NationStates Jolt Archive

[Continuation of: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=517609]

Lavish didn't describe the scene. Extravagant didn't fit either. Shameless was nowhere close to describing the scene at the wedding of Emperor Kenneth Coleman II and Commodore Catalina Vakko, two of the most powerful people in the Empire.

The word best used to describe it could only be... spartan?

The two were married in the main hall of the Palace, with only a few dozen military and palace personel in attendence. One single camera was broadcasting the ceremony, which was as spartan as the rest of the event. The reason given was that both, being military, had a dislike for such grand events and wished to keep their marriage ceremony as basic as possible, while still remaining dignified for their positions.

Coleman was dressed in his best suit for the occassion and Vakko in her dress uniform, which only reinforced their words.

After the ceremony, the two stepped into Coleman's office and were joined a few moments later by Andrew Coleman IV, Kenneth's father. The camera was long off now and people were going back to their usual business.

"Well, son... Suppose you explain to an old man what it was I just witnessed?"

Kenneth looked at Catalina, then his father. "A wedding..."

"Between two people that are not in love." The retried High Commander took a seat and looked at them both. "I have been a widower for many decades, but I know love when I see it. And I do not see it between you two."

Catalina took a seat as well. "I'll give you one thing, 'dad'... you're still sharp as a razor up top."

Kenneth nodded. "I was wondering if you would say something, father. This marriage is to reinstate the royal family system that we had so long ago." He did not mention that it was his father that ended that system by killing the last royal family. He didn't need to. "The Coleman's will be the new Imperial family line."

Andrew Coleman leaned back. "I see... go on."

Catalina spoke up. "I control the Fleet. He controls the government. He needed a spouse that has power already, so we don't get another weakling like Lara Tian."

The old man nodded and smiled. "Well, I shall wish you both the best of luck in your plans. Your logic is good, as is your choice in an Empress. Strong willed, attractive and already with enough power to satisfy most of her hunger for it."

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

The official announcement, along with the video of the ceremony was sent to the nations of Gholgoth, along with a message from the Emperor.

[i]Leaders of Gholgoth, as you see, I have become married. This is a very joyus day for myself and my new bride, but we did not wish to burden our wedding ceremony with guests and presents and other such trappings. We only wish to be and rule together. Hence the reason none of you were invited to the wedding.

Forgiveness if that somehow insults or offends, but it was what we wished. And right now, we send our own best wishes to your nations and peoples, as you send yours to us.

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Emperor Kenneth Coleman II

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Empress Catalina Vakko-Coleman
Commodore in the Crimm Imperial Navy

President Kensington picked up her newspaper to find that there had been a wedding between Emperor Kenneth Coleman II and the Commodore in the Crimm Imperial Navy, Catalina Vakko, reading on she smiled to herself "Smart move Kenneth, your new wife is a woman after my own heart."

Turning on the DVP screen she recorded her message of congratulations ans sent it to the newlyweds, walking away she thought to herself aloud "I wonder if the Commodore has a sister..."

One of The Twins watched the newlywed Commodore leave the palace and board her transport that whisks her skyward to the orbiting fleet. The other Twin was watching the palace grounds. "Odd that she would not revoke her position in the Navy." "Indeed. Odd and unsettling." "This shifts the balance of power." "The Marines will be infuriated." "They already are." "True enough, brother."

The former Inquisitors left the office they were watching from and moved to their next observation point.

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

General Heisenberg strode into the Emperor's office, looking like a man ready to smash something. Or someone. "Highness, may I speak freely?"

Coleman looked up from his computer and nodded. "Of course, General... Though I think I know what you will say already."

The General took a breath and noticed that Andrew Coleman was sitting nearby, reading an old book. Apparently ignoring the goings on. Appearences, he knew, were decieving. Heisenberg scowled. "Your choice if a wife is your own, of course, but to allow her to continue to hold rank in the Navy is... unacceptable. It would make you seem to favor the Navy over the Marines in many people's eyes."

"Yes, I suppose it would, General. Peopl elike yourself know that I, as a former Marine and my father, as the greatest Marine general, are both very proud of our service to the Corps and remain Marines to thsi day, uniform or not." Coleman leaned back slowly.

"I understand that, Emperor... but love and lust cloud judement in many people. We wish to ensure that the Navy is not made the dominant military force of Crimmond."

Coleman stood and looked out the window. "My mind is clear, General... The bavy will be rebuilt and the Marines will remain at their current strength. You will still control the 'Wet Navy' and half the Aerospace force. The Navy and Marines will be equal in strength. I assure you of that."

The General nodded slowly. "Thank you, Emperor. You have put my mind at ease." He bowed and left, leaving Kenneth and his father alone.

Kenneth looked at his father, but the old man was still reading. He had realized that his son did not require constant advice and opinions. If he wished to ask, though... Kenneth sat down again and got back to work. He knew that the General was lying and that it would be some time before they got over their mistrust. He was willing to wait.

Cairo

Delta stood in the capital of the African Province of the Empire. He had subjegated this land after the Brotherhood of Nod vanished and knew it's people well. Well enough that he could manipulate them against the Empire...

He eyed the garrison commander. "You know what I say is true, sir... if you fight along side me, you will be running this continent. If you do not, you will die and I will find another to lead."

"I... I understand, my Khan. The garrison of Cairo is at your disposal." the man bowed his had a bit.

"Good. When I give the order, I want your men to blindside the Marines and Nod troops in Cairo. Drive them out and secure the city. Your will have all teh arms you need to do this within three hours. I will give you tewlve additional hours to ready your forces."

-----------

The Twins step off the planes they had chartered seperatly and make their way out of the airport in Cairo, taking different routs to the same place...

Once inside the building, they easily get past security once the General sees them. They remain silent until inside his office, where the General in charge of all Nod Forces takes a seat. "Hello, Vito... Pavel... been a long time since I saw you two. I thought you were dead."

"We intended you to think that." "It was dangerous for us to reveal ourselves." "The Inquisition is not a well liked organization." "You know that well, Ronin."

"I'm not Ronin anymore. I am Omar and that is my real name. I was using the Inquisition to gather intelligence and gain power." He leaned back. "Why are you here?"

"To give you information." "Delta is inside Cairo." "He plans rebellion." "A coup." "He will suceed if allowed to do so." "That will lead to much bad blood in the Empire." "Much shed blood as well."

"And why are you informing me of this?"

"So that you will be able to gain the most from it. You wish Africa to be Nod again. "We can arrange that..." "If you are able to kill Delta, you will be a hero." "If you kill Delta after he has killed the Emperor..." "You will place his new wife in power." "She will be more open to persuasion about Nod control of Africa."

"I see... sit down and explain your plans and I'll consider them." Omar leaned forward as they spoke. He found the way they spoke annoying... as if they were one being.

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General Omar
Commanding General of all Nod Forces

Kenneth looked out over the grounds of the palace, watching people mill about below. Occasionally an officer would glance up and give a salute, which he would return. He soon walked back inside and looked through some reports, conferring via satellite uplink with Catalina on a few things regarding the fleet movements she had ordered. "Why would we need patrols anywhere near Mars? The place is a fortress world, near as I can tell."

"You can never let your guard down, Kenneth. It is only a small patrol fleet, meant to look over Mars and move on towards the asteroid belt." She calls up the flight plan on the screen. "They'll come within range of the defense fleets, but not to any point that the nations there will even blink at us."

"Alright." He nods. "Moving onto other business... what does a man have to do to see his wife in person?" He smiles and she returns it.

As she was about to answer, a Marine Captain stormed into the office. "Emperor!" he ran to the desk and dropped a file onto it. "The African Province is in uprising. We've already lost several squads."

"Marine or Nod?" he asks, leaning forward.

"Both, sir. General Omar has vowed to raze villages if his troops come under fire again. Attacks against his forces ended about an hour ago, as they know he will follow through. Regular marines are still being attacked. Omar requests your presence so that you may dicuss strategy in person."

"Dammit. Catalina..." He turns to the uplink. "Coordinate with Omar to bring down Ortillery on a few heavy resistance areas. I want that Province shown that there is no way to rebel against the Empire and win." She nodded and the link ended as she worked to get ships in position. Kenneth turns back to the Captain. "Ready my aircraft and two fire teams of Civils... I will be traveling to Cairo immediately." The Captain nodded and left.

As he gathered up what he would need, Andrew Coleman stepped into the office. He looked at his son and sighed. "You are going to the front?"

"Yes... I intend to put down this uprising swiftly. Father, I will be gone for several days, perhaps a few weeks if this does not go well. Will you step in until I return?" He asks it as if unsure if his father, in failing health, would accept.

"Of course, my son. Duty is duty... I will make sure the Empire runs as usual." He smiled and took a seat behind the desk, waving his son out of the room. Hopefully this would only last days. Andrew Coleman was dying... running a nation was the last thing he needed to be doing now.

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Andrew Coleman IV
Retired Ruler of Crimmond
Advisor to the Emperor

Delta watched the city erupt into war, a thin smile on his face. This would be the first of nearly one hundred cities to rise up against the Colemans.

The Twins stood nearby. "The Nod forces are not retreating as you predicted." "They are zealots." "Zealots rarely do the logical thing, when outnumbered." "Indeed. They will fight until they are killed and will not give ground." "Not unless it gives them a massive killing zone..." "Indeed."

"Enough... escalate the attacks against the Nod troops. If he razes a village, so be it. More hatred against them." Delta looked at the two. "This is the dawn of a new age. And you two will be responsible for making it happen."

"Indeed we will, Khan Delta." "The coming days will shape a new future."

----------

Cairo was burning. Kenneth watched as a hunk of metal the size of a car slammed into a compound in the western part of the city, leveling it. "Good going Cat." He smiled and looked at Omar.

The Nod General didn't smile back, instead turning to bellow at his troops. "Assault forces... move in! Take down anything that's holding a gun or explosive. If I hear that you have shot those unarmed, though... you will have to answer to me!" The troops charged ahead, yelling the Brotherhood's motto 'Peace Through Power', joining the fray of street-to-street, house-to-house fighting.

Coleman looked at him. "This uprising must be stopped here and now. If it spreads, we will not contain it easily."

Omar scowled and stepped into the bunker that was being used as a command center. "We are winning, but at a high cost. We need to find out who the resistance leader is and kill them in a very public manner."

"Do you have any idea who it is? A symbol... a name, anything?" Coleman asked, looking at the map.

"Only the number 4. That has been scrawled on a dozen walls, sometimes along with 'The True Ruler'." Omar did not look happy that the answer eluded him.

"Four? It must be a codename... and there is no one else that could lay claim to th-" He stopped and blinked. "Alpha... Beta... Gamma... Delta... Fourth letter of the Greek alphabet. That son of a whore." Coleman pounded his fist against the table and stormed out, Omar following. "CIVILS! It's time for you to hunt!" The Civils assembled for their briefing. "You all knew Khan Delta. You know his scent, his habits, his voice, his appearance, everything you can know about someone, you know about him. He is your target and he is somewhere inside this city." The Civils dispersed and began to hunt in small groups as Coleman and Omar strode away to discuss strategy.

A Marine that was nearby stepped into the shadows of an alleyway and spoke into a small radio...

----------

"They know you are here, Delta." "They have sent troops to find you." "Civil troops." "The ones that used to guard you." "They will be difficult to deceive."

Delta looked at The Twins and nodded. He was never unnerved by their odd way of speaking, knowing it was meant to unnerve. "They will find me, I am sure of it. And then they will die. They serve the Emperor and will not betray him, even for me. It is how I trained them." He stepped to a map and looked at it. "Order our troops to start falling back towards this area of the city. I want Coleman closer to me, so that I may strike him down and retake the throne."

"Yes, Khan." "Your will shall be carried out."

----------

The Civils stalked through the bombed out buildings, knowing that the prey was close. The leader held up a fist... on a stairway was a broad brimmed black hat. The prey knew they were coming and was telling them as much.

"Delta! Show yourself, that we may do battle." the leader called to the still air.

"So be it."

The Civils all turned at the sound of the voice and three of them dropped dead in seconds from the claymores hidden around them. Delta swept down from the rafters and attacked teh remaining five hand to hand, which they were glad to meet. He had designed them to love the thrill of CQC against a stronger foe.

Ten minutes later, Delta picked up his hat and left the building, setting his broken arm. He returned to his headquarters. "The Civil hunters are no more. Prepare for a full scale attack from the Marines and Nod. They will all die this day..."

Over the next week, soldiers started to fall back more and more as Nod and Marine troops moved forward. Now only a quarter of the city was in rebellion.

Coleman looked at the map. "We need to be closer to the front. I suggest this building." It was a good choice... a military barracks. "We can get there via helicopter in a manner of a few minutes and secure the building."

Omar nodded, looking over the choice. Easily defended and inside the safe zone. "I will be moving up with the ground troops." He disliked helicopters, especially in a war zone. Coleman nodded and left, his troops readying his helicopter.

Coleman climbed in and put his helmet on. Dressed in fatigues, carrying an automatic weapon, he looked no different than a normal Marine. Which is what he wanted... Less likely he would be a target.

What he didn't know is that a Marine had already told his enemy that he was on the way...

-----------

"He is airborne." "Heading this way." "This should remove all resistance." "Indeed."

Delta was on a nearby rooftop, listening to The Twins relay the information. He hefted his Swarm anti-armor launcher and aimed at the helicopters heading his way. The one in front was an attack helicopter, as was the one in the rear, he aimed at the center aircraft, the one carrying troops, and fired once it was in range. He lowered the weapon and watched it streak in...

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"INCOMING!" Coleman shouted, seeing the missile shoot towards them. "Dive! DIVE GOD DAMN YOU!" The helicopter did so, dropping enough that the aircraft itself was spared a direct hit... the rotors were not so lucky, however and the shrapnel from the destroyed blades and the missile itself, plus the explosion, tore through the dying aircraft as it pitched over and fell like a rock. Kenneth Colemanwatched teh events as if in slow-motion, staring out the door at the man that had just sealed his fate. The broad brimmed hat, the dark coat... the pupil less eyes. "Well played..." he whispered and as his mind shifted to thoughts of Catalina and her safety, the helicopter slammed into a skyscraper and the fuel tanks ruptured, turning the aircraft into a fireball as it fell to the street below.

-----------

Delta watched the aircraft pitch over and saw Coleman staring at him. He knew it was Coleman and Coleman knew he was Delta. He watched as the two attack helicopters turned on him and he spoke into the microphone. "Twins... take out the attack choppers." Silence. "Twins?!" He spun to look at the other rooftop, but no one was there. "No..." Gatling gun fire stitched the rooftop and turned Delta's body into a blood spray as it was sliced in two.

He tried to summon his ancient ability to separate soul from body, but he was not prepared... his body was too damaged to let him prepare. The Twins, without ever knowing it, had finally sealed the fate of Delta, The Beast. Oh, he was not gone... merely moving onto the next stage of his existence. Hell.

-----

The Twins spoke into the commlink. "It is done." "Both are gone." A voice on the other end acknowledged and cut off the transmission. "The balance of power has shifted again." "There is no way to counterweight it this time." "Long live the Empress." "Indeed."

Commodore Catalina Vakko-Coleman sat in silence for almost six hours after the news came in, before emerging from her office, looking haggard. She ignored the uneasy silence from her staff and look a transport to the surface. She entered the Palace and ordered that no one should disturb her except with news of national importance.

She stayed there almost a full day before Andrew Coleman visited her. "Empress..." He said as he shut the door and looked at her. She was in a thick robe, staring out the window. "You were fond of my son, weren't you?"

"Yes." She said, after a moment. "I did not love him, but I did care for him as a close friend." She blinked away a few tears as she looks at him. "Every ruler we have had has blood coating their legacy. I refuse to let anymore of mine be coated."

Coleman took a seat and removed his glasses, letting his sunken, yet still intelligent eyes show. "And how will you do that, my dear lady?"

"I'm not sure... completely. One thing is for sure... I am no longer a Commodore. That is the first step. It was war that killed my husband and my friend and I shall not be a part of the machine of war any longer."

Coleman eyes her. "You are sounding like a pacifist."

"No, I am far from a pacifist. I do not think that war is evil in itself... or that we should talk to an enemy that wants nothing but our death, should we face such an enemy. I do believe that the military should no longer rule Crimmond, though." She said it with such firmness, that it left him speechless for a moment.

"You would let the Senate take the military's place? That is hardly the way to run an Empire."

"Then we shall no longer be and Empire." She looked at him and watched emotion play over his face.

Finally, he spoke. "I am but an old man, Catalina. An old man that has outlived his only son. I am no longer High Commander, nor do I wish to rule again. This nation is yours to rule as you see fit. I will not oppose you, but I will not support you either, as I see this as a mistake."

"That is your right. I hope that you will live long enough to see that it is not." She did not mean it threateningly, as Andrew Coleman's health was well known to be very bad.

He seemed to understand that was what she meant and nodded. "That is a day I would like to see, if only to amaze myself that such a thing is possible."

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

In a speech that was broadcast to all Gholgoth and NATO nations two days later, the Empress spoke from the Senate floor.

"I am Empress Catalina Vakko-Coleman, ruler of Crimmond. For those who view this that do not know the happenings of the past few days, my husband, Kenneth Coleman II, was killed while he was putting down an uprising in Cairo. His..." She pauses for a moment, collecting herself. "His helicopter was struck by an anti-armor missile fired from a rooftop. The murderer was subsequently gunned down by the escort helicopters, but his missile had already struck..." She pauses for several moments, trying to remain the visage of a strong leader.

"War took my husband from me and segments of the military were supporting this rebellion. Marine Special Forces were found among the dead of the rebel troops, who are still being mopped up. As such, I have ordered the removal and execution of those responsible for this attempted coup. That will be the last blood spilled under my name, if we are fortunate. Because of these events, I have decided that the military is no longer competent enough to keep political and military goals separate and that they have caused far too much strife in this nation. As such... I am announcing today the formal disillusionment of the Intercontinental Empire of Crimmond. Within one week, the Empire will be dead and a new nation will rise in it's place. The Republic of Crimmond, ruled by the Senate and a President chosen by them. Whether it be myself or one of their choosing. Also, the Imperial Party of Crimmond is hereby dissolved and any attempt to remake this nation into an Empire shall be considered treason."

The Senate gaped at her. The nation came to a complete halt. One could only imagine what allies would be thinking. She steps down and leaves without fanfare, applause or any other reaction. Fifteen seconds after she left, all hell broke loose in the Senate as Imperial party members(the majority of the Senate) realized that they were no longer in power... the feed cuts off as some Senators scream and yell that the Empress had lost her mind, while others shout back that she was right on all counts...

The coming week would be a very interesting time indeed.

Imperial International Newslink

A talking head prattles on about various things, before coming to real news. "The Senate voted today to decide who would be the first President of the Republic of Crimmond. That, viewers, is the last thing I ever expected to say on this station. The vote was a landslide, with over 90% of the Senators elected Catalina Vakko-Coleman to the office of the Presidency. The new President could not be reached for comments in person, but released a statement saying that she was pleased with the outcome as it 'shows the Senate is ready to undertake the changes I will be calling for'."

---

Catalina sat in the office used by every ruler of Crimmond, at the old desk, in the old chair, surrounded by all the artifacts of the Empire she had just killed. Now came the hard part... keeping the Republic together. Already, General Omar had come to her office and discussed the way the African Province, now the African State, would be run. She had agreed that the Brotherhood of Nod was powerful enough to handle the province and would get a voice in the Senate, but she insisted that they maintain that province as a state of the Republic, not a miniature empire for a ruler that was missing... He had conceded to a civilian Governor, but she had her reservations about him.

The Gholgothian State was loyal, so she had no worries there and the European State was the seat of power. It would not rise against her.

Then came the job of deciding international policy. For two days she spoke to the Senate in closed sessions and finally emerged to make a speech.

"Fellow citizens, the Senate and I have come to an agreement on our foreign policy. We have many allies, but many of them no longer share our values. This was a very difficult decision, but one that had to be made... I am announcing the Republic's immediate withdrawal from the Gholgoth Alliance. We will continue to trade with you, to consider you friendly nations... but we can no longer call you all Brothers. We will still remain a member of NATO, however, as the goals of that alliance do not conflict with our own.

"We are not going to begin a quest to overthrow Empires and establish democracies... that is the surest way to become what we hated for so long. We respect every nation's right to self-rule and to be left alone. That is all we ask in return. We shall remain a semi-autonomous Republic for the time being, until we can find a close alliance worth joining. We bid you farewell and good luck, Gholgoth... may the loss of one nation not trouble you too much. We will both survive just fine."

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Catalinta Vakko-Coleman
President of Crimmond

-----

Catalina quickly composed a letter to Dreadfire, hoping it would reach his desk before the news of her departure from Gholgoth, doubtful as that may be.

Damien, you and I have never met, but my husband thought well of you, as does his father. There is something you should know, that was not in the reports you have...

The man that fired the missile that took from me my husband was Delta. I do not know if the helicopters killed him for good, with his special abilities... I hope so. That is twice he has caused the death of a ruler of Crimmond. His close ties to you and the fact he was residing in Automagfreek before returning to the Empire does not cast you in a pristine light... I do not accuse you of anything, as I know you are not the type to take such underhanded ways to get to your goals, but it is still concerning.

We are still allies, as I see it... NATO is a good alliance and we are currently seeking a seat on the Council of Twelve. I hope that recent events will not interfere with such a bid, but I fear that if I do not explain myself, they will.

I do not hate Empires, Damien. I think they are very efficient, very orderly societies that, when run properly, can be paradise for the ruled and the rulers. I did what I did because MY Empire was corrupt, overbearing, improperly run and dying. So I killed it now, before it could destroy itself and the Crimm with it. We are the same people you have known for years, only with a new system of government. We will always respect and uphold our agreements and will always stand ready to defend our allies.

If you insist on our total departure from Gholgoth, we can transfer control of the Gholgothian State to you or another nation. I hope that will not be insisted upon.

Thank you for your time.

The letter is signed, the signature looking like one of someone who had filled out countless thousands of military reports in their earlier days.

Confusing. What goals did the new republic not share with the rest of the members of the Gholgoth alliance?

Troubling. One of the few Gholgoth members with an actual space fleet. Certainly, the Empire of Elara’s recent joining of the alliance was a welcome one, but the fact still remained. In case of an attack, Atlantis was now the de-facto defender in space for the alliance…unless Elara began throwing its weight around again.

Startling. Wasn’t Crimmond a founding member?

Senator Andromada normally didn’t bother with Sol politics…especially not Earth politics. Aside from Hope Shipyards in the Kuiper Belt and the current Gholgoth province on Earth, there was no reason to. But still, she found herself pondering. A pondering that would never have occurred if not for the events on the northern shores of Gholgoth.

She pondered sending a message for awhile. But what to say? Atlantis and Crimmond had never formerly gotten along. Heck, they had gotten along better with the Renegade fleet when it had been in existence. And that in of itself had been a rocky one. In addition, the senator had to admit she did not know the full dealings of what had transpired, or what had led up to this. She did not exactly how the power had changed hands, she had only heard offhand about some revolt that may or may not have been the cause. So again, not much to say, except perhaps asking a question that would make her look like a boob.

Finally, she decided not to write up a message, moving to push the button to close down the computer terminal on her desk. She stopped suddenly as her finger hovered less then an inch over it though.

Curious. She instead moved to access the database and news networks, as well as make a request to the fleet and Gholgoth outposts to supply her with information from Sol. Perhaps….

Perhaps. Perhaps it was time to start over. There was nothing to be gained in skipping an opportunity in gaining a possible ally. Before, when Crimmond was an empire, the “alliance” had been cordial. Now…perhaps…

Soon.

The Evenstar was not best pleased by Crimmond's departure from the Gholgothan brotherhood. With Dreadfire's recent crusade on slaver states, it came at an awkward time. So he drank.

He drank heavily, brooding over what remark to make and what course of action to take. The Empire of the Crim, gone to politicians? The notion galled him. He and Dreadfire had spoken many times on the possibility of bringing Crimmond into the Blood Pact, but it had never come to fruition, and for reasons such as this.

Never a strong leader, with a firm enough hand to hold Crimmond in check for long enough for old flames to die. Revolution followed rebellion, followed riots, and all without an iron fist to crush the life from the agitators. Delta was a lunatic and always had been, and Coleman was never... hard enough.

Still, the loss of one of the staunchest and largest Gholgothan nations could not be borne, and the Evenstar set aside his bottle, his brain working furiously. There were doubtless some titled men, still lurking in the Germanic and Baltic holdings of the Empire... or Republic, as it was. Perhaps one of them could be roused to rebellion and, if necessary, wed to one of Dayne's royal nieces, one of Bastien the Bronze's surviving daughters, to give such a claimant legitimacy.

Coleman's fool of a widow was a non-issue, as a Gholgothan siezure of Crimmond's holdings there would see her tenuous hold on an already volatile nation slip and fail.

It saddened him to plot on a nation he had always relied upon and loved as he loved all of Gholgoth, and because he loathed politicking and chicanery, but for the greater good, it would be done. Orders were sent and shortly many diplomats and lesser Panteran Lordlings were dispatched, many on vacation or to make business deal across European Crimmond. All of them carried the ulterior motive of finding a suitable, and willing, candidate to restore Crimmond to it's rightful state and to assume the throne.

For now, Pantera would remain silent, and the Evenstar would consult other Gholgothan leaders.

A small council of ministers sat at their designated seats around a rounded rectangular table. At the end of it had been wheeled in a television monitor, where Catalina's speech had been played twice in a row. They were alone, with no one watching or listening to them. It was, in all likelihood, one of the most secure rooms in all of Haraki, specifically designed for closed cabinet meetings on sensitive subjects. They had sat in silence for a moment now. Crimmond had, for a long time, been a good ally of the Social Democracy. But that had been, strangely enough, as the Intercontinental Empire. This new Republic seemed, strangely enough, much more distant and frigid to even democratic nations and former allies than even the Empire had been before, under the Colemans.

The Prime Minister broke the silence, Jaime's words ringing out and echoing slightly off the smooth walls. "I don't like her. Not at all."

Another moment of silence, before Deputy Prime Minister Vanessa Spence gave her two cents. "I agree. She seems ... slippery. I don't trust the fact that she secured power so soon after her husband's death. Despite the fact that she apparently only holds nominal power, given the newfound strength of the Senate, I don't like it at all. I wouldn't trust her as far as I can throw her."

"I wouldn't trust her as far as you can throw her either," Jaime mused in agreement, steepling his fingers in front of him and resting his chin on his thumbs.

"Isn't it the other way around?" Defence Minister James Rennan asked absentmindedly, his mind evidently on other things.

"I can throw people moderately well. I don't trust her that far."

Foreign Minister Peter Firth spoke up for the first time. "Jaime, we're going to need to give a response. What are we going to say?"

Jaime folded his hands and leaned back in his chair, turning it from side to side slightly with his feet as he thought. "From our perspective, Crimmond's becoming a democracy brings with it mixed blessings. Democracies are not inherently friendly to other democracies - just look at how Praetonia views us. Crimmond as an empire has always been our friend when we needed them, and I would not trust this President to do the same with her republic. Of course, it brings with it strengthened democratic ties in things such as NATO, and a nation we hold in high regard is now a fully-functioning democracy. Those are good points. Bad points? She's distanced her country from us, withdrawn from Gholgoth, and all-round seems like she's not a friendly kind of democracy. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if Crimmond adopted a policy of 'splendid isolation', similar to ninteenth century Britain. Mixed blessings indeed. One more powerful democracy in the world, one less strong, loyal Harakian ally."

"So ... what should we say?" said Peter.

Jaime sighed and continued talking. "You're the Foreign Minister, you tell me. In my opinion, it will have to be worded well. We do like the fact that Crimmond is now a working democracy. That's a good thing, at least for us. We have to say so. But I cannot see her reasoning for withdrawing from Gholgoth, unless the Colemans were the only people in Crimmond in favour of membership. Us, Illior, Atlantis ... there are democracies in Gholgoth, and we thrive and flourish. The way I see it, there is no reason for Crimmond to withdraw from Gholgoth. We won't change her mind, I can see that much, but we can at least make our feelings clear. We'll say we like the fact that Crimmond is a democracy now, but can't see why the Republic would need to leave Gholgoth."

"To be fair, I can all-but guarantee you some of the other parties' leaders would withdraw from Gholgoth if they were in power," Vanessa said.

"Yes, but that would be just to spite us," Jaime replied. "My point is, she seems to have something else up her sleeve. Or she's just plain hiding something, which could well be, given her sudden rise to power. I wouldn't believe for a second that leaving Gholgoth is the end of her plans."

"Agreed," Peter said with a nod of his head.

"But ..." James said, "for now I think we need to sit back a bit and watch. We need, among others, to see how Dreadfire and the Evenstar react to this. I think we need to just wait and see what happens. Send off one message and give it a little time for others to react."

"I can all-but guarantee you that Damien and Vayne will not be pleased," Jaime responded almost immediately. "But I agree with you, their reactions are important and will need to be used to gauge how the rest of Gholgoth is reacting. We'll send a message and give it a little time." He sighed. "I guess we'll ... in this order: offer condolences, congratulate her on her election, comment on Crimmond's newfound democratic system, and question her resignation of membership in Gholgoth. Sound fair?"

The other three nodded their heads after a moment's thought, and Jaime stood up, his hands on the table. "I think we're finished here, then. Pete, let's get something written up."





Open message:
[From: Prime Minister Jaime Wolfe]
[To: President Cataline Vakko-Coleman]

Please allow me to first offer my condolences on the death of your husband. I did not know Kenneth as well as I would have liked to, but his loss is a great one not only to Crimmond but also to all nations of Gholgoth and, indeed, the world. Please allow me also to congratulate you on your victory in the senatorial election which appointed you as president.

As a democratic nation, we are of course pleased to note Crimmond's conversion to a democratic state, but one of your recent political decisions has brought up some discussion and confusion, especially in my own mind: your decisions to leave Gholgoth.

I see no reason why the Republic of Crimmond should leave Gholgoth. It still has as much place here as the Empire did before it. Your husband, and his father before him, were not the only reason for Crimmond's membership, I am sure. Just as nations such as Haraki, Illior, or Atlantis juggle both democracy and Gholgothian membership, I am sure Crimmond could do the same. Our being democratic does not lessen our status as brothers, and indeed may well strengthen it, for the decision is made by the people, not by a solitary individual.

I urge you to reconsider your desire to leave Gholgoth. The Empire's conversion to a republic does not necessitate this action. We are of course allied through NATO, but I cannot help but feel that Crimmond's retirement from Gholgothian affairs is a loss for all of us, yourself included.

Best regards,
Jaime Wolfe

Crimmond... leaving? The Crimm had served as the first real contact the Charr had with the outside world. They were the only outsiders who had ever set foot on Tyrian soil since the human invasion millennia ago, two times in so many years no less. It was they who had introduced them to Gholgoth, and it was they who had helped them gain entrance to the illustrious alliance. They were closer to the Crimm than to any other nation, and although Burntfur wouldn't go so far as to call them friends, they were certainly their strongest - if not only - allies in Gholgoth.

Their departure, then, was not only a surprise and a disappointment, but it also raised questions for the future of the Charr. Burntfur did not understand why they were withdrawing from the organisation - there were numerous different governmental systems who claimed the honour of membership, the United Clans included. Burntfur certainly did not consider himself to be a tyrannical despot with absolute authority, nor was he such when they first joined, and yet they remained members.

With this in mind he could not help but wonder what the ulterior motives behind this withdrawal were. He so hated politicians and their twisted ways of thinking. Why could people not simply say what they were thinking, what they were doing, what they were planning, and do so clearly and succinctly instead of wasting time and effort with manoeuvres and spin? He had never met the current leader of Crimmond, so he had no grounds to form an opinion of her honour. The very notion of a female in a position of any kind of power gave him disconcerting feelings at his very core, but he knew that baldies had a different manner of thinking, and their gender divide was not nearly as physically pronounced as that of the Charr, so he gave them the benefit of the doubt. Regardless, he had no idea how she thought, or what her motives were, so he could not even hazard a guess as to what all this was really about.

He sat his enormous frame down in a large, wooden chair at his desk, his eyes twitching as they followed the flickering flames of the hearth behind his desk soothingly. There he remained, in quiet contemplation, thinking up some kind of response to this whole incident while at the same time considering where his own people would go from here. He chose to use the blunt and direct approach that the Charr were famed for in his communiqué.

Whatever the true motivations for your departure, Crimmond shall be missed. Thanks be to your leaders past and present for their deeds to the Charrian people, but the way ahead for us is now dark as well.

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Clan Leader Bonfaaz Burntfur

Catalina leaned back in her seat and considered the messages in front of her. Haraki and the Untited Tribes. She had not heard one word from AMF or Pantera, the other two founders of Gholgoth. That worried her. She had assumed that they would repond immediatly and voice their opinions loudly. That they didn't was odd.

Back to the letters and a reply for each, though.

As she started typing up a reply to the Haraki letter, she paused and prepared the letter and reply to be sent to all members of Gholgoth. What she had to say would only need to be said once, in that case.

Thank you for your thoughts. I, myself, did not know my husband as well as I would have wished. We had only been married a matter of weeks, before the uprising started in Cairo...

I have taken the Republic out of Gholgoth for one simple reason.

My people have lived for generations under dictators that were brutal, genocidal or insane. The times when they were not under those rulers they were led by weaklings or defacto by the military. The change to a Republic gave them hope for a better future, but I saw that they had grave concerns about who we chose as our closest allies... Pantera and Automagfreek. Honroable nations and people, to be sure... but they have a reputation that is soaked in blood and fire. They feared that Crimmond's long history with them and the influence that the simple fact they are displeased with us could bring would soon fold the Republic back into an Empire and be led by some psycopath again.

I wish to have my people know that, while we remain friendly to Gholgoth, we are not Gholgoth. We have not ejected the Panterans and Freeks from our ports, not the embassies from our cities. We wish nothing but good relations with our former borthers and sisters and, should some great calamity befall Gholgoth, we would aid them without hesitation. As I hope they would Crimmond.

This decision was a hard one, as I believe that we could have remained a republic inside of Gholgoth, but the future was too uncertain. Outside of Gholgoth, we stand more alone than we have in a long time. Such a thing is strengthening. It will prove to my people that the Republic can stand on it's own and that it will remain as strong as it did as an Empire. In time, perhaps, we may rejoin Gholgoth. That is a distant time though and I make no promises.

-Catalina Vakko-Coleman

She looked at the letter from Burntfur and hmmed. She replied to just Burntfur for this letter.

The way for you has gone from depending upon the Crimm as oen of a scant few outside contacts to the whole of Gholgoth and from them, the world. Befriend the nations there. They take care of their own and I know that the Panterans have taken an interest in the Charr and see much potential in the Clans to become one of the strongest of Gholgoth.

While the other message you recieved stated my reason for leaving, there is no reason at all to believe that I wish to cut ties to our allies. I would welcome the oppertunity to continue what my late husband started. If you ever had need of anything, we will be as open as the Gholgothian nations to any request you have.

The silence of the great Gholgothian powers made Catalina more nervous by the day, but she decided that if they wished to stay quiet, she would not press them.

She sat in her office with several political and military leaders. Larea dinAthos, head of the newly reformed Senate, General Omar Pace, interim leader of the Brotherhood of Nod, several senators and other military officers.

"We have cut all ties to Gholgoth, yet have remained on good footing with them... hopefully. Now what? We are more alone than we have been for quite a long time."

Omar sat back. "We need to expand our territory. We control far too little in Europe and not enough usable land in Africa. I suggest taking the Ukraine and Turkey. That will expand our borders and join the two main halves of the Republic."

Another officer spoke up. "What about the Middle East?"

"Leave it alone. The oil isn't worth the trouble, especially for a nuclear power such as ourselves." Omar answered automatically, having thought of that as well. "We can also expand into other parts of the African continent, if we need to."

Catalina held up a hand. "No. I will not condone wars merely to gain more land and resources. We are self sustaining, for the most part. We can get along fine on our own, without resorting to such petty warmongering."

Omar was about to protest when another voice came from the doorway. "That will work for the short term, Mrs. President. How about in ten years?" Andrew Coleman IV stood there, looking very old indeed, even for a man of his years.

"In ten years, there will be a new president and they will have to lead as they see fit. Until then, I will lead as I see fit."

"As is your duty, of course. What you do, as the first President in Crimm history, however... that will influence dozens of future rulers."

She glared at the retired Emperor. She hated it when he made such good sense. "What I do here today is try and decide how to keep my nation from becoming a more polite version of what it already was."

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

Coleman and Omar sat on a balcony some hours later. "General Omar... You have the loyalty of your Brotherhood forces. You have the respect of the Crimm forces. You have the fear of the people of Crimmond... both in Africa and here in Europe."

"Yes, sir... I suppose I do. What of it?" Omar asked, eying the old man.

"You are the only general left that has the strength that left me so many years ago, the military mind of my departed son and the fear that only Davion Varchak before you has conjured up. And yet you stay in Africa. You stay in Africa when this nation is being led by a woman that rose to power under circumstances I find questionable and has led the nation I helped create into a dark age of pacifism."

Omar listened and eyed the old man. "What would you have me do? Take power from her? No. Not now... the time is not right, nor the political winds in the right direction. I will let her flounder for a time until the people dislike what she has made this Republic into."

"And the political mind of Saratov I. You are the next ruler of this land, General. You and I know it. Do not let the chance slip away. You are " Coleman stood and left slowly, as he was unable to move any faster with his missing foot.

Soon Omar was alone, looking over the grounds of the palace. "This is all becoming very tiring..." he muttered to no one.

[Bump]

The Charr had only received news of Crimmond's departure from Gholgoth after they had discovered that Damien Dreadfire's anti-slavery proclamation was nothing more than a political vendetta dressed in falsified honour, which meant that it became a mere catalyst for a debate that had been brewing since this discovery. When it was made known to the Council of Clans as a whole, it sparked a much wider debate on the future of the UCC's allegiances in general, just as Burntfur had predicted it would.

Indeed, the debate was so fierce and inconclusive that it had raged ever since, interfering with the normal operations of the Council itself. By accident, the Council had allowed itself to become just as bureaucratic as the human politicians they scorned so much. Only the news of mobilisation elsewhere in Gholgoth had temporarily distracted their arguments, but only briefly before they returned to them once again. The Clan Leaders were so absorbed in their debates that two of them had already had elections called against them by the people they represented - who cared little for international allegiances, only the fact that the Clan Leaders seemed to have lost sight of what was truly important. Most were expected to be re-elected, but if they did not resolve this situation quickly, many would find themselves replaced by their own clans.

Crimmond's departure, as important as it was, had become a distant memory as the Clan Leaders tackled much wider issues, and considered the recent mobilisation of other Gholgoth nations, so it was some time before their two messages were even found, let alone acknowledged. As per usual, the task of addressing them was left to Burntfur, not only because he was the 'head honcho' as it were, but because he was the only Charr who was prepared to deal directly with the outsiders.

Thank you for your honourable words. I would like to pledge similar support, but times are too uncertain to make promises one cannot keep. Where possible, we shall gladly offer you our aid as well. Whatever government rules, your people have earned that much of us.

I can only hope that your withdrawal, whether necessary or not, proceeds without difficulty, and that you are able to remain on close terms with the nations of this alliance. May the Great Gods of Fire bestow honour, power and glory upon you and your nation whichever direction you end up taking.

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Clan Leader Bonfaaz Burntfur