NationStates Jolt Archive

(OOC: Being a newer and smaller nation and out of the loop because of that fact I wanted to give people some explanation on what my country is and how it was formed. I didn't want to just jump right in and do something foolish, so I decided to start a modern history. I'm sorry for the storytelling. Thank you for reading)

"--And tomorrow will mark the final step into Vendi's new parliamentary government. At twelve midnight Queen Alice will appoint the new Prime Minister who is still unnamed. This, truly marking a turning point in history as Vendi takes it's first steps into becoming a thriving democratic nation. Stay with VBC news for in-depth coverage on the change."

The television was abruptly turned off as the sun's first light crept through the newly built Vendi government building.

"Mister Prime Minister." said a burly guard dressed in black.
"Come on Bruce, we have a while before these formalities are necessary."
"Sara Fredricks sir, your secretary."

Nigel wearily turned to see a woman holding a thick manilla folder which he guessed was full of more official documents and intelligence reports. She wore the important look well, her brown hair was neatly tied back and her pant-suit was too neat to be off the rack. She smiled warmly to him and stuck out her hand.

"Sara Fredricks, sir."
"Nice to meet you, Ms Fredricks."
"The pleasure is mine sir."

She pulled papers from her folder and looked them over.

"I have here some inteligence reports from the Royal Navy. As you know, there are certain terrorist factions who would like to see the transfer of power de--"
"--railed..and all that rubbish, I'm beginning to think everyone around here graduated from Redundancy University. Tell me something that I haven't already heard."

"What you haven't heard is that the now fringe Vendi Royal Militia has threatened strikes at the transfer proceedings. May I remind you that these are the same guerillas who fought back occupation for years. To some people these are decorated heroes. To us, they are incredibly dangerous, and not to be taken lightly. In light of these threats more guards will be added at the compound and you will be arriving to your meeting with Queen Alice in an armored vehicle. That will be all."
"Thank you Ms. Fredricks."

Sara proceeded to exit the room and called back at the last moment

"I graduated from Holemann University. I was Valedictorian."
"What was your major?"
"Redundancy. It's what keeps people safe."

The door shut and Nigel rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Nigel turned the television back on and was instantly told how he could lose twenty pounds in ten days. He already knew the answer to that, become Prime Minister.

***

"I imagine you've been busy." Queen Alice said.
"Too busy." Nigel replied.

The Queen looked at him and smiled. She liked the man and continued to like him. He came from a long line of Rightlies who served her well. She looked around the lavish hall they were in. All around her were pictures of her relatives, looking elegant in the crown jewels she wore on her own head. She wondered what they thought of her now, handing over her power willingly.

"Times changed." She said idly.

Nigel looked at her and noticed her agae for the first time in his life. She looked weak. The grey hair was no longer a symbol of age and wisdom but a symbol of fragility. She seemed almost helpless, a position Nigel himself dreaded.

"The...parliament, have they all been selected?"
She laughed mirthlessly.
"No, in fact for the first few weeks of your term your government will be flying without wings. It is dreadful business, all of this. You'll learn that soon enough, lad. The parliament will be in place shortly after the nation learns of you. Let's hope there isn't a war."
"Or a terrorist strike." Nigel said, holding back none of the venom that was within him.

The Queen eyed him with a look of realization.

"It is a mess that I should've cleaned up."
"One that I now inherit. But, I am without the ability to shovel money to them."
"What do you think you call me on? It's common knowledge that I supported them."
"Then why stop now?"
"It's no longer my money. I handed that burden to you. All I need to do is sign my signature where I'm told and make sure my face is pretty enough to be on the mark."
"I do not mean to lessen your role."
"But I do, my era is over. History will look to you now. You are our strength and our hope. Be strong and history will remember you. Give us hope and history will remember you, Nigel. Misstep, and your name will fall by the wayside. That is the curse of the leader. One that my family has carried proudly. However, with these wars and weapons of the future nothing is simple anymore. Pride is measured by the number of nuclear weapons a ruler has. That is not my world, I refuse to make it my world."

Tears glistened in Alice's eyes as she turned her gaze away from Nigel. She then pushed to him a folder.

"These are the future members of parliament and in there also you will find strong recommendations for cabinent members. You will also find the listings of where monies have been going. You have a large job ahead of you and there are alot of things in this folder that will help you."

"Thank you, my Queen."

***

"And tonight everyone is on hand including more members of the Royal Guard than we've ever seen. I'm Andrea Linquist at Remmingham Palace in Vendi's capitol city of Becking. All eyes are on the queen now as she will hand over acting power to a still unnamed Prime Minister."

"Sir we have reports of VRM members in the audience. Intel points to a bombing, possibly suicide and possibly in the middle of the audience. Would you prefer an armed escort to the stage?"

"No, just keep your boys positioned at your watchpoints, keep the rifles sighted."

"Yes, sir. We will have operatives positioned. Now, I believe they're calling for you out there."

Nigel straightened his tie and made his way to the stage.

"I am pleased to present to you...Nigel Rightly." The Queen said, her voice being carried by a microphone.

Nigel walked on stage and waved his hand out at the audience. He stood behind the podium and looked out upon the flashbulbs and elegantly dressed people. A young woman caught his eye, dressed in a pant-suit not unlike Sara's. bulges at the sides betrayed her seemingly petite figure. She had eyes like a storm and her face was almost curled into an open snarl.

"Today, Vendi moves into a new chapter of existence. From the elegant queens of the past such as Caroline and Rena to the present day people of power such as the future Vendian Parliament. It is with great sadness that a strong and loyal leader had to step down from power to make this happen. It is with a heavy heart that I take my position, for I know that I may never be the leader that Queen Alice was. However it is with a strong hand that I will guide this country. I will take her in defence of her allies and on the attack against her enemies. For a wise ruler once told me that if a leader cannot offer strength and hope then his name will fall by the wayside. I will never let this happen, Vendi will be taken to the top tier of nations and she will never fall by the wayside. By my life or death I will defend this country and what she stands for, thank you."

Nigel looked out to an enthusiastic crowd all clapping and gazing at him, all except the woman. She reached inside her jacket and pulled out what looked like a pen. However, Nigel knew it wasn't a pen.

"You speak of your life and death and the attack of this nation's attackers. If you wish to defend your country against attackers then it is your own life you should be taking." The woman yelled over the hushed crowd.

Nigel could almost hear the clicking of Nightwolf rifles, but so did the woman. She threw her jacket to the ground and strapped to her were explosives.

"Tell your dogs that if I let go of this switch this bomb will go off anyway, I am prepared to give my life for my queen. I know that the males have pushed her out of power. The Vendi Royal Militia is prepared to fight back these traitors to the country and to the crown!"

"I have done nothing like this. The Queen willingly handed over her power, no one forced her hand. You say that you will die for your country, but will you live for it? Killing me and all these people will only confuse things more and force an unwilling queen back to power. Your organization is scared because this nation will no longer support you. So you take to the streets and kill without reason, you kill the very same people you propose to save. So kill me if you must, but our country will be worse off. You want to defend Vendi? Then do it within the government, within power."

The woman let her hand fall to the side with her detonator and allowed just enough time for guards to seize her.

"This is not over, swine!"

***

"And as the end of the transfer continued, Rightly conversed with potential cabinet members and talked with Royal Navy Admiral George Montell, the new Prime Minister showed poise in the face of danger and came out on top. One thing is for certain, our nation of Vendi will never be the same. I'm Andrea Linquist for the VBC."

The television went off and Nigel settled in for a night of sleep. He woke up teh next day with more papers in front of him than he had ever seen in his life. And all day he never could get the hang of responding to "Mister Prime Minister."

The woman was a little older than twenty-five on the last day of her life. She roughly pulled her hair back into a ponytail and neglected her makeup that day. She walked into a local book store clothed in a black overcoat that looked out of place for the mild temperatures that Vendi had seen in the past few days. She pretended to browse for self help books for a while before throwing off her coat and spouting familiar rants of the extremist group VRM. She dropped the switch and leveled the book store. The VBC was offering round the clock coverage and pre-empted all their other programs. It had been a few days since the change of government and Nigel had become well acquainted with his security detail. The man in front of him now was his chief security officer, Samuel Murman. His usual kevlar black was replaced with business blue as he breifed Nigel on the day's events.

"This will not stop our plans. You will meet with the candidate for the defence office and the VBC will be tipped off beforehand. We want lots of cameras and lots of attention on this meeting. The country needs to know that you will not succumb to the terrorists."

"Has the Queen made a statement?" Nigel asked, already knowing the answer.
"No, she has been quiet as ever." Sam said with noted irritation. "That's why the VRM has been so visible lately, they believe their presence is needed. Some of the country believes the same way."

Nigel sighed and pointed to the television.

"I wonder why?"

The TV blared "The VRM started major operation as far back as the era of the first Queen and have defended the crown and the country ever since."

"We're working on getting materials to the VBC, but security is our first priority, sir. These women aren't so easy to find, there is no VRM t-shirt. Over the years, being in the militia had been painted as a noble thing. So these girls are Holemann graduates, they're teachers...secre--"

The door flew open and Sara Fredricks walked in carrying her customary manilla folder and over-priced outfit.

"Excuse me, Ms. Fredricks. This meeting is important."
"Not more important than that. Seems the security boys are a step too slow. It would seem the militia needs to make a t-shirt so the government can catch up." She said calmly and exited the room.
"Well I would say that defence minister is quite a step up from teacher." Nigel said, reading the folders contents.

He passed them to Sam and the anger was visible in the security chief's face.


"The meeting has to be cancelled, sir. You can't negotiate with them."
"No, this problem must be met head on. I can't fight them when they file my papers and work under my security chief's nose. I have obviously been kept alive to negotiate with them. It wouldn't surprise me if every potential member of Parliament has VRM connections. Call the candidate and tell her of my arrival, this charade ends now."

"Yes, sir."

***

The outskirts of Becking boasted residential areas that normal Vendians would be shocked to see. Large estates were many and small house were few if any. He knew at this moment where his future would take him. He knw his present was a sham. The salary that bought his suit was a sham, his security was a sham. And as he walked into the candidate's house he knew that the end of his political career would come with a surrender of power that history would never document.

"Mister Prime Minister." said a nicely dress woman walking towards him.

Nigel studied Porta Caine for the first time is life. Her face seemed hard yet beautiful, as if she was some lost relative to the throne. She put on a fake smile and handed him a glass of wine that he was sure she saved for just this occasion.

"Ms. Caine." He replied.
"Come and we will get this dreadful business out of the way. She said, smiling again.

They went to a room that seemed almost hidden and for good reason. On the walls hung old weapons and pictures of old queens. The room was furnished beautifully, rivaling Alice's throne room. Porta sat at one end of the long table and Nigel sat sat the other.

"So, have you made your decision on the defence position?"
"Let's end this, I am not going to hand over the reins of this country to murderers." Nigel barked.

Porta's smile faded and turned into a grim laugh, she sipped at her wine without saying a word. Nigel found his hand creeping towards the pistol his security detail had given him.

"Nigel you have come not come alone, I regret. You have been accompanied by two rather large misconceptions. The first is that the reins were ever yours to hand over and the second being that the weapon that your security detail gave you has actual rounds. If you were planning to take my life or your own please abandon that plan. All you will really do is make a lot of loud noise and I have a dreadful headache."

Nigel sighed and placed both hands on the table.

"I thought you were smarter. I thought this would be easy and you would have come here with your spirit broken so that I wouldn't have to debate the finer points of the matriarchal society. I also thought that you would appreciate my ingenious plan, but you don't even comprehend it."

Nigel allowed himself a laugh. "Don't you ever watch spy movies? The villain isn't supposed to talk about the plan until everything explodes."
"You have no real chance to thwart it, if you refuse you die. I've kept you alive this long so that this conversation can take place."
"When do i resign?"
Porta laughed herself. "We don't want your resignation, rather your cooperation. You see, the militia is quite tired of running around making everything explode. There are only so many things that can be accomplished with force. So we have waited and waited for our chance to take power. A reluctant queen was very helpful. We wanted to go into different directions with the country. The increased Uranium mining, deforestaion and even our move to the Old Armed Republic were all our ideas. She, however didn't want to take part in the 'ugly business' of the arms race so we pressured her out of power. We worked out a change of government where all of the members of Parliament would also be members of the militia. You see we have the same aspirations as you Nigel. We, too want to bring Vendi into the top tier of nations."
"Why do you need me for this?"
"You're our face, the world may not be ready for a domineering matriarchy but they're fine with the harmless constitutional monarchy. There are some nations who don't look to kindly on dictators, so we have found a more indirect way of pushing our ideas through. Your job is to toss out the dossier the Queen has given to you and fill the Parliament with out recommended list of militiawomen. In return, you stay alive and stay loved. The VRM will dissapear from the public stage, and we are prepared to hand over top officials to you and make news of it. We will also start hitting civilain targets so the country will call for our heads. Your paycheck stays fat, you stay loved and we make sure your name never falls by the wayside. You are guarded by the best trained women in Vendi. We also want a constant flow of money into military spending and into the private accounts of our members. This nation will rise from the ashes and become the powerhouse of old and it will be done through our combined strength. For you, there is only a choice. Live helpless under an immoral regime or die proudly for truth and justice and all those other things men talk about but never uphold. Your decision.

Nigel waited and fought with himself while Porta looked on. She idly sipped her wine and looked around the room. Nigel sipped his wine and sighed.

"I'll do it."

The report placed in front of him said all the media needed to know. Four commanders from the VRM had been captured early this morning by a special forces squad. The women were sequestered in a small bunker in the outskirts of Becking. What the reporort didnt say was that the women werent armed and not a single shot was fired. The capture had been set up by Porta Caine, now the minister of Defence in Vendi's government. Nigel finished the brief.

"This report will be sent to the VBC as soon as you make it so." Porta said, almost uninterested.

"I see nothing wrong with it." Nigel said with his head still down.

"Then I will have what I requested?"

Nigel grinded his teeth.

"The House of Lords will be selected from the names I recieved."

"And the Vendian Parliament?"

"They will be selected from the same list."

"Then all is well."

"And what will you do when we actually have elections?"

"The candidates will be screened, the democratic process will be a sacred one in Vendi. I wouldn't dream of taking away the new toy that is choice from our country." Porta said ironically

Nigel looked away to a nearby window. Dawn had painted the Becking skies a mix of red and orange. In the distance, vehicles could be seen taking routes to work. All of them counting on him to make sure that they had unions to participate in, that they had freedom.

"I don't see what you're worried about, this is actually better for the country. The women I have appointed are far more experienced than you, these are women who have been protecting the queen since they were old enough to hold a weapon. Do you believe you could do better? You are allowed to do what you will do. You were appointed to this position to smile and make nice with other countries, no one is stopping you from that."

Nigel ignored her and heard a sigh from across the table as she got up to leave.

"There is no getting through to you."

The door shut softly.

***

"And in a move shocking the whole of Vendi, the expected candidates for House of Lords and for Vendi's first parliament are nowehere on the list. Replacing them are all women, from various different background within Vendi. Political experts remained shocked from Nigel Rightly's shocking decision to include not a single man in Vendi's Parliament. The VBC will have more information on this story as it breaks. I'm Andrea Linquist of VBC news."

Nigel looked on the broadcast late that night knowing that somewhere Porta Caine was sipping wine and ordering cheap weapons. Nigel knew in the coming months Vendi would stockpile an arsenal bigger than the country itself and there was nothing he could do about it. He switched off the television and left the building for the night.

Fin