its up to you."

Kenshin's mood grew much lighter, "well seeing as all the flights to the places I want to go are all booked or cancelled...I'd have to say 'yes'. It gets a bit tiring eating in airport cafes all the time. That would be delightful."

"Grand!" He put the sword back, secured the crypts and led them into the dining room in the rectory.
"I'll be right back" He returned with soup- Beef broth, with beef chunks in it, onions, peppers, potatoes, celery, and othrer vegtables. There was a glass of alchohol in front of each (you can say what kind it is), and some dipping bread.

"This is quite exqusite!" Kenshin said, tasting the soup. "I'm also surprised at the condition of the Sak`e, where did you get it?"

"So, are you going to appoint a new consul to take the place of De Vito?"

"Glad you like your drink. I believe a store called The International House of Liquor. It closed down a while ago."

Jhn said,
'No, the people wouldn't like it, and Im not trying it again."

"Interesting. Yes, it does hae a bite. You must have drinken it since an early age to acquire a liking."

"Probably true. I don't like it much."